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President Obama's Bid for 2012; Budget Battle on the Hill; Big Bonuses For Transocean Execs; Chasing Storms; Bob Shelter Business Booming; Family Adopts 6, Gets Big Refund

Aired April 04, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

Let's get you up to speed.

President Obama today became the first candidate to make it official. He'll campaign to keep his job in 2012.

The low-key announcement came in a video posted to BarackObama.com. Supporters also received an e-mail or text.

Now, filing the formal paperwork today unleashes the Obama fund- raising machine. His organizers are shooting for a $1 billion haul this campaign season. That would be a record.

Southwest canceled 100 more flights again today while crews checked the airline's Boeing 737s for cracks. Federal investigators say that metal fatigue caused a hole to open up during a Southwest flight this weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not everyone was putting their mask on. Some were having problems. Some people were passing out. It was not good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought we were going down. I really did. It just seemed like we were dropping pretty fast. Just all unreal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So far, investigators have found similar cracks on three other Southwest 737s.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: Afghans protested a Koran-burning for a fourth straight day today.

(CHANTING)

MALVEAUX: After violence during the marches seen here over the weekend, today's demonstrations in eastern cities appear to be relatively peaceful. Angry protesters killed more than 20 people, including several U.N. staffers, earlier.

Well, a Florida preacher stoked the outrage when he recently burned a Koran. U.S. officials say the act puts American troops in Afghanistan at greater risk.

Well, Libyan rebels moved on the oil town of Brega today. Government troops stood their ground and forced them back. Still, opposition fighters tell CNN's Ben Wedeman they've got the city surrounded now on three sides.

Well, the Libyan woman who told journalists she was gang-raped by Moammar Gadhafi's forces is no longer in custody. CNN reached Eman al-Obeidy by telephone. She says she is with her family in Tripoli. This is the first independent confirmation of her well-being since she was taken away nine days ago.

Tokyo Electric pouring 11,000 tons of contaminated water into the Pacific today. Now, officials say it's either that or water will destroy the new electric generators that are cooling nuclear fuel. Storage tanks at the Fukushima plant are now full. Officials say the low-level radiation is no threat.

Well, another unbelievable rescue in Japan. Crews pulled a hungry and cold dog from a rooftop floating in the Pacific. The dog apparently had been stranded at sea since the quake and tsunami hit on March 11th. The owner recognized her dog on TV, and that led to this happy reunion.

Researchers say that they've identified five new genes that are without a doubt linked to Alzheimer's disease, and that brings the total now to 10. The development does not help predict who gets the disease, but it does open the door to new drug treatments and some therapies. All 10 known genes are linked to the way the body processes fat and cholesterol. A buildup of cholesterol and proteins in the brain is believed to play a central role in the development of Alzheimer's.

President Obama, he's getting a jumpstart on the GOP. He launched his campaign for re-election -- that happened today with a video -- e-mailed his supporters. The title, "It Begins With Us."

And also, talk about beginnings. National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin and I covered Obama from the start of the first campaign, and Jessica joins us live from Washington.

Jessica, these days you're going to be very busy, I know. There was a time when you could interview him on the bus, sit right next to the guy. You could tell when he didn't get enough sleep, if he'd lost weight, you could gauge his mood.

How different do you think it is going to be now, considering the limited access to President Obama?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Gosh, those days were nonstop. It will be so different, Suzanne. Our access will be very limited. Just compare his announcement for candidacy in 2007 with a huge event in Springfield, compared to today, where he's not speaking publicly at all. He's not even in his own video.

You know, as you know, an incumbent president can't be out campaigning a lot because, as one aide put it, he has a day job. But it also never hurts a candidate to be speaking as the president with all the trappings of the White House so that he is constantly always appearing to be rising above politics.

MALVEAUX: And Jessica, the first go-round, President Obama came up with many slogans. He tried out a few, and some really stuck and basically were successful -- "Change we can believe in," "Hope," that kind of thing. Clearly, now, he's being tested as president. He's going to have to be a lot more specific with voters.

Do we have a sense of what's going to be at the heart of the campaign, his message, this go-round?

