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Deciding Health Care Reform; Children at Air Traffic Control Tower; False Tsunami Alarm; Deciding Iraq's Future

Aired March 04, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks so much, Kate and John. You all have a great day.

All right. Good Thursday morning to all of you. It is 9:00 a.m. in the East, 6:00 a.m. out West.

And in Chile, new fears for an already frazzled nation. Residents run for their lives after a tsunami alarm.

And take your kid to work then let him direct air traffic? A controller is suspended for letting a child radio pilots.

Plus, al Qaeda underground. Our reporter gives you a tour of tunnels where terrorists lived.

Are you tired of all the health care talk? Well, so is the president. Our Suzanne Malveaux tells us what he wants from Congress.

And students raising a ruckus about sharply rising tuition fees. Nationwide protest today.

And the FAA says children should be seen, not heard. Our Susan Candiotti is covering that story.

The debate over health care reform. There's been a whole lot of talk and there's been very little action. Now President Obama says it's time for lawmakers to simply vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every argument has been made. Everything there is to say about health care has been said. And just about everybody has said it.

So now is the time to make a decision. About how to finally reform health care so that it works. Not just for the insurance companies, but for America's families and America's businesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, President Obama said he wants an up-or-down vote by the end of the month. That means a simple majority in the Senate could create the biggest changes in health care in your lifetime.

CNN White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, joins us with a closer look now.

Suzanne, how is he urging members of Congress to push this through?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, this is a "put up or shut up" moment here. That's how White House aides see this.

There are two things the president is going to do. Obviously, he's going to be traveling next week making his case directly to the American people, but also what you're going to see in the next two weeks here is a real push from this president as well as his aides to make a push on members of Congress.

And we're not talking about the Republicans now. He feels like he has done enough. But essentially members of his own party, Democrats, to get together and make sure that they pass this legislation with an up-or-down vote.

What does that mean? It means reconciliation. That simple majority vote. It is not a word that the president used yesterday -- reconciliation -- but it certainly is a message that he is delivering, that he wants health care reform to be passed with or without the Republicans.

Take a listen, Fred.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: It deserves the same kind of up-or-down vote that was cast on welfare reform, that was cast on the children's health insurance program, that was -- that was used for COBRA, health coverage for the unemployed. And, by the way, for both of Bush tax cuts. Al of which had to pass Congress with nothing more than a simple majority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Fred, something that was interesting the president said yesterday is what is at stake is whether or not Washington can get anything done, but what is also at stake is whether or not this president can get anything done.

He spent the whole last year really focusing on health care reform. They want to move on here and pivot to creating jobs. And so aides know that this is a politically risky move here, but that is why the president and his aides are trying to emphasize to the Democrats, and say, look, you guys, you've got the majority here.

You've got to show the American people that you can govern and to get something done here. Push this thing through in the next two weeks -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. So where does the president go from here?

MALVEAUX: Well, next week he's actually going to be traveling. He's going to go to Philadelphia and St. Louis, literally taking the message on the road to the American people.

The other thing that's happening here, Fred, is today the secretary of health and human services, Kathleen Sebelius -- she's meeting with the heads of those big health insurance companies. Those are the companies they say they're going to get tough on.

Those are the companies they say that they are going to ban some of those practices. And they need their cooperation. So that should be a very interesting meeting, what comes out of that here at the White House later this morning -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much from the White House.

All right, tickets to a baseball game. That's at the center of a new scandal plaguing New York with David Paterson. Paterson was accused yesterday of breaking ethics laws when he accepted free Yankees tickets for last year's World Series.

The case has been referred to authorities for a possible criminal investigation now. They want to know whether Paterson violated the state's gift ban and lied about intending to pay for the tickets.

Students across the nation today are saying enough is enough. They're just plain fed up with the rising cost of education. They're protesting higher tuition cuts in student services and reductions in funding for higher education.

