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Gadhafi Speaks With ABC; 75,000 People Trying To Cross Into Tunisia; U.S. Rose In Libya; NFL Develops New Sideline Tests; Project Southern Tempest; Hundreds Arrested in Gang Probe; Hottest Cars of the Year; U.S. Options for Libya; State's Budget Battles; Christina Aguilera and Boyfriend Arrested; Gingrich Close to Run
Aired March 01, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Suzanne. Thank you.
Delusional. That's what Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said about Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi after this interview with ABC News is Christiane Amanpour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LIBYAN LEADER: They love me. All my people with me. They love me, all.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, HOST, ABC'S "THIS WEEK WITH CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR": But if they do love you --
GADHAFI: They will die to protect me, my people.
AMANPOUR: If you say they do love you, then why are they capturing Benghazi and they say they're against you?
GADHAFI: This is guided. Guided. Guided. This is not my people, it is guided.
AMANPOUR: Outsiders?
GADHAFI: Guide. Guide. They're -- they come from outside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Now, I want to take you here, at the border of Libya and Tunisia. That green flag flying in the background, that's Libya. All of these people you see there, just some of about 75,000 people trying to cross into Tunisia, currently crammed in a no man's land about 200 yards wide, not being able to enter because the refugee camps are full.
It's a similar situation to the east in Egypt. The U.N. Refugee Agency is warning of a humanitarian crisis hearing, these people won't have water, sanitation needs or proper shelter.
Overnight, opposition leaders tell CNN pro-Gadhafi's forces tried to retake the town of Zawiya by attacking it with tanks and anti- aircraft guns. Sources say Zawiya is calm now, but Gadhafi's troops remain outside the city.
And today, Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that there are, quote, "No options off the table so long as the Libyan government continues to turn guns on its own people." Unquote.
So, should the U.S. intervene? Joining me for today's "Two at the Top" is Massimo Calabresi. He is the Washington correspondent for "Time" magazine. Massimo, it's critical for the U.S. to handle this right. If they do intervene, what is doing it the right way?
MASSIMO CALABRESI, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "TIME": Well, they're trying to figure that out at the moment. It's been a long time since the U.S. did active military interventions for humanitarian purposes. They did it repeatedly in the 1990s after the fall of the cold war in places like Somalia and in the Balkans.
Iraq, in the post 9/11 era, made doing that kind of thing much harder because U.S. intervention was seen as a form of aggression. So, they're trying to strike a balance between the demands to launch humanitarian assistance, backed by some form of U.S. military protection and broader international military protection, with the danger of crossing a line into what might be seen as a more aggressive military intervention into an Arab country.
ROMANS: The Europeans have a big stake in this as well. I mean, it's a huge investment in oil fields there. There could be -- there can be unilateral attempts at doing this, right? I mean, what are the chances of our allies join (ph) some of the offices of the U.N. or another group?
CALABRESI: Right. The U.N. is always hard. It's been striking how quickly the security council has been able to move in concert on a couple of issues, but, generally speaking, it's unlikely that the U.N. would back any kind of forceful military intervention.
A lot of the language you've seen in the last couple of days out of American and international officials has been talking about the legitimacy of the Gadhafi regime and that is, as one international -- one senior U.S. administration official told me, is designed to lay the predicates for military action outside the U.N. security council, so a lot of this is figuring out on which side of the legal bright line you have to be in order to validate a military support for humanitarian intervention in Libya.
ROMANS: All right, thanks. Massimo Calabresi, the Washington correspondent for "Time" magazine. Thanks for our "Two at the Top."
All right, now, to central Florida where rain is bringing some relief for exhausted firefighters and weary residents. This was the wall of fire and flames firefighters battled in Brevard and Volusia counties overnight. Thick winds only soaked the flames. It scorched more than 10,000 acres. Flames and smoke so severe nearly 20 miles of I-95 had to be shut down. Thankfully, though, that stretch of highway has reopened today. Let's bring in Chad Myers to see how long the rain is going to be around and how much it will help -- Chad. CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's over. What you see is what you get. Probably a good half inch, though, in most of the areas that had the fire, they probably -- now there are 10,000 acres. And this is not just one fire in one big circle. It has spread to many different spots, but as the rain came through last night, it's all the way well south. It's all the way down into Atlantic Beach (ph).
