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Bracing For A Shutdown; Robert Gates Visits The Troops; Man on the Street Solutions; More Meetings and No Deal; Strong 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Japan; Improving Lives with Electricity; Gunman Kills 11 Students in Brazil; Create a Design, Earn Money; First Golf Major Under Way

Aired April 07, 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: Hi there, Suzanne, thank you.

So many issues, so little time. With less than 36 hours now, standing between deadlocks, politicians and the federal government shutdown, the question turns from deal or no deal to open or closed.

President Obama still wants a deal, so as we speak, he's brought the Republican speaker of the house and the Democratic leader of the Senate back to the oval office in search of a plan to keep the government running for the six months left in the fiscal year.

Now, if they don't come to terms, much of what you see behind me here will close. Parks, museums, very critical services, and much of the business being done today in federal offices is figuring out who or what is essential and who or what is not. Here's the one number everybody agrees on, the 8th, you see it right there, that is the deadline, Friday, tomorrow.

The latest in a series of stop-gap spending bills expires at midnight tomorrow. The House will vote today on a one-week extension that Republicans have pushed for days now and Democrats continue to dismiss. It would couple $12 billion in immediate cuts with six months of funding for the Pentagon.

And that's where I bring in CNN's Dana Bash on Capitol Hill and Ed Henry who's at the White House. Ed, let's start with you. The president said that he would keep calling meetings as long as it takes. So, is this all just for appearances or is work actually getting done there?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, I think they are pushing hard here, Randi, at the White House and on Capitol Hill. The fact is the president had both of these leaders here late last night, as you know. They all individually came out and said all the right things but they still -- they do not have a deal.

I'm told that senior White House aides working with senior Congressional aides continue to work into the wee hours, something like 2:00 in the morning here at the White House to try and push this forward.

Dana will give you details about how close they are, but what I can tell you that the White House is focusing on, just as the president this hour sits down again with these Congressional leaders.

We just had had a top official from the office of management and budget depresites (ph) come out and list some of the things that will be shut down if the government closes.

He pointed out the FHA, for example, handles 20 percent of new loans and refinancing. For people out there watching us right now, that will basically stop.

Also, the NIH can't take new patients. If you're filing a paper tax return before April 15th you're not going to be able to get a refund if the government closes at all. So, 400 walk-in centers all around the country to help you with that tax return will be closed.

Bottom line is, Jay Carney, though, was just asked by a reporter, why then does the president want to veto this latest Republican plan that you mentioned with $12 billion in cuts? Carney's response is basically the president is tired of these short-term bills. He wants something to fund the government for the rest of the year -- Randi.

KAYE: All right, Ed, thank you very much.

Let's get to Dana Bash. Dana, when people say that it's not the money, it's always the money. Right? But here majority leader, Reid, says the primary hang-up is ideology. So, can you remind us exactly what he means about that?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are lots of what's called 'policy riders' that were in the Republicans' bill in the House that Democrats simply do not agree with. And both sides agree that that is a huge hang-up. Reminding you what they are, lots of them but the biggest ones, the EPA -- the Republicans ban EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.

But this is the big one, abortion funding. You heard the Democratic leader over and over again and Democratic sources I talked to say that the Republicans are simply sticking to the idea of getting away with Planned Parenthood funding, and if they are putting forward compromises, which they are, they believe that they're even, from their perspective, worse. And I will tell you that the Republicans say that is certainly an issue but it's not the only issue.

I want to tell you one other thing, because it is also about the money, it just gives you a sense of the fact that they're actually disagreeing, Randi, over what they disagree about, how much to cut.

A Democratic source told me they do have tentative agreement on $34.5 billion. Republicans say, including the house speaker, in the press conference there is no agreement on the number.

So, that is where they are heading into this meeting at the White House. Again as Ed said, they were pretty positive last night, not today.

KAYE: And Dana, let's get back to this one more week proposal by the Republicans, I mean, is this an honest attempt to buy time or is it really a bid to deflect blame?

BASH: Depends on who you ask. Democrats will say it is absolutely an attempt to deflect blame and, look, Republicans admit, they don't want to get the blame if there is a government shutdown.

So, this proposal that we're going to see, a vote on probably in this hour, Randi, it does keep the government open for a week but it has $12 billion in cuts.

Democrats say that if you're really serious about keeping the government over -- open, then you wouldn't cut this spending that they disagreed with. That's why the White House has said that they are going to veto anything that even gets to his desk, but it won't even get that far because the Senate will probably not take it up.

