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Radioactive Water into the Sea; Cracks on More Southwest Jets; President Obama: The Candidate; NASA: Endeavor Delayed 10 Days; Big Bonuses for Transocean Execs; Battle for the key Coastal City of Abdidjan in Ivory Coast

Aired April 04, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Contenders, hopefuls, rising stars have set their sights on this address for months now, but in the race for the White House 2012, one contender, and only one, is a candidate officially, and he is the man to beat.

The logo is back but the catchphrase is new. It begins with us, "it" being President Obama's re-election campaign announced this morning with an online video and e-mails to supporters.

The president says he needs to start mobilizing long before it's time to start campaigning in earnest which is not to say the GOP is withholding an earnest response.

Joining me now for "Two at the Top" is CNN's senior political editor Mark Preston. Mark, there was never any doubt that the president would seek a second term, of course, so why the big deal now about his formal announcement?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, just because the fact is he is making it official. President Obama is going to seek a second term, but it really is -- comes down to one thing, basically, it comes down to money, Randi. President Obama needs to start raising money to run his re-election now. Our estimates out there about how much he needs to spend will be mind blowing -- between $750 million and upwards of $1 billion. And that's just him, that doesn't include how much money the Republicans are going to raise or all these outside groups that are going to try to weigh in on this presidential contest in 2012.

KAYE: So, the president has made it official but we haven't seen a single member of the GOP make it official yet. Why the wait?

PRESTON: Well, we had seen Tim Pawlenty open up an exploratory committee. He is the Minnesota governor. He's all but in. We've seen Newt Gingrich take some serious steps toward it. He's another top tier contender who seems to be on the verge of asking. But really, it comes down to again money, it costs a lot of money to run these campaigns. Republicans saw how much it cost back in 2007. The race began in earnest right after mid-terms in 2006. Republicans are trying to hold back their fire and specifically save money that they know they're going to need, not only during the primary, but if they win the Republican nomination to take on President Obama. KAYE: So, he says he doesn't plan to campaign in earnest for a while but, of course, he has to start fund rising as you said. So, when does -- when does the actual campaigning start?

PRESTON: Well, you know, the argument could be that he's always been campaigning. Whenever he stands at the lectern at the White House, whenever he goes on the road, whenever he peers before cameras, he is selling himself, he's selling his policy goals, and, in effect, he's selling politics.

So, I would argue, in fact, Randi, that the campaign has already begun and it began the day that he was sworn in. When we will see him on the campaign trail? We'll see him on the campaign trail probably -- maybe at the end of the summer, maybe in the fall, where he seems to have to respond to a lot of the Republican criticism that's going to be lodged at him, specifically from the handful of candidates that we expect to run for the Republican nomination.

KAYE: All right, Mark Preston for us. Thank you, Mark, appreciate it.

Overseas now and a dangerous plan to head off a more dangerous crisis at Fukushima Dai-ichi. Workers are dumping the first of some 11,000 tons of radioactive water into the ocean to make room in a waste treatment plan for highly radioactive water they hope to contain. That's cause for concern by itself, right? But there's also an uncontrolled leak of radioactive water from a pit next to reactor number two that also is going straight into the ocean.

It's unclear exactly where that water is coming from but safety officials hope that by pumping out the number two reactor's turbine plant they'll lower the water levels enough to stop the discharge. No mystery where some of this water came from, countless tons have been sprayed on several Dai-ichi reactors to try to keep the fuel rods stable.

Accurate readings of radiation levels in the sea water are hard to come by, but we know they pose three kinds of dangers to marine life, radiation high enough can kill fish and other species outright. Lower levels can affect their DNA and that might affect their offspring, and the impact can also spread through the food chain.

Joining me to shed some more light on this is John Tilmon, he's president of Risk Assessment Corporation and member of the National Council On Radiation Protection and Measurements. He joins me by phone from Mesa (ph), South Carolina.

Dr. Tilmon, glad you're with us to help us understand this and break it down a bit. What is your take on the radiation coming into the water off the Fukushima plant right now?

JOHN TILMON, PRESIDENT, RISK ASSESSMENT CORPORATION (via telephone): Well, I think first, you have to look at this in two categories. And one category is the water that's being released into the ocean in the proximity of the plant. Certainly that's something that wants -- that we want to monitor. Certainly there could be some kind of genetic effects in the area very close to the facility, but I wouldn't see that as significant.

