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Problems with Prius; Tornado Up Close and Personal; Job Cuts; Pentagon Deal Draws Criticism; iPhone Addiction

Aired March 09, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: It is 9:00 a.m. on the East, 6:00 a.m. out West. Good morning, I'm Brooke Baldwin in for Kyra today. We got a couple of stories that we're working for you.

First, I want to tell you about a terrifying twister. A large tornado touches down in an Oklahoma town, creating a "Wizard of Oz" like scene.

And they sacrificed their lives to save others. Three fisherman in Chile called heroes after a tsunami hit their village.

And a couple fights a fire at their own home with a garden hose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's why we did not call the fire department, and I told them we did not have $300 to come and put out a fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Yes, they only got part of the story. You will not believe the rest of it.

Meantime, runaway ride. Diseases toll and conspiracies call. Our reporter is covering all these stories for you.

First, Deb Feyerick for us on a Toyota driver whose car hit 94 while his put was on the brake. Also Alzheimer's targeting more minorities. Genetics apparently not to blame.

And Brianna Keilar covering a congressman who claims he was forced out because of his stance on health care.

First, I want to begin with this story. Do Toyota's problems go beyond the more than eight million vehicles already recalled. It's a point worth considering after you hear this story. We are talking about Jim Sikes, his 30-mile high speed, not so much joy ride through San Diego yesterday, in his Toyota Prius.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM SIKES, TOYOTA PRIUS OWNER: I just stayed on the brakes as much as I could, until finally it started smelling really bad. And I had metal sounds coming out of the car. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So Sikes says at one point his Prius was speeding more than 90 miles an hour. So this responding California Highway Patrolman, you see his patrol car there, he told Sikes how to slow the car by using the foot and emergency hand brakes along with his patrol car. Sikes, you heard him speaking, he's OK but his Prius, not part of Toyota's recall for acceleration issues, but the company says they're sending a field tech to check out his car. But we got a whole lot of questions on this one.

CNN's Deb Feyerick following the latest developments. She is live for us in New York this morning with more. And Deb, I heard this story, I could not believe it. And first, if you will, walk me through what happened on Highway 8 in San Diego. You got this guy going 90 miles an hour and a patrolman using a loud speaker to stop him.

DEB FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right. What is so interesting about this is that his story is consistent with other drivers who have described virtually the same thing, claiming that their cars accelerated suddenly without any warning. Now this could be an important development because what is different here is that, if this is sudden acceleration, Toyota now has a car that they can get into and analyze to see perhaps what is really going on.

Now here's what happened, the driver, Jim Sikes, who was cruising east on interstate 8 outside the San Diego area. He tried to pass a car that was just going too slow and he pushed down on the gas pedal and says the pedal did something kind of funny, it stuck. It just wouldn't come up. The car accelerated up over 90 miles an hour. Sikes desperately trying to avoid other drivers, trying to slow his own car and keep them going over a cliff.

At a news conference yesterday afternoon, he relived part of that runaway ride.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIKES: My thought was going over the side of the hill, because there are too many hills, too many angles, and that's why I wanted to shut the car off, but there was no straight place to do that and nobody to protect me from behind.

There was a few times I got really, really close to vehicles, especially a truck, twice, once early in the game, and then another one when he was on the side of me, came real close.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Now, Sikes managed to call 911 for help. Dispatchers with the California Highway Patrol tried to instruct him on how he might stop the car but nothing seemed to be working. At one point, he said he actually reached down and tried to pull up the gas pedal by hand but says, "it stayed right where it was." Now a California Highway Patrol officer caught up to the runaway Prius and using the patrol car's PA system was able to talked to Sikes and help him bring the car to a stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIKES: You know, just holding on the steering wheel with my left hand. And I was down at an angle trying to pull, just trying to pull it back. I thought maybe it was just stuck. I mean, my mat was perfect. There was nothing was wrong with my mat. And the pedal, it wouldn't do anything. It stayed right where it was.

