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American Morning
Health Care Fight in Plain Sight: Obama to Host Televised Summit; Killer Whale Kills Trainer: What Went Wrong?; Toyota: What Worries You; Toyota Turns to "Masters of Disaster"; No Teacher Left Behind; Runaway Rate Hikes
Aired February 25, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. It's Thursday, February 25th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Hope you're feeling better.
CHETRY: A little better.
ROBERTS: You're sounding better.
CHETRY: I just keep passing back this lovely winter cold.
ROBERTS: Around and around and around it goes.
Here are the big stories we'll be telling you about coming up in the next 15 minutes. He said, I'll put it on C-SPAN. And today, finally, after a year of war behind closed doors, President Obama will hold a health care summit live on television. We're live at the White House with new information on when the president wants a final deal.
CHETRY: Also, small business owners across America forced to cut to the bone. Skyrocketing health care premiums are landing many of them on life support. So is it time for the Feds to step in and put a stop to the insurance company rate hikes? We have a SPECIAL REPORT on this. "Broken government" ahead.
ROBERTS: And a shock at Sea World. A killer whale with a history of aggressive behavior dragged a trainer to her death just after a public performance. What went wrong? And could it have been prevented? We'll ask a marine biologist who has been studying orcas for more than 20 years.
CHETRY: But first, what could be a do or die day for health care reform. In just a few hours, President Obama will host a health care summit that will be live for the nation to see. But what is supposed to be a day of compromises already shaping up to possibly be more of the same. There is almost grade school bickering going on over things like who invited whom, the shape of the table and seating assignments. And already one senator is saying there may be nothing to talk about at all. So many of you are asking, what's the point? The best political team is up early to try to answer that question. Today, we have Ed Henry standing by live at the White House. First, though, we're going to head to Dana Bash.
CHETRY: Hi, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran. Hi, there, Kiran.
Privately, even Democrats will tell you the answer to that question, the main point of today is political theater. But it's important theater because of the critical importance of health care politics in this year's election. And that's why a team of Democratic lawmakers and the team of Republicans going to the White House today, each huddled more than once to try to prepare their strategies for their day before the camera, make sure their points get across and they're going to do that regardless of any compromise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): We asked both the Senate's top Republican and Democrat where they may agree on health care. But their answers were mostly how they disagree.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: You will not see from us a 2,700-page comprehensive rewrite of one-sixth of our economy. We don't think that ought to be done and we've said it repeatedly.
HARRY REID (D-NV), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: We need major health care. That's what the people, the people of America want. They want health care reform. Not some band-aid.
BASH: Not exactly the makings of compromise. But peel back the rhetoric and raw emotion and there are some areas of agreement. Take young adults. Republicans want to change the law to allow dependents to stay on their parents' insurance policies through age 25. President Obama's plan isn't far off. He says age 26. Or promoting a healthier lifestyle.
A House GOP proposal says people in prevention and wellness programs should be rewarded with better health insurance rates. The president adopted a similar idea in his plan. But the reality is those are minor issues. So what about major popular issues like banning insurers from discriminating based on preexisting conditions? Well, they agree on the concept.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), OHIO: I think that the issue of preexisting conditions is a serious issue in our health care system. We have a way to do it that doesn't drive up the health insurance costs for every other American.
BASH: But that Republican way is expanding high-risk fools and reinsurance programs that already exist in various states. Democrats call that a nonstarter and want an all-out federal ban. Which brings us back to where we started, intense disagreement. And though Democrats say this --
REID: We've heard that they have ideas. And we look forward to those ideas.
BASH: Skepticism reigns.
MCCONNELL: We're happy to be there but I'm not quite sure what the purpose is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Now, the reason the GOP leader said that is despite today's six-hour live event for the cameras with Republicans, Democrat officials already have tentative plans in the works to use a parliamentary short cut, to try to push through the Democrats' health care bill without Republican support. And one of the things you'll hear from Republicans today is they want to take on health care incrementally.
And, Kiran, yesterday, top Democratic Senator Chris Dodd said, if the GOP wants to start over then, quote, "there's nothing to talk about." So we did find one thing that's bipartisan, and that is, there's not much hope for real progress today.
CHETRY: All right. Well, we'll see how it goes, anyway. Dana Bash for us this morning, thanks.
ROBERTS: Meantime, the president has challenged Republicans to bring their ideas to the table. Let's go to Ed Henry. He's live at the White House this morning.
And, Ed, you've got some new information from the White House about a target date for a final deal?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, John. Advisers to the president are telling me that their new target date is to get all of this done by the end of March.
And the reason for that is that they're being told by Democratic leaders on the hill that they start the Easter recess right there at the end of March, beginning of April. And if they don't get it done by then, once Democratic leaders come back from that recess early to mid-April, they've got to move on to other things. The spending bills that have piled up, climate change legislation and jobs.
