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CNN Saturday Morning News
Crisis in Libya Intensifies; Tripoli Under Siege; Survivor Stories From Those Fleeing Libya; WI Gov. Walker Promising Layoffs as Early as Monday; The NASCAR Experience
Aired February 26, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Randi Kaye.
The crisis in Libya intensifies, with reports of armed men killing protesters and towns near Tripoli under siege. But to leader Moammar Gadhafi, it's a day for Libyans to dance and celebrate. The disconnect is frightening, and has the United States and the United Nations on guard this morning.
Americans forced to flee Tripoli are finally headed home, and they've brought harrowing survivor stories with them. We'll hear firsthand accounts live in just a few minutes.
It's early and we are on it.
From CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's February 26. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for waking up with us this morning.
Of course, we're following all of the developments out of Libya, the United Nations and throughout the country as families wait for loved ones to return home from the chaos in Tripoli.
Plus, on a lighter note, the smackdown that started when someone would not share her Thin Mints.
And the case of a toddler stuck in a bank vault. No, I'm really not kidding here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All opposed say nay. The ayes have it. The bill is in the Senate. The assembly is adjourned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Then there's that battle between labor and lawmakers in Wisconsin. The governor's not budging; in fact, he's promising sweeping teacher layoffs, perhaps as early as Monday. We're tracking developments as the clock ticks down.
There's road rage; then there's toe rage. We'll show you what happened when a customer goes berserk over a billing dispute and why a TV crew's cameras were rolling when it all happened.
Our Reynolds Wolf didn't need a toe. He was in the driver's seat for a NASCAR experience you have to see to believe. He drove speeds well over 150 mph and lived to tell us all about it. Very impressive.
But we start with the worsening situation in Libya, and the strong reaction from the international community. President Obama slapped new sanctions on the Gadhafi regime last night, trying to immediately stop the flow to and from any Libyan interests in the U.S. The U.S. also closed its Embassy in Tripoli.
The United Nations Security Council meets in just a few hours to discuss increased sanctions, which could include travel bans, possibly arms embargos and financial freezes.
Inside Libya, protesters continue to take to the streets. Clashes with pro-government forces continue in and around the capital, Tripoli.
But much of the rest of the country is relatively quiet now. Leader Moammar Gadhafi made another appearance on state TV, warning protesters that he may escalate the violence. He also said he was ready to raise state salaries and give every family $400.
We're also watching the mass evacuations from Libya. Tens of thousands of foreign nationals are streaking across the border into neighboring countries or boarding planes and ships to get out any way they can. That was the case for a few hundred people, including Americans who grabbed a seat on a ferry bound for Malta.
CNN's Diana Magnay has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Maria Dolores finally enters Malta's historic port. Onboard, more than 300 people just relieved to have been delivered from hell. Stranded at the port in Tripoli for 36 hours, they then endured on the 220-mile journey across the Mediterranean.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never been on a ferry before in those current (INAUDIBLE). Lots of throwing up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ride across the sea last night was pretty rough. And so we had some tough times on the boat but not, you know, life-or-death situations.
MAGNAY: Unlike the scenes one man told me he'd witnessed from his flat overlooking Tripoli's Green Square.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had machine guns and shooting everyone. They were drunk, have drugs, whatever. But they were shooting, like, even on walls with nobody around.
MAGNAY (on camera): How many people? Who was shooting?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quite a lot. Like, you can hear even from the sounds of the shots. It's like from 50 different location, 100 different location, non-stop, always bullets going out non-stop. MAGNAY (voice-over): The passengers were met by U.S. diplomats brought into Malta to help with the exodus and by hoards of journalists.
Outside, coaches to bring them to hotels, their first night in a bed in three days.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Diana Magnay joins me on the phone now from Malta.
Good morning, Diana. Tell us where the people from the ferry are now, if you can.
MAGNAY (via telephone): Hi, Randi.
Well, a lot of them are already at the airport trying to get flights out of Malta. There was a travel desk set up for them when they arrived where they could make arrangements, first of all to stay in the hotels, and then asked to make further flight arrangements.
And there were about 2,000 rooms put on standby across this small country, not just for that ferry load coming in yesterday, but for a whole raft of people who were arriving by sea from Benghazi, also we have 2,000 Chinese workers who arrived in a big cruise liner this morning from Benghazi. Also, a British ship coming in overnight from Benghazi with about 200 people onboard.
