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Health Reform's Final Push; Securing the Border; Detroit to Close 40 Plus Schools; Is Wall Street Killing You?

Aired March 17, 2010 - 09:00   ET

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

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: The news continues on CNN with Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips in the "CNN NEWSROOM."

Good morning, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You all have a great St. Patrick's Day. Enjoy the parade in New York.

Good morning, everyone.

ROBERTS: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips. Let's get started right now.

Osama bin Laden on trial? No way, says America's top cop. What Eric Holder says will happen.

And what do stock market slides, natural disasters and thrilling sports climaxes have in common? They can kill you. But our stress busters can save your life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My kid has no underwear on. We can't get clothes for our child. Our food's all gone bad. And they're telling us to back off. And then they tell us to go home when we can't even go home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: High water keeps hundreds out of their homes in the northeast. We'll explain why this spring could bring historic flooding.

And shutting down schools. Detroit is the latest system to cut back, but we'll tell you about one school's success story.

The bottom line of health care reform. According to our latest count here at CNN, opponents of the overhaul are now just 11 votes away from defeating it. So far, 27 House Democrats are apparently ready to join the Republican opposition to the bill.

A final House vote could come Friday or Saturday. But we're also following this developing story -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is considering a maneuver that could allow the reform bill to pass without forcing the Democrats to actually cast votes on it.

There's a lot going on this morning, and we're covering all the angles. CNN's Dan Lothian is at the White House, and senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill.

Let's begin our coverage with Dana. How many are truly believed to be on the fence? Does Pelosi have these votes in her back pocket?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She does not have them in her back pocket. She is trying to get them. And that is what is going on big time as we speak, Fredricka. But here's part of the issue.

The issue is that we still do not have, and more importantly they still don't have, the final numbers from the Congressional Budget Office telling members exactly what this new legislation would cost and how much it would reduce the deficit.

And because of that, they actually haven't seen the legislative language. So things are kind of not going to move forward entirely until that happens because many -- most of these undecided members say they can't decide until they see the language.

WHITFIELD: And so, we're talking about possibly Nancy Pelosi and others pushing for a "deem and pass." What would that mean?

BASH: What it means is this is something that has actually been done many times before, but it is certainly stirring a lot of controversy because health care is something that is very big and unlike anything we've seen in a long time.

It is something that is called a self-executing rule. So to make it in the simplest terms, Fredricka, the House has to pass the Senate bill, but a lot of House members do not like the Senate bill both for the substance and politically.

So they would have a procedural vote that would simply deem the Senate bill passed. That's how they would get the ball rolling. Republicans are saying this is outrageous, but to be fair, they've done it on other issues before.

WHITFIELD: And there are going to be more women than usual on Capitol Hill. What's that all about?

BASH: Well, just in about an hour, the female members of the Democratic caucus -- we're talking about almost 60 members of Congress -- they're going to go and meet with the female House speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

This is a meeting that went out -- an e-mail went out to the members last night. I just got a little bit more information on what this is about from one of the female members. I just talked to her. And she said that she believes that this is the core group of Nancy Pelosi's supporters and that this is rallying time.

So she wants her female posse, is the way this female lawmaker put it to me, to help her get the votes and that's what this meeting is about.

WHITFIELD: So maybe as many women as usual, just instead be concentrated in one place, at least for a while.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Dana Bash on Capitol Hill, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

BASH: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Let's go to the White House now and CNN's Dan Lothian. So what's the White House going do if the president fails on his biggest domestic priority?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Fredricka, that's a very good question, and the White House is now playing the what-if game instead.

The public face has really been one of confidence that this will get done. You heard Robert Gibbs talking about yesterday saying next week after the legislation passes. But nonetheless, there is a lot at stake for this White House politically and the White House would say a lot at stake for the American people if health care reform goes down in defeat, and that's why you've seen this big push from the administration.

First of all, the president delaying his trip to Asia but also hitting the road, this road show so make a public appeal for the public to really push their lawmakers to vote yes, and then the president himself spending a big part of his day yesterday and will be doing so, as well, today working on those undecided Democrats, trying to get them to vote yes, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dan Lothian on Capitol Hill, thanks so much for that.

