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CNN Saturday Morning News
Kofi Annan Trying to Intervene in Syria; American Airlines Flight Attendant Threatens Passengers; CNN Hero Helps in Tornado Clean-Up; Kansas Holds Caucuses Today; Guam Pledges All Delegates to Romney; Mercury Found in Facial Creams; Giant Airbags in Preparation for Earthquakes
Aired March 10, 2012 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN HOST: From CNN Center, this is weekend early start.
This is 6:00 a.m. in the East, 3:00 a.m. in the West.
Good morning everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Here's what's happening right now.
As rockets pound the city of Syria, high level diplomatic mission is under way to try to halt the bloodshed.
Also --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said I'm not responsible for this plane crashing. That's when everybody started freaking out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: A flight attendant threatens with crash on an American airline's flight. We will take to a passenger who shot this video.
And check out this video showing a tornado strike in Kentucky. Look at that roof. It's blowing right off. It was part of the killer storms that hit the nation last weekend leaving a huge path of destruction.
Former U.N. Secretary Kofi Annan is trying to stop the slaughter in Syria and prevent unrest there from becoming a full-blown civil war. He's been meeting Syrian president, Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus. Annan is expected to urge Al-Assad to halt government shelling and attacks that killed thousands of people. He's also expected to press the president to step down.
The meeting comes as Syrian opposition activists say 12 people were killed in Syria today. Thousands of antigovernment demonstrators have taken into the streets in Moscow. It's the first major protests rally since Russian president led Vladimir Putin's victory Sunday.
The opposition is trying to keep up their momentum despite his victory and the arrest of hundreds of protesters.
Washington meanwhile is pushing the reset button on relations with Moscow. President Obama telephoned Putin yesterday to congratulate him on his election victory. White House says the two leaders discussed how the U.S. and Russia can cooperate on trade and invest in relations. They also touched on sensitive issues including Syria and missile defense.
The last group of parolees pardoned by Hailey Barbour could leave prison as soon as today. Today, the Supreme Court had upheld Barbour's controversial pardons of more than 200 convicts. It rejected a challenge by Mississippi's general.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM HOOD, MISSISSIPPI ATTORNEY GENERAL: I feel for them having had a first cousin murdered in 1976, and gone to a trial and understanding how they can steal, you know. I think they have been victimized twice. And the criminal justice system has let them down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Actor Michael Madison is in trouble with the law. The Los Angeles county sheriff department says the star of the movie "Kill Bill" was arrested yesterday after he gone into a scuffle with his teenage son. Police they mess with faces of charge of child cruelty. He's being held on $100,000 bail.
The next battleground in the Republican race for the White House, Kansas. Forty delegates are at stake as the state holds their caucuses today.
CNN Political editor, Paul Steinhauser is in Kansas with more - Paul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, Randi.
Caucuses in Kansas kick off lat later this morning. At stake, 40 delegates. The caucuses are closed which means only registered Republicans can take part of the GOP presidential contest.
Rick Santorum made two swings through Kansas over the past three days. He could do well with the state's conservative Republican voters. Ron Paul is there today. The second straight day he's campaigned in Kansas. And neither Romney nor Newt Gingrich stumped in the state. Instead, they are spending all their time in Alabama and Mississippi which hold primaries on Tuesday. Romney is trying to appeal to southern voters.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I guess sort it right this morning with the biscuits and some cheesy grits. I will tell you, delicious.
STEINHAUSER: But he's also lowering expectations.
ROMNEY: I realized that it's a bit of a lay game but I also think we are going to pick up some support in the states that remain this month. STEINHAUSER: Santorum is hoping wins in both states could knock Gingrich out of the race.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you go out and deliver a conservative victory for us on Tuesday, this race will become a two- person race.
STEINHAUSER: Gingrich doesn't sound like a man about to give up.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe I will become the nominee with your help.
STEINHAUSER: But doing well in Alabama and Mississippi is crucial for Gingrich - Randi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Thank you, Paul.
Mitt Romney can use a few more delegates to his victory count. If you are going to add them now, he has won the support of all nine Republican delegates in Guam. That brings his current count, 438 compared that to 170 for Rick Santorum, 118 for Newt Gingrich and 67 for Ron Paul.
