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It's Still Not Completely Over; In Flying, Close Counts; President Brings Message To Facebook; New Terror Alert System Unveiled; Severe Weather Pounds Midwest; No New Safety Laws In Congress; Student Loans Outpace Credit Cards; First Lady's Plane Aborts Landing; One Year After The Gulf Oil Spill; Shock Your Engine; Breaking the Chains of Slavery; Growing Up As Kate Middleton

Aired April 20, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne, thank you.

Grand Isle, Louisiana one year after a deadly explosion that plunged the Gulf coast once more in to disaster. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal marks the first anniversary of the BP oil spill later this hour. It started on this date in 2010 with the loss of 11 lives and ended 85 days later.

But as the nation looks back on the worst accidental oil spill in history, no one can say it's completely over. Some 200 million gallons of oil entered the Gulf of Mexico from a shattered well head 5,000 feet below the surface. I know that you remember these pictures.

And the catastrophic damage to sea life, to beaches, to fishing, and tourism and even oil drilling.

The government stopped issuing permits for new offshore rigs until the companies could upgrade their safety plans.

Today, new drilling is allowed. Eleven permits for deep-water rigs, 49 for shallow rigs, in just the past few months.

Vacationers are again crowding Gulf coast beaches, but tar balls show up now and then too. Fishing could still take years to recover because fish, crabs, oysters could take years to recover.

Most of the Gulf is now fishable and it looks like a good year for shrimp.

Well, it's a bad year, a very bad year for the dolphins, turtles, and other sea creatures that still are turning up dead on Gulf shores. Rob Marciano is on that in Golf Port, Mississippi. He's our "Two at the Top."

And Rob, I just hate to see this, dead baby dolphins washing up on shore. Do the scientists or the wild life organizations know why yet? I mean, can they say definitely that this is connected to the oil spill?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They won't say definitely yet, Randi, and maybe some time before they know the answers to that. The tests typically take months as it is and then we've got a legal case that we're dealing with, building a evidence against BP, so that slows things down even further.

But the numbers are startling, 10, 15 times, in some cases, 20 times the normal number of strandings that we've seen on the Mississippi coastline. Especially turtles, we've seen over 220 since this -- the beginning of this year, dolphins, 175, and we saw two more just a couple of hours ago as we went to the beach this morning.

All right. Let's talk about recovery, all right? We've got 17 turtles right here at the IMMS where they are rehabilitating those turtles hopefully to be released in the next couple of weeks. And we've got a couple of dolphins, check these puppies out, beautiful creatures. These were not affected by the oil spill and they're retired. They'll kind old, only one tooth, it's got bad eyesight.

Tim, how well would these do in the wild if we were to let them go?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, these guys wouldn't do well at all. Like I said, they can't see and they're up in years.

MARCIANO: Gorgeous, gorgeous animals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very gorgeous animals. Even the males that are a little more rigged up because they're just a little more physical than the females are.

MARCIANO: Now, working this closely with these animals, Kelly, what -- can you understand why Americans are so torn up when they see pictures of dead dolphins on the beaches?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course, these animals are really special to a lot of people, and it makes a lot of sense that people get really heart broken in seeing them hurt on the beaches and stuff.

MARCIANO: OK. What kind of -- we've got Bo (ph) and are the -- what's the other name of this dolphin?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Buster (ph), he's the male, and then Bo over there is the female. And we're actually hydrating her right now with water because of her age and stuff, they have kidney problems and stuff like normal people. So, we give them a little extra help.

MARCIANO: Now, you don't make them work too hard for their -- for their food, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no --

MARCIANO: But some little tricks?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They do little simple stuff. They enjoy doing stuff rather than just sitting here and just, you know, sowing (ph) food. They actually get enjoyment out of it. It's enrichment, you know? MARCIANO: You can't see it, can you? Smile for the camera, baby.

So, there you go. Fantastic animals, I'm so fortunate to be in here. Randi, I wish you could feel the texture of their skin. Of course, they have that amazing feature in their face that makes them look like they're smiling all the time. Very socially interactive creatures, and to the human touch, they seem to appreciate that. They've been doing amazing work here throughout the entire Gulf spill.

This is the only facility that's really here full time. You saw a - remember those mass triage units for birds that rehabilitated and released birds. But this particular facility does this year round regardless of an - of an oil spill.

