Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Hundreds Missing In New Zealand Earthquake; Rahm Emanuel is Chicago's Next Mayor; Teen Held in Police Killing in Florida; Are Sports Too Violent?; NASA's Big Money Pit; The Battle Over Unions; White House Response to Libya; New Study: Cell Phones & Exposure to Brain; Obama's Orders to Justice Department Regarding Same-Sex Marriage; The Kairos Society: Young, Brilliant, Innovative

Aired February 23, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Suzanne, thanks very much. You have a great afternoon.

OK. Catastrophes as big as the earthquake that just hit Christchurch, New Zealand. The world takes note of small victories. The victims pulled alive, after hours in flattened buildings.

Today, we've had about 30 remarkable rescues, more than 24 hours after New Zealand's second largest city was shattered by an aftershock to a deeper, more powerful earthquake that happened last fall.

Here's one case in point -- an office worker, named Ann Bodkin, emerging from the ruins of a building near the epicenter of the 6.3 magnitude jolt. Now, she had taken cover, under her desk, when firefighters brought her out alive. It was cause for celebration, if only briefly. Another trapped worker used her cell phone to speak with an interviewer, while she was trapped inside the rubble.

Listen, very carefully, to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE.) I thought I'd had it. I thought, that's it, you know, good-bye, Ann. But I managed to wiggle a bit out and breathe, because I couldn't breathe, there was no air. And, now, I'm here. So, I'm a bit happier.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you have your cell phone with you. Have you used it, previously?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have. I rang my kids to say good-bye.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: She rang somebody to say good-bye. Thankfully, her good-bye was premature. She was rescued. These victories are far outnumbered by the tragedies. Authorities have called off the search for survivors in the Canterbury TV Building, the CTV Building, where as many as 100 people are believed to be crushed.

The known death toll in New Zealand is 75, but New Zealand's prime minister says hundreds remain unaccounted for, including the daughter of Julie Berg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE BERG: I've been trying to text my daughter's phone since I have reception, just because I thought the rescuers might hear the ring and dig down and find her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Joined now, on the phone, by Richard Green, he's a weather analyst for the New Zealand Web site, Weather Watch. He is in Christchurch.

Richard, to start with, you used to work for CTV, Canterbury TV, where they believe more than 100 people are crushed. Do you have any more information about the situation there?

RICHARD GREEN, WEATHER ANALYST, NEW ZEALAND WEATHER WATCH: The information I have, at this point, is that rescuers, inside the last hour, have gone back into the building. We heard just around six, seven hours ago that they had called it off, as it was too dangerous. But it appears that they have gone back in there.

And, as you rightly say, it's more than 100 workers in there. There's a television station, a nursing home, and an English language school, where around 25 Japanese students are believed trapped in there, as well.

On a personal note, I have a number of colleagues at the CTV station and just praying, praying that they're OK.

VELSHI: No kidding. Richard, tell me what's going on around the rest of the city? How much of an area is affected? What's being done for people whose homes have been destroyed?

GREEN: Right. OK. Well, we're talking about the worst hit area seem to be the central business district. Inside the forever news (ph), for those who know Christchurch, and, also, east of the city, which is the eastern suburbs and the hill suburbs, as well.

Now, we're just getting pictures through, just over the hill, the port hills is the Port Littleton area, which has been hit hard, as well as the governor's bay area. Still tricky, communications aren't easy. The telephone companies are doing their best, but reception is still very patchy, at times. So, communication is still an issue.

But what I can tell you, what I saw as I was in amongst it, as the quake hit, was just something I never thought I'd ever witness, and something I wouldn't ever want to witness, again, or experience. Unbelievable scenes, just carnage. And getting away from the city has been a very, very challenging time. Yesterday, that continued as well. People are fleeing the city. Hundreds, if not thousands, are getting out, not knowing, perhaps, when the next big aftershock will happen.

We've had 13 aftershocks in the last six hours, measuring up to around 4.1. So, not as severe as the previous night. The biggest worry, today, is the one that's right in the middle of the central business district. And this is 26 stories high. Now, authorities believe the Hotel Grand Chancellor may, indeed, come down, whether it's due to an aftershock, whether it's due to just imploding on itself, that is a huge concern, obviously.

So, police and authorities have cordoned off two blocks, right around this particular hotel. There is nobody inside, as we understand. But the damage and the shock wave that this could cause is just not worth thinking about, at this point in time.

VELSHI: Richard, our hearts are with you, and we continue to watch as things develop. We hope there will be more successes than tragedies in the coming few days. Richard Green is a weather analyst with New Zealand's Weatherwatch.co.nz, joining me from Christchurch, New Zealand.

