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Runaway Prius Hits 90 Miles an Hour on Freeway; Thousand-Mile Commute to Work; Diplomatic Marines

Aired March 09, 2010 - 10:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Tuesday, March 9th. And here are the top stories for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I won't drive that car again. Period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Police say a runaway Prius hit 90 miles an hour on a San Diego freeway. Toyota dispatching a technician today to investigate sudden acceleration.

The recession ate his job and his home's value in Wisconsin. So now this man works in Texas -- a 1,000 mile commute.

Saving Carlos. California's budget crunch leads to a crisis for this second grader.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

He says it just kept speeding up. A Prius driver in California says that's what happened when his accelerator became stuck on a San Diego county freeway. He says the runaway car took him on a wild, frightening ride.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick is following this story for us and she has details.

And Deb, what do you have for us? First of all, I'm wondering, had this guy taken his car in to have the brakes fixed? As you know, certain models of the Prius were on a recall list.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. As a matter of fact, he says that he did take his 2008 Toyota Prius in to the dealership, but the dealership told him that the car wasn't on the list. That's the first thing.

The second thing is this is the first reported case of sudden unintended acceleration in a Prius. So this could sort of take the investigation in a whole new direction.

It is important, though, because if it is sudden acceleration, Toyota now has a car that they can analyze to see what is going on, whether in fact it is the electronic control throttle which a lot of people have been talking about. But here's what happened.

The driver, Jim Sikes, cruising along east on Interstate 8 outside the San Diego area, when he says he tried to pass another car. Well, he pushed down on the gas pedal, he says, and the pedal did something kind of funny. It stuck. It simply would not come up.

The car accelerated to over 90 miles an hour. The driver, desperately trying to avoid other cars, shuts the car to keep it from going over a cliff. He spoke yesterday about what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES SIKES, PRIUS DRIVER: My thought was going over the side of the hill, because there were too many hills, too many angles. And so I wanted to shut the car off, but there was no straight places to do it, and then 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: Now, the driver, Sikes, managed to call 911 for help. Dispatchers tried to tell him what to do, tried to tell him how he might stop the car. Nothing worked. At one point, he reaches down and he says he tries to pull up the gas pedal by hand, but it stayed right where it was, he says.

Now, a California Highway Patrol officer did catch up to this runaway Prius. Using the patrol car's P.A. system, he helped Sikes to bring that car under control.

(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."

And 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 you hear the driver refer to the mat. Well, in fact, his vehicle was on the recall list, the 2008 Prius, for the mat recall. Now, Toyota has issued a statement saying that it has been notified. It is sending a field technical specialist to San Diego to investigate the report and offer whatever help it can. These cars do have black boxes, so perhaps they may be able to look in and find out exactly what was causing that car to accelerate out of control, apparently.

HARRIS: All right. You know what, Deb? I'm a little confused here.

So, my understanding, that the Prius fix was for a sometimes bulky brake situation, that it wasn't for a sticking accelerator problem. Is this the first report of a Prius having a problem with sudden acceleration?

FEYERICK: Well, apparently whether it's the first report, it's the first one that's being reported publicly. Obviously, a number of people are so much more aware of what is going on, but in this case, when you hear this driver and when you hear the officer from the California Highway Patrol recount exactly what was going on in that car, it is very consistent with other reports that we've heard.

HARRIS: It is.

FEYERICK: So that's what's a little bit scary.

And the interesting thing is that this driver -- you know, you always wonder, well, there are all these class action lawsuits, are people now just trying to cash in? But this particular driver, he says, you know, I'm not getting back in this car, I'm never driving this car again.

That's exactly what another man who experienced a similar problem in a different model also said. They're so afraid to get back in those cars.

HARRIS: All right. And it's interesting, because this is the first that I'm hearing of a recall for the Prius that might be associated with the floor mats. We were accustomed to hearing about the recall of some Toyota and Lexus models -- right -- having to do with the floor mat and the pedal, but this is the first that I'm hearing of a Prius problem related to the floor mats. But maybe that's something we can continue to look into.

FEYERICK: Absolutely, because there have been so many recalls now that, in fact, you know, just pick a category.

HARRIS: Yes. That's sad. All right. Deb, appreciate it, but true.