So this island really is a hub for mass evacuations, and a lot of them are still in their hotels trying to book flights on the Internet. A lot of them also already at the airports on their way out, Randi.
KAYE: And give us a sense of the relief. As you spoke with so many of those people who were onboard that ferry, what - how relieved were they to get out of Libya? I'm sure they were concerned about their own safety for days.
MAGNAY: For days.
Interestingly, they said that when they were onboard the ship, they didn't feel as anxious, of course, as they had back the - the days before in Tripoli. And when you imagine that ship was sitting in the harbor in Tripoli for two days and they weren't able to get off it, that does say something about the sort of care that Embassy staff were providing them onboard.
An incredible amount of relief, but also mixed feelings, especially those who'd made their lives in Libya or had family and loved ones that they were leaving behind. We spoke to one lady who had left - brought most of her family but her husband was still in the country, another who said, I feel extremely proud of - of the Libyans for rising up against Gadhafi, but also incredibly scared that he make good on his threats and really crush the resistance even more brutally, Randi.
KAYE: Diana Magnay for us in Malta this morning watching those passengers from the ferry. Thank you, Diana.
And you're going to want to stick around for this: In just a few minutes, we'll talk to an American teacher who was actually on that ferry to Malta. And she'll tell us why she's calling that trip - quote - "traumatic."
While Libya is at the boiling point, there are other protests in the region that we're also watching this morning. Anti-government protests in Yemen were mostly peaceful, but there were some clashes in the coastal city of Aden. Four people were killed. We're also seeing clashes between demonstrators, our security forces in parts of Iraq.
Protesters are also taking to the streets in Jordan, Bahrain, Djibouti and Mauritania.
A new death toll from New Zealand's earthquake tops our look at other weekend stories in our "Weekend Wheel."
One hundred fort-five killed, more than 200 still missing in Christchurch. Tuesday's 6.3 magnitude quake demolished parts of the city. Among the missing, 90 students and staff from a language school that was destroyed in a building.
Jared Loughner is now back in Tucson, Arizona, as he awaits his next hearing on last month's shooting there. That'll be on March 9. Loughner is accused of shooting 19 people, including Congresswoman Gabby Giffords. Six people died in all in that attack. A new indictment is expected before next month's hearing.
The nation's governors are gathering in Washington this weekend for their winter meeting. Some of the Democratic governors were at the White House yesterday. You can expect Wisconsin's budget battle to be front and center in their talks today, as they compare notes on how states are dealing with critical shortfalls. Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker is the only governor not expected to attend.
Well, if you travel through Denver International Airport this week on Tuesday, or know anyone who did, look out: the state's Department of Public Health says people in Concourse C may have been exposed to measles. A passenger with the highly contagious virus was there for several hours that night, it turns out. Health officials say anyone who was there should watch for symptoms at least through March 12.
Just about everyone remembers this "miracle on the Hudson" landing. That's U.S. Airways Flight 1549. We all remember that day, piloted by Captain Chesley Sullenberger, splashing down in New York's Hudson River in January of 2009. The jet is now in a New Jersey warehouse but will be taken this spring to Carolina's Aviation Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAWN DORSCH, CAROLINA AVIATION MUSEUM: It's an artifact that is going to be as timeless as the Apollo 11 command module or Charles Lindbergh's airplane. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The exhibit at the Charlotte museum is expected to be ready in 2012 if you want to check it out.
One tweet - that's all it took to get this man and his daughter reunited after 11 years. Daniel Morales joined Twitter just three weeks ago when he was given a phone as part of a project aimed at giving a voice to the homeless. He and his daughter reunited Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A great moment for myself. I feel - I feel rejoiced.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get to find my dad after 11 years, is -- I don't even know how to feel right now. It's just - I'm very, very happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Like most of us, he's pretty hooked on Twitter. Since getting started on Twitter, Morales has more than 3,000 followers from around the world.
Today, Girl Scouts in Georgia will be back selling their famous cookies. But this time, it's all going to be legal.
