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Kansas City Closing 61 Schools; The Air Up There May Get You Sick; Obama Speaks Out About Exports, Jobs; California Schools Face Closings; Hero 7-Year-Old Saves Family By Calling 911

Aired March 11, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Fred, you have a great day. Good to see you.

Hello, everyone. It is Thursday morning, the 11th of March. Top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now it's getting personal. I have a boarded up school on my block.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm really sad. It's a great school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I deserve a right to be able to make a rational choice based on fact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Wow! Out of money, short on students; Kansas City's board of education votes to shut down about half the district's schools.

Airline passengers and crew complain of headaches, disorientation and dizziness, and they blame the air up there.

And live this hour, President Obama's strategy to create two million new American jobs, double overseas sale of goods made right here in America.

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

Boy, oh boy, sign of the times; money troubles forcing the shutdown of almost half of the public schools in the Kansas City, Missouri School District. Think about that for a second. Think about this: that's the inner city area.

Parents outraged. They interrupted the school board's vote several times last night. But officials point to dwindling enrollment, budget cuts and a 50 million dollar deficit. Students and parents say ultimately they pay the price.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like I have nothing. I don't even have a high school legacy at all. I have nothing. I have nothing to go back to.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have an eight-year-old and a six-year-old that will be going to school with a 12th grader. And I find that to be very inappropriate, very inappropriate. I don't feel like my children will be safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK. Our Ines Ferre has the details on the plan. If you would, break down this restructuring plan for us.

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: OK, Tony, the school superintendent calls it the right size plan. They're closing 28 of the district's 61 public schools and cutting some 700 jobs, including 285 teacher jobs.

Now, there will be transition teams to help the students and their parents, so that everything is in place by the start of next fall. The board will also try to sell the school buildings that they'll be closing.

HARRIS: And what is driving all of this?

FERRE: Well, a big part of this has to do with money, a 50 million dollar deficit, like you just explained. They're just operating too many schools. The superintendent saying that the district could have gone bankrupt if this didn't change. Listen to what he said this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN COVINGTON, KANSAS CITY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: No one likes closing schools. It's hard. It's tough on families and it's certainly tough on our community. Closing schools and making the remaining schools much stronger academically is unquestionably the right thing to do. We were operating far too many schools.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FERRE: Tony, in the last ten years, enrollment in the district just plummeted from 35,000 to about 18,000 now.

HARRIS: Got another question for you. This new district, what are the demographics of the community this district will serve?

FERRE: We took a look at that, and we have the numbers for you on the screen. You've got black 62 percent -- the state average there is 18 percent -- Hispanic 21 percent, white 14 percent, and Asian/Pacific Islander two percent.

HARRIS: OK. Are we seeing an up-tick in school closings in other parts of the country? FERRE: Well, you're definitely seeing this in other districts. I mean you've got -- in Detroit, you've had some 29 schools that closed before classes started this fall. In Michigan as a whole, you've got something like 20 percent of the school districts that are facing deficits. You even had this week in Boston -- you had a school committee meeting where they discussed the possibility of closing schools.

HARRIS: All across the country it seems. All right, Ines, I know you're back with more next hour, appreciate it. Thank you.

Also happening on the education front, the push to raise student achievement levels taking a step forward now. The proposal for sweeping new school standards. Governors and education leaders calling for schools across the country to use the same math and English textbooks, and take the same standardized tests.

Texas and Alaska are already rejecting the project. One lawmaker calling it the first step in the nationalization of schools. The public will have until April 2nd to comment on the proposal.

So with school districts across the country facing budget shortfalls, of course we want to hear from you. What's happening in your community? And let's go heavy here on the solutions. What are your solutions? Some of your thoughts, at CNN.com/Tony, or maybe an iReport or just pick up the phone and call me at 1-877-742-5760.

Next hour, we will continue the conversation with teacher Joseph Lee. How are budget cuts affecting what he does as a teacher.

HARRIS: And checking the other big stories we're following for you, the number of newly laid-off workers filing for unemployment dipped last week. The Labor Department says the number of initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 for the week ending March 6th. The number of claims, 462,000, is close to what analysts expected, and a sign the employment picture may be slowly improving. However, continuing claims for jobless benefits are up.

Authorities in Arkansas say one person has died from the tornados that struck overnight. The fatality was in Cleburne (ph) county, and this was the scene captured by amateur video in Saline County, where another twister touched down. We will check in with Rob Marciano in the weather center in just a moment.