All right. Interrogating detainees. General David Petraeus says a controversial 96-hour rule is changing in Afghanistan.

The policy gave troops four days to question suspected insurgents before they were required to release them or hand them over to the Afghan government. Petraeus told a Senate committee troops will now have up to 14 days to question suspects.

There was a big concern four days just simply wasn't enough time to collect evidence to keep suspects behind bars.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder doubts those rules will ever apply to the world's most wanted terrorist.

Testifying before Congress Tuesday, Holder predicted it's very unlikely Osama bin Laden would ever be captured and face trial, speculating he'd more probably be killed by U.S. troops or his own people.

Bin laden is wanted in connection with the August 1998 deadly bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

A shift in funds is in the works for the Bush administration's highly praised plan to secure the country's southern border and keep illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. At issue, the so-called virtual wall technology.

Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now from the security desk.

Jeanne?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. It was called the Secure Border Initiative, SBInet. It was a series of high-tech cameras, and sensors and communications gear.

The idea was that if this was deployed along the southern border it would be a force multiplier for the Border Patrol. But Secretary Napolitano of the Department of Homeland Security is putting the brakes on the program.

She announced a couple of things yesterday. $50 million in Recovery Act funding that was going to be used by SBInet equipment is being moved. It is now going to buy off-the-shelf proven technology.

In addition, she is freezing any more expenditures for SBInet beyond the section that's being built as an experiment in Arizona until an assessment of this program and how effective it is is completed.

She said in a statement, "Not only do we have an obligation to secure our borders, we have a responsibility to do so in the most cost- effective way possible."

This program, SBInet, has been called a boondoggle by some. It's been the subject of several very critical reports from the General Accountability Office. And yesterday the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Bennie Thompson, also issued a statement.

He said, "We are tired of listening to these stories about faulty cameras, poor tower stability and overly sensitive sensors which have led to failed testing."

He called the program a grave and expensive disappointment. And these actions by Napolitano, though not definitive, certainly indicate that she's leaning in that same direction.

Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeanne Meserve, at the security desk in Washington. Thanks so much for that.

All right, turning to the vote count in Iraq's parliamentary elections. The coalition of former prime minister Ayad Allawi -- he is seen here, right there -- has moved ahead of current prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's coalition. But because al-Maliki's group remains ahead in some of the largest provinces, he still holds a lead in the expected number of seats in parliament. About 80 percent of the votes have been counted.

It's deja vu along the banks of the Red River this morning as Fargo, North Dakota, and Morehead, Minnesota prepare once again for flooding from the swollen waterway. It's already 11 feet over flood stage.

It's expected to reach major flood stage today and peak later on in the week. National guardsmen and volunteers are racing to fill sandbags to keep the floodwaters at bay. A scene reminiscent of last year when the river hit a record flood level of over 40 feet.

Melting snow and rain are the two big factors in the unfolding scenario there on the Red River. It's getting to be like a broken record.

Rob Marciano in the weather center for the folks in Fargo and elsewhere.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Wouldn't be so shocking if we weren't talking about last year's historic flood, which was supposed to be a one in 100-year flood. And here we go again. So 1 percent chance of getting it to happen again, they're seeing it this year.

A lot of rain across the area during the fall, subfreezing temperatures keeping that ground rock solid and keeping that snow on the ground for a longer period of time and of course a lot of snow across the upper Midwest and the northeast.

As a matter of fact, Fredricka, a lot of the U.S., about a third of the U.S., is under above-average risk of seeing spring flooding. So we'll run that down plus look at the rivers and the forecast for the St. Patrick's Day in just a few minutes.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll look for that. Thanks so much, Rob.

All right. Saving money and closing schools. Detroit will join a growing list of cities already doing this, but we'll tell you about one school there that's actually defying the odds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Closing schools to save money while improving education. That's the plan in Detroit. The man behind the proposal says the closures are designed to help boost graduation rates to a near perfect 98 percent.

Our Allan Chernoff is live in Detroit at a school that is already beating the odds. Allan?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I'm at the Cornerstone Schools here in Detroit. There are actually three of these institutions within Detroit, one independent -- this one -- and then there are two that are part of the public school system.

