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Heartbreak at Arlington Cemetery; Vote on 2011 Budget; High- Tech Shirt Detects Pollution; Hearings Examine Arlington Scandal; Congress to Vote on 2011 Budget; Mom Plunges Van into N.Y. River; FAA Air Traffic Boss Resigns; Three Killed in Taliban Attacks; "The Wrong War"; Raise Taxes? On Whom?

Aired April 14, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with heartbreak on hallowed ground. It's been almost a year since a U.S. Army report confirmed scandalous neglect and mishandling of grave sites, documents, even human remains at Arlington National Cemetery, the final resting place of more than 300,000 of America's fallen heroes. The outrage was immediate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: At a conservative estimate, 4,900 to 6,600 graves may be unmarked, improperly marked, or mislabeled on the cemetery's maps.

RYAN GALLUCCI, AMVETS: It was jaw-dropping when we first learned about it because it's something that Americans revere and they look on with such pride.

OLIVER WOODS: I think it's one of America's greatest atrocities and the person in charge or responsible for it should be hung up by a roof to dry.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

KAYE: The cemetery's top two officials were forced out of their jobs, and Congress vowed to hold the new guardian responsible for fixing a record-keeping system that actually hadn't much changed since the Civil War. As we speak, a House subcommittee is opening a hearing to find out what, if anything, has changed in the past year.

And our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is watching it all with us.

Barbara, remind us just how big this problem is.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is. It's unfathomable to so many people, Randi, really, that at Arlington National Cemetery, the nation's most hallowed ground for military veterans, something like this could have happened.

What the Army says now is, really, a year later, the difference is, as they are finding these problems, they are rapidly fixing them. But, Randi, they are still finding problems. That's really the news here today at this hearing on Capitol Hill, I think.

An Army official confirming to CNN a short time ago in just one of the latest examples -- and I want to read this because it's so specific. In a single grave, they found eight sets of cremated remains, three of which could not be identified, will be reburied as unknown, and a criminal probe under way about that matter.

There are a total of 18 graves now at Arlington, they think, where they are either mismarked, unmarked, or inappropriately marked in some fashion. They've reviewed 22,000 graves. They continue to find these problems. But the new management says they are moving very rapidly to try to fix things as they find them -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes. And, I mean, one other stat, just to really hammer this home, I mean, one worker there, from what I understand, had guessed that one in 10 headstones is actually above the wrong remains. It's incredible.

But, Barbara, we have some sound from a Senate hearing last summer where Senator Claire McCaskill grilled the cemetery's former boss over the apparent dumping of urns. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: Now, when you found those urns, Mr. Metzler, what did you do?

JOHN METZLER, FMR. SUPT., ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY: We looked at the urns and we examined them to figure out if we could determine where they belonged in the cemetery.

MCCASKILL: And did you?

METZLER: No, we could not -- there were no markings on the urns, there was nothing that would lead us to identify who these remains belonged to.

MCCASKILL: So you had no idea who they were?

METZLER: That is correct.

MCCASKILL: And to this day you have no idea who they are?

METZLER: That is correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And Barbara, the cemetery's new boss is testifying today, but she's still putting faith in the antiquated records, is she not?

STARR: Well, to some extent. But, you know, they're right now in the middle of, literally, a 4.5 million review of what is going on at the cemetery, their practices, their record-keeping, all of it, trying to determine once and for all if everything's in place. But they are also finding other problems, Randi. For example, when a service member dies, often years later the spouse dies, and they are put in the same grave. Their name is supposed to be on the headstone. They're finding headstones without spouses' names, so they find multiple remains in the same grave, and they need to make sure of exactly who it is.

Families, of course, so upset by all of this. And, of course, many of these instances are from people who passed away decades ago, and they may never be able to resolve all of it. You know, there haven't been issues with those recently who have been buried in Arlington from Iraq and Afghanistan, but certainly all of the families who have loved ones there remain so concerned about this.

KAYE: Yes. And to these families, Barbara, as you know, I mean, this is sacred ground. It's amazing that the nation's premier military burial ground hasn't figured out or modernized its record- keeping system.

Barbara Starr, thank you so much.

We're learning more about what may have led a New York mother to drive her minivan into the Hudson River with her four young children in tow. Twenty-five-year-old Lashanda Armstrong drowned, along with three of her kids, ranging in age from 5 years old to 11 months old.