Let's remember the president tried to reframe all this in January in the State of the Union by sort of putting health care on the back burner, jobs on the front burner. If he doesn't get it done within the next month, a lot of Democrats are telling this White House they don't think it will get done this year at all, John.
ROBERTS: So what's -- what exactly is at stake for the president today? And what does he have to do to reach this target date?
HENRY: Well, what they're really looking for today is momentum. As Dana laid out, it's very unlikely there's going to be some sort of eureka moment, where after months and months of being at each other's throats, Democrats and Republicans will magically say, OK, we have a deal today. Instead, what the president wants is some momentum. They believe right now inside the White House that they have at least 50 votes in the Senate, in order to pass through the process known as reconciliation. You know, at least most of the legislation, if not all of it.
And their real fear right now is that they don't have 218 votes, the majority in the House. And so the president's real target audience today, when you talk to some of his advisers is getting some of those conservative Democrats in the House, nullifying them on things like abortion funding but also the big picture of, is the government spending too much. He's going to have to make the case here today that this is not going to spend too much money in the long run. It's actually going to save some money, John.
ROBERTS: All right, Ed Henry for us this morning covering that. Thank, Ed.
Will you be covered? Will your current coverage be more affordable? Coming up at 7:15 Eastern, we're going to talk with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs about the president's new plan.
CHETRY: And also just a reminder, the only place to watch the health care debate with the best political team on television is right here. CNN's live coverage of the summit will start 10:00 Eastern this morning.
ROBERTS: All right. The northeast bracing for plenty of snow this morning. Our Rob Marciano is tracking this nor'easter which right now is not too bad, but it's supposed to get a lot more powerful in the next 24 hours, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. Both in the form of precipitation and where the rain/snow line is going to be. Let's take a look at the radar and show you where it is.
It's already snowing in Philadelphia, and with that their snow is going to pile up pretty rapidly. Looks like D.C. is going to be left out of this party for the most part. Just a dusting. Most of the action will be north of there in through Philadelphia, Trenton, Newark and into New York.
Zooming in a little bit, it is rain right now in New York. But watch the rain/snow line begin to sneak to the east. So even though it's raining heavily in places like Fairfield County and up the I-95 corridor towards New Haven, the rain/snow line is beginning to sneak a little bit closer to the coastline. So the farther away from the coastline you are, the more you have on the way of snow. Twelve to 24 inches expected in upstate New York and eastern Pennsylvania. Six to 12 from Philadelphia to New York. I think more in Philly than New York, but either way it's going to be enough to slow things down, to say the least.
The fourth major winter storm of the season. And in some parts of the northeast, it will be crippling. We'll talk more about this and the blizzard condition expected later on in the program. John, Kiran, back up to you.
CHETRY: All right. Rob Marciano, thanks. It seems like it's just week after week after week we keep getting zapped.
ROBERTS: It's kind of like to the winter of 1996.
CHETRY: I remember that.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Well --
ROBERTS: 1996, 1997, snowstorm after snowstorm after snowstorm.
CHETRY: March is just around the corner, so fingers crossed.
Meantime, it's seven minutes past the hour. The Senate is voting to extend the Patriot Act for another year. Key provisions are scheduled to expire Sunday and that includes court-approved wiretaps on multiple phones. Now supporters say extending the law enables authorities to keep important tools in the fight against terrorism. It now heads to the House.
ROBERTS: New York Governor David Paterson demanding an investigation following a report in "The New York Times" that state police pressured a woman to drop a criminal case against a close aide of his. Yesterday, the governor suspended that aide, David Johnson, without pay. The woman in question had accused Johnson of domestic violence.
CHETRY: The hero from Tuesday's school shooting in Littleton, Colorado, credits another school shooting for his quick actions. Math teacher Dr. David Benke tackled the suspect after he allegedly shot two students at Deer Creek Middle School. Benke says the drills after the he shootings at Columbine High just three miles away from where this shooting happened, prepared him for his moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DAVID BENKE, HERO TEACHER: I noticed that he was working a bolt-action rifle. I noticed that and realized that I had time to get him before he could chamber another round. And basically I -- whenever we had had these drills, and whenever we had worked with students, I said, basically, if something happens, and there's something that I can do about it, I want to try and do something about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it like today knowing that you faced this?
BENKE: It bothers me that I was a little bit late. It bothers me that he got the second shot off.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: Well, but it could have been so much worse. He's very humble. And that Facebook, by the way, called Dr. David Benke as a hero already has close to 30,000 members.
ROBERTS: Still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, a terrible incident at Sea World, a trainer killed by one of the killer whales that she worked with. Up next, we're going to talk with a marine biologist about what might have happened here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's now 12 minutes after the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. New information emerging this morning about the killer whale who dragged a trainer to her death yesterday.
CHETRY: It happened at Sea World in Orlando yesterday as visitors watched the scene unfold in horror. The orca named Tilikum (ph) has killed, they believe, at least twice before. First in 1991, when a trainer fell into his tank, and then in 1999, when a man snuck into the whale's pool.
