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India & U.S. Jobs; Hurricane Tomas Hits Haiti; NASA Facility Outside of Cleveland on Lockdown; CNN Political Update
Aired November 05, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: See you in an hour, Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Top of the hour, now. 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. Here's the story ahead.
The jobless numbers for October are just in this morning. Our economy added 151,000 jobs last month. President Obama called those numbers encouraging news but said there's much more work to be done. The extra jobs weren't enough to boost the 9.6 unemployment rate.
No relief for the people of Haiti. Hurricane Tomas making a powerful pass by the island, winds up to 80 miles an hour and as much as 15 inches of rain. The January quake left about a million Haitians homeless and they have been fighting a cholera outbreak as you know too and they're desperately seeking shelter from this storm.
An old man boards a flight in Hong Kong and gets off in Vancouver as a 20-something. Either some sort of Benjamin Button type miracle took place airborne or he was wearing a disguised. I think we know the answer. He was escorted away by border service officers. We just can't get enough of this story and so we're digging a little deeper this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We got to move forward. I'm confident if we can do that and if we can work together, then this country will not only recover, but it will prosper, and I'm looking very much forward to helping to pry some markets open and help American businesses and put people back to work here at home during the course of this trip.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: President Obama leaving this morning on 10-day Asian trip, hoping to help more U.S. businesses get a foothold in the region. Here's a quick rundown of the itinerary. The president's first stop will be India where he will meet with the prime minister. His visit to Indonesia will include a speech to the people of the Muslim majority nation, and then the president is going to travel to South Korea for a G-20 summit and talks with China's president. He's going to wrap up the trip in Japan, the site of an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit. CNN's Sara Sidner covering the president's trip, joins us live from New Delhi. So Sara, what does the president hope to get from India, and what does India hope to get from the president?
We lost contact there with Sara Sidner. We'll try to get back to her and we are following live pictures of the president of the United States as he gets ready to take off on that trip.
All right. Haitians camp residents pushed back against aid workers trying to get them to relocate. Hurricane Tomas sweeping by Haiti today, dumping up to 15 inches of rain. Flooding and mudslides could heavily damage post earthquake tent cities and could endanger a lot more lives. But a lot of residents don't want to leave because they're afraid of losing their possessions.
On the phone now from Port-au-Prince Crystal Wells is a communication officer for the International Medical Corps. Crystal, has everybody been able to relocate up to this point or there are still people fighting and not wanting to go?
CRYSTAL WELLS, INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS (ON THE PHONE): To be honest with you, the large number of the displaced, more than a million displaced here, it's simply too many to relocate and there's really nowhere for everybody to go. However, those that are living in camps and low-lying areas, coastal regions, such as (INAUDIBLE) we, the International Medical Corps and other aid agencies have worked to relocate those camps and bring them to higher ground, but absolutely as this storm comes in, not everybody will be relocated.
PHILLIPS: So, Crystal, then where does the International Medical Corps step in. Tell me exactly what you're doing now and how you're preparing for this.
WELLS: Absolutely. Primarily, the International Medical Corps, we're obviously a medical agency, and our very first priority in situations like these is going to be to save as many lives as possible. So what we've done is we've pre-positioned medical teams along the western peninsula which is where the storm is moving across right now, as well as the southern coast, and then cholera emergency response teams up in the north.
So all of these medical teams are currently on standby and they'll move out into the community and start working in our network of 14 clinics as soon as possible and then also work remote medical units to reach as many people as possible during the storm.
PHILLIPS: We'll be following it every step of the way. Crystal Wells, International Medical Corps. Crystal, thanks so much.
And then Reynolds Wolf is here tracking Tomas right now. What do you think?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I think Haiti is going to be in for a very rough time. There are couple of scenarios that might have played out with the storm, and you can actually argue that if this were to make a direct hit on Haiti, it might be better in some ways. And the ways that might be more beneficial is the idea that the storm would be away from its primary power source, the warm water of the Caribbean but instead, the forecast brings this system - in fact, let's enlarge this one more time.
Just to the due west of Haiti, and just east of Cuba, right through the Windward Pass, if that happens, that means the main center of the storm will be over that warm water, still relatively strong, although some weakening is expected as part of that circulation get to interact with the highest elevations of southwestern Haiti. That being said also what you have to consider is the topography itself. You got the ring of high hills that surround Port-au-Prince, and it's almost like a bowl, so to speak where you have Port-au-Prince.