Armstrong's 10-year-old son, Lashaun, managed to escape from the van by rolling the window down as it filled with water, and then he swam to shore. Lashaun was spotted by a woman driving near the Hudson River, waving his hands and crying for help shortly after his mom's van went under. The woman, Meave Ryan, picked the boy up and took him to a nearby fire station.

Moments ago, we spoke to Meave Ryan about what Lashaun told her Tuesday night, and that is today's "Sound Effect."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEAVE RYAN, PASSERBY WHO HELPED 10-YEAR-OLD SURVIVOR: He said, "Well, we were just going for a drive and my mom was driving the car frantically, she was speeding." And by the time they got down by the ramp, he was like, "Mommy, mommy, what are you doing? Stop, stop, stop." You know?

And she was like, "Get into the back seat." So he went into the back seat. And she went to the back seat as well and cradled all the children with her in her arms and said, "If I'm going to die, you're all going to die with me." Two or these times she said that.

So he broke free from her, but she was still holding onto him because he was wearing a pair of green pants, and she was holding on to his pants. But he broke free from her and went outside the driver's side. I'm presuming -- I think it was the driver's side window that he was able to roll down a little bit and get out.

But at the last minute, he -- when he was leaving to go out the window, he heard his mother saying, "I made a terrible mistake. I made a mistake." So, she came from the middle of the row to the driver's side and tried to reverse the car back out, but at that time she was too much in the water at that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Ryan went on to say that Lashaun told her that his mother drove into the water because of his stepdad cheating on his mother. Lashaun says his mom was talking to his grandmother while driving, telling her she was at the river, and asked her to forgive her for what she was about to do. Lashaun is now staying with his aunt while police continue this investigation.

We turn now to Long Island, New York, where police and FBI agents say they are searching spots of interest today, looking for evidence in the serial killer investigation. Aviation teams are flying over the area. Police say they have found a significant number of items that they say aren't natural for the area.

More remains, including a human skull, were uncovered Monday. Forensic experts are still working to identify the latest remains. Since December, investigators have uncovered at least eight bodies, four of them identified as prostitutes.

A day after another air traffic controller was caught sleeping on the job, a top FAA official has resigned. Hank Krakowski, who heads the FAA's traffic control organization, stepped down this morning after meeting with the FAA's chief, Randy Babbitt.

Now, Babbitt issued this statement, saying, "We are all responsible and accountable for safety -- from senior FAA leadership to the controller in the tower."

Krakowski's resignation comes amid growing controversy over napping air traffic controllers. The latest occurred Wednesday morning, at Nevada's Reno/Tahoe Airport, when a medical jet was attempting to land with a sick patient. It is the sixth reported incident this year of a sleeping traffic controller. The FAA is reviewing its policies and announced it would immediately begin adding extra controllers on the midnight shift.

Today is the big vote on the 2011 budget. The president and House and Senate leaders agreed on a deal, but will the rank and file follow suit?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: There may be a deal, but it's not a done deal yet. That should happen today if enough lawmakers vote for the six-month federal budget that House and Senate leaders and President Obama agreed to late last Friday.

At the time, all we knew was the bottom line, more than $38 billion supposedly cut from what's left of the fiscal year. Later, came the details and growing opposition from conservatives, who want deeper cuts, and liberals, who want fewer. The plan takes almost $3 billion from President Obama's high- speed rail project, another $3 billion from highway construction. The Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program would lose more than $500 million. And payments to the United Nations would drop by almost $400 million. The Pentagon and Veterans Affairs would actually see increases of almost $6 billion in total.

Big as all this is, it's just a prelude to the budget fight that President Obama entered yesterday in a huge way.

CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger joins me to talk about that.

Gloria, we are talking fiscal 2012 and beyond, and now we're into the trillions, not the billions.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, we are into the trillions. And, you know, the president really did enter the fight in a big way.

I was kind of surprised though, I have to tell you, Randi, because he was a lot more partisan than we've heard him lately. He's clearly under a lot of pressure from his left flank. The Republicans gave him an easy target in House Budget Chairman Ryan's proposal which calls for Medicare vouchers without tax increases for the wealthy. So we did have a target.

But I think, you know, this is such a delicate dance right now, that if the White House was serious about getting some kind of a budget deal done before the election in a big way, they may have really blown their chances in a way yesterday, because Republicans are so angry and so upset about what the president said.

KAYE: Yes. And both sides, you know, we hear a lot of, "I'm not going to vote for that, I'm not going to vote for that." I mean, they're calling each other's plan a nonstarter.