And he got up on the side and told me what to do, and I was standing on the pedal, standing on the brake pedal looking out the window at him, and he said push the emergency brake too, and I laid on both of them. And it finally started slowing down right then, and it went down like to 55. It had been at 94. I know that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Clearly, Mr. Sikes was trying to use his full weight to try to control that vehicle. Toyota did issue a statement saying it has been notified. It has sent a field technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the report and offer assistance. And you know, really there has been a shift here because what is interesting is that the California Highway Patrol, they lost one of their own officers who was in a loaner car, a Lexus, who experienced a similar problem.

He was able to call 911. His family though perished as they just lost control of the vehicle. And I spoke to a couple of his partners who said, boy, in that particular case, the sort of ground zero of all this, if anyone could have controlled the car it would have been that highway patrol officer, and the fact that they are now responding and taking these, you know, allegations basically very serious shows that they really have changed their thinking in all of this.

BALDWIN: Yes, I remember the story and I have heard the 911 call, and it's terrifying, hearing this man and his family in this Lexus, flying through the intersection. But Deb, what is striking in the story is when you look back and you see the history of Toyota, in terms of the recalls. You have the floor mat issues, you have the sticky accelerator and they recalled even some of the Priuses because of the anti-lock breaking system. Remember, they called it a software glitch. But correct me if I'm wrong, it's the first time we're hearing accelerator pedal issues with a newer Prius.

FEYERICK: Well, and that's exactly right. This could open a whole new can of worms for the Prius vehicle, because now they're going to check that out and they're going to check to see if there is something going on with the electronic system which Toyota has categorically denied. But you know, they got to figure it out.

BALDWIN: All right. Well, I know they say they are investigating. Deb Feyerick, you are on this, and we will check back with you next hour. Thank you. And can you stay on top of all the latest developments. I know there are a lot of pieces here regarding Toyota's recall, just log on to our web site, real easy, CNN.com.

And if anybody needs to be careful what they wish for, it's a storm chaser. I want you to take a look at how close a couple of them came to this twister that just touched down yesterday in western Oklahoma. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is not good. I hope those people are all right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god. Back up. Reverse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are good. It's going to go -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know, I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Unbelievable pictures. You can't really get much closer than that. That's the closest I would want to get, and maybe a little further away. By the way, there are no reports of anyone actually getting hurt. There was enough warning for people to get into their basements, but this twister destroyed at least five homes just yesterday touching down in Hammon, Oklahoma, that is western Oklahoma.

Rob Marciano, I know beyond being our weather man extraordinaire, you have been storm chasing before, I'm hearing. Did you ever get that close?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I've never gotten that close.

BALDWIN: Oh, thank you.

MARCIANO: You do it enough times so you will get in the face of one of these things.

BALDWIN: Yes.

MARCIANO: This is the time of year where this will be more prevalent. Although this spot, not exactly prime time for early March. Here is it on the Google map to give you an idea. Western Oklahoma, and there is Hammon. Roger Mills County and then it crossed over to the town of Butler in Custer County and same cell, just seeing the same tornado touched down. Thankfully, nobody injured. Unbelievable that that's the case with that sort of debris flying around. We're certainly thankful for that.

Also thankful that this storm is beginning to weaken and stretching out. You see on the radar, we're seeing a bit of rain but thunderstorms across the south, they shouldn't be severe. Tomorrow, though, and actually going forward over the next two months, this is the favorite area of where we would see a tornado threat, and through March and April, the mid south, the Tennessee Valley, and across the southeast, and I think that's where we're going to see the threat tomorrow.

We will talk more about that in just a few minutes as we break down the details of the forecast. Brooke, back over to you.

BALDWIN: It always seems with tornadoes, it hits like, wham, like that, not a lot of lead time.

MARCIANO: We give them, you know, 10 to 12 minutes which they have a warning for this one. So that's good news. It's getting better and better but certainly never enough time.