With the high hills and you have the heavy rainfall, that rainfall is going to be even more dramatic in the higher spots, that we refer to as orographic (ph) lift where it actually helps to squeeze out some of the moisture from the storm. So you could see up to a foot of rainfall in some places and maybe even a bit more outside of Port-au-Prince, and all that water is going to go right downhill. It's going to move into areas that have very little vegetation, with that, there's nothing to hold the soil. So mud slides will be a tremendous danger. Flash flooding and mudslides are the two big things.
In terms of the wind, not so much, but the winds still expected to be fairly strong and as we wrap things up, you look at the forecast in the National Hurricane Center fast forward again into late Friday, into Saturday and into Sunday and even fast forwarding into Monday, where you can expect the storm eventually weakening but the next six to eight hours is going to be very rough for Haiti.
Very quickly as we wrap things up. We're seeing some heavy showers along parts of the northeast. Keep that in mind. Some delays there in New York and in Boston possibly later on today. And also, one more thing, to mention, Kyra, time to set your clocks back. It is the fall weekend, when we make the transition over so you get an extra hour of sleep on Saturday night into Sunday. So enjoy.
PHILLIPS: All right.
WOLF: For those working this weekend, it's a little bit of help.
PHILLIPS: It is. Reynolds, thank you so much.
WOLF: You bet.
PHILLIPS: As you know, we were talking about the president of the United States heading to India for a 10-day trip through Asia hoping to build better jobs and business relations with those various countries. He'll be there in India to Indonesia to even meeting with China's president.
CNN's Sara Sidner is covering the president's trip. We now got her up from New Delhi. So Sara, let's talk about exactly what the president is looking for from India and what India wants from the president. SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know now is that the president is really pushing business ties. Of course, that includes trade. It also includes defense sales. On the trade angle, he's looking at how more American jobs can be created by India allowing things like stores like Wal-Mart in. They have very strict policy on foreign retailers who can't just come in and start selling to the population which, as you know, is more than a billion people, so a huge market here that's growing, but there are a lot of barriers to that. So that will be certainly talked about.
Also, the U.S. is looking at trying to get a defense sale to go through. It's worth billions, literally billions of dollars, for C- 130 aircraft, and other military aircraft that the U.S. would build there and the administration saying that that money and the building would happen in the U.S., which would, in turn, they say, create jobs in the U.S., and then those items would be sent to India if that deal goes through, and, also, of course, you have the angle of counter terrorism.
India is in the region with Pakistan, and Afghanistan and certainly a player because it's a stable government, and the U.S. wants to have strong strategic ties with India. As far as India, India's looking for a couple of things that are not yet on the agenda but certainly you think would be talked about. They have been asking for big support for a U.N. security council seat, a permanent seat. They've been pushing for that and they also want some assurances from the U.S. in its relationship with Pakistan and how the U.S. is handling Pakistan and how Pakistan is dealing with terrorism inside its borders. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right. We're going to follow that trip. Sara Sidner out of India, thanks so much.
Well, one year ago today, a gunman opened fire on the sprawling post of Ft. Hood Texas. 13 people died, dozens more were wounded. That military post is marking the anniversary with a private service for the families of the fallen. There would also be an award ceremony this hour to honor those who helped save lives during that rampage.
Well, on Saturday, the post will hold a series of events including a half marathon. Photos of the 13 victims will be displayed at mile markers of the 5k race as well.
Joining us live from Ft. Hood, Chris Haug, Ft. Hood media relations branch chief. Chris, we talked a lot through this in the past year. A lot of changes have been made on that base. Why don't we start with that?
CHRIS HAUG, FT. HOOD MEDIA RELATIONS BRANCH CHIEF: Yes, ma'am. Ft. Hood has taken a hard look at its different processes across the post and the Army has done so as well. But, first of all, I'd like to say that our hearts and our minds are with the families and the children of those that lost someone. They are resilient. We are a resilient force, and they are an example of that resilience, and we hope just to honor them here today. PHILLIPS: And let's talk more about the changes, Chris, if you don't mind, because that was a huge concern, as we know, among the public, among the military, that how could one of your own, an individual that was supposed to be helping otherwise struggling with PTSD and depression and other issues concerning mental illness, what have you done to make sure there won't be a breakdown in the system again and that those who are helping those that needs help are mentally stable for that job?
HAUG: Well, actually, we have taken a hard internal look all across the Army and later today, the secretary of the Army, and the chief of staff of Army will hold a press conference to discuss the details of that, but it will deal with installation security, workforce training, to improve the safety of our military, our civilian workforce and their families, and those measures that I really want to let them talk about later this afternoon we'll outline but we are much safer now than we were a year ago.
PHILLIPS: How are those coming back from war getting the treatment that they need?