I think more importantly what we'd have to watch is how these materials accumulate in food products and then could be consumed by people but that can be monitored.

The other area is the material that's being released into the ocean, and of course, I don't know where they're planning to dump this material. Of course, farther out in deeper water is better but the ocean is so vast that this material would dilute very rapidly and I wouldn't see any lasting effects at all.

KAYE: So, you're less concerned about what these mutant fish might look like, even if that does happen, you're more concerned about getting into the food chain and possibly being passed by humans.

TILMON: That's absolutely true, yes.

KAYE: And how would that work? I mean, first of all, what would a mutant fish look like, how quickly would that show up, and how quickly would it end up possibly being passed to a human?

TILMON: Well, I want to reiterate that I still don't see this as a huge issue, not even in the area near the vicinity of the plant, certainly not out in the open. This material is going to dilute so quickly that the concentrations just wouldn't be high enough over long term to cause any genetic defects in marine biota.

KAYE: All right. Dr. John Tilmon, we're glad you had us -- we're glad we had you with us to help us understand that a little bit better. Thank you so much.

TILMON: You're welcome.

KAYE: The alleged mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be tried in a military commission instead of a civilian court. Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to make that announcement today confirming that the suspect will be tried before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay. We'll have live coverage in our 2:00 p.m. Eastern hour. The administration originally supported a civilian trial, you may recall, but that plan came under intense criticism.

Two years after an Air France flight plunged into the Atlantic Ocean, families of the victims on board finally have hope foreclosure. This was the rescue effort in June of 2009. Only 50 bodies were recovered leaving 178 victims missing deep under the Atlantic.

You are now looking at the wreckage of that Air France jet. It's discovery deep under water was announced just today. Some bodies were also found inside, they'll be brought to the surface and later identified. The data recorder box is still missing. Investigators say it is still a jigsaw puzzle and are unsure why the plane dropped out of the sky during a storm.

Southwest Airlines is finding more cracks in at least three other planes after one of its jets literally ripped open on Friday. They've canceled at least 70 more flights today. What happened to one of their Boeing 737 jets has us all on edge. It's giving us an unnerving but revealing look at how planes are inspected, but it's also raising alarming questions and unleashing fears that another plane could unzip at the seams.

No one understands that fear, that nightmare, more than those passengers inside Southwest flight 812. That brings me to our "Sound Effect" today, their terrifying account in their own words now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID SMITH, PASSENGER, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: It sounded like an explosion at least. All of a sudden, there's a big sunroof in the middle of the plane, big old hole.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): My husband said when he looked up, he said immediately, oh, my gosh, it's the blue sky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then masks dropped and it's really, really windy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): The aircraft went into a complete nose dive.

SMITH: I thought we were going down, I really did. It seemed like we were dropping pretty fast.

BRENDA REESE, PASSENGER, SOUTHWEST AIRLINES: Not everyone was getting their masks on, some people were having problems, some people were passing out. It was not good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Just all unreal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: As investigators continue to inspect the Southwest fleet, we know you have a lot of questions and so do we. So, stay with me, in just two minutes, we'll talk to an experienced pilot and flight instructor who's flown in planes similar to the damaged Boeing jet. We'll ask just how this could happen and just how widespread this problem might be.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: As we've been telling you, Southwest Airlines canceled about 70 more flights today. And while inspectors check the airline's 737 jets. This is following that incident Friday where a hole blew open in one plane during mid-flight. Southwest has now found cracks in three planes.

As it turns out, that's not the only U.S. airline incident in the news today, this happened just a few hours ago. A United Airlines flight went off the runway in New Orleans after the pilot lost control of the nose wheel during an emergency landing set off by smoke in the cockpit. So, we want to talk about all of this with Jim Tillman, he's a former commercial airline pilot and has spent his career as an aviation consultant. He's in Phoenix with us this afternoon.

Jim, let's start with the very basics of what happened on that Southwest flight on Friday. Based on what we've heard so far, what we've learned, what exactly do you think happened?

JIM TILMON, CEO, THE TILMON GROUP: Well, we had a rupture of the skin of the airplane, Randi, what happened was as we did that, we ended up with decompression and of course, all the events that you've been recording followed that event.

