Transcripts For CNN American Morning 20110407

dear president obama, stop this unjust war. moammar gadhafi appeals directly to the president for an end to the military campaign in a rambling three-page letter. the white house is not impressed. flames heading toward homes. fire crews put to the test in the country's midsection on this "american morning." welcome. thanks so much for being with us on this thursday, april 7th. a lot to get to this morning on "american morning." a lot of fears that congress will not reach a deal in time to stop a shutdown. >> they've got things to worry about outside of this country. but all eyes are on washington and the budget. >> and a lot of outrage that they'll still be paid. >> that's right. >> still no deal on that budget. that means if congress can't get a spending plan passed in 42 hours, the government shuts down. >> the president called a late night meeting with the house speaker and the senate majority leader. he said that the talks were productive. john boehner and harry reid seem to agree with him. >> we have confidence we'll get this done. we're not there yet, but hope lies eternal. >> no one wants the government to shut down. >> we have ed henry for us live at the white house with the president's take on the budget talks. first we'll go to congressional correspondent brianna keel ailk. both sides had talks that lasted throughout the night. >> reporter: what we're watching first and foremost is to these continued negotiations and to see if there's any sign that house republicans and senate democrats are coming to a deal. today we'll see house republicans putting on the floor a stop gap spending measure that would fund the government for an extra week. but here is the thing to take note of here, a couple thing, actually. one, it includes $12 billion in cuts just to gev you a sense of how severe this is. the congress has been funding the government at $2 billion in cuts per week. so this is six times that. it's quite a much larger amount. the other thing is it would fund the department of defense through the end of the year. so you have house republicans saying this is a true funding bill. the bottom line is one of the worst optics when it comes to a government shutdown is that military men and women would not be paid beyond friday. that looks really bad. house republicans know that. senate democrats know that. so this is really house republicans kind of double dog daring the senate to not take this up in some form or fashion, guys. >> what are the big divisions here? some of them, you know, abortion, for example, something that the president talked about yesterday, the epa, the environment. what are the big differences? >> we talk a lot about the number, how many billions of dollars in spending cuts, but you're exactly right. there's this whole other issue of policy provisions. house republicans, some of them say that they cannot vote for a bill without them. one has to do with defunding planned parenthood. so house republicans say they can make sure that federal dollars don't go to pay for abortions. democrats counter that right now those dollars don't go anyway to abortions. the other big one is a provision that would fund health care reform. the president's number one legislative accomplishment. he said that this is a dealbreaker for him. senate democrats feel the same way. but the number and the polly provisions are working together in the negotiations. >> we'll check in with you throughout the morning. as brianna is explaining, there are a lot of high stakes in this thing. we have the economy finally showing some signs of life. the president says a shutdown is the last thing we need. >> a shutdown could have real effects on everyday americans. it means that hundreds of thousands of workers across the country suddenly are without a paycheck. >> you know, this is an interesting point. and what brianna was just saying to christine, it's not just that -- there's a feeling that we're just dealing with wastefulness in the budget. but this is very, very political. it is not that we don't want to overpay workers. it's about we want to get these programs out of the way. this is why the president is staying involved. ed henley has been up early for us this morning reporting live from the white house. the president's got a lot on whether he can prove his leadership here. he's got to bring both sides together. but he's got to not anger his liberal base by appearing to give up too much to conservatives. >> reporter: it's positioning, politics and also policy. in positioning the president took a beating from liberals in his own party saying that he gave away too much in that tax deal if the lame duck session of congress. he can't have the same situation play out here where liberals feel that they gives in too much to republican on spending cuts. he needs those liberals to be energized for the come uping election battle. you've got them looking back to the government shutdown fight between bill clinton newt gingrich, who will get the blame this time. but if you peel all that away, the policy is ultimately what matters to our viewers. because the bottom line, as brianna was laying out, how this affects military pay, for example, it really affects real lives, all of this fingerpointing and blame game in washington. you have people, for example, with april 15th tax deadline coming up waiting for their refund checks. they're not going to get those if the government shuts down. so this affects real people, real lives. >> also, you know, one of the other interesting points is we talk about these late night meetings, the president summoning both sides to the white house. did he wait a long time to get involved in this historic dli speaking? >> republicans certainly feel so. you heard top republican aides on the hill saying the president was on the sidelines for too long. the basic white house view is they didn't want him in the nitty-gritty for the last two weeks as all this battling was going on on the hill, but now is the critical crunch time. that's why we saw him literally working around the clock. they think he's getting in at just the right time. >> ed henry for us. a direct appeal from moammar gadhafi to president obama asking for an end to nato air strikes falling on deaf ears at the white house. in a rambling three-page letter he asks the president to libya should be left to libyans. you are man who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action. he said you will always remain our son. in response, secretary of state clinton says gadhafi knows what he has to do for the bombing to stop. >> i don't think there is any mystery about what is expected from mr. gadhafi at this time. that is, an international assessment. and the sooner that occurs and the bloodshed ends, the better it will be for everyone. >> reporting right t now that big explosions, two explosions have been heard in tripoli and two aircraft scene overhead. according to nic robertson bombing under way right now in tripoli. two explosions in central tripoli. curt weldon who is in libya at moammar gadhafi's invitation is still waiting to see him. he says he'll urge gadhafi to step down. the body of a second american has now been found in the wreckage of japan. his name was monty dixon from alaska. 