We'll stay on top of that story. We'll stay on top of developments in the Middle East, which we'll tell you about very shortly, in North Africa and Libya.

But as Wisconsin goes, so goes Indiana and Idaho and Tennessee and Idaho and New Jersey, it's the growing fight over budget gaps and labor rights. Republican lawmakers and governors are trying to scale back public worker unions in the name of fiscal restraint.

Indiana, now the second state after Wisconsin, where outnumbered Democrats have fled the capitol and the state to hold up a vote that they are pretty sure will lose, a measure that would sharply limit collective bargaining rights for teachers, similar situation to Wisconsin, and these Democrats, like their Wisconsin brethren, are in Illinois. That's where we find today's "Sound Effect."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALE GRUBB (D), INDIANA STATE HOUSE: Everybody's trying to do what they think is best, just to be patient, OK, study the issues, and give everybody a chance to come together. We've always done that in the past. This will pass, and things will be better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Grubb says he and his comrades are willing to come back anytime the governor is ready to negotiate.

In the meantime, the Indiana House Republicans are left without a two-thirds quorum to do the state's business, just like the Wisconsin Senate. And in case you're wondering why the Democrats flock to Illinois, well, it neighbors both Wisconsin and Indiana and has a Democratic governor.

All right. Checking on other top stories this hour, he was President Obama's right-hand man, now, he's Chicago's next mayor. Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel easily beat out five rivals to become next man to lead the nation's third largest city. Emanuel captured more than 55 percent of Tuesday's vote, and as such, he avoided a runoff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAHM EMANUEL (D), MAYOR-ELECT, CHICAGO: All I can say, you sure know how to make a guy feel at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Emanuel has already hit the streets, today, to thank his supporters. He was up bright and early. He takes office in mid-May, replacing outgoing mayor, Richard Daley.

Senator Harry Reid -- Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid says, brothels are hurting his home state and he wants them banned. He said, he's calling on Nevada lawmakers to have what he calls an adult conversation about outlawing prostitution. Reid made those remarks before the state's legislature, yesterday. Some brothel members were in attendance. Reid says Nevada should be focusing on new jobs, not an old profession.

And police in St. Petersburg, Florida, say this 16-year-old, Nicholas Lindsay, has confessed to killing one of their own. Police, there, released his name, today. Veteran officer David Crawford was responding to reports of a suspicious person carrying a brick when he was shot on Monday. Crawford was the third law enforcement officer killed, in that city, in less than a month. If convicted, the suspect faces life in prison with no eligibility for parole.

And actress Lindsay Lohan back in court and back if front of a Los Angeles judge. He may revoke her probation for a drunk driving conviction. That's because Lohan now faces felony charges. Prosecutors claim she shoplifted a $2,500 necklace, last month. She could face jail time as a result.

Former Chicago Bears' safety Dave Duerson was found dead last Thursday after shooting himself in the chest. His family has agreed to donate his brain to a center that's doing research in what it calls the concussion crisis in sports.

Now, in the next hour, I'm going to discuss violence in sports with today's stream team. Today, the team will be joined by former NFL star, Eddie George. That's coming up around 2:45 eastern.

In the meantime, go to my blog or go to my Facebook page and give me your input. Are sports today too violent? If so, what do you think can be done to fix it? You can go to CNN.com/ali, you can go to Facebook, or you can go to my Twitter page.

Well, the next space shuttle launch is tomorrow -- space shuttle launch is tomorrow. It's the last time the Discovery will blast off into space. Coming up, find out why NASA continues to pump millions of dollars into a new rocket program that will, literally, never get off the ground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: We are now just a little over a day away from the next space shuttle launch. Five men, one woman, and one robot will head to the International Space Station. But check this out. NASA is spending nearly $100 million on a rocket that will never fly again. The White House told NASA to scrap the Ares rocket program, but millions of dollars are still being spent on that program.

John Zarrella is at the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, with the details. John, what's this about?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ali, let's say you go out and buy a house or I buy a house and then we decide, no, we're not going to live in it, but we're still going to pay the mortgage. That's kind of what NASA is doing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Over the years, there's been no shortage of criticism about how NASA spends its money, your money. The space agency is, again, at the center of another, how did this happen, head scratcher. But, this time, it's not all NASA's fault.

GEORGE MUSSER, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN: It's, certainly, not the way you would spend the money if you were trying to be economical about it. And, frankly, I think taxpayers should be annoyed by that, outraged by it, even.