KAYE: And why didn't an inspection catch this?

TILMON: Well, I understand that it was in a place -- that rupture took place in a place where, unless you were specifically looking for that, you would not have seen it. It was a crack that had propagated into a rupture of the skin in the airplane.

KAYE: So, when you talk about these --

TILMON: These cracks occur --

KAYE: When you talk about these cracks in the inspections, are these visual inspections that are done looking for these cracks or how is it handled?

TILMON: They almost always have been visual inspections. And, generally, we've been able to catch these before they get to something that's going to be catastrophic. This particular case is very, very rare and extremely unusual. We're going to learn a lot from this, however.

KAYE: I'm also curious as a regular member of the flying public, is there any way for someone like me or any of our viewers watching today who might be able to go online or check somewhere whether or not their plane has ever had a crack or whether or not their plane has ever been inspected properly?

TILMON: Not that I know of and let me just say that cracks are not that uncommon. We do have cracks and they do occur from time to time. Generally, they don't create any kind of situation that would be alarming. However, this one was unique, and I want to stress the fact that it was unique, very, very rare situation.

Maintenance normally catches these when they're terribly small and not an event at all. Remember, Randi, there's at least one hole in the airplane all the time, at least one hole, and that's the hole that we house the outflow valve. That valve oscillates back and forth and controls from the cockpit to provide for pressurization in the airplane. The higher you get, the more it closes. So, there's a substantial hole, there, and there are other little holes here and there, they're already programmed in there.

So, having a hole in the airplane isn't the whole issue, having a leak or crack. You won't see that on the panel in the cockpit. It is only when it begins to be much more significant and what's happened in the past, and historically, is that maintenance has been able to catch these -- catch them long before they create a problem, and I think they still will. They'll probably do a better job now.

KAYE: So, it sounds like we need to just trust the fact that our airplane is safe if there really isn't any place to check. Just really quickly, can you tell us what really is the end here? Where do we go from here? Is there a better way?

TILMON: Yes, there is a better way. And I -- right now I think the better way that's coming very soon will be the dreamliner from Boeing, because they'll going to be using composites largely for creating an airplane. Composites that don't stretch, and compress, and warp and do all those other things that metal will do. And of course, it's going to be a giant improvement in their construction of an airplane, and it will give us a great deal more safety.

KAYE: All right. We appreciate your insight. Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon.

TILMON: My pleasure, Randi.

KAYE: The jobs may not pay much on average, but there will be plenty of them. Just ahead, what McDonald's is doing to jump-start the economy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

There is plenty of hiring going on today on "Your Money." And just about all of it is at McDonald. The restaurant chain will hire 50,000 new employees in a single day all for its U.S. restaurants. They are hiring for everything from part-time workers to management positions on April 19th. So mark your calendar. A company spokesman said the average pay for a Mcjob is $8.30 an hour. That's above the federal minimum wage of $7.25. And managers can expect to make about $50,000 a year. This hiring spree will bring McDonald's workforce to about 700,000 people.

And some major companies like Walgreens and even Citigroup are warning customers about a security breach. Hackers may have gotten customer's names and even e-mails from a company called Epsilon, a marketing firm that manages e-mails. Epsilon said Friday that its system had been breached but that outside names an e-mails, no other personal information had been exposed. The concern is that the e-mails could be used to target spam or to be used as a platform for fraud by sending e-mails to customers pretending to be a company that they do business with.

Be sure to join Christine Romans for "Your Bottom Line" each Saturday morning at 9:30 Eastern. And don't miss "Your Money" with Ali Velshi Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sundays at 3:00.

Time right now, about 20 minutes past the hour, time for a check of our top stories.

It's official, President Obama steps in to the 2012 presidential election. The president filed papers with the Federal Election Commission today. Some of you probably received an e-mail or watched the video on his website announcing the campaign launch. Mr. Obama's team hopes to raise $1 billion from supporters.