HAUG: Here at Ft. Hood, we have a behavioral health campaign that has taken a holistic approach at looking, not only the folks coming back from war and giving them the treatment that they need, but those that are still preparing to go and to deploy and to make sure they have the resilience that they need to endure the hardships of war.
As an example, as we talked earlier, there is a resiliency campus here at Ft. Hood, that takes a look at the mind, body and soul of the soldier and their family members. We have a spiritual fitness center, physical fitness center and then a cognitive fitness center. So they're looking at it from every possible angle and offering that help free to all the soldiers, the families and even the civilians here at Ft. Hood.
PHILLIPS: And what a way to honor those lives lost, this run to remember. What's going on behind you? What time does it start, Chris?
HAUG: Well, this is the location of the remembrance ceremony. This will start about 1:00 p.m. today. You'll hear from the chief of staff of the Army and he'll be talking to not only the folks from the families and friends from that day, but also the general public.
At about 10:00 a.m. today, we're going to honor the members that went above and beyond that day and give them some due recognition. The secretary of the Army will be heading that up about 10:00 this morning, and they'll be receiving medals, soldier's medals and various medals for their actions of going above and beyond the call of duty, and following that, we're going to unveil a memorial that is dedicated to those we lost that day and after that, we will come over here and do our remembrance ceremony.
PHILLIPS: Chris Haug from Ft. Hood, we appreciate your time. More from the CNN NEWSROOM straight ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, Charlie Sheen is one of the highest paid actors on TV but after last week's hotel outburst, it's not really clear whether he's more famous for his antics or his acting abilities. His loved ones are reportedly reaching out now, but will Charlie even listen?
Amber Lyon actually spoke to one of his very famous friend, Tom Sizemore. And what did he say to you? I mean, he agreed he needs someone to whip him into shape.
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Tom had issues with drug and alcohol addiction himself and Charlie actually helped Tom, convinced Tom to go into rehab, and so now Tom is trying to repay back the favor. He's saying, "listen, Charlie, you're a mess. You got two daughters. You need to get some help. You need to take care of this situation." And above all, Tom Sizemore is saying that he feels the only way that Charlie will go to rehab is if he's fired from "Two and A Half Men." When you look at the incident in New York, two weeks later, he's back to work. And (INAUDIBLE) there is no way for Charlie to spend time to healing Charlie if he keeps going back to the show so quickly. So we looked into that, we also looked into other issues, domestic violence, "The Downfall of Charlie Sheen," for a special that's going to air this Saturday. Here's a quick preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYON (voice-over): Last week, reports of an alcohol-fueled rampage. A hotel suite trashed. Charlie sheen naked, hospitalized, and this porn star, 22-year-old Christina Walsh locked in the bathroom.
(on camera): What really happened at the Plaza Hotel that night with Charlie Sheen?
KEN BAKER, E! CHIEF NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I think there are two people who really know what happened inside that hotel room, and it's Charlie sheen and the other is Christina Walsh. Now, what we think happened inside that room is that at some point in the night, early in the morning, really, things got ugly. There was an argument of some sort over something.
LYON (voice-over): Actor Tom Sizemore is Charlie's friend of nearly 20 years.
TOM SIZEMORE, ACTOR: In six hours, you can undo 17 years of hard work and all people remember is the six hours (INAUDIBLE).
LYON: Like Charlie, Tom has long battled addiction and like many of Charlie's friends, Tom fears for him.
(on camera): Have you tried to reach out to him and helped him get into rehab?
SIZEMORE: I tried to call him. I couldn't get through. He wouldn't talk to Robert Downey.
LYON: Oh, Robert Downey tried to call him as well?
SIZEMORE: Yes. He knows about treatment. He's been to treatment, and Marty knows all about it.
LYON (voice-over): Marty is actor Martin Sheen, Charlie's father. Martin is a recovering alcoholic himself and is reportedly trying to stage an intervention and trying to help his son overcome a dark family legacy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LYON: And you know, Kyra, there are lot of lists in Hollywood, we got the A list, B list, and also, unfortunately, the death list stars that just succumb to these alcohol and drug addictions. Tom and Dr. Drew Pinski (ph) who is an expert on celebrity rehab both say if Charlie doesn't get his act together, they fear that's where he's going to end up.
PHILLIPS: Well, here's what's sad is that obviously, there's a problem, but it seems that the show does well every time he acts up, and so, you know, his employers want to make a lot of money. They want him to keep doing the show because hey, the ratings go up and it's more money for them. But it's kind of like where is the ethical accountability to do something for this guy that's a train wreck?