But at all of these schools the students are excelling. Virtually all of them go on to graduate high school. They test well above the grade average. But they don't teach to test here. They actually have a very holistic approach to teaching -- ethics, morals, very, very important, music and the arts.

In fact, beginning in kindergarten these kids begin learning Chinese. Can you believe that? Now compare the situation here with what's going on at the Detroit public schools. Only 58 percent of the students graduate high school.

So Detroit today is announcing a big plan, shutting down more than 40 of its schools. It's all part of a program to revitalize Detroit schools.

What they want to do is within five years boost their graduation rates. Right now only 58 percent, as we said, are graduating high school. They want to get that up to 98 percent. Very ambitious.

They also want the students to test at the national average within five years. They're a long way from that. What they are going to do is recruit top principals, recruit top teachers, but there's also another key component, something that is done here that's a key part of the success here at Cornerstone.

CLARK DURANT, FOUNDER, CORNERSTONE SCHOOL: We say that you have a responsibility, too, not just the student. We expect you to be at parent/teacher meetings. We expect you to see that a child's homework gets done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: The parents have to play a key role. Educators say that is so, so important, and it is a major problem at some failing schools. Not just parents but also over here they recruit people from the community, mentors, professionals in the community, who come to also meet with the children and encourage them and tell them exactly what they can become once they get out of school. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And so, Allan, there's some expectation that there will be a change in the population. To what degree and how will this impact this school or other schools?

CHERNOFF: Right. Well, part of what's been going on in Detroit, you know, that there's been a huge exodus out of the city into the suburbs, all those cities, as well. So the population of school children has been declining dramatically.

This is not the first time they're closing schools in Detroit. And they're actually forecasting that over the next four years the school population is going to drop by one-third. So that's another reason that they're shutting down so many schools.

I should point out, though, that they do plan to consolidate some, modernize others, build some new schools but have smaller schools. That's the emphasis here.

WHITFIELD: Still, this is very controversial in what way?

CHERNOFF: It is. Part of the plan actually calls for having some campuses at high schools right now, convert some high schools into facilities where is you have children beginning in pre-k, mixing at the same school with college students.

So a high school would become a facility where you have kindergarten, you have elementary, high school, and then even community college and even masters programs. That's part of this big plan that they have.

Again, very ambitious, and that's certainly a very controversial aspect, of course.

WHITFIELD: Allan Chernoff, thanks so much, in Detroit.

And in the next hour, we're actually going to talk to one principal who turned an underperforming Chicago school around and now sends 100 percent of its graduates to college. She'll weigh in on the situation in Detroit and schools across the nation, for that matter.

Flooding problems from that nasty weekend storm are still being felt in the northeast. Tens of thousands of people are without electricity still and hundreds remain in shelters. The Pawtuxet River in Rhode Island is receding but not expected to drop below flood stage until tonight or maybe even tomorrow.

What remains are a lot of flooded basements and broken hearts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've had it. We've been here for 22 years. This is the fourth flood, and this is the ultimate. In 2005 it was bad, but I can't handle this anymore. I just can't. And I'm sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Governors from New Jersey to New Hampshire are asking for federal assistance to help with the cleanup costs.

Very nasty weather all weekend long. And it just is never-ending. Rob Marciano in the weather center.

And your heart really goes out to that lady because there really is nothing you can do. You don't know who to be angry at.

MARCIANO: Right.

WHITFIELD: Especially when this happens over and over again to your home or your community.

MARCIANO: And you know, that's not the only spot this has happened. Folks who live in North Dakota have -- they've increased their flood insurance. Last year when these floods happened they -- there was about 4,000 people that had flood insurance, now it's over 13,000.

So I guess that's one thing you can do, but I know if you live in a floodplain sometimes you just can't get the insurance. And yes, you do feel for these people.

(WEATHER REPORT) MARCIANO: So bright spot of this flooding situation, Fredricka, is that a lot of folks are enjoying a nice St. Patrick's Day. And hope for a lot of evaporation, maybe, with the sun heating things up into the lower 60s.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that would be nice. All right, Rob, thanks so much. See you in a few.