But before we end, I want to show you something on this whole idea - whole idea of the government shutting down. Here in Congress, Randi, the furlough notices have already gone out. The warnings of who will be essential, who will be able to come to work and who will not.

We just got this, we obtained this. This is actually a notice that -- to a staffer telling them that they are essential, that they can come to work if the government is shut down.

And the criteria for essential, here in Congress, is to carry out the constitutional duties of Congress, because if the government is shut down, the House and Senate, they still will be running, they will still be functioning, but the other duties out there are security and to potentially help to close down an office.

So, that's an -- excuse me, I'm losing my voice, that's an example of what we're seeing here, very interesting that these notices are already going out.

KAYE: All right. So, we have the essentials and the non- essentials, some will get paid and some will not. Dana Bash and Ed Henry for us, thank you both.

Imagine fighting and possibly dying for your country but not getting paid? That's kind what will happen to the men and women serving in the U.S. military if there is a government shutdown.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates explained to troops in Baghdad today that if there's a shutdown for tomorrow and it runs for a week, troops would get half-way. If the shutdown continued until April 30th, they would miss a whole pay check but eventually they would receive back pay.

On a more personal note, Gates told the troops that this was probably his last trip to Iraq as defense secretary and that is today's "Sound effect."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: My highest priority in the nearly four and a half years I've had this job is to get you what you need to complete your mission and come home safely, from MRAPs to ISR in Iraq (ph) and more. But you're the ones that have actually done the job.

I don't know how many trips I've made to Iraq, it's maybe 14 or something like that, and this will probably be my last one. And I just wanted to come and say thank you and tell you that working with you all has been the greatest privilege and the greatest honor of my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Gates has already said that he is stepping down this year. President Obama has not yet named a successor.

As the military prepares for a possible shutdown, I want to check in now with our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr. Barbara, what are some of the new details that you're hearing about this?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, this really is topic number one around the Pentagon today as they prepare for this possibility. We are told that within hours, some guidance, some memos to commanders around the world may be issued spelling out what will happen. We know some details now.

Basically, the entire uniform military comes to work no matter what. None of them are exempt, everybody shows up, even though they may not get paid if the money runs out.

There are three categories of what essentially are considered essential jobs, that is national security, anything relating to the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, help for the people of Japan, national security, public safety, anything related to the protection of human life.

So, if there is a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, the military still will be able to respond. But beyond that, the questions that are now arising, emergency medical care for the troops, that will be available, but perhaps, commissaries where they shop may not be available.

And earlier today on Capitol Hill, a very powerful Senate Democrat talked about the impact on troops and military families.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: I guess the best way we can thank the troops and their families is to make sure there's no gap in the receipt of their paychecks. I know every member of this committee is thinking about how to avoid that gap.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: But right now, even though senator Levin says he wants to avoid problems for the military, this, Randi, is going to affect all troops. Everyone from General David Petraeus in Afghanistan down to the lowest enlisted junior member of the U.S. military.

It will affect troops in the field, their families waiting for them back home, and as we have talked about, even the wounded troops still lying in their hospital beds in military hospitals around the world trying to recover. They're going to get back pay but that may be very small comfort in the interim.

KAYE: Yes, at that point, it doesn't sound good enough, does it? All right, Barbara Starr. Thank you, Barbara.

And with a possible government shutdown growing closer by the minute, we want to hear from you. How will it most affect you and your family? Share your video stories with us by going to CNNireport.com.

And you can also join the conversation on our blog, CNN.com/Ali, or by posting your thoughts on Ali's Facebook and Twitter pages and my Facebook and Twitter pages as well.

Just go to any of those and let us know what you think about the possibility of a government shutdown and how it might affect you and those you and those you care about.

Lawmakers listen up. Every day Americans are about to tell you what to cut and what to keep. Their suggestions for keeping the government up and running next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Everyone has an opinion as to what lawmakers should do to keep the government from shutting down. So, we decided to ask some everyday Americans how they would solve this budget dilemma.

Maggie Lake joins me live from Columbus Circle in New York City. Maggie, you're out there, you're talking to people, you're asking what they would do if they were the ones making these all-important decisions. What are you hearing?

MAGGIE LAKE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That it's really hard, Randi. Listen, we all can agree that there's a lot of waste in Washington that can go right away but that's only going to get you so far.

