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"The Gates of Hell"; Ash Clouds Travel Picture; Discovery Landing in Florida; Candy or Poison?; New Immigration Rules, Protests Called-Off; Big One Coming to California?; The Second Life of Trash
Aired April 20, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys.
Well, what would the Vikings think if they saw this? Incredible pictures coming out of Iceland. That darn volcano spewing ash from the ground setting off lightning in the sky. The Vikings would think, the gods must be angry and write a saga about it. Some drained travelers are angry their saga just won't end.
Other news we'll cover, a pediatrician accused of sexually abusing his little patients. Yes, just when you thought this case couldn't get any worse, it does.
And on the left, your coffee breath fix. On the right, your nicotine fix. Hmm. Aren't they look so much alike? We have a problem.
But we begin on -- well, one side. You can actually see the cause. On the other here, you see the effect. Iceland's volcano is what we're talking about. The disaster that just keeps on giving.
Much of Europe still at its mercy. The giant ash clouds conspiring with winds to block out more air traffic. Stranded travelers from the U.S. now to the U.K., to the UAE, running out of money, running out of patients, and getting more and more stressed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID FULLARD, PASSENGER: When they told us it's cancelled, people all over the airport were going mad. Kids screaming that they wanted to go home and parents telling them they couldn't. People were really outright --
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And airports have become second homes now. Take a look at this. A CNN iReporter shows us how Amsterdam's airport has turned into a makeshift campsite. Poor folks have no idea they should have brought camping gear on their plane trips. KLM had planned to begin operating European flights into and out of Amsterdam today.
Well, for many air travelers across Europe, their fate is cast to the wind. Scientists say that shifting winds and not a new eruption has pushed more volcanic ash over Britain and keeping its airspace closed.
But the outlook elsewhere is improving, believe it or not. More than half of Europe's flights are expected to be in the air today after five days of cancellations. Paris is resuming a limited number of flights today. And Switzerland has reopened its airspace.
A British official say that London's airports are likely to remain closed for another day. And that includes Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport. Meanwhile the World Health Organization says that the ash cloud poses no threat except those closest to the volcano.
That offers to comfort to those living in the volcano's homes. One witness actually said it looks like the gates of hell. We have the pictures to prove it.
CNN's Gary Tuchman takes us inside the volcano zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the base of the Iceland volcano, the day is cold and very clear. But up the road a short distance, what looks like a big gray curtain, that very quickly closes on us.
There is nothing gradual about it. Visibility drops to near zero as we drive through the volcano's giant ash plume.
The view at the side window looks like something we might see from a window of a submarine. You could see virtually nothing.
(on camera): Only 10 minutes away from here, it's sunny. There are almost no clouds in the sky. But now it feels like nighttime. It's literally raining ash. The ash is going into my eyes. It's on the streets.
We are south of the volcano. This is the way the wind is blowing. And the western part of Iceland, Reykjavik, the capital, where most of the people live, life is completely normal. The winds (INAUDIBLE) head west. The south of volcano, east of the volcano, the farm owners, the landowners, the people who live who are suffering.
The crop leaves are getting destroyed because of these ash storms. And we don't know yet how bad the health effects.
(voice-over): We asked the helicopter pilot -- a very good at best -- to get as close to the volcano as he dared. He took us within several hundred feet. It looked like an out of control fireworks show with bottle (ph) rockets going haywire. Shooting what looked like rocks but were actually boulders out of the crater.
The steam kept changing colors and shapes, towering thousands of feet in the air. I asked the pilot his first impression.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This looks like the gates of hell.
TUCHMAN: And this is what happens after the ash lands. Olafur Eggertson is a farmer who is now dealing with a 2500 acre farm consumed by ash that has turned into muck and mud.
He tells us, "This has been in my family for three generations, me, my father, my grandfather. That's why it hurts so much."
His family has owned the farm near the volcano for 104 years. But the volcano had been quiet for about 190 years.
"Why would this happen to such a beautiful place? What are we being punished for?"
Our visit with Olafur was on Sunday. We thought we would see how he was doing on Monday. But the visibility made it difficult to find his farm because for the second time in three days it was getting pummeled by ash, from the eruption up above.