LYON: Yes, we looked into that definitely in this special because every time Charlie screws up big time in his social life, the ratings just soar on "Two and A Half Men." You look at last December in Aspen when he was accused of holding a knife to his wife's throat, that next airing of "Two and a Half Men" was the highest ratings they've ever had.
PHILLIPS: What does that say about men and the abuse against women and the fact that this is tolerated, ratings go up, and he still has a job. I mean, what a sad statement that makes.
LYON: We looked into the psychology of that, Kyra, and more than anything it is that because no photos or audio have been released of any of these incidences whereas you look at Mel Gibson, there was audio. You look at Chris Brown, there were photos there. There hasn't been those photographs really to let people know the gravity of the situation that's going on here.
And Charlie is Charlie in his characters. He doesn't really veer too far away from his natural personality on his shows.
PHILLIPS: (INAUDIBLE).
LYON: Exactly. He's not a Tiger Woods. He's not someone people expect to be a good guy. He's Hollywood's bad boy and that's kind of why society accept it. They don't expect anything more from him.
PHILLIPS: That's sad because something pretty dramatic is probably going to happen eventually. Amber, thanks. Look forward to the doc.
LYON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, has America finally had enough of one of it's long time bad boys. Don't miss "Fallen Star: The Charlie Sheen Story." That's Saturday 10:00 p.m. Eastern, Sunday night at 10:30 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
Well, a funny thing happened on a flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver. This old guy on the plane, well, he went into the bathroom and came out a young guy. Funny how that international dateline somehow changes people.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, we picked this story as today's talker because it's just so bizarre and it's gotten a lot of clicks on cnn.com and of course, it got all of us talking, too. We're talking of an old man who boarded a flight in Hong Kong and gets off in Vancouver as a young man. Now, either he was doing some serious botox in the laboratory or he was wearing a disguise.
I think we've pretty much figured out what the deal is. Josh Levs, I mean, we laugh because it's so creative and kind of bizarre, but at the same time it's kind of scary, you know, with regard to identity and being able to get past security.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In so many ways. I mean, most of us have never seen anything like this ever in real life. Authorities are calling this an unbelievable case of concealment. Let's go straight to that video. This is it. What you're going to see here. The man on the left is who he really is, and the man on the right is what he looked like when he got on that plane.
CNN obtained a confidential intelligence alert from Canada, (INAUDIBLE) and the name of that alert, the title is "Unbelievable Case of Concealment." Authorities say the passenger was observed at the beginning of the flight to be an elderly Caucasian male who happened to have young looking hands. Kind of a tip off there.
During the flight, he goes to the bathroom and comes back out as a young Asian 20-something. This was an Air Canada flight from Hong Kong to Vancouver. Air Canada corporate security alerted authorities who then had agents meet the passenger at the gate in Vancouver. He then made a claim for refugee protection. According to this alert out from the Canada Border Services Agency which was obtained by our Scott Zamos (ph) with the (INAUDIBLE) special investigations unit.
And listen to this, so this passenger then told authorities that he only brought one bag with him, but the flight crew came along to the authorities and brought over two other pieces of luggage that were his. The say one of his bags had clothes and personal items, another one had gloves and the third bag contained, I'm reading their words, "a disguise consisting of a silicone type head and neck mask of an elderly Caucasian male, a brown leather cap and thin brown cardigan." Then he put that disguise on for the officers and they said that he very much resembled an elderly Caucasian man complete with mimicking the movements of an elderly person. He is now being held for immigration hearing.
Kyra, this is absolutely wild.
PHILLIPS: Clearly, there are security concerns. So how did he get on the plane? Do we have any idea why he was doing it?
LEVS: We know a little bit. You know, we don't know what his motivation or really anything about him except that he did say that he's seeking refugee status. So maybe he wants asylum, maybe there's a problem. We don't know that. We do know that authorities say and believed that the way he got on was he switched boarding passes with a U.S. citizen actually and then used something called an aeroplane (ph) card as ID to get on the flight. An aeroplane (ph) card tracks frequent flier miles. But who is this U.S. citizen, we don't know.
Authorities say - this is interesting, too. They say the U.S. citizen that he switched I.D.s with was born in 1955, but if you look at what he looked like when he was getting on the plane, he looked a lot older in that disguise than 55 years old. I have a quote from you here from Air Canada. A spokesman told CNN there are multiple identity checks before departure at the Hong Kong International Airport including Chinese government run Hong Kong passport control which Hong Kong originating passengers must undergo. But obviously, a lot of questions, Kyra, how this happened? Who is this man? What's his background? And what needs to be done to make sure that people can't get on airplanes disguised as other people. Obviously, that's a tremendous security concern and we at CNN were all over that. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Appreciate it, Josh.