If we want to get serious about tackling the deficit, we're going to have to look at the big ticket items -- Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, defense spending. That actually makes up about 75 percent of the budget.

When I ask people, what about those programs, where would they want to cut from those programs? This is what they said to us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a few years away, not many years away, from social security. I want my social security protected, obviously.

LAKE: That's a -- that's a no-go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a no-go.

LAKE: Any other situations?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's tricky because we need defense, I mean, especially now what's going on in the Middle East and --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need health care, yes for --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How about (inaudible) pension?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely, definitely, I mean, she's worked hard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I have to cut I'd have to put it in defense.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAKE: As you can see, people are really divided. I mean, defense came up a little bit more than everything else, but they're uncomfortable with all of this, which is why critics say politicians in Washington should stop arguing over this 2011 budget, this issue, and start focusing on the long term because it is going to be a long conversation that's has to go on with the American people -- Randi.

KAYE: And, Maggie, what about higher taxes? Were people willing to consider that? We people willing to consider that? Anybody talk about that?

LAKE: Yes, but you can imagine the response to that. The group we talked to all shouted, no, right away. And the man actually said, only on the rich. And that's what you hear all the time, people really not prepared for higher taxes. They feel like -- you know, coming out of the financial crisis, the economy isn't strong enough.

But when you push them and say, listen, you can't do this, you can't not cut spending, not raise taxes, they say that there's sort of a realization something's going to need to happen, they just aren't sure where it is. And if you talk to budget experts, they say it's going to be both that needs to be done.

KAYE: And what was the poll on the street? Just quickly, did they say that they think there will be a shutdown or do they think that they'll resolve this?

LAKE: Yes, you know, they're pretty cynical. They still think this is a lot of political noise and sort of campaigning already. So I don't think they think there's going to be a shutdown. If it's a short one, probably not an issue. I think if it seems like it's going to stretch, many people would be surprised. And then we're going to have to wait to see. Are they going to be mad or are they going to think, all right, hey, this is progress, we're actually getting serious about this? Unclear right now.

KAYE: All right, our Maggie Lake on the streets of New York hearing your voices on this possibility of a shutdown.

Maggie, thank you.

Well, you've heard their answer. So what would you cut? How would you solve this budget crisis? Join the conversation on our blog, cnn.com/ali.

Production at Toyota has been hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Next, an exclusive interview with the company's president. We'll see if the plans to move production elsewhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: This was supposed to be a rebound year for Toyota. The company had struggled with a string of recalls going back to 2009 that affected more than 11 million vehicles, not the least of which were problems with stuck accelerators on its Camry models. Rising gas prices put Toyota in a good position with its line of fuel efficient and hybrid cars. In fact, the company said earlier this week it had sold its 1 millionth Prius in the U.S.

But the earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused production and transportation problems for Toyota in Japan, and that has led to shortages for both cars and for parts around the world. Earlier this week, Toyota's president was in Washington state to announce a new partnership with Microsoft.

CNN's Poppy Harlow caught up with him and asked if the production problems could force permanent changes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKIO TOYODA, PRESIDENT, TOYOTA MOTOR CORP. (through translator): Although our plants in northeastern Japan have been affected by this disaster, but currently we all have the prospect of achieving recovery of those production operations in that part of Japan. And therefore, at the moment, we have no plan of relocating production activities going on in Japan to other parts of the world.

In terms of all capacity, already out of 7 million units we produce worldwide, 4 million out of that 7 million are produced outside of Japan in overseas operations and therefore we would like to maintain 3 million, which is currently produced in Japan, to be continue to be produced in Japan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Moody's investor services is also considering downgrading Toyota's credit rating because of the financial fallout from last month's disaster.

You can see more of Poppy's interview at cnnmoney.com.

And, of course, you can catch "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" with Christine Romans each Saturday morning at 9:30 Eastern. And don't miss "YOUR MONEY" with Ali Velshi Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3:00.

Time now for a quick check of our top stories.

Another earthquake hit Japan just a few hours ago. This one a 7.1. It triggered tsunami warnings that were later canceled. It was centered off Miyagi, the same region where the original 9.0 quake hit almost a month ago. Tokyo Electric evacuated workers at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant after today's quake.

The clock is ticking toward a shutdown of the federal government. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he thinks a government shutdown is, quote, "unavoidable" at this point. Speaking on the Senate floor, Reid blamed the Republicans for playing politics. But House Speaker John Boehner says the disagreement goes deeper.