YELLIN: Well, in terms of specifics, he'll definitely talk about jobs and the economy, about the benefits he sees in the health care law. I'm reading from -- I'm looking at some talking points they sent out to Democrats today to coincide with this, saying -- emphasize that "We passed historic reform to expand health care, held financial companies accountable, cut taxes for the middle class, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, withdrew troops from Iraq," et cetera.

But the overarching message, Suzanne, will be essentially America is making progress, don't stop progress now. Or change has just begun, don't let it get rolled back. In other words, continuing on the change theme by saying he's only just started.

MALVEAUX: OK. And we're looking ahead obviously, Jessica, to the White House briefing for this hour. You never know about the timing of these things. Sometimes he surprises us.

Could this be the right time, you think, for a presidential appearance?

YELLIN: I sure hope so. Maybe they're watching and they'll think, yes, that's what we should do.

I actually don't expect it. I was advised he's not going to speak publicly. And also, you know, if he does, then we'll keep running that video of him talking about running for president instead of focusing on the budget deal and what's going on in the Middle East. So I actually don't expect him in front of the cameras talking about this today.

MALVEAUX: You don't think he's going to listen to us?

YELLIN: But if they like your idea, it would be great.

MALVEAUX: If only they'd listen to us, Jessica. You know? If only they would. YELLIN: I know.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks. Thanks again.

YELLIN: Some day. Thanks.

MALVEAUX: Ahead on our "Rundown," Southwest's fleet of 737s grounded after a five-foot gash rips open the fuselage of one of the jets in midair.

Plus, possible changes for government entitlement programs.

And you remember Transocean from last year's Gulf oil spill. Well, now the company's top executives are getting huge bonuses.

Also, chasing the storm, up close and personal with a tornado interceptor.

And finally, business is booming for bomb shelter makers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Demand for all kinds of survival supplies is up. There's the ordinary, like these 55-gallon barrels, and the extraordinary, like this order for a 900-ton steel arc which can hold 185 people and food for five years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We have three stories featuring people who are lending a helping hand to others. Let us know which one of these you'd like to see later this hour.

You vote by texting 22360. Here are your options.

First, Washington's famous Cherry Blossom Festival is in full swing, full bloom. Japan donated the trees to D.C. almost a hundred years ago. Well, this year, the city is giving back in Japan's time of need.

Next choice, a couple trying to make a difference in the lives of young children fosters 100 kids and ends up adopting six of them. Now they are getting something from Uncle Sam that no one expected.

And finally, Japanese farmers trying to overcome fears of radiation in their produce get a unique show of solidarity from their customers.

So, vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Washington Festival Helps Japan"; text 2 for "Family With Six Adopted Kids Gets Surprise"; or text 3 for "Japanese Show of Solidarity." The winning story will air later this hour.

Well, Southwest Airlines is putting its 737 fleet under the microscope. Friday, a hole five feet by one foot blew open in one of its planes while it was in the air. Some passengers fainted from lack of oxygen. A flight attendant was slightly injured.

The plane, bound for Sacramento, made an emergency landing in Yuma, Arizona.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SMITH, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: It sounded like an explosion at least, but all of a sudden, there's a big sunroof in the middle of the plane, a big old hole. You see daylight running through it.

BRENDA REESE, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: All of a sudden, the oxygen masks dropped and everyone was just trying to get the masks on, and it was scary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounded like a shot and a lot of air decompressing. And it was quick and it was scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well, since then, Southwest has grounded the 737s and canceled flights. Just last hour, I asked CNN's Jeanne Meserve about the inspections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Southwest is inspecting 79 Boeing 737-300s in its fleet. So far, small subsurface cracks have been detected in three additional aircraft. Nineteen have been returned to service.

Boeing is drafting a voluntary service bulletin, and the Federal Aviation Administration is likely to mandate inspections. We don't know how broad their order will be, but it could involve other 737 models and other airlines. We will see.

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board investigators have removed a section of the ruptured fuselage skin from the Southwest plane. It is being sent back to Washington for in-depth analysis by experts so they can learn more about what went wrong here and, of course, how to correct it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Shares of Southwest Airlines have fallen now three percent in the wake of the inspections and those canceled flights.