26 years old. his local paper says he was part of a japanese exchange program, that he was teaching english at schools there. the overall number of dead continues to rise in the wake of the devastation there. more than 12,500 people now confirmed dead and still 14,747 missing. secretary of state hillary clinton will head to japan next week where she's expected to meet with japan's prime minister to talk about how to deal with the ongoing nuclear crisis and also recovery and reconstruction efforts along the destroyed coastline. a smoldering wildfire spreading right now in oklahoma. an evacuation has been ordered in spencer just outside oklahoma city where flames jumped several roads. they reportedly burned four homes now. more than 250 firefighters called in scrambling as wind gusts kept changing the direction of the flames. >> let's get a sense of the weather across the country right now. nine minutes after the hour. bonnie schneider is with us in the extreme weather center this morning. >> good morning. we're definitely looking at more fire danger for the west. in fact, red flag warnings are posted from colorado to texas plus windy weather in the desert southwest. that will only aggravate conditions. it's been so dry across oklahoma. the fourth driest three months of the year on record with a state rainfall total of only 2.3 inches. that's 4 inches below normal. the gusts will be strong and will aggravate the fire danger. there is rain out there but it is light in intensity. as we head to the northeast, we're tracking some rain and, believe it or not, snow. that's right. a little bit of snow in parts of northern pennsylvania in the mountains there. otherwise temperatures this morning in new york, 32, 34 in boston. it's chilly there. it will warm up to the 50s today. washington, d.c. already in the mid-40s. your national map shows it's quiet in the southeast which is great after a very volatile storm system that rolled through a few days ago. but we've got more storms coming up as we go into the weekend. this is just the beginning of an active severe spring weather season. >> we'll check in with you through the course of the morning to see how that weather is going across the country. >> they promised a smaller government even if it means shutting it down. why some of the tea parties say a government shutdown will teach washington a lesson. >> talk about not learning a lesson. another air traffic controller falls asleep on the job. this time it is no accident. ten minutes after the hour. 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[ male announcer ] get zyrtec®'s proven allergy relief and love the air®. 13 minutes past the hour. and some developments out of libya. our ben wedeman joins us from ajdabiya in libya with some conflicts there. >> reporter: what we're hearing from eyewitnesses is that there was an airstrike on an opposition formation near brega, about ten kilometer, about seven miles to the east of there. according to this eyewitness, a plane flew over. they assumed it was nato and didn't worry about it. but then it flew back again and apparently bombed their convoy which included a large bus of soldiers, then came back for a second time and hit again. it's not clear the identity of the plane because they fly so high, but there haven't been any planes, libyan air force planes in the sky for several weeks now. i'm at the hospital in ajdabiya where doctors here tell me that at least six people were injured and, of course, they're still bringing in ambulances. but of those six injured, several are in critical condition. this is, of course, if it is a nato airstrike, it's the second time that nato aircraft have mistakenly hit forces of the opposition. >> i know what you're saying is still unclear as to who was flying this plane, who launched that strike. is it possible that gadhafi's planes are still able to fly or were the nato air strikes successful in damaging that air power capability? >> reporter: well, our understanding was that a lot of that capability has been disabled. some of the air strips themselves have been disabled. we did hear several days ago from nato officials that said that 30% of the libyan army's military capabilities have been disabled, but we don't know. certainly there haven't been any libyan air force planes in the sky for several weeks, actually, at least three weeks now. so it would be difficult for them to be up in the air at the moment. >> ben wedeman bringing us the latest on a breaking situation there in an area near brega where they say that they were the targets of a strike on a plane. thanks so much. >> nic robertson just reporting that a couple of big explosions in central tripoli in the last few minutes. >> he's on the government-controlled side of things. ben is in the opposition-controlled side. while there might be some sense of these being coordinated attacks, what ben says is very troubling, that he is saying that they are seeing rebels being wounded, six people transported to hospital. we've already had one instance where nato has mistakenly attacked the rebels. >> and rebel leaders have complained that they don't feel as if there's enough coordination with nato. they've been calling in, this is where we need help. >> but you got to imagine that that's complicated. these are rebels that had virtually no logistics training. what are you calling in? maybe there's a communication issue. but very troubling