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Detroit Teachers Put On Notice; Searching For A Serial Killer; Anniversary of Virginia Tech Shooting; Arizona Birther Bill One Step From Law; Georgia Passes Arizona-Style Immigration Law; Mexico Drug Terrorism; Extra Security at Dodger Stadium; Suffering from Concussions; President Obama to Sign Budget Deal; Brainstorming into Innovation
Aired April 15, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye who's in for Ali Velshi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Suzanne.
Thousands of teachers in Detroit have been put on notice that they could soon be out of work, and I'm not talking about just a few thousand. Take a look at this, 5,466 teachers were slapped with layoff notices. Now, let me be clear, we don't know how many of these teachers will actually lose their jobs, but we do know that the potential job losses here are staggering.
This is not the first time Detroit public schools has issued massive layoff notices. But this is the first time all teachers who are members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers have been notified they could lose their jobs. This is the latest move by the district's Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb. He was brought in back in 2009 to help the district fix its budget issues.
Just a few months ago, he announced that the district is closing half its schools because of low enrollment. Now, thanks to a new Michigan law, Bobb has the power to modify or terminate teacher contract and collective bargaining agreements. Michigan, along with Ohio, Idaho, Tennessee and Wisconsin are a few of the states working on legislation to rein in teachers unions.
Now, here's the question today, is this latest round of teacher layoffs a way to balance Detroit's crippled school budget or is it really a jab at teachers unions in an effort to undermine their power?
Joining me now is Chastity Pratt Dawsey, an education reporter for "The Detroit Free Press." Chastity, what is your take on this? Is this move about balancing the budget or just a ploy to weaken the teacher's union?
CHASTITY PRATT DAWSEY, EDUCATION WRITER, "THE DETROIT FREE PRESS": Well, for eight of the last 11 years, the state has run the budget here in Detroit public schools, a billion dollar budget, and now, the deficit is $327 million. And with 80 percent of the budget being teachers' salaries, employee salaries and benefits, they are looking to unions to say, look, we need more confessions to get at the $327 million deficit.
Well, the unions are saying, of course, well, that's an attack on us, especially the teachers union. Because two years ago, the teachers union agreed that each teacher would loan the school district $10,000, $250 per paycheck, to help reduce the deficit and the deficit has continued to grow. So, the unions are saying this is an attack on us, we've already given up $90 million, and they're also saying that they are going to fight this if this really goes through, they're going to fight it in court.
KAYE: So, we said not all of these teachers may lose their jobs. What does this latest move really mean for the teachers and really the students, too, in Detroit?
PRATT DAWSEY: What it means is that the emergency manager is saying, look, I've got to give everyone a layoff notice. All of the teachers, and I might get into -- no, he said, actually, I fully intend to get into your contract and change it so that we can reduce the deficit.
But really what it means for teachers and kids is, uncertainty. Uncertainty definitely through the summer as this budget is worked out and approved. No one knows which teachers are going to be teaching where and which schools are definitely going to be closed or open.
So, until they work this out into the summer, for teachers and students and parents, this is definitely probably one of the biggest issues of -- or moments of uncertainty for the Detroit public schools.
KAYE: Right, and who knows what this might mean for class sizes as well. I want to look at something. The battle between the states and the unions is playing out across the country, so check out this map. It shows the potential teacher playoffs nationwide. What about other teachers across the country? I mean, could what you see happening in Detroit lead to more layoffs nationwide, do you think?
PRATT DAWSEY: Well, that's open to speculation but what we do know is this, that school districts do look at what others are doing. Here in Detroit, they're looking at what's going on in New Orleans where 60 percent of the kids attend charter schools and they're thinking in Detroit maybe we should go in that direction.
So, school districts do look at each other to see, you know, what's working or what's happening elsewhere, even here in Michigan, a couple days ago, the Monroe schools, a smaller school district, they said they were going to send all of their teachers layoff notices as well. So, districts, just like, you know, other people and other businesses, look to see what is going on and what is working at other similar types of cities and places. So, you know, it happens, they look to see what can we do, what are others doing?
KAYE: All right, Chastity, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you so much, appreciate your time today.
And we're keeping our eye on severe weather moving across the Southeast right now. With tornado warnings in Alabama and Mississippi, twisters have been reported in both states, and we're just getting in reports of some damage.
The powerful line of storms moving across the country has killed at least nine people, two died in Oklahoma where authorities say a tornado touched down last night. The storm left a trail of downed trees and power lines, scattering cars and damaging homes as it moved east.
