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American Morning
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver Announce Separation; Immigration System Overhaul; Crisis Alerts to Your Cellphone; Banning Chocolate Milk; Quotas Over Quality; New Alexander McQueen Exhibit at the New York Met
Aired May 10, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Floodwaters rising from Memphis downstream to New Orleans. Thousands being warned to leave before it's too late on this AMERICAN MORNING.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. It is Tuesday, May 10th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Today is the day that the Mississippi River is expected to crest or is cresting in places like Memphis. So, they're certainly holding their breath. It's not over yet.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: No. A lot of work for them in the weeks and months ahead, really. But first, it's the news everyone is talking about this morning. Arnold Schwarzenegger and long-time love, Maria Shriver, splitting up.
VELSHI: A shocking announcement. The two say they've amicably separated. The power couple is living apart to decide their relationship's future. Shriver has moved out of their California mansion. Thelma Gutierrez live in Los Angeles, she'll have all the details in just 15 minutes.
CHETRY: First though is the heaviest bombing we've seen in Libya in weeks. New NATO air strikes demolish parts of at least two government buildings in Tripoli.
ROMANS: This is new video as Libyan officials showed reporters the damage inside one building that they claim is used by parliament. These fresh attacks came just a few hours after NATO's chief warned that time is running out for Gadhafi.
VELSHI: So far nothing NATO has done has stopped Gadhafi's forces from terrorizing the city of Misrata. It's the last city the rebels have control of in the west. These are new pictures in to CNN. Witnesses a say Gadhafi's forces are still shelling its port and residential areas, killing hundreds in weeks of fighting.
ROMANS: Also new this morning, it looks like U.S. intelligence agents will get to interview three of the surviving wives of bin Laden. Pakistani officials have decided to allow the U.S. access to bin Laden's widows to question them or take them into custody with the provision that their countries of origin have been asked permission first. One is from a Yemen, two from Saudi Arabia.
And "The New York Times" is reporting that President Obama insisted that the assault team that stormed bin Laden's compound, he insisted it had to be large enough to fight its way out of Pakistan if things went wrong. That means the president was willing to use force against an important ally it to rid the world of bin Laden.
CHETRY: And it's still not clear right now just how useful bin Laden's wives may be to the United States from an intelligence standpoint. To get a little bit of insight on that and the state of the U.S. and Pakistan's relationships, right now we're joined by Chad Sweet, a former CIA official and co-founder of the Chertoff Group joins us live from Washington this morning. Welcome.
CHAD SWEET, FORMER CIA OFFICIAL: Thank you.
CHETRY: What do we hope to learn from the three wives of bin Laden?
SWEET: I think it's unlikely that Obama -- sorry, Osama bin Laden would have shared anything with these women in terms of detailed plots. But it's been reported that they did not leave the compound for over two years. And in that long period of sequestration, there will be many things the CIA will find interesting.
Even mundane things, for example, whether people who surveyed coming in and out of the compound could they positively identify them with photos, tell us whether, for example, the individual is right-handed or left-handed, all these things are the pebbles by which we build up our knowledge in the encyclopedia of Al Qaeda.
But every hour that's passing we don't have access to these individuals is dangerous because if they do, in fact, have any kind of the piece of the puzzle of an imminent plot, it's imperative we get it quickly. Otherwise it could stale or, god forbid, not allow us to disrupt the plot.
CHETRY: And the other question is who they're surrounded by. Perhaps the story changes the longer we're not able to interrogate them.
SWEET: Correct. If you think about right now they're wondering what their future is going to be. There's a window of opportunity in any moment of disruption like this to speak to the individual, to build rapport and trust. But as they get more and more time passing their memories will fade and potentially they'll get less willing to discuss or talk.
CHETRY: New information out of the "New York Times" this morning, I thought was interesting that the president apparently required that the assault force that was going in to bin Laden's compound be big enough to be able to fight its way out of Pakistan if necessary, also, authorized them to return fire against the Pakistani military. What does that say about the real state of the relationship, if anything, between our military and Pakistan?
SWEET: I think, you know, it unfortunately shows that the trust level, obviously, isn't where we hope it to be. I think clearly, though, it was the right call and it's essentially the following message, which is we will be multilateral and collaborate when we can, but unilateral when we must. And I think this is a situation where candidly whether it was Pakistan or any other country we made it clear to the world that if we had actionable intelligence that would lead us to take down bin Laden, we would act unilaterally if necessary.
And I think President Obama clearly would have preferred to collaborate but in this case he made the right decision. Imagine if on their way out if bin Laden had not been in the compound and imagine if those forces had killed Pakistani officers in the process, it could have very well ended the entire Pakistani relationship and rendered his presidency like Carter's after the failed Iranian hostage attempt.