Gary Tuchman CNN, (INAUDIBLE), Iceland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right, now to the dark cloud hanging over travelers. Take a look at air traffic. About 14,000 flights expected in European airspace today. That's about half of what it usually is.
And you can fly over most of the continent. But when you get below 20,000 feet, that's when things get complicated.
CNN's Paula Newton joining us now from London.
The ash could -- or the ash cloud, rather, seems to have a pretty annoying fondness for the U.K., Paula. You can fly over but it's a lot harder to get in or out, right?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I mean, people were seeing planes in the air today. They could actually see them and think, what about us, stranded here?
And I can tell you, Kyra, I have spoken to several Americans. A lot of people here now four or five days longer than they expected to be. And they are frustrated. Why?
Kyra, yesterday we were tantalizingly close. They actually had said that behind me at Heathrow Airport, those planes were going to start rolling down the runways late this afternoon.
Definitely not happening now. The earliest we're talking about now would be sometime tomorrow morning. And the reason, as you were just explaining, is that persistent ash cloud that really is getting a big boost with the weather. The winds haven't changed.
It might be glorious weather here in London right now but those winds continue to blow that ash cloud over the U.K., which means no one here is going anywhere.
If you're in a passenger's position, Kyra, you're kind of wondering, should I stay or should I go? Do I try and take the train to a place like Paris and try and get out that way? The problem is, you can imagine the chaos on trying to get on one of those flights right now.
PHILLIPS: And, you know, for the Americans stranded, I mean, do we know exactly how many are at this point?
NEWTON: Well, the estimates vary. But it should -- there are at least about 20,000 right now trying to get back home and you name the city, right? L.A., San Francisco. I just spoke to a lady from Philadelphia. They're all trying figure out how to get home. They're waiting it out at this point. See what happens.
PHILLIPS: And, Paula, just as we're talking to you we're getting a live picture of the shuttle. As you know, everything from the shuttle to air travelers have been impacted by this volcanic ash.
A lot of concern about the ability -- not only for you and me -- to fly but also for these guys to finally be able to come home.
Our John Zarrella is there too, watching this.
A lot of people are wondering, John, if this was going to be able to happen. But now after spending an extra day in orbit, those seven astronauts aboard the space shuttle Discovery getting ready to kiss land.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Kyra, that's just absolutely spectacular view. We've been watching the shuttle coming in for the last three or four minutes. You just don't get a view as good as this that often.
You know, across the United States, it's only happened twice in the last five, six years where a shuttle has come down across Washington state, across Montana, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and now you can see we're about ready for final approach here, landing on runway 33 at the Kennedy Space Center.
The gears are down now. You can hear the shuttle coming in.
Let's listen in, Kyra, for these last seconds before touchdown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Main gear countdown (INAUDIBLE). Main gear touchdown, Pilot Jim Dutton now deploying the drag shoot. Touchdown.
ZARRELLA: That's Discovery (INAUDIBLE). The astronauts are back on earth, Kyra, as you mentioned, kissing the ground after 14 days in space.
And you know, Kyra, this was only the third time in shuttle program history that three women flew on the space shuttle. So another great achievement up there. So all seven astronauts back home now. And there's only three more shuttle flights left.
So we've got to enjoy these moments while we can because that's it. Three more to go with Discovery's touchdown here. PHILLIPS: Hey, we can go ahead and mention, it marks the first time four women have been up in space at one time if we add in our Japanese astronaut, right?
ZARRELLA: Well, and we have the one astronaut who is on board -- U.S. astronaut who is on board the International Space Station. So with the three on the shuttle and her, that's four. First time ever four women in space. Congratulations.
PHILLIPS: All right. And as you mentioned, only three more shuttle missions remaining --
ZARRELLA: Yes.
PHILLIPS: -- before this space shuttle fleet retires.
ZARRELLA: That's it.
PHILLIPS: All right, John Zarrella, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
More from CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center.
