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Ohio State Shooting; Another Prius Problem; Saving for Retirement; Household Pets May Soon Be Banned for Eating in China

Aired March 09, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

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

I want to check our top stories now, beginning with a killing on campus. Ohio State University Police say three college employees were shot early this morning. We're told one worker was killed, the other two were taken to the hospital but the shooting suspect is in custody. Police say no students were involved in that incident.

And in Georgia, police plan to interview Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger soon. He's accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a nightclub in the wee hours of Friday morning, but police have been in touch with Roethlisberger's attorney, Ed Garland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF WOODROW BLUE, MILLEDGEVILLE, GEORGIA POLICE: We are talking to Mr. Ed Garland and he is in the process of making arrangements for us to talk with Mr. Roethlisberger and all the individuals that were with him in the party on the night of the incident. We anticipate that these interviews will be in the next two to three days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Roethlisberger, of course, denying those allegations against him.

And charges are to be -- expected to be filed today against a couple caught after this high-speed chase that spans two states yesterday. Look at this Jeep go. Police in Kansas City, Missouri, say the pair led them on this 45-minute long pursuit, went through backyards, took out a couple fences along the way there. Police say the male driver had multiple warrants for his arrest and the woman inside was armed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look out. It's going to take this house. Oh, look at that satellite dish. Dish network, here we come. Look out, man, we've got debris. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Take a look at what storm chasers dragged in. This is a twister happening yesterday in western Oklahoma damaging buildings, several more, destroying five homes, all damaged when this tornado touched the ground right around 5:00 local time yesterday. So far amazingly no reports of any injuries.

So it is that time of year, time to start talking tornadoes. Rob Marciano in the weather center. And Rob, is this on the earlier end of the season to be seeing this or is this normal?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. In this part of the world it is a little on the early side although they don't call it tornado alley for nothing. It's an area of the world where all the ingredients come together to see tornadoes form. But just to have it in early March is certainly on the early side.

But remember February we had nothing. So I guess we're playing a little bit of catch-up. Here are the two sole tornado reports out of Hammon and then just up the road in Custer County, same cell, just the tornado basically dropping down twice and doing the damage that you saw there. So that was very impressive. No doubt about that.

The good news is today is that the storm itself is beginning to weaken just a little bit. So the circulation is expanding. It does have a little bit of snow wrapped in behind it. So it's a little bit more stable today than it was yesterday. The showers and thunderstorms down across parts of the south are going to be more tranquil today. But we have another system that's cutting through the Great Basin and that will get into the plains tomorrow. That's got a little more punch to it and I think as it gets into the Tennessee Valleys and the lower Mississippi River Valley, as we'll see this thing get into action and see things a little bit more in the way of more rough and tumble weather.

That's where we are for tomorrow's forecast. A wider area where I think we'll see severe weather. Storm prediction center pretty much showing this entire area under a slight risk of severe weather. Yesterday they just had a little bit of a bull's-eye over western Oklahoma, with a slight risk and that's where the tornado hit.

And tomorrow, this Brooke, is the more favored spot as we get into March and maybe the beginning part of April, the southeast. But during this El Nino year, we have that storm track really far to the south. Florida, which typically gets a decent amount of tornadoes during El Nino years, they didn't see any. We only saw one the entire month of February and that was in southern California, so we're starting the season off slow.

Hopefully we'll finish slow, but yesterday's event there in western Oklahoma certainly a reminder that we're getting close to primetime severe weather season.

BALDWIN: Yes, five homes damaged, no one hurt, thank goodness. Rob Marciano, thank you. MARCIANO: All right.

BALDWIN: All right. Here's the latest out of Haiti. The family of Charisa Coulter grateful she is back. She is home. She is safe here in the United States. A Haitian judge ordered her release from jail just yesterday. You remember she was one of those two remaining missionaries detained for trying to leave Haiti into the Dominican Republic with 33 children and babies without the proper paperwork.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEL COULTER, FATHER OF CHARISA COULTER (ON THE PHONE): She's going to desperately need some time to reflect on what she's been through and some time to kind of recover from the ordeal, but at the same time I think she still wants to work, do anything she possibly can to help Laura's case and ensure that Laura is released soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So he just mentioned Laura. That Laura is Laura Silsby. She's still jailed in Haiti. She's the final of these 10 missionaries still sitting behind bars. And CNN's Sara Sidner actually spoke with her briefly yesterday.

