Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Evacuating Libya; Wisconsin Assembly Passes Union Curbing Bill; U.S. Government May Shut Down; Party at the White House; Fowler Upsets Mickelson

Aired February 25, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Good morning. It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. And we're working three big stories this hour for you.

First, getting Americans out of Libya. The ferryboat has finally left port with 285 on board. It's bound for Malta.

Shame, shame, shame. Protesters shout out against the Wisconsin state assembly. Lawmakers passed a bill cutting out collective bargaining rights for most public workers.

Storms lash it out in the south. We're tracking them in the Severe Weather Center for you.

We begin this hour with reports of clashes among protesters and police in Tripoli. CNN just spoke to an eyewitness. Listen carefully, though, it may be a bit hard to understand but the witness had to be very careful as he made the call into our studios.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But we got to the green square in the middle (INAUDIBLE), but as soon as we got to the main street (INAUDIBLE) they're worries -- civilian -- and machine gun, and start shooting at us. We couldn't get to the streets. And we start throwing some rocks at them. They went far away and they start shooting from far away. And they came back (INAUDIBLE) and help people. And they start shooting more and more. So the police came in and they started shooting teargas at us. We (INAUDIBLE).

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, at the same time, evacuations continue in Libya.

CNN's Diane Magnay on the island of Malta where planes have been landing and now ferries are coming in.

Diana, what's the latest on this ferry that's supposed to take Americans out of there?

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Catamaran holding some 300 people, most of them, half of them American citizens, has left the port in Tripoli. They've been staying there for the last 36 hours waiting for the weather to clear so that they could move.

So now, eventually, they have. They left around an hour ago. Apparently, a few more boarded just before they were about to leave. They'll be here in Malta in about 9:00 p.m., 8:00 p.m. this evening if all goes according to plan, if the weather holds.

So that's really the first mass evacuation of U.S. citizens, but there are, of course, about 600 U.S. citizens in Libya. Some of them may have been evacuated by the companies that they work for already. And they are also thousands more with dual nationality.

So, although we have some 200 leaving with this first boatload, there are still many more who need to come out -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Diana Magnay, we'll keep checking in with you to see as -- see how well it goes getting both foreigners and Americans out of the country there.

You know one of the Americans on the ferry getting people out of Libya is basketball player Mounir Benzegala. He was faced with some frightening -- life or death experiences. Benzegala is from Ohio and he was in Libya as a star draw for a government-run basketball squad.

Well, he and other lead athletes were up in a sprawling sports complex not far from President Moammar Gadhafi's house. He talked to CNN about some of the chaos that he actually saw around him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOUNIR BENZEGALA, U.S. BASKETBALL PLAYER: I don't want to be too close to the windows just because, I don't know. I just don't know exactly what is going on out there. One minute it's one thing and the next minute it's another.

Things were getting very, very bad. I mean right outside my window where I'm at -- I'm about one kilometer, one or two kilometers away from the president's house so all the action is going all around me. I mean every night, we've heard gunshots. I actually -- my teammate was actually held at gunpoint by a mercenary just today.

It was like at 3:00 p.m., and luckily, actually a soldier, one of Gadhafi's soldier calmed the mercenary down and was able to just explain to him that my teammate was just an athlete, he wasn't of any harm. Otherwise, he definitely, you know, was in serious danger and probably would have been killed.

The mercenary was very, very violent and aggressive. He just looked like he was itching to shoot somebody.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now we've got this video that was put up on YouTube. It's from Zawiyah, not far from the capital Tripoli. Doctors there say government forces attacked and killed 17 people and wounded about 150 more.

The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet later today to talk about that situation in Libya. Oil prices backing off a bit after spiking at $103 a barrel yesterday. Traders feel that the market has taken into account the production outages in Libya.

Well, despite -- or a desperate search, actually, right now going on in Mayfield, Connecticut, for an Amish child who disappeared when the family horse and buggy flipped over into a flooded creek. The bodies of three other children were pulled from the creek last night.

Police say that nine people from two Amish families were riding in the buggy when the accident happened. It had been raining in that area for several hours.

And the Kentucky flood spawned by a line of severe storms wreaking a lot of havoc in the southeast.

Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf tracking all that for us.