What a sight that is, shuttle on the runway. All right, let's talk about what's going on with the planes trying to get out of Europe. We'll also talk about your forecast across the U.S. in just two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: In Iraq, these could be the most touted death since the execution of Saddam Hussein. U.S. and Iraqi forces have killed the top two leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq.
Abu Ayyub Al-Masri was the military leader of the insurgent group. He was considered Iraq's primary connection to Osama bin Laden.
Also killed in that rocket attack Abu Omar al Baghdadi. He was the leader of an umbrella group that included al Qaeda in Iraq. U.S. military says that al Baghdadi was called "prince of the faithful."
Now the question is are these deaths more about symbolism or substance? After all a U.S. military strike killed the group's founder nearly four years ago. And al Qaeda in Iraq still managed to thrive.
Just last hour, I spoke to General Ray Odierno, the top U.S. military leader in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEN. RAYMOND ODIERNO, COMMANDER, U.S. FORCES-IRAQ: These two individuals -- one was the leader of overall al Qaeda. And it represented the foreign element of al Qaeda here in Iraq -- Abu Ayyub Al-Masri. And the second, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi -- represented the Iraqi ring. And they were the head of those two organizations.
So first, symbolically taking them out is very important. But also from an operational standpoint, it's important. It will make it more difficult for them to coordinate operations across the country. So we'll see. We'll see what the overall impact but I think it's pretty significant.
PHILLIPS: Now how involved were the Iraqis with this effort?
ODIERNO: Well, it was their intelligence. Their security forces led this operation. We provided intelligence support and we provided operational support to them as well. That's what's encouraging about this that they have, over time, with our help, developed the capability to conduct counterterrorism operations throughout the country.
And that's what we're looking for as we look to move out of Iraq here over the next year or so. And that's exactly the kind of capability we want them to be able to conduct once we leave.
PHILLIPS: Well, and let's put that in perspective. You know you mentioned the fact that -- I mean, we're all anxious for you all to come home. But when you first came in to Iraq, specifically the northern part of that country, you were hard core, you had your philosophies.
You were the tough guy that came in there. Now if I were to reflect back on what you've done specifically in the past year or two, you have definitely embraced a more collaborative philosophy with Iraqis.
Why? Do you have more faith in them? Or is this just something you had to do no matter what?
ODIERNO: Well, I think first of all -- I think there are different phases of an operation and we have to change and adapt according to the environment of the operation.
So, Kyra, what I would tell you is what -- I think I have done is I've been able to adapt and adjust based on the environment on the ground and what's necessary in order to be successful.
In 2003 and 2004, we also did a lot of the things we do today. But it was a much more difficult situation as we were hunting Saddam Hussein and finally captured him. But today, it's a different place. It's about training the Iraqi security forces, by getting them ready to take over.
It's about us helping to develop Iraq. It's about building Iraq's capabilities economically, diplomatically, militarily. That's the way for them to be successful to build a long-term partnership with Iraq is what we hope we will get out of this in the long term.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And we'll talk more long-term with Odierno coming up in the next hour.
Rob Marciano, though, you're long-term on the weather front when you're looking not only at the volcanic ash that's working its way all across the country but also our severe weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right, Rob, appreciate it.
MARCIANO: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Why is Sarah Palin sightings expected in an east Tennessee courtroom this week? Back in 90 seconds. You betcha.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: More trouble for one of the six teenagers facing charges in connection with the bullying death of Massachusetts teen, Phoebe Prince. Eighteen-year-old Austin Renault goes before a judge this morning for drunk driving charges following his arrest Sunday. He has pleaded not guilty to charges in the Phoebe Prince case.
A jury in Long Island, New York convicts 19-year-old Jeffrey Conroy of manslaughter as a hate crime. He fatally stabbed an Ecuadorian immigrant in 2008. Prosecutor say that Conroy and six friends targeted Latinos for assaults. Part of the sport they called beaner hopping.
And jury selection begins this morning in Knoxville, Tennessee for a former college student accused of computer related crimes against former Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin.
Twenty-two-year-old David Cornell faces a bunch of charges including felony and intentionally accessing Palin's e-mail account without authorization.