BALDWIN: Scary. Scary. Rob Marciano, thanks.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is moving a bit closer to the front lines. Where is he? He is in Afghanistan again today, visiting with troops near Kandahar. While there, he is also meeting with some military leaders coordinating that offensive on Marjah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Of course, the operation in Marjah is only one of many battles to come in a much longer campaign focused on protecting the people of Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Keep in mind here, there's going to be a much larger offensive aimed at Kandahar and is expected to begin this summer. And an interesting footnote here to Gates' unannounced trip, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was supposed to be in Kabul the same time as Gates yesterday. Iranian foreign minister says he will be there on Wednesday instead.

Vice president Joe Biden looking for risk takers in the Middle East. There he is traveling in Israel this morning. Biden says the U.S. will stand behind leaders who are willing to take risks for peace. We have much more on Biden's Middle East mission in about 25 minutes.

We are also expecting to see some of the first early results from Iraq's election today. Iraqi election officials say more than 60 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the nation's critical parliamentary elections that's just about 12 million people. A coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is already claiming to be ahead but so is their chief rival.

Alzheimer's disease is already one of the leading causes of death among Americans. But this just might be the beginning of an Alzheimer's boom. So are you at risk? A new study might have that answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: The debate over health care reform takes to the streets in Washington today. Next hour activists will lash out against what they call the "greedy and abusive health insurance industry," and then the protesters will march on to a hotel where a group of those companies are holding a policy conference.

A renewed offensive comes as President Obama tries to rally support in lawmakers inch closer to a vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So I will be honest with you. I don't know how passing health care will play politically, but I do know that it's the right thing to do. It's right for our families. It's right for our businesses. It's right for the United States of America. And if you share that belief, I want you to stand with me and fight with me. I ask you to help us get us over the finish line in the next two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, on Capitol Hill, one former lawmaker says the health care debate has gotten so ugly that fellow Democrats forced him to resign. We are talking about New York freshman Congressman Eric Massa. He says House Democratic leaders conspired against him after he opposed an early vision of that health care bill.

CNN congressional correspondent, Brianna Keilar, has a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERIC MASSA (D), FORMER REPRESENTATIVE, NEW YORK: I was set up for this from the very, very beginning. If you think that somehow they did not come after me to get rid of me because my vote is the dividing vote in the health care bill then ladies and gentlemen, you live today in a world that is so innocent as to not to understand what's going on in Washington D.C.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A spokesperson for (Hoyer's) office says that's completely false and there is zero merit to that accusation. Massa is facing an ethics inquiry for making one of his male staffer uncomfortable according to a senior democratic aide who says the allegations involved a sexual implication.

Massa has acknowledged my own language failed to meet the standards that I set for all around me and myself. But on a local radio station in his upstate New York district he said the incident in question took place at the wedding of one of his staffers. Painting a picture of lude locker room banter.

MASSA: A staff member made an intonation to me that maybe I should be chasing after the brides' maid, and I mean, his points were clear and his words were far more colorful than that. And I grab the staff member sitting next to me and said, well, what I really ought to be doing is tracking you, and then tussled the guy's hair and left. I went to my room because I knew the party was getting to a point where it was not right for me to be there.

Was that inappropriate of me, absolutely? Am I guilty? Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Now, Massa is really taking aim at the number two democrat in the House. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer saying he intentionally has drawn attention to these ethics issues.

But Hoyer's office says that's not the case that last Wednesday Hoyer was asked directly by a reporter if he knew of these allegations, and he said yes, and then the office went forward to put out a statement sort of clarifying what Hoyer knew. They said that once he learned of these allegations, he basically had his staff tell masses, look you need to go to the Ethics Committee with this. They need to get involved and if you don't then Hoyer is going to do it himself. Brooke, they insist this has nothing to do with the health care reform vote.

BALDWIN: Let's talk numbers when it comes to this vote and do a quick fact check here. Perhaps it's too early to tell. But would Massa have been the dividing vote?

KEILAR: It is too early to tell because right now there is no health care reform package that is fully written and has been released, and so you can't really figure out exacting where people are falling if they were only going to be one vote of on this. But what you know bottom line is that not dealing with one of these no votes for democratic leaders, it's certainly a good thing in their eyes, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Absolutely, Brianna Keilar for us in Washington. Brianna, thank you.