Hey, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: What a mess. What a horrible situation. We're talking about a monster system that brought rain, sleet, and snow to a tremendous part of the country, including parts of the Central Plains where this video brings us in Oklahoma City yesterday.

Take a look. Some stranded vehicles. We had a little touch of snow, of course. We had the rainfall. You see the result. In fact it was a record set of rainfall in that area for that day, about an inch and a half in some places. You can see it all swirling around there.

In parts of Tennessee, they did have the heavy rainfall but they also have something else. Take a look at these fireworks setup. Mother Nature's fireworks. Cloud-to-cloud lightning, some cloud-to- ground lightning, also wind damage reported all around Germantown.

What we've seen from this storm system as it's been moving eastward is it has been weakening a little bit in some places. Other places it has been intensifying. The place where it's getting intense in the northeast.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WOLF: Let's send it back to you, Kyra. Five minutes. Five minutes.

PHILLIPS: Five minutes.

WOLF: It's nothing.

PHILLIPS: Just five minutes. It isn't anything.

WOLF: Exactly. PHILLIPS: Reynolds, thanks.

Let's head over to Wisconsin now where lawmakers are embroiled in that budget battle. The statehouse has now passed a Republican bill stripping the collective bargaining rights of most public employees. However, this may be far from over.

Ted Rowlands is in Madison, Wisconsin, this morning.

Ted, how important was this vote and what do you think we can expect next?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, quite frankly, Kyra, this vote last night or actually early this morning here in Madison was expected. Everybody expected that eventually this thing was going to move through the assembly.

It's the Senate that still has to come on board. And that means that those senators have to come up from Illinois.

Last night, however, overnight, about 1:00 a.m. this morning, things got pretty ugly when the assembly actually voted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: Those folks in the t-shirts are the Democrats and they were not happy at all. Basically, what happened was they were still arguing this bill and that has been their strategy from the beginning is sort of to stretch out this process where the Republicans got stick of it and they called for a vote basically during a little break.

And the Democrats, a lot of them didn't even vote. About 27 of them didn't vote so they came running back into the chambers and you see the reaction there.

You know everybody in Wisconsin usually gets along. It's a very nice place and everybody is so nice, but this is really starting to get on people's nerves. And you can feel the divide now between the Democrats and the Republicans. It is getting darn right ugly.

The Senate still at this impasse. A stalemate. The senators are in Illinois. The 14 of them. And the governor is here.

Both sides, Kyra, say they are not going to budge when it comes to that collective bargaining and that is what is on the table right now. They have agreed to the financial concessions. But they will not come to terms on this collective bargaining part of the bill that is before the Senate.

So we'll see what happens today, but at this point, it doesn't look like either side is going to blank. PHILLIPS: All right. Well, keep tabs on it, Ted. Thanks so much.

Well, from Wisconsin to New Jersey, they are also dealing with budget struggles. Public employees rallying in support of the Wisconsin protesters. Unions there will also meet with Governor Chris Christie over his budget in June.

Ohio Republican lawmakers say that they'll amend their collective bargaining measure. It would allow public workers to negotiate salaries but not benefits such as health care.

Then in Florida, in Miami in particular, there's a big union meeting today. Organizers say it's a rally for jobs, fair and employment insurance and a good budget for the state.

Well, budget shortfalls aren't just infecting state coffers. Congress has not yet agreed on the federal budget, the one that they started last year. And the clock is ticking. Next week, the money will dry up unless something is done.

Christine Romans, our money pro, breaking it down for us.

So what's the likelihood that we may have a government shutdown, Christine?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the way economists are looking at it, they are saying that it's a modest but growing likelihood, growing likelihood each day that the government would have to have some sort of a shutdown.

This is, after all, Kyra, what our elected officials are elected to do. This is their job to keep the government running and to pass a budget and have something to work from, right? But they cannot agree on a continuing resolution for how to fund the government and so that is what the stalemate is about.

What would it look like? What would not be cut during a federal shutdown would be mail. Mail service would continue. There are policies in place and funding in place to make sure that happens. That's still open.

Social Security checks, a lot of people over at Social Security would probably be furloughed but they will keep essential workers so that people on Social Security would be able to still get their checks.

Law enforcement, national defense, national security, Kyra, all that stays open. And of course, lawmakers continue to collect their own paychecks. Lawmakers just to remind you get about $174,000 a year. The president and generals also continue to get their paychecks if the government were to shut down.