CHETRY: A huge risk with a huge reward it turned out to be the best case scenario. Chad Sweet, co-founder of the Chertoff group and former CIA official, thanks for joining us this morning.
SWEET: Thank you.
VELSHI: Here at home the floodwaters rise in parts of Missouri and Tennessee have been declared disaster areas. Ground zero of the flooding is Memphis this morning. Thousands of people there and points south are warned get out while you still can.
The flooding that chased people out of the town of Caro, Illinois, surged south down the river. The Mississippi is expected to crest 14 feet above flood stage in Memphis and then the deep south, Vicksburg, May 19th, baton rouge may 22nd and New Orleans the next day. They've only seep this much water in Memphis one other time in recorded history, and that was back in the 1930s.
But the city's levees are expected to protect some of the city's most treasured landmarks, like the Sun Studio where Elvis recorded some of his biggest hits and also Graceland where the king lived, and historic Beale street.
ROMANS: Rob Marciano is live in Memphis this morning, a city full of history as you can see, and now making history because of the level of the flooding, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Very much so. The -- where we're at right now is pretty much where we're going to be several days if you can believe that. Talk about a crest n floods we talk about a crest and once the crest comes we start to relax and, you know, the waters recede fairly rapidly. With this it's not going to be the case. It's going to be at this level for several days.
We're at Riverside Drive, which is Beale Street down here. Then on the other side of this railing, that should be a park. And the river should be hundreds of yards beyond that. Now it's about three miles wide as opposed to being a half mile wide. Highest as you mentioned it has been since the '20s.
So far the levees are holding up. The problem is that the river itself is not allowing the tributaries to drain. The governor of Mississippi made that point yesterday during a press conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR, (R) MISSISSIPPI: We're going to have levels of the Mississippi river higher than 1927, the great flood of 1927. The levees, of course, are so much better today and the work on them is so superior, but, of course, the big issue is the integrity of the levee system. We're not as worried about the Mississippi River levees themselves as some of the levees on the tributaries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Levees so far doing a heck of a job, but when you get this much pressure for this extended period of time, certainly that brings some doubt into your head.
And it's going to take five days, just for this river at this point to drop one foot, OK. Once we start to get below major flood stage which will take well over a week, you have a bunch of junk to clean up underneath this water here, the river has washed up all sorts of stuff. So we have health problems as well. Over 900 homes have been affected by this just in Memphis alone, 400 people in shelters. This is a long-term event and something this area hasn't seen in several decades. Guys?
VELSHI: Rob, thanks very much for that. Rob Marciano covering these floods for us with a big team that we've got out there monitoring this. It remains a serious issue.
ROMANS: All this coverage made me want to make a trip to Memphis. I haven't been to Graceland. I love the Mississippi. I should go down.
VELSHI: I'll be in Nashville.
ROMANS: They will need the tourism.
VELSHI: Bring you back some barbecue.
ROMANS: The government updating the national alert system for the 21st century. In the event of a disaster like the floods in the south, many will get a text message on their cellphone telling them they're in danger. We'll talk to FEMA administrator Craig Fugate about the new program at 7:30 eastern and the recovery from the floods and tornadoes, using technology to help in disaster relief.
VELSHI: In the case of Memphis and these places in the south, because it's been a slow-moving flood, sounds like something everybody knows --
CHETRY: But the flash flooding, and reverse 911 to notify people about tornadoes and hurricanes.
VELSHI: House Speaker John Boehner drawing a line in the sand when it comes to raising the debt ceiling. Last night at a speech before the Economic Club of New York, the top Republican be demanding spending cuts be greater than any increase in the amount of money the government can borrow. It's likely the government will need to borrow almost $2 trillion to increase that debt ceiling. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: Let me be as clear as I can be. Without significant spending cuts and changes in the way we spend the American people's money, there will be no increase in the debt limit. And the cuts should be greater than the accompanying increase in the debt limit that the president has given. We're not talking about billions here. We should be talking about cuts in trillions if we're serious about addressing America's fiscal problems.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: It's a strange line in the sand because we're -- we don't know the details yet, but we think the treasury will ask for $2 trillion in increase in the debt ceiling. So he wants $2 trillion in cuts over ten years. That's very difficult to achieve without reducing big ticket programs like Medicare, food stamps, and Medicaid.
Just last week top Republicans including majority leader Eric Cantor seem to acknowledge such cuts before the 2012 presidential election are unlikely. What's also strange is the connection between the raising of the debt ceiling and $2 trillion in cuts over the course of the next ten years. It sort of seems like an invented relationship.
ROMANS: The debt ceiling, that is to pay for things that have already been passed by Congress and have already been promised.