I want to take you out to Colorado where the governor declares a state of disaster after a massive rock slide closes a major highway. Take a look at these giant boulders just kind in the middle of it. Huge rocks following Sunday night in Interstate 70 near Glenn Wood springs, closing a 17-miles stretch of the road. These chunks, you saw them busting open the pavement. East and westbound traffic has been halted and creating as much as a 200-mile detour for some. A closure could last for days if not weeks. Yikes.

And we want to go to CNN meteorologist, Rob Marciano at the Severe Weather Center with more on ice jacking and look at your Tuesday forecast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: It's a shame that Jeep cannot use this in a commercial. Just take a look will you, pretty impressive. What you can do? Too bad many laws are broken and lives were put in danger. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Top stories this hour.

Charges are expected to be filed today against a couple caught after this high-speed chase in two states yesterday. Well, look at this. Police in Kansas City Missouri say the pair led them on a 45- minute long pursuit, and drove this stolen Jeep through various backyards and took out a couple fences along the way. Police say the male driver had multiple warrants for his arrest and the woman was armed.

In a deadly overnight shooting near the Ohio State University's football stadium. Kansas police say three university employees were shot, one person was killed. School officials stressed though that no students were involved and that a suspect is in custody.

The rising toll of Alzheimer's disease. Five million Americans and counting. Will you be one of them? A new report looks at those of us now at risk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The graying of America and growing devastation of Alzheimer's disease. Listen to this, a new report says somebody develops the memory-robbing disease every 70 seconds. Are you at risk? CNN Senior Medical Correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen is here with some of the findings. Seventy seconds, wow!

OK, the question, are there racial differences when it comes to Alzheimer's?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There are and that's what this new report points out and it's really pretty stunning that there are racial differences because I think most of us think, you know, that Alzheimer's is a sort of random thing, and in fact it turns out it's not completely random.

So that a look at this. When you look at white people between the ages of 75 and 84, 1 out of 10 of them will develop Alzheimer's disease. So there you go, one of out 10. Now look at the statistics for Hispanics in that same age range, and 1 out of 4 has Alzheimer's disease. Now look at the statistics for African-Americans in Alzheimer's disease, 1 in 3 will have Alzheimer's disease. So you can see that there are huge differences there.

BALDWIN: What about genetics? I thought my great grandmother had it, and I thought it was genetics.

COHEN: You know genetics probably play a role in Alzheimer's disease but as far as the racial differences, scientists don't think it's genetic. They don't there is a biological difference between African-Americans and whites, but they think it's socio-economic differences that lead to health differences. So minorities in this country tend to be less healthy and tend to have less access to health care, which means that they having higher rates of diabetes or higher rates of high blood pressure. Having those two diseases increases your chances of getting Alzheimer's disease.

BALDWIN: So if you're one of those people and you're watching or thinking what in the world can I do to ward this off? Is there anything you can do?

COHEN: There's nothing you can do to ward it off completely, but there are a couple of things you can do to decrease your chances of getting Alzheimer's and anyone can do this no matter what the color of your skin is.

So let's take a look at three of them. First of all, eat your fruits and vegetables, and second of all, exercise. And those two things think of it whatever is good for your heart will be good for your brain, think of it that way.

Also, be social. The more you interact with people and get those parts of your brain moving, people who are social and are out there, it has been shown are less likely to get Alzheimer's.

BALDWIN: I always try to do the crossword.

COHEN: And that helps too. Learn a language. Use it or lose it, think of it that way.

BALDWIN: Here one minute then gone the next, what happened to the oil exec after he left the bar on Bourbon Street after four days not one word, not one clue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, an anniversary on Wall Street today. On this day last year the Dow, S&P 500 hit 12 year lows, and with that market started the powerful bull market rally. Stephanie Elam is in New York for us with the details.

Stephanie, we remember that. Good morning.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's not that kind of anniversary you want to remember, but it's nice to know that it's a year behind us. That's for sure. The Dow gained more than 60 percent over the past year. Nasdaq sold nearly 84 percent over that same time, but some others say the expectations are higher now, and stocks are price fairly, so that means it's probably going to take a lot more to lift the markets.