First, reporter Melissa Dunbar Gates of affiliate KTHV joins us live from Saline County, Arkansas. Melissa, we're getting reports of two dozen homes damaged. Any reports there of injuries?

MELISSA DUNBAR GATES, KTHV: Actually, in the area where we are -- we're in Saline County, which is 30 miles south of Little Rock -- there are no injuries here. So that is the great news out of Saline County. You did mention the one death reported in Cleburne County. That is several hours north of where we are here this morning.

As you can see behind me, clean-up is well under way. And, you know, the great thing here, this morning, is that we have no injuries. We do have several dozen homes that were damaged. And we do have a sheriff deputy, Scott Courtney, talking a little bit about that. He was actually an eyewitness to the storm.

We found an 80-year-old woman who survived the storm, but lost her dog, a one-year-old black lab named Blaze. She lives just to our right here. Her adult children took her to stay with them last night and she returned just about an hour ago, where Blaze was waiting for her this morning. So an extraordinarily happy reunion that we just witnessed moments ago. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The houses are anywhere from minor roof damage, shingles missing, to, like we see here, porches ripped off. So until we get the light up and we actually do more of a damage assessment, we don't know the exact extent of the damage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't know what all was tore up down here. It worried me. And I didn't know where you was at.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GATES: Precious. That was 80-year-old Lily Orrell (ph), obviously a very happy reunion for them this morning. She didn't sleep well not knowing where her dog, Blaze, was. Perhaps you can see behind me on this house, several large branches from a tree resting on top of that home. Large amount of work crews have descended on this area. And the best news out of at least Saline County is there are no injuries here.

HARRIS: Melissa, that's good news. If you would, have your photographer shoot more pictures of that scene around you, and send them to us. And we'll get them on the air in weather hits with Rob and Chad, a little later. Appreciate it. Thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Another alleged terror plot, this time in the UK. But the concern is international. We are live from London.

And toxins at 30,000 feet; is the air inside your plane making you sick? A CNN Special Report is just ahead.

And the New York Stock exchange right now, quick look here. The Dow we understand -- oh, OK, let's just call it flat, down five points. Nasdaq flat. We're following these numbers throughout the day for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In London, the talk is all about a British Airways employee who has been charged with plotting terror attacks. He was in court this morning. Our international security correspondent Paula Newton is following the case for us.

Paula, good to see you. Who is this man? And, if you would, outline some of the allegations here.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, his name is Rajeeb Kareem (ph). He's 30 years old. I have to say, I go to these kind of pretrial hearings all the time. Many times when these allegations come out, you think, OK, well that doesn't -- I can breathe a sigh of relief; that doesn't sound so serious.

This was a completely different kind of morning, Tony. This man, if he is convicted of the charges against him -- this is -- this is a professional at work. The allegations against him are that he came specifically to this country to become a citizen and to specifically go and work for an airline. He has offered himself up, authorities allege, for martyrdom, for suicide operations. He has been trying to support suicide operations.

Get this, being a BA employee, most recently he had volunteered that if British Airways cabin crew go on strike -- and they have been threatening to strike -- that he would volunteer to be a cabin crew member. That would give him access, security access, not just to the airports here in Britain, but obviously potentially all over the world.

More than that, Tony, he was an IT, a computer developer at British Airways. And from a computer that was encrypted, the authorities allege that he was passing information on about how to dodge security at airports, what the latest liquids, you know, restrictions were, that he passed money and information to places and people in Yemen, Pakistan and Bangladesh, where he's from.

HARRIS: Wait a minute here, Paula. How much security clearance did the suspect have at British Airways?

NEWTON: So far, he would have had access certainly to their computer systems. One of the things that he did was really, apparently, according to the authorities and their allegations, illustrate how financial loss could occur at the airline by trying to hack into those computers.

But beyond that, he was clearly angling for more security by trying to take advantage of this industrial strike. He was placed in, of course, an administrative center for now. But he put up his hand and said, look, I'd like to be a crew member and trained as a crew member, if British Airways crew goes on strike.

Again, stressed, these are only allegations so far. But it is definitely unprecedented in terms of the potential for some kind of an inside job here.

HARRIS: I've got one more for you. Are authorities linking him to any specific plots?