What would you do if your flight attendant told you your plane was going to crash? That's what happened yesterday. On an American airline's flight from Dallas to Chicago, passenger said the woman got on the intercom and started screaming about the airline's bankruptcy saying she wouldn't be responsible if the plane crashed and even referred to the 9/11 attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said I'm not responsible for this plane crashing. And that's when everyone started freaking out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Can you imagine that? Passengers and cabin crew restrain the flight attendant who is now being treated at a local hospital.
Joining me on the phone from Grand Rabbit, Michigan, the woman who actually take that video. She caught it all on tape for us.
Laurie Grabe, thank you so much for joining us by phone this morning. I know it's early for you.
Tell us, what was it like? Was there any indication that this woman, this flight attendant was troubled even when you first boarded the airplane?
LAURIE GRABE, PASSENGER (via telephone): No. I didn't really notice when I boarded the airplane.
KAYE: Tell us about that moment when she got on the intercom system and what was the reaction from the passengers?
GRABE: At first, it seemed that she was confused and mistakenly turned on the p.a. and just made some comments, then shut it off. And then came back on a couple times. And then, the last time, she stated she was not going to be responsible if the plane crashed. Then everybody is kind of perked up like no, what's going on here. Meanwhile, the plane was taxing down the runway.
KAYE: How concerned were you?
GRABE: I was very concerned. All that was going through my mind was, please do not let this plane get in the air.
KAYE: So then, other flight attendants and passengers helped restrain her. Could you see that as it was going on?
GRABE: Yes, I was just behind first class as you can see from the video. I think the flight attendants were little confused. Don't know to do obviously even they know this woman and who are probably very upset about what was going on.
KAYE: What do we not see on the video? Is there anything else that was taking place on board?
GRABE: Not really other than the, you know, all the passengers were quite confused as to what was going on and obviously concerned about getting in the air unless this thing stop. We didn't hear from the captain, which I don't think they can hear what's going on in the back. But we had no assurance that, you know, things were going to be OK, and not until the police came, you know, and escorted us back.
KAYE: And so, what did the pilot say after that or what are the other flight attendants say to you and all the passengers?
GRABE: I did speak to a flight attendance as she went by and escort to bring on. And she looked careful and said she didn't know and was trying to, you know, went back up and re-framed to talk to the woman and even came back again and the next time, somebody went up there and they started an altercation with her and the other two passengers came up and helped restrain her.
KAYE: Wow. It's amazing. And certainly not what you want to see happening with your flight attendance.
Laurie Grabe, thank you so much. Appreciate you waking up with us.
And hopefully, you are waking up refreshed this morning because you are about to lose an hour of sleep tomorrow. Yes, it's nearly time to roll the clocks forward for daylight savings time.
Meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf is joining me now -- Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Somehow, this seems diabolically wrong, doesn't it?
KAYE: I agree. Certainly in this gig. WOLF: Yes, I know. And it's for everyone else. For those who have to get up early in the morning and get out to work Saturday or Sunday morning, it can be kind of tough. But of course, we wouldn't know anything about that, would we?
It is going to be something to remember tonight. Spring forward, not come back. It is daylight saving is daylight saving where all state will observed this with the exception of one that being our friends in Arizona nestled right in the four corners.
Again, spring forward day light saving time begins at 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Just move your clock forward before you go to sleep. You don't need to set alarm for 2:00 a.m. to push forward manually. No need that what so ever. That is the latest. We have so much more coming up, including your forecast. It's only moments away - Randi.
KAYE: All right. Thank you very much. Reynolds, see you in just a little bit.
And here is a rundown of what's ahead. Uganda warlord, Joseph Kony, is quickly becoming a household name after a recent video went viral. Now, the focus is on the U.S. troops sent to Uganda in October to help regional forces combat on his army.
Plus, if you are paying too much for gasoline, well, we are going to show you a new way to hitch a ride to work.
And Julian Moore stars as Sarah Palin tonight in HBO's "game change." What did the actress say about the politician? We will have that coming up.
And later, where's the beef? Hopefully in your burger, you may be surprised though, it could be just some pink slime. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. It is a viral video that racked up more than 70 million views.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are going make Joseph Kony a household name. Not to celebrate him, but bring his crimes to the light.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The star of the documentary is Uganda's warlord, Joseph Kony. And the film's producers hope to spark global awareness about him and bringing in to the 26 years of brutality. Kony is wanted for crimes against humanity by the international criminal board.