Sara joining me live from Port-au-Prince. And Sara, really, the first question, how's she doing and does she think she will be released?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, she was smiling when she left the judge's chambers yesterday when we talked to her. And we asked her a couple of questions, one what was said inside the chambers. She said she couldn't talk about that. And also if she did anything wrong. And she said that she did not and she was just trying to help children.

And then she said that she was very happy that Charisa had been set free and that she believed that her own freedom will come very soon. She's expecting it to come soon. So yes, she believes that she will be freed from jail here in Haiti soon. What we do know now, though, is that the judge is looking deeper into this case, trying to see and find out, fetter out all of the details to see what the truth really is in this case.

And we understand that he will not be able to do that and determine whether or not to set her free until at least the end of this week. That's what he told us.

BALDWIN: And Sara, kudos to you for talking to me through all the honking. Really, my follow-up question to you is just move away from the Haitian missionary story for just a moment and give me an update on how things are going on in Haiti and from what I can hear, it's kind of chaotic.

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, there's a lot of traffic. There's a lot of stuff going on behind us, but there is also the real true picture of Haiti and what has happened here. There is still so much left to be done. We're talking hundreds of thousands of people who are still homeless, still living in tents, just like you see over my shoulder there. The situation is still a desperate one.

People still need help and the rainy season will come. It has already rained for about a week here. The rain stopped the last couple of days but people have died already in flash floodings. So there's a lot of work to be done plus this rainy season comes and really wreaks havoc on those who are already suffering, already homeless and already without loved ones.

BALDWIN: All right. Sara Sidner for us in Port-au-Prince, we'll let you go. Thank you.

A big story, we are all over it today. Different vehicle, same problem. A Toyota Prius owner gets the ride of his life when his gas pedal just gets stuck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM SIKES, TOYOTA PRIUS OWNER: I won't drive that car again. Period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We will tell you who he's thanking for helping him stop his runaway hybrid and what Toyota is saying in the wake of his wild ride.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We ain't got $300 to call you all to come out here and put out a fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: How much that misconception cost one Carolina family, plus live pictures of history being made. We will go to Washington. Wedding bells are ringing, where same-sex couples celebrating a very special day. We are back in 70 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A private choice with very public consequences. CNN's broadcast premiere of "Her Name was Steven," Saturday and Sunday night, 8:00 Eastern.

New worries of sudden acceleration for owners of yet another Toyota car model. We're talking about the Prius. Now after this hybrid vehicle allegedly took its owner on a 30-mile-long joyride at speeds over 90 miles plus an hour yesterday. The driver says he couldn't slow the car down or get it in neutral. So what did he do, he called the California Highway Patrol, you see the patrol car, for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OFFICER TODD NEIBERT, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: When I saw him, I could smell the brakes. I saw his brake lights coming on. So then my next idea was, OK, need to get alongside him and use my public address system and try to talk to him. So he cracked his window. I was able to speak with him. And by his head moves, I could tell that he was hearing me and hopefully understand what I was telling him to do.

And so I was just hoping that at some point those recommendations that I was giving him were going to work. When I started telling him things have, you know, put the vehicle on neutral or try that or to break -- I could tell he was physically trying to break and the vehicle was barely slowing down. And then I notice that it would accelerate again. We were up to 90 miles per hour.

So, as we continued up past Kitchen Creek (ph), I then was able to shift to his left side and I was on the public address system. I told him to -- at that point I had the idea of him applying both the breaks on the emergency break in order to get as much friction as possible to stop the vehicle and I was going to get in front of him at that point and use my patrol vehicle to slow him down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Unbelievable. Who has the details of this? This is CNN's Deb Feyerick. You're all over the story, Deb. Wow. I mean, it's just stunning to hear the CHP officer who I'm sure never thought in a million years he'll be getting this call to ride alongside this Toyota Prius doing 90 miles an hour plus and the California 8 talking to this guy in a loud speaker trying to get him to stop his car. Take me from there.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, exactly. And you know, because of the facts surrounding this particular case, the California Highway Patrol actually lost one of its own in a similar incident. And therefore, they've really re-evaluated when a call comes in what it is they're doing but this could really be an important development because if it is sudden acceleration as it appears to be, Toyota now has a car that they can actually take apart to see what is really going on and that includes analyzing the electronic components.