So, back to you, Randi. It's been quite a year. We won't know for sure whether or not the oil has directly impacted those dead dolphins that we've seen in the last few months, but if you look at the numbers, there's got to be some connection.

KAYE: I can't tell you how nice it is to see, though, a healthy dolphin swimming there with you, Rob, because we've been out on those boats in the Gulf and you see the dolphins swimming through those oil slicks and it breaks your heart. So, those are certainly some nice pictures to see.

Thank you, Rob, appreciate it.

Well, they are overstretched, apparently, under a microscope certainly. And now, America's air traffic controllers are the subject of this hour's "Sound Effect."

Today, two federal investigations are underway into Monday's waved-off landing at Andrews air force base, now officially called Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility, in Maryland. You know it as the president's airport, and the flight in question was carrying none other than the first lady, Michelle Obama.

It had to circle the runway because it was flying too close to another plane that had just landed. No one was in danger, we're told, but it is one more air traffic embarrassment on top of several recent cases of controllers napping on the job.

A former FAA chief of staff was Eliot Spitzer's guest last night "IN THE ARENA." I want you to hear what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL GOLDFARB, FORMER FAA CHIEF OF STAFF: Well, take Kennedy tower, they're understaffed in the New York air space, they have been, 270 people there to hand it will traffic load, they have about 148. But Eliot, they've only been able --

ELIOT SPITZER, HOST, "IN THE ARENA": Wait just a minute, Michael, I hate to interrupt, there is supposed to be 270 and there are 148? GOLDFARB: My numbers could be six months outdated, but things don't change that fast.

SPITZER: Even if you're off by a -- by a few, that margin is enormous. I mean, how do you --

GOLDFARB: It is enormous and the FAA will tell you that it's safe. And so, how do they accommodate that? They accommodate it by the extra shifts, by working the schedule, increasing the hours, and the price you pay is what we're seeing today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: A very important issue and I'll talk more about this next hour with aviation analyst and retired commercial pilot Jim Tillman, he'll join us.

We're keeping a close eye on wildfires spreading across Texas. Firefighters are still struggling to contain fires that have scorched nearly one and a half million acres and burning more than 170 homes.

The states forestry service spokesperson says Texas is burning from border to border. But a little rain and lower temperatures are giving some firefighters a bit of a break today and more storms are possible this weekend. Fire crews from 34 states are now in Texas to help fight the fires.

Have a burning question for the president? Well, all you need is an internet connection and Facebook. President Obama is holding a virtual town hall meeting on Facebook in just a few hours as part of his tour to sell his deficit reduction plan. The president is swinging by headquarters actually in Palo Alto, California and will be answering previously submitted questions.

The government is implementing a new national terror alert system today. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano made the official announcement this morning in New York. That system will replace the previous, often confusing and vague color-coded alert put in place after 9/11.

The new system has only two levels of alerts, an elevated threat which warns of a credible terrorist threat to the U.S., and the more serious imminent threat which warns of a credible, specific, and impending terrorist threat. These alerts would be sent out with maps to show what areas are affected and have specific dates of when the alert should expire.

We're keeping our eye on severe weather looming over the south. This after the latest round of powerful storms moved through parts of the Midwest. Several tornadoes tore through the area. In Illinois alone, officials say more than a dozen homes were severely damaged and more than 40,000 people remain now without power. People reported being pelted by hail, some even the size of tennis balls and baseballs. Emergency workers say there's no reports of injuries or deaths. As we continue on the special coverage of the Gulf oil disaster one year later, this picture, showing oil gushing to the Gulf, well, it was a game changer, but did it help change any federal laws? What, if anything, has Congress done to prevent future oil disasters? We'll tackle that question next

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A year after the devastating oil spill in the Gulf, the interior department and the oil industry itself are taking the lead in putting new safety and preparedness standards in place. But what, if anything, has Congress done to keep this from happening again?

Our Congressional Correspondent Brianna Keilar has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're estimating a thousand barrels per day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five thousand barrels a day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twelve thousand to nineteen thousand barrels per day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty thousand to fifty thousand barrels a day.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As oil spill estimates ballooned, so did Americans' concerns. May 20th, one month after the disaster began.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: With this new video which you see there on the right.