LEVS: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Well. the shuttle's last flight scrubbed again. We look forward to its next scheduled shuttle launch attempt and here's a look back at the some of the highlights of the space shuttle missions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the economy still issue number one for most people and today we have some pretty important numbers to tell you about. Employers added a 151,000 jobs last month but the unemployment rate didn't budge at all.
Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange. Let's start with the jobs number. 151,000 -- good news?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, you know, it's all about perspective. 151,000 is good if you look at where we've been.
I want to show you this. Take a look. I want to show you the job gains and losses since 2009. Back in January of that year, we lost 779,000. That was the worst month of the recession. But this year, in May, we saw gains as high as 400,000. But keep in mind, most of those positions were for temporary census jobs that have since been lost. And of course, the recovery has slowed since thing.
But then today, wow, we got this October jobs report. We're seeing the first gain since May. Analysts say it's a small step, but it could be a sign that we're turning a corner ever so slightly. And even though we're seeing government cutting jobs both locally and statewide, we're seeing the private sector hiring. And it's really the private sector, Kyra, that drives employment in this country. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: So, if the country's adding jobs, why isn't the unemployment rate falling?
KOSIK: A couple of reasons here. First, we're not adding jobs fast enough, and second, we're not adding jobs fast enough. I mean, it takes about 150,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth. We are really digging out of a very deep hole at this point.
Think about it. We lost 7 million jobs during the recession, and analysts say we need to gain anywhere from 200,00 to 300,000 jobs a month to bring down the unemployment rate. So, fasten your seat belts. Get ready. Unemployment is likely to remain high at this point.
All right. Let's talk about stocks for a minute. Not really moving much, but they are holding onto their two-year highs that we reached yesterday. The Dow Jones industrial average up five points, the NASDAQ barely higher, about 1 point. We'll see if we can at least stay in positive territory today.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Sounds good. Thanks, Alison.
10:30 Eastern time, 7:30 Pacific. Here's what we're talking about this Friday morning.
The people of Haiti facing another disaster. Hurricane Tomas making a powerful pass by the island with winds up to 80 miles an hour. Nearly 50 inches of rain and the threat of mudslides. The January quake left about a million Haitians homeless, and they have been fighting a cholera outbreak as well and now they're dealing with this.
President Obama says the latest unemployment numbers are encouraging but he added that there's a lot in a needs to be done to create jobs. He's getting ready to leave on his 10-day trip to Asia.
And if you got your Gouda cheese at Costco, you might want to take it back. The Dutch-style made by Bravo Farms is linked to an E. coli outbreak. So far 25 people have gotten sick so far. The problem gouda was actually sold in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and the San Diego area. We've learned that stores were offering up free samples of it as well.
The weather kept space shuttle Discovery on the launch pad yesterday, and a gas leak did it today. Now it's looking like the end of the shuttle era won't happen until Monday at the earliest. This will be the Discovery's 39th and final voyage. It's been up more than any other shuttle and owns several other spots in history, too. It carried the first female shuttle pilot, the first African-American space walker, and it took the first sitting Congress member into space. Can you name him? Jack -- or Jake Garn of Utah, and that was in 1985.
It's hard to believe, but NASA has been sending shuttles in space for nearly 30 years now, back whether we actually used videotape. Columbia, the first of the fleet launched on April 12th, 1981, a few months after President Reagan took office. There was no space station back then, so Columbia spent a couple of days in orbit before it came back home.
And over the years, that program has seen its share of triumphs and tragedies. Let's talk more with CNN's John Zarrella from Florida's space coast. John, this has been your beat for quite some time and boy, we have watched these live for so many years and talked to the astronauts. And it's been a real journey.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been quite a ride, you know, pardon the pun. Kyra, here's a trivia question for you. You mentioned the first shuttle flight. Who were the first two astronauts to fly?
PHILLIPS: Oh, the first - the first Discovery - oh, yes, I should have prepped for this.
ZARRELLA: Columbia was John Young and Bob Crippen. In fact, I interviewed them back a few months ago as we prepared to cover the final flight when it does happen, whenever that is. You mentioned some of the milestones for Discovery, this being its 39th and final flight when they do get off the ground. They have been plagued by weather and numerous other issues along the way towards liftoff. They're trying to figure out now whether they can make another attempt to launch Discovery on Monday or Tuesday next week. That's very, very questionable. If not, it would be early December before they would try to launch again.
