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American Morning
Mexican Teacher Displays Courage Under Fire; Palin's Rolling Pep Rally; Obama's Polls on the Rise; Protecting Your Private Information; Yemen Cease-Fire Breaks Down; Heat Vs. Mavs
Aired May 31, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING, a schoolteacher in Mexico honored for her courage after gunfire erupts outside a classroom full of students. How her quick thinking saved the day.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama's approval rating heading higher. The raid that killed bin Laden only part of the story. Could it be the Republicans who are really driving up his numbers?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: An incredible video of three towering waterspouts churning up the ocean off the coast of New South Wales. Onlookers were stunned. Some of them to grab the camera though, watching from just a few hundred yards away.
VELSHI: Plus a warning from doctors about letting your kids have those popular energy drinks. All that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: I'm Ali Velshi. A teacher being hailed as a hero for protecting her students as gunfire erupted outside a school in Mexico. She did it with some help from Barney the dinosaur.
ROMANS: Magical mystery tour. I'm Christine Romans. Sarah Palin's bus pulls into Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. She's keeping reporters guessing about whether she'll run and her many, many fans there guessing about where she'll pop up next.
CHETRY: Some amazing video as well over the weekend. Three powerful waterspouts caught on camera in the waters off of the coast of New South Wales. Stunned beachgoers watched just a few hundred yards away. How did it all turn out? We're going to show you on this AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Good morning. It is Monday -- sorry, Tuesday.
CHETRY: Feels like a Monday, though, doesn't it?
VELSHI: A lot of people are doing that today. Tuesday, May 31st, a day after Labor Day. Lots of interesting news for you this morning.
CHETRY: Memorial Day. You said Labor Day too.
ROMANS: Ali, OK.
CHETRY: -- past the whole summer.
ROMANS: Start all over.
VELSHI: It's a good thing it's taped.
Go ahead. Why don't you take it over?
CHETRY: Just amazing video though that we have to show you.
VELSHI: This is from Mexico.
CHETRY: Yes, coming from Mexico.
VELSHI: Yes. Truly an example of courage under fire. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(Gunfire)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: A schoolteacher thinking on her feet, calmly getting her kindergarten kids to duck and cover in their classroom as gunfire erupts just outside of the school. She also had some help from Barney. It happened at a school in the Mexican City of Monterrey which has been plagued by drug-related violence. CNN's Nick Valencia has more of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Listen closely as this story unfolds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in a foreign language)
VALENCIA: This is the scene at a kindergarten school in Monterrey, Mexico, on Friday afternoon. A teacher calmly instructs her students to take cover and sing songs while suspected cartel members exchange gunfire outside of her classroom.
The teacher, who is identified only as Martha, tells the students to put their faces on the floor, that nothing is going to happen. As gunfire rages outside the classroom, the teacher asks the kids to sing along to a song by Barney, the friendly dinosaur.
Five people were executed outside of the school. None of the children in the classroom was injured. The teacher later posted the video on YouTube. It's received more than a million hits. City officials honored her on Monday.
Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VELSHI: And as Nick mentioned, the teacher was honored yesterday, receiving a certificate praising her outstanding civic courage. She told reporters she's very proud and said all teachers in the Monterrey area have been trained to deal with those kinds of situations.
CHETRY: How sad. How sick is that?
VELSHI: Yes. That's a bad statement. But glad she was there to do it. She never imagined this video would be such a hit.
ROMANS: This is a compelling story about something of a major problem in a strong ally of ours and our neighbor, you know, in Mexico. This is the drug violence there is very significant --
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: -- and is affecting the daily life of the people who live here.
CHETRY: Yes. And that's what it must be like as a parent to send your kids to school and to know that that's a very distinct possibility.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: All right. It is day three of Sarah Palin's one nation/family vacation bus tour. The former Alaska governor visited some of the country's most important landmarks yesterday including George Washington's home in Mount Vernon, Virginia, but she still didn't answer the very big question asked to her, by the way, over and over and over again, is she going for G.W.'s old job?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When are you planning to announce that you're running for president? What do you think the odds are that you're going to run?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sarah, are you going to run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Well, Jim Acosta has been following the bus tour. He's live in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, this morning.
Is that where they are now or that's where they're going to?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ali, that is where they are right now. And you can tell behind me because her one nation bus is parked right behind the CNN Election Express. That's a pretty clear signal that she is in Gettysburg where we are right now. She's expected to go to the national military park, the battlefield that is here in Gettysburg, later on this morning. But nevertheless, I mean, this has been much more than a family vacation. They could have rented an RV, right? And all day yesterday, she was leading reporters on a game of cat and mouse. Her staff revealing few details about where she was headed. She started the day at the National Archives, went to Mount Vernon. Then it was up to Baltimore to Fort McHenry and then over to Gettysburg where she finally stopped, all of this leading to speculation that she is making a run for the White House.
