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Pentagon Shootings; 9/11 Terror Trial; New Jobless Numbers; Iraqi Leader Confident; House Passes Jobs Bill; Searching For Work; Education Funding Rallies; Parents Speak of Teen's Murder; Cameron's Golden Touch

Aired March 05, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Fredricka.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You all have a great weekend.

Good Friday morning to you, everyone.

ACOSTA: You too.

WHITFIELD: It is 9:00 a.m. in the east, 6:00 a.m. out west. Over the next couple of hours we'll look inside a cruise ship right at the moment giant killer waves came crashing in.

Take a look at another casualty of a nasty winter. The cold has really chopped the crop. If you must have tomatoes bring more money to the market.

And the shocking amount of money wasted on health care. Remember the $140 Tylenol? You need to protect your money when you're sick. We'll run down five ways to do it.

We will also check in with Chris Lawrence and ask him about the gunman who shot two police officers outside the Pentagon.

Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House. The president might be rethinking the trial plan for a major terror suspect.

And Christine Romans talks about the new jobless numbers and how the weather might have gotten in the recovery's way.

Across Washington, a big question looms. Why did a gunman open fire outside the Pentagon?

Two Pentagon police officers were slightly wounded. They returned fire, critically injuring the gunman who later died. A law enforcement source identified him as 36-year-old John Patrick Bedell of Hollister, California. This is believed to be him in a video posted on YouTube.

Investigators are still searching for a motive. Surveillance tapes show he was alone during the attack. This morning's investigation will close the subway hub where the attack actually took place and that is snarling the morning commute for thousands of D.C. area residents.

So let's get the latest now on the investigation. CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence has been working his sources and joins us now with more. Chris?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we've learned that he was a -- Bedell was a well educated man who was living out in California, possibly with his parents.

And police say he may have started to drive east a few weeks ago. In fact, when they found his car that's parked at a shopping mall no more than maybe a half a mile away from the Pentagon here, they found a lot more ammunition inside that car.

But at this point, they're saying they do not think that this was a terrorist attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF RICHARD S. KEEVILL, PENTAGON POLICE: It appears he's had some issues in the past. He has had a couple of contacts with the law. He's a very well educated individual. Right now we don't know if we have a motive yet.

There is no indication at this point that there are any domestic or international terrorism nexus to this at all. It's probably -- at this time it appears to be a single individual who'd had issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: OK. He had issues. So what were those issues? Well, we've obtained some audio clips partly from that Web site. You just saw the YouTube clip there a few -- a minute ago. Basically he had an anger towards the government, towards its authority, towards its reach into controlling the money, controlling public schools.

He talked about freedom and how the government infringes on authority. Take a listen to what Bedell said in one of his clips.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN PATRICK BEDELL, PENTAGON SHOOTER: To prevent themselves from being enslaved, the powerful masters, the power existing governments use every means at their disposal including bribery, theft, and murder, to control those governments, which are imperfect institutions operated by imperfect individuals.

In order to properly address these very serious matters, it is necessary to recognize the importance of enduring principles for setting a positive direction that we can pursue, mindful of the real threats that we must overcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Yes. He goes on to talk about what he feels was the government's involvement in the September 11th attack as well as criticizing the federal government for enforcing laws against the use of marijuana. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And Chris, any better ideas as to how he was able to get so close to the Pentagon with weapons?

LAWRENCE: Yes, the thing is, Fredricka, if you walk right outside the Pentagon, there is a huge Metro station, you know, 10 yards outside the building. You know it's home to the D.C. underground train system. There's also hundreds of buses coming in and out of here.

You don't have to work here or be a military -- a member of the military or anything to actually use the transportation here. The thing is when you come out of the Metro, the Pentagon police are standing right outside the building. So you'd have to like show them your I.D. like this in order to get by, in order to actually get to the actual front door of the Pentagon.

Well, apparently that's what he did. He walked right up. He was well dressed. He didn't say much, maybe uttered a word or two. They thought he was reaching in his pocket for that pass. Instead he pulled out a gun.

And I think it's important to point out here, he was point blank range on these two officers. He fired at them. The bullets only grazed them. And they reacted quickly enough to put him down and no civilians were injured.

And I've got to tell you that is a very, very busy entrance right there.

WHITFIELD: Yes, amazing set of events there. Chris Lawrence, thanks so much from the Pentagon.