The alleged mastermind behind the September 11th attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be tried in a military commission instead of a civilian court. Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to make that announcement today confirming that the suspect will be tried before military commission at Guantanamo Bay. We'll have live coverage of Holder's announcement in our 2:00 p.m. Eastern Hour. The administration originally supported a civilian trial, but that plan came under intense criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden there's a loud bang and the masks drop and it's really, really windy and my ears hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: That was one woman's experience during a terrifying Southwest Airlines flight. A three-foot hole opened up in the fuselage, depressurizing the plane and sending passengers reaching for oxygen masks. Southwest grounded 79 other planes for inspection and has already found three planes with small cracks. The airline canceled 70 flights today. It's asking customers to check its website before heading to the airport.

President Obama now officially looking ahead to the 2012 race, but a second term is anything but a certainty. So what political baggage will weigh heaviest on the campaign trail? We'll take a look at part of our "Contenders" series. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: President Obama has officially jumped into the 2012 race, sending out an e-mail to supporters this morning. As part of our look at the 2012 contenders today, we're checking the political baggage being carried around by some of the possibly candidates. CNN White House correspondent Dan Lothian joins me now to talk a little bit about this.

Dan, what would you say are the top three issues the president will have to defend himself on?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think, first of all, probably the heaviest suitcase that the president will be carrying in the 2012 campaign will be the economy. As you know, when voters go to the polls, one of the thing that they tend to reflect on is their financial situation at that point. And there's still a lot of American out there who are struggling to find employment, struggling to stay in their homes. And so the president's opponents could say, yes, things have stabilized, yes, the latest employment numbers are showing that more positive trend line, but still things have not turned around like he promised. So they could ding him on that.

Secondly, though, health care reform. This is a signature item for the president. But it's been under attack from up on The Hill and certainly in the courts. And his opponents could point to the fact that this health care reform will only drive up the federal deficit and drive up the cost of health care.

And then, finally, the foreign policy, or the wars, if you will. Certainly the president did wind things down in Iraq, but there's still the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan. And then we seen what has happened now in Libya as well, and that still remains a big question mark as to how that will all wind up in the end, even though the U.S. has not taken the primary role there, but a support and assist role. Still something that opponents could throw at the president.

And I should add, sort of like another unknown now, is what could pop up over the next several months. Yes, there's the economy. Yes, there's health care. Yes, there are these wars. But there could be that unknown thing that pops up that opponents could also use against the president. It could become major baggage in the 2012 campaign, Randi.

KAYE: And, Dan, I also want to talk to you about what we're hearing today, about the five 9/11 conspirators, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. They're going to be tried at Gitmo. We expect to hear from the attorney general, Eric Holder, at the top of the hour. Bt what's the word on this from the White House?

LOTHIAN: Well, you know, the White House press secretary, Jay Carney, was hit hard with that today, questions about whether or not the president is flip-flopping. You might recall back to the beginning of this administration when the president, in his first executive order, said that he would close down Gitmo in a year. That did not happen. This administration has favored trying these cases in civilian courts. And so this certainly is being seen as a flip-flop and will be a big blow for his base. But again, the White House not commenting on it today, instead pushing everything to that 2:00 announcement by the attorney general.

KAYE: All right, Dan Lothian for us at the White House. And we will, of course, be following that 2:00 announce and bring that to you.

A United jet is forced to make an emergency landing. Pilot reported smoke inside the cockpit and barely landed on the runway. The latest details on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: There's a lot we want to update you on right now. Here are the latest headlines and some stories that you may have missed.

Southwest Airlines canceled 70 flights today as investigators carefully scrutinize the fleet. The airline says 57 of their planes were inspected and returned to service this morning. Southwest grounded 79 planes on Friday after one of their Boeing 737s ripped open leaving a massive hole in the fuselage. Passengers say they could see the sky but the plane landed safely. So far, investigators have found cracks in three other Southwest planes.

A United Airlines plane ran off the runway while trying to make an emergency landing this morning. United Flight 497 was on its way from New Orleans to San Francisco when pilots reported smoke in the cockpit just after takeoff. An airlines spokesman says the pilot was having problems with the flight instruments and did not have control of the front wheels when the plane landed. The jet was carrying 100 passengers and five crew. Everyone was evacuated with the emergency slides and luckily, incredibly, no one was injured.

We're just learning some news about the self-professed mastermind behind September 11th. Two U.S. officials say Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will face a military commission at Guantanamo Bay instead of being tried in a U.S. civilian court. His four co-conspirators will also be tried at the detention facility in Cuba. The decision is a reversal for the Obama administration which wanted the alleged terrorists to have federal civilian trials. Attorney General Eric Holder has promised to seek the death penalty.