KEILAR: CNN started showing live pictures of the oil gushing to the Gulf. BP had finally answered Democrats' demands to show the public what they were seeing. And Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey put the so-called spill cam on-line.

You put this on your committee Web site.

REP. EDWARD MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: That's right.

KEILAR (on camera): The Web site crashed, didn't it? So many people were looking at it.

MARKEY: This was like an overnight sensation. There ultimately were hundreds of thousands, millions of people who became obsessed with -- fascinated by what they were seeing.

KEILAR (voice-over): Now, one year later, what about making sure this never happens again?

(on camera): What has Congress done?

MARKEY: Congress has not passed any legislation yet to respond to the lessons, which we have learned from that spill.

KEILAR (voice-over): Markey blames Republican senators who opposed a bill the House passed last Congress.

(on camera): It's not just Republicans, it's also Democrats who are running counter to what you say needs to be done.

MARKEY: Well, again, we had a majority of the votes in the Senate, but you need more than 51 in the Senate, you need 60 votes in the Senate.

KEILAR: But you didn't even have all Democrats.

MARKEY: No, we didn't have all Democrats, but it's a very small minority of Democrats plus just about every Republican just to get the mix correct.

KEILAR (voice-over): And Markey lost another battle in February when the Obama administration once again allowed deep water drilling with the support of Republicans and some Gulf state Democrats who argued that drilling means jobs.

(on camera): What do you say to the president?

MARKEY: It's important for the Obama administration to go only so far and not to be pushed to the situation where they, once again, are invoking the law of unintended consequences.

KEILAR: To play devil's advocate, that's pretty soft language for someone who looked at BP executives and demanded they apologize for lying. You know, isn't that being soft on the administration?

MARKEY: No, I am saying that they have to be very careful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And Brianna joins me, now, from Washington.

Brianna, no new safety laws or legal requirements for how oil companies must respond to a disaster begs the question, why the lack of action in Congress?

KEILAR: Randi, it's the economy, really, that has been so much of a bigger priority here, in fact, that bill that went through the last Congress, through the house of representatives, at least, but didn't go through the Senate, it was because the Senate was busy with extending those Bush-era tax cuts. That was a bill that would've, among other things, increased the liability levels of the oil companies that are responsible for spills.

Now, to be clear, we should say, there are some new regulations for safety and preparedness, but that is coming from the department of interior and also from the industry itself, not from Congress -- Randi.

KAYE: But Congress is moving legislation to increase drilling? KEILAR: That's right. The house of representatives, which is not Republican controlled, here very recently just moved a few bills through a committee that would expedite the permitting process and also open new offshore areas for drilling.

Republicans, and also a few Democrats, they say they're striking a balance here between the demand for oil -- and we know it's there, $4.00 a gallon gas and safety. But you have some Democrats, like Ed Markey, who are saying Congress is behaving as if this spill never happened, Randi.

KAYE: All right, Brianna Keilar, thank you.

And you can head over to cnn.com/oildisaster to see the effects the spill has had on the Gulf region. Also, while you're there, check out the iReport assignment where people are expressing themselves via messages in the sand.

So, which is bigger, student loan debt or credit card debt? The answer may surprise you. That's ahead in "Your Money."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Credit card debt has been steadily decreasing in 2008. A good thing. Student loan debt, on the other hand, has been increasing. A not so good thing. According to a college financial aid website, fastweb.com, as of June, 2010, total student loan debt exceed total credit card debt for the first time ever. While credit card debt hit a peak of about $975 billion in September of 2008, it's expected that total student loan debt will continue to climb.

Need proof? Well, the fine folks over at finaid.org have put together a debt clock, you see it there, which estimates the amount of total student loan debt. Just take a look at that number. So what does this mean and what can be done about it? Mark Kantrowitz is the publisher of finaid.org and fastweb.com. He's also the president of MK Consulting Inc.

Hi there, Mark. Glad you're with us.

This is such an important issue to so many people. Why has all of this debt continued to climb so high?

MARK KANTROWITZ, PUBLISHER, FASTWEB.COM: Well, primarily because need based grants have not kept pace with the increases in college costs. For example, Congress just cut the year round Pell grant program which slashes $8 billion from federal grants. That $8 billion is going to result in an increase in borrowing. State public college tuition is also going up this year because of the ending of the stimulus bill money. That drives increases in college borrowing and forces students to borrow more for their education.