But, you know, Discovery also launched the Hubble space telescope among other things. It also launched the Ulysses probe. It flew John Glenn into space in 1998, and of course, it flew both of the return to flight missions following the tragedies of Challenger and Columbia.
And, you know, on board this vehicle, this time, besides the six astronauts -- you know, this was supposed to be the final flight of the entire space shuttle program. But things changed; it had to be rearranged because of scheduling. But this hand-picked crew was supposed to be the final crew to fly a space shuttle and, of course, now they will not be that final crew and we are not shoe exactly who will be at this point as things continue to unfold, with NASA wanting to add another flight perhaps as late as next June or July.
But no question, when Discovery gets off the ground and returns here, it's earmarked to go to the Smithsonian. But the question now is who will pay for the $25 million to $40 million it will cost to fix it up, clean it up and get it up there. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right, so, John, you tested my astronaut history. I've been gathering a number of NASA inventions. OK? Technology- wise. I have a list here I put together. I want to see if you can guess any of them.
Just throw out and don't say Tang or Velcro because we can talk about those myths and stories, but NASA inventions. Can you throw some out?
ZARRELLA: Some Nasa inventions? well, they have invented a lot of pumps for hearts. They've invented communication systems, a lot of the cell phone technology that we have today. Many of those kinds of communications devices that we take for granted today all came out of the space program. What else?
PHILLIPS: Okay, very good. Um, let's see. You've got -- hold on, John, two seconds. I will get back to our little quiz in just a second, but I'm getting some information actually.
Carey, why don't you go ahead and repeat that? I was listening to John and you at the same time.
All right. NASA has been placed on lockdown - all right, unverified reports of a gunman inside the building. Are you getting word of this, John?
ZARRELLA: Yes. I talked to folks at NASA headquarters in Washington a little while ago, and they said that all they have is a report that there may - may be a gunman at the Glenn Center, which is a research center outside of Cleveland, Ohio. The facility is at this point on lockdown. That's all of the information that the folks at NASA headquarters have at this time. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, got it. All right, so we're working on getting contacts there out of Ohio to find out if, indeed, we can confirm this. So it is on lockdown, this Glenn Research Center there out of Ohio, the NASA research center. Unconfirmed - and John, you said unconfirmed reports of possible gunman there on the premises?
ZARRELLA: We don't know where on the premises, other than at the Glenn somewhere. Somewhere at the Glenn Research Center. But that is the reason for the lockdown because of this unconfirmed report. And I'm not real familiar with how large and expansive an area that Glenn Research Center is, how many buildings.
PHILLIPS: We're working it. We're working that.
All right. But with regard to your inventions outstanding, and I heard part of what you said. Did you say the ear thermometer or the cordless tools?
ZARRELLA: No, I did not! I did not know the ear thermometer.
PHILLIPS: Not bad, huh? ZARRELLA: That is a very interesting one. Not bad at all. The cordless tools, you know, a lot of the tools that they're using, that they have used to build the international space station that we've seen all of those spectacular pictures outside with the astronauts using those cordless drills and things, a lot of those applications have been transmitted to practical use down here on earth. No question.
You know, the big question, Kyra, now the space station up and fully operational. Six astronauts, cosmonauts and European astronauts. Now is when they believe they will finally be able to do the cutting-edge science and research. Things that may help with things like heart disease, high blood pressure, all of those kinds of things. Kyra?
And a lot of that research being done at this center that we were talking about, the Glenn Research Center there in Ohio.
John, stay with me because we're starting to get some more information about this. Now we're hearing there's a standoff. Is that correct? Have we confirmed that there's a standoff with an alleged gunman or more?
OK, so we don't know if it's a standoff or not. We probably shouldn't say it's a standoff if we can't confirm that. We are not sure if, indeed, there are gunmen on the premises or not, but we can tell you that the research center is on lockdown. And we are just getting our Google Map together to give you an exact location.
John Zarrella, are you still with me?
ZARRELLA: Yes, I am.
PHILLIPS: OK, tell me where in Ohio this research center is?
ZARRELLA: I believe it's just outside of Cleveland is my understanding.
PHILLIPS: OK, outside of Cleveland.
ZARRELLA: By the Cleveland Hopkins international airport. I have flown in there a couple of times, and it's not far from there.
PHILLIPS: OK, got it. And I'm trying to work some information to get more on the -- here we go. Go ahead, John.
ZARRELLA: I was just going to say, there's something like 300 acres, more than 100 buildings there at that center. So, it is quite a large facility.