In Arkansas, seven people died when trees fell on their homes. Nearly 36,000 people in the state were without power today.
And we want to get the very latest from Chad Myers who is watching all of this for us.
Chad, what's happening right now?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: For most of the last hour it was a Mississippi event, now turning into an Alabama event. Now, the storm did move through Jackson and Ridgeland into Mississippi and still has a tornado warning on it, and there's still some rotation, we still have spotters on it, but no tornado on the ground right now as it travels just south of Carthage.
Let's move you off to the east here because this is where the storm's become significantly more troublesome. Just south of Butler, that would be Ararat right there, tornado on the ground right along the river here. Just a little bit farther to the south here, this storm that moved over State Line, Mississippi has now moved into Alabama near Yarbrough and Millery, Alabama.
Another storm here near Milton (ph) and Monroeville here, rotating, no confirmation that it's on the ground just yet.
Why are all these storms rotating? Because they are not in a line, they are not fighting each other for moisture, or for energy, or for the rotation. They're not bumping into each other like battling tops.
They're all by themselves and they're allowed to get as big as they'd like, they don't have to share the moisture, they don't have to share the energy, they don't have to share anything. They get big, they get strong, they start to rotate and tornadoes go on the ground.
We're going to be seeing this type of damage for a lot of the day. Video now finally coming in from the Clinton, Mississippi area where we know there was a tornado on the ground about a half-hour ago.
KAYE: You had warned us that yesterday and today would be pretty bad, so we're certainly seeing that. All right, Chad, we'll check in with you a little later, thank you.
Other big stories we're following right now, the search for clues in the Long Island serial killer case goes on. Police and FBI agents are scouring the coastal area again today. They did not find any additional human remains yesterday after searching 18 spots of interest. New York troopers and police officers are hacking their way through more thick brush using guidance from aviation teams who are flying over the area. It's part of an investigation that's turned up remains of at least eight people now since December.
Three days after a mother drove her van with her children inside into the Hudson River, we're learning more gut wrenching details. 10- year-old Lashaun Armstrong, the lone survivor, revisited the dock with family members yesterday. A passing driver, Meave Ryan, who picked up Lashaun and took him to a fire station after he swam to safety, says the little boy was terrified and courageous but blames himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEAVE RYAN, PASSING DRIVER: He was talking about how he regrets not teaching his two brothers how to swim because he just learned how to swim last summer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The boy told Ryan, his mother, Lashandra Armstrong, sped up and plunged their minivan into the water, and as the van sank into the Hudson cradled her children and told them you're all going to die with me.
Not long before, the mother posted a Facebook message saying, forgive me please, this is it.
Police divers eventually found the body of the 25-year-old Armstrong along with her 11-month-old baby girl, and 2-year-old and 5- year-old sons. We've now learned police have ruled out potential criminal charges against the father in the case.
The governor of Virginia is officially declaring April 16th as Virginia Tech Remembrance Day, tomorrow marks the four-year anniversary. A mentally ill student gunned down 32 people at Virginia tech. Flags will be flown at half staff across the state and there will be several events to honor those who died including a moment of silence and a ceremony in front of the state capitol.
On campus in honor of the 32 who died, students planned 32 hours of community service.
Supporters and critics (ph) holding their breath, eyeing Arizona and Georgia, two extremely controversial bills that could have a big impact across the country are one step away from becoming law. We'll explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: I want to hone in on a couple of controversial measures on the verge of becoming law in Arizona and Georgia. The Arizona legislature has approved a bill that would require President Barack Obama and other presidential candidates to prove that they are American citizens. And that measure is just a signature away from becoming law. The so-called birther bill passes with overwhelming majority and is headed to Governor Jan Brewer for her signature. Presidential candidates will have to show birth certificates and other documents to prove they were born in the United States before their names will be placed on a state ballot.
Despite protests and threats of boycotts and lawsuits, the Georgia legislature is following in the footsteps of Arizona passing one of the nation's toughest anti-illegal immigration laws.
To start, the measure allows law enforcement officers to question suspects in certain criminal investigations about their immigration status. All it needs to become law is Governor Nathan Deal's signature. He promised to support such a bill during his campaign.
While various states grapple with how to deal with illegal immigrants, a different kind of war is brewing with Mexico.
As Mexican drug lords battle to control the lucrative drug war with the U.S., a Texas Congressman is pushing to classify cartels as terrorist groups. Mexican officials are firing back, even though drug violence has left thousands dead and paralyzed communities with fear.