VELSHI: Like your credit card bill. You already bought the stuff.
CHETRY: What the Tea Party leaders will tell you, they want some sort of assurance this isn't going to continue, that this runaway spending or deficit spending isn't going to continue. So that's their line in the sand.
VELSHI: That's exactly right. And that's what I think John Boehner was doing. He got an earful from the Tea Party yesterday, and a nod saying we get it.
ROMANS: He got a response from the economic types in the crowd.
VELSHI: I was there last night and a number of them were saying, well, this is a good opening volley. There was virtually nobody in the crowd who thought that was going to happen. And the fact that he did say one thing, he said everything is on the table when it comes to cuts except raising taxes. He will not sign off on raising taxes.
CHETRY: We're following the latest in Japan as well, new developments on the nuclear crisis. About 100 people have been allowed back inside of the 12 mile evacuation zone near the Daiichi plant. Government officials permitted them to return to their homes, but they had to be wearing protective suits, and this was only to retrieve their personal belongings. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from the area, and no one is sure if they will be able to return permanently.
ROMANS: Two discount airlines beat the big guys when it comes to service, quality, and comfort. According to a new survey by "Consumer Reports," passengers gave Southwest Airlines high grades for checking ease, baggage handling, and service and cleanliness. JetBlue was the only airline to outscore Southwest when it comes to seating, possibly because it gives passengers more legroom.
VELSHI: You don't have to run for your seat like on Southwest.
ROMANS: It's a scrum on southwest. JetBlue also earn tops scores for its inflight entertainment.
VELSHI: Everybody gets a TV.
CHETRY: You can play trivia the whole flight.
ROMANS: At the bottom of the -
VELSHI: Surprise, Surprise.
ROMANS: U.S. Airways.
VELSHI: They are so consistently troublesome. I mean you just hear it everywhere. When you talk to them they say they improved over last year. You have a lot of space to grow.
Texas Republicans passing a bill allowing concealed handguns on public college campuses. We'll talk about that when we come back.
ROMANS: Plus, Skype, who is on the verge of buying Skype? And how much are they going to spend? We'll tell you.
CHETRY: Also, the shocking news that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver choosing to separate after 25 years of marriage. We'll tell you more about the joint statement they released.
VELSHI: I just got somebody tweeting me how can you say it's shocking.
CHETRY: Because they've been together 25 years, four kids, went through the rough part. Now it's time to sit back and enjoy life, right? Wrong.
VELSHI: We'll tell you about it when we come back. It's 13 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Senate Republicans in Texas have passed a measure allowing licensed owners to carry concealed handguns on public college campuses. Supporters call it a matter of self-defense. Well, the University of Texas chancellor has expressed concern about increased campus crime and suicide. Democrats in the state have been trying to block this bill. It now goes before the Texas House for a vote.
CHETRY: All right. Well, who favors Sarah Palin? According to a new Gallup Poll, a majority of Republican voters -- Republicans -- majority of Republican voters don't have college degrees and fall into lower income groups. Only 9 percent of her GOP supporters graduated from college, and 7 percent were in the highest income bracket, earning $90,000 or more.
OK. So, then, the opposite appears to be true about those who support Mitt Romney. Twenty-one percent of his Republican backers have college degrees and 21 percent of those who support Romney fall into the highest income bracket.
VELSHI: An overnight announcement that some like me found shocking and unexpected but from what I'm hearing from some of you, you didn't. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have split. It's been a long journey for the pair from Hollywood to the world of politics.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is live in Los Angeles with the latest.
Thelma, again, are people saying it was shocking and unexpected? Because I didn't see it coming.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ali, from the beginning, they were an unlikely pair. She was the member of a Kennedy dynasty and he, the international movie star, who called Hollywood home. But political power and star power did prove to be a winning combination.
They were married in 1986, had four children together, ran be two successful campaigns for California governorship and celebrated their 25th anniversary just last month. But late yesterday, came the unexpected news that California's former first couple has split. In an emotional joint statement, they said, "This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision together. At this time, we are living apart, while we work on the future of our relationship."
Now, we don't know exactly when they separated. They've both been busy since leaving the state capitol in January. Schwarzenegger is revising his acting career by signing movie deals and Shriver is out championing for female empowerment and Alzheimer's disease.
But were there signs pointing to a need for a change at home? Well, just six weeks ago, Shriver posted this video on YouTube where she talks about turning over a new leaf.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA SHRIVER, FORMER FIRST LADY OF CALIFORNIA: As a lot of you, I'm in transition. And people come up to me all the time and go, what are you doing next, what are you going to do? What did you come up with? Oh, I hope you're getting time to relax and think and take a break. It is so stressful to not know what you're doing next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: But, for now, they say they'll continue parenting their four children together. They consider this a private matter and ask for compassion and respect from the public. But, Ali, I've got to say, that I'm like you, I was also surprised. VELSHI: As long as I'm just so not under a rock I was missing something. That clip you showed, though, Thelma, that could have been about anything, right? I'm in transition.
