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The Future of NASA; Nationwide Tea Party Rally; What to Do if You Owe Uncle Sam; Tax Day Freebies Being Offered by Businesses
Aired April 15, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Look out below. Ash from a volcano erupting in Iceland is clouding the skies over northern Europe. It's actually forcing several countries to suspend air travel now. That ash could cause a ripple effect around the globe. Delta Airlines not operating some flights now to Britain because the ash could clog the engines.
And rescuers digging 24 hours a day at the site of that 6.9 magnitude earthquake in western China. The death toll has reached more than 600 and another 10,000 people injured. Busted bridges and roads are making it hard to get heavy equipment into that area to remove tons and tons of debris.
And it's not getting any easier for Toyota. It's ordering tests on every SUV model to make sure that they're stable. Toyota is taking a step after a "Consumer Report's" warning about rollover dangers with the Lexus GX 460.
Reaching for the stars. How many kids do you know that wanted to grow up to be astronauts. Well, first there was Gemini, then Apollo and today the space shuttle. Tomorrow? Well, that's what we're talking about now and President Obama is planning for the future of space exploration, but thousands of people, space flight is not just a dream. It's a dream job, one they're afraid, won't be around much longer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF LAKASZCYCK, UNITED SPACE ALLIANCE: If you go back and look at what happened after the Apollo program when it was canceled, I mean people - I wasn't here then, but we hear stories of people literally giving their houses away to get out from under the payments and I'm afraid you're going to see that here again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: There are just three shuttle missions left and then what? President Obama unveils his plan this afternoon. We're going to bring it to you live.
Meanwhile, CNN's John Zarrella is right there at Kennedy Space Center in Florida today. John, President Obama says the new focus will actually create jobs?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. You know, Kyra, it's important to put this in reference to how we got here. A couple of months ago when the administration announced its first new vision, it canceled the Constellation program, which was replacement for the space shuttle. It set no timetable for a new heavy lift vehicle that could take astronauts beyond lower or orbit to the moon or on to Mars. Turned over large chunks of the future to the commercial sector and the private sector.
Well, that raised huge problems on Capitol Hill with members of Congress and within the industry. So the president is coming here today to outline a new new vision and this new, new vision basically says by 2015 there will be a new design for a heavy lift rocket to take astronauts to asteroids and perhaps on to Mars and back to the moon.
It will create perhaps 2,500 new jobs to offset the several thousand that we lost when the space shuttle is retired and beyond that the Constellation program which was completely canceled, the Orion, the capsule is going to be resurrected from that and it will be taken to the International Space Station as an escape vehicle. It will be developed in the next couple of years.
There will also be $40 million thrown into the economy here into the space agency here, for re-training of the workers who are going to be displaced. So this vision is a far cry from what the original was, although commercial operations will still be largely responsible for getting astronauts to the space station during the next five to 10 years -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, you know, people had a lot of warning that they might lose their jobs. Are you surprised by the outcry now? Do you think the feeling is, OK, here we are. It's come down, you know, to the moment. President Obama is going to be right there making this big speech, and, you know, this has been a part of our culture for such a long time.
ZARRELLA: You know, everybody knew that the space shuttle program was coming to an end. A lot of people had hoped that perhaps the President would extend the shuttle program and add another flight or two. That hasn't happened. Not to say he couldn't come here today and make that announcement but even that was going to be still ending the program, but people were banking on the Constellation program, the building of the Aries rocket. The heavy lift rocket that would then take astronauts beyond low-earth orbit.
Well, when Constellation was killed, all those hopes for jobs from that program were dashed as well. So at that point they're sitting here saying 7,000 jobs just at the Kennedy Space Center alone would be lost. So now they're just hoping that the President's new vision will at least preserve some jobs for the future.
PHILLIPS: We're going to be talking about this throughout the hour, and even have a special astronaut joining us live. John, thanks so much.
We're going to have a discussion on NASA's future and more in- depth and the future of the space flight. We are going to talk with an astronaut and a couple others about the importance of exploration on our everyday lives. You know, satellite TV, invisible braces, tang and all those innovations with a start that was in space. We're going to get that at the bottom of the hour.
That brings us to today's blog question. What are some of your favorite moments from the space program? Go to CNN.com/Kyra and post your thoughts. I'll read some of the them later in the hour.
Well, before President Obama heads to Florida, he is turning his attention to improving the safety of mining in the U.S.. The dangers, of course, became heartbreakingly obvious last week when 29 coal miners were killed in West Virginia.