Obviously she was asked along the way, as you have noted there right before coming to me, that she was asked about whether or not she's running for president several times. When we finally had a chance to catch up with her here in Gettysburg, she was asked the question about the overall presidential field on the GOP side. Does she think it's weak? Does she think it's strong? She actually says she thinks that the field is pretty strong, but that there may be room for others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: I can feel that it's already quite strong. It's going to change up a lot and I think that there will be more strong candidates jumping in. Truly there is still a lot of time for folks to make up their mind and jump in and get their campaigns together. The field isn't set yet, not by a long shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, all of the details as to where she's going later today and later this week are still being kept very close to the vest. We understand from talking to multiple sources that she is headed to Philadelphia, that she may be going to see the Liberty Bell. And then later on this week, up to New Hampshire and we heard late in the day yesterday, that she is going to be off to Iowa, perhaps, as early as next month. Obviously we have been reporting that there's a new movie that a conservative filmmaker has put out about Sarah Palin that's set to debut in Iowa next month. So all of this has the feel of a presidential rollout, much more than a family vacation. Whether or not the ultimate destination is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, there are a whole lot of primaries and elections between now and then to decide that, guys.
VELSHI: And a key debate, Jim Acosta, thanks very much, with or without Sarah Palin on January -- I'm sorry. What? I'm having a rough morning.
On June 13th, Monday June 13th, two weeks from today -- CNN, two weeks from yesterday, CNN is going to host the New Hampshire presidential debate as GOP hopefuls gather to go for the party's nomination. Those who have declared. That is Monday, June the 13th, 2011.
ROMANS: A weekend of fun in the sun in Chicago.
VELSHI: I have completely lost all ability. I'm off timing right now.
CHETRY: Whoever jumps in the race, they're going to face an opponent who has been climbing in the poll numbers. We're speaking about our president. The approval rating for Barack Obama right now up six points since early April to 54 percent in the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll.
ROMANS: All right. Ed Henry live for us at the White House.
Ed, the president getting high marks for handling terrorism and foreign affairs. Not so long after there was a key -- a key aide was quoted as saying that he was leading from behind. Suddenly that completely turned around, didn't it?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No doubt about it. I mean, I think the green lighting of the Osama bin Laden operation clearly has given the president a bit of a bump if you look at that approval rating you mentioned up to 54 percent. Specifically look at these numbers on terrorism, his approval on terrorism, 65 percent approve, 34 percent disapprove.
Even on an issue like taxes which Republicans traditionally have the upper hand on, approve 46 percent for the president, disapprove 53 percent. That's the kind of spread that usually would be much bigger divide in the Republican favor. Instead, it's pretty close to 50/50. And when you look big picture, this president has seen his approval rating go up among Republicans in the last few weeks by 12 points. So he has Republicans to thank for this bounce a little bit because, perhaps, on the issue of terrorism and then as well as taxes, he's getting higher marks than the Republicans who have a muddled field right now, guys.
VELSHI: Ed, the fact that there is no clear-cut Republican challenger yet for 2012, I mean, obviously his approval is affecting the people making choices to run. Is the absence of a clear-cut challenger helping President Obama's approval ratings?
HENRY: There's no doubt because he pretty much has the stage to himself. If you think about the European trip we were on last week, that enhances his standing on the international stage, the whole question of terrorism, how he handles international affairs. But if you're a Republican, the silver lining is Republicans have a muddled field right now as we said. They don't have anyone going toe to toe, so there's a lot of room for them to gain.
And look at these numbers, the economy and gas prices. Approval for the president, 41 percent on the economy, disapprove 58 percent. Gas prices only 25 percent approve. Disapprove 73 percent.
I don't need to tell you guys. Those are major, major warning signs for this president and maybe after the glow of the bin Laden raid, if the economy, gas prices don't improve, he's very, very vulnerable.
CHETRY: All right. Ed Henry for us this morning, thanks so much.
VELSHI: New developments in Libya this morning. Big defections from Moammar Gadhafi's military.
The Italian government says that eight Libyan generals and more than 100 soldiers have defected to Italy. The head of NATO saying Gadhafi's four-decade rule is coming to an end. And this came as Gadhafi met with South Africa's president to discuss a cease-fire with rebel fighters. His public appearances have been more rare in recent weeks as NATO has stepped up bombing runs on his compound. CHETRY: Also new this morning, the Dalai Lama formally relinquishing his political role in Tibet. The exiled Tibet and parliament amended its charter, basically to pertain to the Dalai Lama's political and administrative powers. He remains, of course, Tibetan's spiritual leader.
ROMANS: Also new this morning, hot spots remain around Amarillo, Texas. Firefighters have now lifted a mandatory evacuation for the city after two wildfires destroyed a dozen homes and sent hundreds of residents out over the weekend. In all, officials say close to three million acres have burned so far in Texas this fire season.