Now, here's what happened. The driver, Jim Sikes, was cruising east on interstate 8, outside the San Diego area, when he says he tried to pass another car. Well, Sikes pushed down on the gas pedal. The pedal did something kind of funny he says, it stock and it wouldn't come back up. Instead what the car did is it began to act as if it has a mind of its own, he says. Accelerating to 90 miles an hour.

The driver desperately tried to avoid other cars. He tried to slow his own vehicle and try to keep from simply going over a cliff. In a news conference yesterday afternoon, he relived part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JIM SIKES, PRIUS DRIVER: My thought was going over the side of the hill because there's too many hills, too many angles. That's why I wanted to shut the car off but there was no straight places to do it and nobody to protect me from behind. There was a few times that 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: The driver, Sikes, managed to call 911 for help. That's when dispatchers tried to tell him what to do but still nothing worked. At one point he said he actually reached down and tried to pull up on the gas pedal by hand but he says that the gas pedal simply stayed right where it was.

Now, the California Highway Patrol officer who you heard from caught up with him, caught up with this Prius and getting on that car's PA system, he helped Sikes bring the car to a stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And it's interesting, Brooke, that he referred to the mat because there were -- there was a Toyota recall recently, as you know, millions of cars because of a floor mat issue but the Prius itself was recalled because of a brake issue. So this is a whole new category for the Prius. Toyota did issue a statement saying that it has been notified. It has sent a field technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the report and offer assistance.

So, again, they're really going to have to look at what the components are, what the electronics were doing. There is a black box in those cars, so if Toyota can access that information, they may be able to get a window into what was happening. If it was happening to the Prius, perhaps they can figure out what was happening to all the other cars that have been affected by this recall.

BALDWIN: Remember the Prius recall, it was the anti-lock braking system and they were calling it a software glitch but this would open a whole other can of worms. As we know, we know Toyota is investigating. I know you'll stay on this. We need to get to the bottom of what's happening on this particular Prius. Deb Feyerick in New York for us. Deb, thank you.

Wedding bells ringing, history is made, and you are looking at it live. Look at this with me. We will go to Washington where same-sex couples are celebrating a monumentous day.

Also ahead, cute, cuddly and oh, yes, on the menu. Cat and dog are a favored food in China, but that may soon change.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Two stories we're watching for you in Washington. This first one, empty room there in the State Department, soon to be filled with secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Haitian President Renee Preval. He is here essentially wanting to thank President Obama in person for the help and also talk more about what else the United States can do really to help rebuild his earthquake-ravaged country since the January 12th earthquake that killed 230,000 people in Haiti. We'll bring that to you live as soon as we see that.

Meantime another story developing in Washington today. Love, marriage and the law. Beginning today, same-sex couples in Washington, D.C., can make their union official. They can apply for marriage licenses and finally tie the knot. CNN's Samantha Hayes is joining us from the nation's capital. And Samantha, a huge day in Washington for gay rights activists.

SAMANTHA HAYES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, three couples are getting married today inside the headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign, which is a lobbying group that in part does a lot of work to work for gay rights, included in that same-sex marriage. The three couples who are wedding today were among the 150 couples who lined up for marriage licenses at the D.C. Superior Court last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By the authority vested in me, I hereby pronounce that they are partners in life. This day and for always. Those whom god has joined together, let no one put asunder. Amen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAYES: So D.C. joins Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont that have also legalized marriage between same- sex partners. Brooke, this has been controversial everywhere it's happened and that, of course, includes D.C., the issue of religious freedom has come up in this debate because the D.C. City Council required Catholic Charities to offer the same benefits to same-sex couples that it did to heterosexual couples.

So instead the charity has decided not to offer benefits to spouses of new employees. Now, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty signed the same-sex marriage act in December. It had to be reviewed and approved by the U.S. Congress. It is something, a different process than you would see perhaps in states. That process was wrapped up last week and so today was the first day that gay couples could marry in D.C..

Reporting in Washington, I'm Samantha Hayes. Brooke, back to you.

BALDWIN: All right. Sam, thank you.

A Haitian baby rescued from the rubble. She is safe but now there is a fight over her custody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN severe weather center. We had a tornado touch down yesterday in western Oklahoma. Today a slight threat but tomorrow the bull's-eye switches towards the southeast. There's a couple of storms that are going to combine strength and tap moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. Severe weather not out of the question.

More weather coming up when the CNN NEWSROOM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Successful rescue story with a twist. A baby pulled out of Haiti's earthquake rubble and flown to Miami for life-saving surgery. That is not the end of the story, though. Now we have a custody dispute to talk about here.

Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen was in Haiti over the weekend. She's back to bring us up to speed on this story. What can you tell us?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What I can tell you is that personally this is very close to my heart because I was there at the hospital when doctors made this incredible rescue of this baby and saved her life. I never imagined that this would be the next chapter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (on camera): I was at this hospital in Port-au-Prince about seven weeks ago when I witnessed an incredible rescue of a tiny baby. She was just two months old when she was pulled from the rubble. She had been there alone for five days. The baby girl was near death, barely breathing. Doctors from Project Medishare at the University of Miami thought to stabilize her so they could fly her to a hospital in the United States.

Doctors here thought the baby was an orphan and told the ambulance driver they named the baby after her if she got to the plane on time and she did. The driver's name was Patricia. I thought it was a simple, happy ending, but it turns out this story is far from simple.

A couple from Haiti has now come forward claiming that baby Patricia is their daughter. They say she's no orphan and that her name isn't even Patricia, it's Jenny. And they want her back.

We're told the parents live here in one (INAUDIBLE), in of these tent cities. I'm going to go try to find them. (INAUDIBLE)

COHEN: What does that mean? What do those words mean? It's beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every time I think about Jenny, I want to go crazy. I want to lose my mind.

COHEN (voice-over): This man Junior Alexis (ph) and his wife, Nadine Devilme say they're the baby's parents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is the baby's pediatric card.

COHEN (on camera): And these are all her vaccinations, doctors' notes. OK. So you say this is your baby.

NADINE DEVILME, SAYS SHE IS BABY'S MOTHER: Yes, Jenny is my daughter.

COHEN: How does it feel as a mother to know that your baby has just flown off without you to another country?

DEVILME (through translator): She said I have a lot of problems. She said I can't sleep and it's giving me a lot of problems. This is a Bible that I've had since the baby was born and the Bible was under the baby's head always. She found the Bible.

COHEN: So this Bible says Jenny Alexis, born November 1st, 2009.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At 10 p.m.

COHEN: I've told their story to many people and some people say this is just a couple in Haiti that wants to get to the United States. They're claiming a baby that's not theirs. What do they say to that?

JUNIOR ALEXIS, SAYS HE IS BABY'S FATHER (through translator): We don't know about that, he said. He said we just have a baby that they took. They're helping us, they took the baby, but we're here and we're happy that they're helping the baby, but it's a help but we need our baby.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN: Now, CNN has learned that Nadine Devilme, who you just met in that picture, she was given a DNA test by the International Red Cross about two hours ago and it will be sent to officials in Florida. I spoke to those officials in Florida. They think it will take about two weeks to process the test. This official said he has no doubts that these really, truly are the parents. He says this is the mom and dad.

BALDWIN: So with the DNA we would presumably, definitively know if they're the patients but for now, I guess, my question is where were they when the earthquake hit. How did they lose track of their teeny, tiny child? COHEN: Right. Like many stories in Haiti after the earthquake it was very complicated and it was very chaotic. So mom was at home with the babysitter and the baby and when the earthquake hit, she was knocked unconscious, the mom was, and brought to the hospital.

When she awoke in the hospital hours later, this is their home, by the way. So you can see what their home is right now. When she awoke in the hospital, she -- her husband had been searching for the baby and not able to find them. On day five, someone else found the baby and told the parents, hey, the baby has been taken to a hospital, go look for her. They went to look for her but they didn't know what hospital she was in.

By the time they figured it out, the baby was already in Florida.

BALDWIN: Yes.

COHEN: I have to tell you, I think this is pretty emblematic of stories in Haiti, not necessarily the going to Miami part of it.

BALDWIN: Yes.

COHEN: But just people getting lost and not knowing where each other were. It was chaos. I was there and it was chaos.

BALDWIN: It seems a little bit better, though, the hospital, I suppose.

COHEN: Yes, oh yes, for sure.

BALDWIN: Good.

COHEN: The hospital was a much better place now than it was when I was there.

BALDWIN: Actually. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you. Speaking of Haiti, we want to take you back to some live pictures as we're sitting and we're waiting to hear from the Haitian president, Rene Preval, speak at the State Department along with secretary of state Hillary Clinton, a couple of others. He's here basically to say thank you to President Obama for the U.S. efforts in helping but there is a whole lot more that needs to be done, as Elizabeth knows, really in terms of reconstruction, jobs, food, health care. We will hear from him when he speaks, steps up to the podium in the State Department momentarily here.