Right now, the President is holding an Oval Office meeting with his labor secretary and the head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. The White House official tells CNN that the President will order a review of mines with poor safety records.
And tomorrow West Virginia will set aside the day to honor the miners killed in last week's explosion. Governor Joe Manchin asking the state's miners to report to work as usual but instead of heading into the mines to dig, he wants them to review mining safety procedures.
Here's what he had to say on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: What better honor can we say to those fallen miners than to say we're going to dedicate this day - re-evaluate, have seminars, re-inspect and those who had repeated violations will be heavily inspected. That's all we can do in honor of those miners so that we never have another family or miner go through this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: We're going to have live coverage of President Obama's remarks on mining safety. They are scheduled for later this hour at 10:50 Eastern, 7:50 Pacific.
Lower taxes and less government, that's what the Tea Party wants and they're rallying today in every state. Josh Levs is here to show us more about that. Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Kyra, it is literally all over the entire country. There are more than 600 events that are taking place as a part of this. We talked to you about it on CNN.com. This is the main web site here that has a lot of information about it from the Tea Party itself. Tea Party patriots.org and one thing they have here is a video that's drumming out turnout for today.
Let's take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP) LEVS: And this is the kind of thing, you see several videos that are like it online. It has some rousing music and it talks about what tea parties are fighting for and it includes a lot of interesting images like that lobby, you can see right there, at the web. And if you thought that it is pretty much a handful of big events today that you're going to be hearing about. You might not have realized that there's probably one within a few miles of you.
Take a look here. This is where the Tea Party official web site is listing the number of events that go today. There's no way you'll be able to see the words. And that's kind of the point. As I scroll through, every time you see a bunch of words, that's a separate event. I just scrolled all the way down, only part way through California.
More than 600 events all right going to be taking place as part of this today and also there are some related events as well that you might be hearing about. I want you to know about this. This is on- line tax revolt. Now, technically, it's a separate organization, but there's clearly an allegiance. One of the leaders of this will be speaking at a Tea Party rally. And what they have created is this whole online system in which they're inviting you to take part in a march even if you can't be there.
You basically pick an avatar, you pick a little image to represent yourself and then they create this map image of you being in Washington or at one of these events, showing participation there. And according to what we're seeing here, at on-line tax revolt, they're saying they've had more than 200,000 people sign up to be a part of this already.
So, Kyra, we are seeing a lot of activity on-line in addition to everything that is happening out there on the streets, in various parks today. Organizers of the Tea Party itself are saying they expect millions of people to participate today. We'll be keeping an eye and see if that happens -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, the group lays out its mission statement online, right?
LEVS: It does. They have the mission statement online. Whenever I look at a web site, that's one of the most interesting things. When you have to stop and summarize in a handful of words, as an organization what you stand for? Let's just go to this graphic, which has what they say - their mission is ultimately all about.
They say "Our mission is to attract, educate, organize and mobilize our fellow citizens to secure public policy consistent with our three core values, fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free markets. So when it comes to what the Tea Party organization itself, Tea Party patriots.org is saying, Kyra, that's what they're saying.
PHILLIPS: All right. Josh Levs, we'll be tracking it all day. Thanks so much.
LEVS: Thanks, Kyra. PHILLIPS: Well this might be the day you've been dreading for quite a while especially if you owe a lot more than you can pay. Hey if Uncle Sam can work out a deal with Pamela Anderson, he can work out a deal with you, too, right, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I don't even want to know what kind of deal Uncle Sam cut with Pamela Anderson.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: Good morning, again, Kyra. It is tax day and it's a beautiful day for some spots of the country. We'll have weather in just a few minutes. Stay there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Sasha and Malia Obama, they are the first daughters of the country, but maybe the last of their friends to be plugged in. Their famous mom talks about some strict limits in the Obama household.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hey, it looks like another wild day on Wall Street. Just last year stocks opened the day at the highest levels in more than 18 months, but that giddiness is likely to be short lived. Right now the Dow Industrials, look at that. It reached, got past the 11,000 mark. We hope to continue to see this rally.
So when you think of Pamela Anderson, the word excess may very welcome to mind, big hair, big sex appeal and of course, big attributes, but some of those assets are going to be shrinking. Yes, we're talking about the big round numbers of the tax bill she owes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: There were reports that you owed $500,000 in unpaid taxes?
PAMELA ANDERSON, ACTRESS: Yes, I do owe some taxes. I'm working on it, though.