KAYE: So how do you see this -- if we don't get this under control, I mean how do you see this affecting the economy on the whole in terms of a negative impact? KANTROWITZ: Well, it makes clear that student loan debt is now a macroeconomic factor. It causes families to delay life cycle events, like getting married, buying a car, having children, saving for their children's education, saving for retirement. In fact, more students are opting for 20 or even 30 year repayment terms, which means they'll still be in debt when their own children enroll in college. It's very worrisome.

KAYE: And so what's the answer here? I mean what can students and parents do to possibly prepare for this, if anything?

KANTROWITZ: Well, there are several things that you can do to try to minimize your debt. One is to go to a less expensive college, such as an in state public college because the lower the cost of tuition, the lower the debt at graduation. You can save before college. It's cheaper to save than to borrow. You can search for scholarships on free websites like fastweb.com. You can pay the interest while you're in the in school period so that the debt doesn't grow by the time you graduate through interest capitalization. You can borrow federal first, because federal loans are cheaper. There's a lot of good things that you can do to try to reduce your debt.

KAYE: All right. We'll leave it there. Mark Kantrowitz, good advice. Thank you for coming on the show.

KANTROWITZ: Thank you for having me.

KAYE: And 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. That's Saturday's at 1:00 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3:00.

One year after the worst oil disaster in U.S. history, the Gulf region is still feeling the effects of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion. There was tremendous damage to sea life, fishing and tourism. Higher than usual numbers of dolphins and sea turtles are still dying and washing up on shore. Despite the massive clean-up efforts, the long term effects on wildlife won't actually be known for quite some time. Possibly (INAUDIBLE) years.

A little good news. Amid all of the wildfires in Texas, the forestry service say evacuation orders have been lifted for residents in Polk County. Firefighters from 34 states are now in Texas to help battle these massive fires. Wildfires across the state have burned nearly 1.5 million acres.

Some welcome news for airline passengers. The Transportation Department has issued an updated version of the airline passenger bill of rights. Among the highlights, airlines are required to fully disclose all hidden fees for things like baggage, meals and reservation changes. And there are now new limits on tarmac delays. A lot of flying passengers will be happy about that.

The FAA is investigating what the Transportation secretary is calling a serious incident. An incident that caused an aborted landing of a plane carrying the first lady. Our Ed Henry is working his sources to see what's going on behind the scenes. He always gets the scoop. So keep it here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: An air scare involving the first lady. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins me now from the White House.

Ed, from what I understand, she wasn't in any immediate danger. But, if you could, explain what happened and what the NTSB is doing about all this.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean senior officials confirm that on Monday, when the first lady was coming back with Dr. Jill Biden as well, they were in New York, you know, filming "The View," an episode of "The View, to talk about helping military families and other initiatives they've been working on. And they're heading back to Andrews Air Force base.

And, at some point, there was a miscue by an air traffic controller. And their plane, a military jet, got within three miles of a military cargo plane. They're supposed to be five miles apart because of the sheer force of these military cargo planes. And then, as the first lady's plane was going to land, it turned out that on the runway was this military cargo plane too close to her jet, so it had to do what they call a go-around. They sort of briefly aborted the landing. And then she landed safely after they cleared the runway. So nobody was really in major danger and officials insist that the first lady's life was never in danger, Mrs. Biden as well.

Nevertheless, this was an extremely close call, obviously. And how would you like to be Ray LaHood, the Transportation secretary. In recent days he's had all of these air traffic controllers asleep at the switch, literally, and there have been investigations into that. Now there's an investigation into exactly what happened with the first lady's plane.

CNN caught up with Secretary LaHood today and asked, you know, are you expecting a phone call from the president. He just sort of smiled and said, no. But said, look, if I get a call, I'll take it. It doesn't appear that the president is angry about it or anything like that, but it gives you a sense of the fact that the Transportation secretary is really on the hot seat right now. He appears to be getting on top of it. But there's sort of this angst out there across the country, obviously, when you hear about traffic controllers falling asleep. Now another traffic controller making some sort of a miscue. Not falling asleep, but some sort of a miscue that may have put the first lady even in danger. It obviously raises questions about the system.

KAYE: Sure. And they're watching movies too, apparently. So who knows what's going on.

HENRY: Yes, exactly.