Meantime, not ready to retire. More and more of you falling into that category, perhaps. With the economy making it very hard to save for the golden years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: When it comes to retirement, are you prepared? Most Americans aren't. A new survey shows most people do not have a nest egg that's big enough for them. Stephanie Elam is in New York with the details. Stephanie, on average how much do people save? STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, the number is pretty darn shocking. It's less than $10,000. That's very little. That's how much 43 percent of Americans have saved for their golden years.

And no doubt it's a growing problem. There are a lot of issues at hand, and many of them go back to this economic downturn that we've just gone through. Unemployment is high, so are foreclosures. A lot of companies stopped matching 401(k) contributions on top of that. So, saving 10 percent of your income that most financial planners suggest is difficult for a lot of people. For some people it's just downright impossible.

For many, it means making major life decisions. A quarter of workers say they're postponing retirement. But that's not an option for everyone. Some people have health concerns and things like that just makes it so that they have to leave their job. For them, they're retiring into what will probably be a lower quality of life because they won't have the income they had before retirement.

So the lesson here, do something. Don't just sit there and not pay attention to it. The study shows that more than half of workers have never even tried to figure out how much they need to save for retirement. It's a lot easier to do this when you're younger and you have time to make changes to your fiscal habits. So,something everyone needs to think about. We harp on it a lot, but it's really important.

As for stocks, they're doing the flat-line dance today. But we're at least now positive. Remember, a year ago today we hit our low, twelve-year low. So, the bear market ended. The Dow has climbed 61 percent in the 12 months since then. Today, the Dow up four points, 10,556. NASDAQ, it is better by five points at 2,337.

So, Brooke, spread the word. Tell people to start preparing for retirement. They've got to think about it. Talk about it.

BALDWIN: Save, save, save. Stephanie Elam, thank you.

And that's exactly what we're blogging about today, thank you. The question we're asking you, are you putting in for your retirement? We want to know what you think. Go to our blog. Go to CNN.com/kyra, post your thoughts, and I'll read your comments live right now on CNN in just about 20 minutes time.

Speaking of the economy, job cuts are coming at Chevron. The company announcing this morning they'll be eliminating 2,000 jobs as part of this plan to streamline operations there. But they haven't decided exactly which jobs are on the way out. They expect to have that problem solved a little later this year.

So, what does it mean to be poor in this country? The Obama administration is actually looking at alternative ways to define poverty in America. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow is in New York.

Poppy, how do you define poverty? How do you quantify that? POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: It's a great question. It's hard to quantify. It depends where you live, what your situation is, how many kids you have, all of that. It's a gray area. But we went out here in New York and asked some folks on the street just to get a sense of what they think a family of four has to make to fall below that poverty line. Take a listen to their wide range of answers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDETIFIED FEMALE: I would say anything less than $60,000 a year would be poverty for a family of four.

UNIDETIFIED MALE: Income probably $40,000; $45,000 a year.

UNIDETIFIED MALE: I would say $15,000 to $20,000.

UNIDETIFIED FEMALE: I think a family making $80,000 for a family of four is below poverty line.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All over the board there. The actual answer, Brooke -- this shocked me, $22,050 a year for a family of four. That's according to the 2009 number. When you look at Medicaid, welfare, food stamps, that is what goes into determining what benefits people get that fall below the poverty line.

The formula hasn't changed in 40 years, no matter how the economy has changed, no matter how the job picture has changed, and it doesn't factor in critical expenses like housing and your medical expenses. So, the Obama administration has just announced that they're developing a new way to look at poverty, and it will include those essentials. Here's why they say it's so important. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REBECCA BLANK, COMMERCY UNDERSECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC AFFAIRS: The administration has basically proposed to produce a supplementary poverty measure that will be produced next to the official measure and will not replace it in any way but will give us a second lens. Another way to look at some of these issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: And that's really important given this economy. Now, Brooke, let's be clear here. This isn't going to change how federal dollars are allocated to people that fall below the poverty line, but it will inform policymakers and give them a clear picture of what's going on in this country. We'll get the first numbers from the new calculation coming out in the fall, Brooke.

BALDWIN: So with this new formula from the Obama administration, how would that translate in terms of people either above or below the poverty line? More fall below or just the opposite?

