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President Obama And Haitian President Deliver Comments From Rose Garden; More Problems with Prius; Surviving a Runaway Car; Jihad Jane Jailed in Philadelphia

Aired March 10, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, time for your top of the hour reset. I'm Tony Harris in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is 12:00 in Washington, where Haiti's leader visits President Obama and thanks the US for its help after January's earthquake. We're expecting to see the two men in the Rose Garden any minute now.

Across the nation today, a growing number of schools feel the financial squeeze. A conversation with the superintendent of the nation's sixth largest public school district.

It is 7:00 in Jerusalem, where Israel pushes ahead with settlements, leaving the visiting US vice president in an embarrassing lurch, to say the least.

Let's get started. President Obama focusing attention on long- term support for the earthquake recovery effort in Haiti. The president wrapping up remarks here shortly on Haiti, meeting with the country's President Rene Preval.

White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux, is there in the Rose Garden. And if you would, Suzanne, give us a bit of a preview of what the two men have been talking about and what we might hear in a few minutes in the Rose Garden.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Tony. We expect the two leaders to appear very shortly here in the Rose Garden. And one of the things they're talking about is really the long-term strategy, the vision for Haiti. There is an international donors' conference that is coming up at the end of the month, through the United Nations. And a lot of leaders are coming up with ideas that they believe will help Haiti.

We're not just talking about some of the supplies, whether it's clothing or shelter or medicine, these type of things, but really a long-term vision for Haiti, say, in the next 20 years or so. How does this country become independent from other world countries? Talking about how to change the government, the economy, the landscape, education. I want to go straight to both these leaders, who are appearing right now at the podium.

HARRIS: Terrific.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentleman, the president of the United States and the president of the Republic of Haiti.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Please be seated. Good afternoon, everybody.

And on behalf of the American people, I want to welcome President Preval, the First Lady, and their delegation to the United States. The president and I have just concluded a very productive meeting in the Oval Office on the urgent and overriding challenges before us: helping the people of Haiti as they recover and rebuild after one of the most devastating natural disasters ever to strike our hemisphere. Mr. President, as I did when I spoke to you in those first days after the earthquake, I, again, want to express to you and to the Haitian people the deepest condolences of the American people. Your grief is shared by our strong and vibrant Haitian-American community, some of whom join us here today, and who continue to mourn the loss of their loved ones back in Haiti.

To you and to our fellow Americans, please know that you remain in our thoughts and in our prayers. The United States joins in mourning the loss of American citizens, as more than 100 Americans died in this earthquake. And our hearts also go out to their loved ones.

We also remember that this natural disaster was an international tragedy, taking the lives of Dominicans and Canadians, French, Brazilians, and people from dozens of nations around the world.

President Preval and his delegation offered an update on the status of relief, recovery, and reconstruction efforts, the progress so far and the daunting challenges ahead in a disaster that even now defies comprehension.

To offer just some perspective on the awful scale of Haitian loss, it's as if the United States, in a terrible incident, lost nearly eight million people. Or it's as if one-third of our country, 100 million Americans, suddenly had no home, no food or water.

It gives you a sense of, relative to the populations, what has happened in Haiti. No nation could respond to such a catastrophe alone. It would require a global response, and that's exactly what we have seen these past two months.

Mr. President, even as you and other Haitian leaders have endured your personal tragedies, losing your own homes, your loved ones, you have carried on with great courage and determination. You've persevered, leading an international effort with critical support from the United Nations, many partner nations, and countless non- governmental organizations.

Representatives of some of the NGOs are here today. And for the extraordinary work that you've done to uplift lives every day, in Haiti and around the world, often at great risk to your own lives, we salute you as well.

In this international response, the United States has been proud to play a leading role. Mr. President, we are joined today by men and women representing all the Americas who answered Haiti's call in its hour of need, including many members of Congress and many state and local officials, who we thank for their support, and leaders from across my administration, the Department of State, USAID, Homeland Security, FEMA, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and the Department of Defense, including our great folks at Southern Command.