So how do we get this started? Where do we go from here?

BORGER: Well, it's interesting. You know, I think the conversations have already begun. And there are large differences between the parties. And the president laid out a very important plan yesterday and put down his markers on Medicare and on taxes for the wealthy. But the Republicans, honestly, were so upset at the way he did it, that I think it may be hard to get this jump-started again in the long term now.

Now, you do have a Gang of Six, a bipartisan group of senators who have been working together for months over there in the Senate, and they're going to come out with a plan. So maybe that will be something that people can coalesce around. But, honestly, I believe we have seen the 2012 campaign take root in Washington, and I think it really started yesterday.

KAYE: And so, speaking of 2012, is this debate destined to be settled in the voting booth, then, in November of 2012? BORGER: Well, you know, presidential campaigns should be about big issues. Presidents, we pay our presidents to take positions on big issues.

So, of course, the budget debate will continue through the 2012 campaign, and it will be the most important debate that people have. But I think for those of us who are actually thinking -- and I guess I was a little Pollyanna on it -- for those of us actually thinking that they could get something done in a large way before the election, I'm thinking not so much right now.

KAYE: Yes. Well, we know exactly what you're thinking, actually, because I've actually read your column at CNN.com. It's a great column --

BORGER: Right. Thank you.

KAYE: -- great article that you've written, Gloria.

And you can also read Gloria's column on the big fight ahead at CNN.com/politics. She puts it all out there.

And Gloria, a pleasure talking with you. Thanks again.

BORGER: Thanks a lot.

KAYE: We know smoke and pollution is bad, but now there's a T- shirt actually that shows what it's doing to our lungs. You do not want to miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: About 15 minutes past the hour. Here are the top stories this hour.

Authorities say spots of interest are being searched today in the suspected serial killings investigation in Long Island, New York. The FBI is going to use airplanes and helicopters to take high-resolution photographs to look for evidence along the coastline. At least eight sets of human remains have been found since December, four of them prostitutes.

Right now there's a hearing on Capitol Hill about grave mix-ups and other problems plaguing Arlington National Cemetery. That's a picture of the hearings there. A reason "TIME" magazine article revealed workers often came across unidentified remains in graves across the cemetery and just guessed -- guessed the identities.

And the White House has announced that two U.S. soldiers will receive posthumous Medals of Honor for their actions during the Korean War. Their relatives will receive the medals from President Obama at a White House ceremony in May.

Smokers, well, you may not like this next story. Soon, there could be T-shirts for sale that show what the smoke is doing to your lungs. It's today's "Connection." Here's Stephanie Elam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pollution: it may be all around you, but sometimes it's hard to see. With what started as their final project, these two New York University graduate students are working to change that.

NIEN LAM, CO-CREATOR, WARNING SIGNS: Pollution or cigarette smoke, it seems like this large problem, and no one really knows how to attack it. But making a shirt that's a heart or lungs kind of brings it down to everyone's level.

ELAM: They've created T-shirts that change color when carbon monoxide is detected.

SUE NGO, CO-CREATOR, WARNING SIGNS: I thought that the pink would be a good indicator of healthy lungs. That's sort of the visual I wanted to create. And then the cloudy blue would indicate smog and dirtiness.

LAM: The fabric you see here, this pink fabric --

ELAM (on camera): Right.

LAM: -- is actually this material, which responds to heat. You know, this fabric --

ELAM: Yes. You see it changing colors right away.

LAM: -- is a chromatic (ph) fabric. So, essentially, what we have underneath the fabric are these little wires that warm up. It feeds signals into this little computer, and it interprets them, and it sends electrical signals to tell these wires to get hot or cold.

ELAM: So this is your own design of where the wires are. And this is the wire, correct?

LAM: That's correct.

ELAM: What other things could this sensor tell you about is in the air?

LAM: Well, right now we have a carbon monoxide sensor. Carbon monoxide comes in a lot of different forms. It comes in cigarette smoke, industrial process, car exhaust. And we can sort of calibrate the sensitivity to sort of pick up on those things.

ELAM (voice-over): But the shirts aren't ready for the mass market. The duo still has lots of testing to do and some kinks to work out, like how to incorporate a rechargeable battery into the shirt.

(on camera): And you've warn this outside. What have people said?

LAM: People definitely stop and notice, and they're curious. I think they see this kind of interesting shape and then, actually, it changing color, they're kind of surprised by it.