Here's CNN's Rafael Romo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice- over): Should Mexican drug cartels be considered terrorist organizations? Representative Michael McCall, a Texas Republican, says they should, and not only that, McCall has introduced the bill that would add Mexico's six dominant cartels to the state department's foreign terrorist organizations list. This would allow law enforcement agencies to have increased powers to limit cartel's financial property and travel interests and impose harsher punishment on anyone who provides material support to cartels.
Responding to the bill in a letter to the "Dallas Morning News," Mexican Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan fired back saying, if you label these organizations as terrorist, you will have to start calling drug consumers in the U.S. financiers of terrorist organizations and gun dealers providers of material support to terrorists. Otherwise, the ambassador wrote, you really sound as if you want to have your cake and eat it, too.
At a House Judiciary Committee hearing last month, FBI Director Robert Mueller expressed concern about the danger posed by the cartels.
ROBERT MUELLER, FBI DIRECTOR: The extreme violence across our southwest border continues to impact the United States as we saw the murders last March of American consulate workers in Juarez, Mexico and the shooting last month of two U.S. immigration and customs enforcement agents in Mexico.
ROMO: Consular employee, Leslie Enriquez (ph) and her husband, Arthur Reynolds, were shot and killed in Juarez, Mexico, by gangs affiliated with a drug cartel, according to Mexican authorities. ICE agent Jaime Zapata was killed and another agent injured in February when they were ambushed on a highway in central Mexico.
JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Now, we remain very concerned about drug cartel violence in Mexico and we must vigorously guard against potential spillover effects into the United States.
ROMO: Mexican officials have repeatedly said that drug cartels are neither an insurgency nor terrorist organizations because their purpose is neither to destabilize the government, nor promote a political ideology. Their level of cruelty is unprecedented, but they don't hate a particular group. Their only motive, Mexican authorities say, is hard, cold cash.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And Rafael Romo joins me now.
It sounds like, probably to some, that the Mexican ambassador is defending the cartels.
ROMO: Exactly. But what his point is that he would rather have the cartels be called transnational criminal organizations because if you have an organization in your country and it's a terrorist organization, then what happens, is your country friendly to terrorist groups and to terrorist organization? And Mexico does not want to be in the group of Middle Eastern countries that harbor terrorist organizations.
KAYE: So what are you hearing, anything at all, from other lawmakers, whether they support this measure or not?
ROMO: There are -- I got in touch with the office of Representative McCall (ph) and they say that at least three other representatives, including a Democrat from El Paso, Texas, which has seen its share of violence, is -- Silvestre Reyes is supporting this. So there seems to be some support already for it.
KAYE: Wow, they really got to get that under control. I mean how many years now have you and so many others been reporting on this?
ROMO: At least four.
KAYE: Yes. It's a terrible situation. All right, Rafael Romo, thank you.
Ali Velshi talks to Suze Orman about reinventing your financial life. I'll show you just a part of that interview in "Your Money," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A deadly storm system has moved into Mississippi and Alabama. It's already torn through parts of the Midwest, killing two people in Oklahoma and seven in Arkansas. All the deaths in Arkansas are blamed on uprooted trees falling on to homes. Among the victims, an 18-month-old girl and six-year-old boy.
Meteorologist Chad Myers is here to bring us the very latest.
I hate hearing those stories. It's terrible to see the storms roll through and take lives.
MYERS: Right. And we know of some unconfirmed reports of some -- at least some casualties already today from storms that have already been on the ground. We won't report anything until we actually get it all confirmed, but we do know that people were at least injured. Well, clearly, there's the roof of a bank, right. This is Clinton, Mississippi. Not very far from where Jackson -- we know the storm went very close to Jackson and a little bit farther off to the west of there, the storm was on the ground as well. This one picture from severestudios.com, our guys there.
We also have Reed Timer (ph) out on the scene. He's looked at -- there's a tree going this way. There's a tree going this way. His truck can't go any farther. That's discovery.com/stormchasers. You can kind of see him there. He's the guy that we had downstairs, you know, walking around that incredible looking truck down there.
KAYE: Right.
MYERS: The storms are still on ground. Tornadoes are still causing damage. Mainly now out of Mississippi, although the Jackson storm -- this storm. This is where the damage was I was just showing you. Over here near Clinton, near Jackson, Mississippi. That storm is still on the ground. Went across the reservoir and it is still on the ground and there are still enough rotations in the cell to cause the storm to still have a tornado warning on it.