news. we'll stay on top of it for you. this story is amazing, about another air traffic controller busted for sleeping on the job during overnight hours. this time, though, officials say they did it on purpose. it happened at -- >> mcghee tyson. >> airport in knoxville, tenness tennessee. he slept for five hours. his co-worker landed seven planes by himself. apparently there was some type of agreement between them. it was revealed yesterday in a congressional hearing. this worker is subject to being fired. as you know in march a controller at the reagan national airport fell asleep during a midnight shift. >> what's even scarier in that one, there was no one there taking care of things. you may have heard the soundbites, the talking points. you've seen the numbers. but what do you think? according to a gallup poll by almost a 2-1 margin americans want their representatives to reach a compromise. >> the tea party helped bring the gop back into power in the how of representatives with a promise that they will shrink the size of government, which by the way, means the budget. now many in the party are saying a promise is a promise. bring on a government shutdown. jim acosta live in washington. wow, jim, this is getting very close. closer than we've been to a shutdown the last couple of times. and the tea party's holding tight. >> they are. they're ratcheting up the rhetoric, guys. as you know, leaders in both parties say they don't want a government shutdown, but some in the tea party say they hope that's what happens saying it will teach washington a lesson. >> shut it down, shut it down! >> reporter: as the clock ticks toward a shutdown, the tea party is turning up the heat. at a rally near the step of the capitol, conservative activists urge republicans to stand and fight. you would support a government shutdown? absolutely. its's time for tax pay ares to take back the government and shut it down for a few days. won't come to a catastrophic end ♪ to the oceans white with foam ♪ >> reporter: mike pence was right there with them. >> liberals in the senate would rather play political games and force a government shutdown instead of accepting a modest down payment on fiscal discipline and reform. i say shut it down. >> shut it down, shut it down! >> reporter: but not all tea partiers are sure that's a good idea. despite appearances. >> shut 'er down. >> reporter: you're saying? >> i don't want to shut the government down. i'm making a point. >> reporter: what's that? >> we need to get serious about cutting our budget. we don't even have a budget. we're a year late in getting a budget. >> reporter: why hold a sign that says shut 'er down if you don't want to shut her down? >> to make a point. >> reporter: michele bachmann also called short of calling for a shutdown. she thinks a deal will happen. do you think we'll get a shut down? >> i think that we'll see a resolution by friday. i think that in all like i hadhood it will happen. >> reporter: that would be good news for thousand of federal employees who would be deemed nonessential by their agencies and furloughed. >> i'm concerned about the delay, i'm concerned about being able to pay my mortgage. i'm concerned about being able to pay my bills. >> reporter: democrats point out some of those workers perform critical tasks like medical researchers. >> i know you're working on that cure for cancer. i know you're working on that cure for alzheimer's or autism or arthritis, sticking just with the "a" words. but you know what? washington, the congress says you're nonessential. >> reporter: as for those calls to shut 'er down, even mike pence is showing wiggle room this morning, the tea party favorite said he could sign on to another stop gap spending measure to avoid one of the big consequences of a shutdown, military troops not getting their pay on time. >> what tea party people like to say, look, this is the 2011 budget. democrat president, democratic controlled congress couldn't get done last year. so why are you blaming us? we're just making a point after democrats didn't do their job. is that sort of the message that they keep giving? >> well, their message is basically with the republicans, a deal is a deal. and if you look at some of the e e-mails coming from the tea party nation, one of the tea party groups there, they're just as nasty with john boehner. they call him words that even democrats aren't calling john boehner at this point. they're very angry with republicans for not holding the line here. there will be major disappointment inside some sections of the tea party if this government does not shut down and the republicans don't get everything that they want. >> i'm just wondering, we keep saying 42 hours still shutdown. the last time this happened, congress actually agreed on a bill and sen it to the president and it was vetoed. this time they haven't even agreed on a bill. >> one big difference between then and now is that in 1995 and 1996 the economy was not in the throes of a very weak recovery. and so we're in uncharted waters here. government shutdown could have major unintended consequences. mark zandy, a noted economist, said this could throw the country into possibly a recession. so lot of unintended consequences. >> another economist yesterday said it would shave 1% off gdp. >> and these aren't crazy liberal xhis. we'll stay on top of this with you, jim. >> sounds good. >> you might have noticed that your local mall is running on empty. find out what these shopping centers are doing to plug the growing number of vacancies. a lot of empty storefronts in the local mall. ♪ [ upbeat ] [ announcer ] who could resist the call... of america's number-one puppy food brand? 