Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Cuba Government Seeks to Enlarge Private Sector; Police Continue to Search for Serial Killer in Long Island; Financial Planner Gives Advice on Claiming Tax Deductions; Britain Prepares for Upcoming Royal Wedding

Aired April 16, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon. Glad you're with us. I'm Deborah Feyerick in for Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the CNN Newsroom. Let's get you caught up on the top stories.

It's happened again. Another air traffic controller found sleeping on the job. This time it was in Miami. Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is life on the phone with details. Jeanne, fFatigue is a huge issue.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The FAA saying lit take additional steps to deal with it. This latest incident happened in Miami at the Miami air route traffic control center or Tracon, one person suspended after falling asleep on the midnight shift. He was reported by another controller.

According to the FAA, the preliminary review of the air traffic tapes indicates that the controller did not miss any calls from aircraft and there was no operational impact. But ironically, before the start of this shift, all controllers had been given a briefing on professionalism and the importance of reporting to work fit for duty. The incident, as I said, reported to a manager by another controller.

There have been other incidents. As you know in Washington, Knoxville, Reno, Seattle, Lubbock. In many of those cases the controllers were alone on the midnight shift. That was not the case here. According to the FAA, there were 12 managers on duty at this facility.

The head of the FAA Randy Babbitt bot said he's taking immediate steps to deal with this. He said within the next 72 hours they are going to change the way they schedule controllers, prohibiting scheduling practices that are identified as most likely to cause fatigue. But he says this is just the beginning. We will need to do more.

Babbitt and the head of the national air traffic controllers union on Monday are scheduled to start a tour around the country to talk with controllers and visit various facilities to see what additional steps might be need. Deb?

FEYERICK: Jeanne, they're also looking at ways to change the schedules, correct? It's not a consistent schedule. It's not like they're on from the 12:00 to 8:00 a.m. shift every night, and that's a problem. They're looking at how to change that, right?

MESERVE: That's right. That's why the administrator announced today they will be taking within 72 hours steps to prohibit scheduling practice identified as most likely to cause fatigue.

I can tell you I have talked to some people in the aviation industry who have talked a bit about how controllers move from working the day shift to a later shift to the midnight shift. And when I queried whether it wouldn't make more sense to have people working the same shift all week long, the people I spoke to said research indicates that that can be even more fatiguing than having a shift that moves across the schedule.

So we don't know exactly what it is that administrator Babbitt is about to prohibit, but apparently they have identified something about the scheduling routine which appears to aggregate the situation and make the controllers even more likely to suffer fatigue on the job.

FEYERICK: OK Jeanne Meserve, thank you for bringing us up to date with the latest on that, certainly a concern to all of those who fly.

Five states from Oklahoma to Georgia are cleaning up and adding up the damage from a powerful storm system. Tornadoes and high winds are blamed for 17 deaths, and in Oklahoma 26 counties under a state of emergency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house was there, and all of my belongings are over here. Devastation. There's nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: And Mississippi's governor has declared an emergency. You can see why. Look at the car. The force of yesterday's twisters flipped over cars and tracks on the interstate in Clinton. Damage estimate teams are spreading out across the state. Look at all those power lines.

Speaking of power lines, that's a transformer that exploded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The state's governor says twisters tore through at least a half dozen counties. The storm left behind downed trees and extensive home damage and lots of power outages. Survey teams are also spread out assessing the extent of the damage.

(WEATHER BREAK)

FEYERICK: Searchers are back out looking for missing 20-year-old nursing student. Twenty-year-old Holly Bobo who was reportedly snatched from her carport and taken into the woods early Monday morning. Contrary to earlier reports, investigators say they don't think Bobo was dragged away at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP):

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He actually had an arm, holding her. So we feel that she knew that she was in fear of her life, so she was complying with his demands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Police say they have found items that belong to the missing woman. So far no suspects have been named. They are expecting to hear more from the TBI later this afternoon.

New York police say they may be dealing with a serial killer. In the past four months, the bodies of eight women have turned up in a remote area of long island. There's a CNN special on the case later today. You can catch it at 7:00 p.m. eastern tonight right here on CNN.

It's a win for Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. He came out on top in a GOP presidential straw poll in South Carolina last night. The Charleston county Republican party conducted the poll at its annual convention. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney came in second.

At the bottom of the hour, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will rally the crowd in madison, Wisconsin. She'll speak at a tax weekend Tea Party rally. Americans for Prosperity is one of several groups hearing from potential 2012 president candidates today across the country.

Monitoring another Tea Party rally in Florida, this one head lined by Donald Trump. The business mogul is expected to take the stage in about 30 minutes. Our own Shannon Travers is at the rally. What is Trump's message and why is it resonating with Tea Party members.

SHANNON TRAVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Trump's message is appealing to a lot of Tea Party activists because he's hitting some issues they have been talking about for the past two years, government spending, less government spending. Trump has been out talking about that. He's also been out blasting what he and other critics call Obamacare, the health care law that's now about a year old.