They look like candy and they can kill like poison. Can young kids really tell the difference? We're going to tell you about a new warning for parents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, they look like mints or candy, stuff that your kids might snatch up in a heartbeat but looks can be deceiving. Potentially deadly in this situation. Some new flavored smokeless tobacco products are the subject of a new warning.
CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta here with the details today.
I know, I'm having a problem speaking this morning. I think it's lack of sleep.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Nice to meet you, Sanjay.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: And your name is?
GUPTA: That's right.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Let me tell you, when I saw the packaging, it doesn't -- it looks like candy. It is alluring to a child's eyes.
GUPTA: That's exactly the controversy here and the criticism as well. You know this isn't the first time they've talked about these nicotine products and generating some buzz and controversy.
What's interesting is, if you talk to the makers, they'll say, look, this isn't supposed to be smoking cessation product. This was supposed to be something, I guess, people will kick every now and then if they want to kick in nicotine.
Orbs, they're called, or strips or sticks. That's what they look like. And that's exactly right, Kyra. The concern is that they look like candy. Potentially harmful to a toddler, for example, between the ages of 1-4. They take one of these and probably make them pretty nauseated, make them throw up, give them a headache.
If they take up to 10 of these, you can potentially get a lethal dose into a small child. That's the criticism, that's the concern.
You know we took those criticisms directly to the makers and asked them, what about it. And they said a few things. First of all, if you look at the packaging specifically, it's childproof. It's not supposed to be opened up by children.
Also they say, if you look at accidental poisonings of things, it's much more common to be poisoned by something that's in cosmetics or something in someone's medicine cabinet, rather than nicotine.
And finally they say they weren't marketing these things to kids, Kyra. But again, you and I are looking at the packaging. And you can see some of the concerns.
PHILLIPS: Well, we're talking about kids, but dangerous to adults?
GUPTA: Well, you know, when you're talking about nicotine overall in these doses, you know, probably not. I mean if you ingest something versus smoking it, what the makers will say is, smoking is so harmful for somebody, the risk of lung cancer that that, you know, it's sort of obvious the risk of ingesting it.
Ingesting it can be a problem. It can raise your heart rate, raise your blood pressure. And it's -- you know, you take more of it, it's more of a problem. But kids are really I think will have most people concerned.
You know last year, I think you and I talked about this. President Obama signed a bill into law that allows the FDA to regulate all tobacco products. Everything. This was actually approved before that law went into effect. But they're going back and taking a look at it.
And part of the concern is, you know, they spent $36 million a day advertising these types of products. And most smokers begin before the age of 19. So you see the rub there.
PHILLIPS: Now you also mentioned the president. You were all over his bill of health. Is he still smoking? Is he still sneaking a puff in the back of the East Room?
GUPTA: He says he gets OPCs. You know what OPCs are?
PHILLIPS: What's OPC?
GUPTA: Other people's cigarettes.
(LAUGHTER)
GUPTA: Bums a cigarette every now and then.
PHILLIPS: He bums --
GUPTA: He made that. You know --
PHILLIPS: He's stressed out of the summit. He's back there, you know, with some key leader talking away.
GUPTA: Hopefully not at the health care summit, though.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Yes, really. You'd be all over him for that.
GUPTA: That's right.
PHILLIPS: All right, Sanjay. Thanks.
GUPTA: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Corporate earnings giving Wall Street a boost yesterday. Will we see a repeat? Opening bell in three minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Kyra Phillips.
PHILLIPS: Strong corporate earnings gave Wall Street a bit of a boost yesterday. And today, we hear from the company that's dominated the news over the past few days. We are talking about Goldman Sachs.
Stephanie Elam in New York with the details.
So, Stephanie, what do the numbers say? STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they said that it was a pretty darn good quarter for them, Kyra. If you take a look, Goldman made $3.5 billion over the past three months. That's up 91 percent from a year ago.
And that's even better than what Wall Street was expecting. So Goldman shares in the premarket up about 2 percent. So we are looking for them to go higher when the market starts today.
Now, like other Wall Street firms, Goldman is benefiting from strong trading revenue, also helped out and also saying that this recovering economy is playing its part as well. No doubt about that. Tough comparisons that began from last year. So, that makes it easier for the numbers to look better this quarter.