And last fall, President Obama deployed 100 armed military advisers to the central nation. Their mission is to help local forces in their fight against Kony. In the letter to Congress, the president said, the decision was in the interest of national security and foreign policy writing that, "Our forces will provide information, advice and assistance to select partner nation forces. Elements of these U.S. forces will deploy into Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The support provided by U.S. forces will enhance regional efforts against the R.L.A."
And the renewed focus on Kony is now raising questions about future U.S. involvement.
Just ahead, this bus isn't a ride to school. It's a getaway vehicle. Coming up next, we will tell you what happens when police chase it down in New Mexico.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Good morning. Washington, D.C. Wow. Isn't that a lovely picture of the Capitol there? The sun, just peeking through back there very, very nice. We are glad you are watching. Glad, you are with us this morning.
Let's take a look now at a few stories making news across the country. We start in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
It's not every day you see a low speed bus chase barreling down the interstate. Police say they are not sure why the 28-year-old suspect decided to take a school bus for a joyride.
But, it wasn't his first bust. It was the second. The suspect allegedly stole another bus that was found in the ditch near the original lot. The driver eventually ran over several spike strips before the tires blew out. But police had to shoot the suspect to bring him down. He's expected to live.
A 5-year-old girl in Houston, Texas probably won't forget this birthday. A Chuck E. Cheese's worker called police Thursday night about an abandoned child left in the restaurant. The girl's mother did reported her missing, but not until the next morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF MINK, BRAZORIA COUNTY TEXAS SHERIFF'S OFFICE: The mother called 911 when she realized the child was missing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Police say the mother of ten was upset. Meanwhile, the child is placed in custody of child protection services.
Spotted in San Diego, former president Jimmy Carter and his wife cruising down the Coronado board walk on a couple three-wheeled scooters called a Trikke. They even invited the president of the California-based company to join them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN SIMPSON, TRIKKE PRESIDENT: When the president asks you to go for a ride, don't you say yes? (END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The Carter's are in town raising money for the Carter's center, a non-profit organization that fight health care problems.
We have new video to show you this morning from West Liberty, Kentucky. It captures the impact from last weekend's deadly tornado. These images taken from several surveillance cameras in the area captured EF-3 tornado. You can see it there ripping through this town, transforming West Liberty into what the governor of Kentucky call the quote, "war zone."
Tornado packed winds of 140 miles per hour. At least 21 people were killed in Kentucky alone.
Amid all the devastation in the town of West Liberty, a CNN hero was hard at work offering help to strangers.
CNN's Rob Marciano talks to Tad Agoglia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: As severe storms toward through the Midwest and southwest last weekend taking 40 lives, emergency recovery teams scramble to respond to devastated communities across ten states.
Among the relief workers heading into the destruction zone was CNN Hero, Tad Agoglia and his First Response Team of America.
TAD AGOGLIA, FOUNDER, FIRST RESPONSE TEAM OF AMERICA: Let's get this debris cleared enough to get the claw in here. We got here at just few hours after the tornado destruct this community. We cleared the road. We provided the light towers, we powered up the grocery store, we powered up the gas station to provide the essentials that this community needs.
MARCIANO: Since 2007, Agoglia's team has crisscrossed the country providing recovery assistance to thousands of people at 40,000 disaster sites for free.
This week, they worked tirelessly for days restoring services and clearing tons of debris.
AGOGLIA: See if you can grab the claw, actually cut the roof in half. It's hard with traditional equipment without the claw to grab the debris. That's why you need specialty equipment like this.
MARCIANO: Where do you put it?
AGOGLIA: We remove it from the community. But time is of the essence. There are a lot of people that want to get back in here. They are looking for anything they can salvage.
MARCIANO: Why did you do this, choose this road?
AGOGLIA: When I watch the super cells go over these communities, I want to be there to help.
MARCIANO: I will let you guys to work. You do good stuff.
AGOGLIA: Thank you.
MARCIANO: Thanks, Tad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And you can nominate a CNN hero. Go to CNNheroes.com to nominate someone that you think is making a difference in your community.
So, let me ask you this. Would you wake up every morning and get into a car with a complete stranger for a free ride to work? Well, you might be surprised by just how many people actually do that. Much more on that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Gas prices are on their way back up. Not a big surprise after hikes for nearly 40 straight days. Gas prices went up two cents overnight. The national average for regular gas is now $3.78. This time last year, we were paying 24 cents less. The average price was $3.54 a gallon.