This is Atlanta, Georgia where the university system plans a 35 percent tuition hike and a possible $1,000 student fee.

In Colorado, lawmakers are looking at cutting $1.3 billion from their budget and higher education appears to be a key target.

The movement to stop education cuts and tuition hikes came out of California. Fees at California's community colleges are up 30 percent this year and $1 billion plus is being cut from the state's university system.

More nationwide demonstrations are actually expected today. An Internet blog called "Student Activism" says 122 events are planned in 33 states.

And it's not just students who are raising the red flag about the future of education. Teachers in California say the state's budget troubles and education cuts have put so much stress on them that it's hard to teach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUPE HERNANDEZ, PRINCIPAL, MAYWOOD ELEMENTARY: You know, our teachers really work hard because we have had such great success. It's hard for them. They are staying here longer. They -- they are in fear of what is next.

LORENA CISNEROS, TEACHER: It's just too many students that are -- that will be without an efficient teacher because you're stressed, you're thinking of your bills that you have to pay, you're thinking of your mortgage. You're thinking of your own family.

It's very hard for all the children to learn when we have a stressed teacher.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The California Department of Finance says funding for higher education is at its lowest level in at least 27 years.

So guess who'll have to help make up the difference? Let's just say being a UC student gets a lot more expensive this fall. One expert calls the rate hike remarkable and it's putting students in the streets with protests signs. We'll talk more about that later on this hour.

And nearly 100 teachers and staff who were losing their jobs at a Rhode Island high school could be getting their jobs back. The superintendent of Central Falls says she's willing to negotiate after the teachers union promised to support reforms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCES GALLO, CENTRAL FALLS SUPERINTENDENT: This is a very hopeful moment for us. To be an indication that they understood the real reform models that we're looking at.

JANE SESSUMS, TEACHERS UNION PRESIDENT: I don't think we were ever that far apart. We have -- we wanted the opportunity to have these discussions. In our proposal, we did say that we were agreeable to a number of her six points, but it's really about the programs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ninety-three teachers and staff were fired after the district failed to reach an agreement with the teachers union on a plan for teachers to spend more time with students to improve test scores.

Central Falls is the state's worst performing high school. The teachers union had called the firings unfair and filed a complaint with the labor relations board.

So we've heard of bring-your-child-to-work days, right? But one man took the idea a step further.

An air traffic controller in JFK in New York is under investigation for allegedly allowing his two young children to clear planes for takeoff.

Our Susan Candiotti joins us again from New York.

Susan, the supervisor is also now in -- under investigation. Right? SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Both the supervisor and the controller are on paid administrative leave while this investigation goes on about the controller who took his son and daughter into the JFK control tower.

Now last month the FAA says the controller allowed his son and daughters -- daughter -- to direct planes from that tower. It's fascinating to hear the tape. And here it is, first the boy, talking to planes that are getting ready to take off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: This is what you get, guys, when your kids are out of school.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Tried to bring my kid to work.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Jet Blue 171, contact departure.

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: Over to departure Jet Blue 171, awesome job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: And the next day, the controller let his daughter get a crack at it. Here's an audiotape of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Jet Blue 57, contact New York departure.

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: Jet Blue 57, thank you, good day.

UNIDENTIFIED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: That's just the next generation of air traffic controllers going here.

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: Roger that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now, the FAA is not amused. In fact its administrator Randy Babbitt put out a statement yesterday in which he called the behavior totally unacceptable and said they don't condone it in any way. And the Air Traffic Controllers Association also weighed in, didn't make excuses, saying they disagree with what happened as well.

Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so what may be next in this case?

CANDIOTTI: Well, they face possible disciplinary action, the people that are involved in this, both the controller and the supervisor. It could range from dismissal or possibly a fine and anything in between. We'll have to wait and see.

WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti in New York, thanks so much.

CANDIOTTI: And of course, we want to know what you think about this junior air traffic controller. Go to CNN.com/Fredricka. Post your comments. I'll read some of those comments on the air next hour.