PHILLIPS: All right. And here we go, and you're right. It looks like Brook Park Police have responded there to Lewis Field at the Glenn Research Center. And one of the affiliates, the ABC affiliate is reporting that police have been called to the center, reporting that at least eight police cruisers have been seen there. It says that they received reports that a gunman was inside building 77. That building, in addition to the entire research center, we're told, is now on lockdown.
Now, we're being told shots were fired about half an hour ago. That's what the affiliate is also saying, too, that a viewer that has a connection actually inside that building said that they actually heard shots fired. Also -- 3,000 people work at this facility. Also, the ABC affiliate there in Cleveland saying that an e-mail was sent to the news station apparently trying to communicate with somebody within that building. That person saying that one person had been shot and that the shooter was unaccounted for. This is coming from one of the affiliates here out of Cleveland.
So, once again, if you are just tuning in, breaking news, just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. It's happening at the Glenn Research Center, the NASA Glenn Research Center, on lockdown now, possibly a gunman that has been holed up inside that building. That's what one of the affiliates is reporting right now. We are trying to confirm this information.
We did get a comment from Katherine Trinidad, a spokesperson with NASA in D.C., confirming that the Glenn Research center is under lockdown. She told us, quote, "All I have is unverified reports of a possible activity involving a gun. Local police on the scene. The center is on lockdown."
We are following this breaking news for you right now. We will bring you more from the CNN NEWSROOM.
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PHILLIPS: All right, continuing to update breaking news for you. Just outside Cleveland, Ohio, and we're talking about the NASA Glenn Research Center.
Right now, police on the scene. Brook Park Police investigating possible shots fired there within the building. We can tell you that the research center is on lockdown. And reports were coming from one of our affiliates. If you want to know exact location that the gunman, alleged gunman is inside building 77. About 3,000 people work here at the research center. The entire facility has been on lockdown at this point.
And, apparently, one of the affiliates is also having an e-mail exchange with somebody inside that building. That person inside the building saying that possibly one person has been shot, and they don't currently know where this shooter is, that shooter being unaccounted for.
This is all coming from our affiliates right now. We can confirm, though, that the building is on lockdown. We got a statement just moments ago from NASA's spokesperson saying that there is possible activity involving a gun, that they just have unverified reports at this point of that. But police are on the scene, and the building is on lockdown.
We're going to continue to follow this breaking news as we get more information for you there just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Now in our political ticker this hour, we're looking at the changeover in the House to GOP control. Senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash on Capitol Hill. What do you have for us now, Dana?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The question that's hovering over the Capitol is what will the current House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, do, Kyra? Will she stay on as House minority leader or will she step aside?
And we've been told she has been making calls for two days straight trying to gauge the interest and the sentiment of her caucus. I was told by somebody close to her that if the perception is that she was going to step down, that you can say she is considering staying. But it is very interesting to see the pressure points going on between progressives who want her to stay and moderates who are saying, you know what? It's time for her to go.
I just got word we will hear from a moderate Democrat pretty soon trying to force her to step aside. And we'll bring you that when we get it.
Another thing is the transition team guiding the House Republicans. It's already up and running. There is already a sign on the door that says, "Office of the GOP Transition." Oregon congressman Greg Walden is heading that. He is trying hard to sort of keep up with things, Kyra. You'll love this. He even has his wife, his wife, volunteering to answer phone calls as they try to push ahead.
There's going to be a 22-member panel. And their first order of business is going to do is to try make good on the promise explicitly to reform the way Congress does its job, the way Republicans will deal with internal matters and allowing members of Congress to read bills for 72 hours.
This is the last one on the ticker for this hour that I love, and that is all of the buzz about a so-called Slurpee summit that comes from the president's line on the campaign trail that the Republicans put everybody in a ditch while they're up on the top sipping Slurpees.
Well, John Boehner, the top House Republican says, you know what? If there's going to be a summit - this is so true to character -- he says, I prefer merlot. Kyra.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: I think a lot of people would prefer merlot after these long nights of working the elections, including you. Dana, thanks.
We're going to have our next political update in just about an hour. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, you can go to our Web site 24/7. CNNpolitics.com.
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PHILLIPS: Following breaking news out of Ohio, just outside Cleveland, Ohio. We're talking about NASA's Glenn Research Center. It's on lockdown after reports that a gunman might possibly be holed up there at that research center.
Apparently someone called in that shots were fired, and basically the information that I'm getting now is from our affiliates there out of Cleveland. Brook Park Police, also the sheriff's department been called to the scene. The reports were about a gunman inside building 77. If you are familiar with that research center there just outside of Cleveland, building 77 on lockdown. The entire center on lockdown there at Lewis Field. They're being kept - apparently, some ambulances are being kept by the main gate to that facility, which is located right close to Cleveland Hopkins International airport.