NGO: Some classmates approached us when we were building it and we were out on the floor, and they said that it made them feel guilty, are classmates that were smokers.

ELAM: Oh, really?

NGO: Yes.

ELAM: You made them feel guilty. Did anyone quit smoking?

NGO: No. Thought twice about it.

ELAM (voice-over): Stephanie Elam, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Over 300 tornadoes this year alone, and we could see even more in just the next few days. We'll tell you where, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Severe weather expected for the Midwest today and tomorrow.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Now, joining me right now -- this is a big deal -- Greg Carbin from NOAA's Severe Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. He's going to talk to me about the threat today.

Let's just start there, Greg. Tell me about what you believe the threat is today.

GREG CARBIN, NOAA STORM PREDICTION CENTER: Well, you kind of set it up there, Chad, because we're moving into that time of year where we're not surprised to see these weather systems start up in the plains and produce a lot of dangerous weather. So we're sitting right now on the sixth floor of the National Weather Center here, and I'm watching the sky out the window.

The towers have not quite gone up yet. The dry line is very close, and we are expecting development here probably within the next two hours, very rapid thunderstorm development across parts of central-Eastern Oklahoma, Kansas, down into Texas, and they could be very dangerous storms with tornadoes and very large hail.

MYERS: Greg, a tornado, especially tonight and all the way through the Deep South most of the wintertime, they can happen at nighttime. And I'm holding in my hand a NOAA weather radio. Would you tell people how important this is?

CARBIN: Well, this is where you get the first issuance of warnings. And we want to talk a little bit about that, too.

We are, like I said, an hour or two away from expecting development. We will be probably issuing a watch shortly in parts of Kansas, as well as Oklahoma. A watch does not mean that the storms are imminent, but that we're expecting them to develop. And then a warning means that those storms are imminent and you need to take immediate action.

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: Greg, my mother's been living with a meteorologist now in her house for 40 years, and she still can't figure out watch and warning.

What do we do to help people figure it out?

CARBIN: Yes. I was thinking about this earlier when we had an e-mail conversation about this.

And, you know, I mean, you can talk about it in terms of maybe having a small child that's misbehaving. You know, you tell them, I'm watching you, and they're not going to maybe misbehave.

MYERS: Yes.

CARBIN: But when you give them the warning, they know you mean business. And a warning means that it's imminent, you need to take immediate action to protect yourself in a thunderstorm or tornado warning.

The watch is more just keep a watch out. So, if you remember that phrase, "watch versus warning," when I hear it -- I know I've been around and have heard it an awful lot -- but when you hear "watch," it means sort of just keep a watch out. Don't need to take immediate action, just keep an eye out for what might be coming.

MYERS: Another trick I've heard is the word "war," as in warning. And a war is a very bad thing.

CARBIN: Right. That's right.

MYERS: You're trying to get it in your head just so that you can get it -- watches last for a long time, and they're for maybe the size of a state. A warning is only for the county or maybe a couple of counties that you live around, and it only may last for 15 or 20 minutes.

Greg, I know we talk about tornadoes all the time, but eight people died in Georgia last week from wind damage. We can't just focus on the tornado anymore.

CARBIN: That's right. I mean, a severe thunderstorm can produce the damaging winds we saw last week.

Tree damage was extensive. And if a tree falls on a home, or on a car, it could have devastating consequences. And that was unfortunate in the case of Georgia last week.

And again, back to your earlier point, I believe those occurred in the middle of the night.

MYERS: They did.

CARBIN: And, so, very difficult to get the word out that the danger is on the way in the middle of the night, and that's when severe weather can be at its most dangerous.

MYERS: Greg, these old weather radios used to be literally thrown out the window because they would go off all night long for every county in your state.

That doesn't work that way anymore. It's SAME technology. Tell me how that's different than those old boxes that just used to go off for hours and hours.

CARBIN: Well, like any technology, there have been improvements where you can actually identify your location, program it into those radios, and you will only get the information that is important for where you are located, not for every part of your county or your state. And you can fine-tune what information you receive on that radio. And they're really not too hard to program, and the information is available online and also with the radios.

MYERS: Thank you, Greg, very much. My mom actually took her radio and had it programmed at the fire station, and the local guys did that for her there.

CARBIN: Yes.

MYERS: So, hey, thank you. I know you have a busy day today, a busy day tomorrow as well. Tornadoes will be on the ground, for sure. I guess within the next -- I would say maybe three to four hours. We have to heat the atmosphere up a little bit yet.