The U.S. Air Force says it is going to reexamine its versions of the Boeing 737s following an incident last week in which a Southwest Airline 737 had a hole ripped in its ceiling mid-flight. The Air Force says it operates two of the planes currently and they are both in service for VIP flights, which includes people such as the first lady or congressional leaders.

President Obama huddles with the top two congressional leaders as a government shutdown draws even closer. Our Ed Henry is working his sources to see what exactly is going on behind the scenes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: President Obama is meeting with the top two congressional leaders right now and says he's prepared to summon them back for a third straight day of negotiations if necessary. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins me now from the White House.

Ed, the GOP has talk about defunding health care reform and Planned Parenthood, among other things. That sounds like an automatic deal-breaker. What's the word there?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. I mean the president, a short time ago, put out word that he's got an official veto threat now on the short term funding bill that Republicans have put on the table. You've been talking about it with Dana and others, $12 billion in cuts. They're also frustrated here at the White House that it's sort of a short-term bill. They say they want a long-term bill.

Now, as soon as I mentioned that to you a few moments ago, I got an angry e-mail from a Republican aide on The Hill saying, well, wait a second, if you look further on the veto threat, and I've got it right here, the White House says that the president will sign a short- term funding bill to keep the government open if he believes negotiators are making significant progress and if it's clean. If it doesn't have any of those legislative riders on abortion or Planned Parenthood that you just mentioned.

So, basically Republicans are saying, well, hold on a second. The president, on one hand, will veto a Republican bill that's short term but also keeps the Pentagon funded, but will not veto another short term bill if he likes it. And so this is the game back and forth. They're going to keep doing this, I suspect, until we get closer and closer to midnight tomorrow night.

And there's still a lot of people in this town, though, while they're doing contingency planning, who are still saying in private that they believe there will be a deal before we get to midnight.

KAYE: Well, Ed, I don't want to get you any more angry e-mails, but Republicans were ultimately blamed for the shutdown in '95. Clinton came out the winner. I mean do you get the sense that both sides now, in this case, are trying to avoid getting blamed this time around?

HENRY: Oh, absolutely. And look no further than a picture last night of John Boehner and Harry Reid emerging after what aides say was about 84 minutes of a private talk with President Obama here late last night in the Oval Office. You almost never see Harry Reid, John Boehner standing next to each other, let alone saying, you know, partially nice thing about each other or about their respective parties. They did that largely to come out to the cameras and show, we're trying to work this out.

Now, if it all falls through and the government gets shut down, each side will be spinning this ferociously to try to make sure their party does not get the blame. But in these final hours now, they are also maneuvering to at least show publicly that they're trying to work it out. And that's what this White House meeting going on right now in the Oval Office is really all about, Randi.

KAYE: Ed, Dana showed us these furlough notices, at least one of them, that she had gotten her hands on that had already gone out to a congressional employee. What is the plan for the White House in terms of the workers there that are considered essential or non-essential? How will they be notified whether or not they should come to work?

HENRY: I was just talking to a White House staffer a few minutes ago who told me that he believe he's non-essential, which obviously can be heartbreaking to some people when you're told you're non- essential to the operation. Whether it's at the White House or anywhere else.

But he said basically at that point his Blackberry would be cut off because, you'll remember, last time the government shut down in '95, people did have Blackberries. They didn't have that way to stay connected to the office. So they would be shut down so that people who are supposed to be furloughed would not still be working outside the office. So legally they were complying with the government shutdown.

Number two, it's very interesting to see what would be shut down and what would not. I gave you a quick list before. Let me give you a couple other quick examples. You would not be able to get a passport unless it was an emergency situation if the government shuts down. But on the other hand, the postal service will remain open, the FAA, of course, will keep going to make sure our air traffic control is safe, et cetera. But, interesting, Jay Carney just got a question a moment ago at his briefing, will Air Force One be grounded. Jay Carney actually didn't know the answer. Said he's going to have to check on it. He assumes that Air Force One, if the president wants to go for a ride, he'll be able to do it. He's the commander in chief. But that gives you an idea -- Jay Carney wasn't even sure whether Air Force One would be grounded. They are going through this line by line and learning as they go, in a way.

KAYE: Yes, sounds like a lot still needs to be work out. But, hey, maybe they'll work it out and we won't see a shutdown and all will be fine. Who knows.

But, Ed, listen, if anyone emerges from that meeting, get right back to us, OK?