And there you go. There's the rain into this, right over that fire area in Orlando, or east of Orlando -- Eastern Sanford, yesterday. We still have our affiliates up and -- out and about. WFTV is live there showing you what was left yesterday. That was clearly some type of mobile vehicle, mobile home, trailer maybe. The propane tanks did not explode there. Kind of a really shocking sight to think of how hot that was and, then, hopefully those propane tanks were empty, but that could have -- what that could have entailed, blowing things up.
But what I've noticed from the live shots and I've seen live shots, now, for about 15 or 20 minutes, that there's not as much smoke today. The Texas, or the Florida department is only saying 10 percent in the way of containment, but I believe that there's probably more than 10, and that's because what the -- what the fire did yesterday, what the rain did, and that is a little helpful.
There was a lot of rain in other places that didn't need it. Every county that's green has something out of its banks. A creek, stream, river, whatever. A couple hundred counties across the Midwest, flooding. They could use more rain down in Florida to put that fire out but at least they got some. That helped the firefighters quite a bit -- Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Chad Myers. Thanks, Chad.
All right guys. Are you ready for $4.00 gas prices? They're here. Take a look at this. More than $4.00 a gallon for premium unleaded at a gas station in Los Angeles today.
Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke who testified before the senate banking committee today, acknowledged consumers are feeling the pinch with higher gas and food prices, but he says not enough of a pinch to hurt the economy. He did warn, though, that sustained higher costs could make a serious impact.
It's D-Day in Wisconsin. Republican Governor Scott Walker set to unveil his controversial new budget later today after weeks of protests. His proposal cuts a billion dollars in state spending for local communities and for school districts. It also slashes collective bargaining rights for public workers. Hundreds of protesters remain inside the capitol. Activists are also crowding the state house in Columbus, Ohio today. They're rallying against the proposal by Governor John Kasich that restricts union bargaining rights. Ohio senate could vote on that bill as early as tomorrow. An assembly hearing is scheduled for this afternoon.
It's the first attempt to test NFL players on a consistent basis for concussions. Details on new sideline evaluations for players who take hard hits on the field. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The NFL is introducing a new test to evaluate whether a player has been hit too hard to return to the game. Here's why. According to a recent study, at least 100 NFL players suffer concussions within one season.
And there are still some concerns about what may have led former Chicago Bear Dave Duerson to kill himself last month. Duerson was part of that famous 1985 Super Bowl team, and he later became a successful businessman and radio host. He shot himself in the chest because he said in text messages that he wanted his brain to be studied for signs of brain damage for the many hits he took on the football field.
Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has more on what these tests can and can't determine.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine.
One thing I want to point out is there have been various sideline exams for some time, but this is a new exam. It is supposed to ensure consistency across all the --
ROMANS: All right, we lost that segment from Dr. Sanjay Gupta about concussion tests and what they can and can't show. But, again, it's a very passionate and sad story, really, after the suicide of Duerson just recently -- shooting himself in the chest so that he could preserve his brain so that it could be studied. We'll get back to that Sanjay Gupta segment in just a moment.
We're just -- we're just getting word now of hundreds of arrests targeting gangs and drug traffickers across the country. Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us live now with more on that.
Hi, Jeanne.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: We're just getting word that hundreds of arrests have been made targeting gangs and drug traffickers across the country. Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us, now.
Immigration and customs enforcement making these arrests -- Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, in association with law enforcement partners all across the country. This was something called "Project Southern Tempest."
The ICE Director John Morton just announced that 678 individuals from 133 different gangs across the country were arrested during this operation which began back in December of last year and continued through February. These people were involved in a number of different sort of things, including human smuggling, weapons smuggling. Also, of course, drag trafficking.
There were a lot of questions at this press conference about Jaime Zapata. He is the ICE agent who was killed in Mexico just a few weeks ago. We've heard from multiple law enforcement sources at this point in time that there have been arrested made in Texas, made yesterday of three individuals involved with the purchase of a firearm that was eventually associated with the killing of Zapata. We expect to get more information about that shortly when the indictment or the complaint in that case is unsealed.
ICE Director Morton deflected most questions about those arrests today saying that he wasn't at liberty to talk yet, but he did indicate there had been a lot of coordination with the Mexicans. There had been good progress made on the case. And he remained optimistic that the long arm of the law would eventually reach those responsible for that shooting. Back to you.
ROMANS: All right, Jeanne Meserve. Thanks, Jeanne.
Time now to check some other top stories we're watching for you.