Now, that pushed the company sales up and allowed it to set aside $5 billion for salaries and bonuses. As far as percentage basis is concerned, Goldman actually set aside less money for compensation this time around than it did in the first quarter of 2009.
And besides Goldman, earnings from IBM are also helping stocks this morning. IBM profit up 13 percent, and the company boosted its outlook for the rest of the year. It's improved revenue, a good sign here that companies are spending more on technology. That will ultimately help the overall recovery, but there is one big roadblock and that's unemployment.
And now, Novartis is planning to cut nearly 400 jobs. That's about 20 percent of the staff at its U.S. headquarters in New Jersey. This all comes as the drug company says it made nearly $3 billion last quarter.
So, we did hear the bell there. Let see where we stand. We are in the green. The Dow up 22 points, 11,115. Take a look at Nasdaq, it's up about half of percent right now, 2,492. So, we will see if it stays there throughout the day.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Sounds good. Thanks, Steph.
Not enough help for homeowners and that's the crux of the report from the guy who watches over the troubled asset relief program, you know TARP. We've talked so much about it. He actually says that the White House didn't do enough to educate borrowers on the new mortgage rules. It also says that they're vulnerable to scammers.
Foreclosures are up 16 percent in the first quarter. That's more than 900,000 homes now. Bank repossessions also up 35 percent. The report also says that the program is losing around $127 billion. That's mostly from propping up AIG and the automakers. Financial institutions have paid back $186 billion of it so far.
Now, another partisan showdown looms on Capitol Hill over a Democrat-backed bill that promises to reform Wall Street. That bill calls for a $50 billion slush fund paid for by banks that would go to help failing financial institutions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS DODD (D), CONNECTICUT: Our bill ends "too big to fail." Bailouts and forever (ph). Management is fired. Shareholders lose. Creditors lose. There is a liquidation of assets that occur.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: With the creation of a $50 billion bailout fund, it seemed to me and many others that the very existence of this fund would perpetuate the same kind of risky behavior that led to the last crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Senator McConnell says the Republicans are united in opposing that bill. Critics also point to the bills timing in connection to the Security and Exchange Commission leveling fraud charges against the investment firm, Goldman Sachs.
So, a guy in an iPhone prototype go into a bar. Sounds like the setup to a joke, doesn't it? Well, Apple is not laughing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All right. So, a guy maybe has one pint too many at bar and walks out without his new iPhone, probably happens all the time, right? Not too an Apple software engineer who's carrying around the prototype for the super fancy smashy iPhone 4G, the one that's not out yet. The phone he forgot went from the floor of a San Jose bar to the people at techno blog Gizmodo. I think Gizmodo had found one of Willie Wonka's golden tickets.
It's broken that thing down, tinkered with it, written about it, photographed the heck out of it. The site claims that Apple has sent a letter demanding its baby back. There is no app for that, but you know, Willie Wonka put those golden tickets out there just to be found. Just saying.
Top stories.
Are you hear legally? That could soon be a standard question for police officers in Arizona. It's part of a new strong immigration bill passed by the state Senate. Governor expected to sign it. It says that immigrants must have their alien registration with them at all times and takes a stronger stand against anyone who hires undocumented workers.
The streets in Bangkok quiet today and you can see why. Anti- government protesters called off their planned rally because of all the troops. Military was brought in to restore order in that city. Demonstrators want the Prime Minister to dissolve the government. Twenty-five people were killed. Hundreds were injured in those clashes with police earlier this month.
Florida governor, Charlie Crist, considering a party change in his run for the states open Senate seat, from Republican to independent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: I can tell you, I'm getting a lot of advice in that direction, and so, I'm a listener. And so, I'm certainly listening to it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And a memo, party leaders said in Washington said, Crist had quote, "zero chance to win the Republican primary." His rival, Mario Rubio, backed by Tea Party supporters. Crist has until the end of the month to file as an independent.