HENRY: We'll be right back. Thanks.

KAYE: All right, thanks, Ed.

A former student opens fire at a school in Brazil and guns down 11 children in a bloody rampage. The latest on that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Some of the stories now that you might have missed.

Another strong earthquake has hit Japan. A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Miyagi this morning in northeast Japan. A tsunami warning was issued but lifted shortly thereafter.

This is the latest video we're getting in from Japan. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is about 63 miles south of the latest quake. Workers there evacuated the plant. Tokyo Electric says power is still on and there are no immediate reports of damage.

We're less than 36 hours from a possible government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says he thinks a government shutdown is unavoidable at this point. Speaking on the Senate floor, Reid blamed the Republicans for playing politics. But House Speaker John Boehner says the disagreement goes deeper saying there is no agreement on numbers and the underlying policies.

Now to Brazil. A gunman opened fire inside a school in Rio de Janeiro. The bloody rampage left 11 students dead, 18 others injured. The 23-year-old gunman was a former student at the school. CNN affiliate Record TV says the man went into the school armed with two handguns. The gunman fled and ran into military police. Officers shot him and he later died of his wounds.

Ten thousand fewer people filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week. There were 382,000 claims, much lower than what economists were expecting. The decline follows the downward trend over the past few months, raising hopes that the job market is slowly picking up some momentum. She may no longer be tweeting and missing in action but now we know what to call her, at least. That Egyptian cobra who escaped from her Bronx Zoo enclosure now finally has a name. She's been named -- Mia, or Mia, or maybe MIA, missing in action. That's probably what that stands for, we think. Thousands submitted nominations to the Bronx Zoo to name the snake and 60,000 people voted on the final five names. So, there she is. M-I-A.

We're watching the developing story on Capitol Hill and the White House. The budget battle, of course. Tune in for a special hour of CNN NEWSROOM coming your way at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Our entire hour will focus on the possibility of a government shutdown. Voters from across the country will be weighing in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. A new CNN documentary examines America's public schools and how the country's financial future could be at risk if students can't tackle math and science needed to fill high-skilled jobs.

Suzanne Malveaux has more on one of the lowest performing schools in Boston that's hoping to turn things around with the help of some federal dollars.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Thirteen -year-old Eric Hall is in the seventh grade at Orchard Gardens, one of Boston's poorest performing schools. He says he's seen a lot since he started there had in kindergarten.

ERIC HALL, STUDENT: I've seen different teachers, different principals. I've seen students come and go.

MALVEAUX: But this year is different.

HALL: Now it's gym, writing, reading, math. Pretty much -- I pretty much enjoy all of my classes.

MALVEAUX: That's because Orchard Gardens is one of 5,000 schools around the country getting millions of dollars from the federal government to turn around. The goal, become a top performing school.

We first visited Principal Andrew Bott last September, just before the school year started.

ANDREW BOTT, PRINCIPAL: We need to do something bold. We need to really restart Orchard Gardens.

MALVEAUX: He hand-picked his staff to replace the 80 percent he fired. The turnaround rules mandate he replace at least half. He also has $3.7 million in grants to help him over the next three years.

Seven months into the year with standardized test season in full swing, we checked back in. BOTT: I did not imagine we could be this far. I know that within three years we can have over 90 percent of our kids at proficient or advanced and on a college track.

MALVEAUX: These could be monumental gains when you consider only 10 percent of the students were proficient in years past.

BOTT: Now we're anywhere from 35 percent to 50 percent proficient in English, and anywhere from 15 percent to 75 percent proficient in math.

MALVEAUX: These are projections. Official scores from state tests won't be able until the summer.

Justin Cohen works to improve failing schools. He calls Bott's goals ambitious and cautions against declaring early victory.

JUSTIN COHEN, MASS INSIGHT: What happens is schools that have achieved fragile gains can often slide back into underperformance once either resources are taken away or attention is distracted.

MALVEAUX: He says there's more at stake.

COHEN: What I worry about with school turnaround is we hit a plateau or we increase student scores to some extent but they're still performing well below their peers in more affluent neighborhoods.

MALVEAUX: At Orchard Gardens, the improvements go beyond test scores.

ANDREW VEGA, TEACHER: Behavior, it's night and day. I literally spent the first week of school just teaching them how to walk in and out of my classroom.

MALVEAUX: Eric Hall thinks his school is doing something right.