ZARRELLA: Outraged because NASA has spent more than $200, and climbing, just in the last few months on the constellation program and its Ares rocket. It was going to replace the shuttle for ferrying astronauts to the space station. The problem is, the White House canceled constellation after one test flight of the Ares.

(on-camera): So, you ask, why is NASA still spending the money? Well, the simple answer is, it has no choice. Until Congress passes a new budget, NASA is being forced to work under last year's rules.

(voice-over): Language inserted in last year's bill, by Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, prohibits NASA from using the money for anything but constellation.

So, why doesn't NASA just not spend the cash? Well, by law, NASA has to. A watchdog group, Citizens Against Government Waste, recently gave Shelby its, quote, "Porker of the month award."

TOM SCHATZ, PRESIDENT, CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE: Senator Shelby inserted a provision into one of the spending bills, and it forced NASA to continue funding a program that's wasteful. It's really another example of a hometown earmark for a project that isn't going to benefit the taxpayers.

ZARRELLA: Alabama is home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, responsible for the development of Ares propulsion, design, and engineering. Shelby's office would not comment. NASA has, also, refused to comment directly on the issue, but insists constellation was not a waste of money. DOUG COOKE, NASA ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR EXPLORATION: The constellation program has taught us the things that work, the things that we could have done better.

ZARRELLA: Ironically, the flap comes at a time NASA says it may not have enough money to building a new, bigger rocket Congress and the White House have mandated to replace, you guessed it, the constellation program.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZARRELLA: Senators Hutchison of Texas and Nelson of Florida have introduced a bill that would allow NASA to stop paying for the Aries program. Right now that bill is sitting in committee - -Ali.

VELSHI: All right, John, thanks very much. And, of course, John will be all over the shuttle launch. We'll bring that to you live.

Well, budget battles raging in Wisconsin, Ohio. They're spreading with the spotlight on alleged attempts to bust unions. So the obvious question is, are unions good or bad for workers? We'll give you the answers right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Breaking news. Light sweet oil crude futures have hit $100 a barrel. This is the first time that's happened since 2008. This, of course, on concerns about unrest in countries in the Middle East and North Africa which produce oil. Libya being the one at the center of everything right now. Libya is not a major oil producer, but the bottom line is we don't have a lot more oil produced in the world on a daily basis than we use.

Now, because of that surge in oil prices, take a look at what's going on, on stock markets. For the second day in a row, we're seeing heavy losses in major markets. The Dow down 142 points right now. It closed with an even greater loss than that yesterday. We'll keep an eye on both of those things.

There are a couple ways this is playing out, by the way, at the gas pumps. The current average for a gallon of unleaded gasoline, self-serve in this country, is $3.19 right now, up from yesterday. A year ago, it was $2.66 a gallon. So we're $3.19 a gallon. There are some people talking about how much oil will go up to if this unrest continues. Some suggesting gas at $5 a gallon by this summer.

A little later on, I'm going to show you exactly how you take advantage of this. If oil prices are going up, how do you invest in oil? If you're not a tycoon, you can't buy oil futures easily, so I'm going to specifically let you know how even a little investor can take advantage of the increasing price in oil.

But just to repeat, oil has hit $100 a barrel. It looks like it's receded just a little bit since then. But that's the first time since 2008 that that's happened. I'll keep you posted on this all afternoon. Now, the other big story we're talking about, these budget crisis in the states. We've been bringing you news of those heated budget protests. They were playing out in Wisconsin and Ohio all this week. At the center of these battles, alleged attempts by the Republican governors of those states to bust unions by taking away their collective bargaining rights. The collective bargaining rights of public workers.

So, are unions good or bad for jobs? Let me just give you a little bit -- a sense of what unions have done. Union pay across this country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2010, was $917 a week, average. Nonunion pay, $200 less, $717 a week. For those of you who don't want to do this math, let me show you what the annual take is. Union earners across the country, we can switch over to the annual graphic so I can show you what those are, because I can't do it unless we actually see the graphic -- OK. Well, we'll hold on to that. The bottom line is, as you can see, union earners make about 20 percent more on average than nonunion workers do in the United States. I'll bring you the totals in just a moment.

Let's talk to Poppy about this, because she's been studying this very, very closely to see what the effect of collective bargaining rights are on wages and on workers in general -- Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes. And I think, Ali, that was a really clear example. $200 less a week for nonunion workers. The biggest discrepancy, as you know, is in the service sector. But overall, let's take, say, a 50-week work year and a union worker would make medium salary, $45,000, nonunion, $35,000. So a $10,000 difference here. That is a big difference.