The Navy now has three warships standing by in the Mediterranean just in case they're needing for operations involving Libya. The Obama administration says all options are on the table right now. The humanitarian crisis grows with thousands of refugees massed on the boarders after fleeing the violence.
The House is expected to vote today on a new spending measure that could keep the government running past Friday's deadline. But the new bill is only a two-week extension, which means Democrats and Republicans still have to hash out a more permanent compromise to avoid a government shutdown. Both sides still pretty far apart on proposed cuts as part of a more comprehensive spending plan.
Major highways are reopening in Florida today as the danger of a fast moving wildfire seems to be dying down slightly. U.S. 1 and I- 95 are open again in east and central Florida. Rain has slowed the 10,000 acre fire, but hundreds of homes are still in harm's way south of Daytona Beach.
A key adviser to the president is meeting with organized labor leaders. Is it an important strategy session or something else. Our Ed Henry is standing by to tell us what that meeting is all about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: They're the top cars of 2011 says "Consumer Reports." The magazine put 270 through the gamut of test looking at handling, braking, safety, fuel economy. They narrowed it down to 10 choices. All of them unveiled in the new issue coming out next week. Earlier today, my friend Ali Velshi checked out some of these winning cars with David Champion, senior director of automotive testing for "Consumer Reports." They started with an American car that they put on the top of their sports car list, the 2011 Ford Mustang. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CHAMPION, SR. DIR., AUTOMOTIVE TESTING, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Well, the Mustang came out a few years ago and it was a good car, but each year they've improved it time and time again. This year, for 2011, it comes with a new five liter engine. They've done some more work on the interior to make it a little bit more nicer. It's a great car to drive. It's really fun. Wonderful handling. But also, in everyday life, it's very livable.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The Elantra has made it to the top of the list as the best small car.
CHAMPION: Yes, the Elantra is new out this year. The old one was in our ratings as the SE. This one has come a long way since that point.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHAMPION: It gets 29 miles per gallon overall. It's very nice to get quick --
VELSHI: Which makes it more efficient than even some hybrids out there that are small cars.
CHAMPION: It does. But, you know, the nice thing about this car, it starts at $18,000. It's got a good amount of room inside. The interior finish is very nice.
VELSHI: Yes, I mean, if you take a look inside this backseat -- I don't know if you guys can get out this far -- it's not the world's roomiest, but it's fine. This thing can accommodate a family quite nicely.
CHAMPION: Yes. It is just a very nice car and it comes well equipped. You know, there's a lot of features on the car that you would think you'd have to pay extra for, but it comes as standard.
VELSHI: Yes, 29 miles in the city, 40 on the highway. You want something bigger, you want something more luxurious, this is the classic. The Nissan Altima. This has made it to the top of your family sedan list.
CHAMPION: Yes, the Nissan Altima has been one of our top picks for family sedans for a number of years.
VELSHI: That's right.
CHAMPION: It gets 25 miles per gallon overall with a four cylinder. It's got a good amount of room inside. The interior's fit and finish is very nice. And the handling, overall, it's just a very nice, competent package overall.
VELSHI: This one ranges from about $21,000 to $34,000, which means there are a lot of options in terms of how -- how much -- how nice you want it on the inside. CHAMPION: But there are. But when you look at 25 miles per gallon, you know, that's as good as some small cars today.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHAMPION: So you're getting a big car for the same gas miles as a relatively small car.
VELSHI: This is a Kia Sorento, which you have called the top family SUV. This is another car that was completing with its much more expensive competitors on fit and finish. You can sit in this car and feel like it's a much more expensive feel.
CHAMPION: It is. And wait till you see from -- where Kia has come from sort of many years ago, it has really improved tremendously. This is a three row SUV, so it's excellent for families.
VELSHI: A little tight with that third row. It's not the roomiest third row. But if once in a while you're carrying a bunch of people --
CHAMPION: Well, kids don't really care.
VELSHI: Right.
CHAMPION: You know, you put them in and you say how comfortable this is and they say it's fine.
VELSHI: IN fact, I think all you can do is -- put that down. You guys can take a look in there. If you, once in a while, need to carry some people or some kids, that works out pretty well. Can carry up to seven. This has got a V-6 engine. It's optional you got a bigger engine as well?
CHAMPION: It's got a V-6 and a four cylinder, but we found the fuel economy was the same on the six and four.
VELSHI: So you might as well by the six.