Also a deadly end to a pleasure cruise. The ship battered by massive waves, one after the other. It may seem like a Hollywood script, but for hundreds of people it's a nightmare come true.

And our reporter in Chile goes out to cover one story and becomes part of another.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And sending in supplies --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A couple of big aftershocks in Chile yesterday but none big enough to spawn a tsunami. But there certainly was a tsunami warning and a big scare as you saw from -- from Karl there.

We're looking at a storm rolling across the eastern seaboard, and also a big storm in Europe causing some havoc on the high seas. Weather is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's being called the biggest earthquake to hit southern Taiwan in more than a century. Today's 6.4 magnitude quake set off at least one major fire. Twelve people were injured in the factory fire, but no deaths were reported.

Power and phone service also out in some areas, and a rail passenger described panic in his car when the train derailed.

Nerves are still frazzled days after the earthquake rocked Chile. A false tsunami alarm sounded along the southern coast following an aftershock yesterday, sending people running for their lives to higher ground.

Our Karl Penhaul was there when it all happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PENHAUL: In addition to the aid the government has already sent in, concerned citizens are banding together as well and sending in --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tsunami!

PENHAUL: Tsunami. Tsunami. Tsunami.

(CROSSTALK)

PENHAUL: Still rolling. Still rolling. Still roll -- still rolling. OK. There's been a tsunami alert now. And that was an aftershock earlier on. And the military have been handing out aid. They told us all to run.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Aftershocks continue to rattle Chile. Here is the latest on what we know from the country. More than 120 aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or greater have hit Chile's since Saturday's 8.8 quake. The death toll has risen now to 802 with 19 people still missing.

Aid is moving in to the hardest hit areas but some people say they still have not received food or water, and about 13,000 soldiers have been deployed to maintain order.

Despite the military presence, many stores have been looted in the city of Concepcion. An overnight curfew is still in effect there.

Turning to Haiti and those two jailed U.S. missionaries. An attorney for the women believes that they could be released without bail as early as today. The judge says he is waiting for a recommendation from prosecutors before making a decision.

Eight other members of the missionary group were released last month. The group was detained after trying to take 33 children from Haiti without proper papers.

Battered by big waves. A Mediterranean pleasure cruise turned into a nightmare trip for more than 1,000 travelers. Two people were killed when the ship was hit by three massive waves. Each around 26 feet high.

The ship stayed upright but windows were broken out and more than a dozen people were injured. The ship limped into port in Barcelona, Spain for repairs. There were nearly 2,000 passengers and crew onboard.

Well, let's talk about weather in this country. Still the southeast is under a very icy grip.

MARCIANO: Yes, it's pretty chilly across the southeast.

I do want to touch on what -- on that storm that moved through the Mediterranean.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MARCIANO: It's the second of two big storms that rolled through Europe this week. This one creating winds 60 to about 80 miles an hour, so that's enough certainly to spawn those kinds of waves. Although the ones that hit that cruise ship were bigger that the average wave. So you're looking at, you know, 25 or 30-foot waves crashing into a cruise ship that's about the size of two football fields. And you heard about the damage there. But the storm that came through earlier in the week had winds of 106 miles an hour along the Eiffel Tower.

So that gives you an idea just how turbulent the weather has been across parts of Europe.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Break out shorts, maybe?

MARCIANO: Well, you know, depending on how brave you are there.

(LAUGHTER)

MARCIANO: But certainly we'll give you a glimpse of spring. I'm not sure how long it's going to stick around. My feeling is probably not too long, but it'll at least give you a teaser.

WHITFIELD: OK. Just a little tease for what's ahead. We'll take it.

MARCIANO: All right.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet. See you.

WHITFIELD: All right, fans get out of hand. Did police overreact?

Police swarm in to put Maryland fans in their place, but the Terps, well, they beat the Duke Devils.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories right now.