HALL: When I found out that this was a turnaround school, I thought it was going to be like headaches every day. But it's -- they actually made it fun.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: "Don't Fail Me: Education in America" documentary reported by Soledad O'Brien airs Sunday, May 15th, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

A deadly air strike on a rebel position in Libya. Who's to blame and the latest on a former Congressman's bid to talk with Gadhafi. Right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Rebels in eastern Libya say their forces were mistakenly hit in a NATO air strike today. Reuters and the BBC say several rebels and civilians were killed and wounded. It happened near the port city of Brega and if confirmed would be the second time NATO planes have bombed rebel forces since last week. Rebels expressed outrage over this attack. NATO says it's looking into the report.

Also today, rebels continued fighting forces loyal to Gadhafi for control of Brega and Misrata. On the diplomatic front, former U.S. Congressman Curt Weldon is still in Tripoli waiting for a meeting with Gadhafi. Weldon, seen here on the right of your screen is in Libya on a private mission in a bid to get Gadhafi to step down.

In the Ivory Coast, time appears to be running out for former President Laurent Gbagbo. France says he only has 1,000 remaining fighters. Fighting has raged for weeks between Gbagbo's forces and those loyal to Alassane Ouattara, the man internationally recognized as the winner of last year's presidential election.

French defense officials say 200 of Gbagbo's men are holed up with him at his bunker in Abidjan, which is surrounded by U.N. troops. French forces again clashed with Gbagbo's fighters today in a dramatic rescue of the Japanese ambassador and his staff. This -- these pictures here show the rescue operation under way. So dramatic. The French moved in after Gbagbo's forces broke into the ambassador's residence overnight. The ambassador and his staff were flown to safety in French helicopters.

We tell you a lot about the war and the military strategy to win hearts and minds in Afghanistan. But what if you could simply make people's lives there better by finding a way to provide them with electricity? The tricky part, well, there's no power grid. But one guy has found a way to make it all work and he is today's Big I.

I want to introduce all of you to Tony Woods, the owner and director of Sustainable Energy Services Afghanistan, and Jeff Chu of "Fast Company" magazine.

Good to see both of you guys.

Tony, I want to start with you. Tell me what you do exactly and what your organization provides.

TONY WOODS, OWNER, SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SERVICES AFGHANISTAN: Yes. What we do is provide electricity services for communities in the remote parts of the country that have no access to any electrical network. So we build the complete network and then power it with renewable energy services like solar or wind to power up the network.

KAYE: So by creating this network and improving the infrastructure, you improve lives, right, as well?

WOODS: Yes, that's really the end game for what we do is to try to introduce some form of stability or create employment. Generally get the economy going by providing the infrastructure foundation for it to grow on. Yes, that's the goal.

KAYE: And for those who don't follow this story so closely, talk to us just a little bit about the need for this there.

WOODS: Yes. Afghanistan's one of the most un-electrified countries on the planet. I think at the moment the levels of electrification, it's only 10 percent of the population have access to energy. So the need for energy is tremendous. We all know where the unemployment ends up, you know, if you have large pool of young men with no work, it doesn't lead anywhere good. So what we do is try to provide the mechanism for the economy to get on its feet.

KAYE: It really is incredible work.

I'd like to bring in Jeff.

Jeff, you've profiled Tony's work in the April edition of "Fast Company" magazine. We have the cover.

How did you find out about this story?

JEFF CHU, EDITOR & WRITER, FAST COMPANY: One of my reporters was going to Afghanistan and she said, oh, I want to do an embed. I said an embed is fine, we're not the "New York Times." Bring we something we haven't heard about.

We write about innovation at "Fast Company," but innovation is only good as long as it changes people's lives. And she came back with this story about a company that not only creates electrification in various parts of Afghanistan, but also creates jobs, including hiring a woman who used to be a Taliban wife who fled her husband and found a job in Tony's company. You know, that's technology that's transforming people's lives in a powerful way.

KAYE: So how impressed are you with what Tony has managed to pull off there?

CHU: You know, we've spent nearly $60 billion -- this is U.S. government money -- $60 billion in Afghanistan, and this is one of the cases where a few million dollars has affected hundreds of lives.

Midwives in the Panchear (ph) Valley now have hot water when they're delivering a baby. That improves the prospects of a successful delivery so much. There are unemployed people who now maintain these electrical systems and have new skills because of Tony's company.

So it's promising and we're excited about the potential of the technology there.