ROBERTS: This time eyewitnesses tell CNN the orca actually grabbed the veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau and pulled her into the water.
Joining us now live from Monterey, California, is Nancy Black. She's a marine biologist, has been studying killer whales for more than 20 years.
Nancy, thanks for being with us this morning. The questions that people are asking this morning is why the whale would have grabbed her. Apparently, this happened just after a show. Was the whale acting in an aggressive fashion? What it the intention of the whale to hurt the trainer or potentially was he just trying to play with her?
NANCY BLACK, KILLER WHALE EXPERT: Yes, it could be, you know, a variety of reasons. But killer whales are very powerful, and even just what seems like a gentle thing to us, you know, for a 12,000- pound killer whale could be, you know, obviously fatal to a person, if it just accidentally holds her under a little too long because she couldn't get her breath.
I mean, this killer whale could have wanted companionship. Maybe it was frustrated, it wanted some object. You know, the closest thing is the person to kind of pull in the water. Because they play with seals and sea lions in the wild and they don't necessarily kill them. They kind of, you know, toss them in the air and sometimes let them go. So you know, it could have been act of frustration, act of play. But I don't believe that the killer whale purposely intended to actually kill the woman. It was more likely an accident, I would guess.
CHETRY: And, Nancy, what you're touching on really is the unpredictability of wild animals, especially powerful wild animals that, you know, we use for our entertainment in this situation. I mean, are there larger questions about whether it makes sense to have animals like orcas and other big animals that have miles of ocean in their natural habitat to be confined to a place like Sea World aquariums?
BLACK: Yes, I think times have changed and now that, you know, we've learned so much about killer whales in the wild. They live in family groups. Even the males will stay with their mothers their whole lives which is unusual in most animals. They live in these tight family groups. They rely on each other for social structure, for hunting, for play. And they do cover hundreds of miles of ocean. They're just not sitting there, bobbing their head up and down every day in the ocean like you see them doing in the, you know, in the tank. And I think they do need more space.
And, you know, situations like that do cause a lot of stress for them most likely. That's probably, you know, he has a flop fin. Often males get the fin flop when they're in captivity. We don't see that much in the wild. But it is such an unnatural situation for them and I do believe in the future, you know, down the line, that, you know, situations in captivity will stop, and the people will see them more in the wild, or see them on these amazing nature shows instead of in a small, confined tank.
ROBERTS: You know, there's a famous case of a -- a polar bear at the Central Park Zoo in New York City named Gus who -- who developed a compulsive disorder because of his captivity. They actually had to introduce things into his pen for him to play with. But he would incessantly just swim back and forth, back and forth, dip his paw in the water, take it out.
This -- this particular orca was described as difficult, depressed, temperamental. You know, these are animals, while they don't have the intelligence of a human, they are smart. There's intrapod communication.
Could -- could it just be that he was depressed because of 20 years of captivity? And -- and, you know, you put a person --
BLACK: Yes. I think so.
ROBERTS: -- into a confined area, they might snap. Did -- did this orca just snap?
BLACK: It's possible. You know, he could have -- I heard that the whales were a little agitated, maybe, before this happened. Maybe something unusual happened in their environment and they're so used to this regular, you know, situation every day and anything that makes louder sounds, you know, could have disturbed him.
He could have been upset and just like a frustrated person, you know, might hit a wall or something, the killer whale just will, you know, grab a person and, you know, just pull her in the water because there's nothing else to take his frustrations out on.
And I -- I did hear that killer whale was often isolated.
CHETRY: Right.
BLACK: It probably didn't have much to do. So, just like you see the polar bears, you know, pacing back and forth in the zoo, I mean, they -- these are very intelligent mammals. They're the most intelligent of all the whales and they do need, you know, stimulation and activities and things to keep them occupied.
CHETRY: And, Nancy, on the other side, you know, people argue that because of drawing attention to animals like this in places like SeaWorld and others that, you know, adds -- it helps with the conservation, it helps with awareness, as well other things like learning more about these animals.
But what changes, if any, do you think that SeaWorld or other, you know, organizations and companies that have large mammals like this -- what changes might they have to make in the future?
BLACK: Well, obviously, I think they'll be more careful as far as them interacting with people, you know. I understand that this whale, people were not, you know, getting in the water with it because of the temperamental condition, so I guess they'll be more careful that way.
You know, they're going to have -- these killer whales, for quite a while, because a lot of them were born in captivity, they do have that captive breeding program, which is good. At least they're not taking more from the wild.
So, you know, in the future, these captive animals that have been raised in captivity, maybe their tanks can be bigger. They can have more stimulation, you know, especially for an adult male, you know, doing something different.
This whale was born in the wild, the one that -- with the incident, so he was captured from Iceland and taken away from his family group, which is a lot different than just being born in captivity.