Eleven terror suspects are now in custody in Yemen. They were arrested by security forces there. Yemen's government promised to crack down on al Qaeda in the wake of the attempted bombing of a Delta plane on Christmas day in Detroit.

And Yucca Mountain will remain nuclear waste free, possibly forever. The Energy Department has pulled the request to store nuclear materials at the Southern Nevada site. There's been an ongoing fight over the proposed waste dump since the idea was first floated in the late '70s. Congress finally eliminated funding for the project in the last budget.

A championship style celebration. Maryland got simply out of hand. Police in riot gear and on horseback came in to break things up in College Park, Maryland. Fans were celebrating the University of Maryland's rare win over rival Duke. Witnesses say police fired sandbags and teargas to clear out the crowd. And who's going to lead the new Iraq? Voters are starting to go to the polls today for national elections. But insurgents are making sure their voice is heard as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Insurgents are trying to kill early voters in Iraq. There have been several bomb attacks today. As many as 12 are dead. These are critical national elections for Iraq. Voters are basically deciding who's going to shape the post U.S. chapter of Iraq's history.

CNN's Arwa Damon is checking up on the early voting in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is early special voting in Iraq. Eligible for that are people at hospitals, in prisons and of course the Iraqi security forces. So the first step of the process for a voter is to come here, check and make sure that this is in fact the correct polling center, that they are eligible to cast their vote here. They then go inside and their identification is verified here.

These police officers are telling us now that their names were not on the list here, which means that they're not eligible to vote at this center. And they're saying that a number of their colleagues have been having this problem as well. But they're unable to find their names on the list at any voting center and that they're being told to go home and basically haven't been able to cast their votes.

They're just saying right now that this whole issue is making them feel as if there is no transparency in the process, and it's also causing them, they're saying, to lose faith in the democratic process as well.

So this is the voting station. Here you have observers from the political entities. A person has their identity checked once again and they sign a piece of paper and finally receive their ballot.

Here we have the names of all of the blocs. A person has to check one of these political blocs, or the ballot will be considered invalid. And then of course they also have the option of voting for a specific candidate

This is the open list system. And it's the first time that Iraqis are able to do this on the national level.

The ballot then ends up in one of these envelopes. The fingers dipped into the purple ink. It is special ink that is not supposed to wash off for a few days, and then the ballots are placed inside a sealed box.

Now those boxes will not be open until after the rest of the Iraqi population has casts their vote on March 7th.

As soon as the Iraqi security forces cast their vote they have to head right back out and report for duty. Remember this is a country on high alert anticipating more violence in the days ahead.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Back in this country, not ready to retire? More and more seniors are staying on the job. And not necessarily because they want to, they have to.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A rally on Wall Street has run out of steam in the past few days. Investors are uncertain about how strong the recovery will be. A round of new economic report out today could help answer that question.

Stephanie Elam is in New York with details on that -- Steph.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. Yes, the reports so far are good, but we're still looking for a flat open since investors are waiting for the biggest reports of all and we won't get it until tomorrow morning. It's the monthly jobs report for February.

In the meantime, a weekly report shows jobless claims fell by 29,000 last week. We're now at a two-month low of 469,000. On top of that, retail stores across the country are reporting February sales and most of them beat expectations including Macy's and Target.

Limited Brands even posted a double-digit increase and in another encouraging sign, Wal-Mart is boosting its dividends by 11 percent, so these are signs that the companies are feeling a little bit more robust about things.

Now, a lot of companies are still under pressure, and Anheuser- Busch InBev says global beer sales were stagnant last quarter, and the world's largest brewer doesn't expect a rebound this year. People are simply drinking less alcohol and aren't spending as much money at the bar.

But you will be expected to spend a little bit more if you want some extra leg room if you're flying Continental Airlines. The carrier is joining a host of other airlines and offering extra leg room but for a fee. The amount of fees and price will vary by flight. All of other airlines are doing this, you know, probably not too much of a surprise that Continental is joining the flight deck here on this.