As for today, we're expected to see a slightly lower opening here now that the opening bell has rung and that's what we're getting. Chevron is cutting 2,000 positions this year and expects more cut next year. As part of a previously announced restructuring plan, the oil giant is also selling some of the assets and is reviewing its operations in Hawaii and Africa. A $35 billion Air Force contract is up for grabs, but here's the thing, Boeing is the only bidder left, and that's raven some eyebrows. Northrop Grumman and its European based partner, EADS, are pulling out of the competition. If the Air Force gives the contract to Boeing, there will have been no competition, and the officials say that's restricting the free market. So, let's go ahead and take a look at the numbers, just in the day going, here on the Dow industrial is off 12 points, 10, 540, take a look at Nasdaq off 5 at 2,326, so modestly lower right now, and finally, Brooke, move over CrackBerry, it turns out you can be addicted to the iPhone, too. A survey at Stanford University students say more than 90 percent of them believe they are addicted to Apple smart phone. Most of them even admit they've fallen asleep with the iPhone in bed with them.

I don't even know what they remotely talking about, Brooke, because I can't go anywhere without my iPhone.

BALDWIN: Not that it's not bulgier hip or some -- I know, here's my CrackBerry, not an iPhone gal. I can't wait to go on vacation. I'm going to soon to take it and chuck it for a week.

ELAM: Yes, right, whatever. You got to go on vacation and check like the rest of us. Whatever you say, Brooke.

BALDWIN: That's what we were saying. All right. Stephanie Elam, thank you, ma'am.

ELAM: Sure.

BALDWIN: There may be more wedding bells and champagne following this morning in our nation's capital. Today is the first opportunity for same-sex couples to legally wed in the District of Columbia. A respecting three-day waiting period after registering for marriage license last week, and a trio of gay couples are set to tie the knot here in just a couple of minutes. We'll have more on that story coming up in our next hour.

President Obama has a meeting with the Prime Minister of Greece. They will celebrate Greek Independence Day, but there is also pressing business issues here to discuss. George Papandreou is a president who'll be pushing our president to help Europe crack down on financial speculators. The Prime Minister says they could bring on another global financial crisis. Greece has Europe's biggest budget deficit.

Meantime, our vice president is pushing for peace in the Middle East. Joe Biden is in Israel promising Washington support. And CNN's Paula Hancocks is live there in Jerusalem this morning.

And, Paula, I know this visit without Vice President has a whole lot more to do with Iran than simply perhaps brokering a Palestinian- Israeli peace process, correct?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Brooke. Yes. There is really one main thing that Israeli officials wanted from the Vice President when he comes over here. This is the highest and the most senior official from the Obama administration to visit Israel since President Obama took power. It's very significant for the Israelis. They want to know that Mr. Biden is just as concerned about the possible nuclear Iran as they are, and Mr. Biden put all their worries to rest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are determined to prevent Iran and we are working with countries around the world to convince Iran to meet International cease and assists. Iran must also curve its other destabilizing actions, well beyond their desire to acquire nuclear weapons, and that is their continuous support for terrorists groups that threaten Israel, and I might add our interest as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: There was also a thought that one of the main reasons for Mr. Biden being here and talking to Israeli officials first is also he wanted to make sure that Israel was not going to go it alone. To make sure that Israel was not going to carry out a preemptive military strike against Iran. Now, Israeli officials have said that they are following the U.S. at this point but still all options are on the table. There were a few brief words as well about the indirect talks that have been called between the Israelis and Palestinians. Mr. Biden saying that if they do want a historic piece, then both sides are going to have to meet historically bold commitments -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Paula Hancocks for us in Jerusalem. Paula, thank you.

All right. Take a look up in the sky. It's a bird! No, it's a plane! No, what the heck is this and why is it hovering over Cleveland? Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Checking some of your top stories. This is Nancy Kerrigan's brother back in court today. Mark Kerrigan is charged with assaulting his 70-year-old father shortly before he died. Police say the two men got into a fight at the family's home in the kitchen in January.