VELSHI: More than a week after the deadliest tornado on record, officials in Joplin, Missouri, say 29 people are still unaccounted for. That is down from 43 on Sunday. Right now, the death toll from the devastating tornado stands at 142.
CHETRY: In eastern Montana, the state's governor calling on the National Guard for help as floodwaters start to recede in the town of Roundup. Officials say nearly 35 homes and businesses were damaged due to the flooding. Folks are also being warned they have to boil their water for now before it's safe to drink.
ROMANS: Here's another stunning example of what Mother Nature can whip up for us. This incredible video shot from a TV helicopter north of Sydney Australia, off the coast of New South Wales, capturing a series of powerful waterspouts whipping across the ocean measuring 2,000 feet high.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: As soon as they approached shore, they dissipated. Powerful storms and heavy rains causing severe flooding in Sydney right now.
VELSHI: And Rob Marciano is in the extreme weather center for us right now. Some record-setting weather across the country yesterday and today, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's toasty, especially east of the Mississippi, guys, and in places like Chicago, they're heading to the beach. In their case, that would be on Lake Shore Drive or Lake Michigan.
Here's some video of that. Yesterday, temperatures easily got into the 90s. Feeling more like the middle of July than Memorial Day. So enjoy that as you soak in the sun, but don't forget to wear the sunscreen.
Today's temperature will be similar but not quite that. But I think we're going to see a little bit of rainfall move into the Chicagoland area before the day is done.
Here it is on the radar scope with the thunderstorms rolling through eastern Nebraska. They had a slew of tornado reports across parts of Nebraska yesterday. Now this front and associated storm system is moving off to the east. Kansas City about to get -- is getting hit with some thunderstorms. Garden variety stuff. There's a couple of severe ones embedded in this, but generally speaking it's not terrible. This will move through Joplin later on this morning and in through the early afternoon. The severe weather threat is not expected there. More so expected a little bit farther to the north and in through parts of Michigan. Actually same areas that got hit over the weekend with the severe weather may get it again today, especially across the lower hand with temperatures there rising easily into the upper 80s and lower 90s and that will just add some fuel to the fire.
So kind of toasty out there, guys, but the storm will cool things off for a few people. But folks who live on the extreme eastern seaboard and our nation's capital where they're back to work, 93 degrees for the high temperature in D.C.
Guys, back up to you.
CHETRY: I know. We complain all winter.
VELSHI: We complain all spring and winter.
CHETRY: Yes, so --
ROMANS: There was no spring. It's winter and then summer.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Rob.
CHETRY: It was 24 inches of snow and now it's 93 degrees.
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: But I'm not saying a word.
MARCIANO: Embrace it. Embrace it.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
VELSHI: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Bye guys.
CHETRY: Well, tonight is the night the Miami Heat, the Dallas Mavs take to the court. It's game one of the NBA finals. It's in Miami and it will be a matchup pretty much of 2006 pitting the Heat's big three, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh against the Mavericks big star Dirk Nowitzki. It's 2006 NBA final rematch which, by the way, Miami won. They didn't have, obviously LeBron James at the time.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: But -- so we'll see what happens.
ROMANS: And in other sports news, a very big story here following all weekend. The head football coach at Ohio State is stepping down because of an ethics scandal. Tattoos for memorabilia. We'll tell you more about this.
VELSHI: And attention Kmart shoppers, bees, swarms of them. We'll tell you what that's about when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: A widening ethics scandal forced Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel to resign. He says he did it for the good of the school. Tressel's troubles began when the NCAA began investigating several Buckeye players for selling memorabilia to a local tattoo parlor owner. That is against NCAA rules. Tressel admits he knew about the violations last year and failed to report them.
CHETRY: Another step forward in Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords' recovery from a near fatal gunshot wound to the head back in January. Giffords' husband astronaut Mark Kelly said that she had her stitches removed yesterday and continues to improve daily. Kelly delivered the news during a NASA TV interview from onboard the shuttle "Endeavour." He's scheduled to return to Earth tomorrow.
VELSHI: And if you're a real fan of amusement park rides, this one might qualify as a nightmare. A carnival ride in Canton, Massachusetts, got stuck for 30 minutes.
CHETRY: Ugh.
VELSHI: Look at that. Thirty minutes trapping three young girls 50 feet up. A chain on a Roll-O-Plane Ride apparently malfunctioned. Firefighters were able to rescue them. The ride has been shut down. The state is investigating what went wrong.
ROMANS: Wonder how old the girls were.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: Maybe if you're 13 it's like maybe cool.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: If you're 10 -
VELSHI: If some people getting stuck -
ROMANS: -- it can be (ph) terrifying.
VELSHI: -- on a ride is all right.