So, do you need a ride to work? Do you enjoy the company of strangers? Well then, you could be a slug. In northern Virginia, long lines of people looking for a cost effective ride into the capital line up every morning. It's called slugging your way to work.
Sandra Endo gave it a try.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA ENDO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long lines to hop in a car with strangers. With gas prices --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Outrageous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disappointing.
ENDO: More people are resorting to blind car pooling called slugging. A way commuter from northern Virginia going to Washington catch a free ride with drivers looking to beat the rush. These are slugs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are all slugs waiting to hop in cars.
ENDO: It started more than 30 years ago. But David Leblanc's Web site helped organize this pseudo secret society listing where passengers can line up for a ride.
For the drivers, especially with gas prices so high. It's not really benefiting them or saving them any money to pick up slugs, right? DAVID LEBLANC, EDUCATOR, SLUG-LINES.COM: Correct. It's not saving them any money, but it is saving them a lot of time. It would like it probably saves me at least 20 to 30 minutes each way on the commute.
ENDO: That's because Virginia law requires drivers to have at least three people in the vehicle to use car pool lanes to breeze by the stop and go traffic.
LEBLANC: We have added more and more slug lines as prices increase. Those that never considered slugging, now look at it as an option.
ENDO: Leblanc easily picks up a passenger hitching the ride from Virginia to the Pentagon. Why did you decide to slug? How does it help you?
LEE DELL POWELL, SLUG: It's inexpensive. It gets me where I need to go. And gas is really expensive now days.
ENDO: So, otherwise, what options do you have to go to work?
POWELL: I will have to drive. I would have to catch a cab or commuter bus.
ENDO: So, how much would that cost?
POWELL: With gas nowadays, anywhere between $50 and $70 to fill up my tank. And with the computer bus, $7 which we could saving for a day.
ENDO: These non-descript slug lines form for the evening commuters heading back to northern Virginia from D.C. And the practice of catching on in other congested city, like in Dallas and San Francisco A commuting partnership to save time and money. This is a free ride.
POWELL: I know. Can't beat it.
ENDO: Sandra Endo CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: So, I want to know what do you think about this, about this whole idea of slugging with the rising gas prices and sluggish economy. What extreme measures are you taking to save money? I can't wait to read your ideas, all of you suggestions. May be I might try some of them myself.
Tweet me @randikayecnn or you can shoot me a message @facebook.com/randikayecnn. And of course, I will read some of your thoughts, some of your ideas throughout the show.
Coming up, Sarah Palin is back in the headlines as the focus of the movie, game change.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: If I lived this, and from what, from everything I have read and heard, it doesn't resemble what took place. So, -- and go to Disneyland for fiction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Trying to separate fact from fiction, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. It is about 27 minutes past the hour. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for starting your day with us.
Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has a message for Syria's hard line president, Bashar Al-Assad, stop the shelling that's killing thousands of your own people and allow access to humanitarian aid immediately.
Annan has been meeting with Al-Assad in Damascus this morning. And CNN's Nic Robertson is watching it all for us from Beirut, Lebanon. He joins us now.
So, Nic, Syrian state television is calling this meeting, positive.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are. They are trying to put the best face on it, if you will.
I think this is the most senior international diplomat to come to Damascus so far and to put direct pressure and the statements about what Kofi Annan is telling President Assad had been made very, very public in advance to that meeting that is calling on Assad for an immediate cease-fire then to engage in a political dialogue and to allow access for humanitarian.
They seem, to the Syrian government, which is trying to sort a put the best spin on it possible that they have put on direction national pressure for the first time really face-to-face. The reality is however, that they - Bashar Al Assad still has his tanks adding forcing many citizens of the country shelling overnight in Homs. Tanks on the streets in (INAUDIBLE) north of the country, more than 12 people killed so far today alone, according to activists -- Randi.
KAYE: And how likely is it, really, given that the Syrian regime will end this crackdown, how likely it's when Assad would even step down after this meeting?
ROBERTSON: You know, the assessment seems to be and certainly when you stand back and look at what Assad is doing, he's not giving any indication that he is in any way about to back down. By his own assessment, Baba Amr and the crackdown on the activists in Homs was a success for him. And he's really trying to replicate that in other parts of the country.
People continue to be killed. Civilians around the country continue to be killed. So, he doesn't seem to be backing down or getting ready to back down in any way. More, just trying to move ahead and put down more elements of the uprising around the country -- Randi.
KAYE: Nic Robertson, appreciate the update, thank you very much.