LAWRENCE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Also new this morning, a change of course may be in the works at the White House. CNN has learned President Obama advisers are considering whether to recommend a military trial, not a civilian trial, for accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has been working her sources.

Suzanne, what are you hearing?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it is a very likely recommendation. A senior administration official saying they are now considering recommending -- those White House officials recommending that the 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed be tried in military tribunal or military court as opposed to civilian court in New York City.

Now if this happens, Fred, this would be a reversal essentially on two fronts. The location of the trial and secondly the nature of the trial itself. It was back in November, you remember, Attorney General Eric Holder said it was important, going to be an important symbol of U.S. rule of law that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed would be tried as the site of the terror attack. That it would happen in civilian court.

Well, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs who I've been speaking with this morning says, "We are evaluating based on New York City logistical and security concerns on trials in federal courts."

Essentially, Fred, they are saying they have not yet made this recommendation. There is no decision that the president has yet made. This is expected to happen, however, in the next couple of weeks and what this White House has been faced with, which explains why this is all coming to fruition is, number one, a lot of New York officials said, look, we don't want this trial in Manhattan because of security reasons, logistical reasons.

And secondly, members of Congress, Republicans have been pressuring the White House, they say look, you want to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, we want to make sure that these kind of potential terrorists are held in a kind of court system that we think is the most strict and that would be in the military system.

So you're seeing this kind of negotiations, if you will, back and forth. We'll see how all this turns out. But it could be very significant, Fred. A real significant reversal from this White House if the president moves on this recommendation.

WHITFIELD: And so Suzanne, I have to wonder whether the White House is thinking about any kind of political as well as PR ramifications that come from this potential about-face.

MALVEAUX: Fred, the fact that we are getting information from senior administration officials and other media outlets as well is already means that the White House PR machine is in motion. They're already preparing the American people and their critics, civil libertarians, those in Congress, the Democratic base, who are going to criticize this potential recommendation, by putting it out there ahead of time.

So if this happens, they are simply -- actually obviously preparing the American people for that real possibility.

WHITFIELD: White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much.

The nation's unemployment crisis, new numbers came out just minutes ago, and even though the rate is unchanged, some say that may actually be good news.

CNN's Christine Romans is here to explain why -- Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, because, Fred, in our upside-down world what isn't bad news is good news these days in the labor market. Remember that Larry Summers, one of the president's advisers, recently said that we are in a statistical recovery but a human recession. Well, these numbers today are indicating that maybe the worst of the labor market declines are behind us.

Here's what it looks like. The unemployment rate was steady at 9.7 percent. We lost another 36,000 jobs last month and jobs loss since the start of recession still much more than eight million.

This is an incredibly important report for economists because, look, you have to have the employment situation improve to really be a foundation for a lasting and sustained recovery. So this is why we're really watching this report pretty aggressively.

Inside the report there were some categories of jobs losses that are not really that surprising. Construction job losses, about 64,000. Anything related to commercial construction still hemorrhaging jobs there. Information job losses, about 18,000.

We saw some job gains, however, in temporary help, 48,000 positions were added in temporary help. Not really surprised, Fredricka, because companies, when they start to sense that their orders might be improving, but they're still worried about the economy, they tend to want to step into the market by hiring temporary workers, because frankly it's easier for them to downsize again if the economy is fragile or doesn't last.

One thing we need to watch about these temporary hires, when will they translate into new full-time jobs. Still waiting for that to happen -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Right. And so what about the people who have been unemployed for a very long time now?

ROMANS: And now this is the part of the equation that still has been very, very rough. You have a lot of folks who have been unemployed for a very, very long time. And we're going to need to see better numbers than this to start absorbing those people. How many. The long-term unemployed is now 6.1 million in this country.

You look at 40 percent of the unemployed who've been out of work for six months or longer. That's too long in a western modern economy. So these have got to improve.

Also what they call involuntary part-time workers. These are people who would like to work full time, are capable of working full time. They're basically working on part-time jobs because that's all they can get. That's 8.8 million. That number went up this month as well.

Those are people who've accepted something just because it's going to pay the bills, so they're not counted in the unemployed, but they're certainly not working up to their potential. We need to get those numbers down as well.

So, I guess the bottom line here, there's a lot of work to do, but it's not getting worse. And in fact, many people on Wall Street are looking at these numbers saying they had thought the unemployment rate might get to 9.8 percent. They thought maybe we would lose 60,000 or 70,000 jobs.