MARCIANO: Sounds good.

WHITFIELD: All right, well, we might want to start calling the stock market the stress market. There's a new study out that links your financial health to your heart health. We're going to have Dr. Gupta out here to talk about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking your top stories right now. An about-face from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Israel. After first describing Israel's announcement -- announced settlement plans last week as insulting to the U.S., Secretary Clinton backpedaled yesterday saying both countries enjoy a close, unshakable bond.

The spat began with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden's arrival in Israel coinciding with the Jewish government's announcement of building plans in the Palestinian-claimed east Jerusalem.

And one traffic stop netted two suspected drunk drivers last week in a very close call for an observant officer. Police in Kansas City, Missouri say one driver had already been pulled over when another plowed into the stopped car.

Both drivers were arrested, but neither was injured. The officer was slightly hurt but is now back on the job.

A wild ride on Wall Street. It's taken a toll on your stocks but what about your health? Today, new evidence that your heart follows the ups and downs of the market.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So if you've watched your fortunes rise and fall on Wall Street, this may be only mildly shocking to you. Those big plunges in your portfolio can also take quite a toll on your health.

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joining us now with the results of this new study.

No surprise here because a lot of times when your, you know, pocketbook gets hit, it hurts in the heart.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It does. And you know, I think anecdotally we've known for some time that people who are stressed out or get angry about something can have problems with their heart. But there's been a lot more evidence that in fact that's true. Your blood pressure will go up, your heart rate. But the study was fascinating because they were looking at a period of time when the stock market was taking a lot of plunges. Instead of looking of individuals, they were sort of looking more globally at society, and found exactly what you said.

The number of people coming in with chest pain. The number of people having heart attacks. The number of people needing procedures all seemed to go up as the stock market went down. And they extrapolated to the same can be said of, you know, a hurricane or some sort of natural disaster occurring as wells.

WHITFIELD: You get stressed out.

GUPTA: You get stressed out. And they also know that, you know, when that happens, you release all this adrenaline. You can feel that sometimes. But that can cause electrical changes in your heart, it cause inflammation to build up. It can also and cause something known as broken-heart syndrome where your heart sort of gets stunned for a period of time.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

GUPTA: It won't show up on any tests. You'll feel like you're having a heart attack but you go to the hospital and they'll say everything is fine but in fact you've had a little stunning of the heart they call it.

WHITFIELD: So what can you do? I mean a lot of time you can't really control what your portfolio is going to do.

GUPTA: Can't control the market?

WHITFIELD: Right. You can't control the market. So then what?

GUPTA: You know --

WHITFIELD: How do you manage this?

GUPTA: Yes. You know, it's interesting because you know I've traveled all over the world looking at some of the longest-lived societies around the world. And they'll say the same thing. We have stress as well. It's not that we live a stress-free life. We have the same concerns you do.

But it is about management of stress. And if you look at some of those societies, there are some simple things that people do. You know, pray and meditate for about 15 minutes a day, for example.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

GUPTA: I do that by the way now, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's right.

GUPTA: I never thought I'd meditate for 15 minutes a day. But I do that. And it really does make time.

WHITFIELD: I really believe -- I tried it. I like it, too.

GUPTA: Yes. Make time for happy hour. Even on St. Patrick's Day. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to drink but you know, taking some time for yourself. Obviously that makes a difference. Sex seems to make a difference. Simply laughing. There's this group of people that engage in what's called laughter yoga.

WHITFIELD: I remember that.

GUPTA: They laugh and just simply forcing themselves to laugh seems to decrease stress levels.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

GUPTA: Increase happiness.

WHITFIELD: I could get into that, but I mean, you know. I mean laughing, you know, folks always say, I needed a good laugh.

GUPTA: That's right. And --

WHITFIELD: Because it makes you feel good. It's like relief.

GUPTA: Just to doing it sometimes, the act of it. And could it possibly help your heart as well?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

GUPTA: Could be.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: All right. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Maybe next time we can find something to laugh about.

GUPTA: That's right.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: The falling markets, not funny.

GUPTA: No. No.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, there are new questions about Toyota now. Is the automaker hiding information stored in its vehicles' data recorders?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, slowly but surely as the market opens now, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been creeping higher and higher. The blue chips had gained -- there is the bell -- have been grounded the past six trading days.

Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange with a look at whether the rally will continue today. A little premature exalting there with the clapping before the bell.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You got it. You only got to get the early claps on. You got to get ready for the day, Fred, when you're down here. I'm still trying to figure out if I should be worried about being on Wall Street after listening to Dr. Gupta there on your last segment, but --

WHITFIELD: Just stay calm.

ELAM: Just stay calm and laugh.

WHITFIELD: That's it.

ELAM: But as of now, there's nothing to be sad about because we've got some green on the screen already starting off the day. Over the past six days, the gains have been relatively small, just a little more than 1 percent, and today, it could be more of the same. Still, investors are encouraged that both the Fed and the Japanese Central Bank are holding interest rates steady. Here in the U.S., policymakers have grown to do that because a report out just around an hour ago shows inflation is, in fact, in check.

Fed Chief Ben Bernanke, he'll be back in the spotlight today. He is testifying before a house committee about the central bank's role in supervising banks, and another financial company is taking steps to pay back its government bailout money. Hartford Financial Services is offering $3 billion in stock and bonds. That will all be just to raise money for that need.

All right. Let's go ahead and take a look at the numbers here. Look at that. It's like st. Patrick's Day is just spreading onto Wall Street. The Dow is up 29 points, 10,715. Nasdaq is also higher by five points at 2,383 as we get going here early on.

And finally, Fred, New York City restaurants are going to have to display the report cards. The Board of Health approved rules that will force restaurants to display large letter grades at their entrances. The grades range from an A to a C and will show how clean the establishment is. A restaurant that has a rating lower than the C could be shut down, and if we have lower than the C, you probably just don't want to go in there because it's probably pretty nasty. Just a guest --

WHITFIELD: Yes. I think you might as well just stick with the As and the Bs.

ELAM: Yes, exactly. Stay in that zone -- WHITFIELD: Yes, exactly.

ELAM: Or go home.

WHITFIELD: All right, Steph. Thanks so much.

ELAM: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. The final countdown of health care reform according to the latest CNN tally. Opponents of the overhaul may be getting closer to killing the measure. By our count, they need only 11 more members of Congress to vote against it. According to our numbers, at least 27 Democrats are apparently ready to join the opponents.

A final vote in the house could come as early as Friday. So right now, the undecided Democrats are feeling the weight of the vote. Democratic leaders are applying pressure. Opponents are providing the heat. CNN's senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, shadowed one freshman congressman from a swing district in Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. JOHN BOCCIERI, (D) OHIO: The decision I'm faced with is voting on an imperfect bill or doing nothing, and we just had calls from constituents, my chief of staff, his wife works for a small business and understands that they just had an increase in premiums. I'm not afraid to stand up and take a tough vote, and even if it means taking on, you know, our leadership, and it was a very difficult decision to come to, you know, on the first version. Our office is under siege right now. We're getting calls from not only in the district but all over the country.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look at this. I mean, the phones have not stopped ringing.

BOCCIERI: You should see our district office. I answer my calls from time to time and hear what folks have to say.

This is Congressman Bochierry. We can agree on this, that the system does need to be reformed, and we need to do it in a way that allows folks to have better choices. Would you agree?

BASH: You're a freshman. This is a very tough vote. This could be a make it or break it vote, maybe decide whether you come back or not.

BOCCIERI: And like I said, whether I serve two terms or 20, we want to make the right decision for the people of our district and Ohio and the country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. The Congressman Boccieri had earlier voted against the reforms but says today's measure does more to address his concerns like cost containment. He's exactly the kind of Democrat that the White House and party leaders are wanting to turn to. All right. Golf fans are talking about it, and so are people who couldn't care less about the sport. Tiger Woods making his big comeback, not that he was gone that long, but he's got a little more baggage than he did when he left the sport, but do fans even care?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A Kentucky mom and dad might not be seeing their infant son for a while. The child is with his extended family after he spent the night in the oven.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JON HYDEN, MCCRACKEN CO., KENTUCKY: There are victims associated with the use of drugs and the use of alcohol, and I just can't say how strongly we feel that it's a miracle that this child didn't perish this morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The sheriff's office says Larry Long was high on marijuana and drunk on whisky when he put his baby son in the oven on Sunday and left him there overnight. The oven was not on, and the baby is okay. Long is a cook, believe it or not, and he is facing child endangerment charges. Where was the baby's mom during all of this? The sheriff says she had finished the bottle of whisky her husband had actually started.