CHETRY: Right, because she used to be the first lady and she had all of those --
VELSHI: Right. Obligations and things like that.
CHETRY: -- state functions and on and on. And maybe she was getting to do stuff for herself for a change.
VELSHI: What do you think, Thelma? Do you think she was talking about her job or her life?
GUTIERREZ: Absolutely. You know, when you talk about somebody who's been in the public eye for this amount of time, and has been married for 25 years, has four children -- I mean, it is a time of transition. It could have been anything.
Do you -- what do you read into it? I don't know. Clearly now, we're given great insight into what they were going through. But, again, they're asking for respect from the public and they want to move on privately.
ROMANS: All right, Thelma Gutierrez. They're not announcing a divorce. They're announcing a separation while they work on what to do for the future. But, clearly, both of them are followed by paparazzi, a separation is something that probably would have made the papers anyway. So, you know --
VELSHI: I always loved giving people their space for that. I mean, it is difficult in the media because we report these things because they're well known people. But it is tough. I mean, these things take their toll.
CHETRY: And they have four kids, on top of that.
VELSHI: Yes, good luck whatever decision they end up making.
CHETRY: Hey, the president is going to be making a speech today in El Paso, Texas. He's talking about a major push to overhaul the immigration system and for a new immigration bill. Of course, any time the immigration issue comes to the forefront and leaders start talking about it, there are huge differences of opinion and a lot of controversy.
ROMANS: Yes, Congress has to -- Congress has to write that legislation.
VELSHI: That's right. And they see what happens when they don't.
ROMANS: Also, is the business traveler back? We'll let you know whether the economy is doing well enough for the business traveler has made a recovery.
VELSHI: It is 21 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-four minutes after the hour -- time now to mind your business.
Stocks start the week on a high note thanks to a bump in commodity prices. The Dow was up more than 45 points yesterday. The NASDAQ and S&P also closing higher. Go to CNNMoney.com for the latest news about your money. Gas prices down for the fifth straight day. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular is now $3.95.
Business travelers are making a comeback, according to a survey of businesses across the globe. Sixty-one percent say they expect to spend up to 10 percent more on travel this year than they did last year.
The government is expanding its investigation into a fuel tank problem that could affect more than 2.7 million Ford F-150 pick-up trucks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the steel straps that hold up the truck's gas tank could rust and break.
Microsoft, reportedly, about to close an estimated $8 billion deal to buy Skype, the Internet phone company. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting the deal could be announced as early as today.
And after a sharp sell-off last week, commodities are rebounding. Oil is back above $100 a barrel this morning. Silver and gold prices are also higher.
After the break, another major city looks to ban chocolate milk from its city school lunches.
AMERICAN MORNING coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We just want to clarify a story that we brought you earlier regarding who favors Sarah Palin. Gallup Poll did a study -- did a survey and asked GOP voters. They say that the majority of Sarah Palin voters, only -- only 9 percent of GOP supporters who say they're picking Sarah Palin graduated from college and only 7 percent were in the highest income brackets.
They say the opposite was true for Mitt Romney. That more of the people who supported Mitt Romney in the GOP actually had college education and were in the highest income brackets.
ROMANS: Interesting.
All right. Meanwhile, the president on top of his agenda today: immigration reform. The president is going to speak this afternoon. He's going to be using a trip to the U.S./Mexico border city of El Paso, Texas, as his backdrop. It's his latest push for an immigration system overhaul. He's been trying to boost public support in recent weeks. And you've been hearing chatter from both sides, both sides of this debate. Actually, there are many sides of this debate.
Actually there are many sides to this debate, but people who want stricter enforcement of laws and people who also want to see comprehensive immigration reform. They've been saying they feel like the White House is making moves to make this an issue again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Let's go to the White House. CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins us live from Washington. Ed, this has been, boy, it's on again and off again. What are the real prospects of immigration reform at this point?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's a great question, Ali. I mean, if you listen to the president, he's very optimistic. He's been having a lot of private meetings in recent weeks, trying to get the ball moving on Capitol Hill. But you're right, previous presidents have pushed this before, only to see it fall apart. It's a very divisive issue, very emotional issue. We've seen that play out in the state of Arizona, for example.
But I think the case the president is going to make today along the U.S./Mexico border and Texas is that basically he's made a down payment on border security sort of reaching out to conservatives.