Let's take a look at some of the other stories we're following for you in the NEWSROOM this morning.

Amazing and terrifying. Look at this. A tornado caught on tape as it sweeps across western Oklahoma. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look out. It's going to take this house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look at that satellite dish. Dish Network, here we come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow. So we're told the twister leveled at least five homes and other buildings in the town of Hammon. It was also spotted in another town. Incredibly, there's no word of anyone getting hurt.

An historic day for the nation's capital. The first same-sex couples are getting married right now. They applied for their marriage licenses last week but had to wait until today to make it official.

(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.

You may seal it with a kiss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: This makes Washington the sixth place in the country to allow same-sex unions.

Senate Democrats hope to heave a $15 billion jobs package over a procedural hurdle today. The Senate passed it last month with 13 Republicans on board, but the House tinkered with the bill before approving it.

Now the Senate must vote again. Democrats are concerned the House changes could drive off GOP support. They need at least one Republican senator to side with them to dodge a filibuster.

You know, at the bottom of the hour we're going to talk to Don Peck. He has written a stunning piece of the current issue of the "Atlantic Monthly" on this current era of joblessness. Joblessness and the fear of being unemployed is leading many Americans to go to extraordinary lengths to get and keep work. Case in point, Carol Costello's report on a Wisconsin man's 1,000-mile commute to keep his job.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See you, brother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See you, Dave (ph). CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 5:00 p.m. on Monday, and Steve Kerl is off to work. Wisconsin is his home, but it's not where he works.

STEVE KERL, GM WORKER: I have a job in Texas that pays me good.

COSTELLO: You heard right. Twelve hours after saying good-bye to his wife and two teenaged kids, Steve Kerl arrives at the GM assembly plant in Arlington, Texas. His 1,000-mile journey has taken him from Janesville, Wisconsin, where there used to be a GM plant, to the Milwaukee airport, and then a two-and-a-half-hour flight down to Texas.

Steve puts fenders on SUVs, 10 hours a day, sometimes, six days a week.

S. KERL: It's tough out there. It's everywhere. It's not just the auto industry, it's everywhere. I feel fortunate that I got the job.

COSTELLO: One thousand nine hundred thirty-three GM workers lost their jobs when the Janesville plant closed in December of 2008. What happened next is another side of the recession's toll.

S. KERL: And that house there was a General Motors worker, too. So, there's one, two, three, four gone.

COSTELLO: About a quarter of the Janesville workers accepted jobs at GM plants outside of Wisconsin. But that forced them to choose between selling their homes at huge losses or staying put while a parent moved out of state. The Kerls chose to stay. The sacrifice is palpable.

S. KERL: I missed all of my daughter's gymnastics meets. I missed her birthday.

KRISY KERL, HUSBAND HAS 1,000-MILE COMMUTE: Sixteenth birthday.

S. KERL: Sixteenth birthday. I missed my boy's birthday. I missed her getting her driver's license. So, they are things that you're never going to get back.

JENESSA KERL, THE KERL'S DAUGHTER: It's overall been very hard. I mean, what other 16-year-old doesn't want their dad around.

COSTELLO: For husband and wife, the pain of separation often goes like this.

K. KERL: Steve talked to me on the phone and, you know, get me through it, hang in there. And then there's the days that the calls come in, that he's like, you know what, I'm not doing this anymore, you know? I want to come home. And I'm like, no, hang in there.

COSTELLO: On one of his rare weekends home -- we found Steve working the barbecue, taking the family to a local basketball game and playing surrogate dad to Jenessa's friend, Grace. She's staying with the Kerls until her parents get settled after moving to work at a GM plant in Indiana.

S. KERL: She's a good girl. We like to have her here.

COSTELLO: As much as the Kerls love Wisconsin -- the separation in the end has proved to be too much. They just sold their house at a loss and decided to move to Texas.

S. KERL: This will always be our home.

K. KERL: Yes. We'll never take Wisconsin out of us no matter where we're at.

S. KERL: Yes. It's always going to be our home.

K. KERL: And we'll return some day.

S. KERL: Yes.

COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Can you imagine?