Our John Zarrella was joining us live just moments before this happened, talking about the final shuttle launch that's been scrapped today and will be happening on Monday, and then we were getting word of this breaking news. John, have your sources been able to tell you anything about what's happening here at the research center?
ZARRELLA: No, not really anything more than what you have, Kyra. But I wanted to point out, and I'm sure most of your viewers know this, that any time you come to one of these NASA facilities, the security is fairly, fairly tight. Like, for us even to get on the base here to the press site, we have to fill out forms and we get one of these media badges, and other people do as well. Certainly, there are tours from the visitor center that take people in confined areas on buses out to some of these centers.
So, it doesn't seem like it would necessarily be someone from the outside who was involved in this because it's awfully difficult, whether it's the Johnson Space Center, the Kennedy Space Center, the Jet Propulsion laboratory. No matter which NASA center, security is very, very tight to get on the bases. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right. We will continue to follow this with you, John. So much. At the same time, we are also following this breaking news just outside of Cleveland.
Also getting word about another issue with a Qantas Airbus. As you know, in the past 24 hours, we were talking about that flight -- the that whole fleet, rather -- that was grounded after an engine blew regarding a flight to Singapore. Now we're getting word something -- there's been another issue with another Qantas aircraft. We're getting information for you right now, about five minutes before the top of the hour.
We'll take a quick break and bring you that info right on the other side.
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PHILLIPS: Two breaking news stories that we're following for you right now. Remember, we told you about that Qantas A380 Airbus that was grounded? The fleet of those Airbuses due to engine problems? Now we're getting word there was a problem with another Qantas aircraft. This was a Boeing 747. It had to return back to Singapore as well. We are investigating that right now.
And I see that we are getting pictures from our affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, WOIO. This is the other breaking story we are following for you. I don't know if we are going to take the live pictures or not. Are we going to take -- OK, here we go.
This is the Glenn Research Center just outside of Cleveland, Ohio, the NASA research center, where not only the police department but the sheriff's department have responded to the scene. Apparently, there were shots fired inside this building. That entire research center is on lockdown now. Three thousand employees work at this center.
We have been getting a lot of information from the local affiliates and trying to confirm the information, and they're saying that there is a gunman possibly holed up inside that research center. But then again, we're seeing cars coming in and out of the research center there. So, maybe we'll be able to get more information as to the layout of that research center, what exactly is on lockdown, what's not on lockdown, and why we are seeing cars coming in and out.
John Zarrella, go ahead. You've got info for us.
ZARRELLA: Yes, Kyra. I just got off the phone with NASA headquarters. The all-clear was given. There was no gunman on the facility. It was part of a security test. That's what it was, part of a security test. So no gunman on the facility.
PHILLIPS: Wow. OK. Unbelievable. All right.
Well, this is what happens when we start getting various reports in here to the CNN Center. We're trying to bring you the latest information, and this is obviously -- John Zarrella, I don't know if you're still with us, but it looks like they need to work on their communication process when it comes down to tests like this.
I mean, it goes to show, you've got to let law enforcement, media folks know it's not a real live scenario. Because the next thing you know, you are freaking everybody out not only at the workplace, but, of course, the loved ones of people that work at the center there.
ZARRELLA: Well, you know, we're certainly glad that this is the way it turned out, but that it was not a gunman and there was no issue. But you're absolutely right. It certainly led to a lot of consternation, I'm sure, from people who had loved ones working there. No question about it -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, good news that it was just a test and a false alarm.
Sorry about that to our viewers, if we may have gotten you a little worried with that breaking news.
OK. That does it for us. What a way to wrap up a Friday.
Tony Harris picks it up from here.
Tony, hopefully --
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kyra, do you remember it was about a year, maybe a little over a year ago, we had a situation on the Potomac in Washington, D.C.?
PHILLIPS: Yes, right. The same type of situation.
HARRIS: Remember? The same type of situation.
PHILLIPS: Bad communication.
HARRIS: We were saying the same thing then as you were saying just a moment ago. Boy, if the agencies would just communicate. We're listening to the scanners all the time. They know we're listening to the scanners.
PHILLIPS: Yes.
HARRIS: If you would just communicate with us when you're going through these tests, it would make life a lot easier for everyone involved. Right?
PHILLIPS: Amen. I'm with you 100 percent.
HARRIS: Right? Wasn't that about a year or so ago? All right, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Maybe we should do some consulting.
HARRIS: Pay now.
PHILLIPS: Have a great weekend, Tony.
HARRIS: You too, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right.