And, Randi, it is going to be another severe weather day.

CARBIN: Just in the short time here, Chad, the towers are going up.

MYERS: Are they?

CARBIN: So it won't be long.

MYERS: Yes. You can see it. You have the ground truth. I'm 1,000 miles away. All right, Greg. We're on it.

CARBIN: I'm looking at one right now.

MYERS: We will be here all night long.

KAYE: All right.

MYERS: Thanks a lot. Thanks for your time -- Randi. KAYE: Chad, Greg, thank you both.

MYERS: Sure.

KAYE: The men and women who faithfully served and sacrificed lives for our country dishonored in death by mismarked graves and mishandled remains. Congress investigates the scandal that is rocking Arlington National Cemetery, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Here are some stories that you may have missed.

The House committee examining the scandalous findings that the army mismanaged and neglected graves at Arlington Cemetery. That hearing is going on right now as you see it.

A "Time" report revealed that graves were wrongly marked or were missing headstones. In some cases workers accidentally dug up remains. Last year an Army inspector general's report found the records were outdated and mismanaged. A number of people are scheduled to testify today, including the cemetery's superintendent.

All that negotiating and political fighting over this year's budget may finally be coming to an end. The House is scheduled to vote on nearly $40 billion in budget cuts later today.

Live pictures of lawmakers making speeches on the House floor right now. Assuming it passes, the budget deal reached late last Friday will then head to the Senate for approval before being sent to the president for his signature.

For that only takes care of this fiscal year. Congress is expected to start reviewing next year's budget proposal laid out by the House Budget Chairman, Paul Ryan.

More disturbing details are emerging about the mother who drove her minivan with her four kids into the Hudson River. La Chandra Armstrong and three of her kids drowned Wednesday. Armstrong's 10- year-old son, Lashaun survived by escaping through a window and swimming to shore.

A driver, Meave Ryan, spotted the boy soaking wet and drove him to a firehouse nearby. Lashaun told Ryan that his mom was frantic because her boyfriend had been cheating on her.

Lashaun says that his mom climbed into the backseat and hugged her children saying we're all going to die together. She apparently tried to back the van up at the very last minute, but it was too late.

A day after another air traffic controller was caught sleeping on the job, a top FAA official has now resigned. Hank Krakowski who heads the FAA's air traffic control organization stepped down this morning.

Krakowski's resignation comes amid growing controversy over napping air traffic controllers. The latest occurred Wednesday morning at Nevada's Reno/Tahoe Airport when a medical jet was attempting to land. It had a sick patient inside as well.

It's the sixth reported incident this year of a sleeping air traffic controller.

Is the U.S. winning in Afghanistan? The author of the new book "The Wrong War" says no. He'll explain why in "Globe Trekking " right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It's been a deadly day in Afghanistan. At least three Afghan policemen were killed when suicide bombers attacked a police training center in the Eastern part of the country near Pakistan's tribal region.

At least one bomber was killed by police. Two more suicide attacks took place in Kabul and southern Kandahar province. Several policemen and civilians were wounded. The Taliban said it carried out all of the attacks.

There was more bloodshed yesterday, suicide bombers killed ten people in the northeastern Kunar Province, no claim of responsibility there. These latest Taliban attacks come as American soldiers and Marines continue to a difficult and deadly struggle in a war that's been going on now for 10 years.

A war that really has no end in sight. Bing West is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam war who spent much time with small Marine and Army units on the Afghan frontline.

His new book is "The Wrong War, Grit, Strategy, and The Way Out Of Afghanistan." West argues that the military's top brass is using the wrong strategy to win this war.

Bing West joins us now from our Washington studio.

Thanks for being with us.

In your book, you devote a lot of time describing the time that you personally spent with combat troops and Marines. Tell us what an average day looks like for them.

BING WEST, AUTHOR, "THE WRONG WAR: GRIT, STRATEGY, AND THE WAY OUT OF AFGHANISTAN": Well, a unit about 12 or 13 men, will get up about 5:00, and about 6:00 in the morning they'll be out on patrol. They're wearing about 70 pounds of armor and at this time of the year, it's very hot over there.

So they'll start wearing down in about two or three hours. By 9:00 in the morning, most of the fighting will have ended, and everyone will be going into compounds to escape the heat for the rest of the day.

The Taliban, basically, travel in small packs using motor bikes. Actually, they have more mobility on the ground than our forces do because all of our forces are wearing this very heavy armor and most of the firefights are extremely short. They last maybe for 30 seconds to two minutes.