CHAMPION: So you might as well buy the six. And all these cars that we have here are very value orientated.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHAMPION: You know, they give exactly what a customer wants in that class at a responsibly good price.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: All right, earlier today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that all options are on the table for Libya. Presumably that would be military and diplomatic. CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins us at this time every day for our "Stakeout."
Nice to see you there, Ed. ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you.
ROMANS: The president met with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon yesterday. What's got his ear on Libya today? Who's got his ear on Libya today?
HENRY: Well, I think the -- well, yes, I mean I think the bottom line is what you mentioned about the military options, is a pretty heavy focus around the world right now because the U.S. and various allies around the world are looking at the situation in Libya, seeing how desperate it is and seeing that a lot of the rhetoric hasn't really worked so far. The violence there continues. And that's why we're seeing U.S. warships moving closer to the scene. That's why they're ratcheting up potential plans. The Pentagon has been drafting it for days now, the potential for either U.S. airstrikes, NATO airstrikes.
But there are a lot of potential problems to that. I mean, number one, how do you make sure that you actually hit military targets, government targets, in Libya and don't hurt innocent civilians? That would be a propaganda bonanza for Moammar Gadhafi to have either U.S. or NATO allies, you know, basically harming innocent people, number one.
And, number two, the last thing the U.S. wants, as well as various allies, is to have sort of U.S. fingerprints on what's going on in Libya. In terms of, you know, all this talk about, look, this is just an organic protest. The U.S., the west is not forcing this on Gadhafi. If the U.S. gets more heavily involved, that could obviously backfire as well, Christine.
ROMANS: Changing gears now to the budget battle still ongoing. An interesting meeting on Senior Advisor David Plouffe's schedule. What's that all about?
HENRY: Yes, it's interesting. I just caught up with him a few moments ago on his way into this private lunch he's having with AFL- CIO leaders here in Washington. Interesting that just down the street, literally a block away, the White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley, we're now learning, is having a lunch and giving a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, reaching out to the business community, while David Plouffe is there reaching out to unions. What I think this is all about is this White House, even as Libya goes on, all the strife in the Mideast and north Africa, is to focus on that jobs message. Take a listen to David Plouffe and I real quick.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: What are you off to talk about today with labor?
DAVID PLOUFFE, SENIOR ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know, creating jobs and how we're going to win the future.
HENRY: What about Wisconsin and Ohio?
PLOUFFE: You know, obviously, we're going to talk about a lot of things. So we're reaching out. Bill Daley is talking to the Chamber of Commerce today. I'm talking to the AFL. We're just trying to, you know, work with people to make sure we create jobs we're winning the feature and making sure the economy keeps going.
HENRY: The last thing. Will you have a budget deal by the end of the week?
PLOUFFE: See you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: So he would not talk about whether or not they're close to a budget deal. It appears that they are moving closer with House Republicans. Jay Carney just announcing at the White House briefing a moment ago that, in fact, President Obama, a short time ago, called John Boehner -- they haven't spoken in a while -- to try to move this along and avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week. I also asked David Plouffe there about whether or not Ohio and Wisconsin, some of the union protests, will come up. You can bet it will at this AFL-CIO meeting. And I wonder, maybe they'll even talk about Ali Velshi with some of those cars. I mean he seemed pretty high on that Ford Mustang. I don't know, Christine.
ROMANS: I know. Watching Ali Velshi jump in and out of cars and text drive it's like, boy, that guy gets paid to do that. He loves doing that. He loves doing it.
HENRY: He loves those muscle cars. It's just -- it just -- you know, it boosts the ego even more for Ali and we love Ali. So that's good. The ego boost is good.
ROMANS: All right, Ali and the Mustang, of course.
All right, thanks so much, Ed Henry.
Christina Aguilera spent part of the night in police custody. What you missed just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Now some stories you may have missed.
A woman apparently infected with measles in Europe may have exposed some fellow Americans to the disease. Officials say she arrived back in America at Dulles Airport outside Washington on February 20th and remained in the D.C. area for two days. On February 22nd, she boarded a flight from BWI Airport to Denver, where she transferred to a flight for Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is hospitalized in New Mexico and is now recovering at home. People she came in contact with are at risk for the measles over the next couple of weeks if they haven't been inoculated.
Opening statements are being made today in the Arizona sweat lodge trial. James Arthur Ray is charged with manslaughter in three deaths linked to a sweat lodge ceremony during a 2009 retreat. Ray, a self-help author and speaker, led the ceremony. Prosecutors say the lodge was heated to a dangerously high temperature and they claimed Ray pressured participants to remain inside.