So a lot of parsing of just what this slowing job loss means and when we will actually turn positive in job creation again -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Christine Romans, thanks so much from New York. Appreciate that.

ROMANS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: In the meantime President Obama hits the road this morning to talk about the future of job growth. He'll make an announcement about clean energy jobs at a small business in Arlington, Virginia, and that's set for 11:25 Eastern Time. And of course you can watch it right here on CNN.

All right, inside a cruise ship. The second killer waves starts to hit. Someone onboard was rolling when chaos came crashing in. And we'll take you to a look inside.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And inside a rocket ship or at least outside. That's where cameras were rolling last night when this thing launched from the Kennedy Space Center. And we'll tell you what was on board. It's exciting stuff. Weather is coming up next. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And a developing story we're watching from Arizona, a rescue is going on right now on Interstate 10. Take a look at the scene right here. A passenger bus, possibly a tour bus, crashed this morning near Phoenix.

We're hearing possibly five people were killed. About 20 people were hurt, some with life-threatening injuries. And it's not clear yet what exactly caused the crash. But police are saying at least eight cars and a couple of semi-trucks were involved.

We'll keep checking on details and bringing them on to you.

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown is defending his country's role in the Iraq war. Gordon Brown addressed the Iraq war inquiry today and he said going into Iraq was the right decision, and expressed regret at the loss of British lives in the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It was for the right reasons, but I do want to at the onset pay my respects to all the soldiers and members of our armed force whose served with great courage and distinction in Iraq, for the loss of life and the sacrifices that they have made, and my thoughts are with their families. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meantime Iraqis are heading to the polls this weekend for parliamentary elections. Al Qaeda is threatening to disrupt that voting in Baghdad for us this morning.

Arwa Damon -- you talked exclusively, Arwa, with the Iraqi leader about all of this.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. We did sit down with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. We spoke about security. It is, of course, the number one concern for everybody as they head towards these polls.

He said that he believed that things were significantly better and we spoke about the state of mind of Iraqis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (Through Translator): I would ask you to listen to the people and how they are now staying until midnight on the streets. See the streets of Baghdad which were deserted and life used to stop early in the evening.

DAMON: Mr. Prime Minister, to respectfully disagree, people that we're talking to say that they're still scared. They're still scare of an attack. They're still scared of being caught in the crossfire.

Of course, the situation is better, but they do carry that fear within them.

AL-MALIKI (Through Translator): They are talking about incidents like what we see happening now but they are not talking about violence that used to happen when we wouldn't move between neighborhoods.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAMON: Fredricka, what many Iraqis do actually complain about is the fact that they feel alienated from their government. Remember the vast majority of them live inside the heavily fortified green zone, and Iraqis are carrying the psychological scars of seven years of war, so an attack, no matter how small, has a significant impact on society here.

WHITFIELD: And Arwa, I understand you also talked to the prime minister about whether U.S. troops should stay in Iraq and depending on the outcome of the election, what did he have to say?

DAMON: Well, Fredricka, here's an important thing to point out is that these elections are being described as the most decisive moment in Iraq since 2003. They literally will determine if Iraq stays on its path of so-called democracy or if it moves towards being a more religious conservative state.

And there are groups who are outside of the political process that are threatening more violence if the government that emerges is perceived to be as sectarian as this one. And all of this, of course, impacts U.S. troop withdrawal. So we asked the prime minister if there were any conditions under which he would consider asking the U.S. military to stay longer.

And he said absolutely, dependent on the security situation, and of course the readiness of the Iraqi forces. And this is something of a departure from his previous rhetoric and perhaps an acceptance of a certain reality here and that is that nothing should be taken for granted. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Arwa Damon, in Baghdad. Thank you.

And by the way, more than 6,000 candidates are competing for 325 seats in the Iraqi parliament and CNN will follow the Iraq elections throughout this weekend.

And you've got to see this amateur video. It was taken aboard that cruise ship in the Mediterranean hit by three monster waves. Take a look right here. Two people were killed. Fourteen hurt. At least one wave already has hit and another is just about to slam into the ship just as you see.

It simply just burst through the windows. The cruise ship was just off Spain when the waves struck and CNN meteorologist Chad Myers tells us the winds were actually blowing at 60 to 90 miles an hour at the time, so we're talking about hurricane-like force winds.