Today, I want to thank all of them for leading a swift and coordinated response during one of the most complex humanitarian efforts ever attempted. We're joined by Ambassador Ken Merten and some of our heroic embassy staff who worked around the clock. We're joined by our disaster response teams, who were on the scene within 24 hours; our military personnel, who quickly reopened the airport and the port, making way for a massive humanitarian effort; our search- and-rescue teams, who crawled into the rubble to pull survivors out to safety, Haitian and American; the volunteer physicians and nurses and paramedics who treated tens of thousands of patients with life- threatening injuries; and all our men and women in uniform who have helped to distribute desperately needed food and water and medicine to millions of people, our remarkable soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen.

I just want to personally say how extraordinarily proud I am of each and every one of you, because I think you represent what's best in America. And I could not be prouder of the response that all of you were engaged in during this humanitarian crisis.

Now, no relief effort of this magnitude is without its difficulties. But there should be absolutely no doubt in anybody's mind, along with their Haitian and international partners, these men and women made a difference. They saved lives, countless lives, of men and women and children.

So, Mr. President, if you will permit us this moment to briefly express once again our admiration for all those who stepped forward, who volunteered, who represent the true character of our country, and who projected to the world the best face of America, the face of compassion and generosity; each and every one of you can take enormous pride at your service, and every single American thanks you for making us so proud.

I also want to acknowledge the enormous generosity of so many individual Americans who gave what they could to support Haiti even in difficult economic times. That help makes possible an extraordinary response from the courageous and capable non-governmental organizations that have been at the scene and that support all kinds of efforts that the government is engaged in. And I know that the support of the American people will continue to be essential, as Haiti tries to recover and rebuild.

As President Preval and I discussed, the situation on the ground remains dire. And people should be under no illusions that the crisis is over. Many Haitians are still in need, desperate need in some cases, of shelter and food and medicine. And with the Spring rains approaching, those needs will only grow.

The challenge now is to prevent a second disaster. And that's why, at this very moment, thousands of Americans, both civilian and military, remain on the scene, at the invitation of the Haitian government. And that's why, even as the US military responsibly hands off relief functions to our Haitian and international partners, America's commitment to Haiti's recovery and reconstruction must endure and will endure.

This pledge is one that I made at the beginning of this crisis, and I intend for America to keep our pledge. America will be your partner in the recovery and reconstruction.

Toward that end, the international donors' conference of the United Nations later this month will be an opportunity -- an important opportunity -- for all parties. Haiti can lead the way. And they will lead the way with a strong vision for its future. The international community can pledge the resources that will be necessary for a coordinated and sustained effort. And working together, we can ensure that assistance not simply delivers relief for the short term, but builds up Haiti's capacity to deliver basic services, and provide for the Haitian people over the long term.

Mr. President, in the face of devastation that shocked the world, the people of Haiti responded with resolve and faith that inspired the world, in song and in prayer, in the determination to carry on. As you declared during last month's national day of mourning, it is time to wipe away the tears. It is time for Haiti to rebuild. And to you and to the Haitian people, I say today, as you embark on the heavy work ahead, you will continue to have a steady and reliable partner in the United States of America.

So, with that, let me turn this over to President Preval.

RENE PREVAL, PRESIDENT OF HAITI (through translator): Mr. President, dear friends in Congress, members of the organizations that helped Haiti in this moment of need, the Haitians of Washington, the damages caused in Haiti by the earthquake of January 12th, 2010, are unimaginable. But the response from the international community, from Asia to Africa, from the United States, from Canada, from all of Latin America, from the Caribbean, from Europe, all the way to the Middle East -- this response, thanks to its swiftness, thanks to its size, was commensurate with the disaster.

Today, here and now, I would like to thank the American people. I would like to thank Congress. I would like to thank the administration and you in particular, Mr. President, as well as your wife, not only for the material aid, but also for the moral support, the psychological support, that helped us realize that we were not alone and that provide us great comfort in our distress.