Pointing out that since 2004, an initiative started by the Bush administration now continued by the Obama administration, they've doubled the number of U.S. border patrol agents. They've tripled the number of intelligence, analysts along the border, to secure that border as best they can.
And now he's saying let's have more comprehensive reform to follow up on that, have a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Here's how the president put it just a couple weeks ago. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I strongly believe that we've got to fix this broken system so that it meets the needs of our 21st century economy and our security needs.
I want to work with Republicans and Democrats to protect our borders, to enforce our laws, and also to address the status of millions of undocumented workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now you know, obviously he still has to deal with critics and skeptics who say the border is still not secure enough, that that's only been a small bit of progress and also others who, you know, make these arguments that basically illegal immigrants are going to come in. They're going to get citizenship. They're going to take jobs away from other Americans and the bottom line is, it's interesting, yesterday the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as you know, not always a friend to this White House, battle with them on a lot of issues.
Put out this memo yesterday and fits in with what Christine has been talking about all week with the boomers, basically it's going to be immigrants who are going to replenish the American work force over the next few decades as more and more baby boomers retire.
You're going to need to replenish the work force and that the Chamber of Commerce again is making the case that it's going to come from immigration.
CHETRY: And the president hasn't had the easiest road with the Hispanic community. How will that play as we head into 2012?
HENRY: What was fascinating overhanging all of this, of course, is the 2012 election. Take a look at how pivotal Hispanic voters have been in the last few elections. Look at 2004, George W. Bush was making a big pitch for Hispanic voters.
Democrats only got 53 percent of the Hispanic vote. Then you go to 2006, the midterms when Democrats took control of Congress, they got 69 percent of the Hispanic vote. In 2008, Barack Obama elected, they got 67 percent of the Hispanic vote.
It dipped in 2010, down to 60 percent. A lot of Democrats nervous about that and there's been some people saying analysts basically look, that's because the president promised as a candidate to get comprehensive immigration reform on, got very little progress in the first two years.
So Hispanics have moved away from Democrats in 2010. You have to be careful, though, to just assume that Hispanic voters are voting just on this one issue of immigration reform. Sure it's an important issue to Hispanic votes and as well as a lot of other voters.
But Hispanic voters are worried about high gas prices. They're worried about job security. So immigration reform is going to be a piece there, but this president obviously knows Hispanic voters are also going to be looking at what he's done on health care. What he's done on the economy and what he's done on those high gas prices.
CHETRY: All right, Ed Henry this morning. Thanks so much. You can watch the president's speech right here on CNN. We'll be bringing it to you live, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time this afternoon.
ROMANS: Even President Bush tried to do this, really wanted to do this and it really devolve once this got to Congress and the competing interests it -- comprehensive immigration reform is very, very difficult.
CHETRY: It almost derailed John McCain's primary candidacy.
ROMANS: We have done it pretty much every 10 years since the 1920s and you still keep having to fix the immigration system so it has to be done right and has to be done for the ages. And that's something that Congress hasn't been able to do yet. So try it again.
VELSHI: Let's talk about the weather. It's been relentless in the Midwest and south this spring and now we're going to start to have hurricanes to worry about.
ROMANS: And since the government will have another way of alerting people they may be in the danger zone. Imagine getting a text message.
CHETRY: That's right. Well, joining us now with the latest on the flooding, the recovery in the south and also to talk about this new emergency alert system is Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Craig Fugate.
Great to see you in person, by the way. I know that you've had a busy several months. We've been talking about the tornadoes, the devastation there in the Midwest and now this flooding.
What are your biggest concerns as you watch this unfold, the Mississippi set to crest today in Memphis?
CRAIG FUGATE, ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Again, watching what the Corps of Engineer has done to prevent overtopping of the main levee system. You know, we're getting a lot of flooding from backing up rivers.
But the important thing is that main line levee system that it stays intact and that's why the corps has been exercising all of their tools to keep it from happening.
VELSHI: Are you -- by the corps exercising all of its tools, more people, some more people, will be in danger. Some will be saved from danger now and others more in danger. From your perspective as FEMA, what's better, what's worse?
FUGATE: Well, you got to remember this is how the system was designed. You cannot change the system.
VELSHI: Right.
FUGATE: And now you're reaching record floods. You have to go back to the '30s and '20s before the system was built. So this is how the system is designed.
I think people are going to look back and go are there other options such as increasing the amount of green space to allow areas to flood more naturally than the channels.
But this is how the system is designed today under maximum flood threat and so you have to protect the major urban areas by exercising those spillways and floodways.
CHETRY: They did have to take an extreme measure. It's not the way it works for them to have to blow up levees. I mean, that's less than ideal, right?