NEWTON: This is what's interesting. They continue their investigations overseas. So in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Yemen -- they're obviously most concerned with the Yemeni contact. They say there's a lot more information to go through, not just on his computer, but at his home, and this investigation continues. Obviously, they say it is so serious that the fact that he would volunteer himself to go and train in places like Yemen and Pakistan for suicide operations, they're trying to see what his involvement was with perhaps past plots or plots still on the drawing board.

HARRIS: Paula, appreciate it. Thank you.

Sick from flying; could it be the air in the plane? We will take you up 30,000 feet for the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: New passenger friendly rules on tarmac delays begin in six weeks. But already one airline announces a way to dodge them. Yes, Continental says it will aggressively cancel flights, even if threats of bad weather or heavy traffic patterns never materialize. Airlines could face penalties up to four million dollars for a fully loaded 737. The fine kicks in if the plane holds passengers on the tarmac more than three hours.

Once you get off the ground, there could be other issues. Say you start feeling sick halfway into the flight. Could it be from the air inside the plane? Allan Chernoff is in New York for us. Allan, you've been investigating this. What have you found?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, fortunately, this issue is not common. But the fact is a growing number of airline crew and passengers are falling victim to toxic air exposure. One US Airways plane, in particular, had repeated problems in recent weeks, causing pilots and flight attendants to suffer severe health issues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF (voice-over): January 16th, ambulances meet US Airways flight 1041, arriving in Charlotte from St. Thomas. Eight passengers received medical treatment. Seven crew members are rushed to the hospital, after complaining of headaches and breathing problems. Neither the pilots nor flight attendants would speak with CNN, for fear of losing their jobs.

But Judith Murawski, industrial hygienist with the Association of Flight Attendants, has been talking with her union members.

JUDITH MURAWSKI, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: Headaches, confusion, some disorientation, dizziness, nausea. These are some of the symptoms that they have described.

CHERNOFF: US Airways tells CNN there was a leak on a seal of the right engine of the Boeing 767 that allowed toxic engine oil mist to enter the cabin.

CAPT. PAUL MORELL, US AIRWAYS VP OF SAFETY: There was a little bit of oil that seeped into that system, and that's what caused -- it vaporizes and that's what caused the symptoms of the passengers.

CHERNOFF (on camera): How could engine oil mist enter the air on board a plane? Well, half of the air we're breathing in the cabin comes through the jet engines. It's called bleed air, because it bleeds off of the engines and then travels through the wings and into the cabin, where it mixes with recirculated air.

(voice-over): Engine oil contains a toxin, Tricresyl Phosphate, that can cause neurological damage.

Terry Williams, who was a flight attendant for another airline, says that's what happened to her after being exposed to a fume event nearly three years ago. She said she suffers severe headaches and tremors in her arm.

TERRY WILLIAMS, FORMER FLIGHT ATTENDANT: It just feels uncontrollable. I can't stop it from twitching or trembling.

CHERNOFF: Indeed, all seven crew members of Flight 1041 have been unable to return to work because of their symptoms.

MURAWSKI: They continue to experience neurological symptoms that impair their daily living and have precluded them from returning to flying.

CHERNOFF: Two weeks prior, the same plane, tail number 251, suffered two separate fume events. December 28th, Charlotte to San Juan; US Airways service difficulty report with the federal aviation administration says, "a very strong odor, smelling like wet socks and/or dirty feet, circulated through the passenger cabin and flight deck."

Crew members reported trouble breathing, itchy eyes and stomach cramps. Two days later, the same plane on the same route, a foul odor entered the cabin. Passengers and flight attendants were feeling faint and nauseous. US Airways says hydraulic fluid was released into the bleed air system on both flights. That fluid, Skydrol, is a known irritant to the respiratory tract.

MORELL: US Airways takes this very seriously and we do everything to our utmost to maintain the safety of the air quality for both our passengers and our crew.

CHERNOFF: The airline says the plane was taken out of service after the January 16th incident for maintenance work. When it returned to service on January 21st, US Airways reported to the FAA "a scorched odor, like a gym or locker room, filled the aircraft." Maintenance found no problems and the plane remains in service.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: This is a problem that all airlines share. Indeed, flight attendants say Northwest Airlines also suffered a series of three fume event over the past several weeks on the same aircraft flying between Frankfurt and Detroit. That airline says, quote, "we are investigating each case of employee illness, but at this time we cannot pinpoint a specific cause."