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(announcer) everything you need to stay balanced on long trips. residence inn. by constantly re-imagining and reinventing technology, they help people connect in ways never before possible. and by choosing the new york stock exchange to accelerate their business. an interesting story about fewer stores competing for your money at the local mall. what's happening? >> because we're seeing more vacancies at the local mall. not just at the mall. but strip centers as well. especially if you live out in the suburbs, you're seeing those empty storefronts. you have to wonder how did we get here? it started with the big housing boom, then all the construction start. if we build it, they will come. but that did not happen when the bottom of the housing market fell out. what's happening now is mall vacancies are at their highest point in a decade. people are spending less and they're spending online as well. you're seeing major retailers are closing up shop. when was the last time you saw linens and things, circuit city or a borders. borders is in the middle of dealing with its bankruptcy. landlords are having to get creative. they're scared. they won't be making any money if no one is there leasing their space. so what they're doing is they're letting even colleges use the space in malls to have classrooms there. they're renting the space for entertainment and dance studios as well. there are even amusement park rides in some of these strip centers just to draw people in. because once you lose that anchor store like the supermarket or the mervines, there's less of a draw to your strip mall. >> discounters not doing badly. while people don't want them in these "a" malls, they're drawing them in. >> landlords are bringing in the discounting stores. no way we're not putting those payless shoe stores. now they're saying, come on, we need your money. >> so much consumer spending over the past couple of decades was money people took out of their house. there was no money to take out of their house. the malls, the big box stores in the strip they were all carried by home equity. it is not there now. >> that's what's changed. the naacp plus billboards across the country slamming the government spending and getting support from surprising new allies. that story is coming up. welcome back to "american morning." 30 minutes past the hour now. time for your top stories. after a late night meeting at the white house, still no agreement on a budget. that means that we're facing a government shutdown midnight friday. 800,000 federal workers would be furloughed. military paychecks would be delayed if a deal can't be reached on spending. new in japan this morning the body of a second american has been found in the wreckage. monty jackson was in japan teaching english at schools there. at least two people were killed in an air strike on an opposition convoy near the libyan town of al brega. ben wedeman, we just had him on with us. he's been reporting that it's unclear if this is a nato airstrike or if pro-gadhafi forces were responsible. moammar gadhafi wrote a rambling letter to president obama asking him to stop the air campaign calling it an unjust war. they're rejecting the appeals saying that gadhafi needs to withdraw from rebel-held cities and agree to give up power and leave. the naacp finding unlikely allies in a new campaign blasting government spending. the civil rights group says the u.s. spends too much on prisons and that's hurting our education system. they're plastering their message on billboards around the country and finding support among some more conservative activists. joining us is the president of the naacp and the president of americans for tax reform. thank you for joining us. a fascinating report when you go through here and you see how government spending on prisons has increased much more quickly than government spending on education. we spend about three times as much per person to incarcerate someone as we do to educate someone. that's been constant for a while. what does this report show us that's new about this relationship between the two? i'll start with you, ben. >> sure. well, that ratio goes way up when you look at kids. in the state of california, we spend $248,000 per year to put one kid behind bars. in the state of connecticut, $400,000. that's about 40 times what they spend. but the point of this, the real point here is that our system is just too big. we have 5% of the world's people and 25% of the world's prisoner. we spend way too much to -- for that and we don't get much for it. if you look at the state of new york, it has significantly reduced its people in prison and crime has fallen 16%. if you look at the state of florida, it has significantly grown it and it's risen by 16%. all of this over the past ten years. we're saying there are smarter ways to deal with this problem. you take somebody who is using drugs, right now in most states half or more of the people behind bars are there for low level nonviolent drug issues. we should be sending them to rehab, not to prison. you know, a poor drug addict needs the same thing that a rich drug addict does. they need betty ford. they don't need prison. >> grover, let me ask you, when you talk about -- you look at some of the specific towns, in philly, for example, 66% of low performing schools are in or very near neighborhoods with high incarceration rates. in houston, 83% of low performing schools are in neighborhoods with high rates of incarceration. in l.a., it's 67%. what is that relationship? is it that in areas where the schools are bad people are more likely to go to prison or in places where there are prisons, the families don't have the support at home to make sure the kids are getting the best out of their education system? which goes first? >> where i think the naacp and taxpayer groups can both agree at the national level and state by state, progress has been made in texas. legislation being introduced in florida to ask -- look, some people deserve to be in prison because they're dangerous and you want them in prison. some people can be dealt with outside of prison through rehabilitation, through home incarceration, through parole and probation. what we haven't been doing is deciding very well to distinguish between people who you want in prison because they're just too dangerous to have out of prison and people you're just mad at and you want to throw a shoe at them and tell them to straighten up. you don't have to do that at $50,000 a year plus in prison. so let's rethink how many people are in prison and for how long and begin to make distinctions between people who are so dangerous they need to be in prison for a long time or forever and people who are not dangerous out on the street but you want some sort of self-control ultimately but some sort of control to help move them away from drugs. >> i love this conversation right now. and it's such an important conversation about children. it's about