FUGATE: But that was the design. That if you reached those critical points where you can could fail and flood out cities you would flood farmland, individual homes and those were tradeoffs made in the system design.
So it is working as designed, but it's also under record flood levels. So they've never had to exercise all of these things at the same time. And again, when you're talking about towns like the city of Memphis, we have flooding there because the rivers are backing up.
But the main line levee system is protecting the city from the Mississippi flood.
ROMANS: These record April tornados, in parts of the south. Also this flooding, two major spring time disasters at the same time, how are the agencies handling, you know, going from one to the other and cleaning up one, while the other one is still unfolding?
FUGATE: Well, you know, you have several states like Tennessee and Mississippi, they're dealing with both the tornadoes and now the flooding, but I think that's the strength of our system.
We built our systems upon local governments responding with state and federal assistance so there's a lot more resources that are available to these events that are almost occurring simultaneously.
CHETRY: I want to ask you about this system because this is interesting. You're rolling it out today, this emergency notification system that basically is tied into cellphones called personalized local alerting networking or plan. How does it work? How would it work in this instance?
FUGATE: All right, you're familiar with the emergency alert system that comes across the TV screens when there's a tornado warning issued, but we're a mobile society. How many of us are listening to radio or television when these alerts come out.
Just like you guys are already moving towards mobile platforms this gives us the ability with the cooperation of the carriers to actually alert your phone where you're at, not, you know, a lot of people sign up for alerts, but for their hometown.
But what if you're travelling? So when these tornadoes struck, even if you were from out of town, your phone would get these emergency notifications of a tornado.
So this is really the idea, we're a mobile society, so let's build the tools that wireless carriers have agreed to cooperate in, so that we can alert your phone where you're at when a warning is issued.
VELSHI: And it's automatic, you don't have to opt in.
FUGATE: You don't have to opt in. You don't have to sign up. In fact, your option is you can -- if you don't want to get these opt out. But your phone, new phones come online starting with the high- end phones, but hopefully as the carriers have been aggressive in meeting and exceeding their deadlines that more and more people as you get new phones will have this feature built in.
ROMANS: Craig Fugate of FEMA, thank you so much for joining us. Best of luck to you.
FUGATE: Thank you.
VELSHI: All right, chocolate milk, it could be banned from Los Angeles school menus starting this fall. Many school districts have already done it, by the way.
Now the superintendent of the nation's second largest school district says he plans to push for the ban over the summer. By the way, not just chocolate milk, strawberry milk too.
Many nutritionists are split on the issue. Some say the benefits of the flavored milk, the fact that the child is getting milk outweighs the harm that's done by the added sugar content.
CHETRY: That's right and it brings us to our question of the day. Should chocolate milk be banned in schools? We want to read some of your feedback. Overwhelmingly, by the way, people said I don't think this is a good idea.
John Prescott wrote not only does my daughter's school not have chocolate milk anymore, but only drink 1 percent milk. The result of this, my daughter drinks her milk at lunch maybe a third of the time. She hates it. How is this helping anyone? They need to stop trying to raise my child.
Joseph Calabretta says that school isn't the big problem. Chocolate milk in moderation is a good thing and loved by people of all ages. The overweight kids are getting fat at home.
Here in the south, parents make string beans with fat backs or biscuits with milk gravy for breakfast and every meal they deep fry steak and call it chicken fried steak. Come on, my son eats school food and is 90 pounds. It's what's going on at home.
ROMANS: Joseph is making me hungry. Kris on Facebook says, before banning chocolate milk they should balance the rest of the offered choices. Chicken nuggets or pizza would not be my choice for healthier food.
VELSHI: I should tell you, we like to balance out the responses. The responses we're getting are not very balanced.
ROMANS: We have one who said -- only one person who said ban it.
VELSHI: It wasn't overwhelming. It was like fine I'm OK with it.
CHETRY: Yes, the other thing everybody seemed to comment on or a lot of people said, it's not just what they eat, but it's the fact there's not enough PE. There's not enough movement, like the kids have to just get out there and start running and moving more. ROMANS: There are so many other things to fix in the schools. I mean, any ounce of efforts being wasted on chocolate milk is an ounce of effort not being done for other things.
VELSHI: When a police officer pulls me over speeding, don't you have criminals to catch. We have criminals and we have to stop people for speeding.
ROMANS: And we need to meet our quota and budget for the year.
VELSHI: What do you think? E-mail us, tweet us, go to our blog, and find us on Facebook. We'll read more of your comments later on in the show.
ROMANS: Well, Magnet School in Connecticut, one of the best in the country, in fact, we know the principal.
CHETRY: That's right. They may be shut down because there are not enough Caucasian children. We'll explain the controversy coming up.