Preparing for the big one. They're running drills in California. Afraid recent earthquake activity means they're due.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: A day of mourning for quake victims in China. The government saying all public entertainment will be canceled tomorrow out of respect for the more than 2,000 people killed in last week's major earthquake; 195 people are still missing, by the way. And just yesterday, we saw two more survivors pulled from that rubble.
China, Chile, Haiti, Mexico, all major earthquakes in recent months. So, is the U.S. next? Scientists think that we are due for a big one. And CNN's Ted Rowlands investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department's Urban Search and Rescue team pulled victims from a collapsed structure after an 8.0 earthquake. This is just a drill, but since feeling the recent 7.2 quake in Mexico and seeing the devastation from other recent quakes, the 7.0 in Haiti, the 8.8 off the coast of Chile, and the 6.9 in China, many Californians think the earth is rumbling more than normal.
And according to the numbers, they're right, sort of. California and Baja, Mexico have had more than 80 earthquakes this year of 4.0 magnitude or higher, more than double the number in all of 2009. But Cal tech seismologist, Dr. Kate Hutton points out that all but a handful of those 80 were aftershocks from the Mexican quake. If you take that into account, she says, the numbers are about normal. So what does that mean when it comes to determining whether the big one is imminent?
DR. KATE HUTTON, SEISMOLOGIST: I can't say it's not, you know, it's not going to happen, but I don't think it's very different than any other week or month.
ROWLANDS: The scientists may not think anything is brewing, but online, the predictions are flying. Luke Thomas, who has no formal scientific training says he uses ground temperatures to predict earthquakes. He told us on his webcam from his home in Florida that he believes Southern California will be hit with a 5.7 quake or higher in the next few days.
Are you hoping for an earthquake so you're right?
LUKE THOMAS, EARTHQUAKE PREDICTOR: Sort of. I hope it hits where nobody is living.
ROWLANDS: While nobody knows for certain when or where the big one will hit, seismologists do believe that drills like this one are a good idea because experts and laymen do agree on one thing that sooner or later, it is coming.
ROWLANDS (on-camera): And seismologists say that this is a prime candidate, the San Andreas to produce a major quake, because it hasn't produced one in hundreds of years. Of course, for all of us living in California, we hope it holds off for a few hundred more. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And from the earth rumbling to Iceland's volcano blowing up. The annoying ash story has just about everybody talking, and it's giving our late night comics plenty of new material to spew.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable story. The volcanic ash from Iceland hugely disrupts air travel all over Europe. Everything from it, the commercial flight, private flight. The only thing still flying, Toyotas.
(LAUGHING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The big Icelandic volcano. It's called Eyjafjallajokull.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, you forgot your yogurt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it blew up in Iceland. And the big volcanic cloud is drifting to New York. Were you aware of that? Coming to New York City, and they say that actually the air quality of the city is improving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just probably know a volcano on the tiny islands of Iceland has shut down air travel all across Europe. Apparent, I guess, they dumped too much baking soda and vinegar into the thing, and it just won't stop erupting. Sixty-three thousand flights have been canceled. An estimated 40,000 Americans are stuck in Europe right now because of the ash cloud. President Obama had to cancel his trip to Poland. This morning, he said he hopes the volcano will stop smoking soon, and the volcano said the same thing about him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Rob Marciano, not a lot of people laughing that were hoping to get to weddings, honeymoons, funerals, you name it.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not to mention the economic impact of all this.
PHILLIPS: Yes and farmers are suffering because they can't get their stuff in and out.
MARCIANO: Yes, and you know what makes it so complicated and so unpredictable is that, you know, when you go from the surface to 30,000, 35,000 feet, the winds change direction and speed at every level of that atmosphere. So, you just don't know where the ash is going at different levels, it's going in different spots. The stronger it is at the upper levels and the higher it gets, it's much easier to predict. And we had a better job at that last week.
Here is a shot yesterday taken. There is the volcano. There's the ash plume heading from pretty much due north to south and that was driving it towards the U.K. and that's what started all the worry today. So, most of the ash or most of the worry is really from the surface to about 20,000 feet. We're not seeing the real eruption that takes it to 30,000 feet like we saw last week. But, at the lower elevations, lower levels, the winds aren't quite as strong. So, they kind of disburse to a lot of different areas. All the way from Europe to the northeast is where we are seeing this ash cloud.