ROBERTS: Yes. All right.
Well, I guess -- obviously, the authorities are going to be investigating this, looking into it to try to determine exactly what might have happened. Maybe it was just as you said, a freak accident.
Nancy Black, marine biologist in Monterey, California. Thanks for joining us.
CHETRY: Thanks, Nancy.
BLACK: Thank you.
CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break.
It's 18 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Twenty-one minutes past the hour right now. That means it's time for "Minding Your Business".
We have Christine Romans with us this morning, talking a little bit more about Toyota and Toyota's troubles, but from the social media perspective.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This has been a big topic on social media, people talking about the preparations they should make about their own Toyota cars.
And it's interesting, when you look at both our viewer feedback and also what's happening on social media about the Toyota story, the number one thing we're hearing from people is they just want to know what to do with their car or what to do in the instance of sudden acceleration.
It's more about preparation than analyzing sort of the long-term impacts of this brand. So the top most common questions, would turning the car off or putting it in neutral help with a stuck accelerator? And there's also, should I shut off the engine while driving?
These are the top things that people are now asking. Are the vehicles that have been repaired now safe to drive? These are really nuts and bolts questions and answers.
I want to tell you something, and I'm going to tweet this for all the social media people out there, and I just put it out on Facebook, but a link to a Consumer Reports blog, how to stop a runaway car. These are the kinds of things that are the most tweeted and the most re -- you know, sent around among friends.
Number one, brake firmly. Do not pump the brakes. We told you this over and over again, but even as late as last night people were still asking these question. What do I do? Am I supposed to pump? Am I supposed to just hold it down flat?
ROBERTS: Although, as we heard from that woman yesterday, she held down the brake -- ROMANS: That's right.
ROBERTS: -- and that didn't do it.
ROMANS: That's why some of this spices what -- why people are still asking these questions, because they hear these stories from people who say, well, that's what I did and it didn't work.
Shift the transmission to neutral. Steer to a safe location. This is all from Consumer Reports. Shut the engine off with the transmission and neutral. You heard from the woman yesterday who said she did -- she thought she shut the engine off, and it was still revving. Also, finally, shift the transmission into park. Take a deep breath and do not try to drive the car.
So these are the kinds of things that you're all asking about, really about preparations and nuts and bolts, still, two weeks into this, trying to answer these questions.
ROBERTS: All right. What the Romans Numeral this morning?
ROMANS: The Romans Numeral's putting this all into context. Edmunds.com put this all into context, Toyota's troubles. Toyota is number 17 on the list of what? The Numeral is 17, but Toyota is number 17th --
ROBERTS: Consumer -- consumer complaints?
ROMANS: Consumer complaints per vehicle sold. It's -- it's not even in the top 10. So they're saying that there still are a lot more vehicles out there that get more complaints than a Toyota, even with all of these going on.
The number one, in case you're wondering, is the Land Rover. That's the number one.
CHETRY: What's number two?
ROMANS: Number two is Suzuki.
ROBERTS: Really?
ROMANS: And then Isuzu and then Volkswagen. I can go on forever. I'll post this --
CHETRY: Post it for us.
ROMANS: I'll post it, too.
ROBERTS: Post it. Good idea.
ROMANS: AmFix.com. Also you can -- I'll put it on Facebook at Christine Romans.
CHETRY: Christine Romans.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much.
ROMANS: Sure.
ROBERTS: Well, still to come in the Most News in the Morning, their nickname is the Masters of Disaster. We're going to take a closer look at an engineering firm that's been hired by Toyota to help prove that its cars are safe.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-six and a half minutes after the hour. Your top stories just a little more than three minutes away. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Toyota's president got a real grilling on Capitol Hill, but Akio Toyoda came armed with a study to defend his company. The car maker hired a firm called Exponent to test its vehicles for acceleration problems. But Exponent has an interesting past.
So our Ted Rowlands went to find out, is Exponent just a hired gun for big business?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Toyota is apologizing on Capitol Hill, but it's not admitting to anything specific. In fact, an initial report given to Congress this month couldn't find anything wrong with Toyota vehicles.
That report was compiled by a company called Exponent, hired by -- guess who? Toyota.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've asked people to evaluate Exponent's analysis, and they said it was not a very good analysis.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Exponent is an engineering firm with the nickname "Masters of Disaster." When a big corporation gets in trouble, these are the guys they call to help defend them.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): And those big corporations read like a "who's who" of companies with major product or PR problems over the past decades, like Exxon. When the Valdez run aground, Exponent concluded that a double hole (ph) wouldn't have prevented a spill.
Exponent worked with tobacco companies, arguing against the label's warning of the hazards of smoking. Dr. Stanton Glantz has been battling tobacco companies for years. He claims Exponent is basically a hired gun for big business.