This storm, though, the essence of the energy has moved toward Millry, Alabama, near Chatham, a little bit farther to the south of there. It was in State Line, Mississippi, for a while today. It has now moved across the state line.
KAYE: Do you know how fast they're moving during the day?
MYERS: About 45 to 50 miles per hour.
And then you -- you know, when you're chasing a tornado in Oklahoma or Texas, you have nice straight lines. All the roads go straight. And you have decent paved roads. Here, the roads are curvy and there's tree lines. You can't -- there's just no sense of going out and trying to take pictures of this. I don't want you to be an iReporter today. Just stay inside your house. If you hear a storm coming, get inside, get away from the windows, keep the kids and the pets and all you safe.
KAYE: And, again, I know you've said this to me even many times, the difference between a watch and a warning.
MYERS: War is a bad thing. So war-ning is the bad thing. KAYE: That is an excellent way to remember it.
MYERS: I'll try (ph). All right.
KAYE: All right. The warning, that would be worse than the watch.
MYERS: That's worse, correct.
KAYE: OK. Good to know. Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: All right. Sure.
KAYE: Ali Velshi talks to Suze Orman about reinventing your financial life. We will have that part of the interview in "Your Money," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
Ali Velshi isn't in the anchor chair today, but he's still keeping awfully busy. Today in "Your Money," Ali talks to Suze Orman, author of "The Money Class." They talking about the various ways that you can re-invent your life, including the funding of your child's college education.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Let's talk about priorities. One of the thing that stood out in this book is that you talk about people obsessing about saving for their kids' college education.
SUZE ORMAN, AUTHOR, "THE MONEY CLASS": Yes.
VELSHI: The price of that education continuing to increase. But you say in here, quote, "before you save one penny for a child's future college costs, I insist you have the following financial priorities taken care of starting with credit card debt." And you continue to insist -- I mean you have stuck to your guns over the years.
ORMAN: I have, haven't I.
VELSHI: Get rid of your credit card debt before you pay for anybody's college education.
ORMAN: And here's the thing. I understand that especially a mother -- if it's a single mother particularly --
VELSHI: Sure. Yes.
ORMAN: They think that, oh, you're only a good mother or a good parent if you can pay for your child's college education. That is not true. Children can do this on their own.
VELSHI: They can get loans.
ORMAN: Every cent (ph) -- "Class Two" in this book is about, you have to stand in the truth. And if the truth of the matter is, you're in debt, you don't have an eight month emergency fund, you aren't saving for your own retirement, you're behind on your mortgage payments, you have got to show your kids what's true, otherwise they grow up, they repeat your pattern and then we are creating an entire society of liars because we're doing things we can't afford.
VELSHI: Yes.
ORMAN: Kids can do this on their own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: 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 and Sundays at 3:00.
Thousands of teachers in Detroit could lose their jobs. Their livelihoods at stake. Their stories next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Time now for stories you may have missed.
Thousands of teachers in Detroit got word today that they could be out of a job soon. Five thousand four hundred sixty-six teachers were slapped with layoff notices. We don't know how many of these teachers will actually lose their jobs, but we do know that the potential job losses here are staggering with many school closings expected. This is not the first time Detroit Public Schools has issued massive layoff notices, but it is the first time all teachers who are members of the Detroit Federation of Teachers have been notified they could lose their jobs.
We're learning more gut-wrenching details of the last moments before a mother drove her van with her children inside into the Hudson River. Ten-year-old Lashaun Armstrong, the lone survivor, visited the dock with family members yesterday. A passing driver, Meave Ryan, who picked up Lashaun and took him to a fire station after he swam to safety, says the little boy was terrified and courageous but blames himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEAVE RYAN, DROVE BOY TO FIRE STATION: He was talking about how he regrets not teaching his two brothers how to swim, because he just learned how to swim last summer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: As the van sank into the Hudson, the mom cradled her children and told them, you're all going to die with me. Not long before, the mother posted a Facebook message saying, "forgive me, please, this is it." Police divers eventually found the body of 25- year-old Armstrong, along with her 11-month-old baby girl and her sons, a two-year-old and five-year-old. We've now learned police have ruled out potential criminal charges against the father.
The governor of Virginia is officially declaring April 16th as Virginia Tech Remembrance Day. Tomorrow marks the four-year anniversary of a mentally ill student gunning down 32 people at Virginia Tech. Flags will be flown at half-staff across the state and there will be several events to honor those who died, including a moment of silence and a ceremony in front of the state capital. On campus, in honor of the 32 who died, students planned 32 hours of community service.