NASA says it is pushing back the launch of the shuttle Endeavour by 10 days. Mark Kelly, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' husband, and his crew are now set to launch on April 29th. The delay is because of a scheduling conflict apparently with a Russian cargo ship that is set to dock at the International Space Station around the very same time. NASA closely inspected the shuttle for two days after an intense storm ripped through the area but workers only found some minor damage, they say. Giffords, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to her head, still hopes to attend that launch.

Transocean, the owner of the oil rig that exploded and killed 11 workers in the Gulf last year, is patting itself on the back. The reason and the rewards for top executives may shock you. That story is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the Gulf oil dafter. The explosion that sank the Transocean rig killed 11 people and triggered the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

In recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Transocean calls 2010, quote, "The best year in safety performance in the company's history." The company bases that, apparently, on what it describes as its exemplary statistical safety record as measured by our total recordable incident rate.

Well, as a reward the company is giving fat bonuses and raises of hundreds of thousands of dollars to top executives. The most prominent example, Transocean President and CEO Steven Newman. His bonus, more than $374,000. His base salary increased by $200,000, from $900,000 to $1.1 million.

Today the company issued a statement that reads, in part, "We acknowledge that some of the wording in our 2010 proxy statement may have been insensitive in light of the incident that claimed the lives of 11 exceptional men last year and we deeply regret any pain that it may have caused."

Join is us now to talk about this, Chris Roberts, councilman of Louisiana's Jefferson Parish.

Chris, thanks for joining us. I want to get your reaction because I remember covering the oil spill, being in New Orleans, going out on a boat with you. I remember your passion and your anger as you saw all of this oil spill into the Gulf.

So what is your reaction to Transocean's comments on its safety record and rewarding its top executives?

CHRIS ROBERTS, COUNCILMAN, JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA: Well, it is absurd. You know, you take into account the feelings of the families that lot of their loved ones that night and you know that that's just got to anger them. It doesn't really recognize the true loss there. And when we heard about it, it angered us, as well. There are so many people that are in our region that are still suffering.

KAYE: I want to ask you about this, because really, to the average person , Transocean calling last year its safest ever, may not only be insensitive, but outrageous. But the company does say that based on the way it measures these things, that statement is accurate.

So even though it's accurate, though, it still hurts to hear that, doesn't it?

ROBERTS: Well, you know, there were a lot of things that were said during this spill and this disaster that would lead you to believe that some of these companies really need to fine tune their public relations.

They've become their own worst enemy and some of the absurd comments and remarks that they've made. We dealt with that with BP last summer. Now, Transocean. You really need to have some sensitivity in recognizing that although statistically when you look at how you grade and measure things, the perception of the public and what we've learned and heard about all summer long just doesn't match that.

And a company that had any sense would have said we're just going to pass this year. Our statistics may show that but we're going to put this money into added safety to try and ensure that situations like this don't happen again.

KAYE: Right. I also want to ask you about BP. Apparently BP wants to resume drilling in the Gulf. How do you feel about that? Is that a good or bad thing?

ROBERTS: Well, we want to see drilling resumed. We want to see it done in a safe way. We want to ensure that the companies don't take shortcuts, that we don't end up in a similar situation like we saw before. Oil drilling is a necessity. It's part of our way of life here. It is part of our economy. But we've got to do it in a way without taking shortcuts and we need to make sure that those federal agencies responsible for regulating are doing their job and not letting things slide. And, if there is determinations made that people did do things that led to this disaster, that they're held accountable.

But we need to get back to drilling. I think everyone would agree that gas prices are going up. That's going to put added pressure in D.C. to get drilling off on the coast again. But we need to do it in a safe way and a responsible way.

KAYE: All right. Councilman Chris Roberts from Jefferson Parish in Louisiana.

Chris, thank you. Appreciate your time.

ROBERTS: Sure, thank you.

KAYE: Car parts made of mushrooms and skis made from animal parts? It's all coming up in today's Big I. That is after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. We want to take you now to this live picture at the Department of Justice. We are awaiting comments by Attorney General Eric Holder on the fact that there will be no civilian trials for 9/11 suspects, including the self-professed mastermind, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

He should be speaking in just over 20 minutes or so, the Attorney General Eric Holder. And this is an interesting reversal because we know that the Obama administration had wanted the trials in civilian court so we are anxious to hear what Eric Holder has to say and we'll bring that to you when he comes to the podium.