What's closed? Well, if your eighth grade class is planning a trip to Washington, D.C., you might want to think again. Parks, monuments, museums, all of those things could close. Toxic waste cleanups would stop. Federal employees, hundreds of thousands of them, except for the very essential work at some of the agencies, would be furloughed.

If you're planning on getting a passport renewed, no, that wouldn't happen. Planning on getting a gun permit? No. Planning on filing for bankruptcy or in the bankruptcy process, no.

So a lot of things would come to a screeching halt. What is the risk? The likelihood growing every day but most people are telling me they feel like it's still -- it's still a modest risk.

And, quite frankly, most people, Kyra, want the -- want the American Congress to figure this out. When you look at the "USA Today"/Gallup poll what should Congress do in its budget battle a 60 percent, Kyra, said compromise, 32 percent said stick to their plans -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Christine Romans, thanks.

Every single teacher in Providence, Rhode Island, getting a pink slip from the mayor. We'll explain in just a minute.

And still skiing after all these years. Amazing story of the 90- year-old snow queen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: As you know, it's been really tough to get live shots out of Libya, trying to cover the protests. Our Ben Wedeman, though, from time to time, will call in and say, "OK, here we go." And we've got him up, out of Benghazi, Libya for the latest on the clashes there and nearby Tripoli. Wow, Ben. The scene behind you is just incredible. What do you know about Tripoli as well?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm coming to you from a very windy rooftop of the courthouse in Benghazi. I just got off the phone with a woman in Tripoli who told me that after Friday prayers, people did come out and were demonstrating for the -- demanding the fall of Moammar Gadhafi but, very soon afterwards, these people came under what she described as intense gunfire.

They don't have details, Kyra, about the number of casualties, but as a result of that gunfire, people dispersed and went back to their homes. This woman told me that, at this point, the streets are clear, nobody's going out.

Obviously, the situation is the mirror image of what we have in Benghazi, where thousands of people, despite the cold, the wind, and the rain, have come out to express their solidarity with the people in Tripoli. There seems to be a growing momentum against the Gadhafi regime, but their persistent concerns that more mercenaries are being brought into the country to defend what seems to be a dying regime. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: We've been hearing all these threats from Moammar Gadhafi and his rambling rants as he goes to the air waves, talks on radio. Have you seen any sign of that intensifying with regard to attacks against the demonstrators, Ben, from the ground, from the air?

WEDEMAN: Well, from the air, we don't have any information about that, but what does seem to be the case is that any smidgen, any tiny iota of tolerance for dissent, for protests against the government in Tripoli has evaporated. They are clearly going all-out to try to suppress those people in Libya -- in Tripoli who are trying to voice their opposition.

We've seen that so many of the cities or the towns around Tripoli, like Zawia, which is about 60 kilometers outside of Tripoli, has fallen to the anti-Gadhafi movement, but it seems that he may be preparing for his last stand in Tripoli. And, obviously, Libyans, who have 42 years of experience with this man, don't put anything past him. They are worried that he could pull out everything he has in his arsenal to try to -- crush this revolt and its philosophy. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: That scares everybody at this point. Ben Wedeman, live for us out of Benghazi, Ben, thanks.

All right, let's come back to the States, now, and zone in on Providence, Rhode Island. The city of Pink Slips is what it's being called. Every single teacher in the system there will be getting one. The city, like so many others, of course, is struggling with budget issues. CNN's Jason Carroll with more. Pretty radical strategy, Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very radical, according to some. Teachers in so many places feeling like they're coming under attack, especially now, with what happened last night at a contentious school board meeting that happened in Providence, Rhode Island. That's where it was made official.

The board voted to send termination notices, Kyra, to every public school teacher in the district. More than 1,900 of them. That does not mean they will all end up losing their jobs. They'll have to reapply for them. The drastic decision was made because the city and school district are in dire financial straits. Teachers feel like they are victimized by poor city management.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE KROUS, TEACHER: I am heartbroken. I can't tell you how much this hurts.