So you've just seen how the jobs situation hit one family. Now multiply that by millions of folks, some of them out of work for months. How is that going to affect America long term? Don Peck and his must-read in this month's "Atlantic Monthly" at the bottom of the hour.

Our Rob Marciano is tracking weather and has more of that amazing video of the tornado that we just showed you. We'll talk to Rob in just a couple of minutes, a little show and tell with Rob.

But first, here's the latest on the Dow, New York Stock Exchange right now. The Dow is in positive territory, up 14 points.

We're following these numbers throughout the day, the NASDAQ, the Dow, right here for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is spending a second day in Afghanistan. He traveled today to a remote outpost to meet with a hard-hit battle unit.

Gates told the soldiers their heavy losses have helped push back against the Taliban in their southern stronghold. The Army unit from Ft. Lewis, Washington, has lost 22 men. Another 62 have been wounded since arriving in Afghanistan last summer.

Mixing with the Afghan people is seen as key to winning hearts and minds.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman takes us along as U.S. Marine do the diplomacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charlie Company and troops from the Afghan army prepare to go out on patrol. They trudge through the fields, including fields of opium, toward the village of Nasiri (ph), about 40 minutes away by foot.

It can be rough going in the midday heat, jumping over irrigation canals, on the lookout for landmines and booby traps. But the purpose of this journey is not to engage the Taliban in battle. This is a social call, an attempt to make friends and influence people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And hopefully I get to -- I'd appreciate it if I get to meet their elder one (ph) in the future.

WEDEMAN: As the officers talk, the Afghan soldiers sip tea and the Marines keep an eye out for anything suspicious and try out some of the local weaponry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's no good.

WEDEMAN: In Nasiri (ph), they ask villagers to take them to their leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he's the elder of this village. OK, OK. All right. We'll keep going.

WEDEMAN: Twenty-three-year-old Corporal Jarrod St. Orge may be dressed like a Marine, but he's doing the job of a diplomat.

CPL. JARROD ST. ORGE, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I'm going to start by you, sir. I know you are the elder.

WEDEMAN: It's all about finding out what's on people's minds and preventing the return of the Taliban.

(on camera): The Marines are here to show their presence, to make contact with village elders to find out what their problems are, to find out how they can help. They're also asking some questions about the Taliban. Noticeably missing from this patrol is any ranking official from the local Afghan government.

(voice-over): It's hard to tell who represents whom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Afghan government wants to help build up Marjah.

WEDEMAN: Twenty-seven-year-old Second Lieutenant George Russo is in charge of civil affairs. He's a diplomat and an aid worker.

This man complains that his irrigation canals need to be repaired, that he needs a new pump.

2ND LIEUTENANT GEORGE RUSSO, U.S. MARINE CORPS: That's why I'm here. They're letting me come here to help fix or build whatever needs it.

WEDEMAN: Russo finds it ironic he's had to shift gears from fighting to fixing, but insists the Marines are up to the job.

RUSSO: The infantry Marines, they're usually the ones there up front, working day in, day out with these people. So they know them, I'd say, more than some of these big agencies that work from a planning room, I think.

WEDEMAN: Down the road, more requests. This time, compensation for damages caused during the recent fighting.

RUSSO: You know what? I don't have anything to give them now.

WEDEMAN: They don't teach this stuff in boot camp.

Ben Wedeman, CNN, in Nasiri (ph) village, southern Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Unhappy with the service you've been getting these days? You're not alone. Consumer complaints are on the rise big-time. We will tell you how to complain and, more importantly, how to get results.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, a lot of you are really unhappy with the service you've been getting lately. The Better Business Bureau has a new survey out on consumer complaints.

Which industry topped the list for the most complaints? We're going to find out here.

Ines Ferre has the answer in her "Top Tips" report.

All right, lady. Good to see you. Break it down for us.

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Tony.

Well, it's been a rough year for a lot of folks. From high unemployment to falling home values, Americans are really struggling, and they're complaining a lot more. Well, complaints to the Better Business Bureau were up almost 10 percent last year.

Let's take a look at the industries that really irked consumers.

The cell phone industry, where complaints increased two percent from 2008 to 2009. The TV cable industry, complaints there were up nine percent. A whopping 42 percent in the banking sector. And you also saw an increase in complaints about Internet shopping. And finally, used car dealers.