You know, it's interesting this morning, Ali, I was listening to Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey and he was talking about the fact that New Jersey's policemen and women, about 70 percent of the cost of them is in their fringe benefits, or basically their health care, their pensions, et cetera. And what he said is, he said, that's a, quote, "corrosive effect on public sector" in general. So he says, unions have a corrosive effect overall in New Jersey. He said they were breaking down the middle class.

So a lot of this is politics. You've got Republicans versus Democrats. But when we look overall, there's two sides to this. The Conservative Heritage Foundation has said, Ali, that the majority of manufacturing jobs that have been lost in this country over the last three decades have been union jobs while those nonunion jobs have actually risen. What they say is that union labor amounts to ostensibly a 33 percent tax increase on businesses. They are saying, look, this costs businesses so much more because of those very important collective bargaining rights.

What is that? That is the ability, the right of people in a specific industry to group together and fight for higher wages, better working conditions, more benefits, and that is what is at stake here in Wisconsin.

Now, on the other side of this, there's one labor economist that I spoke with, Ali, who said, look, having unions is not just about the cost of them. It's about the worker satisfaction. And having more satisfied workers leads, he thinks, to more productivity. So there's two sides to this, right, Ali, not just the cost side.

VELSHI: Right. OK, so let's just talk about, other than the wage, obviously the wage has been one benefit of unionization, but there are a couple of other things. Number one, the collective bargaining.

HARLOW: Yes.

VELSHI: The ability rather than just you or me going to our boss to negotiate, the ability to collectively bargain and perhaps threaten if you don't get what you want. The ability to take your employer to task if they don't live up to their agreements because otherwise we'd have to use a lawyer.

But there are a lot of protections in place now that weren't in place in 1953 --

HARLOW: Yes.

VELSHI: To compare to those numbers that you have. Government protections, agencies, bodies that protect workers.

HARLOW: YES.

VELSHI: How does that affect the relevance of unions?

HARLOW: That is a great question. Unions, at their peak, 1953, let's look at the numbers. We had more than a quarter of American workers that were unionized. Almost 27 percent. Today, we have less than 12 percent.

Why is that? Well, some unions have been busted, have been broken up. Some people have opted not to work in unions. Take your pick.

But when you look at the public sector, Ali, the firefighters, police men and women, the teachers, 36 percent of them still are unionized. It's the private sector. Companies like GM, big corporations where you have less than 7 percent unionized.

Look, working conditions have changed. We have better working conditions today than we did 50 years ago. That's just a fact. A lot of our manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas. So we don't have as many of those jobs that were those union jobs in this country.

But we had a conversation earlier with the head of the Freelancer's Union, Ali, and that is one of the single, fastest growing unions in this country. She said, look, unions are not dead. They need to evolve and perhaps collective bargaining is not the way that all unions should operate. They don't have collective bargaining because they are with freelancers. They don't just deal with one industry. So her main point, Ali, bottom line is, unions, perhaps, have to evolve to a different form than they were 50 years ago when they were at the height in this country, Ali. And that should be part of this conversation.

VELSHI: Yes. Absolutely. It's a different world out there. It's an interesting take, that there may be a necessity for unions, but a different kind of union.

HARLOW: Yes.

VELSHI: We've actually seen a lot of unions evolve and change that way.

Poppy, thanks very much for great coverage on this.

HARLOW: You got it.

VELSHI: By the way, there's so much going on with money right now. Oil hitting $100 a barrel. All of the effects of what's going on in Libya, the budget crisis, the federal budget. Go to money.com. Also, be sure to tune in to "Your Bottom Line" each Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern with Christine. She'll tell you how this all affects your wallet. "Your Money" airs Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3:00. We go a lot deep into these financial issues for you.

Well, the White House has been very cautious with public statements on Gadhafi and the situation in Libya. Ed Henry joins us next with "The Stakeout" to tell us exactly why. There he is. We'll be with him in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Your jacket and with mine. Let's talk first about why has the White House been reticent to sort of comment more readily on something that seems to obvious? It seems so easy to condemn Moammar Gadhafi and what's going on in Libya.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right. And I was pushing Jay Carney, as were other reporters, just a few moments ago in that briefing on that very topic. I think in fairness to the administration, one reason why it is difficult is that there are still Americans on the ground in Libya. And you've been reporting on the fact, we've been hearing from our Jill Dougherty from the State Department and others reporting that there are hundreds of Americans who are on this ferry trying to get out. They're trying to get them to Malta safely.