MARY BUSH, TEACHER: I feel numb. I almost feel I need to mourn, like the death of an innocent. It's just surreal. There's just no justifying this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Those comments coming after the meeting last night. Providence mayor Angel Tavares defended the decision, saying state law says teachers must be notified about changes to their job by March 1st. He says that deadline does not give him the flexibility to work out the city's financial crisis, which include a $40 million deficit. The mayor declined to comment after last night's vote, but addressed his decision to terminate the teachers earlier this week on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ANGEL TAVARES (D), PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: We need to make cuts. We don't know exactly the extent of the cuts yet and, therefore, we thought it was most prudent to give the notices to all the teachers to maintain the maximum amount of flexibility, to make sure we can balance our budget for the next fiscal year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Well, that's definitely not comforting to the teachers who were there, Kyra. Here's what happens next. The city plans to rehire some of the teachers. How many at this point? Unknown. And because the teachers are being terminated instead of being laid off, the city is not obligated to rehire by seniority.

Providence, as you know, Kyra, is not the only school district considering extreme cutbacks. Across the country, schools are troubled as states battle their budgets and try to deal with the loss of federal stimulus grants that were handed out.

New York City, let's take that for instance, may end up cutting some 4700 teachers next year. Los Angeles considering 7300 school personnel. And the state of Texas may have to go as far as cutting as many 100,000 school employees in order to absorb budget cuts there.

And so many unanswered questions, at this point, in Providence. If you make all of these cuts, Kyra, then what happens to the schools? How many schools do you end up closing? Then what happens to the size of the classrooms that still exist? So, these are a lot of the worries that are going on in Providence, Rhode Island. Just one of many places.

PHILLIPS: Sure. And all the students suffer as they're trying to think about getting good grades, going on to school -- college. It's tough on the families. Jason, thanks.

CARROLL: Yes, that's an interesting point. Thanks, Kyra.

PHLLIPS: You bet.

Well, if you're a fan of "Two and a Half Men," there'll always be reruns. CBS pulls the plug on new episodes because the star, once again, is shooting off his mouth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A 20-year-old Saudi college student accused of plotting attacks in the US is in federal court this morning in Lubbock, Texas. We just got brand-new video, here, of Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari being escorted into court. He was arrested on a charge of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. According to court records, Aldawsari bought chemicals and conducted online research into how to make an improvised explosive device. Court documents show that he researched potential targets, including the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush and nuclear power plants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "CONAN": In a speech today, Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi said people protesting him are, quote, "under the influence of hallucination pills."

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: That's what he called them. In a related story, ten minutes ago, Charlie Sheen boarded a plane for Libya.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, if we gave out Wacko of the Week awards, Moammar Gadhafi should get it, right? Well, how could he not, with his ran rambling, ridiculous rants? Talking about how the chaos in his country is Osama bin Laden's fault, that the protesters are all on these "hallucination pills." That no one is asking the queen of England to step down, and she's ruled longer than he has. Blah, blah blah.

But just when you thought it couldn't get any nuttier than the colonel, Sheen happens. Charlie Sheen unloaded a rant so ugly, so bizarre, that CBS actually pulled the plug on "Two and a Half Men" for the season. Yes, they did it, despite big ratings, despite big success, execs caved in and canned it.

Why? Well, Sheen. on a radio show, slammed the show's creator Chuck Lore. They are apparently during happier times. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR (via telephone): I embarrassed him in front of his children and the world by healing at a pace that his unevolved mind cannot process. I've spent, I think, close to the last decade, I don't know, effortlessly and magically converting your tin can into pure gold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But hold on. There's more. Sheen, who is phoning in from the Bahamas, where he's chilling with a couple of girlfriends, including a porn star, of course, also went off on Alcoholics Anonymous. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEEN: It's a bootleg cult, arrogantly referred to as Alcoholics Anonymous, is -- it supports a 5 percent success rate. My success rate is 100 percent. Do the math. You know, in one of those stupid mottos, AA says, "Don't be special, be one of us."

News flash, I am special, and I will never be one of you. I have a disease? (EXPLETIVE DELETED) I cured it with my brain, with my mind. I'm cured, I'm done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Yes, so if you're struggling with alcohol, you're better off going to Charlie Sheen for help than AA.

I'm telling you, Sheen is Gadhafi's brother from another mother. And if what you just heard wasn't proof enough that Sheen has completely lost his marbles, he wrote a letter, too, to anyone who would read it.