And among the industries that received fewer complaints on this survey, new car dealers and collection agencies. Those industries are actually down in the number of complaints filed -- Tony. HARRIS: Wow.

What's the best way, I don't know, to complain about a company and maybe get some results here?

FERRE: Yes. Well, look, if you're getting nowhere with the customer service of the company, think about filing a written complaint.

Some companies have an online form that you can use. And you want to make sure to keep a copy of your complaint letter so you can start a paper trail, if necessary.

And also, make sure to include as many details as possible, including the action you want taken and in how much time you expect the situation to be resolved. And you can also check out the government's Consumer Action Handbook at consumeraction.gov, where you can find sample complaint letters, for example, and you can also file a complaint with your state attorney general or the Better Business Bureau at BBB.org.

And don't forget the power of the media. And you can air your grievances at online sites like consumerist.com.

And, of course, Tony, if anybody's got any questions, they can send them to CNNHelpDesk@CNN.com.

HARRIS: Well, I tell you what -- you can send complaints and problems to our blog page as well. We like to get involved and get our nose in the middle of these things, and maybe get some solutions as well.

All right, Ines. See you next hour. Appreciate it.

FERRE: See you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Baking the nights away. Got to tell you, when Amy's Bread shuts down for the day in New York, the real work is just beginning. It's part of our latest "In Focus" series.

CNN photojournalist Fred Schang shows us what's it like to put on those aprons, grease those pans, and work the night shift at Amy's.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNETTE SLATON, NIGHT PRODUCTION MANAGER, AMY'S BREAD: When I come in, I tend to get my coffee and I try to wake up. I have a good team that I work with, though. We kind of watch each other, keep each other up.

These are all our organic breads, so we take a lot of pride in them. We try to pack them with as much love as we can. You also kind of pretty much try and stay focused. It's a little bit hard, being that I work at night. Most of us don't wake up until about 2:00 in the morning, but we try to do our best.

I'm a proud mother of three, so that sometimes can be a little bit harder for me because I have to deal with colds and school appointments, PTA. And at the same time, maintain a certain level of professionalism.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good night.

SLATON: So I pretty much come in, I wake my son up, because he's the hardest to wake up. It doesn't matter what time he goes to sleep.

Let's wake up. Come on.

It's a team effort. I think working at night takes a team to kind of, like, make it completely work and be a good, strong foundation.

Right?

We don't get to spend as much time together as a family unit as I would like to. And I also work on the weekends. So when we normally would have family functions, I sometimes have to plan ahead.

So as long as I don't have to sacrifice my safety and my health overall, then it's worth it.

This is Akira (ph).

Hi. Good morning.

When I look at them, I want them to have so much, but right now, with the way the economy is and everything, I just feel more secure being able to be with them and not have to put them in a daycare setting so young.

Say have a good day.

Me and my husband definitely sacrifice as far as our personal time together, but at the end of the day we realize what we want. In the long run, I have to basically feed my kids and take care of my kids and do what's best for them.

We have dreams. And hopefully working at night won't kill me before I get them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy. People are on the grind, on the grind for real.

For more about the people who work all night to bring us some of the things that we take for granted, tune into the CNN special, "Nightshift in Focus," this Saturday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A new study finds some groups may be more likely to get Alzheimer's. Are you more at risk? What you need to know, next, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I need you to reach out to the program. I need you to talk to me directly. A couple ways that you can do that.

First of all, CNN.com/Tony takes you directly to this -- bam -- our blog page. If you'd like to send your thoughts on Facebook, here's what you do -- TonyHarrisCNN. And post your comments here, here's my Twitter address, TonyHarrisCNN. One other way for you to contact us directly, talk to the show. Call us, pick up the phone, 1- 877-742-5760.

Let's have more of your views, more of your thoughts on the program. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, minorities may be at greater risk for Alzheimer's Disease, that's according to a new study. CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here.

Elizabeth, explain this to me. Talk to me about dementia and why it may impact some groups more than others.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think the very fact that it does impact some groups more than others is surprising. I know that a lot of people think, well, Alzheimer's is kind of random and it actually isn't completely random. Let's take a look at this newest study.