KING: How did you get into that?
ANDERSON: Well, it's kind of - you know, I'm in construction lawsuits and all sorts of things. Last year was a pretty tough year so I'm getting that all together, and I'm getting my house together and everything is resolved. Everything is being resolved. I think it just kind of came out because of "Dancing With the Stars."
KING: The government work with you?
ANDERSON: Yes. Of course.
(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Well, the government doesn't limit itself just to celebrities. The IRS will work with you, too. Stephanie Elam in New York with details of what to do if you have an overwhelming tax bill. Hi, Steph.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm having Zain Verjee flashbacks, Kyra. (INAUDIBLE) That whole tease was completely designed for you. Completely.
PHILLIPS: I got to tell you - yes, my writer nailed that script, didn't he? I wish I could take credit for that -
ELAM: Yes, sounds good.
PHILLIPS: But it's kind of like the discussion that we had this morning. How are we going to talk about Pamela Anderson and tax bills. OK. He made it work.
ELAM: All we need to do, we'll make it work. All we need to do is have Rob Marciano jumping in and saying he didn't know what the IRS was going to do. (INAUDIBLE) going crazy.
All right. Let me tell you about this because this is important, Kyra. While I'm making light of the other situation there, 15 million people are out of work. So obviously this is a really big deal when you come down to tax day like this, but just like Pamela Anderson, the government is going to work with you.
Of course, that means you have to file a return. They can't work with you unless you do that part first. So whether you do it today or through an extension, you got to file a return. Then reach out to the IRS. Don't wait for the IRS to come to you because then there will be penalties and interest to pay. And guess what, that interest doesn't start piling up a month ago. It starts piling up tomorrow.
And it can add another 25 percent to your bill. In fact, I actually got a chance to speak to a tax attorney to talk about some of the programs that are available to you if you just don't think you can pay your taxes on time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARMANDO GOMEZ, TAX ATTORNEY, SKADDEN: If you're just short the money, but think you're going to have it in the next few weeks or a few months, even, the IRS can give you essentially a grace period of 120 days to work out a payment with them and there's no fees for doing that. If it's going to take you longer, you can ask for what they call an installment agreement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: OK. The installment agreement sounds like what it is. It's basically a monthly payment plan. There's a fee for this, but if you work with the IRS it can cut your tax bill and really the key here is to not be afraid. Remember, the IRS wants to work with you because it needs that tax revenue, Kyra, even if it's coming in on the late side.
PHILLIPS: OK. So where do our tax dollars go?
ELAM: Yes, that's what a lot of people are wondering -
PHILLIPS: We all want to know.
ELAM: And they go to - we all want to know, after I send you the check it disappears into the ether? Well, it actually goes into a general fund at the Treasury and nobody is going to say that paying our taxes is fun, but some of those taxes do help out our local communities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOMEZ: The money that we're paying in to the government is - is what the government needs for all of the services it provides and you know, whether it's health care benefits, unemployment benefits and money on roads and other stimulus projects that the government's got running, funding the military, you name it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: All right. And the biggest portion of our taxes do go to defense, Social Security and also Medicare. The federal government also funnels a lot of it down to the state and local level. So at that point, you can think about your local schools, colleges, airports, highways. You know when your roads are busted out, that doesn't make you happy.
Now something to think about as well when you're just really angry about having to go to the post office or mailing off your taxes today, e-filing, however you do it. Just don't do it. You've got to do it today, Kyra, otherwise it hurts later.
PHILLIPS: That sounds right. You know, when you talk about that general fund, don't you ever wonder who the general is? I'd like to meet him or her.
ELAM: I know exactly -
(CROSSTALK)
ELAM: And they better really not have a really, really nice house and car. That's all I'm saying.
PHILLIPS: Exactly.
All right. Steph, talk to you again soon.
And whatever sum you might be losing on tax day, you can gain it back in calories, free or cheap food and drink all over the place. Starbucks giving away free brewed if you bring your own mug. Today is a good day to hug a barista because they probably need it. They you got Cinnabon, two free bite size cupcakes today, from 6:00 to 8:00 tonight. Maggie Moo's a free slice of ice cream pizza -- is that something? -- from 3:00 to 7:00 tonight. Oh, yes. Ice cream pizza. Yes, I was supposed to ask that? Now I guess it is something. All right. Boston Market is offering a guide-free meal if you get actually through Sunday. There are other deals out there, too. Tax day was never so filling, huh? Let's go try and figure out what those ice cream pizza thing is. Maybe I can find a picture.