Once again, he tears into the show's creator. He says, quote, "What does this say about Haim Levine after he tried to use his words to judge and attempt to degrade me. I gracefully ignored this folly for 177 shows. I fire back once, and this contaminated little maggot can't handle my power and can't handle the truth. I wish him nothing but pain in his silly travels, especially if they wind up in my octagon. Clearly, I have defeated this earthworm with my words. Imagine what I would have done with my fire-breathing fists." End quote.

So, now, Sheen has gone from Hollywood bad boy to Gadhafi's alter ego to Chuck Norris. What's next? We can only imagine.

Back to Gadhafi and Libya in just a moment. We're getting reports of clashes among protesters and police in Tripoli.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROWD SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Americans are already feeling the effect of unrest in Libya. The most obvious impact, at the gas pump. And today, we are waking up to another big increase. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra. Oil prices are actually down this morning, but still at a high level, around $97 a barrel. It's the main reason why we are seeing those higher prices at the pump. AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular sitting at $3.29. While you were sleeping in lah-lah land, gas prices went up six cents just overnight, and analysts say those prices could go up another 10 to 15 cents in the next few days. So, it leaves a big question. How much will these higher gas prices cut into consumer spending and eat into economic growth?

Speaking of economic growth, we found out that the economy didn't grow as much at the end of last year. You can blame a big part of that on state and local governments cutting back on spending. We're seeing that play out at state capitals across the country, especially in Wisconsin.

The other part of it is, consumers just didn't spend as much as we first thought. The economy grew at 2.8 percent pace in the fourth quarter. It's considerably worse than first reported, and Wall Street did expect better.

As for stocks, we are starting with a higher open for a change. The Dow is up 38 points; the NASDAQ better by 16. We've got our eyes on Boeing shares. They're up about five percent. They landed a big $35 billion dollar Air Force contract that is actually one of the biggest-ever government deals. And good news with that, Kyra, it could bring in some jobs. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks so much, Alison.

A follow-up on a story we first told you about last week. Former NFL star David Duerson, as you know, died by suicide. His final wish was to have his brain studied for a degenerative brain disease to try to help understand long-term impact that football can actually have on a player's health. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a practicing neurosurgeon, actually went to that lab and spoke to folks at the lab. They're going to study his brain.

What exactly are they going to do?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a pretty remarkable process. You have one person who is talking to David Duerson's family to really get a better idea of exactly what was happening to him while he was living. Another person, who is the researcher, Dr. Amnike (ph), who I spent time with, she examines the brain.

Now, when she examines a brain, she doesn't know whose brain this is. Because they want this to be completely blinded, and she is looking specifically for changes that are called chronic traumatic encephalopathy. A long name, but CTE basically means brain changes as a result of multiple blows or concussions. That is specifically what they are looking for.

PHILLIPS: And is this what could have led to taking his own life?

GUPTA: That is the concern is that when you look at people who have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, they get depression. They often have anxiety issues, they have memory loss and they can have a higher incidence of suicide. And these are young people. I think that is the biggest thing.

I'll show you an image real quick here, the different brains, what they are looking for specifically. You have normal brains, and in the middle there - that's a 45-year-old's brain. You can see the changes there, Kyra, as compared to the brain on the left.

PHILLIPS: Wow. GUPTA: Look at all of that brown area. That is the same sort of changes you see in someone who has Alzheimer's disease.

PHILLIPS: OK.

GUPTA: A 45-year-old person. On the right is a 70-year-old who in fact did have Alzheimer's disease and was a boxer. So, the real question they are trying to answer, Kyra, could these repeated blows to the head in football players and other athletes, could it lead to early onset of dementia? You play till you're 30 or 40, whatever the age is, you retire. But then, 10 to 15 years later, you start to have some of these problems. They have looked at about 40 brains so far, and around 30 of them they found these changes.

PHILLIPS: You know, what is interesting is when you think of suicide, automatically people think it's a mental illness and that is what many a times leads to it. But then you think of kids that are abused, beaten, knocked in the head, thrown around. I mean, I'm wondering if it's not just athletics but also how maybe a child is treated while being reared that could lead to this as well?

GUPTA: To lead to some real -- because you're right. People think of it as sort of more the subjective sort of findings, but now you have real evidence. You know, looking at someone's brain, real evidence that the person could have had, you know, brain changes that could have led to memory loss, depression, anxiety, all of those sorts of things.