And I've been speaking to officials here who are very concerned that there could be an Iranian-style hostage crisis if, in fact, the president of the United States had gone out there in the last couple of days and blasted Moammar Gadhafi, who obviously is not somebody who has much of any diplomatic relationship with the United States. A key difference from Egypt with Hosni Mubarak, for example. And if the president just got out there and blasted Gadhafi, he could dig in more, number one, kill more of his own people, potentially, but also potentially, and I stress potentially, harm Americans.

Now, that is not necessarily a justification for the president keeping such a low profile. And he's going to get some more heat for that, no doubt, and that's why we're going to hear from him later today or tomorrow. He's going to meet with his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, later today. We may have some announcements about possible sanctions against Libya, other actions.

Because the fact of the matter is, the president hasn't really said much of anything. It was last Friday that we got a statement from the president read by his press secretary, Jay Carney, not read by the president himself. He has said nothing on camera. And there are certainly critics around the world saying, with Libyans being killed by their own government right now in recent days, why hasn't the President of the United States taken a moral stand on that?

I think that what I mentioned about the Americans on the ground is certainly an important factor we have to keep in mind, that it's not quite as black and white as some people think.

VELSHI: But you expect that the president will be saying something today and I guess it has to do with those American who is they're trying to get out of the United States. We'll check into that.

Hey, Ed, we haven't been together --

HENRY: Yes, I think that's the timing. Because, you know, they're hoping that the ferry will leave in the next hour or so. I mean, they've been waiting, it's bad weather, we're told. And so if that ferry leaves, I would anticipate quickly, it's possible the president will come out today. If not, the latest we'll see him tomorrow morning, probably.

VELSHI: All right. Ed, we haven't been together for a while. But the last time you and I were talking, I was a little bit fearful for your safety because there was a truck going forward and backward right behind you.

HENRY: I appreciate that.

VELSHI: Apparently I was not the only one fearful about it. Jay Leno caught that exchange and also was fearful about it.

HENRY: I heard about that, yes.

VELSHI: Here's what he put on his show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: We call it the big dig here --

VELSHI: You're right by the driver, why don't you just tell him you're in the middle of a live news shot.

HENRY: Yes, I'm in the middle of a live shot. He just waved at me, basically said --

(LAUGHTER) JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": Have to be so careful. So careful.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Amazing what they can do with video manipulation. I'm glad to see you're OK. That didn't end well for you, but in real life, it was OK.

HENRY: It was OK. I've never gotten more teasing from my colleagues here at the White House about that. That clip went around a little bit. And my favorite reaction though is my six-year-old daughter was going around this weekend after seeing this clip and telling all of my friends, my daddy got hit by a truck in front of the White House. It's really funny, it's on YouTube.

What kids will say these days, what they know about technology. And people were really alarmed. Your dad got hit by a -- but we explained it, everybody's fine.

VELSHI: Good to see -- is that beeping I'm hearing behind you?

HENRY: Yes, there's beeping. I've moved upstairs. I used to be down there. Now Jay Leno has convinced me to be upstairs and a I'm a little more safe up here. I just want to make sure everything's all right. He kind of worried me.

VELSHI: Good to see you, my friend. We'll be seeing you on TV a lot this afternoon as the president continues his comments.

Ed -- Ed Henry at "The Stakeout." He is our senior White House correspondent.

Hey, listen, there's another study on you, your brain, and cell phone use. We're going to take a look at how cell phone use may stir up your brain cells and whether or not you should be concerned. Right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Happening now, Attorney General Eric Holder says President Obama has ordered the Justice Department to stop defending the constitutionality of the measure which defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. Holder says Mr. Obama concluded that given a number of factors, including a documented history of discrimination, classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a higher standard of scrutiny.

In New Zealand, incredible rescues of around 30 people today in the earthquake devastated city of Christchurch. Hundreds are still missing. At least 75 people were killed when the quake struck New Zealand's second biggest city yesterday.

President Obama is condemning the violence in Libya and will make a public statement on the crisis today or tomorrow. Meantime, the revolt against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi appears to be growing.

Well, it's a question many of us ask and many of us seek to answer. Do cell phones cause health problems? Well, a new government-funded study evaluated the possible effects of cell phone exposure on the human brain.

CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to tell us about the new study -- Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Studies have gone back and forth on whether holding a cell phone up to your head can cause cancer or other health problems. Well, now there's a new study out to add to the fray.

This study found that when people held cell phones up to their head for 50 minutes, that it increased the activity of brain cells. Now, what does that mean, exactly? Well, cells do certain activities, such as making glucose normally. But what they found is that the cells were much more active when a cell phone was held up to their head.