PHILLIPS: All right. I can see the bumper sticker now, to stop a crime, hug a crook. We've got photographic proof that you actually take a hug at a crime.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)]
PHILLIPS: Flip the light switch, please. Going from dark to light and a flash. It's a meteor, folks, lighting up the sky in the upper Midwest. This video was actually shot from the University of Wisconsin Space Lab in Madison. And then check out this next shot. It's from an Iowa deputy sheriff's dash cam. Just kind of hanging out looking for bad guys or gals and he caught this on the dash cam.
Well, keep looking. The meteor shower will actually be visible tonight as well. Pretty cool stuff, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes, it is. This is kind of an obscure meteor shower unlike the (INAUDIBLE), they're kind of the rock stars of meteor showers. This the gamma (INAUDIBLE) or something like that. Peaking right now, so you're right. Might have a shot at it again tonight but those are pretty big ones certainly for this time of year.
All right Check this out, Kyra. Warm air again. I mean, it's been an unusually warm spring for a lot of the south and through parts of the mid-south and even through the heartland. That's going to continue today. A big ridge kind of blocking everything but we're going to start to see some of this cool air here dry down to the south and east and that will change things just a little bit and kind of shift this pattern that's been kind of stuck in a rut.
Blocking high air and any sort of moisture has been kind of scooted off towards the west of the ridge and even up over the top of it, and flooding rains, that's potentially going to be an issue here across parts of the west Texas and in through the panhandle as well, with the rain right now scurrying across the i-10 corridor.
Up and over the top of the ridge, this is where we're seeing this moisture arc towards the northeast and that will begin to increase in intensity as we go through the next day or two.
Speaking of arching, let's talk about this ash cloud in Iceland. The volcano which is - you kind of see it right here. Notice how all this black kind of goes this way. This infrared picture. So the black is actually temperatures that are a little bit warmer than the surrounding clouds and air around it and that's the ash cloud that's kind of drifting down toward the south and interrupting all that air travel across parts of Europe especially the U.K. and these are the areas that are affected. The U.K. airspace flat-out closed for the next few hours.
So that's going to be a problem until one, the volcano kind of calms down a little bit or two, we get a shift to those winds that we won't see at least for the next day or two. So hopefully the volcano will start to simmer down, as we like to say.
PHILLIPS: All right. Our fabulous producer, Pam, found the picture. I don't know if you heard me talking about the freebies here on tax day. But yes, I thought I read a typo in the script about ice cream pizza. No, it's for real.
MARCIANO: Come on.
PHILLIPS: Here we go. You can get the supreme. Looks like it's got red icing, white chocolate curls, M&Ms, cherry (INAUDIBLE), crushed heath bar, crushed Reese's peanut butter cups. There you go baby, there's your ice cream pizza.
MARCIANO: It look all right.
PHILLIPS: You think so? Oh, that would give you serious --
MARCIANO: Well, you put pepperoni on the ice cream. I'd have a problem with that.
PHILLIPS: So there you go, get your free ice cream pizza online. Maggie's Moos. See you later.
Pulitzer prize-winning photographer embracing his new role as a crime fighter. Jim Komenich was kin a San Jose bank Monday when a bank robber struck, and actually said -- well, he said he had a gun and he took cash from the teller and he started to bolt out the door and that's when Kim took the law into his own arms. Tell us about it, Kim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM KOMENICH, PHOTOGRAPHER: Sure enough, he starts reaching down and I thought he might be going for a gun. So I decided since there were no police I would go ahead and put the old bear hug on him and that's how we stood for about four minutes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Maybe the guy just needs a little love. Kim is 6'2" and about 260 pounds so it was a heck of a bear hug. Police say that he showed incredible poise.
All right, guys. Scientists think they know why they're bald. That means some new treatments could be on the way.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you have type 1 diabetes there's nothing that you would like better than to be free of insulin injections and having to constantly watch what you eat. Good news, that time may come. "BusinessWeek" reports, the first human trials of an artificial pancreas work without causing low blood sugar. the automated device delivers two hormones that people with type 1 diabetes need.
And here's some news that could put some hair on your head and maybe even take it off your back. A team of researchers think that it identified a human gene that affects hair growth, basically figured out why people tend to go bald. Nailing down that gene means new treatments for male pattern baldness could be on the horizon and it also means there could be ways to remove the hair you don't want.