CHETRY: Well, it's the difference between getting stuck upside down -
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: -- and right side up.
ROMANS: That's true. How is this for fear factor? Invasion of bees sent shoppers running for cover at a Kmart outside Pittsburgh yesterday. Check this out - 15,000 bees, hat you call a swarm of bees.
CHETRY: When someone drop a soda?
ROMANS: Right into this parking lot. Some shoppers say they thought they were looking at a giant pot hole and then they saw it moving. Others said they thought it was a cloud coming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like a mini cyclone, because they were going in a funnel-like shape. And we kind of stopped and thought it was leaves or tobacco or something. And when we got up on it you could hear them buzzing and realized it was bees.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The store manager who's allergic to bee stings, by the way, kept everyone safe inside while experts collected all of the little darlings. They - they say the swarms are common this time of year.
VELSHI: Wow.
CHETRY: Can you imagine getting that call on Memorial Day Monday. Hey, listen. You're a bee keeper, right? Come down to the Wal-Mart - the Kmart here. We're having a little trouble. Well, I guess they're used to it.
Well, sports and energy drinks are pretty popular with kids these days, but the nation's pediatricians are issuing warnings especially about the energy drinks that have tons of caffeine saying that they really have no place in your kids' diet. They say energy drinks often contain not only high levels of caffeine but other stimulants and they could have potentially dangerous side effects, while sports drinks if they like Gatorade contain a lot of sugar and all that sugar contributes to obesity and tooth decay. They say that for most kids water is the best thing to quench their thirst.
ROMANS: Yes. Water and two glasses of low-fat milk a day that's - that's all a kid needs.
VELSHI: You two are fun parents. (INAUDIBLE) goes to the question of the day, should energy drinks be regulated? Let us know what you think. E-mail us at CNN.com/AM, give us a tweet @CNNAM or tell us on Facebook.com/AMERICANMORNING. We'll read through some of your thoughts later in this hour. We've already started getting some - some very good ones from you. Yes.
ROMANS: All right. Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, if you fly you know you're paying more for peanuts if you're getting peanuts, pillows, leg room. Wait until you hear how much the airlines are making from all those fees.
CHETRY: Also, New York Congressman Anthony Weiner says it was a hacker who sent a lewd photo to a young female college student from his Twitter account. We'll find out why he's hired an attorney.
Nineteen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-two minutes after the hour. Time to "Mind Your Business" now.
The U.S. markets open this morning after a long holiday weekend. And today, investors will be paying close attention to new reports on consumer confidence and the housing market.
Now, let's talk about that housing report, it's expected to show a new low in home prices in the 20 largest metropolitan areas according to the "New York Times." The Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index will show that existing home prices in March dipped below the lows reached two years ago.
The world's biggest airlines taking in $22 billion last year in fuel, luggage and other fees, that's according to a study in the "Wall Street Journal." Those add-ons accounted for nearly 23 percent of budget carrier Spirit's total revenue.
Americans last year put $9 billion into government-run college savings plans, also known as 529s. That's up from $5 million in 2008. Experts say one reason for the pick-up is parents fearing their kids wouldn't be able to afford college.
And photographic film is slowly reaching the end of its roll according to the Photo Marketing Association. This year, just 20 million rolls of film will be sold compared to a billion sold back in 2000.
Americans will be right - AMERICAN MORNING will be right back after this break with more on how to protect your identity in today's virtual world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Twenty-seven minutes past the hour. Checking top stories right now.
A kindergarten teacher in Mexico gets her kids down on the floor and singing "Barney Together" while a gun battle rages outside the school. The video she took has been viewed more than a million times now on the Internet. And the teacher is being honored for her outstanding civic courage.
CHETRY: More signs that the Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi is losing his grip on power. The Italian government now says that eight Libyan generals and more than 100 soldiers have defected to Italy. This comes as Gadhafi met with South Africa's president to discuss a cease- fire with rebel fighters.
VELSHI: And a bounce for President Obama after the death of Bin Laden. His approval rating is up six points since April to 54 percent in the latest "CNN Research Opinion Poll - Research Corporation Poll. ROMANS: A New York Congressman Anthony Weiner said a lewd photo sent from his Tweeter account to a young female college student in Seattle that that was the work of a computer hacker. The story was broken by the website BigGovernment.com run by controversial Conservative blogger Andrew Brightbart.
The 21-year-old woman who got the tweet says she follows the congressman on Twitter and is a big fan, but she's never met him. Weiner spent the holiday weekend trying to dismiss this whole incident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: I was hacked, happens to people, you move on. This is a prank, not a terribly creative one, and it's a distraction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: It's not clear who may have hacked the congressman's twitter account. A spokesman for the congressman says he's retained an attorney to look into the matter further.