HARLOW: Probably. That's what I think, that's what folks we're talking to think. We can't get a clear answer on that from the administration. You've got to see. You've got to see how the formula works out.

Let's take a look at New York City. I want to show you what happened in New York City. Two years ago, the city where we are right now started using their own measure of poverty. They factored in the extremely high cost of living here, for example, under federal guidelines when they followed the federal procedure. In 2008, poverty was 17.6 percent in this city. When they followed their own guidelines, including the high cost of living, the poverty level, the rate, if you will, was 22 percent. Brooke, that's 350,000 more people in one city that fell under the poverty line. Imagine that multiplied on a national level.

And that's why this is so important, especially in this economy. So we're going to be watching for those numbers and more on this from the administration. Something to keep an eye on, though.

BALDWIN: Interesting. The formula was 40 years old, I did not realize. Poppy Harlow, CNNmoney.com. Thank you.

She was married to South African president Nelson Mandela, and now is a politician in her own right. So, what does Winnie Mandela think of the first African-American president of the United States?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WINNIE MADIKIZELA-MANDELA, FORMER WIFE OF NELSON MANDELA: I think it is the most cruel thing to expect him to have done more than he already has within just one year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: But will great expectations possibly lead to great disappointment? Blunt words in her conversation with our own Roland Martin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: South Africa's ultimate power couple. Former president Nelson Mandela and his then-wife Winnie. Well, Winnie is now a politician in her own right, so what does she think of President Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the U.S.? Here is just a portion of her conversation with CNN political analyst Roland Martin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Your assessment of President Barack Obama, his historic win as the 44th president of the United States, the first African-American. And speak to the expectations of people for someone in his position, not necessarily being black.

MANDELA: I think it is the most cruel thing to expect him to have done more than he already has within just one year. Generations and generations of oppression, even though this is one of the longest democracies.

I think his task is even more difficult because I think the African-Americans, for instance, they expect more and countries like the African continent would expect more from him because he's African- American. And realistically, it is unfair.

MARTIN: Why?

MANDELA: It is unfair to expect him to have taken such a quick pace in changing what other presidents have taken years and years to develop and expect him to do that over a year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Winnie Mandela was in Alabama just over this past weekend to mark the 45th anniversary of the civil rights march in Selma. That violence march, that attack on the marchers is now known as Bloody Sunday, really considered a turning point in the civil rights movement.

Here's a question for you. If your home catches fire, you dial 911, right? So, why didn't they?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They asked us why we didn't call the fire department. I say, we ain't got $300 to call you all to come out here and put out a fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: They wish they knew then what they know now. Calling 911 wouldn't have cost them a cent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Checking your Top Stories now.

Nine down, one more to go. Another American missionary that was detained in Haiti has been released. It's Charisa Coulter. She was the woman in the red shirt. She was seen leaving jail yesterday before arriving back in the U.S. The group's leader, Laura Silsby, remains in custody.

And police are investigating the shooting at Ohio State University. Campus police say three university employees were shot, one of them was killed. A suspect, though, is in custody. A university official stress no students were involved.

And you just can't beat the Huskies. University of Connecticut's women's basketball team beat Notre Dame last night to set a new standard for perfection. Congratulations, ladies. They have won 71 straight games. By the way, UConn hasn't lost since 2008. The men's record, 88 straight set by UCLA back in 1970 -- during the 70s, I should say. OK, so, your house is on fire. What's one of the first things you do? You pick up the phone and dial 911, right? So, why did a South Carolina couple leave the phone alone and grab the garden hose? Turns out they actually thought the fire department was out of their price range. Chris Cato from our Spartanburg affiliate WSPA reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CATO, WSPA-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Quite fitting that we found these firefighters washing their truck with a garden hose, because that's exactly what this woman's boyfriend used to fight a fire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had to hook it up first. He hooked up the wrong piece. This is a short piece and didn't go all the way.

CATO: When their living room caught fire on Friday --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I came in here and you could see nothing but fire everywhere.

CATO: -- they chose to handle it themselves. It was a neighbor who called 911.

WILLHEMEENA FULLER, HOMEOWNER: You know, they asked us why we didn't call the fire department. I say, we ain't got $300 to call you all to come out here and put out a fire.

CATO: She had seen part of a story we did about a law that allows fire departments to bill people's insurance. The idea was to recover money spent on responding to major fires and accident. The law was passed in Cherokee County. Willhemeena Fuller lives in Spartanburg.