Meanwhile in Libya, it's not a new question but one that could very well determine the outcome of the civil war. Will the U.S. and its allies provide weapons to the rebels? Time may be running out. Fierce fighting is raging in and around the cities of al Brega and Misrata. Residents fleeing Misrata describe the city as hell and say Gadhafi tanks and snipers are carrying out a massacre.

This is also the day that U.S. warplanes will no longer conduct air strikes against Gadhafi forces. The move has been expected. NATO will now be in charge of all those air strikes.

There's much talk on the diplomatic front. One unconfirmed report, Gadhafi's sons could replace their father. CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us now from Eastern Libya.

Ben, if you could, set the situation for us on the ground right now.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Situation very fluid at the moment. We were at Brega for much of the day. In the morning there was an intense bombardment by Gadhafi loyalists to opposition fighters to the east of the city. Three times we had to hit the dirt and then just rush out of the area because of that intense bombardment. By the afternoon the position had changed somewhat. Most of the outgoing fire was by the rebels in the direction of Brega.

Now Brega's divided into two parts. There's new Brega, which is largely a residential area, and the town of Brega Popular. New Brega seems to be more or less under the control of the rebels now. However, Brega itself is still controlled by the Gadhafi forces.

Interestingly enough, even though the weather was very good, there were no clouds in the sky, it was very clear and sunny, no air strikes whatsoever by NATO. And, of course speaking to opposition fighters and their commanders, they're beginning to wonder where NATO disappeared to because they basically got none of the air cover they had before and they're worried that under these conditions they're at a severe disadvantage if Gadhafi loyalists decide to move forward.

KAYE: All right, our Ben Wedeman for us there in Libya.

Ben, thank you.

And the time right now is 41 minutes past the hour. Time for a check of our top stories.

In Yemen, more deadly anti-government protests. Witnesses and medical sources say security forces fired on protesters in two cities, killing at least 12. In the capital, tens of thousands took to the streets demanding that the long-time president step down. More than 30 were arrested.

In the war in Afghanistan, two American troops were killed today by an Afghan border policeman during a training mission. The Americans were teaching a group of border police when one of them opened fire. The gunman escaped. Elsewhere, more street protests against the burning of a Koran by a fundamental American pastor.

In Ivory Coast, the battle for the key coastal city of Abdidjan appears imminent. Forces loyal to the internationally recognized president Alassane Ouattara are locked in a fierce fight with supporters of the incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo. Ouattara forces now control most of the country.

Every day on this show at this time, we do a segment called the Big I. It's all about big new ideas and innovations. So, how about this idea? Skis made from ground-up animal parts. Really? According to "Fast Company" magazine, Clemson University researchers have developed a process to turn meat and bone meal or MBM, into biodegradable plastics. Normally, plastics are made using oil or natural gas. Well, this process would not only turn the plastic into a biodegradable product, but also cut down on waste in landfills.

So we have skis made out of animal parts. How about car parts made out of mushrooms? A start-up company called Ecovative is teaming up with Ford to make fungus-based biodegradable foam that could be used as car bumpers, side boards and even dash boards.

Here to tell us about it, Gavin McIntyre. He's the chief scientist and co-founder of Ecovative. I did mention he's only 25- years-old? You're doing a lot for the young 25.

First, of all Gavin, tell us how this works. What do you do actually to the mushrooms to make them strong enough to turn them into a car part?

GAVIN MCINTYRE, CHIEF SCIENTIST, ECOVATIVE: That's a great question. So here at Ecovative, we're really challenging the paradigm on how synthetic materials are manufactured and used today.

Unlike synthetic foams, such as expanded polystyrene, which requires raw materials that are inherently unsustainable, such as petrol derived materials, we actually use agricultural byproducts that we source right here in the United States. We take fungal mycelium, which is analogous to the root structure of a plant and grow this material around the agriculture byproducts, turning into a cohesive hole.

This material is actually comprised predominately if what's called titan, which is the same biopolymer that makes up lobster and crab shells. So it's quite tenacious and very hard. So these materials actually performs better than traditional synthetics in a number of different loading scenarios.