You, thanks to your statements, sent a message to all of those who provided help to Haiti. Needless for me to repeat that which you said, so I would like to thank you for having made it possible for these people to come to help us.

Mr. President, for me this is also an opportunity to express my sympathy, my condolences, to all of the American families who -- for whom members of their families were killed, injured in Haiti during this earthquake.

Dear friends, we must draw the lessons from what occurred in Haiti. These are lessons for all of mankind. The Haiti earthquake was immediately followed by the Earthquake in Chile, as well as other earthquakes throughout the world. And the countries that have seismic risks are not merely those countries which are located on top of seismic faults. In fact, the tsunamis which are the repercussions of breaking faults threaten other regions, as well as the United States.

In addition to earthquakes and tsunamis, global warming is a major concern for the entire planet. We must draw the lessons from what occurred in Haiti. The massive, spontaneous, generous help was a good response to the disaster.

However, its effectiveness must be improved, because effectiveness depends on the quality of coordination. This is why I support the idea of the creation of so-called Red Helmets within the United Nations, and these would be an observatory, a warning system, a provision system, for natural disaster, and a humanitarian force which would be equivalent of the Blue Helmets. I would propose it should be so-called Red Helmets, a humanitarian force in order to intervene and work in a coordinated manner within the first few minutes after a natural disaster, which are so fundamental in saving lives.

Mr. President, during our meeting, I mentioned what Haiti's preoccupations and priorities were. Our priorities are, first and foremost, as you said, protection of those people who today are homeless and who must be relocated. And in parallel, we must prepare the rainy season, which just last week has already caused the deaths of 15 people.

And at the same time, much more basically, we must deal with the need of rebuilding Haiti thanks to an effective decentralization policy. Namely, offering health care, education, jobs to all Haitians, men and women, regardless of where they live in the country, in order to prevent migratory flows towards the big cities. And that will help avoid that disaster such as the earthquake would cause so many victims.

On March 31st, there will be at the United Nations an international conference in order to support the reconstruction of Haiti. I do hope that all participants will share this philosophy, this vision, of decentralization.

And at the same time, just as the first responders, I do recommend the concept of a coordination via the creation of a trust fund, a donors trust fund, whose implementation would be done followed according to a unique procedure carried out by one executing agency. We talked about this. And I do know that we can already count on your support to be the advocate of that idea during this conference in support of our vision.

Thank you very much.

HARRIS: OK. President Obama and Haitian President Preval, thanking everyone from the US military to relief organizations, to individuals who helped save and repair lives in the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake on January 12th. Helping and giving money in Haiti's hour of need. President Preval, as you heard there, very gracious in his appreciation of the US relief effort. President Obama and Haiti's president in remarks from the White House Rose Garden.

You know, as part of our on-going coverage of the economy and your schools, I'll talk to Broward County's school superintendent about his efforts to stay afloat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: It seems a little drastic, firing every teacher at a high school in Rhode Island. But is it justified? It's just one example of radical steps in education across the country, some to save money and some to increase student performance. Ines Ferre joining me again. Ines, look, how are the students in Rhode Island reacting to the story?

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they don't like it at all. And graduates and students of Central Falls High School in Rhode Island gathered in a candlelight protest last night, Tony. They were demonstrating against the recent firing of all the teachers. The superintendent says the high school is under-performing and points to the fact that only 48 percent of its seniors graduated last year.

In Kansas City tonight, you also have the school board which is scheduled to vote on a plan that would close at least 26 schools, and cut some 285 teachers. The superintendent says that the cuts would provide better education through the best teachers and resources and fewer schools.

Also, Tony, over 100 districts in the US now have four-day school weeks.

HARRIS: Boy.