And CNN's Arwa Damon and her team were inside the besiege Syrian city of Homs. It is one of the most dangerous places in Syria right now. You can join us tomorrow night as Arwa gives us an eye-opening account. The CNN special, "72 UNDER FIRE" here. That's tomorrow night here on CNN at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Here is a check of other top stories we are following this morning. At least 12 Palestinians are dead, 16 others injured after a series of Israeli strikes overnight. Israeli authority says the air strikes targeted suspected militants across Gaza. Among those reportedly killed, Hamas military leader. Israeli police say the air strikes were a response to attach on southern Israeli communities.
In Washington state officers are hunting for a man who shot a deputy, stole her gun and stabbed a judge in a courthouse. Police say the suspect is Michael Thomas. The judge was set talked with our affiliate, KOMO.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE DAVE EDWARDS, STABBED IN THE NECK BY SUSPECT: When I went to assist the deputy, she had a weapon that was hid, and a knife or something. And he was stabbing at her.
He got away (INAUDIBLE). It went pop, pop and turned and looked at me and went out the front door.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The judge will be OK. Police still do not have a clear motive for the attacks.
Republicans in Guam pledged all of their nine delegates to Mitt Romney during their annual convention earlier today. Republicans are also voting today in Kansas where Rick Santorum is favored. The next set of primaries is Tuesday when voters in Alabama, Mississippi and Hawaii go to the polls.
The U.S. job market continues to show signs of strength. 227,000 jobs were created in February. The third straight month of gains above the 200,000 mark. The overall unemployment rate held steady at 8.3 percent. Economist called the latest figures quote, "encouraging."
In his weekly address, President Obama is touting growth in the private sector.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: New jobs over the last two years. More companies are choosing to bring jobs back and invest in America. Manufacturing is adding jobs for the first time since the 1990s and we're building more things to sell to the rest of the world stamped with three proud words, made in America. It's not just that we are building stuff, we are building better stuff. The engine parts manufactured here in Petersburg will go in to the next generation plane that are lighter, faster and more fuel efficient.
That last part is important because whether you are paying for a plane ticket or filling up your gas tank, technology that helps us get more miles to the gallon is one of the easiest ways to save money and reduce our independence on foreign oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Some Republicans are countering saying it will take more than jobs to turn the U.S. economy around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JACK DALRYMPLE (R), NORTH DAKOTA: As a nation, what progress has been made to balance our annual budget deficit? Have any real spending reductions been proposed by the democratic majority in the Senate? Has President Obama made any real attempts to reduce spending? All we see are budgeting games. The American people are growing tired of the constant pleas for tax increases from this administration long before any real proposals appear for spending reductions.
(END VIDEO CLIP
KAYE: More than eight million jobs were lost during the recession. Labor department say less than half of those have been recovered so far.
Tonight, political junkies and may be those who are just curious will be tuning in to see "game change," the movie that takes an up close look at the 2008 election and how a little known governor from Alaska made her way on the Republican ticket and the national stage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIANNE MOORE, "SARAH PALIN": You can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My God, what have we done?
MOORE: It wasn't my fault, I wasn't properly prepped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Julianne Moore, who plays Sarah Palin, says the movie gave her new perspective on the U.S. political process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOORE: It really is about our system, the way we choose our candidates or our leaders, actually. I think this campaign is notorious for being a difficult one and one that was disorganized. I think anyone will tell you that was involved in the campaign. That's me was a real surprised. It's almost like working on a movie where you have no budget and 30 days to shoot it, you know. I think that drama shoot to them every single day. They weren't always prepared for what happened. It was an eye-opener for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP
KAYE: But not everyone is thrilled of Hollywood's portrayal of the campaign. In an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan, Cindy McCain, wife of Palin's running mate and former Republican presidential nominee, senator John McCain had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY MCCAIN, SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE: Sarah Palin is a remarkable individual. And whether you agree or disagree with Sarah, she served our country loyally. She's been good soul work for many, many years. And I think any depiction of any woman particularly that is unfair in that way. It's wrong. It's wrong. I lived this. And from what -- from everything I have read and heard, it doesn't resemble what took place so, I go to Disneyland for fiction.
(END VIDEO CLIP
KAYE: For her part, Palin says she is not going to watch the film, called the movie quote "false narrative." But despite the roller coaster of 2008, the former governor isn't ruling out a future run for the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sarah Palin for president 2016, is it possible?
SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Anything in this life, in this world is possible. Anything is possible for an American. And, you know, I don't discount any idea or a plan that at this point isn't in my control. Anything is possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Yes, anything is possible. And we will talk more about the political phenomenon inspired by Sarah Palin just a little bit later on in the show.
A controversial bill that requires an abstinence only allows to sex education has clear the Utah (INAUDIBLE) now heads to the governor for consideration. Current law allows teachers to give instruction on contraceptives and other topics. But parents must give permission for their children to take the classes.
Critics of the new bill say it could deprive students of information that could reduce teen pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections. The representative for the governor would not say if he plans on signing the bill.
All right. So, when I say Hawaii you probably think sunshine, maybe a walk on the beach. Not this. Details of the hail and damage hitting Hawaii. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Coming up on just about 6:40 on the east coast. Let's get you caught up on news that may have been on your radar.
Remember Joe the Plumber?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"JOE THE PLUMBER": I'm getting ready to buy a company. Your tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: That's him grilling then candidate Barack Obama in 2008 about his tax plan. Now, the man whose real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher has won the Republican primary for Ohio's ninth Congressional district.
So, Joe the Plumber could become Joe the representative. But first, he must face-off against Democratic representative, Marcy Kaptur, in November.
Wells Fargo is doing away with free checking program in six more states. The banking giant announced plans to expand the $7 checking fees to customers in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Georgia.
You can avoid the fee by having a direct deposit of at least $500 a month or keeping a $1500 minimum daily balance. Changes take effect May 4th.
The New Orleans Saints now admit to paying bonuses to its players for hard hit against the opposing team. An NFL investigation revealed players were paid $1500 under then-Defensive Coach Greg Williams for knocking an opponent out of the game and $1,000 if they had to be carried out on a cart.
The same head coach, Sean Payton, and general manager, Mickey Loomis, say they take, quote, "Full responsibility for what happened under their watch."
NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell is still deciding how to discipline the team.
And Reynolds Wolf is keeping an eye on the weekend weather for all of us. He's in the weather center. So, Reynolds I understand, you have some pretty amazing video of northern lights, tornadoes, you got it all.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We will get the gull game before you. Let's get started.
First and foremost with the northern whites, let's go right to a very quickly at the ling of video. And I don't have a lot of time to share with you. The video we have on the right is actually taken up in St. Cloud, Minnesota. You know, we have the solar storms. And when you have the solar flares and their interaction with the magnetic field and parts that the glove obviously, the result can be beautiful. Same as you see right here. The ore burials (ph). Beautiful sight there and should be able to see them in the northern plains, I would say for and possibly the gulf into the great lakes for possibly the next couple of days before it began to dissipates.
The next story not quite as pretty but some scary to watch. This from western Kentucky video. This is a family's home security video. You can see here damages, the winds came through from the tornadoes just a week or so ago sheering the rooftops off structures. Thankfully the family who lived in this building happened to get into the basement. So, they were fine. But still, it's a terrifying thing to be hold, to say the very least.
Now, tornadoes, as you know, can occur anywhere on the planet, including Hawaii. Take a look at this video that we have away from Hawaii that shows a combination of an alloys and tornadoes damage and even some large hail that was picked up in the area, just amazing to see. The storm came through, caused damage. And thankfully no fatalities in that situation.
Let's go back to the weather computer and show the best chance of severe weather today that will occur in parts of Texas especially Dallas southward on I-35. F you are heading out to the south by southwest, you are going to be dealing with the scattered showers, maybe a boom of thunder. And in parts of the northeast, looks like you might see some scattered snow showers in places like Boston, back in upstate New York going 81 and even to 90 through the midday and afternoon hours.
Now, although, we are going to see the precipitation in the extreme northeast for the Ohio valley and back in the plains, it's going to be beautiful. Southern plains you run into the issue with the chances of heavy rain may be even same snow in the southern and the rocky mountains and then back up to the west. Plenty of sunshine in the four corners in the Pacific northwest. Rain is going to be a tremendous issue that may last through a good part of the day.
Again, where were expecting the area of low pressure marks the northeast. It's dusty over the next several days from Saturday, best moving in to afternoon and it's the evening moving a bit up to the north. Rain is going to be around for a good part of the weekend for the central plains.
That's a wrap on your forecast. Let's go back to you -- Randi.
KAYE: All right, Reynolds. Thank you very much. See you in a bit.