KAYE: Ed, we're going to leave it there because we want to get our viewers to Governor Bobby Jindal, who's in Grand Isle, Louisiana, speaking on this anniversary of the Gulf oil spill. GOV. BOBBY JINDAL (R), LOUISIANA: I want to talk to you a little bit today about an update about how far we've come and how far we've yet to go. But before I do that, I think it's important to start today by remembering that a year ago today, in this tragedy, 11 men lost their lives.

Nothing can bring those men back. We need to keep not only those men, but their families in our prayers. We're talking about husbands, sons. We're talking about loved ones that will never come back. I know today is a difficult day for these families.

So I'd ask everybody here to please join me in a moment of silent prayer for the families, the 11 men who were killed a year ago in this tragic explosion.

Thank you very much for doing that.

Certainly many of you have heard about throughout this past year, especially in the months right after the oil spill, you heard not only me, but you heard these parish presidents and others talk about our frustrations with the response to the oil spill. And certainly I am going to talk to you today about how far we've come and some of the things that remain to be done.

But before I do that, I really want to remark on three remarkable groups of people. Today should certainly be a day that we look back and remember the disaster that took human life, that caused ecological damage.

But today should also be a day to look back and remember the heroes. Remember the people who stood up to defend a way of life. That fought so hard to make sure that we could go fishing again. We could live in these coastal communities again.

I want to start with the group behind me. We have our parish presidents, our coastal leaders. They have done a phenomenal job. You know, across the country, maybe local leaders aren't called upon to manage crises, to respond to emergencies, to make day-to-day critical decisions.

Yet right here in Louisiana, these men and women that are standing with me have done it time and time again. During Katrina, during Rita, during Gustav, during Ike, during the oil spill, our local leaders were our first line of defense.

And I've got to tell you that certainly I know there was a lot of frustration at first. The federal government didn't understand the importance of working with our local government, including our local leaders. We pushed time and time again to make sure that the folks in Washington actually listened to the people who live along this coasts, who have spent their lives along this coast and know these waters like the backs of their hands.

So our parish leaders did a great job coming up with innovative solutions, communicating the needs of their constituents, their communities and they continue to stand united time and time again to fight to restore our coast to undo this damage.

A second group that also deserves our gratitude, an amazing group of men and women, are Louisiana's National Guard.

Let me tell you, last year in the summer, we had 3,000 of our finest deployed in Iraq at the same time. We had over a thousand guardsmen fighting the oil from along this coast. Indeed, we had men and women coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan who were immediately were deployed again here in Grand Isle and other points across our coast.

They did an amazing job. Everything we asked them to do, whether it was standing up tiger dams, whether it was doing airlifts, whatever we required them to do, they worked 24/7 to protect this coast. Indeed, they moved 24 million pounds of sand, rock, dirt and other material to help fill in dozens of gaps so we could fight this oil. Not along our coast, but 15, 20 miles way from the estuaries and the wetlands.

We've got Colonel Keeling here.

Colonel, on behalf of the people of Louisiana, I want to thank you and the men and women of the Louisiana National Guard. Thank you for a great job well done.

(APPLAUSE)

JINDAL: You know, but there's a third and perhaps most important group that I want to thank, and that is the people who live along our coast, the coastal residents right here in Louisiana. Many of them have live along this coast for many, many generations. They have fed their families, they have powered the country, and they have fed the country all while living along this coast.

For them, this wasn't a theoretical -- this wasn't theoretical damage. This wasn't about long-term impacts. This was about their way of life. This was about their ability to go back and live in their homes, continue to make a living, feed their children, pass along traditions they learned from their parents and their grandparents.

I need to tell you about the great people of coastal Louisiana. These are the most resilient, most generous people you will meet anywhere in the world. I am proud to call them fellow Louisianans.

I'm proud to be their governor. I'm proud to see how they came together after the hurricanes and then again after this oil spill, and how they continue to come together to preserve this unique, wonderful way of life.

I tell you, it is inspiring. They are the heart --

(END OF COVERAGE)

KAYE: You've been listening to Governor Bobby Jindal there in Grand Isle, Louisiana, flanked by members of the community there, parish presidents. Thanking many of the parish leaders for coming up with unique ways to save their community, and also, of course, thanking the residents along the Gulf Coast.