Police have beefed up security around the Los Angeles Dodgers stadium. The extra security comes after Bryan Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan, was brutally attack last month. At least 200 officers fanned out in and around the stadium during Thursday's game. Stow is still hospitalized and is in a medically induced coma. Investigators say about 100 people saw two suspects beat Stow as he left the Dodgers stadium parking lot. Family members say doctors are taking steps to bring Stow out of that coma.
A former NFL great now saying he is suffering effects of concussions. Our own neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains what this is all about in a couple of minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Half past the hour now. A stunning revelation from football great-turned-broadcaster, Terry Bradshaw. He went public in an interview on Monday saying that he is suffering now from what he calls a career-worth of concussions.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains what Bradshaw may be dealing with -- Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is amazing how candid Terry Bradshaw was in that interview as well talking about even when he's broadcasting, if you listen carefully a lot of times he doesn't use stats or a lot of stats.
He doesn't always use players' names because he says he simply can't remember. The concern is something known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It's a big name, but CTE is what it is called. People believe it is a result of many hits to the head, concussions. Bradshaw was asked specifically about that as well. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY BRADSHAW, FORMER STEELERS QUARTERBACK: One of the questions was, obviously, is how many clear-cut concussions have you had? I'm trying to think, you know, clear-cut, totally KO'd? My entire career, I could name six, six that I - you know, that I could remember.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: Take a look at one of those hits that Bradshaw's talking about.
This is Joe "Turkey" Jones from the Cleveland Browns, 1976. Wow, I mean, he just takes him, flips him, and throws him to the ground knocked out, as Bradshaw was describing.
It's hard to look at, but I'll tell you hits like that are becoming more and more common as players are becoming bigger and they're becoming stronger.
Back in the old days, players like Bradshaw and many players today still play through a hit like that. Bradshaw says he just took some smelling salts and was right back up into the game again.
Again, we're talking about here chronic traumatic encephalopathy. It is something people are starting to talk about more and more. We've been reporting on this for some time.
In fact, I went to the lab where they are starting to examine the brains of former athletes and trying to figure out exactly what happened to their brains. As people who have died for all sorts of different causes, are there changes in the brains at a young age?
Take a look there on the left, you see a 45-year-old brain and you see that brown area on the bottom right. Compare that to the 70- year-old brain. The brown area represents tangles. It represents plaques. It represents some of the signs you see with dementia.
You shouldn't see that in a brain that young, but you compare it to the 70-year-old brain and you start to see the problem here. You start to see changes in the brain that are occurring too young and have signs of depression. They have signs of rage. They have signs of memory problems while they're still alive.
Bradshaw says he has seen a clinic on the west coast. He is starting to get some therapy for his memory problems. He's even had MRIs to look inside his brain. I had a chance to also talk to Dr. Maroon who is the Pittsburgh Steelers head doctor now and took care of Bradshaw for one year near end of his season.
He really highlights this point that there's still a lot of research that needs to be done. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JOSEPH C. MAROON, TEAM NEUROSURGEON, PITTSBURGH STEELERS: We don't know enough about it yet. We don't know the genetic influence. We don't know the influence of other agents that may occur that may cause this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: Maroon also told me that as more and more players come out, talk about this openly, talk about the impact that all those concussions have had on their brain, it is going to send a message not only to professional football players, but young football players alike that more needs to be done in terms of safety and some of that is already starting to happen. Back to you.
KAYE: Thank you, Sanjay.
The fish you eat. Do you know who actually caught them? A shocking story from Thailand about ghost fishing ships crude by slave. That story is next in "Globe Trekking."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The U.S. and its allies have drawn a line in the sand for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. In an op-ed article in today's "International Herald Tribune," President Obama and the leaders of Britain and France vow there would be no peace until Gadhafi steps down.
It says, in part that, quote, "it is impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Gadhafi in power." Defiant as ever, Gadhafi rode through Tripoli yesterday in an open-top vehicle waving to apparent supporters.
His daughter also spoke out, accusing NATO of trying to kill her father. Meantime, rebels continue to face heavy attacks from Gadhafi's forces on several fronts. The besieged city of Misrata came under heavy mortar and artillery fire today.