Boeing concedes there is a chance of fume events. But the company says the air on board its aircrafts is safe and healthy. Tony?

HARRIS: And Allan, more generally, how often does this kind of thing happen?

CHERNOFF: Tony, there has been a study done for the British House of Lords, and that study found that there is a fume event one out of every 2,000 flights. That doesn't mean every one of those events has oil coming into the cabin, but some sort of contaminant coming in.

HARRIS: And who is most susceptible? I've got a good guess here. Who's most susceptible to this bad air?

CHERNOFF: Well, the folks who are on the planes all the time. So we're talking about the pilots and the flight attendants. They are definitely most at risk here.

HARRIS: Allan, appreciate it. Thank you.

Let's get you caught up on our top stories. A powerful magnitude 7.2 aftershock rocked central Chile today, followed by smaller aftershocks. The quakes hit as dignitaries arrived to watch Chile's new president take the oath of office. It was the strongest jolt since the main quake struck late last month.

Kansas City's school superintendent calls the decision to close almost half of the district's 61 schools unquestionably the right thing to do. The massive restructuring includes laying off 700 employees in an effort to avoid bankruptcy.

A quick reminder for you, President Obama live shortly. His plan to export more stuff made in the United States and create jobs for the Americans who make it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: We are standing by, waiting for the president, who will be speaking live shortly. His plan to export more of the stuff we make here in the United States and create jobs for Americans in the process. When the president begins to speak from the Omni Shore hotel in Washington, DC, we will take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We're going to try to time this out correctly here. We try this just about every day with the president. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we don't.

But the president is now just making opening remarks. He's just at this point saying hello and thank you to everyone who has gathered, but we're trying to get to the substance of the president's remarks here. His strategy, to create 2 million new American jobs and double overseas sales of goods made in the United States. We're going to try to time this out for you. We've got a couple of other stories in ahead of the president.

Happening right now, a fourth congressional hearing on Toyota. A House committee is going after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the way it handled safety recalls, but Director David Strickland defending the agency. He says, previous Toyota complaints did not stand out compared to other automakers. He says the agency investigated complaints about the Camry during the Bush administration but did not find a defect since.

Since last fall, Toyota has recalled millions of cars to fix sticky accelerators. As you know, they have been linked to more than 50 deaths. Toyota's problems on the highway may lead to the courthouse and a flood of lawsuits. Let's talk to Sonny Hostin, a legal contributor for "In Session" on truTv.

Sonny, great to see you, as always. Thanks for the time this morning ahead of your big program.

SONNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION": Thank you, Tony.

HARRIS: Hey, I want to get right to the class action suits here -- 89 class action suits in place now -- not over the safety problems, but over resale values. Maybe you can explain that to us.

HOSTIN: Sure. Well, it's really a little bit of both, Tony. I've read several of the complaints, and what they really are accusing Toyota of is concealing the information, concealing the information about the sudden acceleration problem, because they wanted to minimize the effects on future sales and leases and to minimize the recall's effects on their profits. What attorneys are arguing, Tony, is that basically the economic damage to consumers is that they can't resell their car for the same amount of money.

HARRIS: Got you.

HOSTIN: Sort of a hybrid argument.

HARRIS: I see. All right, maybe we need to parse it out a little bit, but maybe the way to go is -- 89 suits now, do you think this is going to be ultimately consolidated maybe into one big single class-action case?

HOSTIN: I think there's no question, Tony, that that is exactly what's going to happen. There's going to be a hearing March 25th, in San Diego, California. A judge is going to determine whether or not all those suits should be consolidated into one. And I don't think there's any question that the judge will determine a lead plaintiff and definitely decide that they should be one large class-action lawsuit.

HARRIS: So, Sonny, how do these, typically speaking, how do these class action lawsuits work for consumers? Do they work out pretty well for consumers?

HOSTIN: You know, I don't think so. I mean, they can work out in the sense that some public policy may come out of it. We saw that in the toxic tort litigation. But it typically is really a boon for the attorneys. Attorneys' fees really range in the millions and millions of dollars, whereas each consumer gets maybe $500, maybe $1,000.

So the consumer, in terms of really getting an award, it just doesn't really pay for the consumer to be a part of it. I think we've all received those little things in the mail that says do you want to opt into this class action. Well, you don't really get that much money that way.