And he's also, for a certain segment of conservative voters, he's also been bringing up the issue of Obama's birthplace. So that's appealing to a lot of conservative activists.

But just to show you how unpredictable this race could become, it's interesting that a billionaire reality TV star can appeal to Tea Party activists, especially given that Donald Trump has been a Democrat. He's turned independent, become a Republican. He's passed George Bush possibly as the worst president ever. So it's interesting he's appealing to this kind of crowd.

FEYERICK: It's interesting because, you know, it's one thing to run, to say you're running, another thing to get elected. No one is looking at his record up close. Is he even electable? TRAVERS: I'm having a hard time hearing.

FEYERICK: Shannon, stay with us. We want to know the latest of what's going on. For the rest of you out there watching, we want to test your Trump knowledge. Can you name Donald Trump's ex-wives? There you go, three of them. Take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: We'll get to Donald Trump's campaign stump in just a second, but first a look at his marital status. How many wives? There were three. Ivanna, they had three children together. Then, of course, there was Marla Maples, the other woman. They had a daughter. And the last, he's currently married to Milania Trump. They have a son together.

Now to the mogul's political aspirations - Trump is scheduled to speak at this Tea Party rally in Boca Raton, Florida. He'll bring his comments to you. Trump is considering running for president. He's expected to make a final decision by June.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak may be on the move. An army spokesman tells CNN Mubarak was transferred from a hospital in Sharm el Sheikh to a military facility in Cairo. Several riot police standing guard outside the hospital say Mubarak is still there. The former president is under investigation for the deaths of protesters during the recent uprising.

Government forces are pounding Libya's third largest city with rockets. Rebels say Gadhafi troops shelled a neighborhood, killing three people. It comes one day after a human rights group claims government forces fired cluster bombs into civilian areas.

And at least five NATO service members and four Afghan soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan. The bomber was wearing an Afghan national army uniform.

In Cuba this weekend, it's national celebration and an important gathering of the communist government. CNN's Shasta Darlington was in Havana today, and you had watched this huge military parade 50 years after the invasion of the Bay of Pigs, really interesting historically.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Deb. This was a massive celebration of Cuba's past victories. We saw tanks rumbling through revolution plaza, tighter jets flying overhead. Thousands of troops and civilians, people from the neighborhoods coming out and marching in support of their revolution and in celebration of these major victories. It was 50 years ago this small Caribbean island defeated a U.S.-backed invasion of the Bay of Pigs.

It was led by Cuban exiles, but it was really considered a defeat for Washington. They failed to provide air support. And of course Cubans never rose up and joined in the fight. A major victory, of course, for Cuba. This afternoon we'll see, as you mentioned, he was going to start looking for the future. The leaders will meet behind closed doors for a four-day meeting of the communist party. In fact, it's the first Congress of the communist party in nearly 14 years. They're going to focus on the economy and needed reforms there.

President Raul Castro has called for more private enterprise and less of a role from the state. They want to do major layoffs in the state sector and allow more people to get into business for themselves in things like plumbing, gardening, opening up restaurants.

They'll also talk property ownership, which could mean Cubans for the first time in decades could buy and sell homes and possibly even all those old cars could be affected if they allow Cubans to buy and sell more modern vehicles, Deb.

FEYERICK: Shasta, I read something like 170,000 Cubans have actually taken out licenses to open their own business. Very quickly, why 14 years? Are communists coming from elsewhere? Is this an internal meeting of the leaders there in Cuba?

DARLINGTON: Deb, it's a good question. They should be holding these meetings every five years. We haven't had one since 1997. Part of the disruption was, of course, when Fidel Castro fell ill, there was the transition from one government to another. Then massive hurricanes sort of hit the economy, global crisis, lots of different reasons.

But they couldn't wait any longer. This is probably the first Congress solely dedicated to economic reform and the time is right. They knew they had to do something, and president Raul Castro has already called for many of these reforms. They're hoping to get even more done once they ever got the leaders together.

FEYERICK: We will be keeping an eye on it, Shasta Darlington in Cuba. Thank you so much.

R&B singer usher gives his all on stage. When he's not performing, he's giving back to the community through his new look foundation. He explains how in this "Impact your World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

USHER, SINGER: This is Usher. We can make an impact on our young people. My new look foundation was founded in 1999. I started it because I wanted to do something that I thought would impact youth. We mostly focus on mentoring youth, showing them a new look on life through new world experiences. There's a focus on leadership as well as service.

My hopes are I'm introducing tomorrow's service-minded youth leader. Our children are our future. This is our opportunity to make it better by motivating them now. Join the movement, CNN.com/impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FEYERICK: CNN's "Impact your World" is challenging you to pledge at least 11 volunteer hours in 2011. Go on CNN.com/impact or text impact, space, and the number 11 to 22360. Make your pledge today. Volunteer. When you complete your hours, go back to the webpage to submit your photos or video. Your volunteer story could be featured by "Impact your World."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FEYERICK: Because of emancipation day in Washington, the IRS is giving taxpayers until Monday to turn in their tax forms. Many of you might be working on them right at this minute.