Well, without a deal in Congress over the budget, the federal government is in danger of shutting down this Friday. Party leadership on both sides of the aisle are scrambling for a compromise. An as tough as this year's budget fight has been, the one over the next year's budget could be even uglier. That battle begins tomorrow, when House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan will present the Republicans' proposal for spending in 2012.

Now, the thrust of the plan is to cut $4 trillion of government spending, dramatically changing the way entitlement programs work.

So, what is an entitlement program? Why would changing them be so controversial?

Carl Azuz, as always, here to break it down for us.

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Hi, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Hi. Good to see you.

Entitlement programs -- what are we talking about? And how is it going to impact ordinary folks?

AZUZ: I think the best way to start by this is just to define really simply what an entitlement program is. I think that will help me explain better what we are talking about.

When we say entitlement programs, we're discussing government programs that guarantee certain benefits to specific groups of people. And one other aspect to these is that those people who meet certain conditions -- so age might be one of those conditions -- qualify for entitlements without have to otherwise qualify for them beyond that.

So that's just generally an idea of what entitlements are. And some of the more commonly discussed entitlements we have, Social Security. That's a big one, a government program giving assistance to the retired and the disabled.

Unemployment benefits, another one you see on your screen, helping folks try to make ends meet when they're out of work.

Medicare is another example. Medicare, a government program that gives insurance and medical care for people over 65 and disabled Americans. And Medicaid, that gives that same care and insurance to lower-income Americans. But one thing about Medicaid is it's not entirely paid for by the government. The government generally picks up around 60 percent of the tab. States cover 40 percent of the tab, which is why Medicaid benefits can vary a little bit state to state.

MALVEAUX: It's so controversial, and yet it could make such an impact here, because we are talking about a lot of people who are affected by this, as well as big money.

How many people would be impacted?

AZUZ: You hit the nail on the head right there when we start talking about a cost versus benefits analysis, and these are the numbers broken down for you right here.

When we talk Medicare, we're looking at 40 million Americans who receive that government entitlement. In Medicaid -- and this, I think, is really interesting -- it's 50 million Americans. That's 16 percent of the U.S. population receiving Medicaid. And that number did spike when the great recession really sank its teeth in.

The combined cost of Medicare and Medicaid, $462 billion. And that accounts for 13 percent of the federal budget. And then Social Security -- and this is in 2010 -- these costs are both 2010, I should say -- $724 billion for Social Security, 20 percent of the federal budget.

So, you see there are tens of millions of Americans who receive these entitlements. But then when you start talking about how much they cost, that's why you see there's so much debate in Congress.

MALVEAUX: A lot of people are going to be paying attention to those debates, Carl. So many people impacted by this. Thank you.

AZUZ: Thank you, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Well, how dangerous is pumping tons of radioactive water into the Pacific? And can it be avoided? A nuclear plant engineer tells us the alternative.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Following a developing story here on CNN.

The 9/11 detainees, those held in Guantanamo Bay, will no longer be facing civilian trials, but rather military commissions. That is a reversal of the Obama administration's position from earlier.

We're going to get more information on that, a press conference with attorney General Eric Holder, to describe why the administration is taking this new point of view. It has been very controversial. Republicans, saying the military commissions were most appropriate. The Obama administration had earlier disagreed.

A lot of controversy over whether or not these 9/11 detainees, including the mastermind of 9/11, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, would be sent to places like New York City, other towns and cities throughout the United States, and be held in civilian trials. That, no longer happening. The Obama administration now taking a different position, saying that they will be held through military commissions.

We're going to have more on that. Again, 2:00 is when the Justice Department, attorney general will give a press conference outlining their decision on this.

We're also following tons of radioactive water taken from the crippled nuclear plant in Fukushima, now dumped into the Pacific Ocean. Is it a last resort for engineers scrambling to fix the cracked leaking water from the plant, or are there other possible alternatives?