HARRIS: Yes. One more quick one before we circle back to the president here. Could Toyota and the owners of these vehicles start suing the company under state lemon laws?

HOSTIN: I think that that is really what we are going to see. I think that is where this should go. Consumers -- of course, state lemon laws are state specific, but in Georgia where you're seated, Tony, if a consumer sues Toyota under a lemon law, the manufacturer only gets one chance at fixing that car. And if the repair does not work, you get a full refund or a new car. That's a lot better recourse, in my view, than, you know, $500. So the bottom line is I think we're going to see a lot of Toyota people with lemons turning it into lemonade. No doubt.

HARRIS: I like that.

Sonny, good to see you. See you next time.

All right, President Obama wants to double exports over the next five years. The president we understand is speaking now. Let's take you to Washington, D.C. and have a listen to the president.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we are rebuilding an economy where we generate more American jobs in more American industries by producing and exporting more goods and services to other nations.

Now, in my State of the Union address I set a goal of doubling America's exports over the next five years -- an increase that will support 2 million American jobs. And I've come to the Export-Import Bank Conference today to discuss the initial steps that we're taking to achieve that goal.

I know the issue of exports and imports, the issue of trade and globalization, have long evoked the passions of a lot of people in this country. I know there are differences of opinion between Democrats and Republicans, between business and labor, about the right approach. But I also know we are at a moment where it is absolutely necessary for us to get beyond those old debates.

Those who would once support every free trade agreement now see that other countries have to play fair and the agreements have to be enforced. Otherwise we're putting America at a profound disadvantage. Those who once would once oppose any trade agreement now understand that there are new markets and new sectors out there that we need to break into if we want our workers to get ahead.

And meanwhile, if you ask the average American what trade has offered them, they won't say that their televisions are cheaper, or productivity is higher. They'd say they've seen the plant across town shut down, jobs dry up, communities deteriorate. And you can't blame them for feeling that way. The fact is other countries haven't always played by the same set of rules. America hasn't always enforced our trade rights, or made sure that the benefits of trade are broadly shared. And we haven't always done enough to help our workers adapt to a changing world.

Now, there's no question that as we compete in the global marketplace, we've got to look out for our workers. But to look out for our workers, we've got to be able to compete in the global marketplace. It's never been as important an opportunity for America as it is right now.

In a time when millions of Americans are out of work, boosting our exports is a short-term imperative. Our exports support millions of American jobs. You know this well. In 2008, we exported more than $1 trillion of manufactured goods, supporting more than one in five manufacturing jobs -- and those jobs, by the way, pay about 15 percent more than average. We led the world in service exports, which support 2.8 million jobs. We exported nearly $100 billion in agricultural goods. And every $1 billion increase in exports supports more than 6,000 additional jobs.

So it's critical in the short term, but it's also critical for our long-term prosperity. Ninety-five percent of the world's customers and the world's fastest-growing markets are outside our borders. We need to compete for those customers because other nations are competing for them.

They're investing in the skills and education of their people. They're investing in the high-demand industries of the future. They've benefited from American consumers. They've made themselves into export-based economies, and positioned themselves for the jobs of the future. They're pursuing trade agreements with growing markets -- and those agreements would give their companies access to those markets and put our workers and businesses at a disadvantage.

So if we stand on the sidelines while they go after those customers, we'll lose out on the chance to create the good jobs our workers need right here at home. That's why standing on the sidelines is not what we intend to do. We need to remind ourselves, we still have the most innovative economy in the world. We still have the most productive workers in the world. We have the finest universities in the world. We have the most dynamic and competitive markets in the world.

We remain the number one exporter of goods and services in the world. So we've got a terrific foundation to build on. But we can't be satisfied with being number one right now. We shouldn't assume that our leadership is guaranteed. When other markets are growing, and other nations are competing, we've got to get even better. We need to secure our companies a level playing field. We need to guarantee American workers a fair shake. In other words, we need to up our game.

And that's why, for the first time, the United States of America is launching a single, comprehensive strategy to promote American exports. It's called the National Export Initiative, and it's an ambitious effort to marshal the full resources of the United States government behind American businesses that sell their goods and services abroad.

This morning, I signed an executive order instructing the federal government to use every available federal resource in support of that mission. That order has created an Export Promotion Cabinet, made up of the Secretaries of State, Treasury, Agriculture, Commerce, and Labor, along with our USTR, our Small Business Administrator, the Export-Import Bank President, and other senior U.S. officials whose work impacts exports. That cabinet will convene its first meeting next month.