CHETRY: Well, meantime, it seems to be happening more and more, hackers are able to grab headlines by compromising high profile computer systems. Corporations like Sony and Lockheed Martin among the most recent victims of hacking.
VELSHI: So think about it. If they can penetrate the level of security of a - of a defense contractor, how safe can our own systems be when we log on from home?
Deb Feyerick with us this morning. Deb, you're going to take us inside a state-of-the-art facility where you came face to face with this cloud where - where a lot of our data is stored.
DEB FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do, do, do. Exactly. And I really had that feeling when I was speaking about it and I - I kept saying, what is it? What is it? What is it?
I think I finally got my answer. But, you know, it's not just systems that we're talking about. Our computers have really become portals to information that we store and access outside our homes and offices, in fact, really, from anywhere.
Now, we did get a firsthand look at this facility that protects critical information for Fortune 500 companies to get a sense of how safe we are one on one when it comes to protecting our own personal identities.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (voice-over): You do it, I do it. In fact, hundreds of millions of people do it every day -- each time you log into your web e-mail or visit social media sites, like Facebook or Flickr, or stream TV shows or movies, you're accessing a virtual world anyone can share from anywhere. Welcome to the cloud.
JOHN C. ABELL, WIRED MAGAZINE: They allow you to not use expensive, bulky storage space here on earth, and instead, allow you to put things in somebody else's computer for free or very little cost.
FEYERICK: John Abell writes about the cloud for "Wired" magazine and warns: with innovation, comes risk.
ABELL: Assume that your stuff will be looked at. Assume that it will be lost.
FEYERICK: There's no guarantee your data in the cloud is ever 100 percent secure. Recent breaches at Sony PlayStation network, Epsilon data, even RSA security, affected upwards of 100 million people.
DALE MEYERROSE, FORMER CIO, UNITED STSTES INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY: Pretty much open season.
FEYERICK: Dale Meyerrose served as chief information officer for the United States intelligence community.
(on camera): So, if I were to touch it, I would be touching the cloud.
MEYERROSE: You would be touching the physical case that perform cloud functions. A single rack of equipment could literally replace the entire IT technology enterprise of a global "Fortune" 500 company.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Meyer Ross and his team at Harris Corporation took us on a tour of the first of its kind state-of-the-art cyber integration center designed to secure critical information for "Fortune" 500 companies and government agencies. The key --
MEYERROSE: It is being able to prove through continuous monitoring, and are you getting this level of trust that you signed up for and pay for.
FEYERICK: As virtual information storage becomes even more popular, experts warn safeguarding your data will be an even greater challenge.
ABELL: There is a cat-and-mouse game between security people and, you know, hackers.
FEYERICK: The only way to protect your precious information in the cloud, maybe not to put it there in the first place.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Now, the cloud is the future. Cloud computing is what everybody's doing now. Look, this is all what you're doing when you access your e-mails, that is cloud computing. It's what enables us to use these portable devices really because our data is stored not here, someplace else.
Now, the Cyber Integration Center arguably is one of the most sophisticated monitoring systems anywhere. But intruders are always trying to find a way in. And that means you have to understand when you are using these devices, when you're storing personal data in the cloud, wherever that might be, somebody may be able to get access. It's always a risk. It doesn't mean it's certain, doesn't mean they're going to say, hey, let me see what Ali Velshi is doing, but it does mean that --
VELSHI: Right. Is the risk -- we were all getting hacked before there was a cloud. So, is the risk greater or lesser? Because when I was storing everything locally, I probably didn't have the security that these cloud storage systems have.
FEYERICK: Certainly not at home. You probably didn't have the level. Companies, they've got their own information technology departments. You know, you heard from the piece that one of those racks that he was looking at, that can store not only, you know, the entire information of "Fortune" 500 company, it can store everything that is in the Library of Congress. We're talking about a machine the size of a DVD.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I think the scary part is just the volume. If they get into it, the amount of information they have access to, you could never store that in your local computer in your house.
FEYERICK: And it depends what they're looking for. And that's exactly. It's about storage. If we want to use these, then we have to be able to keep our information somewhere.
ROMANS: Brings up the cyber espionage or cyber-attacks story of the morning, which is the big concern not only accessing and stealing information, but shutting it down when so much of the world depends on it. It just shows how, you know, how multifaceted --
VELSHI: Cyber war and the idea that cyber war is an active war. "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting today that the Pentagon has put together its first formal cyber strategy and that says that sabotage, computer sabotage coming from another country can constitute an act of war. So, for the first time, that means the U.S. might respond with traditional military force or may. The report comes just days after the biggest U.S. defense contractor Lockheed-Martin thwarted off an attack on its computer system.
ROMANS: It means you shut down our credit card system. We can respond with a missile into your country. It's very interesting.