What it finds is that when you look at White people ages 74 to 85, about one in ten will have Alzheimer's. When you look at Hispanic people in that same age range, you're looking at one out of four, so obviously a much greater risk. When you look at African-Americans and Alzheimer's Disease, we're talking about one out of three.

So these numbers really are pretty stunning.

HARRIS: Have genetics been ruled out by researchers for the most part? Not at all? Still being considered? What are the factors here?

COHEN: You know, I wouldn't exactly use the term "ruled out," but when we asked them for what's your best hypothesis to explain these racial differences, what they point to is not biology but to socioeconomics. That just statistically minorities have less access to medical care and have more chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. And just medically speaking, diabetes and high blood pressure increase your odds of getting Alzheimer's. You can think if it's bad for your heart, diabetes and blood pressure being bad for your heart, it's bad for your head as well, your brain as well.

HARRIS: Boy, if you are poor in America, you seem to be a catch basin for just about everything.

COHEN: That is true. You're at higher risk for a whole slew of things, there's no question.

HARRIS: Anything we can do to ward off Alzheimer's?

COHEN: Warding off Alzheimer's involves warding off diabetes and high blood pressure.

HARRIS: You can make some changes.

COHEN: Yes, you can make some changes. I don't want anyone to get the impression that if you do these things you won't get Alzheimer's, that's not the case, but let's look at three basic things. Eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise and be social. This one is because what studies have shown is that people who have a lot of interaction with other people, sort of use that part of their brain, they tend to get Alzheimer's less frequently. And also people who do things like learn a language --

HARRIS: Keep learning, right? Keep the brain active.

COHEN: Right.

HARRIS: Use it or lose it. I like that.

COHEN: You use your brain a lot.

HARRIS: I'm trying to figure out how to play piano now. That's the thing you're talking about, just pick up something new, try something new, learn something new.

COHEN: Challenge your brain.

HARRIS: Boy, is this a challenge. All right, Elizabeth, good to see you.

COHEN: I can't wait to hear you play in a couple of months.

HARRIS: Try years.

Here is a weight loss program that you can drink to. A study published in "The Archives of Internal Medicine" says women who drink in moderation find it easier to avoid gaining weight. We would have to run that by Elizabeth here. Researchers tracked more than 19,000 women for about 13 years. They found women who downed one or two drinks a day had a 30 percent lower risk of becoming overweight. We may need to independently fact check that.

The recession may be ending. I've got to tell you, it is casting a long shadow over the job market. Will high unemployment change American life and culture as we know it for years to come? We will talk with our guest, Don Peck, of "The Atlantic" and hear what he has to say about this. That's next right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: I believe we have live pictures now, we'll get that camera steadied up in just a second.

Advocates of health care reform are taking it to the streets quite literally now and targeting the insurance industry. Maybe we can hear a little bit of it. You saw the sign just a second ago. If I hear something that sounds like it might be worth listening to I'll pause for a second here. A protest getting underway in Washington, D.C.

Didn't we have better pictures a moment ago?

Organizers with Health Care for America now accuse big insurance companies of plotting to kill health care reform.

What are we doing? Are we taking a raw feed here?

Demonstrators are marching to a downtown hotel where an association of health insurance companies is holding a conference.

OK, that's a little better. Steady, but it's live, so there you go.

Let's check our other top stories for you this morning.

Vice President Joe Biden meeting with Israel's prime minister in Jerusalem today. The visit is aimed at reinforcing a close relationship between the two countries. Biden says the U.S. is committed to keeping Israel safe and preventing a nuclear-armed Iran.

Toyota is sending engineers to the San Diego area to investigate a freeway scare that happened yesterday. We told you about this at the top of the program. The owner of a 2008 Prius says his car suddenly accelerated and standing on the brakes didn't help. The car reportedly got up to more than 90 miles an hour before a highway patrol officer was able to help the driver stop.

The effects of the Great Recession are likely to linger for years to come and dramatically alter life, culture and politics in America. That's the conclusion of an article in "The Atlantic." The author is deputy managing editor Don Peck, and he is with us from Washington.

Don, good to see you.

DON PECK, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR, "THE ATLANTIC": It's a pleasure to be here, Tony.