At Texas search team, sonar search now the Mississippi river today. They hope to find evidence of this missing man. A Texas oil executive, Doug Schantz was last seen early Friday morning leaving a bourbon street bar. New Orleans police say there has been no activity on his credit card or his cell phone.

The man accused of trying to extort money from comedian David Letterman is in court this morning as well here. Authority say Robert Halderman threatened to reveal affairs Letterman with woman staffers (ph) and tell the late night show host gave him $2 million. Letterman admitted to the relationships in an on-air apology last fall.

Golden parachutes seem to have a bigger hole in it that big drop and savings translate to an unsure future and retirement plans going out the window.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A one state lawmaker in California has a confession to make on talk radio. Here it is.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

ROY ASHBURN, (R) CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE: I am gay and so I -- I -- those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: OK. So, maybe we are thinking why is he saying this and what is the story here? What happened was he was arrested last week for alleged DUI, and there were rumors that he just left a gay bar in Sacramento when he was pulled over. Ashburn is a Republican from Bakersfield and a father of four and is voted against gay rights measures when it came up in state senate. He says he votes the way people in his conservative district want him to vote.

Floodwaters still covering a huge portion of northeastern Australia. Look at this video. This aerial pictures coming in from Queensland. Heavy rain falls, rivers, and streams, pretty much to their breaking points. Wildlife does not kind of know what to do, it seems. The flooding destroying farms, roads, and some towns have been cut off for a month.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: Honoring a hero: a family and nation paying their respect to remembering the sacrifice made by a simple fisherman who cast his line to save lives during a disaster.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Missionary Laura Silsby says she is very happy a colleague is back in the United States and she expects she too will be freed as well. A Haitian judge released Charisa Coulter from jail yesterday; Silsby, now the very last of those 10 American missionaries who are detained after being arrested January 29th. The group was accused of trying to cross into the Dominican Republic border with those 33 children and babies without the proper documentation.

In Chile they are remembering those lives lost in that massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake and the subsequent tsunami. But it's also time to honor the heroes of that disaster.

CNN's Karl Penhaul has this amazing story, of this fisherman who never gave up when his neighbors needed help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A mass for the survivors to honor their hero. Open air because Constitucion's church is so badly damaged.

There's a roll call for the few crushed by the quake and for the many drowned by the tsunami.

Fisherman Pedro Munoz, stepson Luis Anabalon (ph) and friend Juan Padilla (ph) could have survived. Instead they chose to sacrifice themselves to rescue others. They have been camping on this island with scores of others as the tsunami rolled in, the three men raced to evacuate as many as they could.

Tabita Bravo is now Pedro's widow.

"Pedro and my son shouted women and children first. I ran to get everybody together but the boat was too small and there wasn't enough space for everybody," she said. She refused a place on the first boat. Tabita's husband came back for her and nine more just before a second wave hit. Her son, Luis and family friend Juan stayed behind to organize others still stranded.

"As I looked back, I heard screams and laments. I shouted to my son, Luis, to run to the trees and climb up. He shouted back, "I'm ok, mom, never forget I love you. I love you," she said.

By the time the boat reached shore a second time, witnesses say Pedro had ferried at least 20 people to safety.

Tabita begged him not to go back, but a neighbor begged him to make a third and final trip.

"He said don't worry, he'd be back, but he said if he didn't make it, then that was God's will. He said if he didn't try to rescue more people, then he'd always have that on his conscience."

Those would be his last words to her.

"I heard the third wave coming, destroying everything in its path. I heard ships moorings snap. I ran up the hill and when I looked back, I realized Pedro, Luis and Juan were gone.

Chile has declared three days of national mourning. The town spoke of hoisted flags in the debris where their homes once stood. And in the square, they take communion and remember men like Pedro, Luis and Juan, fallen heroes who sacrificed themselves so others could live.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Constitucion, Chile.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Well, we have plenty ahead in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, starting with meteorologist Rob Marciano on alert with renewed chances for more severe weather today -- Rob.