Now, what does this mean for you and me? Well, the author of the study says, look, the bottom line is we don't know what cell phones do or don't do to your brain. So in the meantime, you can do what she does. Use one of these devices. It's very simple, it's just a wire, sticks into your phone, goes in your ears and that keeps the radiation at a distance. That's what the author of the study does.

Now, the cell phone industry says that there have been many different studies on this and that the body of evidence says that cell phones do not cause health problems. Back to you.

VELSHI: Thanks, Elizabeth.

Well, there are four things you can do to keep your brain safe. Number one, wear those earphones when you talk on the phone. Let me just tell you, I don't always do that, but I'm informed that that's the right thing to do. Buy a phone that emits less radiation. Use the speaker function on the phone and maybe just don't talk as much.

Well, not everybody gets to traipse into Libya and meet with Moammar Gadhafi. When we come back -- let me just talk to you over here. When we come back, I'm going to talk to somebody who actually has. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Nine days in and the chaos continues to spread in Libya. Opposition protesters say they now control even more of the country, and witnesses in Tripoli, the capital, say that it is nearly deserted, but for armed Gadhafi supporters roaming around.

CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is at Libya's border with Tunisia. Let's bring him in right now.

What are you seeing there, Nic? All right. We can't seem to hear Nic. We're going to try to and fix that audio and see if we can get him back on the phone. He's probably got difficulty getting a cell signal.

Meantime, the word has just come down that at the top of the hour -- about 20 minutes from now -- President Obama will make a statement about the situation in Libya. The White House says we can expect some announcements about a U.S. response to the Libyan government's violent crackdown on protesters, the ones that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has called rats and cockroaches.

Now, our next guest has actually been to Libya several times and he's met the colonel. Joining us from New York is CNN's national security contributor and former national security adviser Fran Townsend.

Fran, good to see you, as always. A number of people who have met Moammar Gadhafi and talked to him, like Fareed Zakaria and others, have said that at the best of times, he doesn't necessarily come across as someone who's making a great deal of sense.

Listening to his comments yesterday were a little flabbergasting. They were really quite amazing to hear how he was looking at this crisis. It makes one think that the outcome of this is not going to be as smooth as perhaps it was in Egypt or as things are developing in Bahrain.

FRAN TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: I agree with you completely, Ali. I don't -- I expect that the one thing that he said, that he will be true to his word is that he will be -- he will die in Libya. I mean, I don't think -- he expects that he will be martyred in some way. He talked about blood running and the graves of his father and grandfather.

You know, having met with him, he is very difficult to follow, he often doesn't seem rationale, he doesn't seem sort of connected to the person that he's trying to speak to. All that has been born out again and again in his speeches at the U.N., as well as the one yesterday.

But I think that he is very committed to this having a very violent end. And regrettably, I think we should expect, he will visit real violence on his own people in Libya before he is taken from power.

VELSHI: Fran, we've just had word that the president is going to be speaking -- he'll be making an address of some form or releasing a statement, probably within the next 15 or so minutes.

What is it that this administration can do at this point to ease the situation?

TOWNSEND: Well, there's a couple of things I think we should expect the president will address. One, are the Americans, that they're trying to get out. You know, our own Ed Henry just spoke about their efforts to get them out by ferry. That's been a very difficult process and I expect that the president will speak about the importance of the safety and security of all citizens, but especially the Americans that they're trying to evacuate.

Second, I would hope we would hear from the president, the sorts of steps, an embargo against buying any Libyan oil, the embargo against doing business with Libya, the move to implement sanctions through the U.N. Security Council. You know, there's a whole raft of things that we can -- steps that we can take.

But we ought to be mindful. The United States has got very little leverage in Libya. You know, they're a very isolated country. On the other hand, our European allies, folks like the Italians, the Brits, the Germans all have commercial and diplomatic interest there, much stronger than ours. And they really, if they join such an effort to basically freeze Libya out of the commercial markets for oil and goods, it would be very -- much more effective than if the United States acts alone.

VELSHI: All right. Fran, we'll stay on top of this with you. Thanks very much. You know a lot about this, you're part of our team who understands Moammar Gadhafi as much as one can understand Moammar Gadhafi.

Fran Townsend, CNN national security contributor, former U.S. national security adviser.

All right, let me bring you up to speed on some of the other top stories that we're following.

Incredible rescues, about 30 people rescued today in New Zealand's earthquake-devastated city of Christchurch, including a woman trapped for 24 hours in the rubble of a collapsed office building. Hundreds, though, are still missing. At least 75 people have been confirmed dead after the quake struck New Zealand's second biggest city yesterday.