It's not going to linger too much in the northeast. It will stay mostly over Europe as we've been saying, and again, right now, north to south, orientation of this jet stream or at least the mid-level jet is bringing that ash towards the U.K.
All right. A little bit closer to home. We're looking at Atlanta, Nashville, Knoxville, that triangle is where we're seeing light rain right now that will probably intensify in spots throughout the day today. So, we have a little bit daytime heating. We don't expect severe weather today, but things are setting up later in the week and towards the weekend as we have a pretty decent pulse of energy coming in through the pacific right now. And that will transfer into energy in the plains as we get towards Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and we might finally have some severe weather to talk about then.
If you go to San Francisco, definitely cool rain today, higher elevations snows. It'll be 50, 60 degrees in the bay area, same number from Seattle. Eighty-nine degrees before the clouds come in to Phoenix, and it'll be 64 degrees in Atlanta. Here is that energy tomorrow coming into the Four Corners regions with higher elevations snows, and this trifecta of lows gets into the plains on Thursday. That's when it really starts to take moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, and we may very well see a severe weather setup at that point.
And it's been a long time really. We haven't seen much in the way of severe weather all year long. We like that. But come Thursday, Friday, Saturday, things may change on that note.
Kyra, back over to you.
PHILLIPS: All right, Rob. Appreciate it.
MARCIANO: OK. PHILLIPS: One of the leading voices in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement has passed. Dorothy Height, long-time president of the National Council of Negro Women passed away at Howard University Hospital in Washington. She had been undergoing treatments for the past month.
In 1963, Height was there for Reverend Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech at Washington's Lincoln Memorial. In 1994, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Cause of death has not yet been released. We can tell you Dorothy Height lived a beautiful and rich life and passed away at the age of 93.
Well, you're going to remember the powerful lyrics "Blood on the leaves and blood at the roots" the Civil Rights anthem "Strange Fruit" recorded 71 years ago today. It was a hit for Billie Holiday. But it was much more than just the record sales that brought so much attention to this. The song about lynching in the south inspired a generation of artists. "Time" magazine even named it the top song of the 20th century.
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PHILLIPS: All right, last week we told you how Consumer Reports came out and said not to buy the 2010 Lexus GX-460 for rollover risk. Well, today it's actually being recalled for exactly that reason.
CNN's Christine Romans live in New York with the latest with another black eye for punch-weary Toyota Motors, Christine?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right. I mean, this is a recall of 9,400 vehicles in the U.S., relatively small right compared with the nine million they've recalled since last fall. But it is just hours literally after the company agreed to a record fine for not disclosing its sticky pedal problems and also on the heels of the 600,000 car recall of the Sienna minivan.
So look, this is the Lexus story. The 2010 model Lexus, GX-460 recalled 9,400 in the U.S., 34,000 worldwide. The big question here, Kyra, is this car safe to drive right now? The company says yes even though they are not making it or selling it and they are recalling it.
They say yes, it is safe to drive if you reduce speeds in turns and you press the brake strongly when you are making high-speed turns. So if you want to know if your car is safe to drive right now. The company says it is, but it is recalling this vehicle.
PHILLIPS: All right, so what's Toyota's plan to fix the problem?
ROMANS: The plan to fix it is this. They're going to have to change the vehicle stability control software. This is a fix they say will be ready, Kyra, by the end of the month. And once it is ready, they say it'll take about an hour at the dealer to fix it.
In the meantime, if you don't want to drive this vehicle they will make free loaner cars available for the Lexus customers who don't want to drive their GX-460 until they get that fixed.
So this is exactly what "Consumer Reports" thought the problem was the vehicle stability control. That is the software in the car that coordinates the accelerator and the brake to make sure if you're taking a high-speed turn or a sharp turn that the car doesn't tip.
And it was Consumer Reports in its own testing that found this. It wasn't the government. It wasn't Toyota itself, Lexus or Toyota itself. So interesting, very rare for a magazine to come out with a do not buy this car list and have such a widespread impact and that's exactly what happened.