Earlier this week, police in a west Atlanta suburb stopped the girls from selling the treats because they didn't have a permit. What is up with that?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHY CROOK, GIRL SCOUT TROOP LEADER: We were just told that we would need to pack up our cookie booth. We would need to go and get a peddler's permit, and that the customers that were there had to be just turned away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was scaring us because we thought all the adults were going to go to jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have had safety issues, where children are getting out in the middle of the road and - and running up to cars to get a dollar that they're wanting to donate to their cause or whatever. And - and when that happens, it's dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Those Girl Scouts were scared. But to smooth things over, the city is offering troop members a pizza party and a personal tour of the police department. Yes, that'll smooth things over. A new startup airline is hoping to bring more people to Las Vegas. LV Air would operate several non-stops every day from New York to Sin City. They're hoping to attract high rollers with things like lie-flat seats and free bag delivery to your casino-hotel.
There's no word yet on just how much one of those flights might cost you.
All right. Don't panic, but Anheuser-Busch is going to stop making beer. And it has nothing to do - Reynolds over - he's already panicked. It has nothing to do with the economy or the alcohol sales. You have to stick around though to find out what the company is producing instead.
So Reynolds, don't panic, OK?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Wow.
KAYE: We'll - we'll explain.
WOLF: Wow, that was tough.
KAYE: Are you OK?
WOLF: I - I think so. I think - yes, hold - hold on.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Rough stop.
Hey, yesterday we certainly had some rough stuff in terms of weather. But today, things in the East are going to start calming down. Things are going to start gearing up in parts of the Great Lakes with some heavy snowfall. Even heavier snowfall out West for the winter that never, ever will seem to end.
We're going to talk more about that coming up in just a few moments, Randi.
KAYE: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
But first, if you could pick anywhere in the world to live, where would it be? Probably depends on what the city offers, right? Cost of living, great nightlife, maybe it's easy to get around. The marketing folks at "The Economist" ranked 140 cities in composing its list of the world's most-livable cities.
Vancouver is tops for the fifth straight year. That is a wonderful city.
Melbourne, Australia, number two.
And Vienna, Austria, number three.
What are the most livable cities in the United States? After a break, we'll tell you. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Just before the break, we showed you the most-livable cities in the world, according to London-based "The Economist" magazine.
Vancouver is tops, followed by Melbourne, Australia, and Vienna, Austria.
So what about the U.S.? Well, we didn't quite do as well.
Coming in at number thirty-four, Washington, D.C.
Honolulu, Hawaii, at number thirty.
Any guesses, Reynolds, to the highest U.S. city to make the list?
WOLF: Yes. Funkytown. Funkytown is - is the number one.
KAYE: Pittsburgh, baby.
WOLF: Really?
KAYE: Twenty-nine.
WOLF: Pittsburgh's a lovely place.
KAYE: Yes.
WOLF: It really is. Because you have the winters, you got great restaurants, nice people. Very nice.
KAYE: That's the highest-ranking though. I was a little surprised by that, I got to say.
WOLF: Go Pittsburgh.
KAYE: I know.
But this, I know, is a story that you're very concerned about.
WOLF: Absolutely.
KAYE: More - more snow. Yes, more snow, less beer. That's right.
The Anheuser-Busch brewery in Cartersville, Georgia, shelved its daily beer production yesterday to produce canned water for future disaster relief. Experts actually predict that some parts of the U.S. could see some pretty serious flooding - right, Reynolds
WOLF: Absolutely.
KAYE: Later this spring because of the heavy winter snows. And the brewer says that - that it's donated millions of cans of drinking water to help those disaster victims over the past few years. So I guess they're trying to do it again.
WOLF: You know, you have to love it when a company like this steps up to the plate and - and does something as wonderful as this.
And - and you're right, though, there are places in the country that are really going to need this. One place for certain will be Fargo, North Dakota.
I actually was on the - on the phone with the city of Fargo earlier this week. And believe it or not, 917,000 sandbags have already been actually piled up.
KAYE: Wow.
WOLF: They're expecting - they've - they've got a sandbag drive for 3 million. The goal is to have 3 million of these, because they know that it's going to be a very, very big flood season there. You've had about twice the amount of snowfall they normally have for this time of the year. So when the temperatures warm up, all that snow
KAYE: There's nothing like
WOLF: Bad news.
KAYE: Cracking open a good, cold can of water.
WOLF: Sounds delicious.
KAYE: Bring to those folks in Fargo.
WOLF: That's right.
It - it - it's a - it's a water party, folks.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
KAYE: After more than two days of waiting, nearly 200 Americans are now safe in Malta and sharing the horrors that they saw before fleeing Libya.