HARRIS: I want to take our time with this because you've agreed to come back and talk to us more about your writing tomorrow. And in all honesty, this may be the only question I ask you today.

In your piece you write, "If it persists much longer, this era of high joblessness will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults -- and quite possibly those of the children behind them as well. It will leave an indelible imprint on many blue- collar white men -- and on white culture. It could change the nature of modern marriage, and also cripple marriage as an institution in many communities."

How deep is this hole we're in right now?

PECK: Well, it's extremely deep right now. You know, the average duration of unemployment passed six months late last year and that's the highest figure ever recorded since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking that figure in 1948. And long-term unemployment is really the worst thing that can happen to anyone. It's psychologically equivalent to the death of a spouse and it's a kind of bereavement in its own right.

So when you have large numbers of people who have been unemployed for a really long time, it's really just a catastrophe for those people. And over time, for their families, for the communities that they live in and ultimately for our social fabric.

HARRIS: You know, Don, I mentioned this a moment ago, I'll mention it to you on the air, it's worth mentioning. I wonder what the discussion about jobs in this country would be like if the rate of white unemployment in this country was, say, 15 percent, 16 percent, as it is for African-Americans or maybe even 12, 13 percent for white Americans in this country as it is for Hispanics.

Make the point here. Expand on the comment, "it will leave an indelible imprint on many blue-collar white men and on white culture." What do you mean by that?

PECK: First of all, I think you're right to say that if the unemployment were higher for all white people, I think the conversation would be different, and that's what's so important to recognize. There are certain groups within the U.S. that have really dramatically elevated unemployment rates -- young people, minorities, and as you mentioned, blue-collar white men as well. You know, this has been called the "mansession" and that's accurate. Three-quarters of all job losses have been to men in part because of construction, finance and manufacturing have all really imploded.

And, you know, when men are out of work for a long time, they are particularly badly affected, and that affects many things beyond them personally. Marriages tend to sour when men are unemployed for long periods of time. Men often don't pick up their share of the housework on average when they lose their jobs. And the happiness of husbands and wives are closely related, so the misery spreads throughout the home.

Two-thirds of all divorces are legally initiated by women, so I talked to a lot of family experts who really believe that there are likely to be a wave of divorces in the coming years, especially if this period of blue-collar male unemployment persists.

HARRIS: What is it like -- last question for you today and again you're coming back tomorrow and we'll talk about young people. What is it like to be, say, a 55-year-old man unemployed today in this economy?

PECK: Well, it's brutal. Your whole identity is gone and you don't know that you'll ever get it back.

You know, I talked to one man, Gus Pulous (ph), in Pennsylvania. He's a Vietnam-era vet. He had worked his way through night school, he'd become an accountant. He lost his job about a year and a half ago at a hospital as a senior financial analyst, and he just doesn't know what to do with himself. He took a part-time job as Wal-Mart for $8.50 an hour, but that's on the weekends so he doesn't see his wife any more.

And, you know, he had a really horrific experience a couple of months ago where neighbors of his came in to just buy something at Wal-Mart. He rang them up and they didn't even acknowledge him. So, you know, he has fundamental questions about his identity, his self- worth and his future.

HARRIS: Don, you're coming back tomorrow. Your amazing piece in "The Atlantic," Don Peck with us. And, Don, see you tomorrow, appreciate it. Thank you.

PECK: Thank you.

HARRIS: When the earth stopped shaking in Chile, entire cities had been repositioned. Straight up moved. The power of an 8.8 magnitude quake.

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HARRIS: You know, just one of the ten American missionaries jailed in Haiti remains in custody today. Charisa Coulter flew to Miami after a judge in Port-au-Prince freed her Monday. She and the others were accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children after the earthquake. The missionaries say they were trying to get the kids to safety. The only missionary still jailed is the group's leader.

You know, it turns out that the Chilean city of Concepcion didn't just shake, it shifted during the earthquake. It literally moved.

Rob Marciano, what are we talking about? A city moving? Concepcion -- what? It moved?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It moved. I mean the earth is in constant flux and obviously when the earthquake happens, that's the place it's really moving, moving hard.