how we treat criminals. about what our goals and our focus is in a society and i comes on a day when we don't even know that we can pass a budget in this country. on the one hand, these are important questions to be asking the relationship between funding for education and funding for prisons. but on the other hand do we trust our politicians to be able to cut spending on prisons but funnel that money to education in the right way? you know, grover, i'll ask both of you that question. i mean, what are your hopes that a congress that's very divided can handle issues like this. >> well, there are people on the left and people on the right who see that we're spending too much on prisons. we're not necessarily getting good things for it. we're not reducing crime with everybody we put in prison. so we ought to be putting fewer people in prison and focus on getting crime down. when taxpayers, the government save that money, then we may have serious disagreement about, in my view, that money should stay in the hands of taxpayers. others say spend it somewhere else. that's a second conversation. but the first one is let's spend more wisely and not keep spending more on prisons. >> ben, you might not agree with grover down the road when we're talking about what we do with that money, but right now you're in full agreement. an excellent and very illuminating report. thank you, guys. >> thank you. i want to tell you a little more about this violent standoff that continues in the ivory coast. the president is refusing to leave months after losing an election. coming up next, we've got dramatic video of french troops under u.n. supervision rescuing the japanese ambassador after soldiers stormed his residence. and after that -- >> on a different note. >> it's taking a village at the houston zoo to raise a baby orangutan after she was rejected by her mother. this thing is just too cute for word. we'll show you how they're doing it. and give you a chance to name this little baby. one is so cler that your skin looks better even after you take it off. neutrogena® healthy skin liquid makeup. 98% saw improved skin. does your makeup do that? 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who is left supporting him? and how is it that he's managing to evade capture by both the opposition forces and the french and the u.n. troops that are there? >> great question, ali. we're all trying to figure this out. no one knows quite exactly what is going on. he's still holed up, laurent gbagbo, the president who just won't go, in the presidential palace. some reports say he's in a bunker. but he was in an interview saying himself, i'm not in the bunker. i'm in the presidential palace. he has a few people loyal to him but really not that many. his rival alassane ouattara who is the elected president and the world things so, too, he's in there and wants to get him out. but one thing he doesn't want to do is kill him. he wants to capture him, arrest him and have him stand trial. >> thank you very much for that. this continues to be a very strange situation. >> on and on. >> we'll keep on top of it for you. >> zain can be seen every weekday morning at 5:00 a.m. a big hurricane season. that plus bonnie schneider right after this break. and the accidental tenor. one man who lost everything in the recession and he turns to music. listen to that. and now he's on his way to becoming an opera star. talk about job reinvens vengs. it reduces wind resistance, in an irresistible sort of way the all-new ford focus with up to 40 miles per gallon highway that the new focus can it virtually park itself.ve till you actually see it... park itself. the all-new ford focus with class-exclusive active park assist. a really active hurricane season on the horizon. researchers at colorado state university say there's a 72% chance that a major hurricane will slam the u.s. major hurricanes category 3 or higher are strong enough, as you all know, to crush house, cause widespread power outages. researchers predict 16 total storms will hit the atlantic. nine will strengthen to hurricane status. five major hurricanes are expected to form. the season starts june 1st and ends in november. >> the interesting thing about this is that they put out a forecast of the number of storms, but the ironic part is that last year was a very busy year as well, but it's where they hit. >> right. they don't make landfall. >> or don't hit at very populated areas. >> doesn't have the same effect. bonnie will be busy checking this out. i'm hoping bonnie schneider that you have no hurricanes to tell us about. >> no, a little too early for that. but we are talking about the predictions because we're getting closer to hurricane season. you mentioned last year being very active. 19 named storms, most of the activity including the hurricanes that occurred hit mexico and central america. that's why people in the u.s. might think 2010 wasn't so bad. actually, it was very bad. 2011 looks like it will be above average. you can look at the predictions here made by colorado state university. you can see the number of named storms for the year versus what we're anticipating for this season. it is pretty high. back to the u.s. mainland. we are checking out fire danger today. once again oklahoma really suffering from brutally dry winds and hot temperatures. that all coming together with gusts up to 45 miles per hour will make for more fire danger. the red flag warnings are in place because we're expecting more danger there. windy weather across the desert southwest including las vegas and into california. then scattered showers across the southwest as well. the rain is more steady in the northeast. and it's also snowing in some areas like in the mountains of pennsylvania. we're tracking late snow falling there on the border with new york state. speaking with new york, 42 degrees in new york city. a little colder as you head up to the freezing mark around binghamton. then in d.c., temperature is holding steady. colder in boston where we're having april snow. watch out for quite a bit of it across the rocky mountain states. windy weather in the west. then sunshine for the southeast. really, really nice here in cities like atlanta for today. and the temperatures for much of the eastern half of the country are on the way up. they will be rising well into the 80s as we get towards the weekend. 