I spoke to a former nuclear power plant operator earlier, and here's how Michael Friedlander explained it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL FRIEDLANDER, FMR. SR. POWER PLANT OPERATOR: I am convinced that there are a whole host of alternatives. One, we could drop a sump pump in there and we could pump the contents of that channel into a rubberized bladder. We could put it into a tanker truck.

Now, I fully acknowledge that that water is extremely radioactive, and of course we could put some measures in place to protect the people from it. But I certainly think that there are a number of very reasonable alternatives, rather than just letting it simply dump into the Pacific Ocean.

MALVEAUX: Why do you suppose that they are not even using, considering these alternatives?

FRIEDLANDER: Yes. You know what? I think that that's a good idea.

There is no doubt that these guys are stretched absolutely beyond their resources, and probably beyond their managerial oversight. And I quite honestly think that it's the simplest solution to them right now, and perhaps they're not even thinking of different alternatives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And fears of radioactive contamination have people who import goods from Japan very worried.

Our Kyung Lah has that part of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What does this toy monkey have to do with the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant? Nothing. But Sven Kilian is still standing with a Geiger counter.

SVEN KILIAN, JAPANTRENDSHOP.COM: It's 0.1, 3 microsieverts.

LAH: -- all of his toys and gadgets at JapanTrendShop.com. There's a notice on his company's home page to its international customers stating the nuclear crisis has no connection to his exports.

KILIAN: People are just scared. I mean, I understand. It's like -- so we just want to prove to everybody and show, you don't need to be scared.

LAH: But many are afraid as news reports show countries like Thailand testing Japanese food exports; Hong Kong screening passengers from Japan for radiation; and the United States inspectors have picked up traces of radiation from the Fukushima plant on both coasts, including milk in Washington State. None have found dangerous levels of radiation, but the headlines add up to a fear of products dubbed "Made in Japan."

(on camera): Public sentiment does have a real impact on the economy, and Japan watchers say in this case, it's an impact that will be felt for some time to come. WILLIAM SAITO, ADVISER TO JAPANESE GOVERNMENT: This is going to be a measurable impact. And some industries and some companies will not survive.

LAH: William Saito is an adviser to Japan's government on the economic fallout of the Fukushima and tsunami crises. Saito believes high-tech nameless parts that go into vehicles and popular electronics won't be impacted due to radiation fears. But given a choice between a brand dubbed "Made in Japan" versus another country, consumers will not choose Japan.

SAITO: I think that consumer sentiment and going forward, things like this, once they make the decision, is hard to change, at least for a generation. And this will affect buying habits.

KILIAN: Ready to go.

LAH: Sven Kilian has this plea to global consumers --

KILIAN: Continue, like, buying stuff, because this is what helps us here in Japan. It doesn't help us if everybody stops buying and panicking now for no reason. It just makes the economy worse and doesn't help anything.

LAH: Kilian knows ridiculous. He sells a Beauty Voice Trainer, a plastic sushi game, and a beauty contraption that lifts your nose. He believes the fear of radiation is silly, but the impact on his livelihood is not.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Want to go directly to the White House for the daily briefing to see what kind of news comes out.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- Americans about his long-term plan to protect consumers against rising oil prices and decrease oil imports, as well as key components of his broader energy plan.

On Wednesday, as you know, the president will travel to Philadelphia -- rather, to the Philadelphia area to hold a town hall discussion with workers at Gamesa Technology Corporation's wind energy turbine manufacturing facility in Fairless Hills. This facility employs approximately 300 workers and was built at a former U.S. steel industrial site.

On Friday, the president will travel to Indianapolis, where he will tour the facilities of Allison Transmission before speaking to workers there. Allison Transmission is a leader in hybrid technology and the world's largest manufacturer of fully automatic transmissions for medium- and-heavy-duty commercial vehicles, tactical military vehicles, and hybrid propulsion systems. In June, 2010, Allison announced the dedication of a new hybrid facility which, once fully operational, will have the capacity to produce 20,000 commercial-duty hybrid propulsion systems each year.

Separately, I would also like to inform you that earlier today, invitations were extended to Speaker Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Reid, Chairman Dan Inouye and Chairman Hal Rogers to a meeting tomorrow at the White House with the president to discuss ongoing negotiations on a funding bill to bring us through the end of this fiscal year.