But take a look at the early numbers, we are in the green, not in stellar start necessarily, but in the green nonetheless. The Dow is up 20 points, 10,418 and NASDAQ better by just one point at 2,282. We'll keep our eyes on it. Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Since you're wearing green, maybe we'll stay in the green.

ELAM: Hey, I try to help. I try to do my part. WHITFIELD: I know you do. All right. Appreciate it. Thanks so much.

Top executives at Citigroup has some explaining to do on Capitol Hill today. On the top of the hour, they'll answer questions about the $47 billion in bailout funds the company received. Citigroup has paid back only $20 billion in a deal struck with the U.S. government.

And staying on the job longer. More and more older Americans are putting off retirement, mostly because they simply can't afford it. CNN's Christine Romans is live in New York this morning.

Christine, this is pretty depressing.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know it is, but look, this is not really that surprising given what we've gone through over the past couple of years, but sort of surprised me is that seniors are most pessimistic about their ability to retire today than they were even in 2008 when we were in the depths of this crisis.

So, I tell you that once the debt has settled, even though we're talking about an economy that maybe recovering, seniors are quite worried that they can't afford to retire. Today, 72 percent of seniors as surveyed Career Builder say they can't afford to retire, and 2008, it was simply 60 percent of people over the age of 60 said that they couldn't retire.

It's worse among, Fredricka, women. Women have a higher sense of financial insecurity; 76 percent of women workers, who are 60-year-old and said they simply can't afford to retire, men at 68 percent. One of the reasons is well documented. One of the reasons that women have a high rate of financial security is they live longer. They have to save four or five years more of their living expenses, and also they've made less money over the course of their working career, and so they have to make that up as well. So, there is the sense among women that they are a little bit more financially insecure.

Why are seniors who are in the workforce, why are they delaying retirement if they can? A few different reasons and not all of them economic, 72 percent most of them said, we can't afford to retire, you know. They've had some of their retirement wiped out or the value of their home has been wiped out or they just are very unnerved about the financial situation around them. Seventy-one percent, almost the same number, say that they enjoy their job.

They want to stay active. They want to stay on the job. They are healthy. They feel good, and they can do it, and half of them say it's because they need health care. They are not ready to go it alone. If they get health care through the job, they're going to try to keep them as long as they can.

One last quick point, if you are an older American and you were still considered in the workforce, if you are boomer age and moving towards retirement ages, 55-64, you lose your job, and you're going to work a little bit longer. You need to prepare for that. It's about 37 weeks you are out of work before you find a new job, and that's why all the financial planners say there is no substitute for cash in the bank, because we know that people the older you are, the longer you're going to be out of work if you lose your job -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And I guess the term golden years is going to have to change if this is the case that more people, you know, post retirement or that retirement age you're choosing to continue to work. So much for the golden years.

ROMANS: It's so much for the golden years, but if you enjoy your job like 77 percent of those people said they enjoy their job, I think that -- if you enjoy your job and you're still working in these years, by all means, yes --

WHITFIELD: Then that's good.

ROMANS: Keep going.

WHITFIELD: All right. Christine Romans, thanks much.

All right. So, it's nice to know that there are some people who can retire early, like the captain who went from the cockpit to the spotlight. Don't put sully out to pasture just yet though. He is hanging at his wings, but he still has work to do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking our top stories right now. Four men were convicted in Germany today in connection with a foil terrorist plot. A German court found the man had begun mixing a huge amount of explosive material. The group said it wanted to target U.S. military bases in Germany. The men received sentences of up to 12 years.

An American airlines flight attendants meet this weekend to talk about a possible strike vote. The flight attendants and the carrier couldn't agree on a new contract last night. If there is a vote to strike, both sides would have to observe a 30-day cooling-off period first.

And hero pilot's last flight. Captain Sully Sullenberger is retiring from U.S. Airways. A year ago, Sullenberger successfully ditched a plane on the Hudson River after birds were stuck into the engine. Sullenberger plans to continue advocating for aviation safety.