Our Rob Marciano is in the weather center. Pretty extraordinary images if someone has the wherewithal to keep the camera rolling during this moment of panic.

MARCIANO: Yes, I can't imagine being on that ship when those waves crashing through like that.

WHITFIELD: I know.

MARCIANO: You just don't expect to happen in such a large -- this isn't one of the biggest ships out there but it's still a large cruise ship. Big storm. And it was the second storm to come through this area that week.

Earlier in the week they had winds gusting well over 100 miles an hour across France.

WHITFIELD: Gosh.

MARCIANO: So 60 to 80-mile-an-hour winds stirring up the Mediterranean and those waves rolling across that sea, and then mixing with each other.

WHITFIELD: You look scared.

MARCIANO: You can get them to be pretty big, obviously.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MARCIANO: Hey, let's switch gears a little bit. Check this out, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK.

MARCIANO: Nothing like a rocket launch. I love this stuff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2-1-0 and lift-off of the Delta Four Rocket (INAUDIBLE) completing a new weather satellite...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: That's right. A new weather satellite. A phenomenal rocket launch --

WHITFIELD: You are happy now.

MARCIANO: You better believe it. Not only a rocket launch but it's carrying one of our ghost satellites which goes up to about 22,000 feet and stays there. At one point just taking snapshots of the earth. We've been doing this since the early '70s. And they just kind of replaced each other every 10 years.

This one is going to have lots of good nuggets on it including an x-ray telescope. It's going to measure particles being thrown out of the sun. So solar flares and solar storm will be one of the things it monitors also. All right.

WHITFIELD: Nighttime launches are really cool to watch.

MARCIANO: Yes, they are. I wish I was there to see that.

WHITFIELD: It's really something now.

MARCIANO: But I'm glad that we have the pictures. Hey, check this out.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MARCIANO: Another nice shot of Centennial Olympic Winter Park there.

WHITFIELD: OK. A familiar setting there.

MARCIANO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Looks beautiful.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: I know. We'll take it. Thanks, Rob. Appreciate that.

MARCIANO: All right. You bet.

WHITFIELD: Right on to Haiti now. We'll talk about that quake hitting about a month ago. Members of two Virginia search-and-rescue teams who helped pull 19 Haitians from the rubble are being honored today.

Virginia's Senator Mark Warner is personally thanking them. And then they'll get a tour of the White House.

And surviving the crash. A homeowner finds a safe place to hide when an airplane comes crashing through the living room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look again at our top stories right now.

The pilot of a small plane is dead after his fully fueled plane crashed into a house in central Virginia in a neighborhood there. The owner of the home was there but was safely down in the basement when the plane actually hit. The plane had just taken off from the Louisa County Airport near Richmond.

The Republican Party's newest senator is making the rounds to help out a veteran. Scott Brown who just won the special election in Massachusetts is now in Arizona campaigning for John McCain.

McCain is running for his fifth term, but he faces tough competition in a Republican primary.

And New York governor David Paterson has lost his voice. His spokesman is stepping down in the middle of an ethics allegation investigations against the governor. Meanwhile African-American leaders in New York are offering their support for Paterson but they still say they want to meet with him to talk about his ability to run the state.

And the numbers are in as Christine told us at the top of the hour. The nation's unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent. But 36,000 jobs were lost last month.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with a look at how investors are taking all of this in.

Alison, good news, bad news, what are they considering this to be?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka. You know for investors, this is really good news. It's what they've wanted to see happen. You know we've been waiting for this report for a week now.

So the news definitely better than expected. However, if you're one of those 36,000 people who lost their job last month, obviously, you're not celebrating right now, but think of it this way. That 36,000 number is better than expected.

Most analysts were expecting to see job losses of more than 60,000. And that's because the two blizzards that hit the east coast last month kept a lot of workers at home and it kept them from getting being paid and counted as employees.

But the Labor Market is saying, you know, it's just not possible to quantify the total impact of the storms on today's numbers. And even though the job losses aren't huge, most analysts say the storms had at least some effect.

So we could be set for an even better jobs report next month. Still let's look at the bottom line here. The unemployment rate, still sitting at 9.7 percent. And that's double what it was two years ago when the recession started.

So if you're unemployed, help could be on the way. The House of Representatives yesterday passed a $15 billion jobs bill. But since lawmakers made some changes to the bill, the bill now has to go back to the Senate where they hash out their changes and that's going to delay its passage probably until next week.