Yes, Brooke. After a quiet month of February, March is certainly starting off with some severe weather. A tornado doing damage, destroying some homes across western Oklahoma and the threat continues for tomorrow. We'll talk more about that at the top of the hour.

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sara Sidner in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where the judge on the American missionary kidnapping case is delving further into the details trying to determine whether or not to release the last remaining accused missionary. I'll have the details coming up.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: After the Haitian earthquake, an infant who's injured is airlifted to Miami, thought to be an orphan, but now a couple in Haiti says she belongs to them and they want her back. All of that story at the top of the hour.

BALDWIN: Thank you to all those stories.

Also ahead, the swelling ranks of Americans too broke to retire. What you can now do to afford your golden years later on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Here's something we all need to be thinking about, how big is your nest egg? A new survey shows many people's nest eggs need a big upgrade before they can seriously think about retirement. We are talking about a big drop in savings.

CNN's Christine Romans joins us now from New York.

Christine, this is something we all need to be thinking about, younger, older, in between. What do we need to be focusing on?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Especially, especially after the past couple of years. You might have thought you were comfortable for retirement and after the last couple of years, now you're like, wait, I'm not comfortable for retirement. Only 16 percent of the people surveyed by the Employee Benefits Research Institute say that they feel comfortable retiring; that's the second closest to the low ever.

And here's what it looks like basically. You've got a lot of people who have less than $10,000 saved. 43 percent have less than $10,000 saved for retirement. That's including a 401(k). Not including the value of your home. Don't forget the value of your home has been falling.

In the '90s and 2000s a lot of people thought because their home was rising they didn't need to put as much money away. 66 percent have less than $50,000 saved and 11 percent have more than $250,000 saved.

Basically these studies find, Brooke, that the older you are, the healthier you are and the more educated you are and if you're married, you're more likely to have more money put away and you're more likely to be financially comfortable. No surprise, right, if you don't have a lot of medical bills and are not worried about that.

The reasons for no retirement savings: 79 percent said they simply can't afford to retire. Look, you're just trying to make sure you make as much money today as you did two years ago, let alone thinking about when you're 70 or 80, right? 6 percent say other priority, like many people try to save for their kids' college instead of their own retirement. A cardinal rule, by the way, of personal is save for your own retirement first. 5 percent haven't found the time. 4 percent say they have got plenty of time to save. Don't forget the longer you're saving, the better off you are, the more you're saving in the end. And 5 percent say other.

How do you figure out how much money you need to retire? There's lots of online calculators. You can go to CNNmoney.com. You can go to bankrate.com. You can go to any number of retirement Web sites to plan for this.

Forty-four percent of Americans, Brooke, still guess about how much money they're going to need. 26 percent figure out their own estimate, I guess. 18 percent go to a financial adviser and I guess 9 percent Brooke are listening to you and I right now trying to figure out how much money they need to retire.

But the bottom line here is the last couple of years has really been a big hit for people. They're just trying to manage day-to-day and they're not really thinking too much in longer term. And Brooke even before the recession I will tell you the personal finance adviser said we weren't saving enough and thinking about it enough even before. Now, now we're doing that.

BALDWIN: I feel like that's what everyone says. We're never saving enough but it's so important. And CNNmoney.com, I was wondering exactly how much we actually should be setting aside. Bottom line is we should be setting it aside and perhaps it's just proportional to your circumstances.

ROMANS: Sure. You're supposed -- depending on who you believe and who you trust, 75 percent to 80 percent of your income when you're working, you need to count on having that much coming in to live on. So it doesn't take you as much to live on when you're retired, think of maybe 75 percent of your income. It depends on the calculator and your circumstances.

But most people say you should be saving 10 percent of your paycheck; 6 to 10 percent of your paycheck should be diverted to a 401(k) and other kinds of savings for your retirement.

BALDWIN: All right. Christine Romans, you are our stat machine. Thank you.

That brings us to our blog question this morning. Are you putting off retirement? Give us your feedback. Just go to CNN.com/kyra. I will read your comments coming up live in the next hour.