ROMANS: Also our very good friend, Alina Cho is going to drop by with her story about how the Metropolitan Museum of Art is showcasing the fashion collection of Alexander McQueen. She's got a backstage pass. We'll give you a peek.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 44 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. A Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut could have its state funding stripped and maybe shutdown, even though it's one of the best performing schools in the entire country.
VELSHI: Now the reason is interesting, there aren't enough white kids enrolled.
ROMANS: That's right. Soledad O'Brien tells us why quality education may be taking a back seat to quotas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pusha Persad (ph) is in 10th grade at Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut. Her 12-year-old sister, Nicole, can't get in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's back on the waiting list.
O'BRIEN: At a school with 75 seats for 1,500 kids who apply. A state-run lottery picks who gets in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to pull it together.
The school run by CNN education contributor, Steve Perry, is recognized as one of the best schools in the nation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't just have education. We have a pretty good school. O'BRIEN: It's more than just competition. State law dictates that urban magnet schools like Capital Prep are at least 25 percent white, the result of a 1996 state Supreme Court ruling to desegregate schools.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The purpose of the magnate schools is to provide an integrated setting that brings suburban students into Hartford classrooms. The state is, in fact, building the building for free and providing state dollars to subsidize the operation of these schools in order to meet the state supreme court mandate of free and public education in a diverse setting.
O'BRIEN: Ninety-six percent of school kids in Hartford are a minority, in a community where people are desperate for good education.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The majority of the students of color who don't have access to quality schools, they lose.
O'BRIEN: The Connecticut board of education warned Capital Prep it could lose its funding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The letter said, we're going to shut you down if you don't get enough white people.
O'BRIEN: Principal Perry (ph) hired a recruiter to target suburban white communities in places like Avon, where the local public schools outperform others across the state.
(on camera): Isn't it great to have diversity? Isn't it great to have 25 percent of the school, white kids, since you have 75 percent of the school black kids?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think that there's a lot to it. I don't think it's an issue of being right or wrong. It's more nuance than that, which wouldn't mean anything if they had other options.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): The Connecticut Board of Education concedes there's irony in threatening to pull funding for a top performing scoop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. There is a lot wrong with it which is why we're working with the school to help them meet the numbers and they really need to do that in order to keep their funding.
O'BRIEN: Pusha Persad is on a path to higher education. One hundred percent of Capital Prep graduate go on to a four-year college. Her mother is concerned her sister Nicole may not have the same chance.
Reporting for In America, Soledad O'Brien, CNN.
VELSHI: And this Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern don't miss, "Don't Fail Me" Soledad O'Brien's special Education in America report. That is at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, Sunday night here on CNN. We know this is one of the most popular issues on this show. It's certainly one that we're all very, very concerned about so I'm looking forward to that special. ROMANS: Me too.
CHETRY: Also, Orthodox Jewish newspaper removes the picture of Hillary Clinton in that situation room, that iconic White House photo.
VELSHI: This one.
CHETRY: Yes. Now they're doing a little back pedaling today. We'll tell you why.
ROMANS: And the president headed to El Paso, Texas, to talk about immigration reform, something that was tried in the last administration, did not succeed. In fact, was very contentious in Congress. The president wants to try it again. We're going to talk to the El Paso Mayor John Cook. He's going to join us at 8:15 Eastern Time. Don't miss that.
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ROMANS: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
Historic flooding in eight states this morning. The Mississippi River is cresting in Memphis this morning, expected to hit 14 feet above flood stage. The water hasn't been this high in more than 70 years.
Pakistan, budging. It now looks like the country will let the U.S. talk to bin Laden's wives who were in the compound when he was killed.
We're talking about trillions. House Speaker John Boehner says he wants big cuts to federal spending. This in return for raising the nation's debt ceiling.
A drug tunnel complete with utilities. Authorities in Arizona say they've a 250-foot long smuggling tunnel underneath the U.S./Mexico border. The tunnel also has electricity and water.
The new census shows that white women are more likely to be childless than women of other racial and ethnic groups. Data also shows that women who have a college degree are waiting longer to have kids.
The Cars still running after 25 years. The new album hits shelves today. The new wave rockers are launching an 11 city coast to coast tour, the first since 1980s.
You are caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds.
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CHETRY: Fifty-two minutes past the hour right now. It was the wedding of the century, of course, Catherine Middleton marrying Prince William in a modern --
VELSHI: It's 2011. Isn't it a little bit early to be calling it the wedding of the century? CHETRY: Well, you know what, you're right. But if we call it that now --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: It can be that until somebody tops it. You know what I mean? It's a safe bet to say it's the wedding of the century.
VELSHI: For now -- let's just qualify that. For now, it was the wedding of the century.