KAYE: It sounds fascinating. Is it safe?

MCINTYRE: This material is highly safe. As a matter of fact, we've had it tested for things such as volatile organic compounds, or basically gases that are emitted that could have carcinogenic effects. Which is very prevalent with foams, for example. This material actually does not emit any type of volatile organic compounds and is actually safer than most foams.

This material is actually also a class 1 firewall. We do some illustrations (ph) where we actually hit it with a blowtorch. And unlike foam, which goes up and spontaneously combust, this material is non-flammable whatsoever.

KAYE: I really like it because it decomposes much more easily than plastic. Right? So it would be a much better resource.

MCINTYRE: Very much so. So, we have run a gauntlet of tests on our decomposition. This material is compatible with plant-based composts. So, if you have a compost pile in your backyard, for example, you can break up a protective packing part (ph) that you might receive in a box that's made out of our material, put plant- based compost and it will decompose in a matter of 30 days. For example, if you're in an urban setting, you can dump right into your municipal landfill. And the microbes that reside with the landfill actually break down this material once again in 45 days.

KAYE: And when do you think we might expect to see mushroom car parts on the market? MCINTYRE: That's a great question. We have a great product that we know that can really change the automotive market. Right now, we're currently delivering protective packaging product under the trade name Ecocradle. We have a very rapid deployment and development timeline for the automotive industry, and we're looking at an 18-month timeline to first complete all testing (INAUDIBLE) of the material before its move on to the market.

KAYE: It is cool stuff. I always think when I think of mushrooms, I think of putting them on my pizza, Gavin. I don't really think about using them for car parts, Gavin. So, that's pretty cool. Good work. Gavin McIntyre. The chief scientist and co-founder of Ecovative.

Nice to see you, Gavin. Thank you.

MCINTYRE: Thank you.

KAYE: And check out the skis made of animal parts and the story on the mushroom car parts. Head to our blog, CNN.com/ali. We'll also link you up to the Ecovative Web site as well.

A government shutdown is now just days away. Could drastic cuts ten years from now get us a budget deal now? We'll take a look at the behind-the-scenes wrangling, next.

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KAYE: Time now the CNN political update. And the countdown for a budget deal is clicking away with a few days left before a possible government shutdown. So, is there any movement towards a compromise? That is what we want to know. CNN's congressional correspondent Dana Bash joins me from Capitol Hill. Dana, what is going on behind the scenes there to try to avoid this shutdown?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are trying and they are working, but they are not there yet. I want to take a look at the count. I want our viewers to see just exactly what we're talking about, Randi.

Friday, April 8. It is just four days away. That is the day that government will run out of money if the negotiators on both sides don't come to an agreement on what to cut in spending. And it is so urgent that President Obama has invited leaders here to the White House to talk about it for the first time face-to-face in some time. And that will happen tomorrow.

Now what we're talking about here is, roughly there, they have decided on $33 billion in cuts. They have both come halfway. But the issue, Randi, what exactly they are going to cut? Now, I will go into the budget a little bit now, but I think it is important for the viewers to know what could be preventing -- could cause a partial government shutdown and prevent them from going to the Statue of Liberty starting on Saturday, going to the Washington Monument starting this spring break, and that is differences over what kind of spending. Democrats say they want half of the cuts to come from what is known as mandatory spending. That is parts of the budget that happen automatically without Congress' approval. Democrats say they want to do that to try to hold off on some of the cuts for some of people they think need it the most out there.

Republicans admit, Randi, they want the money to come from what is known as discretionary spending. And this is the spending that Congress has to approve every year. Republican sources I talked to say that is because they believe it is real spending and anything else is just gimmicks. So, that is really the sticking point they are fighting over right now, and that is what they are trying to deal with to, again, avoid for real people -- in terms that real people can understand, people out there watching, to make sure that they can actually do the things that they can do this weekend that has to do with the federal government.

KAYE: Yes, it affects so many things in our daily lives. I also want to ask you -- this is of course, the 2011 budget that is still being worked on. But now we are hearing more about a drastic proposal for next year, the 2012 budget. What are you hearing about that?

BASH: Well, it is all coming down at the same time, and very interesting. We're going to see -- formally released, this is the House Republican budget tomorrow. But we do have from sources some of what is going to be in it, and this is drastic, drastic changes to many important parts of the budget.