Chris Nowinsky, incidentally - he's a wrestler. He's a wrestler at Harvard. He's the guy that really started beating the drum on this some time ago after Andre Waters committed suicide. I talked to him specifically about David Duerson. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS NOWINSKI, BOSTON UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR STUDY OF CTE: She is going to be looking for any abnormalities because frankly, you know, a lot of diseases and abonormalities can cause a wide range of symptoms that could have contributed to this. But specifically, we are concerned that we are find chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE, which will be characterized by the abnormal buildup of tal (ph) proteins in specific regions of the brain, causing the brain to function abnormally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: So, I think to your point, Kyra, I mean there are all sorts of different things they want to look for when this happens. You can't assume this is one thing or the other. But they are sort of focusing in on this chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

PHILLIPS: So, is the NFL saying anything about this?

GUPTA: Yes, you know, I talked to the advisory committee chairs yesterday. It's interesting because for a long time, I think there a huge period of denial. And I've talked to Kurt Warner in the past, who's the MVP football player who said the culture is play through it. You get hit hard, you get right back up, you play through it --

PHILLIPS: Be a man.

GUPTA: Be a man. And everyone knows -- it's a competitive sport. But everybody knows that is leading to serious problems down the road.

The NFL does seem to be on board. If you watched football this season in 2011, I think you're going to see players who take a hard hit on the sidelines for prolonged periods of time, getting a full-on exam to make sure they are, in fact, cleared to go back into the game.

PHILLIPS: How about boxing? I mean, it could lead to other sports.

GUPTA: Boxing for sure. Kids' sports is what I'm most concerned about. They're obviously younger brains, they're developing brains and they have a whole lifetime in front of them. So what happens at the NFL seems to trickle down to college, to high school, to kids' sports. So, I think the NFL has more than an obligation of taking care of its own players, are setting an example for lots of other leagues as well.

PHILLIPS: You talk more about this on your show tomorrow?

GUPTA: Yes. We are doing a whole show on this. We talked to people who are being very vocal about this and haven't spoken in some time about this. So, 7:30 tomorrow Eastern and 2:30 as well, we will repeat it.

PHILLIPS: In the morning, we should say also. 7:30 a.m.

GUPTA: 7:30 a.m. and then that 2:30. Right.

PHILLIPS: Sanjay, thanks.

GUPTA: You got it.

PHILLIPS: Well, paying the price in a tough economy. Ahead, a special CNN focus ahead on the rising costs of produce at your neighborhood grocery store and farmer's market.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We buy them almost every day, right? Fruits, vegetables, coffee, bread. But in this tough economy, we're digging deeper into our pockets to pay for even those basic necessities. Today, we're focusing on the rising cost of that produce as well.

And our Catharine Callaway is live in at the Atlanta State Farmers Market in Forest Park, Georgia. A little rainy today, but looks like it's getting better. A popular place that we all go to in Atlanta, Cath. CATHARINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is so busy here today. And we are talking produce, Kyra. I have to tell you that the cost of oil, it really plays a major role in driving up the price of all of this produce that you see behind me. And all of that wintry weather we have been covering on CNN. Those deep freezes, that devastates crops.

We spent some time with a Georgia peach farmer yesterday to discuss how fuel and other factors affect the price of his peaches.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY (on camera): Do you expect that people will pay more peaches this year than last year because of the fuel?

MARK SANCHEZ, CEO LANE SOUTHERN ORCHARDS: More than likely everything is going up a little bit. We're paying more for all of our inputs. So I would expect that, at some point, you know, these additional costs will be passed on.

CALLAWAY (voice-over): Mark Sanchez of Lane Southern Orchards, one of the largest peach growers in the U.S., says some of those additional costs will be passed on to consumers. He says the cost of getting his peaches to retailers rises as labor, fertilizer, packaging and fuel prices increase.

SANCHEZ: Fuel is a huge expense for us. Huge. We have to move our equipment from one orchard to the next. We have to move our people from one orchard to the next. We use a lot of fuel.

CALLAWAY: Weather also determines the peach supply, which can drive the demand and prices up.

(on camera): There are more than 6,000 acres of farmland here at Lane Southern Orchard, and the growing season is just beginning. Just one deep freeze could destroy the entire crop.