The president has made clear that we all understand the need to cut spending, and significant progress has been made in agreeing that we can all work off the same number, $73 billion in spending cuts in this year alone. With the process running short on time, the president will urge leaders to reach final agreement and avoid a government shutdown that would be harmful to our economic recovery.

Those are my announcements. I will take your questions -- Julie (ph).

QUESTION: Quickly, on the meeting tomorrow, is the president still confident that Congress can reach an agreement on the budget by Friday and avoid the shutdown?

CARNEY: He remains confident that if we, together, roll up our sleeves and get to work very quickly, that we can find a compromise that reduces spending by $73 billion, protects the investments that are so key to our future economic growth, allowing us to out-innovate, out0-educate and out-build the rest of the world, yes, he believes that can get done. But time is of the essence, and that is why he is calling this meeting for tomorrow, and it is why he made some calls, as you know, over the weekend to Speaker Boehner and Leader Reid.

QUESTION: And then, shortly, before we came out here we and other news organizations were reporting that the administration is going to try Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in a military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, not in New York or other civilian courts.

Now that the president is officially running for re-election, how does he explain this reversal to his supporters, many of whom voted for him in part because of his commitment to closing Guantanamo, to ending the military tribunals?

CARNEY: Well, as you know, Julie (ph), the president's commitment here is that those who are suspected and accused of participating in those heinous attacks be brought to justice. That is his primary concern.

For details on this decision, I think you are going to hear from the attorney general at 2:00 p.m. today, who will have a lot more to say about this, so I direct you to that press conference.

QUESTION: But in terms of what the president will say to his supporters who will look at this and say that he is going back on a promise he made during his 2008 campaign, what's his message going to be? CARNEY: Again, I would refer you to the attorney general's statement later today. But I think that the president's primary concern here is that the perpetrators, the accused perpetrators of that terrible attack on the American people, be brought to justice as swiftly as possible and as fairly as possible.

QUESTION: If I can ask one more on re-election. You know, as the president said on Friday, when the jobs numbers came out, there is progress on the economy, but it's not the progress fast enough for him.

If the administration is even saying that, how can you expect the American people to reward him with re-election if that progress hasn't come fast enough?

CARNEY: Julie (ph), the president's not focused on elections. He's focused on doing the work that he was elected to do.

QUESTION: But he announced today his re-election campaign.

CARNEY: Well, but he's focused on the work that people elected him to do. And he has a job, and he's working full time, waking up every morning with that foremost in his mind, what can we do today, this administration, working with Congress, working with partners in the private sector, to increase growth, increase job creation, make America competitive so it can win the future in the 21st century?

That is his job. There is plenty of time well down the road for politics, but he is focused on that. And when he says that he's not satisfied, of course he's not. There's more work to be done. Progress is being made. We are now -- the economy is showing real signs of strength with the numbers you talked about, the significant private-sector job creation we saw on Friday. The revisal upwards of numbers from the previous two months, the fact we've had 13 straight months of private-sector job creation.

We started off if a very deep hole. There's more work to be done, and that's what the president is focused on.

QUESTION: Just a couple questions on Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. It seemed implicit that you are confirming what Attorney General Holder --

CARNEY: I don't want to get ahead of what he's saying. I'm simply saying the principles that - what the attorney general says that the principle that the president approaches this with is the need for justice.

QUESTION: Will Attorney General Holder be announcing that -

(CROSSTALK)

CARNEY: Again, I will urge you to wait for the attorney general's statement.

QUESTION: OK On the budget negotiations, you did say you're somewhat confident of a deal being reached, if all efforts are brought to bear. And the president is going the extra mile with the lawmakers in-house to talk. But are you actually seeing substantial narrow of differences already before the president sits down with these folks? And can you talk a little bit about the economic consequences of a government shutdown?

CARNEY: There was work over the weekend, including the phone calls that the president made but others have been working, rolling up their sleeves and working, including representatives of the White House, the administration, people --

MALVEAUX: You've been listening to Jay Carney, the White House briefing there, talking about the effort to move forward, a budget agreement. The president inviting both the Democratic and Republican leadership to the White House tomorrow to discuss that.