First of all, the House Republican budget, according to the chairman, will cut about $4 trillion in spending - that's trillion with a t. And I think that most importantly, I think all of the attention is going to be on programs that we pay a lot of attention to. First of all, Medicare. Of course, that is the health program for senior citizens. According the what the House Republicans want to do, no longer would the government pay directly to medical bills. Instead, it would be a lump sum payment up to health care plans. It would be a really, really big overhaul and it would be for people only 55 years and younger. People who are currently getting Medicare, they would not be affected, Randi.

KAYE: All right. Dana Bash, helping us all understand what is happening there in Washington. Thank you, Dana.

BASH: Thank you.

KAYE: Your next update from the Best Political Team on Television is just one hour away.

The March Madness reaches the summit tonight in Houston. Up next, we'll have a live discussion about tonight's NCAA championship basketball game.

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KAYE: You may recall a story of a shepherd boy who takes the field to face a giant. Well, the task may seem like a similar one tonight as Butler faces off with UConn in the NCAA championship game tonight in Houston. It has been a bracket-busting tournament pretty much from day one, and both teams will muster up one final game to determine a champion.

However, Butler has been here before. The bulldogs almost beat Duke last year by a buzzer beater with a last-second shot, but UConn, a school known for its basketball program, seems to have something special in Kemba Walker. The matchups will be intense, the defense tight, and a very clear focused win.

Joining me for a live discussion on all of this is Mark McKay with CNN Sports. He's in Houston, Texas. And B.J. Schecter, executive editor at SportsIllustrated.com, who's also joining us from Houston.

Good to see you guys. Let's start with you, Mark. The stage is set for tonight's game. What have you been hearing there in Houston?

MARK MCKAY, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, we've been hearing same story, different city for the Butler Bulldogs who are once again in the national championship game. You mentioned they came agonizingly close to beating Duke last year in Indianapolis. They get another chance to slay another basketball giant tonight here in Houston in the University of Connecticut.

The Bulldogs will go in as the underdog, but are they really? This team has been big-game experience and they have others wondering, how do you beat these guys?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not really in the business of giving advice to people we are going to try to beat, so, we have enough - we have a hard enough time beating the teams as it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have never changed what we do. You stay within your vision, and your system. And you know, you get guys that buy into it, and you can be successful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody can stand up here and say they believe. But, to truly believing that you can do it and do it together is a unique thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKAY: Now after Butler beat VCU on Saturday night, I asked the coach Brad Stevens if he had any pain from last year's loss to Duke and how much of this year making up for last year's fame. And he said they had no pain, they have no regrets. He asked his team to play hard and smart, Randi. They will have to do both to beat Connecticut tonight.

KAYE: And Mark, what do you expect we're going to see tonight? How is this going to shake out?

MCKAY: You know, Butler really has a way of winning close games, and I think it is going to be another close game against a very good team. I like the way that Kemba Walker is playing for Connecticut. I'm going to go with UConn winning this one on a close one, maybe 68- 64.

KAYE: Oooh, okay. All right. B.J., let's turn to you now. What would you say are the contrasts really between the two schools here?

B.J. SCHECTER, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, SI.COM: Well, I think that you are looking at a school like UConn and they have a tremendous basketball tradition. Jim Calhoun has won two national championships before. Now he is going for three. He is 68. Brad Stevens, the Butler coach, is 32. So Jim Calhoun is twice as old as Brad Stevens. Is older wiser? We'll see tonight.

But Brad Stevens is one of the up-and-coming coaches in college basketball today. He's extremely smart. He motivates his players. And the contrast in style is not only between Butler and Uconn, but the coaching styles. Jim Calhoun is a yeller and a screamer; Brad Stevens is very calm and instills confidence in his players. You know, I think UConn is much bigger inside. They go much deeper.

So I think you are going to see an interesting, different contrast in styles type of game. UConn wants to go out to run and get the tempo up; Butler's going to try to slow it down and get a close game. So, it is going to be a real interesting match-up of contrast and styles.

KAYE: I am sure it is going to be very interesting. You guys are lucky to be watching it all. And we'll leave it there. We'll see if your picks come true. B.J. and Mark, great to see you both. Fun conversation.