Space exploration is not just about space travel. It's also about innovation that got us there and inventions that we see and feel every day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, we all know the acronym, NASA. National Aeronautics Space Administration. But the meaning, far more powerful. Exploration, innovation and inspiration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN F. KENNEDY, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: A promise and challenge. President Kennedy setting a goal that we all wanted to reach.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL ARMSTRONG, FIRST MAN ON THE MOON: It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Apollo 11, the first men on the moon, the day we did reach for the stars and got them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED MALE: T-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 -- we have main engine start -- four, three, two, one. And liftoff, liftoff of the 25th space shuttle mission, and it has cleared the tower.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: But we also remember the dangers and sacrifices. Apollo 1, the Challenger and Columbia. President Obama unveils the next step. A new focus later this afternoon.
We want to talk more about NASA's future and the past. In Dallas, Mary Ellen Webber, a former astronaut. She flew two shuttle missions and she's in Arlington, Vermont. Andrew Chaikin. Space historian and journalist. And in Orlando, Florida, space policy expert Roger Handberg.
Let's go ahead, Mary Ellen and start with you -- 297 orbits around the earth. Just for a moment tell us all what that feels like. What goes through your mind? What you observe, what you remember the most?
DR. MARY ELLEN WEBBER, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Space flight is an incredible, incredible, indescribable experience. It's overwhelming what it takes to get a single vehicle or a single person into space. And just knowing what it takes to do that and that it's all happening is an overwhelming experience. All separate from the G forces and everything else that you feel like on liftoff.
But being in space, there's just nothing -- nothing else like it, and I consider myself one of the most fortunate people in the world, certainly to have had that experience.
PHILLIPS: You definitely are.
And Andrew, it's not just about the travel and the fascination of being up there and looking around at what we - we exist in, but the innovation. We're talking Velcro and GPS.
ANDREW CHAIKIN, SPACE HISTORIAN AND JOURNALIST: Well, Velcro was actually invented before the space program, Kyra, but plenty of things have come out of it.
But I don't think that's the main reason to be excited about the space program. The main reason is that we are an exploring species and we're meant to be going places where no one's ever been and seeing and discovering things that no one's ever seen before.
And we haven't been doing that since Apollo. And the thing that has really concerned me about the last many years in space is that we've kind of had a bait-and-switch space program. The space shuttle was supposed to make space flight routine and lower the cost of getting into space so that all of us -- I want to have the experience that Dr. Weber has had. But it didn't do that, and yet NASA said we can't change it now. We put too much into it.
The space station, I don't think they ever really did figure out what it was supposed to be used for, but again, it's a money pit in the sky. And under the old plan, it would have been deep-sixed in 2015. At least now, it will be up in 2020.
But the main thing is we need to get back in the exploring business, and the old plan wasn't going to do that. It was vapor ware (ph). Everything about going back to the moon, the Lander, the base, the heavy lift vehicle. It was all vapor ware (ph), and I think now what the president's trying to do is get us back on a path that really does get us where we all want to go.
PHILLIPS: Mary Ellen, do you agree with that?
WEBBER: Actually, some of it I agree with it, but a great deal of it I do not.
First of all, the space shuttle was a fantastic program. I mean, if you think about it, the most risky part of any space mission to any planet or orbiting body out there in the universe, the most risky part is launching and landing. And that's what the shuttle program was about. We had over 100 opportunities, 130 opportunities to learn how do that, how to do operations.
It is -- it was an amazing success. And maybe it's not as flashy as landing on the moon, but if we are truly going to become a space- faring civilization, this kind of routine learning -- that needs to take place. We need to get that learning, and the shuttle was a big part in getting us that learning.
So, I disagree about the value of the space shuttle program, and I also disagree with the statements about the space station itself. We have not had the opportunity to really use the space station the way it was intended. Just now, is it being manned with six astronauts. Up until now, we didn't have the manpower up there to even do the science that it promises. Now with the extension to 2020 we may -- we certainly will have the opportunity to get out of the space station what we had hoped to get out of it from the beginning.
I don't think it's an either/or. I don't think you can just do flashy missions to another planet. That is not going to make us a space-faring civilization. The constant presence in space, the multiple launches and landings each year, that all feeds into it. That is what will make us a space-faring organization.
With all that said, I do agree that I think this is a bold, new path to actually get us exploring space again as well as using the space station. So, I'm cautiously, guardedly optimistic about the new plan.