Also moving, pushing forward to the Justice Department press conference with attorney general Eric Holder, the reversal of the Obama administration's position. It is now 9/11 detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay will face military trials, military commissions as opposed to civilian ones. That coming up at 2:00.

We're also following the 2012 presidential sweepstakes. Gets its first official candidate. That happened today. We'll discuss the Obama campaign and the second time around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: President Obama's getting a jump start on the GOP by launching his re-election bid today. Our senior political analyst Gloria Borger joins us live from Washington. Gloria, great to see you.

It was kind of low-key I think, this launch. Why do you suppose he launched the re-election kind of in this way, the e-mail and the YouTube video?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. You know, in our business, the TV business, it is called a soft launch, right? And this was a soft launch. And I spoke with some people who are involved in the re-elect, and it is pretty clear what they're trying to do. We just heard that from Jay Carney. They say to me, you know, the president's got a job-and-a-half, he's not really going to be involved in this campaign. We don't want to signify he's in a campaign right now.

The big thing, of course, Suzanne is the money. They need to raise the money. If this campaign is going to cost almost a billion dollars, you cannot start too early. And they say it's because of this Citizens United supreme court decision they say, look, these people are going to have a lot of money corporations to use against us in a general election. We have to be able to fight back. So, they are starting a little early.

MALVEAUX: How do you think it affects the potential Republican opponents? They've been kind of slow to officially jump in the race here. You think this shakes things up a little bit?

BORGER: Well, it's interesting because they're kind of in parallel play. For those of you who have kids out there, you know how one kid plays on one side of the room and the other kid plays on the other side of the room? That's what's going on right now.

The Republicans, for all of their talk that this is the most historic election, blah blah, nobody's really getting in except for one candidate. And I think what they don't want -- if you're Mitt Romney right now, you don't want to paint a big target on your back so the other candidates can start attacking you.

So, I think once one big-time candidate really announces, then the others will. But right now the money that Republicans are going to try and raise will really be about fighting each other in the primary rather than fighting Barack Obama.

MALVEAUX: And Gloria, real quick here. I talk to a lot of people who support the president, and they don't feel like they got a lot of love from the president in terms of whether they take pictures or get invited to things, that kind of thing. You know, the big fund- raisers. Billion dollars, a lot of money for him to raise, it will shatter records --

BORGER: Big business.

MALVEAUX: Yes. Big business. How tough is that going to be to raise money from the business community?

BORGER: Tough. Tough. The business community has been angry. Lots of people don't like Wall Street reform. Lots of people in the business community don't like the fact that Barack Obama wants to repeal the tax cuts for the wealthy.

But it's always compared to what? In the end, if the economy seems to be doing better, there are lots of corporations out there sitting on an awful lot of cash. If they start investing that money as they seem to be starting to do, the unemployment rate comes down. They could very well contribute to Barack Obama.

I'm told that they're having a decent time right now with business, but you know, it's going to be hard to get them to believe in him again, and this is going to be a great advantage for the Republicans.

MALVEAUX: All right. Gloria Borger. Thank you, Gloria.

BORGER: Sure.

MALVEAUX: The final blow to Gadhafi could come from inside his own family. Nic Robertson will join me live from Tripoli.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: U.S. air strikes are set to end today in Libya, but the battle there continues. Rebels are fighting for Brega, one of the country's biggest oil ports. Right now, it looks like that town could go either way.

At the same time, we're hearing reports of shellings in the coastal town of Misrata. A clinic was hit there yesterday, leaving one dead and 15 injured. That according to an eyewitness.

At the center of the civil war, a family drama now is unfolding. Our Nic Robertson is in Tripoli with this story. Nic, you're the only Western journalist to meet with one of Gadhafi's sons. We see video of you with Saadi Gadhafi walking together at a hospital.

Tell us what is the state of play here? Could Gadhafi's sons play a key role in Gadhafi, the father, stepping down?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the impression that we get here, from Saadi Gadhafi at least, is that the family is united, is that they stand together behind the family. I think that was the message by him coming out to the hospital.