The bill would exempt employers from Social Security payroll taxes if they hire currently unemployed workers. It also funds highway programs and extends a tax break for businesses.

All right, let's check on the early numbers and see how the jobs report is affecting trade right now. The Dow Industrials higher by 31, the NASDAQ up 11. I don't know, Fredricka. It could be one of the days because we got such an unexpectedly good job report.

WHITFIELD: Let's hope for a thumbs up all the way through.

KOSIK: I hear you.

WHITFIELD: Alison Kosik, I appreciate that.

KOSIK: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. What else can you do if you're looking for work? A live report to see exactly how some New Yorkers are doing it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Nearly 15 million people are out of work. That's a lot of people potentially looking for a job, and if you've ever been unemployed, you know the search itself can feel like a full-time job.

CNN's Ines Ferre is at an employment center in Westchester, New York, where people are actually getting some help.

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes that's right, Fred.

This is an employment center in Yonkers where people can come here, and they can use the computers. You see some people using the computers here. There are printers here. There are also workshops that are going on here. They can also talk to counselors about what kind of jobs they want and also some leads.

You know, one of the requirements when you file for an employment is that you come to a service center like this, and one of the people that come here for the first time is Jamie Carter. Jamie is 20 years old. Jamie, this is your first time here. Now, you've been out of work for a year and a half. Tell us what your search has been like.

JAMIE CARTER, JOB SEEKER: It's been really, really hard like since I left for Ohio to help out my grandfather, I came back and just could not find work, and it's been -- I went down to the city. I applied to like 40 different places and no one has called me back, so this is like my last resort.

FERRE: And you're looking for work in the restaurant business or also sign language, correct?

CARTER: Yes. Either one is fine. I'm leaning a little bit more toward restaurants because now I'm in school, so --

FERRE: Right. You were telling me that you were studying to be a nurse, and you've been with your parents for the last year and half. What has that been like? I mean, you were talking a little bit about your parents before and asking you to seek some help.

CARTER: Yes. I mean, economic times are really, really hard. So, they're like, you know, you have to get a job now. You know, you have to do something to support yourself while you're in school and everything.

FERRE: OK. Good luck. We'll let you complete all your paperwork there and hopefully see somebody here today. But, Fred, this center, for example, last month, had seen almost 6,000 people. Today, we'll be here all day. We'll be talking to people. We'll be talking to counselors, to the director of this center to see what this job market is like.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ines Ferre, thank so much in Westchester and on the best Jamie to continue to look for work and tackle school at the same time. That's a heavy load.

All right. Later on this morning, President Obama will talk about the future of job growth. He'll make an announcement about clean energy jobs at a small business in Arlington, Virginia. That's set for 11:25 Eastern Time, and you can watch it right here on CNN.

All right. Toyota's President is issuing a call to action to his employees and dealers worldwide during an emergency meeting today at the company headquarters in Japan. Akio Toyoda urged his staff to start anew and work hard to win back customer's trust. His voice cracked with motion as he thanked workers for their support, and he vowed Toyota will make a comeback. Safety problems with Toyota brakes and accelerator pads have led to the recall of more than 8.5 million vehicles.

Cash-strapped students across the country are asking why us, why now. A movement protesting huge budget cuts where education in California spread across the country yesterday. This is San Francisco. City hall where demonstrators protested $1 billion in budget cuts to the state university system. And on the other side of the country, demonstrations at Hunter College in Manhattan. Take a look. Students attempted to take over the school's main building, but they failed that. And at New York University, some students actually walked out of class in protest of budget cuts there as well. And at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee right here, at least 15 people were arrested. WTMJ reports a school official called campus police when protestors try to enter the building. This was the chancellor's office at that particular building.

And we're learning more about the controversy over the firing of nearly 100 high school teachers and staff at one Rhode Island high school. Teachers rallied before a meeting of the governing board for secondary school yesterday. The Central Falls High, teachers, they were fired after the union rejected a plan to turn around student performances at the state's worst performing high school. The teachers union has now indicated support for longer school days, more tutoring opportunities, and stiffer evaluations of their performances. Rhode Island's education commissioner says the bottom line is improving student performance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBORAH GIST, RHODE ISLAND EDUCATION COMMISSIONER: That bar is still set very high and our expectations are not going to change for what we need to see done differently.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And this is not a good place to lose your balance. A man waiting on a train takes a tumble onto the trucks right there, but a couple of angels fly to the rescue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now was a nail-biting rail rescue in Phoenix. Two police assistants help a man seconds before he would have been hit by a train.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRELL GRANDBERRY, POLICE ASSISTANT: He fell right in front of us, and I feel like if we would have thought about it, then the whole situation would have been different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Thank goodness for their quick thinking. Let's take a longer look at that surveillance video of that rescue. You can see the man right there stand up unsteadily and then completely lose his balance right onto the rail there. The train operator saw what happened and through down the brake short of the platform. Boy, that was close.