FULLER: Well, we didn't know. I guess we got part of the news and didn't get all of it.

CATO: Apparently, she's not alone in her confusion. Cherokee County Council repealed the law last week after citizens there said they would not call 911 out of fear of being charged. That's dangerous, says Spartanburg's fire marshal.

MIKE JULAZEDAH, SPARTANBURG, S.C. FIRE MARSHAL: They shouldn't have to pay to call 911. This is a prime example of had they waited, the situation would have been much worse.

CATO: Because even though this fire appeared to be out, firefighters discovered it had spread into the attic.

JULAZEDAH: Had they been sleeping, and in this house we had a non-functional smoke alarm, it's very likely we could have had two fatalities out of this fire.

CATO: Willhemeena said she will get a working smoke alarm, and if it goes off, she won't worry about getting a bill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're going to call 911 from now on. FULLER: Yes, I'll call 911. Somebody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: -- learned her lesson. That was Chris Cato reporting for us from WSPA. By the way, investigators say unattended cooking started that fire.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let's get a quick weather check from Rob Marciano in the CNN Weather Center. Rob, we are already starting to see some action in Tornado Alley.

(WEATHER REPORT)

BALDWIN: All right, Rob.

We don't want the Iditarod dogs to listen to this next story. Yes, we're talking about Sharpei steaks and Siamese stew. China considering a major culture change, taking household pets off the dinner table.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It's what's for dinner in China. You don't have to look too far to find them -- too hard to find them. We're talking about cats and dogs. In the grocery store, on the menu, perhaps not for very long. CNN's Emily Chang has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crowded in cages, penned behind bars. All for sale.

(on camera): There are several cages here full of cats, presumably just waiting to be sold.

(voice-over): This isn't a pet store. It's a wholesale meat market in southern China, where eating cats and dogs is common practice.

(on camera): Frozen dog legs. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

Thirty-six yen, so that's about $6 -- for it looks like a lot of meat there.

(voice-over): At the Hun River (ph) Dog Meat restaurant, diners can have it almost any way they please.

(on camera): So, on the menu they have got dog steak, dog soup, dog and tofu and many, many other dishes. When we asked them which one is the most popular, they said everything is popular here.

So, he's chopping up the dog meat. Never seen this before. It looks a lot like pork, I would say. It's a little difficult to watch. (voice-over): But dog meat is good for your health and metabolism, the hostess tells me. In the summer, it helps people sweat.

Still, these local restaurants may have to find a new specialty. New legislation pending review by the Chinese government could make eating dogs and cats illegal.

This ban on eating cats and dogs would demonstrate that China has reached a new level of civilization, says this professor who's leading the campaign.

While many cats and dogs are specifically raised to be eaten, animal rights advocates say there's always a chance there's someone's lost or stolen pet. The Chinese government ordered dog to be taken off the menu during the Beijing Olympics to avoid upsetting international visitors. And with living standards rising, china's growing number of pet owners are throwing their support behind the potential ban as well.

I would never eat dog meat, this woman says. It's so cruel.

But experts say any law against it could take as long as a decade to pass. Until then it's a la carte, to the kitchen from the cage.

Emily Chang, CNN, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Well, on that note, let's talk about retirement, shall we? A new study says we're not saving enough, so are you ready?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Struggling in the economy. Sure, we have seen some signs of economy, but really, how long will these aftereffects linger? Coming up in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, we'll get the answer from the Atlantic. Tony Harris finds out when the pain may finally go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I want to talk about today's blog question. Remember, we were asking you are you putting off your retirement. I want to read a couple responses we got today.

First one from Wayne. Wayne writes in and says this. "I have been working since I was 11 years old when I was the paper boy. I was laid off January 2009 from a job in which I have had 30 years' experience. I had to cash in my 401(k) to survive, and I will lose my home soon." Wow.

Glenda writes in and says, "My husband, who is 12 years older, has put off retirement to qualify for health care for me. He drives 50 miles one way to work." Deborah. "My parents have been retired for two years. They have managed to save plenty for their retirement. They sacrificed living large for decades so they never have to worry about how they'll live in their retirement years."

Remember, we always want to hear from you. Always want to encourage your comments. All you have to do, go to our blog page at CNN.com/kyra to share your comments.

And I thank you for watching. But stay right there. CNN NEWSROOM continues with my friend, Tony Harris.