A look at our top stories right now. Victims of drug violence being remembered in Juarez, Mexico. The Mexican President Felipe Calderon made his third visit to the city in less than a month to talk about fighting organized crime. The latest visit follows Saturday's killing to three people connected with the U.S. consulate.

And we have an update on a story that we've been following from Haiti. A DNA test has been performed on a baby pulled from the earthquake rubble and airlifted to a Florida Hospital. The test has found the baby is, indeed, the child of Haitian parents who had been fighting to get her back from a family that had her. We'll have more on this story from our senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, in the next hour.

And golf sensation Tiger Woods says he's ready to get back into his profession. He'll play at the Masters Tournament next month. Woods admits that he still has a lot of work to do in repairing his personal life. He has spent weeks in therapy after a sex scandal came to light.

And we're talking about Tiger Woods on the blog this morning. We want to know what you think about his comeback. If you need it as a fan, if the sport needs it, what's going on? What are your thoughts? Go to cnn.com/fredricka and post your comments. I'll read some of them on the air next hour.

So, one of the most bizarre accident stories that we've heard. A plane trying to make an emergency landing on the beach, a jogger in the wrong place at the wrong time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It's believed the man never knew what hit him. Robert Gary Jones (ph) was jogging on the beach in South Carolina, Monday, within the air buzz (ph) in. He likely had no idea a small plane in distressed was right behind him trying to land. It's engine was dead and the propeller had fallen off. The plane was hardly making a sound as it glided down.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: The plane picked back up and maybe 200, 300 yards further down the beach. The tires were down, and it hit a person in a red shirt and the upper body, and he fell on the ground.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: We talked about what a twist of fate. He was a guy just out looking at the ocean or exercising, and he's gone.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Authorities say Jones was killed instantly. Both people in the plane are okay. The NTSB is now investigating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It was a nasty weekend of weather, and it continues in the northeast, still pretty soggy. Our Rob Marciano is in the weather center. What else is new?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, for St. Patrick's Day, it's not too shabby for a lot of the country, but --

WHITFIELD: Good.

MARCIANO: If you're down across parts of Florida, Southern Georgia, Alabama, we got a little bit of rain to deal with, and this is where probably the yuckiest weather for -- you know, if you're Irish down across this part of Florida, but everywhere else is really not all that bad. We still have the flood risk, though, across the upper Midwest. This is going to continue through the weekend into next week for sure, so they're scrambling to pile up those sandbags as the Red River continues to rise. It is now officially in major flood stage.

It will be approaching historic flood stage over the weekend, expecting the crest 37 to 39 feet, somewhere in there, so very close to where it was last year, and they managed to save the city last year from getting into catastrophic flooding, and they're certainly using the same practices this go-around, but nonetheless, it is a 24/7 operation trying to get that city to where it needs to be prepwise.

Sixty-two degrees the high temperature in Minneapolis today, so you're talking about temperatures that are well above average by almost 20 degrees, so that's definitely going to speed up that melting. Sixty degrees in Chicago where the rivers are green, 64 degrees in New York where the East Side certainly is green, and look at temperatures out west. 80 degrees in Los Angeles and 85 degrees expected in phoenix. So, some of these numbers out west are on the record-breaking side. Speaking of -- not so much record breaking, but this is a map I meant to show earlier in the broadcast. This is the flood risk potential issued by NOAA yesterday, highlighting the fact that about a third of the country, everything in orange and bright red, is under the risk of seeing flooding as we get in through the spring snow melt. We had a lot of rain across the south, a lot of fall rains across the north and then followed by a lot of winter snow, in some cases record breaking, and the cold air locking in all that snow. So, as we start to unwind that, warm the atmosphere up and melt the snow, these are the areas where we think we're going to see some above-average flood runoff.