The House of Representatives back at work this morning. They're expected to vote on raising the debt ceiling and it's a safe bet it won't pass that's because the measure does not include spending cuts, conditions like spending cuts that many Republicans say is necessary for them to vote to raise the debt ceiling.
CHETRY: The trial of Casey Anthony enters its second week today, and Casey's mother is expected to return to the witness stand. Last week, bombshell testimony came from the defense. They're arguing that Casey was sexually abused by her father and brother and that her father, found her daughter Caylee drowned in the pool and helped dispose of the body. Casey is charged with the murder of her 2-year-old daughter and she could get the death penalty if convicted. VELSHI: Nearly 600 people stung by jellyfish in central Florida over Memorial Day weekend. Swimmers from Cocoa Beach to Cape Canaveral came across swarms of purple jellyfish. None of the stings are believed to be serious, but they can cause itching, burning and rashes.
CHETRY: You know the cure is, right? You take meat tenderizer right on the area. It sucks the sting out. It really helps. You smell funny for a little while, but it helps.
ROMANS: A girl who spent some time on the beach.
CHETRY: They're pretty from a distance but not when they're pecking at you while you're asleep. How does this happen, I often wonder.
VELSHI: This is a crazy story.
CHETRY: You know, you have strange dreams but this was a reality for a guy in Nevada. He says that a peacock broke into his home and then got into bed with him and was there when he woke up. Now, there's no video of this confrontation. Are you sure he just didn't have one too many in the holiday weekend?
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Honestly, if it's not a monkey, it's a peacock. The bird is apparently stalking the home. This is the video that he has. Animal control came in, chased the bird into the living room, finally caught him. Everyone, man and bird, are doing OK.
Maybe he's looking for his mate, maybe he's looking for his peahen.
VELSHI: Right. This guy particularly colorful?
CHETRY: The peahens aren't.
VELSHI: That's right. Peahens are kind of dull looking.
CHETRY: Pea hens are dull brown color.
VELSHI: Yes, maybe. It's OK. You go through life being a dull brown color.
All right. We're going to take a break. When we come back, ceasefire in Yemen has fallen apart and that is now sparking renewed fears of an all-out civil war.
ROMANS: And pediatricians say it is not a good thing your kids are drinking sports and energy drinks. So, we want to know what you think. Should energy drinks be regulated? You can e-mail us at CNN.com/am, you can tweet us at @CNNAM, also head to Facebook, Facebook.com/AmericanMorning.
We're going to read some of your thoughts coming up. Already, they are very, very thoughts. Good comments, rather. We'll have them for you. VELSHI: Thirty-seven minutes after the hour.
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VELSHI: This morning, we're hearing about another alleged sexual assault on a hotel maid in New York City, reportedly by another high profile financier.
The NYPD arrested 74-year-old Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar in connection with the alleged attacks. Police say he's accused of sexually assaulting a 44-year-old maid at the Pierre Hotel on Sunday night. Omar is reportedly the former head of Egypt's Bank of Alexandria and is now the head of a major salt-producing company.
This comes as the ex-chief of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, awaits trial on attempted rape and sexual assault on a hotel made at the nearby Sofitel in New York City.
VELSHI: A setback for Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. His coalition suffering defeats in local elections in Milan and Naples. Political analysts say the vote was really a referendum on the Italian premier and who faces charges now of abuse of power and prostitution with an underage teenage.
ROMANS: Security forces in Morocco stepping up their crackdown on anti-government protesters for a second straight weekend. There were violent clashes between police and demonstrators in the streets of Casablanca. Organizers say some 15,000 gathered in the capital Sunday. They were demanding more democratic freedoms, jobs and better social conditions.
VELSHI: Fragile ceasefire in Yemen didn't hold for long. Fighting broke out again in the streets of the capital city Sanaa.
CHETRY: It sparked fears of an all-out civil war.
Let's go to London right now where CNN's Zain Verjee has the very latest on this new round of violence there. Good morning, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning, guys.
There were heavy explosions and gunfire heard in Yemen's capital Sanaa. That was just a day after this major bulldozing activity by the government in place called Taiz.
Take a look at this video. People were camped out in a square in the city and they just came in and they burned down the tents where people were at. Three people died and at least 26 people have been injured.
Now, the U.S. embassy is saying that these scenes were unprovoked and unjustified. They condemned it. They praised the protesters and insisted that the president get out, transfer power ASAP.
The problem with the situation for the U.S. is that they are so worried that as this spreads, there could be a political vacuum in the country, al Qaeda operates there as a base and the U.S. doesn't have a whole lot of leverage. Saudi Arabia does. ROMANS: It bears a lot of watching.
Meanwhile, in Serbia, suspected war criminal Ratko Mladic still sitting in a Serbian jail. He's waiting to be extradited. Any timetable for when that extradition might happen?