KAYE: What's the morale like among the troops? I mean, does it bother them that the war gets little coverage by the media in many cases?

WEST: That's a good point. The grunts, and that is the infantry, the Marines and the Army, they're about one half of one half of 1 percent of the military age males in our country. They're teeny, teeny number.

They're out there fighting all of the time and they really do feel that they don't get the attention that they deserve as being the true warriors. They hate it when they hear, every fireman, every policeman and every member of the military called a warrior.

When they're out there really carrying the heavy, heavy load and fighting all the time and they wish there were a way people understood grunts are different and they're the ones who are at the tip of the spear.

KAYE: Your book, as we mentioned is called "The Wrong War," but you've also said that we're using the wrong strategy. What is wrong with the strategy in your opinion?

WEST: We're too generous. We give the Afghans about $6 billion to $12 billion a year. We've been doing that for 10 years. It's time we told the Afghans you have to fight your own war and we're not going to pay for you forever.

Because the more you just give money to somebody for nothing, that's basically what you get in return. I mean I find it ironic that the conservatives in this country that are opposed to programs that they believe just give money to other Americans and expect nothing in return are fighting a war based on those same principles overseas.

We should know better. You can't just give somebody money and expect that that person's going to do something.

KAYE: What is your strategy?

WEST: I think we should gradually do what I do believe that General Petraeus and President Obama are going to do this summer, declare success. We've done enough.

Gradually pull our troops out, tell the Afghans, you're going to have to fight your own civil war, but we'll give you tough advisers to show you how to do it. But we expect you to be on the front lines rather than Americans.

KAYE: And after 10 years, why do you think we're still there?

WEST: That's a tough one, Randi.

KAYE: The short answer.

WEST: What I think happened was we went to attack al Qaeda who had killed us at 9/11, but then we stayed to build a nation in the middle of nowhere, and I think that was a little bit nutty.

We should have stayed just on the military track. Hunt down the terrorists and stop. Don't feel you have to build a modern nation out of Afghanistan.

KAYE: And so if you had just one day as top general in that country, just one day, what would you do during that day that's not being done right now?

WEST: First, I'd say, stop giving away so much money. Second, I'd say, concentrate on attacking the Taliban wherever you see them and, third, I'd say, make sure that the Afghan soldiers are in the lead.

KAYE: All right. Well said. Bing West, pleasure having you on. Your new book "The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan" a very interesting read. Thank you so much.

And we should mentioned that we reached out to the Pentagon for reaction to Bing West's book, a spokeswoman said, as a matter of policy the Pentagon had no comment.

Well, nobody likes to talk about tax hikes, but the president is. After a break, I'll break down America's tax burden, past, present, and yes, maybe future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

This is happening right now. You're looking at a live picture of the House floor. The House is voting on the nearly $40 billion in budget cuts, assuming it passes, which we will let you know, of course, once we know, then it will head to the Senate floor for approval before being sent to the president for his signature. So as soon as we know the results of that vote, we will bring to you live right here on CNN.

We spent a big part of the past two days on President Obama's debt reduction plan, one that puts in his words everything on the table to balance the nation's books or trim to the nation's debt by $4 trillion over 12 years.

He's calling for tax increases on some of us and that's where we start our big breakdown. So take a look if you will, at this gigantic pie here behind me. Yes, a lot of numbers there. We're going to break it down for you.

This is where the government gets the money that it doesn't borrow. Keep in mind. We borrow 40 cents for every dollar we spend. The other 60 cents comes from income taxes, corporate taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes and various other fees and earnings. The dollar amounts here are from the first six months of the fiscal year. You think you pay a lot now? Well, maybe you do, but don't complain to your parents or your grandparents. Listen to this. This chart tracks the top income tax rate over the past 100 years. Take a look there.

In the mid 1970s, top earners sent as much as 70 percent of their incomes to the treasury. In the mid '50s, top rate was 91 percent. A decade earlier just after World War II, the nation's top income tax rate was a staggering 94 percent.

Here's the breakdown today. Rates range from 10 percent to a high of 35. Now, President Obama would put the top two rates back where they were in 2000, combined with a higher capital gains tax and lower deductions for the well-off. He'd save about $1 trillion over 10 years.

Now, if all of the current rates reverted to the pre-President Bush era, the savings would triple, $3 trillion and that still wouldn't wipe out even a fourth of our national debt.