A woman shows off her new hand after a remarkable operation. We'll show you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: In medical news now, a woman who underwent a rare hand transplant joined surgeons at the UCLA Medical Center to show off her new right hand yesterday. Emily Fennell lost her hand in a car accident back in 2006. After a number of years passed, doctors were able to locate a perfect match from a donor hand and she underwent the 14-hour operation last month.

Surgeons had attach 23 tendons, two bones, two arteries, and nerves during the operation. With the help from physical therapy, the 26-year-old woman eventually hopes to be able to tie her own ponytail.

Firefighters in Texas have a new challenge on their hands -- more fire. Dry weather and high winds are blamed for spreading the wild fires. Some are over 100,000 acres in size and have been burning for over a week. One of the largest is within 70 miles of the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. There is some good news, a cold front is expected to bring some much-needed rain.

Columbine High School is closed today as the community remembers the lives lost in the shooting that happened 12 years ago in Littleton, Colorado. On April 20th, 1999, two students unleashed a deadly assault, killing 12 classmates and a teacher. The anniversary brings memories of lost friends as well as the horrors that accompanied that day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just started screaming and crying and telling him not to shoot me. And so he shot the girl and he shot her in the head in front of me. And he shot the black kid because he was black, and he shot him in the face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The SWAT team went in to confront the two shooters only find they turned their guns already on themselves.

High gas prices costing you more to drive, but a new group of engineers might be close to getting your next car to run on shockwaves. Yes, sounds crazy, doesn't it? More on this in just one minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: With oil prices going through the roof, researchers are looking for new ways to power cars. Well, here is a different type of engine with a power supply that might surprise you in today's "Edge of Discovery." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If these engineers at Michigan State University have their way, your next car will be mainly powered by shock. Not sticker shock, not gas price shock, but the kind of shock that happens when things blow up.

Associate professor Norbert Mueller and his group have developed a prototype for an engine that runs largely on shockwaves. It's called the wave disc engine generator. Simple in design, this little piece of machinery packs a wallop.

PROF. NORBERT MUELLER, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY: This engine actually rotates in the housing and you can design for that no mechanical part is touching another part.

TUCHMAN: The power is created by the disc rapidly spinning and setting off shockwaves. Those waves then ignite fuel in the chamber, and this combustion generates energy.

The wave disk is initially being looked at for use in hybrid cars, and developers say it would eliminate the need for about a thousand pounds of engine parts, making future cars lighter and cheaper.

MUELLER: So we take everything together in one very compact design where we try to utilize everything we can think of to make it as efficient as possible.

TUCHMAN: Efficient and, according to Mueller and his team, nature friendly, cutting carbon emissions down by about 90 percent. The goal is to have a ready-to-roll version done in about a year.

Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Just ahead in "Globe Trekking," forced to work under conditions so brutal, that we can't even imagine. It is the story of garment workers on opposite sides of the globe that came together to create a clothing line, and it's giving them their freedom from slavery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: In "Globe Trekking," we'll take you to two places on opposite sides of the world -- Buenos Aires and Bangkok. What they have in common are groups of garment workers breaking the chains of slavery. The result of a clothing line borne out of the struggles to be free.

Let's start with CNN's Brian Byrnes in Argentina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN BYRNES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Maria Velasquez spends her days behind this sewing machine stitching dresses, blouses, and vests. She works an eight-hour shift and makes $4 an hour, a far cry from the first job she had after arriving from Bolivia in 2006.

"I was promised a sewing job in Argentina that would pay a dignified salary of $200 a month. But just like so many other victims, I was lied to," she says.

And Maria became a victim herself. Forced to sew 18 hours a day, seven days a week in a clandestine clothing factory in Buenos Aires, she says she was rarely allowed outside and slept in a hallway in the factory. She made just $25 a month.

"My son would sit under the sewing table and cry, and my boss would yell at us all the time," she says.

With no money, no family, and nowhere else to turn, she stayed at the factory for a year. Eventually, she made her way to the La Alameda community center. Here, Maria and a dozen other men and women produce slave-free clothing in a non-threatening environment.

Gustavo Vera is the director of the collective.

GUSTAVO VERA, DIRECTOR, LA ALAMEDA COMMUNITY CENTER (through translator): In Buenos Aires city alone, there are 3,000 clandestine clothing factories with some 25,000 workers.