VERJEE: That is the big question, Christine. And what's happening right now is there are stall tactics going on. His defense lawyer has said basically he needs another medical exam. He has specific health problems. They need to call in more specialists and he is not fit enough to face genocide charges in The Hague.
Now, prosecutors are saying that's not true. He is absolutely. So, they're going to wait for a verdict from the court in Serbia today to see whether or not to send him to The Hague. Europe wants him there ASAP.
ROMANS: What they say is wrong with them Zain? The pictures we keep seeing of him are a much longer Mladic.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: They're saying that he's had a stroke, heart issues over the years. That he's just not well enough to stand, that's what his supporters are saying?
VERJEE: You know, that's right. And to many people who do support him, they see him as a nationalist hero. They think that he really has done great things in his past for Serbia.
The problem is, the rest of the world does not see it like that. This is a man wanted for genocide, for crimes against humanity. The one word people associate him with is Srebrenica, the worst massacre in Europe after the Second World War. He had something like almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys just massacred in 1995. And that's actually the moment many say President Clinton was really galvanized to act and do something about it.
CHETRY: Zain Verjee for us this morning, thanks so much.
And you can catch Zain every morning 5:00 a.m. on "WORLD ONE," right here on CNN.
ROMANS: All right. Meantime, Rob Marciano is standing by in Atlanta in the extreme weather center to let us know how this last day, the last day of May, this is it, right?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is, isn't it?
CHETRY: It's going out with a bang. It's certainly hot in much of the country.
MARCIANO: It feels like the last day of July for a lot of folks.
CHETRY: I know.
MARCIANO: Good morning, again, guys.
Heat and humidity again are going to reign supreme across parts of the eastern two-thirds of the country. Big area of high pressure. This is very much a July weather pattern. Even the thunderstorms are pretty far to the north today. But some of those could be very spring and severe-like.
Here is a line that moved through Nebraska yesterday, had over 20 reports of tornados in spots there, but no reports of serious injuries or huge damage. This is all going to be rolling towards Chicago, and eventually, towards Detroit later on today as the heat builds and that front begins to make its way there.
Chicago, so, you're going to have some travel delays, I think, maybe not quite as bad as what we saw over the weekend, but nonetheless, plan for it. Wind in Minneapolis and looking for issues in Salt Lake City and San Francisco as well. Here's where we expect the bull's eye to be as far as severe weather threat once we get the heat going, once we get that energy moving east, the lower Great Lakes will see a moderate risk of seeing some severe thunderstorms throughout the day today or more so this afternoon and through this evening.
Here's where the heat is, 94 in Memphis. It will be 93 degrees in D.C. Heat advisories up for D.C., Baltimore, and Detroit. You've got the heat, you've got the humidity as well. Not going to be quite as warm but still toasty in New York City. And we've got some air quality issues because the air is fairly stagnant, and down across the south, it's also very, very warm. So, you know, your body is not quite used to it.
You know, it's kind of the first real pulse of heat. So, take it easy and drink lots of water. We had some heat medical issue yesterday in Chicago because of all the heat. The pattern is going to kind of stick this way. It will be 95 degrees in Nashville tomorrow, 96 degrees in Atlanta, still in the lower 90s tomorrow in D.C. We get a little bit of cooling across the northern tier as we go towards Thursday, but still a lot of red down here, Jackson, Mississippi, may even get to 101 degrees.
So, what do you do if you can't get to the beach or another way to cool off? Maybe you head to the mountains. Check this out, Memorial Day weekend skiing in Aspen, Colorado. Are you kidding me? They haven't done this in years. There was twice as much snow at the top of Aspen than there was January 1st.
More snow now than New Year's Day. And places like Aspen and Squall Valley and, of course, throughout the whole basin, these guys are going to be open July 4th, guys, I smell AMERICAN MORNING on the road for July 4th.
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CHETRY: Yes. We're setting out to find the coolest spot and there it is, right? So what do they get? Just a ton of snow this spring, right, that's why it's still like that for them? MARCIANO: Yes. I mean, spring with the entire winter was just incredibly epic. And a lot of it came late in the spring as well. So, they have a pack that's beyond belief, and it's going to stick around through most of the summer.
VELSHI7: All right. Rob, thanks very much. Wow. That's something else.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
VELSHI: All right. Forty-seven minutes after the hour. Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a town wakes up to sheep on the loose. Check that out.
CHETRY: They were counting sheep to fall asleep and look what happened when they woke up.
VELSHI: We'll tell you where this is and what that's about when we come back.
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ROMANS: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
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ROMANS (voice-over): Eight of Moammar Gadhafi's generals along with 100 soldiers have fled to Italy. The defections comes as NATO says Gadhafi's reign is near the end.
A quick thinking teacher channels Barney to protect her kindergarten students from gunfire in Mexico. She got the kids down on the ground and led them the song as bullets flew outside the school.