83 in new orleans. 70 in washington, d.c. that will be nice for the cherry blossom festival. >> they're so gorgeous, then they fall off so quickly. >> it's so brief. >> there will be all there is to do in washington if there's a shutdown. >> that's right. you have to walk around the basin. >> and look at cherry blossoms. let's hope they stay a little longer. love this story coming up. >> we need a mascot for this show. >> i think we're about to have a perfect one. >> a baby orangutan at the houston zoo is getting some extra tlc from her handler. this baby was born then rejected by the mother. >> who could reject that? >> some 50 zoo staffers have stepped in. a surrogate mom. look at that yawn. no easy task because orangutans cling to their mothers. you see these pictures like they're hanging on their mother's backs. for the first year of their life. that's why they need so many people to care for this little thing. they're helpless and they love to be held. the zoo is having a contest to name her. at 8:40, we'll speak to world renowned primatologist jane goodall. >> i'm not that big on children's books. >> ali read it to us before the show. >> did. it was really a nice book. the top stories just minutes away. so set in your ways that you can't watch tv on your pc? i can't do this. i watch tv on the tv. i'm phil mickelson, pro golfer. if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculosis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. good job girls. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. you may not yet know who he is but this story. >> alina cho joins us with the story. >> the most heartwarming stories i've heard in a long time. since the recession started, we've heard so many stories about people losing their jobs, finding their passion, then starting a new career doing something they absolutely love. but none like the story of andy lunsford. he lost his business but what he found is a gift that few have. the ability to sing opera. ♪ >> call him the accidental tenor. hard to believe just a few years ago, andy lunsford was selling granite countertops. when the economy went south, so did his business. >> you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders at that time. i think i was just looking for anything that could lighten the load. i had the cd on my desk top. and i put it into my cd player and shut my eyes. i just tried to breathe and relax and listen. and just started getting interesting. then i found myself sicking out to it. and i found that i could sing loud and high. and i had no idea i could do that. ♪ >> neither did his wife. >> i did kind of turn my ear a little more to listen. and i thought, he can really hit those high notes. he can sing louder than i can. >> so andy lunsford, just shy of age 30, took a chance. he applied to opera schools and to his surprise -- >> i got scholarships everywhere. there were schools fighting over me a little bit. >> how did that feel? >> oh, great. validating, of course. >> he settled on indiana university's jacobs school of music, one of the best in the world. and uprooted his family, moving from suburban denver to bloomington, indiana, where the lunsfords live on food stamps. so this 31-year-old can focus full time on his craft. >> he's an amazing instrument. he's like a stradivarius, you know? >> a star student who recently traveled to los angeles to perform for real stars like harrison ford. the dean says lunsford's story is as unique as his voice. you say you know it when you hear it? >> yeah. it's sort of chilling, isn't it? >> you get goosebumps, your feet tap, people hold hands. when you watch an audience, you can tell whether they're being moved or not. >> and andy has that. and even though some might ask, a career in opera? is he nuts? >> probably. i -- you know, is there ever a good time to start a career in opera? ♪ >> ain't that the truth. and you heard it right. at age 30, he enrolled at the jacobs school of music. he was the oldest freshman in his class. no surprise there. but isn't that just an incredible story. >> i like that he addressed the question i was sitting here, we just talked endlessly about what jobs you should or shouldn't guide yourself to. i'm not sure -- >> this isn't even on the list of the most -- >> no, he gets it. what did his trainer describe him as, a strad darius? >> he said, listen, i had nothing to z lose. we lost our business, our cars, our home. but we also didn't have any bills. he said if he hadn't tried this, he would wonder for the rest of his life. good for him. and look at him now. >> he truly has a gift. did he sing at all before this? >> he said he didn't. >> finding your passion and taking a chance. >> i think we're lucky because we all love what we do, but there are a lot of people who don't and really should start to think in their recessions. >> find it. >> top stories coming your way. we believe doing the right thing never goes unnoticed. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy? with olay challenge that and give drastic measures a rest. new regenerist night elixir gently resurfaces for the smooth skin of a light chemical peel. sleep tight. regenerist, from olay. [ male announcer ] surprisingly priced at $15,995, the 2011 jetta has arrived. discover german engineering and premium style on the jetta s with best-in-class rear legroom, as well as no-charge scheduled carefree maintenance, all standard. that's great for the price of good. hurry in, and for a limited time while they last get a 2011 jetta for $179 a month. visit vwdealer.com today. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. we there's no reason why we should have a government shutdown. a late night at the white house for 11th hour budget talks, but there's still no deal leaving our troops and hundreds of thousas of americans wondering if their paychecks are about to get cut off. on this "american morning." and good morning to you. glad you're with us on this "american morning." it's thursday april 7th. >> we're extremely chipper because that's what it feels like in the morning. but there's serious stuff going on in this country. we're 48 hours away perhaps from a government shutdown. but many people in the tea party are saying bring on a government shutdown. and they could get their wish tomorrow night. we'll show you how a government shutdown could interrupt your life and, more significantly perhaps, your car flow. >> there's a 33% chance that the hospital could make a mistake on you. that's right. one in three. elizabeth cohen on a disturbing new study. >> we should all be listening to that. >> terrifying. >> i don't know if you guys do. but a lot of people like to watch tv on their pcs. hand held devices. people say they're still not into it yet. youtube will make a change, to look a lot more like your tv. we'll have more on that coming up as well. >> let's begin with the late night budget talks a tt white house. and a morning after hangover for hundreds of thousands of americans who could find their jobs furloughed in 41 hours if the government shuts down. you're looking at a live shot of capitol hill. lawmakers and their staffs once again trying to ham are out a spending plan before midnight tomorrow. the president met with the house speaker and the senate majority leader last night. and he called the discussion productive. john boehner and harry reid emerged from the white house meeting together, and they struck the same cautiously optimistic tone that the president had. >> i remain confident that, if we're serious about getting something done, we should be able to complete a deal and get it passed and avert a shutdown. >> we've had a lot meeting with the president. it was very honest. we've narrowed the issues significantly. we're going to continue working. i have confidence we can get this done. we're not there yet. but hope lies eternal. >> we did have a productive conversation this evening. we do have some honest differences, but i do think we made some progress. no one wants the government to shut down. >> sure, when he says no one wants the government to shut down, it does seem that there are some people around there that think that a shutdown will achieve more than a deal. >> there are some, but the majority no. brianna keel are is live for us in washington. we hear what they say in front of the microphone. back room deals are a different story. is there any word that they believe this is actually going to happen in some 62 hours? or now 42 hours? >> it's hard to tell. the bottom line is you're seeing them talk about positive meeting, productive. these are the positive tones that are being made publicly. that is what we're hearing behind the scenes sort of. i think no one is saying for sure there's going to be a government shutdown, but you can't rule it out because the bottom line is there is no deal. we know they're talking. so what we're doing right now is we're focused on trying to find out throughout the hours today or through tomorrow, are we going to see any signs that they're coming to this agreement. in the meantime, house republicans are planning to put on the floor today a stop gap spending measure that will fund the government for another week. here's the thing, though. the cuts are $12 billion in spending cuts over the course of that one week. this is pretty severe because we've seen congress over the last several weebs making the cuts at a rate of $2 billion a week. this bill would fund the defense department through the end of the year. and one of the biggest problems when it comes to what we call optics here in washington, just sort of the visuals of a government shutdown, military men and women will be affected after friday if the government shuts down. they wouldn't be paid. democrats and republicans know this would look really bad. so you have house republicans kind of double dog daring the senate here saying try to vote against this or not take this up and not fund the troops. >> thanks very much. obviously you'll be on top of this thing. if you have any breakthroughs just let us know. you've seen the numbers, you've hrd the soundbites and all these talking points. but what do you think? here's what people say about how a shutdown will interrupt their lives. >> these are people they're dealing with. everyday people that try to do the best we can for ourselves and for our families. and working this is part of our everyday being. we have to work. >> if i don't come to work on monday, i don't know how i'll pay my bills. they want me to tell my 3-year-old daughter in the mean time that she'll have to eat retroactively when i get paid again. >> it will be difficult. i have a child, a young son. and my wife is also working in congress. so we'll be without both of our incomes. >> if the parties can't pass a spending bill by midnight on friday, here's your reality check of what it will look like. what is it going to mean to you exactly? first of all, for starters, the irs will close. that means many people waiting on refund checks will have to keep waiting. processing of paper tax returns and refunds will have to stop. and you'll have those electronic filings, refunds will continue. social security check will still go out. so seniors who are concerned about this, remember, your social security check will still come. medicare also will pay claims. that will continue to fund. and congress, aren't you all so happy? congress will still get paid. now, if the government shuts down for an extended period of time, then we've got other issues that are really concerning in this debate. defense department says troops including those fighting in afghanistan and in iraq will not be paid at least on time. they'll continue to accrue their pay, but they will not be paid on time. it will be devastating for small business. the government will not be able to back up loans for small businesses and for struggling homeowners that also you've got the government backing of mortgages. that's about a third of the entire mortgage market. the processing of those loans would be suspended. the government is still though -- and this is important -- still going to make sure that its federal funding of the school lunch program continues. that will remain the same. in all, what you have here is a big impact on everything. pay the troops, the irs, small business loans, government-backed mortgages, all these thing would be halted. social security payments. seniors, i want to be clear, your check will still coming, but if you're applying for new disability, it could be delayed. medicare is still funded. >> so we'll talk more about this impact if this indeed does happen some 40 hour from now. another disturbing story about