The next time you sit down to enjoy your favorite fish dish, well, you might want to consider who caught it. In Southeast Asia, the crews of some fishing boats are slaves, ordinary men, often dirt poor, enticed by promises of more money than they've ever seen.
Once at sea, they face death if they refuse to work. CNN's Dan Rivers spoke to some survivors of these slave vessels. A report that's part of CNN's year long freedom project aimed at highlighting modern day slavery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the thriving fishing industry in Southeast Asia, fish that might end up on dinner plates almost anywhere in the world, but you might be shocked to know how these fish are caught. Sometimes the boats are floating prisons crewed by slaves.
These brothers from Dinar and from Berlin were lured from Cambodia to work on the fishing boats three years ago. You can see why. Quarrying rock is their only other work opportunity. When a middleman offered them a well paid job in the fishing industry, they agreed eagerly. Together with another brother they left home hoping to earn some money, but the reality was very different.
They say they were imprisoned on a Thai trawler for three months with no pay and no chance to escape. They were slaves at sea. They describe how the crew who didn't work hard enough had their throats punctured with a blade before they were thrown overboard.
LISA RENDE TAYLOR, ANTI-TRAFFICKING SPECIALIST, UNIAP: Even when they tire, even when they're sick, the captains compel them to continue to work harder by essentially instilling an environment of fear.
So if somebody gets sick and we have many reports of people getting sick or people getting tired, they are killed. They are thrown overboard.
RIVERS: There are plenty of witnesses. This man from Cambodia was imprisoned on a Thai trawler for three years forced to work 20 hours a day. He tells me how he was beaten by the captain and that murder was common on the boats, their necks sometimes snapped, bodies of crews dumped from other ships and one of his crew had his throat cut after he fell ill.
(on camera): Many Cambodians are put on fishing boats here in this Thai boat. They join a vast armada of ghost ships crewed by slaves, which can be resupplied and stay at sea for years. Their only chance to escape is on the rare occasion the fishing trawlers approach land.
(voice-over): That's how these brothers escaped ending up in Malaysia. Their home now trying to made it go of their barbershop. Their mother had to wait almost three years for her sons to earn enough money to get home. She'd almost given them up for dead.
(on camera): How did you feel when your sons came back?
(voice-over): She starts to explain how grateful she was, but then emotion overcomes her. This is the human cost when unscrupulous players gain a foothold in this industry.
The U.N. estimates hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other men remain enslaved on ghost trawlers bringing cheap fish to dinner plates worldwide.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Thailand.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The National Fishery's Association of Thailand, which works closely with the government says it hasn't received reports of abuse or torture of crews in the past couple of years.
The group's chairman says most crew members join voluntarily, but acknowledges some recruiters may have made some false promises about pay and working conditions.
The association also says fishermen are warned that if they're found guilty of human trafficking they could be fined, jailed and their boats confiscated. For more on the CNN freedom project, check out our webpage at cnn.com/freedom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE (voice-over): Checking the time right now, about 40 minutes past the hour. Here are some of our top stories. Severe weather is moving across the southeast with tornado warnings in Alabama and Mississippi and twisters reported in both states this hour. Powerful line of storms moving across the country has killed at least nine people in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
The owner of the damaged Japanese nuclear plant has been ordered to pay a total of $600 million to those displaced by the disaster. Tokyo Electric Power Company must pay $12,000 in initial compensation to each family evacuated and $9,000 to individuals. The government says more may be paid later on.
In just a couple of hours from now, President Obama is expected to sign legislation funding the federal government for the rest of the current fiscal year. The hard-fought measure passed yesterday would cut spending by about $38 billion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: In today's big eye, we are focusing our attention on an organization that tries to make the impossible possible. The X-Prize Foundation makes it their business to seek out innovation and promote new ideas.
So each year the X-Prize Foundation hosts a brainstorming session in Los Angeles and invites a wide variety of people from around the world to talk about innovation and talk about the future.
Over the years, the X-Prize Foundation has been the fuel behind innovation in space exploration, life sciences, energy, and environment, along with education and global development.
The non-profit group does this by hosting competitions each year that offers winners big bucks to finance their great ideas and we're talking prize money up to $10 million.
So joining me now to talk about all this is Francis Beland. He is the vice president of Prize Development for X-Prize. Thank you, Francis, for joining us today.
First let's start with what is the thought process that goes into choosing the voices that you've invited to this weekend of brainstorming?