A famed fashion house is getting ready to fire its head designer because of what it calls his deeply offensive statements. Christian Dior says it has terminated -- it has started termination proceedings against John Galliano. A video reportedly made at a Paris cafe last year appears to show Galliano praising Adolf Hitler and making anti- Semitic comments.
Negotiations continue today in a bid to overt a pro football lockout. The National Football League's current agreement with its players expires Thursday night. Players say they expect to be locked out if there's no sign of progress toward a new agreement.
Police took Christina Aguilera into custody early this morning after a traffic stop in west Hollywood. The pop star was a passenger in a car driven by her rumored boyfriend Matthew Rutler. Rutler was booked for drunken driving. Police say Aguilera had been drinking too and she was taken into custody for her own safety. She was later released.
So, your utility bill is about the same every month, right? And always under $100. Then one day, you open the envelope and the balance due was enough for a nice used car. Surely it's a mistake. But the city says, no, pay up. Details in a special investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Imagine opening your water bill and it's more than your mortgage payment. That's exactly what's been happening to lots of folks in Atlanta.
CNN's Kyra Phillips is here with her special investigation, Water Bills War. It already has the highest water rates in the city, right?
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it does. It's unbelievable. Yes, in the entire country. That's what's amazing. Out of any major city in the United States and residents are outraged and they're confused to why they're suddenly paying hundreds, even thousands of dollars every month for water.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are mad.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Atlanta residents clearly have had enough.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For you to expect us to think that four million gallons of water is leaking somewhere on our property and not showing up is absolutely mind-blowing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were taking a shower every day. Now we're skipping sometimes because we're trying to save the water.
PHILLIPS: For more than three years, Atlanta, a city of more than a half million residents, has been bombarded with complaints of outrageous water bills. Similar complaints are popping up around the country in places like Cleveland, Charlotte, Tampa and Brockton, Massachusetts. But the water bill war is nothing like in Atlanta.
Just ask Wilda Cobb (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I'm going crazy.
PHILLIPS: Cobb lives by herself in this 1,800 square foot home. Her water bill averages $30 to $40 a month until it began going up, more than $1,200 in November. Her December bill, nearly $6,900. Cobb now owes more than $10,000. And city inspectors found no leaks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me to have to take the time to do this.
PHILLIPS: Then there's Debbie Scarborough. Her water bill shot up more than $3,000 after two months of huge spikes last summer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is another bill, another month.
PHILLIPS: She even hired two plumbers to prove there was no leak.
Five years ago, the city hired a company to replace its aging water meters with automatic meter reading devices. All city workers have to do is drive by and electronically collect the data. But it hasn't gone as smoothly as it looks.
As early as 2007, problems arose when city auditors found city auditors found they were unable to verify electronic reads for 13 percent of the meters that were tested. Then in 2009, another audit found a high number of accounts that don't get actual meter readings because of meter read errors, equipment failures, or human errors.
PETER AMAN, CITY OF ATLANTA COO: A significant amount of frustration on everybody's part --
PHILLIPS: Peter Aman is the chief operating officer for the city of Atlanta.
AMAN: When these automated meters were put in, obviously the subcontractors to the city that did this work did it just absolutely horrible job in a number of cases.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baloney.
PHILLIPS: And residents are getting more and more angry. Aman tells us one percent of the meters sampled were not properly installed, a mistake that could cause a water bill to double.
AMAN: At this point, it looks like good old fashioned incompetence.
PHILLIPS: Aman showed us how the meters register, which measures how much water is being used, didn't even fit properly with the meter base. AMAN: Where there two components don't match and guess what? They're both labeled. This one says three-quarters on it. This one has a one on it. Now, it's small print but it's big enough to see.
PHILLIPS (on camera): You wouldn't get an accurate reading?
AMAN: That would be a totally inaccurate reading.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): We repeatedly tried to interview executives of both Neptune Technologies, which manufactured the meters and Systems and Software, which provided the billing system, but they refused to comment.
Aman says there is no evidence those companies are at fault but he says the company that installed the meters should be held accountable. That company is KHAFRA, based in Atlanta, which teamed up with another firm in Pennsylvania to carry out the $40 million installation contract. Valentino Bates is KHAFRA's president.