Well, Kobe Bryant is fined $100,000 for being caught on camera uttering a gay slur and plenty of people are upset. The stream team will break down all of the fallout that follows next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Kobe Bryant became upset at a referee during a game Tuesday night after he was called for a technical foul. He was caught on camera yelling at the ref, yelling an expletive and gay slur.

The NBA acted swiftly with its commissioner, David Stern, releasing this statement, "...Bryant's comment during last night's game was offensive and inexcusable. While I'm fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated. Accordingly, I have fined Kobe $100,000. Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society."

Well, Bryant is appealing his fine, which is just a fraction of his more than $25 million salary for this season. Bryant's actions and the fallout that it caused can be dissected on so many levels, and for that we turn to today's "Stream Team."

John Amaechi is a psychologist and a "New York Times" bestselling author, Roland Martin is a CNN political analyst, and Joe Solmonese is the president of the Human Rights Campaign.

Thank you, guys, all of you, for being on to discuss this.

Joe, let's start with you.

Bryant called you personally to apologize. What did he say?

JOE SOLMONESE, PRESIDENT, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN: You know, he took ownership for his actions and he said that he was genuinely sorry, which, for me, was a significant development because during the day, yesterday or in the afternoon, as you may have seen, he said what a lot of people in public life say when they do things like this or say things like this, which is that he felt badly that what he said might have offended someone. You know, as if I said something that didn't offend a lot of people but might have offended a few, so to those of you who were offended I feel badly about it.

KAYE: And that was enough for you?

SOLMONESE: And, you know, to my way of thinking that wasn't an -- no, to my way of thinking, that's not a genuine, honest or sincere apology. And we spoke to that yesterday afternoon and said such.

And so, when he called me last night, he genuinely apologized, he took responsibility and ownership for his actions and he said he was sincerely sorry. He was ashamed of what he said and thought about his family and his kids and how people he knew and respected would react to it, and ultimately that he was going to do the work to make right by us.

KAYE: And, John, I want to ask you, not only did he use this gay slur, but added the F-word when venting his frustration on top of that. Why do you think that is?

JOHN AMAECHI, "NEW YORK TIMES" BEST-SELLING AUTHOR: I mean, I think we've got to a point now where people in all walks of life, but certainly in sport, seem to think that when you dig deepest, when you're most frustrated, that the worst thing you can do is tell another man that you think they are like a gay person. I think this is just an example of that happening in society.

In sports, we sometimes give it a pass because we think in the heat of the moment sometimes these things happen. But when you rise to the status of Kobe Bryant, you don't necessarily get to have those moments. Because what we're seeing here, certainly with the call to Joe, you get to make a mistake that publicly hurts a lot of people -- and it has hurt a lot of people, offended a lot of people -- but you goat apologize in private on a one-to-one phone call. And what we need to see is these people actually being contrite about their mistake and making that public.

KAYE: And Roland, what do you think? Would the NBA have fined Bryant if this hadn't been caught on tape?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Nope, not at all. There's no doubt in my mind they wouldn't have fined him because, look, if you read David Stern's comments, and actually, he said that there's no place for derogatory statements like this in the game.

The question I have for the NBA: Did you fine Kobe as a one-off or was it a question of workplace harassment? How did the NBA frame it?

I think about Donald Sterling, who is the owner of the L.A. Clippers, heckling one of his own players, Baron Davis, during a game. Is that considered workplace harassment?

I think what the NBA should do, if you want to fine Kobe Bryant for the comment, like they did, you should do so under the guise of workplace harassment. So the question becomes, if a coach makes a comment to a player, if a coach call a player a sissy, if he calls them the B-word, if he says anything else, how you define that.

I think about 1996, Bill Parcells referred to Terry Glenn, one of his own players, as "she" instead of "he." Would the NFL say, wait a minute, that's -- that's inappropriate?

So there's no doubt in my mind the NBA did a PR move here by fining Kobe Bryant as opposed to saying this fell under workplace harassment.

KAYE: John, I want to get back to you.

If this had been -- if Kobe Bryant had been a white player, if this had been a white player who might have used the N-word against a referee, would this have been any different? I mean, can you compare a gay slur to the use of the N-word for me?

AMAECHI: I think, unfortunately, we're in a position where people that certain words have different weights, and the N-word is a crushing word that sucks the oxygen out of a room whereas using gay slurs like this F-word somehow are something that only the overly sensitive take to heart.