PHILLLIPS: Roger, I promise I'll let you weigh in. We'll take a quick break and continue our discussion. We'll talk more about NASA's legacy and this bold, new path, as Mary Ellen points out. And also, some of the moments that we wished never happened, but we'll never forget. We're back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's get back to our space discussion. I want to take a moment to talk about moments that we can never forget, but we definitely need to remember. Challenger, Columbia.
Still with me, former astronaut, Mary Ellen Webber. Andrew Chaikin, space historian and journalist. Space policy expert Roger Handburg.
Before we get to that, though, Roger, I want to bring you in on this discussion. Actually, Mary Ellen and Andrew, taking exception to some points that were being made. You know, bottom line, the president wants to make changes. He wants space travel to be cheaper and faster. What do you think about his plans and how he's talking about changing the program? ROGER HANDBERG, SPACE POLICY EXPERT AND AUTHOR: Well, I think the reality is, every president's talked about doing it cheaper and faster. That was the whole purpose of the space shuttle and the justification, as Andrew said.
I think the issue for NASA is that in its DNA, there is this notion that you have to do big, spectacular projects. You have to be doing something exciting. They don't trust the American people to support them to do, quote, "routine operations." They spent a generation trying to get the space station built. It's built, and then they were going to abandon it because it became a cul-de-sac. And instead, now we'll see the exploitation of the space station out to 2020, and some reports talk about pushing it to 2028. Which means we were very disparaging about the Mir (ph) space station toward the end, but our space station may be dilapidated by the time we de-orbit it.
The issue is space costs a lot of money. The engineers and the space advocates have got to understand that the private sector has not stepped up to building launch vehicles to orbit for humans. They don't have any reason to. There's no market for it. I mean, there are only so many people against $10 million or $20 million a ride as they do now, 20-plus now for the international space station as a tourist on the Russian Soyuz (ph).
So, I think what you've got is the president is actually listening to what the reformers have been saying, not recently, but for years. The problem is, it's hard to get from point A to point B without a lapse. People who support Constellation talk about how we're taking ourselves, we're losing our way. Well, Constellation was originally proposed -- was we'd be flying in 2012. Means we have a two-year gap. The last numbers I saw, we were talking about 2015, 2017. So, the gap was going to be there regardless --
PHILLIPS: And on that note, roger, all three of you please stay with me. The president stepping up to the podium. Let's listen to his remarks.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, everyone. On April 5th, the United States suffered the worst mine disaster in more than a generation. Twenty-nine lives were lost, families have been devastated, communities have been upended. And during this painful time, all of us are mourning with the people of Montcoal and Whitesville and Naoma and the Coal River Valley. The people of West Virginia are in our prayers.
But we owe them more than prayers. We owe them action. We owe them accountability. We owe them an assurance that when they go to work every day, when they enter that dark mine, they're not alone. They ought to know that behind them there is a company that's doing what it takes to protect them and a government that is looking out for their safety.
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, I asked the officials standing with me, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Joe Maine and Kevin Strickland with the Mine Safety and Health Administration, to lead an investigation into what caused the explosion at Massey Energy Company's Upper Big Branch mine. I asked them to report back with preliminary findings this week.
We just concluded a meeting where they briefed me on their investigation. I want to emphasize that this investigation is ongoing, and there's still a lot that we don't know. But we do know that this tragedy was triggered by a failure at Upper Big Branch Mine. A failure first and foremost of management, but also a failure of oversight and a failure of laws so riddled with loopholes that they allowed unsafe conditions to continue.
So, today I've directed Secretary Solis, Assistant Secretary Maine and Administrator Strickland to work closely with state mining officials to press ahead with this investigation so we can help make sure a disaster like this never happens again.
The owners responsible for conditions in their Upper Big Branch Mine should be held accountable for decisions they made and preventive measures they failed to take. And I've asked Secretary Solis to work with the Justice Department to ensure that every tool in the federal government is available in this investigation.
But this isn't just about a single mine. It's about all of our mines. The safety record at the Massey Upper Big Branch Mine was troubling, and it's clear that while there are many responsible companies, far too many times -- mines aren't doing enough to protect their workers' safety.
That's why yesterday, Governor Manchin announced that West Virginia miners will take this Friday off from coal production so they can mourn their loss but also re-evaluate safety procedures. He also called for additional inspections in West Virginia mines.
The federal government is taking sweeping actions, as well. Starting today, we'll go back and take another look at mines across this country with troubling safety records and get inspectors into those mines immediately to ensure they aren't facing the same unsafe working conditions that led to this disaster.