I'll say this about this winter, Fredericka, El Nino usually hammers California. They certainly got peppered with a couple of storms, but the south and the mid-Atlantic and even the northeast may be looking at El Nino in a different way because they got the brunt of this winter for sure.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

MARCIANO: We got two days left until we get into spring, and it certainly can't come soon enough.

WHITFIELD: I know it. All right. Thanks so much, Rob. Appreciate that.

MARCIANO: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Getting into the spirit a little bit, a little St. Patrick's Day history for you. Did you know the first St. Paddy's Day parade took place in New York, not Ireland? Well, now you know. March 17th, 1762, before the U.S. was even born. Irish soldiers in the English military marched through the city to celebrate their Irish roots. And of course the parade is still going strong 248 years later.

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WHITFIELD: As we've been reporting, the City of Detroit plans to close dozens of schools in an effort to fix a failing district. The school system is also counting on $300 million in federal stimulus funds and officials there say that's not enough. How much money do our nation's schools need to do their job?

CNN's Josh Levs --

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- is tracking all of that from our stimulus desk. What are you learning?

LEVS: You know what, Fred, the stimulus fundamentally changed in a lot of ways the way our economy works and it's had huge ripple effects over the past year throughout our entire country. And I want all of you to understand that we're seeing more and more major steps being taken by school districts. It doesn't seem like every couple of days you're hearing about another school district that's taking these huge steps, closing schools, firing teachers, whatever it is.

A huge part of the reason, believe it or not, is the stimulus. They are on the one hand fighting for a lot of dollars. They also have a lot of dollars to work with.

Take a look at Detroit's plan. We have these numbers for you. They're trying to figure out what to do with their schools. Look at this. They are now, announcing a $540 million plan to basically revolutionize the school district there.

Look at how much of that will come from the stimulus; $310 million of that -- they are saying, will come from that stimulus that passed last year. And guess what, just like Fred was just saying, they're also saying that's not enough. They want, on this next screen, another $80 million for something called "Race to the Top".

Now, this is what that is. Race to the Top is this huge program, it's this $4.35 billion program that the Education Department says will fundamentally change schools in America and what they're doing at this point is they're trying to basically battle for those dollars.

We have a map for you. There's only 15 states that are still in the running to get some of those dollars right now; 15 states and Washington, D.C. Michigan is actually not one of them, but they are hoping, Fred, in the next round this summer to get some more stimulus money from "Race to the Top" which they hope will help them carry out some huge steps with the schools -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, so back to that $310 million.

LEVS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: It's $310 million, right?

LEVS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Of stimulus money?

LEVS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: How much of that is expected to create jobs because isn't that what the stimulus was all about?

LEVS: Really interesting, when we're seeing schools take these steps, and get a lot of stimulus dollars. In and a lot of cases -- we either don't know whether it'll lead to a lot of jobs or based on everything that's happened so far we're seeing some teachers get fired and then they want to make other changes.

I can tell you this to be fair and this is the last number I'll show you here. Overall the Education Department has gotten $100 billion out of the stimulus. It's actually $98.3 billion, so there's a ton of money there --

WHITFIELD: Wow. LEVS: -- and they are saying that more than 300,000 jobs have been funded by that money already so far. So it's a lot of jobs coming from that, but in terms of these things we're seeing at individual schools now, we are not so far -- and stuff like this able to tell you if these things especially Race to the Top will lead to a lot of jobs.

WHITFIELD: Oh interesting.

LEVS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Josh Levs thanks so much.

LEVS: You got it. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right next hour, we're actually going to talk to the principal of Chicago's Providence St. Mel, a school that was failing and now 100 percent of its graduates go to college.

Education, health care reform and flooding: just three of the big stories that we're working on in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin with Poppy Harlow. We've got correspondents everywhere.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, Fredricka, Detroit's public schools clearly in the worst shape in history, the worst shape of any in the country; A major overhaul being announced today to the tune of $1 billion and a lot of school closings. We'll break it all down for you in the next hour.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash on Capitol Hill, where House Democratic leaders are scrambling to get enough votes to pass health care legislation and try to send it to the president's desk. I'll take you behind the scenes on just how they're trying to do that coming up at the top of the hour.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. A nice day across much of the country for this St. Patrick's Day with warming temperatures but that doesn't bode well for folks in the upper Midwest where this melting snow is causing some problems.