It's fascinating stuff to me. We show this a lot. This is off the USGS website. These are all the tectonic plates that kind of float over the earth, and there's a dozen or so major plates. Some of the bigger ones are across South America, so that's why this is such an active zone. The Nazca plate diving underneath the South American plate.

HARRIS: Boy.

MARCIANO: To give you an idea, we ordered up a graphic that kind of shows what this movement looks like.

HARRIS: OK.

MARCIANO: I haven't seen this yet. So work along with me.

HARRIS: OK.

MARCIANO: Basically, when the earthquake happened, the entire, that part of the plate, moved -- sprung to the west ten feet. So Concepcion literally was displaced ten feet.

HARRIS: Ten feet?

MARCIANO: Ten feet.

HARRIS: A city moving?

MARCIANO: Moving ten feet. I mean, it's just amazing to conceptualize. But you look at the damage and the actually cracks in the earth's surface, and you're like, well, something moved, right? But to move that much, it's certainly unreal.

On a wider scope, these plates are in constant movement. The Nazca plate moves to the east or the southeast at about three inches per year, at least that's the pressure that it moves. Now when you have that sort of pressure, when you've got this plate kind of diving underneath this plate, this guy kind of wants to bend back and it snaps, and that's where you get the movement.

So we saw that kind of movement. So ten feet this way by Concepcion, and then Santiago seeing a movement of about 11 inches and only because it was further away from the epicenter. So, it is certainly amazing to watch these things in action.

HARRIS: Well, you have to remember, you showed us the graphic a couple of days ago, there is the main quake, the 8.8 magnitude quake, and then all of the aftershocks. And I guess if you put it altogether, you can see that kind of movement, but that is still astonishing that you can move a city.

MARCIANO: We're kind of trying to talk about it, trying to put this in perspective. I guess you can look at it as Concepcion is where it's wanting to be for several decades with everything moving the way it did.

HARRIS: Right, right. That's good stuff, Rob. Man, that's pretty vivid. All right, Rob, thank you, sir.

MARCIANO: You bet.

HARRIS: What a difference year makes in the stock market. A year after the Dow hit rock bottom, it's OK to look at your 401(k) statement again.

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HARRIS: Have you checked your 401(k) statement lately? If not, it's time, and don't be afraid of what you might see. On this day last year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit rock bottom, at least the bottom of this recession. Stephanie Elam joining us now from New York with details.

And, Stephanie, the reality is we really have come a long way in 12 months.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's very true, Tony, and if I could sing, I would sing to you, "What a Difference a Year Makes." I can't, so I won't do that. I'll spare everyone from that one.

But it's really, really true. Exactly one year ago today we saw the Dow fall to about the 6,500 level. That's not just the low of this recession, it's also a 12-year low. And today, the Blue Chips are trading just above 10,500. So, it gives you an idea of what a big drop that was. That was a gain of more than 60 percent then that we've seen over this past year.

And it's not just the Dow. Nasdaq gained 61 percent, the S&P 500, which a lot of mutual funds mirror, gained nearly 70 percent.

Now think about what's happened in the past year. Job cuts slowed down dramatically, consumer confidence was moved off record lows, and the economy is actually growing again. These are all kind signs, Tony.

HARRIS: Good signs. Say it again, say it loud, good signs. OK, so we're talking about a 60 percent gain in just one year. Seems a little extreme. Is that too much, too fast? Should we be bracing for a bit of a pullback here? What do you think, Steph?

ELAM: Yes, I mean, sure, definitely it was faster, but history is on our side. The average bull market lasts about four years. Still some analysts say we could see a correction this year. The real answer could depend on the Federal Reserve. According to the National Association of Business Economics, most economists think the Fed will raise interest rates in the next 6 months. That could limit spending. Others say that it's really about the labor market. If the economy doesn't have the jobs, the bull market could be over. But for now, the recovery is definitely underway, so enjoy the ride, Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Stephanie, appreciate it. Thank you, lady. See you next hour.

And here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Failing economies forcing schools to shut down. The closings, the class sizes, the layoffs, the impact -- we'll put it all in focus for you.

Plus, a battle for Baby Patricia. A Haitian couple tries to prove that a baby flown to the United States for treatment after the earthquake is theirs. A live report from out chief medical correspondent.

That's next hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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