Some days are marked in our memories like March 11, 2011; the day a deadly earthquake shook Japan unleashing a triple disaster no one could have imagined of the country's doing one year later, next.
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KAYE: This time last year, a deadly earthquake and tsunami were less than 24 hours away from hitting the shores of Japan killing 16,000 people. Tomorrow, March 11th, marks the one-year anniversary. This is one of the many powerful images.
The magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered this massive tsunami. Entire communities were in gulps and swept away in just minutes. What we know now is the earthquake would unleash not only the tsunami but also the world's worst nuclear meltdown since the show noble disaster.
An author, dressed up as a contractor, was able to sneak in to the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. And he says the dangers are still very real.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Stop lying, he says.
What is this lie you are talking about.
There's no way you won't be radioactively contaminated if you work at the nuclear plant, Suzuki says.
(END VIDEO CLIP
KAYE: The total damage from the disaster has an estimated at about $300 billion.
Nadia Bilchik is joining me now with this morning's password one solution apparently for saving lives in a disaster like this could be what, in giant airbag? Isn't safe?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: A company known as the air company came up with the most incredible technique of a giant airbags in the foundation of a home. And I want to explain to you exactly how it works. It's a kind of four-step process.
So first, what will happen is there will be a sensor in the foundation of the building. And the sensor will actually be activated by the earthquake. The second step will be that the sensor activates a large air compressor that forces air into the home's foundation like a large air bag or balloon. Step three, the home will then levitate. Randi, it will be three centimeters up. So, what will happen is, the actual home won't be in touch with the earthquake on the ground.
KAYE: Like a cushion.
BILCHIK: Like a cushion, exactly. And step four, the person in the home lets out the valve and the home will stabilize.
KAYE: So, how many homes can --?
BILCHIK: Right now, it's in 88 homes. But, they are looking to put it eventually into larger buildings.
KAYE: So, buildings and offices, maybe?
BILCHIK: Buildings and offices, yes. KAYE: You mean a lot of giant airbags.
BILCHIK: Isn't it fascinating out of a devastation or crisis can come such innovation. The problem about innovation I have to take you to China.
KAYE: Yes. I want to hear about this. This is a hotel that was built in just a matter of days, really a month or so.
BILCHIK: Exactly. 30 stories in 30 days which, as you said, is about 360 hours. And incredibly, it is a five-star hotel.
KAYE: Look at this time lapse. Great.
BILCHIK: The video you are watching went viral in the U.S. because it was so extraordinary that a building could take place and manage to be built so quickly. The reason is that 93 percent of the components were actually premade.
KAYE: So they were -- they got a jump on it, I guess.
BILCHIK: They did. It's got a swimming pool. It's got a gym. It even had a helicopter pad.
KAYE: That's amazing. Those are great features. But, how much did it cost? I mean, obviously, they didn't have much overtime because these guys got it done very quickly.
BILCHIK: Well, never mind made in China cheaper, it's made in China faster. But it's around $17 million. So, relatively inexpensive.
KAYE: Sure.
BILCHIK: And we are not looking at a huge hotel. It's not the size of a Las Vegas hotel. It's more like a best western or days in, in terms of actual width. The 30 stories, 30 days from a company know as broad sustainable building. And it's a company that's been very innovative and apparently earthquake resistant and eco-friendly.
KAYE: Good stuff, Nadia. That's really interesting.
BILCHIK: Another reason to go to China, Randi.
KAYE: All right. When do we go? You get the tickets, I'll pack.
All right. Well, it's called pink slime. A gooey may serve beef scraps, connective tissue and ammonia hydroxide. And it may be in the burgers that you are eating. We'll talk about all of this with the doctor, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: According to the daily.com, the U.S. department of agriculture has signed a deal to buy seven million pounds of this stuff for school lunch programs. Take a look. It's sort of like pink slime. Yes, just like in the documentary movie "food inc." It's a ground up blend of beef scraps, connective tissue and well, mother trimmings treated with ammonium hydroxide to kill germs. The substance is pretty gross. And stories about it had been oozing into the news.
I'm joined now by Dr. Sujatha Reddy to talk more about this.
All right. So, just to be clear here, both the food and drug administration and the food safety and inspection service say ammonium hydroxide is quote, "generally recognized as safe." They say generally recognized. That doesn't sound very convincing to me.