This is the first time we've seen one of the family members outside of the palace grounds here since the bombing began. And it seems to be a message that they're still around, they're not going away, and they feel confident. In fact they're feeling more confident since they've been able to push the rebels further back, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: What is the state of negotiations for Gadhafi for the father to step town? Is there any kind of proposal or negotiation taking place that will allow that to happen?

ROBERTSON: The best we know is that the Libyans have sent the deputy foreign minister to Greece and to Turkey. What is the diplomatic mission? We don't know. What's the message? We don't know.

What we do know from our sources is that Gadhafi is prepared to move into the background, but only when he feels that he's taken control of the situation here. He's not, as we understand, going to go at the point of a gun. He's not, we understand, going to go if he's met a condition of negotiations that there is regime change.

It is achievable, we are told, that he would pass on to one of his sons, but if it is a precondition for negotiations, that seems like a nonstarter. Already much of this may be unpalatable to the opposition and to the international community as well, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: So, the bottom line here is they think perhaps one of the sons would move into power, Gadhafi would take a back seat, but opposition not going for that now?

ROBERTSON: That seems to be it. This is what we're hearing from the opposition. This idea that Saafi Gadhafi, the second son if you will, would move in and take political control. We understand that he's been running the country almost effectively day to day for the past few years, that he would institute political reforms.

It is an old idea. It is still there as their central theme. That's what we understand. But it is going to have to have buy-in from the international community and for the rebels. And we know both sons already have assets frozen in the U.S.

MALVEAUX: All right. Nic Robertson, excellent reporting. Thank you very much.

Those at the top of Transocean are getting big rewards. How can it be after the country's worst oil spill? That's up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A quick check on the markets. Dow Jones up about 14 points as of now. We're also following other business stories.

Transocean had a role in the worst oil spill in U.S. history. Well, now, it's handing out big bonuses to top executives. Our Alison Kosik, she's at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, we understand that the company is praising its safety record. Explain this?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is. It is. You know, it makes you think, God, what were they thinking. So Transocean not just boosting the salary of its top executives, it's giving them big bonuses. Take a look at what Transocean said. It said it "recorded the best year in safety performance in our company's history." But, hello, did we forget that we had the worst oil spill in U.S. history last year?

Transocean, you remember, owned the rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 people. So now, in an SEC filing, it shows that the CEO is going to get a big bonus of $374,000. Safety, by the way, accounts for a quarter of that. And his pay is going to go to $1.1 million. That's up $200,000.

Got to be fair, though. Transocean did not award the total possible safety bonus here. It awarded only two-thirds of it. But got to admit, not a good PR move here.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: A lot of people are going to be kind of upset about that one. All right, thank you, Alison, appreciate it.

KOSIK: You said it.

MALVEAUX: It is built to withstand tornadoes. In fact, those who drive it actually chase tornadoes. It's a look at the tornado intercept vehicle and the men behind it.

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MALVEAUX: Severe storms moving into the south and the east today. Chad Myers is keeping an eye on all of that outside CNN Center.

Chad, you got a look at the tornado intercept vehicle. Show us how this works. CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, when you get in a vehicle, I don't care if it's a car or this thing, and there's a five-point harness to keep you in with a Nascar seat bolted to the floor, you have to start worrying. This is made to go inside a tornado. And it's been in four tornadoes. And the reason why it's here is because it's going to be in an I-max movie. And it is in an I-max movie.

Watch this go up. The whole panel goes up so they can drive. When they get close to a tornado, when they get inside the tornado, they put it down so literally the vehicle doesn't fly. Because without those panels, those skirts coming down, the win would get under it, even at 14,000 pounds, the wind would get under it and take this vehicle and send it straight up and turn this thing completely over.

They do it for research. They've done it for the movie. This here we're going to look at in the next couple of hours, the Dow, the Doppler on wheels. You can get right close to the storm. This truck right here found the wind in the Moore (ph) tornado at 301 miles per hour. An amazing couple of vehicles. We'll examine them and we'll put a whole bunch of stuff on cnn.com as well.