Imagine this shock when you go to the mailbox. A phone bill for $67,000 when you're on the $50 a month plan, by the way. The Kentucky woman who actually received it says she got slammed with overage fees. Some overage fees, huh. She said that she only watched a few television shows and did some online shopping. The phone company told her the charge was valid and offered a payment plan. The woman countered with a lawyer, and the phone company actually cancelled the woman's debts.

Nick Morgan's bracelet says, I love boobies. He wears it for his two aunts who have breast cancer and to bring awareness. It certainly caught the attention of his science teacher who found the statement to be offensive, and while the school superintendent didn't like the wording, he supports Nick's message and says, the boy won't have any privileges revoked after all.

You say tomato, I say expensive. The weather has really done a number on the crop this year, and you might see a really ugly number when you visit the produce section.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The parents of a teenager allegedly raped and killed by a registered sex offender wants changes in the law. The suspect in the case was freed after serving five years in a molestation case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN FEMALE: How many times do our daughters need to be raped before we put these monsters behind bars forever? I just don't -- I don't get it. Change has to be made, and I know that there are people out there that are trying to -- you know, get this change in place, and Brent and I are committed for the rest of our lives to be a part of that.

LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": What change do you want, Brent?

BRENT KING, VICTIM'S FATHER: I don't want people that ever have any kind of one strike on them to have more than one strike on them. They shouldn't be allowed to have a second strike.

L. KING: In other words, once you are convicted of a case of where you were convicted of being a predator, you should be put away for life. Those are your thoughts.

B. KING: Larry, I don't understand why somebody who's done what this person's done in the past should have the exact same freedoms that I have. I don't understand that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A public memorial is planned -- a public memorial is planned for Chelsea King at her high school near San Diego next week. Her body was found Tuesday, five days after she was reported missing.

So what's a BLT without the "t"? You may soon find out as the nation faces a major tomato shortage. Florida is the only state that produces large amount of tomatoes in the winter and the frigid weather there has destroyed about 70 percent of that crop. Tomatoes that do make it to the marketplace are now much more expensive. The average wholesale price for a 25-pound box of tomatoes is $30. That's up from just $6.50 a year ago. Green beans, corn, squash crops, they were also damaged in Florida's cold snap. So it's going to cost you a little bit more for that too.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And -- and if you're --

WHITFIELD: Rob I kind of knew it was coming, right?

MARCIANO: Well, yes, I guess so.

WHITFIELD: It was a brutal winter.

MARCIANO: It doesn't sink in until you go to get a whopper and there was no tomato.

WHITFIELD: No tomatoes.

MARCIANO: And you have to ask for it and I think some fast food restaurants are actually saying that they're going to slyly not put it on.

WHITFIELD: Oh yes, some are putting up signs --

MARCIANO: Yes, you've got to ask for it.

WHITFIELD: And you know, conspicuously absent, tomatoes.

MARCIANO: Well, you know, there's nothing worse than a tomato that's not ripe either. So I'd rather not have it at all.

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK.

MARCIANO: You know and let's just wait another year; it will be recover. It's cold in -- by the way it's in Florida again today. Temperatures were in the 40s this morning to start things off, now rising to about 50 degrees in Orlando, 52 currently in Miami. So that's very chilly at this time of the year no doubt about it.

And a lot of blue on the map for the first, heading into the second week of May now -- of March. It's 29 degrees currently in Chicago and 36 degrees in New York City. We've got some mild air that's trying to work its way in to the central part of the country and as it does so, it'll bring in well, almost spring-like temperatures.

Some snow across parts of the northeast -- this really isn't hitting the ground. It's just kind of rotating in and mostly just cloudy and breezy but not allowing the sun to warm up the atmosphere or the ground I should say in parts of New York, so another delay in your slow warm-up.