One of those evacuees is going to join us next to offer her firsthand accounts of the chaos that she saw before leaving that country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Eighteen minutes past the hour. Welcome back to our continuing coverage of the crisis in Libya.
And right now, people are getting out as the chaos escalates.
After weather delays, the United States finally got a ferry to evacuate more than 330 people, about half of them Americans, out of Libya. And now they're safely in Malta. Judith Drotar is the director at the International School in Libya. She was on that ferry, and she joins us this morning by phone from Malta.
Judith, good morning to you. I guess my first question to you would be, did you sleep any better last night than you had in recent days?
JUDITH DROTAR, EVACUATED FROM LIBYA (via telephone): Good morning.
Yes, absolutely. I slept better and longer, which was the optimum word. I'm feeling very refreshed this morning.
KAYE: Were you at all concerned that you weren't going to be able to get out? I know this ferry was delayed, of course, due to weather.
But what was that feeling like, that anticipating as you waited to leave Libya?
DROTAR: Well, you know, things deteriorated really quickly. I met with the board on Sunday afternoon, and we opted to continue running the American School because we didn't feel like there was imminent threat. Most - everything that was going on was going on in Benghazi. And, you know, there were a lot of pro-government demonstrations going on in Tripoli. So we opted to keep the school open.
But probably about two hours after that, the phones went down. And when I got home, I could hear protests in our suburb. And I have, you know, 24 teachers spread out over maybe a seven-mile radius, like in different villas. And the thought of not being able to get to them was really horrific for me.
So when the phones went back on early in the morning, we I - I notified them and we all moved to the school as a safe haven.
KAYE: Your - your daughter
DROTAR: So
KAYE: Your daughter had actually been on speaking with CNN. She was very concerned about you in - in recent days.
DROTAR: I know.
KAYE: Did you have a conversation with her?
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: What was that first phone call like for the two of you, once you got to Malta, if you've had that phone call?
DROTAR: Oh, she was ecstatic, and she had a group of friends there, and they were all going hooray, hooray. And of course, I don't feel - I've never felt, you know, totally threatened. It's just that I - I - I didn't know what was going to happen - none of us did - because, as I told you, things deteriorated so rapidly that we didn't know what to expect.
So the uncertainty was just horrific. And --
KAYE: And how long do you plan to stay in Malta? I mean, are you making some plans to try and get out?
DROTAR: We're going to be here a couple of days. Yes, we're going to be here for a couple of days to rest and - and get our flights sorted out. And then we're all heading home.
We had tentatively closed the school for two weeks. And so I've got to get - I'm going to go back to California and open my office there so that we can start communicating parents and finding ways online for kids to finish courses.
And, you know, I've got a lot of teachers that have the heart in the school and they want to go back. But they sure don't want to go back when it's not safe, so
KAYE: Sure.
Well, we hope you get back home and get to hug your daughter sooner rather than later.
Judith Drotar, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
DROTAR: My pleasure. It was good talking to you.
KAYE: You as well.
DROTAR: And good luck to the people of Libya.
KAYE: And just to let you know, CNN has a special report on the crisis in Libya. That is tonight starting at 10 p.m. Eastern.
If you think the crisis in the Mideast has nothing to do with you here in the United States, well, we can tell you, you are wrong. The instability is taking money out of your pocket right now. We're going to show you where it's hurting the most.
And here's a call police don't get every day: Help! There's a baby locked in our bank vault!
Yes, we'll explain what happens next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
The unrest in Libya is prompting rising prices at the pump here at home.
Alison Kosik tells us how the price of crude is affecting Wall Street. She kicks off this morning's "Business Minute."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Randi.
Oil prices jumped this week because of the unrest in Libya. U.S. crude prices hit $103 a barrel on Thursday before retreating back below the $100 level. Prices haven't been above $100 since 2008 and we're already feeling the effects. Average gas prices hit $3.29 on Friday. That's a two-year high. Analysts say expect another 10- to 30-cent jump. That pressured the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 to their worst weekly performance since August.
But it was a winning week for General Motors. The company posted a profit of almost $5 billion last year. It's GM's first annual profit since 2004. GM benefited from a rebound in U.S. sales, strong car sales in China and a trip through bankruptcy helped the automaker cut costs - Felicia.
FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Alison.
A big win for Boeing. The aerospace giant was awarded a $35 billion Air Force contract. Boeing will build nearly 180 aerial tankers that will allow the military to refuel aircraft in midflight. Boeing says the contract will support thousands of jobs in Washington state in Kansas.