BYRNES: Many of them suspected of working in oppressive conditions. City officials say, in 2010, the identified 1,200 locations where forced labor was suspected of taking place, but they acknowledge it's a challenge to shut them down. They still do not know how many clandestine factories exist.

That's why Daisy Cahuapaza values her job at La Alameda so much. She also spent years working in a clandestine family and says the problem is spreading. "People are still being brought from Bolivia every day. Not just Argentina, they go to Brazil too. The reality is people need to go to work," she says.

The rules here are simple. There is no boss, all decisions are voted upon, all profits are split evenly.

(on camera): The members of the La Alameda have now taken their goods global. They've teamed with a similar collective in Thailand and now make and sell these T-shirts with designs from artists all over the world under the label name, No Chains.

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And this is that sister factory in Bangkok, Thailand where workers also produce the No Chains T-shirts. The same idea, but on the other side of the world. The small workshops adorned with posters proclaiming the ethical nature of this business, which they call Solidarity.

The workers set it up in 2003 after being laid off from another garment factory with no warning and no payout after years of terrible working conditions. Now, like the workers in Argentina, they work for themselves. (on camera): Here workers enjoy rights that others can only dream of elsewhere -- better wages, a stake in the profits, and crucially, freedom from mental and physical abuse that's so common in sweatshops across Asia.

(voice-over): Boodsaba Meechai says her old employee used to fine workers even for just you yawning. She says workers were intimidated, abused, and only received $60 for a six-day week of 14- hour days.

Carisa Chou regularly commissions goods from Solidarity, impressed with the quality and working conditions.

CARISA CHOU, CUSTOMER: I love that it's a cooperative, but that what I pay goes to them and it's equally shared. They try to make -- it's amazing, and so that's why I decided to support this.

RIVERS: Like in Argentina, meal breaks can be as long as workers want, without a tyrannical boss yelling at them.

And this is the finished product, ethically produced T-shirts bearing the label, "Sweat Free Garments," part of the partnership that literally spans the globe.

With Brian Byrnes in Argentina, I'm Dan Rivers for CNN in Bangkok.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And you can find out more on the No Chains line at their website, nochains.org.

And of course, to learn about CNN's yearlong Freedom Project, please visit CNN.com/Freedom.

She ran with John McCain in 2008, but she's still playing coy as to her intention this is time around. Brianna Keilar joins us with the latest on the potential candidacy of Sarah Palin. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: About 10 minutes before the hour now, and it is time for a CNN "Political Update." Brianna Keilar joins us from Washington.

Brianna, Sarah Palin still a hot topic when we talk about the 2012 race, but she hasn't really given any indication, right, that she is seriously running for president?

KEILAR: That is right. This is the story trending on the Ticker at CNNPolitics.com, Randi: Is she or isn't she running? And we didn't know, because she said to Sean Hannity on FOX News that it's just too soon to declare.

In fact, she said it's too soon to even think about forming an exploratory committee with the IRS or the FCC, something that so many contenders or potential contenders in the GOP field have already done. She says if she were to run, she would be unconventional about it. And it seems she would have to be, Randi, because the polls show her popularity lagging among Republicans and she also hasn't paid many visits to those all important early primary states.

So, of course, it's also time to think about fundraising for all candidates, that includes President Obama. He is hitting up the Democratic stronghold of San Francisco to fill his campaign coffer. Couple of events, a couple of dinners that he'll be at tonight, including one where you are going to see NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice who will be speaking.

And he also has a breakfast in San Francisco tomorrow, two other fundraising events in Los Angeles. All of the money to be split between -- or it goes to the Obama Victory Fund which is split between his reelection fund and the DNC.

And it seems that there is a governor who not too happy with President Obama. We are talking about Jan Brewer, the Republican governor of Arizona. She says that she feels as if she were snubbed, that she was snubbed, because she was not invited to that immigration summit that was held at the White House yesterday. She said that she thinks that current governors of states that border Mexico should have been invited.

She, of course, has sparred with President Obama over immigration policy, she did sign that controversial illegal immigration bill. And she did meet with the president last June coming out of the meeting saying it was a good one, but that there were certainly some disagreements on the issue.

And she has said in the last year to John King here on CNN, Randi, that she doesn't want to talk about a compromise on an immigration bill with President Obama until he first makes securing the border a priority, Randi.