VALENTINO BATES, KHAFRA PRESIDENT: For the three years that we worked on the project, we satisfied all concerns with respect to that contract.
PHILLIPS (on camera): So you think a successful contract includes one percent of the meters not operating properly?
BATES: And those one percent were fixed prior to our leaving and turning over the warranty to the city.
PHILLIPS: So you're saying right now all of your meters are installed properly?
BATES: Yes, ma'am.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Bates said repairs were completed last year on 968 meters that had a mismatched base, and said he was not aware of additional meter issues identified by the city.
But with showed him what Aman said about the newly discovered improper installations.
(on camera): He's saying that is still a problem and that's what's causing a number of the bills to double.
BATES: I'm not -- I can't speak to what it is. But all of the ones that we were notified of when we did our own internal audit and the audit that was done by the city, we took care of those problems.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): But residents say there is more to the problem.
"Our water bill would be enough for a large Olympic pool to be filled."
"I'm at my wit's end and ready to have a nervous breakdown."
"This smells like a scam."
(on camera): Do the majority of the people that have complained about high water bills, do they have leaks?
AMAN: The majority of the people who complain about high water bills have some issue that's not associated with the meter. Many, many of them have either leaks or increases in usage through irrigation or pool-filling that they didn't fully understand the impact of.
PHILLIPS: But don't tell that to Debbie Scarborough or Wilda Cobb.
(on camera): You have a $3,000 water bill and no leaks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No leaks and my meter is working fine.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): While it's still unclear what's wrong, the city is now monitoring water usage at her home.
As for Wilda Cobb, the city says something must have happened in a one-month period for her bills to shoot up so dramatically and then go back down to just $34.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I literally just -- this can't be real.
PHILLIPS: Cobb knows something about water issues. Ironically, she's an attorney with the Environmental Protection Agency.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a person, I know something's wrong here. As an attorney, I just -- what can I do about it? But I don't think it takes a law degree to say, you know, $7,000 for a month's use of water by one person is in a small home is just crazy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: So where do things stand now, Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuit as you can imagine.
ROMANS: I bet.
PHILLIPS: Residents and commercial properties have filed class action lawsuits against the city and contractors over these high water bills. And so far, no resolution.
But the previous management team at Watershed Management, well, it's out. And the new administration says it's making progress on the problem. Last year, close to a half million dollars was refunded to residents who appealed their bills.
Now here's a pretty interesting twist, Christine. The city of Atlanta, its own water bill has nearly doubled in the past two years to $12 million.
ROMANS: Whoa. PHILLIPS: And on top of that, no evidence of leaks and no issues with the water meters.
ROMANS: You know what I worry about? So, the EPA attorney, I mean, she can fight and she has the tools to fight. I worry about the people who don't have the tools to fight and don't know how to go out there and get it fixed.
PHILLIPS: And that's a point well made because it's affecting people all across the city of all various incomes. And a lot of the folks you see at the those town halls, they can't afford to pay these bills.
ROMANS: Right. Or to hire an attorney.
PHILLIPS: Right.
ROMANS: All right. Kyra, great piece. Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Thanks.
ROMANS: To learn more about Atlanta's water bill fight, you can go to CNN.com. While you're there you can see the cost of water across cities in the U.S. and yours and find tips to lower your bill. Just go to CNN.com.
Pro-Gadhafi forces attack a rebel-held town as the U.S. steps up plans for possible military intervention in Libya. We're going to have those details in Globe Trekking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: The Obama Administration has moved warships and warplanes closer to Libya as it considers possible Military action to force Moammar Gadhafi from power. One specific measure being considered, a no fly zone to keep Gadhafi's planes on the ground and to knock out his air defenses.
Here's what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told lawmakers on Capitol Hill this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are taking no options off the table so long as the Libyan government continues to turn its guns on its own people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: On the ground in Libya, rebels say they repulsed Gadhafi forces trying to regain control of Zawiya. As you see on our map, Zawiya is just west of the capital Tripoli.
Another major concern. What the U.N. calls a refugee crisis on the Libyan/Tunisian border. Tens of thousands, mostly foreign workers, desperately trying to cross into Tunisia or into Egypt. Aid agencies say they're overwhelmed.
To Yemen now, tens of thousands anti-government protesters jammed in the streets today demanding -- as they've done for two months now -- their President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down. Like their counterparts in other Arab countries, Yemeni demonstrators are outraged over high unemployment, government corruption, lack of political freedom and widespread poverty. Yemen has been a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Qaeda operatives in the country. But, for the first time, Saleh today, blamed the unrest on Washington and Israel.