KAYE: And Tony, how do you feel about being painted as a little bit of a hero in a story like this?

WOODS: Oh, I think, yes, hero's probably a little over the top for me. We're pretty excited to be involved in a project like this really. We don't see anything particularly special in what we do. I know from outside it looks like way, but for us it is business as usual really.

KAYE: All right, Tony Woods, the owner and director of Sustainable Energy Services Afghanistan, and Jeff Chu of "Fast Company" magazine. Thanks, guys, both of you, and continued good work. To read about this in full, just go to our blog, CNN.com/Ali. We'll link you to the "Fast Company" article there as well.

New polling out on possible Republican presidential contenders. "The Donald" is among them. We'll see how he ranks next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Just about ten minutes before the hour. Time now for a "CNN Political Update." CNN senior political editor Mark Preston and CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser join me now from Washington.

Good to see you, guys.

Paul, let's talk about "The Donald" rising in the polls.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: He certainly is. You know, Randi, last month CNN made some big news in our poll and we had had Donald Trump at 10 percent. Now a brand-new NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll, check out these numbers, it came out last night, Donald Trump at 17 percent among people who are likely to vote in the Republican primaries next year.

Now that poll has him slightly behind Mitt Romney and tied with Mike Huckabee, and look at that, pretty far ahead of Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin and the rest of the gang. And, Randi, when you look at those numbers and you break it down, they break it down just by Tea Party supporters and he's even higher, Trump is even higher among them.

Why the rise in the polls for Donald Trump? Couple of things. He's well known, obviously. Everyone knows "The Donald." He's been everywhere in the media lately, including CNN just today.

And also one other thing maybe contributing to this, and that is the birther issue. He's been very outspoken on that. And that's where I pass it to my friend, Mark Preston.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, Randi, of course, Donald Trump has been very successful in business. He's talked a lot about running for president in the past and certainly in the past couple months we've heard a lot about his criticism of the Obama administration.

Well, in the past few weeks he's hit home on the issue of weather President Obama was born in the United States. In fact, he said his skepticism has grown just in the last few weeks.

Let's hear what he had to say on CNN about this issue just about an hour ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR/REALITY TV STAR (via telephone): I hope he was born in the United States. I'd like him to be. Because if I decide to run, I would like to really do it on a very, very straight-up, head-to-head, man-to-man basis.

I mean, honestly, I hope he was born, cause if it wasn't, it's the greatest scam in history. Not political history, in history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: Well, there you are, right there. Donald Trump talking about his skepticism that President Obama might not have been born in the United States. If that is the case, then he wouldn't be eligible to be president.

But a lot of people, Randi, think that his appeal is the fact he's been a very successful businessman and they're questioning why he's even bringing up this whole idea about being a birther.

So we expect to hear a lot more from Donald Trump in the next six weeks or so. He says that he'll make a decision about whether to run for president right before June -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes, and I understand he's sending his own investigators to Hawaii to get to the bottom of this. It's all very interesting. He certainly has been vocal about it.

All right, thank you, guys.

We're watching the developing story on Capitol Hill and the White House, the budget battle. Tune for a special hour of CNN NEWSROOM at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. The entire hour is going to focus on the possibility of a government shutdown. Voters from around the country will be weighing in and that starts in just about nine minutes from now.

The Department of Commerce estimates there was $165 billion in online sales last year. That's up nearly 15 percent from 2009.

In today's "Connection," Dan Simon takes a look at an online retailer that is redefining e-commerce.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nidhi Chanani was in a rut, her 9:00 to 5:00 administrative job wasn't stimulating or lucrative. Like a lot of people, she just need a change.

NIDHI CHANANI, ARTIST: And I heard through a friend they started this T-shirt store online. And I thought, hmm, maybe I can try that.

SIMON: Designing a T-shirt may not sound like a calling, but it changed Nidhi's life.

This is Zazzle. To call it a T-shirt store doesn't quite do it justice. It's a business that allows anyone to customize dozens of different products, from posters to iPad cases to shoes. Users then have the option of ordering someone else's design.

For Nidhi, it began on her laptop. She looked to her Indian heritage and humor for her first creation.

CHANANI: It says, "You say potato, I say alu."

SIMON: Alu potato in Hindu. Thousands sold, with Nidhi getting a healthy cut of the profits.

CHANANI: Oh, my gosh, the feeling is amazing. You know, every time I got an e-mail, I made a sale. It's like I wanted to announce it to the world. It's different than getting a paycheck. It's something you created.