FRANCIS BELAND, VICE PRESIDENT OF PRIZE DEVELOPMENT FOR THE X- PRIZE FOUNDATION: You know, when we talk about prizes, we talk about grand challenges. When a challenge is so big, it's beyond us so we need to bring different thinkers, new minds, maverick thinkers, industry leaders together to help us find the area where the next X- Prize will be.
So we need a very diverse group of individuals. This weekend we have over 100 people joining us here in L.A. Saturday and Sunday. It is going to be one of our most highly attended workshops so far.
KAYE: I'm sure. I wanted to share with our viewers some of the names from this list, which is really impressive of some of the people who are attending. First, the first private female astronaut. You have Eric Schmidt, the chairman of Google, of course. Will.I.Am, the singer/songwriter. You have James Cameron, the filmmaker, of course from "Avatar" and many others, as we know.
What do you hope at the end of this weekend to leave with?
BELAND: What an amazing group of people will be there. We hope at the end of the weekend to give some direction for the foundation to open our minds to new areas where the next X-Prize could be. This is a way for us -- we call it visionary. It is a way for us to brainstorm and do a suspension of disbelief during the entire weekend and think about the solution, think about tomorrow, and how can we make tomorrow better through the use of incentivized innovation. At the end of the day, we'll have the list of the top ten prizes and breakthroughs that the X-Prize Foundation will look into over the next 12 months and create the next X-Prizes.
KAYE: And so like you said, the brainstorming session lays the groundwork for the X-Prize competition. Why use competition to solve problems or create innovation?
BELAND: You know, when we look at philanthropy and we look at investment in philanthropy, the X-Prize Foundation or incentivized innovation model has an amazing leverage. You can leverage your investment ten times.
So, when we look at grand challenges of today, we are looking for new ways of solving them. We have not been able to solve them. There's more and more grand challenges that we are facing on a day-to- day basis. And at the end of the day, competition is human nature. We are born to compete and what a great way to do it through an X- Prize.
KAYE: Last year's winner, we should mention, is Wendy Schmidt. She'll also be at this brainstorming session. What was her winning submission, and how's that project going?
BELAND: Absolutely. Wendy Schmidt is the sponsor of the Wendy Schmidt Oil Clean-Up C-Challenge, and X-Challenge that we launched last year on July 29th to be responsive to the oil spill in the Gulf.
The competition is doing amazingly. We had over 400 teams that preregistered to compete. We narrowed down to just over 45 registered teams. And now, just as of yesterday, our judges were meeting and narrowing down final lists to ten finalists that will test their solutions starting August 1st in New Jersey at a facility called Olmsted.
So, it is an amazing prize. We will usher in new technology for oil cleanup, so if this ever happens again, the technology that we'll be using will be three times as technically workable as the ones that we have today.
KAYE: I'm sure it is incredibly satisfying to see an idea that you've brainstormed at a conference like this come to fruition and actually solve some of the problems that need to be solved. So, great work that you're all doing. Francis Beland, thank you so much for your time. And I know you'll be back on Monday and actually let us know what you've come up with for the weekend. So, we look forward to seeing you then.
BELAND: Absolutely. Wait for the results on Monday.
KAYE: All right. Have a great weekend. We'll talk Monday.
BELAND: Thank you.
KAYE: Well, it's been around since the original colonists landed -- anger over taxes. Yes, that dreaded word. I'll show you numbers that reflect just how much anger we are seeing these days. Right after the break.
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KAYE: And time now for a CNN political update. CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joining me from are Washington. And Paul, I didn't know this is possible, but Americans are getting even angrier over their tax bill?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They sure are. We have a poll, Randi. And why today? Because today is the traditional deadline day for you to pay your taxes. This year, though, you have until April 18.
But check this out. From CNN/Opinion Research Corporation. Look at that number. Four in ten now say they are angry about the amount of taxes they pay. That is up, as you can see, from just 27 percent in 1985.
Here's another thing they're angry about. Go to this next number. This is interesting. Look at that. Almost three out of four A Americans say a lot of the money they pay in taxes is wasted by government. You add in another 23 percent who say that some is wasted, and well, I think you get the picture pretty clear there, Randi.
Listen, it is the traditional tax day and what does that mean if you are thinking about running for the White House on the Republican side? Well, you may be at a Tea Party rally today. One up in New Hampshire just ended. Of course, New Hampshire, the first state in a primary process. You have three or four or actually even five Republicans who are thinking of running for the White House at that event. And you've got some others getting into the act all weekend long, including Donald Trump at a Tea Party rally against high taxes in Florida tomorrow.