Attorney General Eric Holder says he has just been told to stop defending the Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. The 1996 law states that marriage is only the union of a man and a woman. According to Holder, President Obama has decided that, quote, "classifications based on sexual orientation should be subject to a more heightened standard of scrutiny, and that key parts of the law do not meet that standard and are unconstitutional."

And a strike by public workers in Greece has turned violent, with demonstrators throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at police. Police responded with tear gas. The strikers are protesting the government's sweeping budget cuts implemented after an international economic bailout.

And we're all about big ideas and solutions on this show. Every day at this time we do a segment called the "Big I" to highlight big news in innovation. Now some of the biggest and brightest innovations come from young people, as we've seen on this show. Today, we're going to introduce you to the Kairos Society. You're going to want to check this out, because the people who are members of this are the CEOs of the future, in a good way, by the way. I know some of you won't think that's a good thing.

These are the people who are going to make decisions about innovation that are going to influence you for the rest of your life. This is a big deal. Just check out some of the mentors of this group, Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Peter Diamandis of the X PRIZE Foundation who we've had on this show, Duncan Niederauer, he's the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange.

Now, their mission, the Kairos Society's mission is to do well by doing good, making an absolutely connection between doing good things for the world and being able to profit from it. Here in studio to tell us all about it is the founder and president of the Kairos Society, Ankur Jain, a friend of mine.

Ankur, great to see you again.

ANKUR JAIN, PRESIDENT, KAIROS SOCIETY: Great to see you too, Ali.

VELSHI: You're a whiz kid. You're about 20 years old or something, you're -- you're at Wharton now still?

JAIN: Undergraduate, yes, senior.

VELSHI: So you're an entrepreneur, you don't believe there's anything wrong with making money.

JAIN: No, in fact, I think that's what's interesting right now is we need entrepreneurs to drive our economic growth. Everyone's talking about America needs to reinvent our economy, we need to be a global player. And to do that, we need to refocus our entire national efforts on young entrepreneurs because it's young entrepreneurs that are not only create jobs and make money, but these are the guys who are going to find the next innovative solution to some of these big problems like clean tech, education, health care.

VELSHI: So what's the connection the Kairos Society makes between doing good and making money?

JAIN: Well, you seem to separate it there, and actually they're not too -- they're not mutually exclusive. In fact, to do good today, we have to find the innovative solutions to these big problems. In fact, the next billion-dollar companies will be created by solving problems, particularly global problems.

And one of the things --

VELSHI: Let me just stop you there, cause that's a distinction -- cause I know I'm going to get an earful on Twitter about this, about why we talking about people making money. You're not talking about making money just because there's an innovative way to make money.

JAIN: Absolutely not.

VELSHI: You're talking about not dividing the world between making money, being profitable, or doing good things.

JAIN: Right. I mean, there used to be a very distinct effort where you either said, I'm going to go into the non-profit space and do good in the world or I'm going to go into the for-profit space and make money. Right?

VELSHI: Right.

JAIN: But today you look and there's actually three things that are actually kind of merging together through entrepreneurship. So you're seeing for-profit sector which drives economic growth merging with the non-profit sector which solves problems, and actually the government side that deals with international relations.

So now you're getting a Chinese entrepreneur to start a company with an American entrepreneur. And they're going to create that company, they're focusing that company around a new solution to solar technology, for example. So now as that company grows, you're now tying job growth in the U.S. and China to single private companies, you're helping privatize diplomacy, driving economic growth and creating jobs, and you're doing incredible good in the world.

VELSHI: And when you came in to talk to me about this, one of the things you mentioned is that this idea that you have, that you're doing at the Kairos Society can actually help with things more than just scientific innovations that we need to find.

JAIN: Absolutely.

VELSHI: There can be applications to peace, to what's going on in the Middle East and north Africa.

JAIN: Well, you look -- I mean, right now, all these overthrowing -- look at Egypt, the entire group of people overthrowing the government, it was young people. It was our generation saying, we want freedom, and not just freedom of lifestyle and expression, but they want freedom to be entrepreneurial.

And now with people like Mubarak out of office, it's going to be up to these young people to rebuild the economies. And the best and most important thing we can do is help these young people become entrepreneurs by connecting them with other entrepreneurs around world and with the mentors to actually turn that.

VELSHI: But where would they get the money?

JAIN: Where would they -- it's not a matter of capital right now as being the issue. If there's innovative solutions, capital will flow.

I mean, remember, Ali, capital is not patriotic. It's not going to stay in the United States or in China or India. It's going to go where the innovative solutions are, which is why it's so important that here in the United States we focus our efforts on this.