The Red River in Fargo has just gone into major flood stage, possibly reaching historic levels over the weekend. We'll run that down for you at the top of the hour -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you, ladies and gent.

Also ahead in our next hour: there's nothing like fresh oysters but this week's harvest in South Alabama won't be hitting your plate for week, if not months, to come.

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WHITFIELD: Did you know that cars have event data recorders similar to the recorders in planes? These recorders can actually help shed light on what causes accidents. Sounds like the perfect thing for Toyota considering the mess it's in, but think again.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These houses, the trees, the white metal fence. They were some of the last things Monty Hardy saw the day he and three friends died.

RANDY ROBERTS, HARDY FAMILY ATTORNEY: Mr. Hardy had a perfect driving record and all of a sudden his car shoots through a stop sign, crashes through a metal fence, ricochets off a tree and winds up upside down in a pond.

FEYERICK: What happened inside that 2008 Toyota Avalon? It wasn't the floor mats. Those were in the trunk right where Hardy put them after receiving Toyota's recall notice a few weeks earlier. It wasn't a seizure. Although Hardy was on medication, the autopsy ruled that out.

So what really happened? What if the car could talk? Well, essentially it can. Most vehicles have what's commonly called a black box known as an event data recorder or EDR.

SEAN DENNIS, FORENSIC ENGINEER: In those kinds of accidents EDR data is going to be invaluable.

FEYERICK: Sean Dennis is a forensic engineer who reconstructs car crashes for law firms and insurance companies.

DENNIS: You see it's hidden way up underneath the dash.

FEYERICK (on camera): All the way down -- all the way down. Yes, yes, yes.

(voice-over): The black box is tied into the air bag system and records two to five seconds of pre-crash data, things like engine speed, throttle, brakes, accelerator, seat belts.

DENNIS: We see here 2.3 seconds before -- before the crash this person, this driver has gone from brakes off to brakes on.

FEYERICK: Chrysler, GM and Ford give people like Dennis access to the information through a crash data reader anyone can buy.

(on camera): But its' -- any car that's compatible with this particular system. And Toyota is not compatible with this system.

(voice-over): Toyota calls its black boxes, experimental and that the data is only for research and development and not reliable for accident reconstruction.

DENNIS: I think it is. If it provides any kind of data to me about what's going on with the vehicle, it can be used as a reconstruction tool, without a doubt. FEYERICK: Lawyers for the Hardy family thought so, too, but Toyota requires individuals to get a court order. Instead police and federal regulators stepped in, compelling Toyota to download and decipher the data which only its own engineers are trained to do. The data the Hardys were expecting was apparently nowhere to be found.

RICHARD MCCUNE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: What we see is -- is a section here to record brake and acceleration and there's nothing. They have -- for whatever reason they've decided not to program their boxes to record this information.

FEYERICK (on camera): Are you suggesting that perhaps Toyota does not want its cars to record what's going on with the braking or acceleration system?

MCCUNE: We know that they are not programming it to collect. That's what we know, and it makes us very, very suspicious.

FEYERICK (voice-over): There is no law yet specifying which data automakers must record. Toyota says the information they record depends on what features the vehicle has and what kind of data they want to know.

The only information the Hardy family did get was speed, 45 miles an hour or 15 miles over the limit leaving them and their lawyers still searching for answers.

ROBERTS: If you're confident that your car is safe and that it's working in a safe manner you should want to be able to document that all the systems were functioning properly. It makes me think that they have something to hide.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So Deb Feyerick now joining us from New York.

So the black boxes, do they record continuously just like on airplanes?

FEYERICK: Well, they don't. They only record the five seconds prior to the crash. There's no voice, there are no images, but still, it contains a lot of very significant date that helps these forensic engineers put together what was happening in the seconds prior to the crash. Toyota has really limited that amount of information at least that you can get through the black box.

WHITFIELD: All right. Deb Feyerick thanks so much from New York. Appreciate that report.