A little low across Salt -- between Salt Lake and say Steamboat this is going to bring you some snow anywhere from six to 12 inches of it potentially and then maybe some blue sky tomorrow. If you're flying into Denver, though, we have some arrival delays on the order of 45 minutes; flying into New York, looking at 30-minute delays at this hour.

That's a quick check on the weather. The CNN NEWSROOM is coming right back.

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WHITFIELD: The least secure airport in the country? That warning from the former Security Chief at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. James Maurer tells the "Chicago Sun Times", quote, "This has the potential for creating the biggest catastrophe of any airport scenario you could have. Forget about seizing airplanes, you have 28 miles of perimeter that are not properly secure," end quote.

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says the airport is safe and that the former chief is just a disgruntled former employee. Maurer is suing over his firing.

O'Hare is one of the first airports that will start using full- body scanners. This weekend Boston's Logan Airport is the other one. In about ten minutes, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will announce the other nine airports that will start using these scanners. So far scanners were just being field tested. The TSA has 150 scanners and they were bought with federal stimulus money.

All right we've got a lot going on this morning and our CNN crews are out collecting all the latest information. Let's check in with Chris Lawrence first at the Pentagon.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, how did a man get two 9-millimeter guns right to the front of the Pentagon and shoot two police officers? Stick around; we'll have the answer for that in just about ten minutes.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. And all week long I've been talking about wasteful medical spending and thank you for so many responses. Hundreds have written in with their own stories about crazy medical costs. I'll be sharing those stories at the top of the hour.

KOSIK: I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange where investors finally got what they have been waiting all week for, the February jobs report. And Wall Street likes what it sees. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent. Fred, I'm going to have more on that next hour.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much everyone.

Also ahead, it's a music video that plays to your eyes as much as to your ears. You won't believe it until you see it. Jeannie Moos tells us the story only she can.

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WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk movies now. "Avatar" has broken all kinds of box office records. For director James Cameron, this kind of success is becoming old hat, but will his latest blockbuster also bring more little gold statues at Sunday's Academy Awards? CNN entertainment correspondent Brooke Anderson has more.

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BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The two most successful movies in box office history, directed by the same man.

JAMES CAMERON, DIRECTOR, "AVATAR": And that's it.

ANDERSON: James Cameron's "Avatar" and "Titanic" visually innovative, mega-budget blockbusters that shattered barriers in film- making technology, changed the way movies are made and packed audiences into theaters, proving as Cameron agrees, lightning can strike twice.

CAMERON: In both cases you have people going back over and over to see the film, so there has to be some kind of emotional connection to the movie that's happening. It has to be happening in all culture groups around the world.

ANDERSON: That's not all. Both films have charted a similar course heading into the Oscars. "Avatar" is tied for the lead with nine Academy Award nominations. "Titanic" led the way with 14 and actually won a record 11 trophies.

LEONARDO DICAPRIO, ACTOR: I'm the king of the world.

ANDERSON: Each broke records at the worldwide box office. "Avatar" has earned more than $2.5 billion. "Titanic" sailed beyond $1.8 billion.

REBECCA KEEGAN, AUTHOR, "THE FUTURIST": Both films also have this visual splendor. People really feel like they're getting something unique.

ANDERSON: Rebecca Keegan, author of the Cameron biography, "The Futurist" believes his repeated success is no coincidence.

(on camera): How has he managed to appeal to both movie goers and film critics twice in such a big way?

KEEGAN: Well, I think the interesting thing is that every James Cameron movie is a spectacle. It looks big. There's a lot to pull the viewer in. And in the case of "Avatar" film critics they see it as a great leap forward for the technology of film-making.

ANDERSON (voice-over): A leap forward using advanced computer- generated imagery or CGI that Keegan says may actually put Cameron a step behind in his chances to be crowned once again at the Oscars.

(on camera): Do you think it's possible he could be king of the world again at this year's Oscars? KEEGAN: I think "Avatar" should win. I think there's a strong possibility that it won't. Most of the academy members are actors and actors are very afraid of CGI and they're concerned about what it means for their potential to make money.

I think they're more likely to reward an actor's movie like "Hurt Locker."

ANDERSON (voice-over): audiences will find out if the Iraq war drama is explosive enough to put the hurt in Cameron's hopes for a repeat Sunday at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we've got much more on the Academy Awards coming up in the next hour. Also be sure to check out cnn.com/showbiz for special coverage of Hollywood's big night; the winners and losers from the red carpet all the way through to the awards.