All right. Just imagine, if your credit card jacked up your rate by 32 percent. That's kind of what some college kids and parents are facing with the fall tuition bill. They have little time to come up with a lot of money.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. We've been talking about the day of action here in the U.S. students protesting the rising cost of higher education. Is this a global problem or an American problem? Let's get some perspective from overseas, starting in Germany with CNN's Fred Pleitgen. FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Fred Pleitgen in Berlin, Germany, and tuition is free here in this country, and students can even get an interest-free loan in case they don't have enough money to support themselves. However, the university system in Germany is badly underfunded, and so therefore, some states in this country have instituted tuition fees for people who study too long that has led to major protest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN FEMALE: Here in Japan, we have a national consensus that we put a lot of public funding to support the university's financial balance for students and their families who'll do their part in supporting universities, but taxpayers here agree that since Japan is a very resourceful country, we have to put a lot of effort in education. The university education must be accessible to all irrespective of income levels. Here in Asia, professors are not paid very well, but in Asia, professors seem respected very much, partly because we commit ourselves to education for all irrespective of income levels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So, if the debate over U.S. schools has a center, it might be cash strapped California. Take a look at what many university students there face this fall. A whopping 32 percent fee hike over last year. For 2010, it will cost an instate student more than $10,000 for a U-C education. That's triple what students paid in that state just ten years ago. Let's talk this over with Kevin Carey. He's the policy director with education sector, that's a nonpartisan think tank that looks at education issues. So, Kevin, fee hikes not exactly rare these days, but we're talking about 32 percent. How reasonable is this?

KEVIN CAREY, POLICY DIR., EDUCATION SECTOR: I think it's unreasonable. I mean, this comes as a shock. It really is the worst possible time for a lot of families in California who have seen their college sittings devastated with stock market. They lost their jobs. Their mortgages are under water. They did their part they saved for college, and now all of a sudden, the state is coming along and hitting them with this huge tuition hike in the middle of the year.

WHITFIELD: And so what is the explanation why 32 percent? Why is this necessary?

CAREY: State budgets have been rocked by the recession, and history tells us that even though we know the economy is starting to recover, that it'll be another couple of years before budgets bounce back, and so in a lot of ways, I think the worse is yet to come for these students.

WHITFIELD: So is it correct that this will impact mostly the families who earn more than $70,000 a year, and those who make less than that, they considered to be less wealthy, perhaps they won't be hit by exorbitant tuition hikes? CAREY: It's true that in the University of California system that low income students won't see 32 percent increases, but let's keep in mind that Governor Schwarzenegger recently proposed cutting funding for 110,000 students in the community college system in California, and that, of course, is where most low income students actually go to college. So, this is a disaster for low-income students. No two ways about it.

WHITFIELD: So, how does this compare to other states?

CAREY: California is the worse, but other states are in bad shape. We've seen proposals for 31 percent increases at the University of Arizona, 15 percent in Florida, and 14 percent in Washington State. Double digit increases are not uncommon.

WHITFIELD: But, I guess the recourse is if you are choosing to go out of state, you are likely to pay more so you're really kind of stuck whether you are in California or any other states that are facing increases. Is that the case?

CAREY: Yes, a lot of states are looking to increase fees for out of state students even more than instate students, and so in a lot of ways, there's no safe hardware to turn to right now.

WHITFIELD: Students are taking to the streets, their campuses, they're protesting. Might they make any kind of impact?

CAREY: I think it's good that the students are protesting, and they ought to protest, and I think, their political action will draw attention to this problem. This has been going on for a long time. Every time we have a recession, state legislators essentially raise taxes on the backs of students and families to tuition without actually raising taxes, and so I think what you're hearing from students in California is that enough is enough. The politicians in California immediate to get the state's fiscal house in order to prevent this kind of thing from happening again.