SIMON (on camera): What percentage of the sale the creator get?

JEFF BEAVER, CO-FOUNDER, ZAZZLE: More than you expect. Long story short, you can make 20 percent, 50 percent, 60 percent of a sale without ever touching it.

SIMON (voice-over): It's a formula that served Jeff well. He launched the website in 2005 with his father and brother. He says Zazzle is bringing in now more than $100 million a year in revenue.

(on camera): Zazzle users create about 150,000 new products every day. Literally every second, new designs are being uploaded to the website. From there, the machines take over, building that product exactly to your specification.

(voice-over): The unique business model calls for only raw materials. No actual products until someone place answer order off the site.

BEAVER: What we decided to do in terms of the business model is combine the best aspects of eBay marketplace and what Dell was doing at the time which was compelling, mass customization for electronics.

So we thought if we can create a marketplace where users can design products and then post them for sale, if we can figure out how to make the products on the mend, that's pretty cool.

SIMON: Nidhi's products sold so well, she quit her job and enrolled in art school.

CHANANI: I thought, what am I doing with my life right now? Is this a smart move? Art isn't something people make money off of.

SIMON: She's now a full-time artist carving out a living by selling her work on and even off line.

CHANANI: Yes. Do you want me to sign it?

SIMON: A young woman much more fulfilled.

CHANANI: I just see myself continuing to design and build.

SIMON: Thanks to some unique technology and an innovative silicon valley company that helped provide the courage to tap into a creative yearning. Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Tiger Woods sets out in pursuit of his fifth green jacket, and this time he's not an overwhelming favorite. We'll take you live to Augusta right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Golf's green jacket is up for grabs. It's the first day of the Masters tournament, but two of the favorites, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, haven't had the easiest of years.

CNN's Patrick Snell joins me from Augusta, Georgia, with the very latest.

Hi there, Patrick.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Randi, hi there. Yes, thanks. Welcome to Augusta.

You know, the reigning champion, Phil Mickelson, he enters his 75th edition of the Masters all smiles really. Just last weekend, he had his first win of the year. He won the Houston Open in Texas. A victory that meant too much to him because, as I say, it came almost a year to the day since his Masters triumph last April right here in Augusta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNELL (voice-over): For Mickelson, the last 18 months have been difficult in the extreme after not just his wife, but also his mother were diagnosed with breast cancer. Then, in August last year, Phil revealed he'd been battling a form of painful arthritis for months that made make it difficult to get out of bed each morning.

So his victory at the Masters has been tempered by plenty of bitter, leaving Lefty (ph) saving the poignancy of winning the third green jacket.

PHIL MICKELSON, 2010 MASTERS CHAMPION: It was really a special event for me, special week for me, Amy, the family. At the time, we were still right in the thick of a lot of things and it was a really big emotional boost for us. And things are going -- things have been going so much better. We're in such a better place now that we're just really excited and appreciative.

SNELL: No stranger to off the course troubles, Tiger Woods is struggling to regain his former prominence. Now ranked just seventh in the world, he's looking for his first major win since June of 2008.

And while still rebuilding his image from a highly publicized divorce, Tiger is also trying to rebuild a swing that's left him winless since 2009.

Now at 35, time may no longer be on his side in his attempt to break Jack Nicklaus' all-time record of 18 major victories.

TIGER WOODS, FOUR-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION: Taking a step back or sometimes even two steps back, there's nothing wrong with that if I'm going to make three, four, five steps forward and become better in the end. I'll sacrifice that, knowingly that I'm going to become better. And if you look at my track record, you'll see that's exactly what's happened.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNELL: Woods, would you believe, going for a first green jacket in some six years, while Mickelson looking for a second straight Masters title, one which could prove to be a Tiger tying fourth overall.

We shall see, Randi.

KAYE: And, Patrick, do you have any sense, I know it's early, just getting underway today, but any sense who the fans want to see? Is it going to be Phil or Tiger?

SNELL: Well, certainly Phil Mickelson is a huge box office attraction. In fact, he's just gone off the first fairway right here at Augusta, he's just gone past us and there were a fair number of fans were following him. But I think already because Tiger Woods went out before him, the vast majority are with the former World-number one Tiger Woods as we speak on the course. Mickelson's round just really in it's very early stages, the first hole for Mickelson as I send it back to you, Randi.

KAYE: All right, Patrick, thank you so much. Appreciate it.