Going up, President Obama's approval rating rising six points since early April in the latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation Poll, and he has some GOP voters to thank for the bounce.
Touring landmarks and testing the waters, Sarah Palin's one nation tour pulled up to historic Gettysburg late yesterday. She still hasn't said, though, whether she'll run for president in 2012.
A mandatory evacuation lift in Amarillo, Texas, but hot spots remain after a double wildfire destroyed a dozen homes in that city.
And the NBA finals tip off tonight. The Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks will play game one in Miami. It's a rematch of a 2006 NBA championship series where down 2-0, Miami swept the next four games against Dallas for their first NBA title.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (on-camera): You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING will be back right after this.
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VELSHI: We're just getting this in from the Virginia Highway patrol. A confirmed bus accident -- bus has overturned with some injuries just north of Richmond, exits 98 to 110, although, I don't know, maybe, Brian, our producer can tell us on what road we're talking about, but there are some exits.
It is 95. OK. It's I-95 exits. 98 to 110 are closed as they investigate. Now, what we are trying to work out is what the injuries are. There are apparently a number of injuries on that. We'll keep you posted as soon as we learn about this, but a bus overturned near Richmond.
ROMANS: We'll let you know what -- you know, where the tour bus, is coming from and all of that.
CHETRY: So, if you're in the area again, exits 98 to 110 are close just stretch of area.
We want to ask your opinion about something else to tell you about this story that's out today about the nation's pediatricians warning that energy drinks in particular, but also sports drinks are not good for your kids and actually should be avoided. The caffeine in energy drinks, they say, can lead to high blood pressure, high heart rate, insomnia, and they say for kids who are already prone to anxiety can even make it worse.
VELSHI: Let's find out what you think. Should energy drinks be regulated? Here are some of your responses.
Gwen Carter Clements on Facebook says, "Leaving this to parents. Hmm. Might as well do nothing, look how well that works with obesity and other issues."
VELSHI: And on Twitter, Jonx13 says, "Yes, energy drink should be regulated just as how Coca-Cola was for us growing up as kids by our parents." So, a different view.
CHETRY: Also, Vin16 in New Jersey writes, "Yes, any food and drink that could potentially harm you should be regulated. These drinks are too accessible to kids, very scary."
ROMANS: On our blog, somebody named Jesse Clark wrote, "I don't think they should be. If they are your kids and you don't want them drinking the drinks, then don't let them. The kid is your responsibility, not the company that makes the drink. So, if you a problem with the drink, don't let your kids get ahold of them."
CHETRY: And Sharon Bosney (ph) writes, "As much as I agree with the fact that energy drinks shouldn't be in the child's diet, I still think the decision should be left for parents and the children to make the idea of regulating everything in children's menus I don't see is the best idea. In fact, I believe that when you say don't do this, that's when kids want to do it."
ROMANS: I think there are some parents who don't realize that there's so much sugar in the sports drinks, and the pediatricians are saying if it's a sports drink, drink it when you're playing a sport --
CHETRY: Right, otherwise, water.
ROMANS: Not (ph) eating dinner or watching TV.
CHETRY: But the other thing, too, is that -- I mean, in some of those drinks, you can't even look at the back and really tell how much caffeine is in it because there's caffeine, but then, there are other stimulants that are not --
VELSHI: That you may not recognize.
ROMANS: The pediatrician groups saying that caffeine is not something that's good for children, period.
VELSHI: Keep your comments coming. Send us an e-mail, or tweet, or tell us on Facebook. We'll read more of your thoughts a bit later in the show.
CHETRY: A stampede of pintos barreling through the Midwest right now, and we're not talking about --
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CHETRY: This is the 40th anniversary of the Ford Pinto. Owners are marking the event by driving their beloved little ponies from Colorado to Pennsylvania. They not only will show their cars off, but many of them were being sponsored, and the proceeds go to help needy veterans through the Wounded Warrior Project.
VELSHI: And if you're an out of work shepherd, you may want to head over to Chula Vista, California. They've got a little bit of sheep problem there. Loose (ph) sheep as you can see. Residents woke up Monday morning to a flock of sheep wandering around their neighborhood. At one point, police had them surrounded, then, they got spook and the sheep took off. Animal control eventually rounded them up.
CHETRY: They had them surrounded as if they're really dangerous and are going to put up a fight.
VELSHI: Do we know where the sheep game from?
CHETRY: But, I mean, maybe they wandered from a nearby farmland.
VELSHI: Good guess.
CHETRY: You know, how they always say, they were a little small sheep, and they grew up and somebody let them go. They were living in their house until they grew up. That's only lizards. All right.
VELSHI: We got our top stories minutes away including don't call it a campaign bus. Sarah Palin keeps everybody guessing on her national tour. We're going to talk to somebody who may know when she's going to make a choice about running in 2012. It's 56 minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