FERRE: Dozens of other districts are contemplating the same. And one school official from Colorado explains why her district recently voted in favor of a four-day week. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNETTE PANTELLO, PRESIDENT, PUEBLO SCHOOL DISTRICT 70: The main reason we switched to the four-day week was due to budget concerns. We have close to six million dollars we need to cut out of the budget. And by going to a four-day week, we're going to save anywhere between 800,000 to 1.1 million. The main change --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FERRE: Now, that official also added that the school days would be longer. But some school officials are saying they have no other option, no other choice. HARRIS: Yeah, yeah, we're hearing that. And we heard it all this week. We're going to continue the conversation. Ines, thank you.

You know, school districts across the country are fighting to cope with huge budget cuts. Joining me now from Plantation, Florida, James Notter, superintendent of Broward County Public Schools. James, good to see you. Thanks for your time here. How has the national recession impacted Florida's economy and, as a result, your budget?

JAMES NOTTER, SUPERINTENDENT, BROWARD COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT: Hello, Tony, how are you doing?

HARRIS: I'm great. Thank you for being here.

NOTTER: It's been an absolute catastrophe, quite frankly. Florida, as a service-oriented state, is hit exceptionally hard, I believe much more than other states in the country, in terms of its sales tax, which is a major part of our budget. Equally, as well, we had the perfect storm. We had the issues with foreclosures and a rapid escalation in the property cost and then a quick deescalation, which is the other part of how we fund Florida.

HARRIS: I got to ask you --

NOTTER: Unfortunately --

HARRIS: Go ahead.

NOTTER: -- caused us to have a 3.2 billion -- with a "B" -- shortfall in the opening of our session, legislative session, which was last week.

HARRIS: Wow. You just made me think of something. Do we need to come up with another funding mechanism for schools? You mentioned sales tax. You mentioned property tax. Do we need to come up with a different funding mechanism for schools?

NOTTER: We believe so, Tony. You know, the volatility, frankly, of sales tax --

HARRIS: Yes.

NOTTER: -- and property tax, it's really difficult to forecast your budget each year.

HARRIS: Yes. So, what would you do? Do you have any thoughts? Any suggestions on what that other option would be?

NOTTER: You know, Tony, what I would do, I'd take the brightest minds from around this country, lock them in a room and say, you can't come out until such time that you have a formula that will ultimately consistently fund public education.

HARRIS: I like that.

NOTTER: It is the engine that drives our economy. And, frankly, it's what's made America great.

HARRIS: I like that. Have you submitted a budget for, say, next year yet? What do you see when you look out over the next year, over, say, the next two years?

NOTTER: Well, I see us right in the middle of that perfect storm.

HARRIS: Yeah.

NOTTER: And I just hope and pray, frankly, that it's a lot more calmer waters on the other end. The 3.2 billion dollar shortfall, approximately 1.2 billion is going to impact public education for next year. And frankly, that has all of us more than concerned here in Florida, especially as we continue to drive high rigor in our classes, more advanced placement classes for our children, and truly try to meet the STEM programs, which is our science and technology and engineering programs, which are critical for America's future as we compete in a global marketplace.

HARRIS: You know, I want to get your response to a couple of blog comments. Just -- just -- just take this on, if you would. This first one is from Grady who writes, "why are we talking about laying off teachers and not the administrators? Does a high school really need two principals, four vice principals and ten counselors in order to function?"

And this cuts to the idea that you guys are really mismanaging your personnel and your budgets. Maybe you could speak to that.

NOTTER: Yeah. Quite frankly, I support the blog. Or the blogger.

HARRIS: Yeah.

NOTTER: The reality is, you really have to do a surgical reduction in your budget. You have to take a look at your school sites and your central office. For example, here in Broward, we cut 10 million dollars out of our central office, which is administration, last year to get into this year. In addition to that, I consolidated four area offices, which -- as part of our governance structure into three.

HARRIS: Great.

NOTTER: I think the blogger's correct. I think that we need to ensure that we're really doing a surgical reduction, not a hatchet reduction.