DR. STANTON GLANTZ, CARDIOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO: If I were Toyota and you wanted somebody to do this, I would have found somebody who didn't have this baggage. To get an independent assessment of Toyota cars or anything else, you need to have people doing the assessing who are actually independent.
ROWLANDS: Exponent's initial report given to Congress states that after testing several vehicles, they were, quote, "unable to induce, through electrical disturbances to the system, unintended acceleration, despite concerted efforts."
Electrical Engineering consultant Dr. Antony Anderson, told CNN the report was, quote, "seriously deficient", a skepticism shared by some lawmakers.
REP. BRUCE BRALEY (D), IOWA: Was the interim report produced by Exponent, Inc. to justify Toyota's position the equivalent of junk science? And how much credibility should it be given by this committee and American consumers?
ANGELA MEYERS, VICE PRESIDENT, EXPONENT: There was a comment made by one of the congressmen yesterday, we want to look at this report and see if it's junk science. And, as an engineer, you know, that -- we take offense to stuff like this.
ROWLANDS: Exponent Vice President Angela Meyers sat down with us and fired back at critics.
ROWLANDS (on camera): You're saying that if a victim hired you, had the money to do so, in this exact case you would run the exact same tests and do the exact same thing as if Toyota was your client?
MEYERS: That's correct.
ROWLANDS: People would have -- have a very difficult time believing that.
MEYERS: Well, we are -- engineers are much like doctors. We have ethical standards. We are licensed professionals.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Meyers says the report given to Congress is only the beginning of what will be an exhaustive investigation. While Meyers insist the wishes of the paying client don't matter, in the same breath she seems to indicate it is how the game is played.
MEYERS: They're going to look at our report and they're going to tear it apart, and we're going to look at their report, I'm sure, and we're going to tear it apart. And the question is who did the right science (ph)?
ROWLANDS (on camera): But isn't -
(CROSSTALK)
ROWLANDS: -- the frustrating part of it all, is that's what's wrong with our system and that you can have PhDs on either side coming to dramatically different conclusions? And lo and behold, the conclusions marry the clients that are paying them.
MEYERS: From a company perspective that does this work and does it well, we're going to do the right science. And if it's -- you know, Toyota likes it, great. If Toyota doesn't like it, unfortunately, they're going to have to deal with the consequences.
ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And we're crossing the half hour at 6:30 Eastern. That means it's time for this morning's top stories.
You're invited to the health care battle today. Front row seat.
The president is trying to save an effort that dominated his first year in office. He is hosting a health care summit with both sides on live television. And he's asking Republicans if they have any better ideas than his.
CNN's going to have live coverage starting at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
CHETRY: Insurance companies and their runaway rate hikes sending small business owners to the brink of bankruptcy. Some say it's time for the feds to step up and try to put a stop to it. But is our government too broken to depend on? Our special "Broken Government" -- straight ahead.
ROBERTS: Officials at SeaWorld in Orlando say they're reviewing standard operating procedures after a killer whale attacked and killed a veteran trainer yesterday in front of an audience. Witnesses say the whale grabbed Dawn Brancheau and pulled her under the water. The orca, one of the largest in captivity, has a history of aggression. In 1991, he killed a trainer. And in 1999, a man was found dead after sneaking into the whale's tank.
CHETRY: Well, in one tiny poverty-stricken city in the nation's smallest state, a big battle is erupting at the local high school. The school board in Central Falls, Rhode Island, has voted to fire every teacher. It's part of the new federal push for education reform that requires each state to identify its worst performing schools and to take specific actions to fix them.
But is wiping out an entire staff the most sensible approach?
Joining us now is Deborah Gist. She is the education commissioner for the state of Rhode Island.
Thanks so much for being here, Deborah.
DEBORAH GIST, RHODE ISLAND EDUCATION COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Kiran. Good morning.
CHETRY: So, ultimately, it fell into your lap to approve the firing and did you, the superintendent's plan to fire all of the teachers and staff at Central Falls High School. Explain to us why this is the best solution to fix this school's problems.
GIST: Well, I think what's important to realize is that the step that the board has taken, that the superintendent of Central Falls has taken, is not just about the staff at the school. This was a directive that we gave to Superintendent Gallo and to the superintendent of another school district in our state. We have six schools in total that we've identified. And what we've asked for them to do is choose one of four models for their turnaround efforts for the schools.
And it isn't just about the staff. It certainly isn't just about the teachers. It's about every part of the school, and how we completely turn it around for the benefit of those students.
So, it's the staff. It's the curriculum. It's the school day. It's the extra support for students. It's much more than just this board (ph) action.
CHETRY: Obviously, there's been a lot of protest of this decision. And some arguments made that there has been some progress, especially at this school. And we want to just listen right down to one of the fired guidance counselors, George McLaughlin, told CNN about it.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE MCLAUGHLIN, FIRED GUIDANCE COUNSELOR: I know for a fact, we have three times as many students who are accepted to colleges now as they were five years ago. How do I know that? I'm in the guidance office and I do most of that work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Also, a union rep said that there's been a 21 percent rise in this school in reading scores and also with 3 percent rise in math scores over the past two years. Is that a sign that there was some progress being made, and some of these teachers were doing something right?