Blockbuster put itself up for sale this past week. The bankrupt video chain already has at least one offer.
And finally, Toyota is recalling another 2 million vehicles because the gas pedals can get stuck to the floor mat. The recall was prompted by the government, which reviewed thousands of Toyota documents to determine whether or not the company's 2009 recall was sufficient.
Poppy Harlow has a look at what's coming up next week - Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Thanks so much, Felicia.
Well, the coming week is all about jobs. We'll get reports on the labor market on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with Friday's report being the most critical. That's when the government releases its February jobs report. And analysts expect to hear that the U.S. economy added about 180,000 jobs. That would be much better than the 36,000 jobs we saw added in January but it is not enough to bring down the stubbornly high unemployment rate, most likely. That's expected to edge back up to 9.1 percent.
The unemployment has been above 9 percent since 2009.
Of course, we'll track it all for you all week at CNNmoney.com.
Randi, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KAYE: Thank you.
And this next story had all of us talking this morning. Last night, in Conyers, Georgia, a baby got stuck inside a bank vault. Police rushed to this Wells Fargo branch after the grandchild of an employee was discovered missing.
Well, surveillance tape showed the toddler had actually wandered into the vault, which was later locked. When police realized the little girl only had just a few hours of breathable air, they immediately called a locksmith.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RON SNIVELY, HELPED RESCUE TODDLER: This is what I do all the time. So it's - other than a child being in there, it was a routine job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The little girl and her mom are said to be doing just fine.
Mustard gas - it is one of the cruelest chemical weapons every used. It's been banned since World War I, and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi has stockpiles of it. Now comes fear that he could actually use it on the protesters there.
We'll take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It's about half past the hour. Welcome back everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for starting your day with us.
We are watching Libya this morning and the defiant rant of leader Moammar Gadhafi calling on his supporters to celebrate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LEADER OF LIBYA (through translator): Hear youth. Take your liberty everywhere, in the streets. Dance, sing, live with dignity. Live with high morals. Moammar Gadhafi is one of you. Dance, dance, and sing and be happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Gadhafi also warned protesters that he could escalate the violence if the anti-government demonstrations don't stop. Protestors in the capital city of Tripoli were met by gunfire from security forces. The United Nations put the death toll is more than 1,000 so far.
Outside of Libya, the international community is imposing sanctions. President Obama slapped new restrictions on Libya last night. The United Nations Security Council will consider new sanctions just a couple of hours from now. Meanwhile, thousands of foreign nationals are fleeing the fighting any way possible; some are leaving by boat, some by plane while others are just streaming across into neighboring countries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP
YUSRA TEKBALI, EVACUATED FROM LIBYA: We were in our house without leaving for four days without leaving our house, because we heard gunshots outside. Machine guns, I'm pretty sure. Protestors clashing with police, stories we are hearing from friends about complete massacres of their neighborhoods.
Things like that, but I think what really, really just kind of drove us to leave was the night Gadhafi gave his speech and threatened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saif Islam, the son, or-
TEKBALI: No, no, Colonel Gadhafi, the-when he gave his speech, he threatened, in his speech, to hear him say he's coming house-to- house and door-to-door if people we don't stop-or if people wouldn't stop rising up against him. I mean, those aren't empty threats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The uncertainty and instability in Libya made us wonder about the country's stockpile of chemical weapons. CNN's Brian Todd takes a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So far, Moammar Gadhafi used security forces and mercenaries with guns to battle protesters. But he has something else in his arsenal, a wicked material he acquired when he was gathering his weapons of mass destruction.
PETER CRAIL, ARMS CONTROL ASSOCIATION: What Gadhafi has left is about 10 tons of mustard gas, which is supposed to be destroyed by this May, but it looks like that is not going to happen anytime soon.
TODD: Mustard gas, it killed and injured thousands of people in World War I and has been banned since then. It is one of the cruelest and most indiscriminate weapons ever unleashed. Experts say if just a few liters are set off near you, first your skin starts burning and bubbling. Then if you inhale it, it's a slow killer. Gadhafi agreed to destroy his chemical weapons years ago. Experts say he still has weapons grade mustard gas left. But I posed this question to Peter Crail of the Arms Control Association.
(On camera): Can he actually deliver it as a weapon and fire it in a missile or bomb to kill people?