KAYE: All right, Brianna, we will keep an eye on the Political Ticker, as well. Thank you.

And you're next update from "The Best Political Team On Television" is just one hour away.

So what exactly drew Prince William to Kate Middleton? As she prepares to join royalty, we are looking back at her humble beginnings at the background that make Kate the one.

Plus, something to help you remember their fairy tale wedding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: With only nine days to go before their big day, we are getting a glimpse at Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding program.

Check out the cover, there it is. You can see it features Will's coat of arms on the front; the Middleton's is on the back. We won't get to peek inside, of course, until their wedding day, but we are told that it is in line with royal tradition. It will feature a full order of guests, a personal thank you from Will and Kate, and never before seen pictures of the couple as well. A souvenir program will go on sale as a memento of the big day.

Now, most princesses have come from aristocratic backgrounds and grand homes, but not Kate Middleton. She will be the true commoner's princess. Soledad O'Brien introduces us to Kate's humble hometown in her latest documentary, "THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATION CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Pretty, peaceful, pastoral. Bucklebury, a picture-postcard village 55 miles west of London in the English countryside region called Berkshire.

JOHN HALEY, INNKEEPER: It is an area of outstanding natural beauty. It is a lovely part of the world to live.

O'BRIEN: John Haley is an innkeeper for one of the areas few pubs, The Old Boot Inn.

HALEY: And there's some lovely people out here, lovely houses, lovely way of life. Community spirit is very good, I think, and everyone looks after each other.

O'BRIEN: The small community, numbering only in the thousands, is now looking after its most famous residents, the Middletons. Daughter Kate, a commoner who will one day be queen, has helped this small hamlet earn the nickname, "Royal Bucklebury."

HALEY: Oh, they're very nice. Just very nice family, down to earth, very easy going, relaxed. Yes, lovely family.

O'BRIEN: Carol Goldsmith and Michael Middleton met while working for a British airline. They married in 1980 and settled into this modest house. Their first child, Kate, was born here in 1982.

(on camera): Kate's early years were as ordinary as you could imagine. She was baptized in a picturesque chapel. She was a Brownie, she liked to perform in plays and musicals. A quiet life here in the English countryside, and it could not be further than the royal world she is about to marry into it.

CHRISTOPHER ANDERSEN, AUTHOR, "WILLIAM AND KATE": They were not wealthy.

O'BRIEN: They were solidly middle class?

ANDERSEN: Absolutely solidly middle-class, hardworking folks.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): And that hard work would pay off in the 1990s. Carol started an successful Internet party planning business and the family was soon worth millions. They moved into a much larger house in Bucklebury, Kate went to several expensive boarding schools where she hobnobbed with England's richest and most titled. But she would always come home and eventually with her boyfriend, Prince William.

HALEY: I think they feel very comfortable in Bucklebury. People do leave them alone, you know, just treat them like normal people, a normal couple and so they're able to walk with their dogs and walk around and not have pressure on them.

O'BRIEN (on camera): It was the way that Kate grew up in rural Bucklebury, normal, quiet. Once criticized as "too common," it may be the very thing that helps keep this royal couple together.

ANDERSEN: They have an idyllic little British estate and he saw that, indeed, it was possible to have a happy family and a happy marriage in the Middletons. And I think that is a big reason that Kate is the one.

HRH PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES, UNITED KINGDOM: She has a very, very close family and I get along with them very well with them and I'm very lucky that they've been so supportive. Mike and Carol have really been sort of loving and caring and really fun, and have been really welcoming to me, so I really felt part of the family.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): And part of a town that has become something of an extended family as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: The countdown to the most anticipated wedding in decades has already begun, and CNN has it covered like nobody else. You can watch all of Soledad's documentary "THE WOMEN WHO WOULD BECOME QUEEN" on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

And join us on the big day, Friday, April 29th, starting at 4:00 a.m. for CNN's royal wedding experience. You can watch, you can DVR, you can participate, all of the above. Do everything. We will bring you every unforgettable moment.

Now, while our eyes are on Will and Kate's wedding, his father, Prince Charles, is hitting a milestone, breaking a record really. He now holds the distinction as the longest waiting heir apparent to the throne in British history, waiting for his turn to be king for more than 59 years. Prince Charles, who is 62, has waited longer than his great, great grandfather King Edward VIIth who set the previous record.