GIST: Well, certainly, we commend the staff for the progress that they did make. But I think it's important to look at all of the information.
What we have is a school where the majority of students do not graduate. The graduation rate is only 48 percent. And in mathematics, only 7 percent of the students are proficient in mathematics.
More than half of the ninth graders are failing -- more than two classes -- which is an indication that they are frustrated. And what we know about student achievement is that when students are failing -- aren't successful in their class, they're much more likely to drop out of school. And so, this is a very serious situation. It's extremely urgent.
CHETRY: Right.
GIST: And this has been many years in coming. This is a school that has been in corrective action for about eight years.
CHETRY: But, Deborah, let me ask you about this, because it seems like they're up against a lot of insurmountable odds. This is a community, according to our staff, 97 percent of the students there -- nearly 100 percent of the students live in poverty, 65 percent of the student body is Hispanic. For most of them, English is not their first language.
So, what are you looking for in a teacher administrator given these challenges?
GIST: Well, one of the things that we know about education today that is very encouraging is that young people from any background, whatever their family's income level and whatever their -- the color of their skin or their language, can be successful academically when we put the right supports in place and when we have an excellent teacher in every single classroom.
CHETRY: And so, what is the plan? I mean, this is a huge challenge to try to basically rehire an entire staff to run a school? How is this going to work?
GIST: Right. Well, the way the process works is that the superintendent has selected the model. Her school board has approved it. I have approved it.
And now, she's in planning mode. So, she steps into a several week-long process where she and her community team will be putting a very specific plan in place for how they will turn the school around; how they will decide which of the teachers can stay in the school, because they can bring back up to 50 percent of the teachers, how they will find an excellent school leader to lead the school through these changes, what they will do about changing the school day and extending the school day, and providing extra support to students, and engaging parents, what curriculum they will use and how they'll make sure that curriculum is aligned with the standards that we have in place in our state.
And so, they will put this plan in place. They will also submit that plan to us and we will provide support and assistance to them, and then, ultimately, approve their plan before they launch into implementation.
CHETRY: You know, there were some student protests as well. Some of them are speaking out about the firings -- some in particular giving their heart-wrenching stories. One of them said that, you know, she doesn't have a father in her life, that her mother works at a factory all day, and that her teacher was basically the one constant in her life and referred to the teachers as mentors.
What kind of impact might this have on the students who feel as though they were losing the one person or a few people who are really there for them?
GIST: Well, first of all. This is an incredibly difficult situation. It's difficult for everyone involved.
And the fact that it's so difficult is one of the reasons that we don't take the necessary steps to truly make the changes that we need to make. So, we acknowledge how difficult this is and take it extremely seriously.
I would also say that Dr. Gallo, the superintendent of this school district, wants to bring those excellent teachers back and she has the ability and the model that she selected to bring back up to 50 percent --
CHETRY: Right.
GIST: -- of the staff there at the school. And so, there will be a number of teachers who will be able to stay at the school. And we hope that they will.
CHETRY: Deborah Gist, Rhode Island education commissioner -- thanks for your perspective this morning. We appreciate it.
GIST: Thank you.
CHETRY: It's 37 minutes past the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
All week longer we're examining America's broken government. And today, the focus is on health care.
CHETRY: And the government's failure to stop insurance companies from imposing staggering rate hikes on customers who can't afford them. Some are saying that the only fix is federal control.
Jim Acosta is live in Washington this morning.
And so, Jim, small business owners across the country are really feeling the squeeze. What do they think the answer is?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, depends on who you talk to. But we felt the health care pinch right where we are, right? This happens to almost all of us.
The health care debate happening in Washington, John and Kiran, is not the only show down on this issue. Every day, businesses go toe-to-toe with their insurance companies over rates that are shooting through the roof. Some of the rate increases you have to see to believe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Kelly Conklin and his wife Kit started this small woodworking business 32 years ago.
(on camera): What's tougher, paying the rent or paying the insurance?
KELLY CONKLIN, WOODWORKING BUSINESS OWNER: It's about equal right now.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Earlier this month, he got what he calls this "Dear John" letter. But it wasn't from his wife. It was from his health insurance company.
CONKLIN: Yes. We call it a "Dear John."
ACOSTA (on camera): A "Dear John"?
CONKLIN: Right.
ACOSTA: And why is that?
CONKLIN: Well, you know, it's the old kiss-off letter, right?
ACOSTA: It's the kiss-off?
CONKLIN: Right.
ACOSTA (voice-over): The letter explained the wood shop's monthly insurance rates were about to explode by 124 percent.
(on camera): And you can see it right there. I mean, it goes from -- for a family, $900 a month to $2,000 a month.