SANCHEZ: Some crops, you get a frost, and there is a temporary spike in prices when the supply goes down. Another portion of the country comes in and fills that void, and then the prices will level off.

CALLAWAY: Sanchez says produce is a labor-intensive product that is often hand-pruned and handpicked. And every step between the farm and the store impacts the price.

SANCHEZ: There is packaging costs. There is freight costs. There is merchandising costs. And retailers have to recover for spoilage, and so there a lot of things that go into pricing of peaches or pricing of any produce product. It doesn't all come back to the farmer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLAWAY: Now, Lopez (sic) says one of the upside factors of all this is that because of all the rising fuel costs, a lot of retailers and a lot of shoppers are buying local and they pay a little bit less for it. And sometimes it's a good pressure (ph). Back to you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And that's not a bad thing. Catherine Callaway, so much.

We're going to be focusing on the price that we pay all day long here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're looking at why prices have gone up so much in the last year. Next here, we're going to take a look at oil, gas and coffee.

And a little lighter food story next. We all know the yule log. You know, that TV channel showing nothing but a fireplace for days on end? Well, guess what? Starting next week in Toronto, chicken TV!

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, the House was rocking and everyone came a- knocking -- the White House, that is.

Last night, President Obama and the First Lady led a celebration of Black History Month. It was also a night to honor Motown. The President, calling Motown songs the sound track of the civil rights era.

Among the guests, music legends Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Seal and John Lemon or John Legend, rather. Jamie Foxx also on hand to serenade the President and First Lady. You can see the full concert on PBS, Tuesday, March 1st.

Well, the RNC is making a political battleground out of what's happening in Wisconsin with President Obama the target.

Senior political editor, Mark Preston with more on the story -- Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, good morning Kyra.

Yes, you know, I reported yesterday about how the potential 2012 Republican presidential candidates were weighing in on the matter. Well, just in the last hour the Republican National Committee released a 30-second ad and what they're trying to do is to try to tie President Obama's re-election in 2012 to the support he gets from union.

In fact, in this 30-second video, basically it says that Obama and the union bosses are standing in the way of economic reform. Now we shouldn't be surprised that the RNC is putting this video out. What I find interesting is two things.

One is that the chairman of the RNC happens to be from Wisconsin, his name is Reince Priebus. He just became the chairman of the RNC. And two, this video was actually cut within 30 seconds. So when it's cut within 30 seconds we could potentially see this video which is now is just online potentially be on air. But as we're talking about Wisconsin the nation's governors are going to be coming here to Washington, D.C. over the next couple of days. They're going to be talking politics and policy. They are going to be meeting with the President.

We have a curtain raiser right now on CNNPolitics.com written by Peter Hamby. He really dives into the differences that Democratic governors are taking to some of these budget measures, these budget problems as well as the Republican governors.

What Peter notes two interesting nuggets. One is that we will not see Scott Walker, the Wisconsin Governor, here over the next couple of days. He needs to stay back in the state to deal with that situation. And two, some of the governors in the states are not paying their dues to the National Governors Association, which is the nonpartisan group. Reason being? They don't have enough money -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, you wrote a cover story this week about Hollywood and conservatives and now the Nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics has a new analysis out about Hollywood donors, right?

PRESTON: Yes, they do. This is really interesting, our own Kevin Vahn (ph) has the story after he's written up the analysis.

The Center for Responsive Politics looked at some of the academy award nominees and what their political giving has been.

Let me just rattle this off to you very quickly. Jeff Bridges who's up for best Oscar for his leading role in "True Grit"; him and his wife have donated $68,000 to political causes and including MoveOn.org, that liberal group.

Annette Bening who is in "The Kids are All Right" she's given $26,000 to -- to left-leaning organizations. Overall the Center for Responsive Politics looked at a number from 1990 to the current day of the folks who have been nominated for the academy awards altogether $1.3 million was donated to political candidates and what conservatives will -- will chuckle and say well, that's the truth.

Of the $1.3 million, $1.24 -- $1.3 million basically was donated to Democrats. Almost all of it was -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mark Preston, I appreciate it.

We'll have your next political update in just about an hour. And a reminder for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, get out your passport, time to take you around the world.

First stop, the south island of Christchurch, more than 200 people still missing after Tuesday's deadly earthquake in New Zealand. Around 700 rescue workers in Christchurch continuing to search for those survivors; 113 people confirmed dead, more than 200 still missing.