I've also re-launched the President's Export Council, the principal national advisory committee on international trade. And I named Jim McNerney, the President and CEO of Boeing, as its chair, with Ursula Burns, the CEO of Xerox, as vice chair, and I look forward to their recommendations.

HARRIS: All right, let's jump out of the president's remarks right now. You're hearing something even that you want to fact check. Look at you, you are all over this fact check thing. No, no it's good, it's good.

All right, so Suzanne Simons is here, she runs our Fact Check Desk with a terrific team, terrific team. So here's a couple of questions for you. The world's biggest exporters right now. Who are they?

SUZANNE SIMONS, CNN PRODUCER: Well, the president just said that the U.S. is the world's -- which kind of threw me for a second. Let me show you who the top countries are right now that we've got going. And keep in mind that these orders can change up or down from year to year, but the European Union has consistently along with China been right on the top of the list of the world's biggest exporters.

HARRIS: Twenty-seven, 28 different nations a part of the -- I know I'm close -- of the EU.

SIMONS: I'm impressed. You pay attention.

Germany is up there too and that might surprise a lot of people, or might not depending on how familiar you are with the auto industry and whatnot. The United States down at number four for a while, followed by Japan.

But no matter how you stack these, these are the world's biggest exporters, these are the countries who --

HARRIS: Yes, who are doing their business. Ships are going out with their stuff.

SIMONS: Yes.

HARRIS: What exactly is America exporting now?

SIMONS: I'm so glad you asked that question.

(LAUGHTER)

Capital goods take up about 49 percent of what the U.S. is exporting.

HARRIS: Capital goods.

SIMONS: That's things like airplanes, car parts, computers, telecommunications equipment, all that kind of stuff. Industrial supplies take about 28.6 percent. Things like chemicals, cleaning materials, all that kind of very sexy, exciting stuff. Consumer goods, 15 percent -- cars, medicine. And then agricultural products kind of help round that out, just under 10 percent. Soybeans, fruit, corn, that kind of thing. So we're still sending out that as well.

HARRIS: Well, yes, but there's still a lot of manufacturing in that as well.

SIMONS: Yes, a lot.

HARRIS: How many jobs tied to U.S. exports?

SIMONS: Jobs -- exports of manufactured goods support more than 6.8 million jobs as of 2008. So a lot of times we have to wait for the 2009 figures to come in, but we're looking at just under 7 million jobs tied to exports of manufactured goods. That's about one in 17 private sector jobs if you kind of flush it out.

HARRIS: So maybe the president was speaking aspirationally -- we're going to be number one soon.

SIMONS: I think politicians sometimes can do that, yes, but we're going to check.

HARRIS: I know you are. All right, Suzanne, good to see you. Thank you.

SIMONS: Thank you.

HARRIS: A bus ride gives them the chance at a better education. How budget cuts could put the brakes on that opportunity for some California students.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, all this week we've been telling you about how school districts are slashing spending because of tight budgets. In California, some programs that give disadvantaged students a better education are at risk. Casey Wian explains how the budget crisis may kick some students off the bus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every day these buses bring about 1,200 mostly minority student from some of the grittiest neighborhoods in Los Angeles here to the Pacific Palisades, home of the movie stars and some of the highest priced real estate in all of southern California.

(voice-over): But budget cuts threaten the bussing program and also a better education for thousands of students, including one highly-motivated, 14-year-old freshman.

(on camera): Maria Morfin is arriving to begin her school day, but her journey began more than an hour and a half ago at her home 27 miles away.

(voice-over): It's 5:00 a.m., and Maria prepares for school. Both of her parents work, so Maria piles into the family van with her father and stepbrothers and heads to the bus stop, destination, she says, a brighter future.

(on camera): How long have you been doing this?

MARIA MORFIN, HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN: I've been doing this since like I was a fifth grader. It's a struggle, cause I have to wake every day up at 5:00 to go all the way to the bus stop and go somewhere that I know I will succeed. And I think it's worth it, though.

WIAN: What is life like at Palisades High School?

MORFIN: It's like home. If I leave, oh god, it's going to be hard.