CRAIL: No, the munitions used to deliver these types of weapons were destroyed in 2004.
TODD (voice-over): But a U.S. official tells CNN, in this chaos, there is still concern about Libya possessing mustard gas.
(On camera): All of Gadhafi's mustard gas is stored at Rabta Chemical Weapons Facility about 50 miles southwest of Tripoli. I'm joined by Jonathan Tucker. He is a chemical weapons expert who has written extensively about Libya's program.
Jonathan, how secure is this facility?
JONATHAN TUCKER, CHEMICAL WEAPONS EXPERT: Well, this was the former production facility. As you can see, it is surrounded by a fence as well as a sand berm. And presumably there are Libyan government forces that are guarding this facility. If they were to be redeployed, the facility is potentially vulnerable because there is an access road that leads directly to it.
TODD (on camera): That means terrorists or other militants could take advantage of Libya's instability and grab some mustard gas canisters right out of Rabta.
(On camera): If Gadhafi has destroyed these casings and no longer has mustard gas in a bomb form, to hit people, how can a terrorist do damage?
TUCKER: Well, a terrorist would not need an aerial bomb to deliver a chemical agent. Instead it could develop an improvised chemical device that would simply release a small amount of agent and have a terrorizing effect.
TODD (voice-over): Tucker says that means it could kill or injure people just by being set off with a small amount of explosive and released into the air. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Top stories now.
Another first for the Obama administration with the appointment of the first male and openly gay social secretary; 49-year-old Jeremy Bernard is an adviser to the U.S. ambassador for France and takes over for Juliana Smoot. Bernard is a long-time Obama supporter and was a major fundraiser for his presidential run.
With less than a week to go and no budget in place, federal agencies are making plans contingency plans and getting ready to shut down operations should lawmakers not broker a funding bill by March 4th. That is the deadline.
Insiders say there are few overtures of compromise between Democrats and Republicans. The last federal government shut down, you may remember, was in 1996 under President Bill Clinton.
Former President George W. Bush has bowed out of a scheduled appearance today at a leadership summit in Denver after learning that event organizers also invited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Bush's spokesman says the former president has no interest sharing the forum with a man who has, in his words, done great harm to the interests of the United States.
What does the Texas home of former President Bush have in common with nuclear power plants? According to the U.S. Justice Department both were intended targets of this Saudi national and college student, who authorities say had been planning violent jihad against the U.S. for years.
CNN's Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve has more on the arrest of Khalid Aldawsari.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Khalid Aldawsari's attorney says he will plead not guilty to the terror charges against him. But he didn't have that opportunity in his first court appearance Friday. The proceeding was short.
Aldawsari, in shackles, he was expressionless through it all. The judge asked him if he understood the charges. Aldawsari said yes. In a press release his attorney criticized the media for what he called biased and one-sided coverage and said it might be difficult for his client to get a fair trial in Lubbock.
Authorities were tipped off to Aldawsari when a manager and a loading dock employee at a Lubbock shipping company became suspicious about a shipment of a chemical, phenol. The company won't be specific about what it was that raised concerns, just calling the package unique, a little different. The government alleges that phenol was the only ingredient Aldawsari still needed to manufacture explosives. Among the potential targets he purportedly researched online, the home of former President George W. Bush and the homes of three Americans who had worked at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. He will remain in custody at least until March 11, when there will be a detention hearing and preliminary hearing.
Randi, back to you.
KAYE: Thank you, Jeanne.
In Rhode Island, pink slips have been sent to every single teacher in the Providence Public School System; every single one. That is almost 2,000 people. I'll tell you what's behind this decision and what teachers are saying about it this morning.
But first, Reynolds takes us on a wild ride.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Twenty-year-old NASCAR rookie Trevor Bayne is learning how to handle life in the fast lane. After his surprising win last week at the Daytona 500, in only his second spring cut start the Knoxville native hit the wall yesterday during a practice run. Bayne says he's OK to run in both today and tomorrow in NASCAR races in Phoenix.
Good for him.
Do you want to drive really fast like the NASCAR greats Trevor Bayne, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and maybe Richard Petty. Well, guess who did? Reynolds Wolf did it.
You actually got behind the wheel of one of these cars?
WOLF: It is a wonderful opportunity. I mean, if you think of it, if you happen to be a sports fan not everyone gets a chance to go play baseball in Yankees Stadium. Not everyone gets the opportunity to go Green Bay and play football. This gives you the opportunity to get behind the wheel of a NASCAR and experience what the drivers experience.