HARRIS: All right. Let's do this, let's leave it there. I suspect we'll be calling you, soon, to continue this conversation. James, appreciate it. Thank you.

NOTTER: Appreciate it, Tony.

HARRIS: Yeah, yeah, we really did enjoy that. All this week, we'll be looking at the economy and the impact its having on schools across the country. Don't forget, if you have any comments, smart comments like Grady's here, you can just send them along. Go to my blog page. It is CNN.com/Tony. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Ah, at this time we like to direct your attention, as we always do, to CNNmoney.com. What is the bold-faced headline story there? "Firing the $70 billion man." Who is that? Just go to CNNmoney.com if you want the latest financial news and analysis.

We've got a gremlin in the little gizmo here that gives us the numbers from the New York Stock Exchange, but we can tell you that the Dow is down 34 points at last check, and the Nasdaq is up -- it's kind of a mixed day. We'll still figure out a way to follow the numbers for your throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Another report of a runaway Toyota, but this Prius story comes with a backwards twist.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, we are hearing more scary stories from Toyota owners who say their cars suddenly accelerated. Yesterday we learned about an incident near San Diego. Now, New York police say they are investigating a crash involving another Prius that appears to have accelerated out of control. The car lurched down a driveway, across a road, and finally slammed into a stone wall. No one was seriously hurt.

But what do you do if this happens to you? In just a couple of minutes, we'll get some tips on how to survive a acceleration problem in any car.

Another complaint about a runaway Toyota. This one in Minnesota. A doctor says when he put his 2007 Prius in reverse, it took off. Listen to this report from our affiliate KARE.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOYD HUPPERT, KARE 11 NEWS REPORTER (voice-over): As a recently retired Mayo Clinic physician, Alan Hoffman has spent a career saving lives.

DR. ALAN HOFFMAN, MINNESOTA PHYSICIAN, PRIUS OWNER: My issue is really a public health issue.

HUPPERT: But says his 2007 Toyota Prius nearly cost him this. Hoffman had driven his Prius to a medical convention in Chicago in December. Was right here in this hotel parking lot, shifting into reverse, when his car took off backwards.

HOFFMAN: This was flying. I have no idea, but my guess is, it was 35 to 40 miles an hour. HUPPERT: Crossing the parking lot, Hoffman sideswiped a car.

HOFFMAN: Went over the bushes.

HUPPERT: And came to a stop within feet of a busy highway.

HOFFMAN: I could easily have been killed in this. Almost went out into a four-lane highway at rush hour.

HUPPERT: Hoffman insists he slammed and held both feet on the brake as soon as the Prius took off.

HOFFMAN: We had practiced this. There was a little sign my wife had put on the dashboard. We had actually prepare for a sudden acceleration.

HUPPERT: He felt little satisfaction from a letter sent by Toyota.

HOFFMAN: During a road text, no abnormal breaking or acceleration problems were found.

HUPPERT: This week, as another apparent sudden acceleration of a Prius makes news in California, Hoffman is rid of his.

HOFFMAN: We weren't going to drive it again, but we didn't want other people to drive it again.

HUPPERT: He's donated the car to the Engineering School at Illinois' Northwestern University. The doctor hopes someone there can solve the mystery.

HOFFMAN: The was a car that was great for 34,000 miles. But those last two seconds were really bad. They were really bad.

HUPPERT: Boyd Huppert, KARE 11 News, Rochester.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: You know, as these harrowing accounts of runaway Toyotas keep come in, we want you to know how to survive a sudden acceleration. So we turn to the man who wrote the book on survival, there he is, Ben Sherwood, author of "The Survivors Club," joining me now from Los Angeles.

OK, we've got you up, Ben. We've got the book up. Well done. We're off to the races here.

Look, Ben, you remember this moment from the Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, what was it about a month ago, in his congressional testimony. We want to play it for everyone, because it got a lot of us confused, and then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY LAHOOD, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: My advice is, if anybody owns one of these vehicles, stop driving it.