Elsewhere in the capital, thousands of pro-government protesters packed the capital's main square. There have been no reports of violence unlike deadly clashes last week. Amnesty International says 27 people have been killed in recent attacks.
Apple's new iPad, Google's new search parameters, and a major overhaul to Facebook's "Like" button. Top stories and innovations coming up, right after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Every day on this show, we do a segment called the "Big I" all about big new ideas and innovations. Remember the super computer that took on two humans in "Jeopardy!" a couple of weeks ago? Well, it's latest opponent is the United States Congress.
Last night, some brave members of Congress squared off against IBM's Watson in D.C. for an informal battle of the minds. In the first round, Representative Rush Holt, a Democrat from New Jersey, and Representative Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, they competed with a slightly slower version of the computer. Holt -- and I didn't know this -- Holt is a five-time "Jeopardy!" champion.
After beating Watson $8,600 to $6,200, Holt expressed admiration for the machine saying the technology has the potential to be extremely useful in situations that require tough decision making.
And in other "Big I" news, we've got a grab bag of innovations. And here to help us, senior editor for "Wired" magazine, Jason Tanz.
Jason, we can't talk about innovations this week without talking about Apple's big iPad 2 announcement set for tomorrow. What are they expected to say?
JASON TANZ, SENIOR EDITOR, "WIRED": Yes, that's right. It's expected to be more of a revision than a complete reinvention. There's probably going to be a new front-facing camera so that you can use Face Time. It will probably be a little bit thinner, a little bit lighter and a faster processor. But other than that, it's going to be the same iPad pretty much.
ROMANS: Meanwhile, Google out with new parameters when it comes to searching. They're basically going to spend -- they're going to put the less useful results down at the bottom of the list.
What is this going to mean for you and me and our Google searches?
TANZ: Right. Well, Google periodically updates its algorithm, and this is just to improve the kinds of results that you get. And usually they do it kind of sub-rosa, below the radar and people don't know abt. This time, they took an extra step of actually announcing it and making a big deal out of it.
The reason they're doing it is because there's been a rise of something called content farms. These are sites that tend to sort of reverse engineer popular searches into contents. So for instance, if a drug called Charlie Sheen is a popular search right now, someone can write an article based on the term so that when anybody searches for the term, that article will come up, whether or not it's a quality article or not.
What Google has done is reengineered it's algorithm such that to punish, essentially, those kinds of cheap results and to favor really high-quality results. And it's a pretty significant one, they say it's going to impact about 12 percent of all searches.
ROMANS: So that's good for us. That means -- that's good for us and it's hopefully going to save time from us having to -- you know, being led astray on our Google searches.
(LAUGHTER)
TANZ: That's the idea. That's the idea.
ROMANS: Let's talk about the big change at Facebook. They've now expanded this "like" button capability so that when you go, for instance, to CNN.com and you click on the "like" button, it posts a link on your personal Facebook page.
Is there any big issues here?
TANZ: Well, so basically, what used to happen when you hit "like," there would be a small announcement that would says, "Jason Tanz likes 'True Grit,'" for instance, and that's it, that's all you would see. And then you would get, you know, results that whenever there's an update to "True Grit," you would get it in your own personal feed.
What they're changing now is, if you like something, it will not only say "Jason Tanz likes 'True Grit,'" it will include a little blurb about the "True Grit" page and include a link, a URL to that page.
Basically, what Facebook is trying to do is to get us to share information, that's very much Facebook's MO. The more information that we share with one another, the better it is for Facebook. And this is just increasing the amount of data that we are all sharing with one other with the touch of a single button.
ROMANS: Excellent.
All right, Jason Tanz, I learned so much from you today, including the fact that you like the movie, "True Grit."
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: Thanks so much, from "Wired" magazine. Lots of big innovations today.
TANZ: Thanks a lot, Christine.
ROMANS: We're big fans of "Wired" magazine on this show, so we'll link that you over to them on Ali's blog, CNN.com/Ali.
And they're off. The 2012 Republican presidential race, it may have its first horse. Is it a thoroughbred or a nag? You're CNN Political Update is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Now for a CNN Political Update.
Just a short time ago, CNN learned that Newt Gingrich will announce Thursday that he's forming a exploratory committee for a possible 2012 presidential run. That's the traditional first step, as you know, for candidates.