It's fun. To be honest, in my opinion, for me, it's not that pretty. Enjoy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (On camera): This is awesome. This is what it's all about.
You got the great car, we have beautiful weather, you have the track.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you getting nervous at all?
WOLF: Dude. Absolutely. It's like before a hurricane or something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's 160 miles an hour.
WOLF: It's is definitely Category 5; it's a Category 5 hurricane.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing like sitting behind the wheel of 600 horsepower and just having open road.
WOLF: I can imagine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smell of the fuel, the noise.
WOLF: Must be nice. We're going to find out, aren't we?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going to find out.
WOLF: I like it.
You would be very surprised by the things that are rattling inside of my head right now. Like, making sure I go fast enough. Making sure I can do this thing right. Making sure that my face is in the same place when this all ends. It's a great experience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right leg. Left leg. Slide all the way down in the car and push yourself back into the seat.
WOLF: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feel good in there? Let me get your five- point harness started here. The video is rolling. The camera is right there. WOLF: Gotcha.
I'm snug as a bug in a rug. I'm a bit claustrophobic. But it's probably too late to do much about that right now.
(ENGINE SOUNDS)
Nice. That was awesome guys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How was that?
WOLF: Unbelievable. Unbelievable.
You kind of forget about a lot of other things except the steering wheel and what's in front of you.
I have to feel ground. That's what I have to do. Right here. Ah. Thank you. Goodness gracious.
(KISSES THE GROUND)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(LAUGHTER)
KAYE: How fast were you going there?
WOLF: The fastest I got it up to, and it is embarrassing to say, is 115 miles per hour. Not that fast.
KAYE: I would be crawling.
WOLF: Well, on a race track you go a lot faster. That was the average speed around the track. I actually had to go in with a professional driver and go around the course and he got up to 165.
KAYE: You weren't nervous?
WOLF: I was freaked out. Are you kidding? It was the scariest thing. I've never been that terrified in my entire life. It was horrible. Horrible, but fun at the same time. It really does make you respect what these guys do. I know there are hydraulics on the wheel and that. The amount that you are sweating and the fear you feel. There's a lot of muscle that has to go into it. Which, muscle I do not have. But the professional drivers-if there is ever a question, that this is truly a sport or a skill. I'd say it's definitely a sport.
KAYE: And anyone who knows how to drive a stick, I guess, you could be able to do this?
WOLF: There, you have to have decent health. And if you can drive a stick. They do have an option where it is an automatic transmission. But you have to go stick.
KAYE: Oh, yes. WOLF: You have to, you have to do what the pros do.
KAYE: Maybe we'll take each other on.
WOLF: It's good times.
KAYE: Yes.
WOLF: Let's give it a shot.
KAYE: I'm really proud of you. I'm pretty impressed.
WOLF: I'm horrified.
KAYE: I have to say.
WOLF: Thank you.
(LAUGHTER)
KAYE: Nicely done, Reynolds.
Coming up, anger uncontrolled. Here is what one Michigan woman did when she saw her towing bill. The video quality, not that good. But listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please quit! Let's go. Knock it off!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: That is just a taste of a tirade caught by a reporter hiding in the back room. See what happened when she peeked out to see what was going on there, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CRASHING SOUNDS, BABY CRYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Quit it! Knock it off!
(BABY SCREAMING)
KAYE: Yes, she is just tearing up the place. You can hear the woman's child crying in the background. You can also hear a lot of glass breaking. She pretty much tore up the entire place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARL JONES, EMPLOYEE: Busted the window here. Ruined the boss' computer screen, smashed both of our windows. It's a transformer for a power washer. That was what she flung at me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought maybe broke a window or something. I didn't know a tornado went through here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So you may be asking yourself, how did you get such good pictures of what happened there? Well, there just happened to be a TV crew doing a story on the multicar pile-up. It was the reporter who was actually hiding in the backroom that was finally able to call 911.
The suspect, Tiffany Nillus (ph), was arraigned on several felony charges. Including assault. She could face up to five years in prison for that. During the video arraignment, she got so abusive, that deputies actually had to turn off her microphone. Her boyfriend says she had stopped taking her anti-anxiety medication shortly before the incident at the auto parts store.