VELSHI: Something we've been good at in the past, we've been losing a bit of the edge and you're dedicated to saying let this still be the most innovative place.

JAIN: Let's reinvent the American dream for the world.

VELSHI: Great.

JAIN: Well, thank you, again, Ali.

VELSHI: Good to talk to you. Thank you for coming down. We appreciate it.

JAIN: Thank you for having me.

VELSHI: Ankur Jain is the founder of the Kairos Society.

If you want to learn more about them, by the way -- and you should, this is really interesting -- go to my blog CNN.com/Ali and I'll link to their website.

Sarah Palin is upset with the president again. Wolf Blitzer is going to tell us what the issue this time after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Former Obama aide Rahm Emanuel has been elected as the mayor of Chicago. CNN's Wolf Blitzer is part of "The Best Political Team on Television," joining us now from Washington.

Wolf, Rahm Emanuel avoided a runoff by getting more than 50 percent of the vote. Not as simply as some may have thought he was going to do it.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": No. He got 55 percent, so he's in good shape. He'll be sworn in in May as the next mayor of Chicago.

He was out this morning early, he was meeting with some voters out in Chicago on this the day after he had that resounding victory for himself. So he's gone from being a congressman to a White House chief of staff, now going to be the mayor of Chicago, which he's always said has been his dream job.

Interestingly enough, he went to a district area in Chicago this morning to receive some people, to meet with some folks, largely African-American area, he wanted to reach out to the African-American community. The Reverend Jesse Jackson did not support him in Chicago; supported Carol Moseley Braun, the former Illinois senator from Chicago. But Rahm Emanuel is going to be the next mayor of Chicago. Good news for him.

Other news we're following here at CNNPolitics.com, Sarah Palin not surprisingly once again railing against President Obama. This time going after him because he's supposedly not speaking out vociferously enough as far as the situation in Libya in concerned. She says about Gadhafi, for four decades this tyrant has held power. Gadhafi was Osama bin Laden before Osama hit the scene. Gadhafi is a brutal killer. But basically, she's going on to say, where is President Obama in all of this. Why isn't he speaking out?

By the way, I just taped -- Ali, you'll be interested in this -- an interview with the Israeli defense minister, Ehud Barak. We'll have the interview in "THE SITUATION ROOM" 5:00 p.m. Eastern today.

He says he'd be thrilled, he'd happy if Gadhafi goes down -- it's still a big if right now. But Israel has no love for Gadhafi either. He also played down the significance of those two Iranian warships going through the Suez Canal. He says, not a big deal, Israel isn't really worried about it. Little bit of a provocation, he says, by the Iranians, but he's not very worried.

The interview will air 5:00 p.m. Eastern.

VELSHI: All right, we look forward to that, Wolf. Even with your broad network of contacts, I'm sure you're now running into a whole lot of people who are saying Gadhafi is a fantastic leader, it would be a big loss if he were gone. He seems to have made a lot of enemies during his tenure.

BLITZER: Yes. I don't think there's going to be a lot of tears if he goes down. And it looks like he's in deep trouble right now.

The only problem, Ali, as you know, is how many innocent, wonderful Libyan people, young people, families are going to be killed before that happens. It's a huge problem. People are dying in big numbers right now, and the world is sort of on the sidelines watching all of this unfold.

I'm not sure there's a whole lot the United States, the Europeans, others can do right now, but it's an awful situation that's unfolding.

VELSHI: Wolf, thanks for your analysis and we'll be watching that interview later today on today on "THE SITUATION ROOM."

And your next update from "The Best Political Team on Television" is just an hour away.

She's a great-grandmother with one great story. At 95 years old, she's run her way into the record books. I'm going to tell you about her and her savory secret to longevity, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Topping "Odds and Ends" today, the story of a great- grandmother who is also a great runner. She's not just great, by the way, she's a world record holder.

Check this out.

OK, don't check this out. Folks you are watching history right here, if you were able to see her. But you can't see her, so there's really no point in continuing to talk about this until we actually see the pictures on TV.

There we go. OK, let's watch this.

You're looking at on left, the woman in the pink shirt, right there. She's 95-year-old Ida Keeling, 95 years old. She just set a world record running the fastest time for someone her age -- 60 meters in just under 30 seconds. This is history you're watching. It's a huge feat, especially from someone so small. She weighs 83 pounds, she stands 4 foot 6 inches.

She turned to running at the age of 67 after her two sons passed away. Ida trains every day by running stairs in her Brooklyn apartment. She also lifts weights and rides a bike. Her secret to energy endurance is eating a hamburger for breakfast every morning.

I knew there was something I would like about this woman.