WHITFIELD: Kevin Carey, policy director with education sector. Thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

CAREY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And we'll talk more about this next hour with the president of the California Faculty Association, and we're talking to a college student juggling three jobs, a full course load, and hoping to graduate before a fee hike kicks in.

And on this day of action, CNN brings you the action reports from Casey Wian and Ted Rowlands in Los Angeles and then find them in San Francisco as well. They'll be following the protest and the rallies all day.

All right, wait. Where is the stimulus in all of this? Shouldn't sum of that money actually be easing the pain? Josh Levs takes a look from the stimulus desk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

***09

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with many California students facing a 32 percent fee hike this fall, it made us wonder, where is the stimulus in all of this? How much money has California actually received?

Let's ask our Josh Levs. He's at "The Stimulus Desk". Might any of the stimulus dollars that go to California go to -- in state tuitions?

JOSH LEVS, CNN ANCHOR: Fred, I've got to tell you something when you look at the numbers I'm about to show you it is such a sign of how stark in so many ways our economy is. It is kind of amazing, you know. I've been telling you this and I've told all of you this in the past; that by far the largest number of jobs created by that massive stimulus is in education.

We're all comparing about shovel-ready jobs, like go out on the streets and build roads; ten times more jobs have been created in the field of education. And we're taking a look at California because of the huge protests we're expecting out there. Look at this, California Department of Education received $6.8 billion out of the stimulus pile.

And take a look at this next one here, we're looking at how much they've already spent, of that -- the majority of it, they've already dispersed $4.7 billion out of that huge stimulus that passed last year.

Now, how much has actually been spent? So the dispersal is from the state after the schools. Now, how much that the schools actually spent? Schools have already spent $3.2 billion of the stimulus money, $3.2 billion and now look at how many jobs were created already from that stimulus; 50,000 jobs created or saved.

Now you can take a look at that and say, great, 50,000 jobs created or saved, but they're still having these huge protests out there because of these budget cuts, there are so many people in such tough situations inside California. So what I'm showing you here is that even with billions of borrowed dollars, right? And keep in mind we're paying interest on all of it, we don't have this money, it's all borrowed money, this giant stimulus. Even with all that, Fred, billions of dollars spent that we will pay interest on even with 50,000 additional people paid for with that stimulus, they are still in such a difficult situation that these budget cuts are creating huge problems for people.

That is how stark the economy is when it comes to education, specifically here in California -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So how does one find out, you know, what the stimulus has done for the schools in their state? LEVS: Yes, you know, because it's not just California, right?

WHITFIELD: Right.

LEVS: And we are seeing protests all over the country today and I'll tell everyone right now, throughout the day I'm going to be camped out here. You'll see me in the 11 hour, in the noon hour. We're going to be taking a look at people all over the country and some specific examples.

And there is a Web site I want you all to know about. And can we take this computer behind me. You guys have the ability to show it.

This is our Web page; it's CNN.com/stimulus. There's a lot of information about it. And this right here, we'll just show it quickly, this is the Education Department and they break it down for you very specifically what's being done in every state.

So let's go to my graphic because this is the way I posted a link for you. Anyone watching can take a look for it right now; it's at the blog, CNN.com/Josh. It's also at CNN.com/Fredricka. Also at Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN. We have the link for you there.

And we also want to hear from you, your experiences with the stimulus. Has it changed your life?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LEVS: Has it affected you? What do you want to still happen? A lot of that money is still out there Fred, not spent yet spent so we will take a look at that and focus on education throughout the day -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Perfect, all right, thanks so much, Josh, I appreciate that.

LEVS: You bet. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, is the face of former President Ronald Reagan worth $50? Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry thinks so. He proposes replacing the face of Ulysses S. Grant with Ronald Reagan on the $50 bill. McHenry says the nation's 40th President deserves the honor for his economic and political accomplishments. Opponents claim the change would be a disservice to Grant, the nation's 18th President.