Let's talk about the president of the United States. Last night in Chicago, he was kicking off his drive for fundraising for the reelection bid. And I think, Randi, this is a process you're going to see. President by day, fundraiser by night. It's the Oval Office strategy that we saw, most recently with George W. Bush in his reelection and Bill Clinton as well. You do the Oval Office strategy, but every now and then, you hold these fundraisers. You will see Barack Obama out doing again next week out in California. Randi? KAYE: All right, Paul. Thank you. Good to see you. Have a good weekend.
And your next update from The Best Political Team on Television just an hour away.
What does your smartphone and how much you pay in gas have in common? I'll tell you right after the break.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't really do any extracurricular activities. You know, I mean, it is really just Saturday night, just stay home and find something to do. Because, $4.19 a gallon? That's ridiculous and absolutely absurd.
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KAYE: Well, there you heard it. Gas prices so high that you have to stay home. But what if I told you some basic technology could save you money on the gasoline so you could still have a night out on the town?
Casey Wian joins me live from Los Angeles. Casey, you are spending the day at a gas station so I hope that by now you have figured out a way of that we can all save money on this.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, lots of ways, Randi. We are at a gas station where regular unleaded gasoline is $4.20 a gallon, just a little above the average price for Southern California. $4.20 a gallon, among the highest in the nation.
Let's look at the video that we shot a little while ago of a man who pulled into the gas station to fill up his pickup truck with gas. You can see the concerned look on his face. He is a painter, so he does a lot of driving. And you see the concerned look and up and up and ultimately, it costs him $100 even to fill up his tanks with 22 gallons of gas.
He could've saved some money if he had driven to a station where gas is about 10, 12 cents cheaper, about a mile or so from here. And in fact, a lot of people in southern California are driving all over town, desperately searching for the cheapest gas prices, but there is a better way.
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CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pain at the pump is real for paint store delivery man Mark Murillo.
MARK MURILLIO, DELIVERYMAN: It hurts because of the high prices, but I have to do it to support myself and my family.
WIAN: There are ways to ease the pain. What is the best way for the motorists to make sure they are getting the best deal on the gas?
JEFFREY SPRING, AAA: Well, you don't want to go way out of your way and spending gas and money trying to find the cheapest gasoline. You want to try to plan your route to where the cheapest gasoline is in your area.
WIAN: A number growing of Web sites and smartphone apps can find.
I'm at a gas station in Hollywood where a regular unleaded gas is selling for $4.39, and I think that is too expensive. So, I can go on my iPhone and check an application to find if anything in the neighborhood that is cheaper.
And there is, less than half a mile away.
Here we are, just down the street, and gas is selling for $4.15 a gallon, 24 cents a gallon less. That could mean a savings of $3, $4 or $5, depending how big your gas tank is. The only catch is to get the saving here, that you have to pay cash.
Or pay a 45 cent ATM fee. Either way, it's a big savings. Another tip, look for gas at or near wholesale clubs which use low gas prices to attract shoppers. Location is key, says Jason Towes, co- founder of cheap gas finder Gas Buddy.
JASON TOEWS, GASBUDDY.COM: Wholesale clubs tend to compete very aggressively on the prices and forces all of the competition nearby to lower the prices, too. So you want to look for an area that is a bedroom community, has a lot of gas station, and find some cheap gas prices right there.
WIAN: Stations to avoid include those near tourist destinations and ritzy residential neighborhoods.
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WIAN: Now, a lot of people are ready to hit the road today because it is the Friday before spring break and a busy weekend of driving. And this is when a lot of stations actually raise their prices before one of these weekends.
So, how do you determine if it is cheaper to drive out of the way to get cheaper gas? Well, there are sorts of sites all over the Internet including at bankrate.com where you can put in the price of gas at one station, the price of gas at another, how far you have to drive, how many gallons your tank holds and the miles per gallon that your car gets and determine if it is actually worth it to drive 10 or 15 miles out of your way to find cheaper gas.
KAYE: And Casey, I'm just curious, with those high prices for gasoline in California, have you started to ride your bicycle yet to the CNN studio there?
WIAN: I haven't started doing that. I've got a pretty long commute. I would be in pretty good shape if I rode my bicycle to work every day, 40 miles or so. But I did buy a hybrid a couple of years ago. My wife also drives a hybrid, so we are saving where we can.
KAYE: Well, thanks for the tips. Those are pretty cool. So, we will have check those tips out. Thanks, Casey Wian. Appreciate it.