Now, to the UK, Prince William and fiancee Kate Middleton will visit the place where it all began, the University of Saint Andrews where they actually met. They're there as part of a ceremony for the university, but all eyes will be on the royal couple.

And speaking of the royal wedding, a young entrepreneur has a tongue-and-cheek accessory for you. For those who are already tired of all the pomp and circumstance, you can order a royal wedding sick bag. It's already a big hit in the UK. The creator says it's not, you know, serious, just a joke poking fun at the over-celebration, not the happy couple.

All right in Toronto, oh if you could only smell it. Starting Monday, a cable system in Ontario's capital will begin showing Rotisserie Chicken TV. The channel will be up for about 13 weeks. It will be similar to the existing Fireplace, Aquarium and Sunset channels.

Lots of developments for you in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty -- Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTHY, CNN FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that U.S. government chartered ferry that's bringing Americans out of Libya is finally on its way. And we'll have that story at the top of the hour.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon where a U.S. Army officer says he was illegally ordered to use his psychological warfare skills on U.S. senators. But did it really go down the way he says? We'll take at all of the angles coming up in the next hour.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And on the West Coast, it is a combination of rain and snow. On the East Coast, it's a combination of rain, sleet, snow and 55-mile-per-hour wind gusts. I'll let you know how long it's going to last, coming up.

PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks, guys.

And a question for the single ladies, why aren't you married yet? One columnist has six possible answers, and they're pretty harsh.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Jeff Fischel, Phil Mickelson, the ultimate gentleman, doesn't do it.

I know. You know, we talked about Tiger Woods going down yesterday, the World Master Play Championships. In fact, Tiger's fallen in the rankings. Now Phil Mickelson is struggling as well, faced off with 22-year-old Ricky Fowler. Phil wouldn't touch Fowler's wardrobe and he couldn't keep up with him on the golf course, either. PHILLIPS: Or the hair.

FISHEL: Or the hair.

It's hidden under a shiny pink hat. You'll see that in just a second. Fowler though can wear, whatever he wants when you're making shots like that. There he is, the 22-year-old kid not afraid to look dapper in even the pink shoes.

He blew out Mickelson at the Match Play Championships. It's all about the young guns right now. Half of the guys left haven't even turned 30 yet, and Fowler is fantastic.

Another golfer, Jonathan Kaye hit not one, not two, but three amazing shots in just one round in Mexico. First this chip-in, and second now, this approach. Stay on target, stay on target, be the ball. No, no, no. Right in the hole. And then, he's still not done. This is the same round from about 50 yards away, Kaye does it again, over and over all in one round. He's right on in today's second round as well. Kaye selling (ph) them of course.

Let's do NBA now. Let me let you in on a little secret. The best player right now just may be the Bulls Derrick Rose. He led the Bulls to a huge win over Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat last night.

Rose by any other name would still be sweet. Bulls' fans are trying to come up with a good nickname for him. They haven't quite yet, but they do they may just start calling him MVP.

Lebron had a chance to tie it at the end, by the way. But Lebron couldn't come with it, he missed it, and guess who got the rebound? Yes, Mr. Derrick Rose. The Bulls take down the Heat in Chicago.

Soccer players, they're known for trying to fake injuries, fake fouls. This is really one of the best ever. Ecuador versus Chile in the under 20 World Cup. Chile was losing late in the match. You see him go down but watch slowly so you can see exactly what happened. The player takes matters into his own hands literally. Watch. He grabs the other guy's hand and hits himself in the face.

PHILLIPS: He pulled his hand up.

FISCHEL: Yes. He takes his hand

PHILLIPS: Boom.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: You can hear the announcers laughing.

FISCHEL: Once they realize it, they are just laughing hysterically. They couldn't stop laughing once they realized what was really going on. It's hilarious. We called this masochistic cheating. It worked.

PHILLIPS: That is just so weak. Come on. I love hearing the announcers laughing, like, are you kidding me.

FISCHEL: You don't understand what they are saying, it's a foreign language, but the laughter translates into every language.

PHILLIPS: It says it all. All right.

FISCHEL: All right.

PHILLIPS: Have a great weekend Jeff.

FISCHEL: You too, Kyra.