Large parts of the northeastern section of Australia are underwater right now. Take a look at these images. Heavy rains flooded rivers in the region sending the water pouring through the city streets. Towns downstream are now bracing for the water to come their way. But while the flooding is a disaster for homeowners, it's actually been a welcome sight for the farmers.

Rob Marciano in the Weather Center. So it's been very dry for folks there. A drought like nothing they have experienced in the past? MARCIANO: Yes, it's fairly typical for an El Nino to see -- to see dry weather across parts much of Australia but what -- what this map shows you is the month of March, which obviously is quite young but it could be -- February looks fairly similar as well in that this swath of central and eastern Australia seeing abnormally high rainfall, which is the video -- some of the video you saw. But most -- the rest of the continent seeing what is typical for an El Nino type of pattern, which is abnormally dry weather.

So a feast or famine and why this -- and why they got this much rain in this El Nino year, well, you know, when the waters are warmer offshore you might see a little bit more in the way of thunderstorms, but not necessarily organized storms.

All right, let's go stateside and show you what's going on here. And not much in the way of organized storm, this -- this one off the northeastern coastline -- that's beginning to die down but it is bringing us some cool air down across parts of the south. We're starting to see a bit of a warming trend on some of the Central Plains in advance of this next system but, you know, I think that's going to be fairly short-lived.

If you are doing some travel today, we'll see some delays in Boston, D.C., metro airports, same with Philly. You might see some in New York as well, because of the breezy conditions. And that's about all this system is going to show.

We're looking at this rotation of snow showers that continues to kind of pester eastern parts of New England with the low that's pretty much right out here -- that's the one that brought light snow to parts of New England yesterday. And obviously it's still kind of hanging around as it -- as it doesn't want to exactly leave just yet. I guess it's jealous because it didn't get all the news headlines that all the other storms got.

Well that -- well this one didn't deserve it.

This one is a little more substantial -- it's out here and getting into the Great Basin. And -- it dumped almost a foot of snow in places like Heavenly over the last 24 hours. It's still spreading into Salt Lake and as it does so, we're looking at winter storm warnings and watches and maybe 10 to 20 inches of snow in some of the intermountain west.

The pattern is set up, nice weather across the central part of the country. Big blue H there in control, but that's driving in the below average temperatures all the way down to South Beach where temperatures were in the upper 40s in Miami this morning and that doesn't include the wind chills, so temps will -- felt like they were in the 30s across parts of central and --

WHITFIELD: Yikes.

MARCIANO: -- southern Florida, so they're not digging out --

WHITFIELD: They had to wear jackets or sweaters. MARCIANO: You know, it's spring break now, kids are starting to go down there for that.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. That's a drag. Right.

MARCIANO: So -- it'll warm up a little bit as we get towards the weekend, but not quite above average --

WHITFIELD: Thanks.

MARCIANO: -- but close to it.

WHITFIELD: It may be a little chilly dipping in the water, huh.

MARCIANO: Yes, exactly.

WHITFIELD: Yes, all right, next time, then. Rob, I appreciate that.

MARCIANO: All right. You bet.

WHITFIELD: Of course we have a lot going on this morning and CNN crews are all out collecting all the latest information. Let's check in with our correspondents beginning first with White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

MALVEAUX: Well, hey, Fred. President Obama is calling for members of Congress to pass health care reform legislation in the next couple of weeks. The White House has a strategy to push those members. I'll give you those details at the top of the hour.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And former treasury secretary, Hank Paulson speaking very candidly to us about the mistakes that he made during that big bank bailout. Also saying compensation on Wall Street is just plain out of whack. We're going to have all those details coming up.

CANDIOTTI: And I'm Susan Candiotti in New York. New developments in that strange case of young children directing planes at JFK Airport; I'll have a live report coming up.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, ladies.

Also ahead, we'll give three unemployed Americans a chance to make their 30-second pitch to potential employers out there. It's a half minute that could change their lives.

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