ROMANS: It was the wedding dress of the century. How's that?
CHETRY: Well there's a lot of anticipation, of course, about that dress. It ended up being designed by Sarah Burton, the creative director for the late Alexander McQueen.
ROMANS: And Burton absolutely learned from the best. McQueen was a fashion icon and Metropolitan Museum unveils its latest exhibit honoring his work.
VELSHI: Who better than Alina Cho to have looked into this. Our own fashion (INAUDIBLE).
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, well Ali, you flatter me. Continue on.
You know, the reality is, the reviewer say even if you have no interest in fashion shows, Ali Velshi, you should see this one. You know on opening day they had record crowds at the Met. And here's why. You know, it's really funny how more than a billion people can change your day. That's about how many watched when Kate Middleton walked down the aisle in a dress designed by Sarah Burton, who is now the creative treasury secretary director of Alexander McQueen.
Now, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is showcasing McQueen's creations and only we had a backstage pass.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): When the now Duchess Of Cambridge unveiled her wedding gown to the world, she also revealed one of the world's best kept secrets -- Sarah Burton, creative director of Alexander McQueen, designed the dress.
Suddenly, the high-fashion house with a cult following and had the royal stamp of approval. Instant celebrities, Burton and the man she replaced, Alexander McQueen.
FERGIE, SINGER, ENTERTAINER: He's royalty. He's fashion royalty.
NAOMI CAMPBELL, MODEL: I just wish he could have been here and seen it.
CHO: It's been more than a year since McQueen committed suicide in his London home shocking the fashion world. Burton, a little known long-time collaborator took over at creative director so the house of the McQueen could live on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The world is certainly experiencing a McQueen moment.
CHO: This month, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute opened an exhibit of McQueen's work.
(on camera): How do you cut it down to 100 pieces?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was hard.
CHO (voice-over): Our cameras captured the painstaking, detailed work that goes moo restoring the elaborate gowns, turning this into this, this into this and this into this.
SARAH BURTON, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ALEXANDER MCQUEEN: When I walked into exhibition, I thought of Lee (ph). The emotion, passion, and attention to detail he had for everything that he did.
CHO: The exhibit is called Savage Beauty, because McQueen often saw beauty where others didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wasn't about the classical idea of beauty of harmony and proportion. He found beauty in what we might think was ugly.
CHO: And yet the clothes are beautiful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're exquisite.
CHO: Perhaps one reason why Lady Gaga was such a fan. She even wore this McQueen creation in her video, Bad Romance.
It's called the jellyfish, now on display at the met.
SARAH JESSICA PARKER, ACTRESS: He could create clothing that nobody else wanted to, nobody else saw in their imagination.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: And if these look like clothes you can't wear, listen to this. McQueen actually started the worldwide trend of low-rise pants.
VELSHI: That's all I wear.
CHO: Now, he first created them in 1995. He called them bumpsters. They're now referred to as hipsters. But they were very low, they were very revealing and they were controversial at the time. But, guess what, the style endured.
CHETRY: You know, and Sarah Jessica Parker said something interesting to you, which is about other people didn't envision that. Imagine the pressure on Sarah Burton to sort of carry on his creation. I mean, how much is her own and how much is she trying to envision his?
CHO: Well, I think a little of both. I mean, the reality is they worked together. She started as an intern more than 15 years ago, working with Alexander McQueen. And so they actually had the same sensibility. I think that's a big reason why she was picked as the successor.
Having said that, McQueen, no question in the fashion world, is considered a creative genius. As outrageous as the designs were, you know, in person, he was known to be very shy.
VELSHI: Is that right?
CHO: Sarah Jessica Parker tells this great story about how in 1996 they went to the Met together when the Costume Institute opened another exhibit. They rode 90 blocks up in the car together, he said nothing. And she said she wished -- she said it was a little awkward but she wished she had known what little time she had to speak to him and she would have asked him lots of questions about his inspiration and so forth.
But just a really creative thinker. I really urge you to go see it. It's a fantastic exhibit. Even you, Ali.
CHETRY: I'd love to go.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Alina Cho, thanks Alina.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Well, the celebrity-must-have, the thing they say helps them looking so fit and thin, we've never heard of this have we, Christine? Spanx?
ROMANS: How do you pronounce that?
CHETRY: Spanx, shape wear that's been a lifesaver for so many women. Well tomorrow Alina Cho will introduced us to the woman who shaped this idea into a $50 million industry.
ROMANS: Wow.
CHETRY: By the way, don't miss Alina's half hour special "Fashion Backstage Pass." It airs this Saturday, May 14th at 2:30 p.m. We'll be watching, Alina.
Meanwhile, your top stories coming up after a quick break.
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