CONKLIN: Yes.
ACOSTA: And what do you think is going on there?
CONKLIN: Well, they're trying to get rid of us.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Conklin now has to shop for a new insurance plan for his 11 employees, trying to avoid the one cut this woodworker doesn't want to make: health benefits.
CONKLIN: Something has to give and what gives is health coverage.
ACOSTA: His insurance company, Health Net, one of the largest, released a statement to CNN, saying Conklin small business "had significant employee changes which increased their premiums."
(on camera): You've had to lay people off --
CONKLIN: Yes.
ACOSTA: -- because of the economy.
CONKLIN: Yes, absolutely.
ACOSTA (voice-over): Conklin says he did lay off two younger employees which did make his workforce, on average, older. He also worries about his wife who suffers from a chronic condition.
These days, skyrocketing health care costs are slicing into budgets across the country. The CEO of one insurer got hauled in for another congressional hearing, after its subsidiary try to raise rates 39 percent in California.
ANGELA BRALY, WELLPOINT CEO: It is important to be a business that sustained, that we have an appropriate profit.
ACOSTA: The president wants to give the federal government more power to control rate hikes.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's no certainty in the future where premiums rise without limit.
ACOSTA: But Republicans say that idea is part of a health care package that's just too big.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: You will not see from us a 2,700-page comprehensive rewrite of one-sixth of our economy.
CONKLIN: Every year is worse. Unpredictable rate hikes, unaffordable premiums --
ACOSTA: Last year, Conklin testified on Capitol Hill, warning he's on the edge of losing everything.
CONKLIN: I don't think my employees can afford it. I know I can't afford it. I -- it would put a huge drag on our business month in and month out.
ACOSTA: Can you afford to stay in business?
CONKLIN: No.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: As simple as that.
As for all of the officials gathering for today's bipartisan health care summit, one of the employees at the wood shop we visited had a suggestion, let the lawmakers walk in his shoes for a week. They'll understand, he said, in a heartbeat -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Interesting stuff. Jim Acosta for us -- thanks.
And also tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, a reporting on "Broken Government" takes us to a once rural community that's now surrounded by 14 chemical plants spewing tons of cancer-causing substances each other. Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigates why it's been -- why it's taken more than a decade for the Environmental Protection Agency to even listen to some of the residents' complaints.
ROBERTS: And ever wonder why congressional districts often resemble Rorschach tests? Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, Campbell Brown investigates the serious issue of redrawing district lines to keep incumbent safe. Call it gerrymandering?
CHETRY: Then at 10:00 Eastern: if you had a budget crisis in your home, would you go out and spend more money on a new car or some furniture? "AC 360" investigates why one state did exactly that and who's being held accountable.
ROBERTS: So, bad weather in the northeast this morning. Our Rob Marciano was tracking it all. He's got this morning's travel forecast coming up right after the break.
CHETRY: Yes, the red and blue equals no good. He'll explain more in a minute.
Also, in 10 minutes, the circus comes to Capitol Hill as the head of Toyota testifies before Congress. Jeanne Moos with some of the lighter moments that you may have missed.
It's 45 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Also, in ten minutes, the circus comes to Capitol Hill after Toyota testifies. Jeanne Moos with some of the lighter moments you may have missed. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: A look at Chicago this morning where it's 24 degrees right now. A little bit later, it's pulling up to 28 degrees, and it will be cloudy today in the windy city. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty-eight minutes past the hour now. It's time for your AM House Call.
Men and women who travel the world have something in common. They often get sick when they come home. Their illnesses are actually very different. Swiss researchers tracked 59,000 international travelers and found women are more likely than men to experience stomach problems, while men are at much higher risk for fevers for mosquito or tic infections and that they are much more likely than women to bring home a sexually transmitted disease.
ROBERTS: If you're traveling in the northeast, better get out while the get is good, because the heat is coming down, or at least the hurt is coming down. Rob Marciano tracking a nor'easter, a powerful brewing. How bad is it going to be today?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: In some cases, it will be hot enough to cause rain and some flooding, so we got every aspect of the storm tonight, upstate and inland parts of Pennsylvania -- but that would be all of Pennsylvania, but eastern parts of Pennsylvania may see blizzard conditions. This storm is going to intensify as we go through time. Look at the snow totals. This isn't from this storm. This is from the warm-up storm. Parts of Vermont, 29 inches. Parts of Massachusetts, 28.9. Altamonte, just west of the Albany seeing over 2 feet, and now we're starting to see the rain snowline move a little bit farther to west.
Check out some video coming out of Albany where they saw over a foot of snow. Digging out yesterday, it was a pretty, heavy wet snow, and then now, some heavy wet snow coming on top of that. We could have problems with, say, roof collapses in parts of upstate New York and Eastern Pennsylvania. So, here's your storm, Philadelphia, it's snowing right now; New York city, it's raining, but you'll probably see the change over to snow pretty rapidly.