What I meant to say, what I thought I said was, if you own one of these cars, or if you're in doubt, take it to the dealer and they're going to fix it, OK? That good enough for everybody?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: All right, let's see if we can -- a bit snarky. Let's see if we can get some clarity here. Let's systematically walk everyone through what we need to do if we find ourselves in one of these sudden acceleration situations. You tell us the first thing to do, and then explain this, would you please, is to practice deliberate calm. Walk us through that. What do you mean by that?

BEN SHERWOOD, AUTHOR, "THE SURVIVORS CLUB": Well, Tony, Dr. Hoffman, in the piece that you just aired, actually demonstrates the classic survivor mentality. He's a guy who actually -- and as a doctor, he knows all about this, deliberate calm is this concept that you have to consciously calm yourself down and tell yourself that panic in one of these situations is your enemy. Pilots, like Captain Sully Sullenberger, exercised deliberate calm. Purposeful, conscious calm in doing the things they know to do.

Dr. Hoffman actually had a card in his car that told him the next few steps of what to do. But the key, and I studied survivors of every kind of calamity, car crashes, plane crashes, violent crime, mountain lion attacks, deliberate calm is a really important idea.

HARRIS: That's terrific. The next tip here, this sounds straightforward, you say carefully press and hold the brakes. Explain -- talk us through this.

SHERWOOD: Well, experts say that one instinct that we've been trained to do is to pump the brakes to slow a car down.

HARRIS: Yes.

SHERWOOD: But, in fact, "Consumer Reports" found in some track tests that pumping the brakes may actually cause more problems because of pressure and the brakes. The key, Toyota says this, experts say this, is to press firmly with both feet on the brakes as hard as you can.

And then step three is to shift into neutral. That's the key, shift into neutral. As soon as you're in neutral, you're going to hear the engine rev really loudly. Most cars have an engine speed limiter, so it's not going to damage the car. But in neutral, as you hear your car -- that engine gunning, you then want to move safely to a lane and stop the car with those brakes that you're pressing on firmly.

HARRIS: And, you know, the last really vital bit of information here that you share with us is, you tell us don't turn off the engine.

SHERWOOD: Well, Tony, this is a big issue because most people don't realize that when you turn the engine off, especially in late- model cars, you end up turning off the power assist with the steering and the brakes, so it makes it much harder to navigate, especially if you're going 100 miles an hour or 80 miles an hour on a freeway. So turning off the car is a last resort if you can't get it into neutral, if you can't slow it down. But remember, you're going to lose that power steering and those brakes.

Now, if you take the key out, that's a really big issue. So if you turn off the car, leave the key in, and you'll still have some steering and some brakes, but you're not going to have that power assist that you're used to.

HARRIS: All right, Ben, that's terrific advice. Great tips. You know, we'll put this on our blog page, too, if anyone wants to take a look at this and jolt all of this information down. Ben Sherwood, author of "The Survivors Club."

Ben, great to see you. Thank you for your time.

SHERWOOD: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: And if you'd like an in-depth look into the Toyota recall, just go to CNN.com/Toyota. There you will find out if your car has been recalled, as well as what to do. And don't forget to go to our blog page as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right, let's get you caught up on our top stories now.

President Obama welcomes Haiti's leader to the White House to talk about earthquake relief, recovery, and reconstruction. President Rene Preval is thanking Americans for their massive outpouring of aid. The January quake killed more than 200,000 people.

On Capitol Hill, a move to keep millions of Americans from losing their unemployment benefits at the end of the month. The Senate appears to be on track for a final vote to extend jobless benefits through the end of the year. The measure is expected to pass.