So how does he stack up right now? CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin is here with us to take a look.
Hi, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Christine.
Newt Gingrich, as you know, burst onto the national scene when he became speaker of the House in the mid-'90s. As you'll recall, he had a controversial stewardship of the House of Representatives. He became a hero of the Republican Party for giving them their first majority in 40 years. And during that time, we saw something that sounds so familiar these days -- remember? -- two government shutdowns, and it was all over spending.
So in some ways he was a man before his time. He had -- he also oversaw the House during President Clinton's impeachment hearings and was quite critical of President Clinton, saying they were on obstructionist and stood in their way.
And I actually think we have a profile piece ready to go on him, so take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN (voice-over): Newt Gingrich has been called the conservative movement's philosopher king, a bomb-thrower, even crybaby during the government shutdown. He's best known as architect of the 1994 Contract With America, which helped propel the Republican Party to its first majority in 40 years and make him speaker of the House.
NEWT GINGRICH, FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: Those of us who ended up in a majority stood on these steps and signed a contract.
YELLIN: Under his watch, the GOP clashed with the Clinton White House over spending cuts, which led to two government shutdowns. To Gingrich's surprise, the public turned its rage on the GOP.
GINGRICH: It's very difficult to work with a president who seems to be primarily driven by his political advisers to engage in public relations stunts.
YELLIN: During the impeachment of President Clinton, then- Speaker Gingrich lashed at the White House.
GINGRICH: What you have lived through for 2.5 long years is the most systematic, deliberate obstruction of justice cover-up and effort to avoid the truth we have ever seen in American history.
YELLIN: What he didn't mention? At the time, he was having his own extramarital affair with a congressional staffer. He's now on his third marriage. Ethics problems dogged Speaker Gingrich and he resigned leaving Congress in some disgrace.
But then a comeback. Gingrich spent a decade writing books, opinionating on FOX News and pushing his endless stream of policy ideas. Sometimes those ideas square with Tea Party values.
GINGRICH: I think you have to migrate to a system that is Social Security based on personal contributions.
YELLIN: But not always.
GINGRICH: In order to have an American energy policy, we need to replace the Environmental Protection Agency with a new fundamentally different environmental solutions agency.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: How does this affect others considering getting into the race, Jessica?
YELLIN: Hey, Christine.
Well, it doesn't necessarily affect them. You know, this is one of the latest series of entrants we've seen in the presidential cycle recently. People were in by this time last time around.
I reached out to folks with the Mitt Romney campaign. They say, this doesn't affect them at all. They have no plans to get in anytime soon.
Tim Pawlenty, governor -- former governor of Minnesota, has said he's not getting in till -- or announcing whether he's getting in, I should say, until later around April.
And Haley Barbour and Mitch Daniels, two other possible, say not till their legislative sessions are out.
So everybody is trying to take it slow. Newt Gingrich, not so much, he wants to get in early. We'll see if he gets in.
ROMANS: All right, fascinating. Jessica Yellin, thank you so much, Jessica.
Your next update from "The Best Political Team on Television" just about an hour away.
Delusional. That's what Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said about Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi after this interview with ABC News' Christine Amanpour.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LIBYAN LEADER: They love me. All my people with me. They love me, all.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, HOST, ABC'S "THIS WEEK WITH CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR": But if they do love you --
GADHAFI: They will die to protect me, my people.
AMANPOUR: If you say they do love you, then why are they capturing Benghazi and they say they're against you?
GADHAFI: This is guided. Guided. Guided. This is not my people, it is guided.
AMANPOUR: Outsiders?
GADHAFI: Guide. Guide. They're -- they come from outside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Now I want to take you here, the border of Libya and Tunisia. That green flag that you're about to see flying in the background, that's Libya. All these people you see, they are just some of about 75,000 trying to cross into Tunisia. They're currently crammed into no-man's-land about 200 yards wide not being able to enter because the refugee camps are full.
It's a similar situation to the east with Egypt. The U.N. Refugee Agency is warning of a humanitarian crisis, fearing these people won't have water, sanitation needs or proper shelter.
Overnight, opposition leaders tell CNN, pro-Gadhafi forces tried to retake the town of Zawiya by attacking it with tanks and anti- aircraft guns. Sources say Zawiya is calm now, but Gadhafi's troops remain outside the city.
And today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that there are quote, "No options off the table, so long as the Libyan government continues to turn guns on its own people," end quote.