MALVEAUX: Chad, that is totally cool. We'll go there, cnn.com. Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

MALVEAUX: Well, whether it's the two natural disasters and the nuclear crisis in Japan or wars across the Middle East, some people believe that the world is becoming a scarier place. They're not taking any chances. Our Christine Romans tell us that those who make bomb shelters are back in business.

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BRIAN CAMDEN, HARDENED STRUCTURES: We've got a new contract today. The name of the project is Surefire Survival Community.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, HOST, CNN'S "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" (voice-over): If you want to prepare for disaster, Brian Camden is your man. The 55- year-old civil engineer is the owner of Hardened Structures. He's been in the business of building bomb shelters for 20 years. And right now that business is booming.

CAMDEN: Right now it's probably a new project every other week. Our biggest seller is a six-person prefabricated steel shelter that sells for about $38,000.

ROMANS: Demand for all kind of survival supplies is up. There's the ordinary, like these 55 gallon barrels sold by Shelf Reliance for water storage. And the extraordinary, like this order for a 900-ton steel arc which can hold 585 people and food for five years. This in the event there's, well, water everywhere.

CAMDEN: Obviously pick up with the earthquake in Japan. There's the unrest in the Middle East. I think the economy has a great deal to do with it. ROMANS: Costco has seen a surge in sales of freeze-dried food. And the company Underground Shelters has had inquiries jump by 400 percent since the earthquake in Japan.

ROMANS (on camera): This isn't the first time there's been a boon in bunkers in the U.S. During the Cold War, there were no less than 200,000 bomb shelters across the country. Many of them home shelters. According to "The Wall Street Journal," an article from 1961, one Chicago company received 1,000 orders in just one week for fabricated steel shelters.

ROMANS (voice-over): Nowadays, Camden says he sees two types of clients.

CAMDEN: Some of the clients who feel like the threat is imminent. And then you have the other clients who are starting to prepare and move forward.

ROMANS: It's impossible to predict if the current demand for bomb shelters will last. But for now --

CAMDEN: A Hardened Structure by nature is basically asset protection. I mean most people identify their family as their number one asset.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

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MALVEAUX: Here's a story that you wanted to see. A family that fostered more than 100 kids and adopted six of them gets a tax refund that no one saw coming.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jojo, get up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been an adventure every single day because one day you come home from school and it's just you and your mom here. And then the next day you come home from school and there's three extra kids and you're like, hi!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put the paper in the trash can and why is your chair out?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (voice-over): North Carolina natives Thelma and David Ward raised six kids of their own. They fostered more than 100 children. But some they just couldn't let go.

HARLOW (on camera): You adopted six kids?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma'am.

HARLOW: Why? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because they didn't have a permanent home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there was nowhere for them to go.

HARLOW (voice-over): The Wards budget carefully on a modest income, but they were never banking on this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the proof right here.

HARLOW (on camera): Total savings -- how much?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: $54,292.

HARLOW: Oh, my goodness. In one year?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my goodness. In one year.

HARLOW (voice-over): Believe it or not, that's their tax refund, which even shocked their tax preparer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: $54,000 is as much money as some families make in an entire year.

HARLOW: And it's all thanks to a little known clause in the Affordable Care Act, part of health care reform.

HARLOW (on camera): This is the first year since the adoption tax credit was created that families who adopt can get up to roughly $13,000 in cash for each child they bring into their home. And this really helps lower-income families like the Wards. People that don't really make enough money to have a big tax liability, so a tax credit, it just doesn't really help them.

What was it like when you got the phone call saying you were getting $54,000 back?

Is that what you did?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's what she did for quite a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, Jesus! Lord, I thank you!

High five! High five! High five! High five!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is something they really need because it's always been, well, we've got to pay this. This is next. This next. This child needs this. This child needs that. A family this big, you can't let anything slide by. So for them to have a chance to actually just breathe and just say, OK, we can just breathe for a moment. Just rest, I think it's good for them.

HARLOW: And what are you going to do for yourselves?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just see my kids smile. That's all I need. Money come, money go but we're all we go. HARLOW: In Smithfield, North Carolina, Poppy Harlow reporting.

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