It makes you dizzy just to look at this. Several workers with the Florida Department of Transportation stuck on a drawbridge. The bridge is being repaired and it got stuck in the upright position. Take a moment and look at that shot. The workers were strapped in with safety harnesses. Look at this. A fire truck with a really long ladder was sent in to rescue the workers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: CNN has been reporting on the Pennsylvania woman known as Jihad Jane. She is a white blonde suburbanite and allegedly a homegrown terrorist. Prosecutors have unsealed an indictment against Colleen LaRose. Our Susan Candiotti is in Pennsylvania right now and has been digging on the case. She has new details for us.

And, Susan, I understand you spoke with LaRose's ex-boyfriend?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, now her ex-boyfriend. But this is where she lived with him in his apartment. She moved here from Texas back in 2004. They lived upstairs in this duplex in his apartment. Second floor. You might be able to see the wind chimes possibly hanging from the balcony there.

And he said that this is a woman who spent most of her time in the apartment. She had no hobbies. He knows that she used to work on the computer, but from what he knew, she was mostly playing video games and listening to music on the computer as well. So all of this, he said, came as a big shock to him.

But I asked him specifically what he thought when he heard about these charges that she might be providing help to terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: You've heard about these charges. They're saying she was also known as Jihad Jane. She had postings on the Internet. Talked about plotting to kill someone.

KURT GORMAN, FORMER BOYFRIEND OF COLLEEN LAROSE: Sounds crazy. Just hard to believe. It was hard to believe. This doesn't sound like the person that I knew, so -- it just doesn't -- doesn't seem like her personality.

CANDIOTTI: In what way?

GORMAN: Well, if you're a nice person, taking care of an elderly man there, I mean, that's -- doesn't in my mind go with somebody that wants to hurt somebody else. Why would you take care of somebody if you wanted to hurt people? So, it just seems like a conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now, the person that he is referring to, the elderly man that she was taking care of, was this man's father. In fact, he died in August. And not long after he died, he says, she took off. He had no clue that this was going to happen. He came back after work one night and she simply wasn't there. He said he was mad, he was hurt, he was disgusted by all of this, and it makes no sense to him at all.

Not long after that, he discovered that his passport was missing and he reported it miss. Did he think she might have been responsible? He said, he wasn't really sure. But about a month later, in September, the FBI came to call. He said he was surprised about it, but he talked with them. He answered their questions. He said they wanted to know about her, what she did. The same kind of things that we want to know. What kind of work she was doing on the computer.

And then that led to his testimony before a grand jury last November. He did report that passport as having been missing. But then I asked him, did he think that this is something that she really seemed capable of. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GORMAN: She wasn't no rocket scientist, so I don't mean she -- I don't -- hard to say what somebody thinks there, or how much they know, but it's not like she was a, you know, -- she was limited in her capacity there. So, I mean, I'm -- I don't know how, you know, much thought she could actually do on her own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Again, this was part of an exclusive interview that this gentleman, Kurt Gorman, gave to CNN only today.

HARRIS: Wow.

CANDIOTTI: Again, he doesn't know what to make of all this, Tony. He's still trying to put the pieces together for himself.

HARRIS: Yes. And maybe for us as well.

All right, Susan Candiotti for us. Susan, appreciate it. Thank you.

A quick break. We're back in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: I need you to reach out to the program. I need you to talk to me directly. A couple of 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 us your thoughts on Facebook, here's what you do, TonyHarrisCNN. Here's my Twitter address, TonyHarrisCNN. Call us. Pick up the phone, 1-877-742-5760. Let's have more of your thoughts on the program CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Raising their voices to raise awareness. The African Children's Choir draws attention to the plight of some of the continent's neediest children. Their music helps these children break away from the cycle of poverty. The choir performed for us last hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's a bit of the performance.

(AFRICAN CHILDREN'S CHOIR VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh, man, that is good stuff. Come on, you got to love that! Maybe not if you don't have a pulse. I don't know what else to say. You can see more by going to our blog at CNN.com/Tony.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with the man, Ali Velshi.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: That was a kickoff to the show if I've ever seen one. That was fun, a musical introduction with Tony Harris.

Thanks, buddy.