The Wisconsin assembly passes that highly controversial budget bill, removing some bargaining rights for public workers. But right now that bill is going nowhere. Yes, it could be stalled possibly in the senate. We'll get an update on the big fight after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Wisconsin's Republican governor will reveal his budget plan for the next fiscal year on Tuesday. But right now, he's still trying to get this year's budget revamped to fix a huge deficit. Many Democrats opposed the budget plan because it removes most collective bargaining rights for teachers and also public workers.
Our Ted Rowlands has more.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi, the stalemate continues here in Wisconsin. Senator Democrats remain in Illinois, those 14 senators. One of them needs to come back to establish a quorum if the governor is going to get this bill through the senate. The bill, of course, did get through the assembly Friday morning, in the wee hours at 1:00 a.m.
It was done in dramatic fashion. Republicans basically waited until there was a lull in the debate and held a quick vote. In just a few seconds they declared a vote. Democrats were caught off guard, in fact, 28 of the Democrats didn't even get to vote. You saw that dramatic video of the Democrats outraged on the floor, yelling at the Republican lawmakers as they left. But of course, without the senate, this bill is going nowhere. Both sides are entrenched. Both sides say they are not going to budge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. SCOTT WALKER (R), WISCONSIN: If what they said they wanted was more time to understand what was in the bill. They have it. The details are out there, the facts are on the table and the facts are clear. We need to make a commitment to the future.
PETER BARCA (D), MIN. LEADER, WISCONSIN ASSEMBLY: The fact he will not move one inch is so telling and so, you know, unfortunate, I believe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: And, Randi, of course, two basic scenarios here to break this impasse. One is if one or more of these Democrats come back, then of course, the bill can move through the senate. The other possibility is if three Republicans come over to the Democratic side.
And Democrats say there are Republicans on the fence. They are trying to convince them to break away from the governor. At this point, though, it doesn't look likely, at least in the next few days, Randi.
KAYE: Ted Rowlands for us in Madison.
It's not just Wisconsin with budget struggles. New Jersey faces a similar fight over collective bargaining and worker's benefits. Thousands of union workers rallied in Trenton yesterday in support of the Wisconsin protests.
Ohio Republican lawmakers say they will amend their collective bargain measure. It would allow public workers to allow to negotiate salaries, but not benefits such as health care.
In Florida, in Miami, a big union meeting yesterday; organizers called it a rally for jobs, fair unemployment insurance, and a good budget for the state.
In Providence, Rhode Island, the city of pink slips. Every single teacher in the system there will be getting one. The city, like so many others, is struggling with budget issues and must cut a $40 million deficit in the school district by next year. This was their radical way of dealing with it. It affects about 2,000 teachers and staff. You can imagine how it's going over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE KROUS, TEACHER: I am heartbroken. I can't tell you how much this hurts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel numb. I almost feel like I need to mourn the death of innocence. It's just surreal. There's no justifying this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So here is how it's going to work. The city does plan to rehire some of the teachers. But how many is unknown. Because the teachers are being terminated instead of laid off, the city is not actually not obligated to rehire by seniority.
Coming up, a California man spent almost two decades in prison for a crime he did not commit. Now that he's free, it's like living in a whole new world. We'll find out how he's coping when we go "Cross Country". (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Let's go "Cross Country" for stories CNN affiliates are covering.
A driver in Massachusetts creates her own drive thru lane at this coffee shop. She says she had just put the brakes on when the van suddenly accelerated. Police call it an accident and she will not be charged.
A Naples, Florida woman is charged with battery after allegedly attacked her roommate over a box of Girl Scout cookies. The roommate says that the woman began hitting her after accusing her of eating her thin mints. The roommates says she didn't eat them, she gave them to the woman's children.
And a California man feeling fresh air and freedom for the first time in 18 years. Karamed Connelly (ph) was wrongly convicted of a double murder. He was ordered released at the end of January. Connelly calls life on the outside a challenge. He says he's learning to send text messages and use the Internet from his five-year-old niece.
Check out this dash cam video from the Fort Myers Police Department, in Florida. Kind of hard to tell, but this officer is helping several ducklings that were a bit reluctant to cross the road. You can't blame him. Oh, look at him taking the time to do that.
The officer said when he saw the baby ducks, he thought of his daughter. He actually said that he could hear his daughter saying, get out, and save those ducks. And as you can see from those pictures that is exactly what he did.
(MUSIC)