WIAN (voice-over): Maria's neighborhood high school ranks in the bottom 20 percent of the state. Her dream is to attend UCLA. Every day, about halfway into her bus ride, she passes signs that remind her of where she wants to be. But for now, she is worried about just staying where she is.

MORFIN: Right here, the teachers, they push you, they want you to succeed here.

WIAN: The Los Angeles Unified School District pays for these buses with a federal grant, but because kids like Maria and 1,200 others attend Palisades High, an independent charter school, it, not the district, receives nearly $7million a year in state funds. Facing a $640 million budget deficit, the LAUSD wants to use the federal money for other purposes and says it can no longer afford the long bus trips.

AMY DRESSER HELD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PALISADES CHARTER HIGH: What we're looking at is 1,200 students, so 40 percent of our student population, coming from the most underperforming schools in L.A. losing access to a great high school. WIAN: Palisades High says it can't afford the bus rides either. Both sides say they are trying to find a solution before L.A. Unified's June 30th budget deadline.

For students like Maria, time is running out.

(on camera): But the bottom line, the district says, is it will save $1.2 million a year by cutting the bus program, and that would be enough to pay the a salaries of 14 teachers.

Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Next hour, and I'm really looking forward to this conversation, we will talk with teacher Joseph Lee. How are budget cuts affecting what he does as a teacher?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: It's going to be your favorite story of the day, I guarantee it. Police are calling him a hero after three armed robbers broke into his home and held his parents at gunpoint. To the kids in his California neighborhood, though, he is still just Carlos.

Here's our Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Courage sometimes comes in small packages, like this 7-year-old from California.

CAPT. PATRICK MAXWELL, L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT: I would like to introduce our hero from yesterday's 911 call that may have saved his family's life. His name is Carlos.

KAYE: Carlos, a second grader from Norwalk, California, had a good reason for missing school yesterday morning. Three armed men entered his home through an unlocked front door. They had guns and threatened his mom and dad.

(on camera): Carlos quickly grabbed his 6-year-old sister and hid in the bathroom. From there, he made this desperate call for help to 911.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, 911 CALL)

CARLOS, HID IN BATHROOM AND CALLED 911: Can you come really fast, please, please!

MONIQUE PATINO, 911 DISPATCHER: Can you tell me what happened?

CARLOS: They come, They ring the door, and they have guns and they shoot my mom and dad.

PATINO: Right now? CARLOS: Yes, can you come really fast? Bring cops -- lots of them.

PATINO: OK, I have them coming.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KAYE (voice-over): 911 operator Monique Patino knew she had to act fast.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, 911 CALL)

PATINO: Listen to me. I have them coming, hon. Listen, OK?

CARLOS: OK.

PATINO: Listen to me. Take a deep breath. I already have the police coming.

CARLOS: And bring soldiers, too! Can you come really, fast? Hurry up.

PATINO: Yes, stay on the line with me. Don't hang up. Listen to me. We're coming to help you, but listen to me, OK?

CARLOS: OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PATINO: I couldn't really think too much about the emotion. It was more of the instant reaction, I needed to get help to him.

KAYE: But before help could get there, the suspects figured out someone was hiding in the bathroom. They busted open the door to find Carlos on the phone.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, 911 CALL)

PATINO: Stay where you are and don't hang up, whatever you do.

CARLOS: OK. There was a guy!

(SCREAMING)

(END AUDIO CLIP)

KAYE (on camera): When the bad guys asked who he was talking to, the brave little boy told them straight up he called 911. The suspects took off and left Carlos' family intact, nobody injured.

PATINO: Once I heard the screams toward the end, I mean, honestly, I'm holding the phone and I'm in tears. I can barely talk, I'm shaking, I'm in tears, because all I hear is them screaming. And it was very, very tough for me.

KAYE (voice-over): Carlos told reporters it was his mom who taught him to use 911.

CARLOS: We practice it every day.

QUESTION: Were you scared?

CARLOS: Just a little bit.

KAYE: If Carlos was scared, there was no mistaking who got him through it, a stranger on the other end of the phone line, who in just moments became a friend.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy, oh, boy. How good is that?

Very quickly let's get to Rob Marciano.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK. Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Schools across the nation deciding which programs stay and which ones have to go to balance dwindling budgets. Students, the ones who have to live with these decisions share what they think should really be cut in their schools.

And some folks rallying for health care reform are waving "Wanted" posters. Who's on them? We'll show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)