Vera Gibbons is joining us with information on what we call the "sandwich generation." It's so interesting. People are caught between children on one side, their parents. How can you claim your parents as dependents if you are caring for them?

VERA GIBBONS, FINANCIAL PLANNER: It's funny. You have more than 20 million Americans in this situation. They're in off the situation. You do want to take all the breaks, a program like turbo tax is going to make sure you take the breaks you're entitled to.

And one of the things you want to do, Deb, is claim your parent as a dependent if you can. You've got to pass an income test. Your parent's income has to be less than the personal exception rate of 3,650, which excludes Social Security, but interest, pensions included in that calculation. You've got to be able to prove that you or your and your siblings combined are responsible for at least half of their expenses. You have to pass a couple of hurdles to claim them as dependents.

FEYERICK: Can you deduct your parent's medical expenses if you're caring for them in that way?

GIBBONS: That's a good point. If you are taking them as a dependent, you can take their medical expenses, use that to your advantage, take the deduction providing you itemize your expenses, and the have to exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross. They have to exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. That's an important point to make.

FEYERICK: You have your parents on one thing, the boomerang kids who move back in. Can you claim them as to dependents and to what extent?

GIBBONS: A lot of these guys do have boomerang kids, kids that went away thinking they were going to get a job and never come back. Over 50 percent of college kids go back living with their parents. You take them as a dependent, again, providing you meet certain criteria as set forth by the IRS, support criteria, age requirements as well.

You can also take their medical expenses and lump those together with yours and with your parents providing they're under the age of 27. There's lots of things you can do to minimize the tax fight. FEYERICK: Certainly any extra money you can claim, certainly a good thing for those parents who have it on both ends.

GIBBONS: A lot of these guys miss these things. Make sure you're taking all the breaks. In addition, your medical expense expenses, education credits, all the things the sandwich generation tends to miss unfortunately.

FEYERICK: Absolutely. Thanks for keeping us in the loop, Vera Gibbons.

Each week we take a look at people who have achieved extraordinary things while overcoming major obstacles. With the NBA playoffs starting today, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta catches up with Ron Artest. He's part of the 2010 champion L.A. Lakers, but perhaps still best known for a brawl in 2004.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON ARTEST, NBA PLAYER: We visited a school in Englewood, and a clinic in south central, and so I move around a lot to try to stay involved.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: After practice, this is what L.A. Lakers' forward Ron Artest does in the free time. He is raising awareness about mental illness. But this is not exactly what most people would expect of a man who made the cover of "Sports Illustrated" for storming the stands in Detroit after a fan threw a drink at him. That was back in 2004.

GUPTA (on camera): So this is a very different Ron Artest today?

ARTEST: Yes, with the confidence to say I have a problem, and did see a psychologist, and in fact before game seven.

GUPTA (voice-over): In fact, after the Lakers won the NBA championships last year, Artest's first shout out went to his psychologist.

ARTEST: I want to thank my doctor.

GUPTA: Essentially telling the world he was seeking help because he need it. Then he raffled off the championship ring for more than $500,000 which went to his charity which helps high-risk kids.

GUPTA (on camera): Do you have a particularly diagnosed mental illness.

ARTEST: No, but at age of six I had anger management problems and a lot of frustration and tension in my household and I was like, man, I'm always mad for some reason.

GUPTA: Do you have anger management issues anymore?

ARTEST: Not as bad as I used to. GUPTA (voice-over): But he says there has been a lot of mental issues in his family, and he knows that counseling has helped with these issues and you have to have access to therapy.

ARTEST: I am still not perfect. I tell people, I'm an example and no longer a statistic and example and solution and not a role model yet, but one day, I will be.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: A CNN royal wedding special with Richard Quest is next. But first a quick look at our top stories. The numbers from this latest system of severe storms to hit the south are staggering. So far the storm has spawned nearly 100 possible tornadoes across five states. At least 17 people have been killed. This is Oklahoma, where two people died.

A massive search is under way on long island for a potential serial killer. Police found the remains of at least eight women, four have been identified, all are believed to have been prostitutes who advertised on craigslist. Police say the killer may have called and taunted the family of one of the victims.

And if you're mailing your tax return to Uncle Sam this weekend, it will cost you more. A first class stamp still is 44 cents. The rate for first class parcel post, those heavier letters, that's up. It will also cost more to send post cards.

And Britain's royal wedding is about two weeks away. But T- Mobile produced its version of the nuptial as part of the campaign ad, an owed to the growing number of wedding dance videos that have gone viral. Royal look-alikes dance down the aisle to "House of Love" by E-17. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: That's great. That must have been Prince William. You saw Prince Harry and Beatrice there, also. The royal wedding countdown to the big day, that's next.

I'm going to be back at the top of the hour for a story you parents don't want to miss -- how do you help with your students deal with the stress of testing? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)