DR. SUJATHA REDDY, PREMIER CARE FOR WOMEN: Well, actually, it should be because this is -- to be in that category requires a lot of scientific research, numerous expert opinions. And there are several chemicals in that category. And often that the pink slime is actually treated with ammonia gas so it's not necessarily a whole large quantity. But that generally accepted as safe. It's actually a really good recommendation.
KAYE: But, isn't ammonium hydroxide a compound used to make homemade bombs?
REDDY: Yes, it's the fertilizer in the Oklahoma city bomb, if you heard of it. But also, ammonia, the natural occurring compound and ammonia hydroxide is actually in a lot of different things. So, you know, and of itself, I don't think it's anything specifically we should worry about.
KAYE: What about labeling though? Because right now, the USDA doesn't require that there is any labeling on the product to tell us what's in it or if this stuff is in it? So, what do you think about that?
REDDY: Yes. You are not going to know if it's in it. The only way you can avoid getting your beef to have any of this filler or by product if you want to call it, is to probably go and buy a piece of steak and have that ground. But odds are, any ground meat product has this pink slime, you know, or processed beef in it.
And, you know, one thing the ammonia is put in there to kill bacteria because often, this intestine and things like that in a cow.
KAYE: So, would you eat it?
REDDY: Well, for disclosure, I'm vegetarian and have been for years. But prior to that, I'm sure I did eat it, prior to becoming a vegetarian. You really don't know if you are eating this.
KAYE: Yes. that's the issue. All right.
So, from strange stuff in meat to some dangerous stuff actually some skin products. The FDA warning people to stop using certain skin creams after the product were found to be contaminated with mercury. The creams are made overseas. They apparently sold in the U.S. as skin lighteners and anti-ageing creams that have been found in Latino, black, Asian and Middle Eastern neighborhoods as well as online. And seven states have reported cases that elevated mercury in these skincare products. That's Texas, California, Virginia, Maryland, Minnesota, Illinois and New York. Have you heard of this happening?
REDDY: There are several reports of it. And I have heard of it. And you know one thing is these products are not made in the U.S. so people have to be vigilant with what they are using on their skin. They are often brought from abroad or bought this in neighborhood stores from, you know, foreign countries. And just really be careful and reading the label is going to be helpful. A mercury can be inhaled. It can come through your skin as a lotion. So, you could be getting serious levels of mercury through a face cream.
KAYE: What can mercury do you? You know, we always hear about how mercury in your cavity, in your fillings. What kind of effect does it have on your body?
REDDY: Mercury actually has broad reaching affects on the body. It can affect the nervous system, brain development. It can affect the kidneys and even GI or stomach or digestive tracks. So, really can have serious and chronic and permanent damage to your body.
KAYE: What are -- are there certain signs that you know that maybe you might know that you have been poisoned by mercury?
REDDY: Yes. I think if you have skin products, read the labels. Be careful. If it doesn't have ingredients listed, don't use it. If it doesn't have labels in English, as well as a foreign language, don't use it.
But signs of mercury poisons are going to be really things like memory problems, tremors, shaking, problems with vision. You can also get sometimes like, you know, diarrhea, problems with your stomach. Anything like that, I would definitely stop using the cream, package it up, put it away, and see a health care provider.
KAYE: What can you do? I mean, if you do have a mercury poisoning? Go to your doctor, but what can they do for you?
REDDY: Depending on the level. There are treatments to get rid of it of some of the excess mercury. But some of the damage can be permanent.
KAYE: Dr. Reddy, appreciate that. Hopefully we'll have another interesting topic for you next week as well. Thank you.
REDDY: Thank you.
KAYE: Coming up, growing trend to track what you buy online and it could mean paying more for those things you like most. We are going to show you how to avoid it.
Plus, --
DOCTOR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta. And this morning, we are going to look at how to keep your memory sharp and possibly even hold up Alzheimer disease. As I've learned, there are simple things you can do that are proven to work. And I'll share them with you. That and more at the bottom of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Gas prices are on their way back up. Not a big surprise after hikes for nearly 40 straight days. Gas prices went up two cents overnight. The national average is now $3.78. This time last year, we were paying 24 cents less. The average price was $3.54 a gallon.
We have been asking for your thoughts on extreme measures that you are taking to save money with rising gas prices and bad economy. So, with the rising gas prices and a bad economy, what extreme measures are you taking to save money?
Tweet me @randikayeCNN. I will read some of your thoughts later on in the show.