PHILLIPS: I don't know about you, but Consumer Reports that was always the magazine that I read going way back to my teens when you were looking for a car to buy when you didn't have a lot of money. Christine, thanks.
ROMANS: You're absolutely right.
PHILLIPS: Hey, remember you can stay up-to-date with the very latest on Toyota's technical troubles. Just logon to CNN.com and follow the prompts to our continuing coverage on Toyota.
Veiled death threats over a cartoon show. A Web site warning to humorists that is definitely not funny. A radical Islamist site is saying that "South Park" creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone should watch their backs. They even posted their address.
So what's got them so upset? How about the Prophet Muhammad in a bear suit?
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've done this town a huge favor, Muhammad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on a second, stop. There are some extremists threatening that if we give Muhammad to the celebrities they're going to bomb us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's just a stupid threat. Come on, we don't want to --
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PHILLIPS: Yes, usually extremists don't have much of a sense of humor. A stupid threat, huh? Well, for their part Parker and Stone knew they we're going to get some heat over this one. They'd already gotten it from the network. This reminds us of the violent protests over the Danish cartoons depicting Muhammad.
The Web site issued their warning before the "South Park" episode ever aired. Here's what we have for you coming up in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go ahead and start with chief business correspondent Ali Velshi -- Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, four days ago the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman Sachs with fraud. That company has been trying to figure out how to fix its reputation ever since then. It didn't help but this morning the company came out with a $3.5 billion profit. I'll have more on that at the top of the hour.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: And we're sticking with big business. Talking about whether big business is really, Kyra, committed to an environmental revolution. One company that says it is, is Ford, but will there ever be a day that they don't make any more gas guzzlers? We sat down with Bill Ford, the chairman to ask him. We'll bring you that in the next hour.
MARCIANO: More stuff coming out of that volcano in Iceland heading toward the UK, grounding some flights there below 20,000 feet. That plus the nation's forecast, severe weather set up for later in the week -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, guys.
Also, a pediatrician accused of sexually abusing his little patients. Just when you thought this case couldn't get any worse, it does. We'll explain.
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PHILLIPS: Environmental problems and green solutions, that's our focus this week as the nation gets ready for Earth Day. Photojournalist David Albright introduces us to a woman who shows children how to have fun with garbage.
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TIFFANY THREADGOLD, RE-PLAYGROUND: It's a checkerboard, but you know what it used to be?
I'm Tiffany Threadgold and I run a business call RePlayGround and we make products out of garbage.
You pick one side to be the bottom.
We find value in items past their first life. It's taking the qualities and finding value in the garbage.
Ooh, look, and this wrapper used to have cashews, dark chocolate and cherries in it.
Not just like crashing it down and re-melting like traditional recycling and this is remaking or upcycling. And taking bare naked granola wrappers and making them into these collapsible dishes which are really easy to make. And this is the interior that isn't traditionally recycled.
Working at re-playground it's just having fun with garbage. When people say that garbage is nasty and smelly I tell them to take another look at it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom and dad think it's garbage. It's not garbage.
THREADGOLD: Rethink it, repurpose it and use it in a different way. Are you going to use it yourself or are you going to give it to somebody? Products these days are so inexpensive that people don't have to think about it.
It looks like it's sticking. The kids are the best because they're open minded right now. And they have a lot of fun with it. Once they get started it's hard to get them to stop.
I don't want this to be a disposable society. I think that everything can have a second life, even a third life.
You are going generate a certain amount of non-recyclables and that's what we're here to do and we're here to show you how to take them and repurpose them and have a lot of fun with them.
I want to see you make something totally new. A lot of these materials are free and you can't get more green than that by saving some green in your pocket.
You don't have to feel bad about throwing something away. You can feel great about turning it into new. You can have so much fun with garbage.
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CHETRY: And in observation of Earth Day, CNN photojournalists are looking at solutions to environmental issues and the people who are trying to make a difference before it's too late. The award winning In Focus Team tells the stories of these people and the impact they're having on their neighborhood and beyond. Watch it unfold on "GREEN SOLUTIONS IN FOCUS" Saturday April 24th 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.