So I do fear that the reaction would have been far more severe had it been a white player making a racist comment to a black referee and not this particular circumstance.

KAYE: So what needs to change?

MARTIN: Actually, Randi Kaye -- Randi Kaye, Elgin Baylor filed a lawsuit against -- and I'm picking on Donald Sterling -- he alleged racial discrimination against one of the NBA owners. David Stern has not taken any action against one of his own owners.

And so, I understand John's point, but there's actually, you know, current cases where you have a disagreement that actually would have been taken by the NBA.

KAYE: All right, guys, we'll have to leave it there.

Joe, Roland, John, appreciate it. All of you, thanks for weighing in on the "Stream Team" today.

And we asked you'd today if the $100,000 fine was enough, and here is what you told us.

On Facebook, Kenneth said, "These guys don't care about the money. If you want to punish them, take away some of their playing time."

Samantha, on our blog, said, "I think the NBA was too hard on Kobe. Everyone says things that they shouldn't out of frustration. You obviously saw that he was frustrated with the fact that it was his fourth foul. I think people need to stop being so sensitive these days and realize that not everything is against their community."

Mike said, "Fining Kobe Bryant $100,000 is like fining me a dime. He probably laughed and said it was worth it. Make the fines $1 million and they will keep their mouths shut."

And Ricky (ph) said on my Twitter page, "Should have never been fined."

So thank you all for weighing in on that topic.

Time now for a "CNN Political Update." Another Republican is taking steps for a possible 2012 presidential run.

CNN chief political correspondent Candy Crowley joins me from Washington with this.

Hi, Candy.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Randi.

You know the song, "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," there are apparently 50 ways to keep your presidential question marks behind your name going.

One of them, Ron Paul, now saying that he has given notice to the IRS for a political organization, not to be confused with an exploratory committee, to be president. But in some ways this allows Ron Paul to look at the idea of running again, congressman from Texas, to look again at running in a way that he can use the money that he raises through this organization for presidential run should he decide to do so. Will he decide? A spokesman says 60/40 chance he will again get in race.

While we're on presidential news, Mitt Romney who does have an exploratory committee, is also hiring up. He has a new spokesman and others on his campaign. So this is a serious campaign moving forward and we do expect at some point there will be the official announcement.

Finally, still on the presidential watch, we think Donald Trump, you may have heard of him in the past couple of days, is now talking to a news organization about the relationship between blacks and President Obama. They were talking about a new poll out of New York which showed that 95 percent of African-Americans in New York approve of the job the president is doing, even though the overall number is much lower.

Trump talked about how he had a nice relationship with what he called "the blacks," but he said that he thought it was a shame that African-Americans, he believes, support President Obama primarily because he is black. He said, look at Hillary Clinton, she got a very small percentage and it has to have something to do with race. So Mr. Trump continuing to stir the pot, as they say. And I suspect he will do so for the next couple of weeks, probably into June.

KAYE: I think we're going to have to start a regular segment, "The Trump File," at the rate this is going.

(LAUGHTER)

CROWLEY: This is true. "The World According To Trump."

KAYE: I'll tell you. There you go. Or maybe not, I don't know. We'll see.

(LAUGHTER)

KAYE: All right, Candy, thank you.

CROWLEY: Thank you.

KAYE: A fourth grade slave auction, it is a history lesson that you are not going to believe. That's next in my "XYZ."

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KAYE: Time for my "XYZ," and we're heading to Norfolk, Virginia, where a history lesson has me downright flabbergasted.

This week marked 150 years since the start of the American civil war. Well, in one Virginia classroom, a fourth grade teacher decided to teach her kids about the historic event by holding a slave auction in her classroom.

That's right. She separated the black students from the white students and then instructed the white kids to auction off the black kids as slaves.

What year is this? These kids are in the fourth grade. Was this really the only way to teach kids about the Civil War? What is the lesson here?

Parents complained and only then did the principal at Sewells Point Elementary school even become aware of this bizarre lesson in her school. The principal sent a letter to parents stating that although the teacher's actions were, quote, "well intended to meet the instructional objectives, the activity presented was inappropriate for the students."

You think?

The school apparently encourages integrating visual and oral text presentations, but a mock slave auction? Let's just say that was not part of the approved curriculum.

As far as the teacher, Jessica Boyle's future at the school, well, all the school will say is that, quote, "appropriate personnel action is being taken."

I'm sure.

That'll do it for me. CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Brooke Baldwin.

Hi there, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Randi Kaye. Thank you so much.