Second, I've directed Secretary Solis, assistant secretary Maine and administrator Strickland to work with Congress to strengthen enforcement of existing laws and close loopholes that permit companies to shirk their responsibilities. Stronger mine safety laws were passed in 2006 after the Sago Mine disaster, but safety violators like Massey have still been able to find ways to put their bottom line before the safety of their workers, filing endless appeals instead of paying fines and fixing safety problems. To help ensure that mine companies no longer use a strategy of endless litigation to evade their responsibilities, we need to tackle the backlog of cases at the Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.
And to help hold companies accountable, I've also asked Secretary Solis to streamline the rules for proving that a mining company has committed a pattern of violations so that we can empower the mine safety agency to take essential steps to keep miners safe. If a mining company consistently violates safety standards, they should be subjected to the tougher enforcement that comes with being placed on an updated pattern of violations list.
Third. We can't just hold mining companies accountable. We need to hold Washington accountable. That's why I want to review how our Mine Safety and Health Administration operates. For a long time the Mine Safety agency was staffed with former mine executives and industry players. The industry is now run, I'm proud to say, by former miners and health safety experts like Joe Maine and Kevin Strickland. Even so, we need to take a look at our own practices and our own procedures to make sure we're pursuing mine safety as relentlessly as we possibly can. In addition, we need to make sure that miners themselves and not just the government or mine operators, are empowered to report any safety violations.
I think we all understand that underground coal mining is, by its very nature, dangerous. Every miner and every mining family understands this. But we know what can cause mine explosions, and we know how to prevent them. I refuse to accept any number of miner deaths as simply a cost of doing business. We can't eliminate chance completely from mining any more than we can from life itself, but if a tragedy can be prevented, it must be prevented. That's the responsibility of mine operators, and that's the responsibility of government, and that is the responsible that we'll all have to work together to meet in the weeks and months to come.
Thank you very much, everybody.
PHILLIPS: All right. The president of the United States right there side by side with his labor secretary. Also the head of Mine Safety and Health Administration. Bringing attention to a review that he is ordering now of mines with poor safety records. He wants to improve, obviously, the safety of mining in the U.S. We saw those dangers, of course, become heartbreakingly obvious last week when 29 coal miners were killed in West Virginia. We will definitely follow up on that review.
Now he's get being ready to head to Florida to the Kennedy Space Center, where we're talking about major changes within the space program. We'll talk about that right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: As the president gets ready to head to Kennedy Space Center to announce his new plan for the program, for the space program -- once again I want to bring back Mary Ellen Weber, former astronaut. Also, Andrew Chaikin, space historian and science journalist and Roger Handburg, space policy expert, professor of political science, University of Central Florida.
Guys, we've been hitting the serious issues about the space program. And Andrew you cut a little bit of what I said when I threw out Velcro, and we should point out the three spin-offs of NASA, right, that we talked about: Teflon, Velcro and Tang. Not invented, not created in space, but definitely made famous by the space program.
Let's go back in history. I know all three of you remember this commercial. Let's roll it. (VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: How can we -- more vitamin c than an orange. Mary Ellen, it became famous on the menu there up in space with our man John Glenn. Did you ever drink Tang up in space?
WEBBER: I did not drink tang, but did I drink a lot of cherry Kool-Aid.
PHILLIPS: OK. So Andrew, there we go. We have to continue the other myths of things that were created in space. And then of course, Velcro, Andrew, we should point out, made famous and it was developed actually by the Swiss and that's what the guys in Apollo were attaching the equipment to the inside of the shuttle.
CHAIKIN: You know, Kyra, the space program really does drive innovation. It's the thing that pushes us farther ahead as a species in such a dramatic fashion. And I think by getting us on a path by exploring again -- and I don't call it flashy. I call it exciting because we're going places no one's ever been. And that's going to inspire young people to go into math and science and engineering. We need that desperately in this country and that's at the best, that's what the space program does for us.
Well, we'll keep talking about it for sure. Roger Handburg, Andrew Chaikin, and Mary Ellen Webber, guys, thank you very much. Appreciate the discussion.
WEBBER: Thank you.
CHAIKIN: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: As President Obama ushers in a new era with the space program, we thought it would be a great time to share some of your favorite space comments. Some of your blog comments just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Today in our "30-Second Pitch," we have a TV producer who's looking for a job. Heck, with this experience, he should be producing this segment.