Everything is going to kind of pivot around New York City. This is where the low is going to kind of hang around for the next day and a half. That means New York will be rain going to snow, then back to rain, a little sleet mixed in there from time to time, so that will keep snow totals down, at least, in the city proper, but just outside of the city, you could easily see a foot of snow, 6 to 12 in the I-95 corridor, 12 to 24 expected in parts of Eastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York and some of that snow will be blowing especially tonight as the storm begins to wind itself up and creates some windy blizzard-like conditions. So, if you are travelling today, Boston, New York, especially in New York and Philly metros, I think snow is going to be an issue with the rain and the wind, as well as Philadelphia and D.C.; although D.C., thankfully for the folks who are tired of snow, you're not going to see much out of the system at all. Talking more about at the top of the hour.
ROBERTS: So Rob, this thing is just basically going to sit there where it is for about 24 hours?
MARCIANO: Yes. There's basically a big road block out in the Atlantic Ocean, so it's getting up to New York, and it's going to sit and pretty much pivot over to New York City and then kind of drift inland. And the good news about a drifting inland, it will begin to weaken as opposed to sitting out here and remaining a full-on blizzard for 24-48 hours, so that's a saving grave, but it's going to be last for sure for at least two days.
ROBERTS: Silver cloud -- silver lining in a dark cloud. All right. Thanks, Rob.
CHETRY: Sort of.
This morning's top stories are minutes away including three minutes after the hour, a killer whale kills again in front of a horrified sea world audience. The tragedy at sea world, and why the park kept thi whale, despite its involvement in two other deaths?
ROBERTS: At quarter after the hour, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on the what could be the President's last chance of getting health care across the goal line.
CHETRY: And President Obama versus Senator Scott Brown, one-on- one on the court. Could it really happen? There's now a site for the big showdown. Those stories and much more at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Five minutes now to the top of the hour, which means as it does every morning, that it's time for the Moost News in the Morning. You say Toyota, he says Toyoda. How they say his name on Capitol Hill, though, is it matter all together?
CHETRY: Yes. It's not everyday that the head of the Japanese car company comes to the U.S., comes to Washington to testify, and our Jeanne Moos has some of the quirkier moments from yesterday's hearing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With cameras whirring like insects, the press preyed upon Toyota's CEO.
UNKNOWN MALE: Hey, hey, hey!
MOOS: As they pushed and shoved to get the shot. While congressmen took their shots. Taking turns, holding up gas pedals. UNKNOWN MALE: And this one here's had some sticking problems.
UNKNOWN MALE: Which means that when you take your foot off.
MOOS: And though Toyota was on everybody's lips, they didn't all pronounce it the same.
UNKNOWN MALE: I'm a great admirer of Toyota.
UNKNOWN MALE: Toyoto.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Toyoda.
UNKNOWN MALE: Toyota.
MOOS: The car as opposed to the grandson of the company's founder.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: It's got Mr. Toyoda's name on it. You don't want to claim it anymore?
AKIO TOYODA, TOYOTA PRESIDENT: My name is on every car.
MOOS: Not exactly his name.
UNKNOWN MALE: Mr. Toyoda.
UNKNOWN MALE: Mr. Toyoda.
UNKNOWN MALE: Toyota's CEO, Akio Toyoda, spelled differently but sounds the same.
MOOS: What a difference a "D" makes. It's mostly a matter of strokes. The family changed the name of the car company from Toyoda with a "D" to Toyota with a "D" because in Japanese, Toyada with a D has more brush strokes.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Eight, nine, ten.
MOOS: Ten instead of eight, and eight is considered a lucky number. Despite this with Toyota's many apologies.
TOYODA: I'm deeply sorry.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: From the deepest part of my heart.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: I sincerely regret.
MOOS: There were no bows of contrition as he bowed to the press conference in Japan, and the going got rough for this congressional hearing, especially for the head of Toyota North America over a company memo.
UNKNOWN MALE: I'm embarrassed for you, sir. This is one of the most embarrassing documents I've ever seen.
UNKNOWN MALE: Seems like we're having a hanging before the trial. I'm not saying that you're not guilty.
MOOS: Even the poor translator getting shoved up to the mic. Of course, all this is nothing compared to the jabs from comedians.
Reporters previewing the testimony of Mr. Toyoda ran into their own defects.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: The special treatment that he's going to get -- if it's unlocked -- oh, that's horrible. That's just what you don't want on television. Can we unlock it?
UNKNOWN FEMALE: You did it so gracefully, that's all right.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Here we go. All right.
MOOS: Reminds us of that most famous encounter with a locked door, Mr. Toyoda probably wished he had been locked out of this hearing.
UNKNOWN MALE: Is that a yes or no?
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: The former President Bush needed some in the sit (ph) and with the key like Brianna.
ROBERTS: No one came to his rescue and needed to go at the other door.
CHETRY: All right. We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories coming your way in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