Benjie Kaze has produced a ton of sports shows and he's won five Emmy awards. And now he blogs about his journey through unemployment. Benjie Kaze joins me live from Denver. I should have called you in to write, produce and put the elements together, Benjie. You would have done a much better job.
BENJIE KAZE, JOB SEEKER: I'm very available.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: I know you are. And we have lots of opportunity here. You should apply. So, like many journalists, you started a blog. How has that been? KAZE: It's been an unbelievable experience for me. You know, I've been -- through my career I've always considered myself a creative person who thinks outside of the box, has always tried to reinvent and creating shows and developing shows.
And for me when I was handed my pink slip, basically it was something I really wasn't prepared for. I'd worked in the business for a while, and all of the emotions that go through somebody when they're unemployed, they really range. They're all over the place from -- it's a freedom on some level, it's depression on another level.
And for me, to get the opportunity to sit down at a computer when I'm feeling a certain emotion and some days it's positive, some days it's negative, and to be able to express that and to sit down and whether it's a 45-minute writing session, you walk away, and it's an unbelievably therapeutic experience. And for me, it's been tremendously rewarding.
PHILLIPS: Let's get down to business. Are you ready for your 30-second pitch?
I know you're usually behind the scenes, and now you're in front of the camera, so now people will see you can do both.
KAZE: All right. I've got my notes here.
PHILLIPS: OK. Perfect. Oh, come on, ad lib. You know how we all do it in the television business here. Forget those notes!
KAZE: Where's my prompter?
PHILLIPS: Yes. Exactly. I'm sorry, pal. Here we go. We'll start the clock. Take it away, Benji Kaze.
KAZE: All right. After a successful 25 years in the TV business, including five Emmy awards, I was handed my pink slip. But for the last 18 months, I've had the best job in the world, and that's being a stay-at-home dad. During that time, I decided to write a blog on my journey through unemployment where I've connected with 50,000 readers throughout the world.
Now, I would certainly love to work on TV again, but I've discovered a passion for writing. And if there's an opportunity to write for a living, sign me up. I hope you get a chance to check out my stories about real-life at sirbacon123.com.
PHILLIPS: All right. Sirbacon123 -- now, we have at yahoo.com. Did we get that wrong, or is that right? Is that your e-mail?
KAZE: Well, Sirbacon123 is the Web site where you can read all of my blogs and feel free to e-mail me with any job possibilities or just to let me know how you're doing at sirbacon123@yahoo.com.
PHILLIPS: Fantastic. Keep us posted, Benjie, thank you so much.
KAZE: Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: All right. If you're out of work and want to sell yourself to prospective employers, just like Benjie there, send your resume and a letter to 30secondpitch@CNN.com. Also if you want to hire our 30-second pitchers, go to our blog, at CNN.com/kyra. All of their information and details will be right there.
Tea Party rallies on Tax Day. Hundreds of people -- thousands of people, actually. Hundred of rallies all across the United States. Including this one set to kick off in just a few minutes in Washington. We'll have more on that movement and the rallies at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: There are three shuttle missions left before the spaceships head to a museum, and later this afternoon, President Barack Obama unveils plans for NASA's future. That brings us to today's blog question. We asked you to share some of your memorable moments from the space program.
This comes from Tom. "I was in high school when Neil and Buzz walked on the moon. I knew that by the year 2000, I would be working in space as an engineer. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined we would come to this."
Morgan says, "When I was 10, I went to space camp in Huntsville and I remember seeing a billboard that said the first person on Mars is already alive today. This was in 1988. I've always had that statement in the back of my mind."
This comes from Kelly. "I was five when the Challenger exploded. I remember waking up all excited to see the spaceship go up, only to have my mom tell me that the astronauts had a horrible accident. I cried all day at school."
We always love hearing from you. Just log on to CNN.com/kyra and share your comments with us. Sure appreciate you being with us today.
Tony, what do you remember most about the space program?
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I do remember Challenger. That was '80 -- I remember being on a cruise ship. It's crazy. I was working at Cleveland, Ohio, and I was on a cruise ship doing a P.M. magazine, an evening magazine show. And I remember that story that morning and the whole mood, as you would expect --
PHILLIPS: Yep.
HARRIS: And everybody looking to the skies thinking, can I see anything. Everybody looking to the skies. That's what I remember.
PHILLIPS: I remember seeing all the shots of everybody in the crowd stunned. It was absolute silence.
Yes, I know, but there are some remarkable things to remember about the space program. We'll talk about them. The president getting ready to speak. All right. Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: All right, Kyra. Have a great day.