your safety in the air. snoozing at the controls again. another air traffic controller asleep on the job. this time it was actually a scheduled five-hour nap apparently. happened at mcghee tyson airport. this is in knoxville, tennessee. this is back in february. one controller left to take a nap while the other landed seven planes on his own. yesterday at a congressional hearing. randy babbitt admitted they knew about it and they are dealing with it. >> there have been other instances of the same thing happening? >> yes, sir. we actually -- disappointed to say in our investigation, we did find another incident, different than this one. >> just one? >> yes, sir, just one. it was unfortunately willful. and we are in the process of disciplinary proceeding which will terminate this employee. >> the faa also released a statement about this saying the faa will not tolerate this type of unprofessional and inappropriate behavior. the agency is committed to ensuring the safety of the traveling public and is conducting a review of the air traffic control system including its overnight staffing. that comes after that incident at reagan national airport in which the only controller on duty on an overnight shift fell asleep and two planes ended up having to land on their own. a manhunt in alabama this morning is over after a suspect in a deadly shooting turned himself in in a very strange fashion. police say that this suspect, thomas franklin may, was arrested after he calmly walked up to a tv crew covering the story and said, i'm the guy you're looking for. he's accused of killing one woman and injuring three others including a woman in her 90s and a 4-year-old child on the campus of southern union community college in atlanta. a wildfire raging right now in oklahoma, an evacuation has been ordered in spencer outside of oklahoma city where flames jumped several road. they reportedly burned several homes. more than 250 firefighters were called in. they're scrambling as wind gusts kept changing directions and the flames kept going in different drecks yesterday. the masters get under way this morning at augusta national. ever year at golf's first major there's a fun par 3 tournament on wednesday before the event begin. take a look at craig stadler on the first hole yesterday. unbelievable. >> wow. >> a 130-yard par 3. this man known as the walrus, he won't be needing his putter. that's a hole in one. they play for real today. phil mickelson is the favorite. whoa. >> that feels so great, so rare. >> you're like, did everybody see that? did everything see that? youtube sets it sights on tv. how it plans to compete with cable. a new poll has donald trump on the rise. as he decides to step in in 2012. we'll show you how he ranks right now with the rest of the republican field. nine minutes after the hour. john legend is teaming with samsung on a new technology initiative in america's schools. john legend will talk about what he has going on. with yoplait delights, now you can finally have both. two indulgently rich layers of chocolate and raspberry yogurt... and only 100 calories. i don't always let the worry my pipes might leak compromise what i like to do. i take care with vesicare, because i have better places to visit than just the bathroom. 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[ male announcer ] america's beverage companies are working together to put more information right up front. adding new calorie labels to every single can, bottle and pack they produce. so you can make the choice that's right for you. ♪ welcome back. it's 12 minutes past the hour. i want to bring you up to date on the latest from libya. more air strikes taking place in the past hour. nic robertson is reporting explosions near tripoli. ben wedeman in the eastern part of the country, says that two people were killed in an air strike on an opposition convoy. this was near the libyan town of al brega. still unclear if that was a nato strike or pro gadhafi forces. meantime, moammar gadhafi sent a letter to president obama yesterday, a rambling three-page letter. in it he pleaded with him to stop the nato bombings. secretary of state hillary clinton says if gadhafi wants the bombings to stop, he needs to give up power and get out of libya. how will all of this play out? here to discuss this is former nato aide damon wilson. thanks for joining us. this letter is quite interesting. he called president obama "our son." he wished him well on his next re-election campaign. and then he urged him to stop the nato bombings. what was the goal of gadhafi sending this? >> the goal, the letter, it really was a plea. the letter demonstrates that gadhafi is either profoundly misunderstands the united states and president obama or signals that this is in fact a delusional leader. but either way, this was a plea. he recognizes his options are limited and he's looking for a way out. >> and again, i think the french weighed in this morning about the situation saying the only way out for him to "a" agree to give up power and "b" leave the country. how will those talks take place if they do indeed happen? >> this is something that he controls within his own power. he's had the opportunity with undirect talks. representative curt weldon has been there. the secretary-general of the united nations has appointed a special rep with whom he can have these conversations as well. if he's prepared to leave, if he's prepared to get out, there's a pathway available to him. >> you mentioned kurt wedden. this is an interesting side issue here that he's in tripoli. the administration took pains to sort of distance themselves and say he's not going on behalf of the administration. but he wrote an interesting op-ed saying that he's basically trying to broker a cease-fire and get gadhafi to step down. what do you make of that? >> it is a little strange in this context. i'm glad that this is an unofficial visit, not part of administration's explicit policy. but that said, curt weldon has forged a relationship with gadhafi over the years. this is actually his fifth trip to libya. while he's got a range of interests there, close ties to the family business interest, frankly, in this circumstance i hope he's using them to encourage gadhafi to leave and to leave now. >> one of the things he said that perhaps some would take issue with is that gadhafi's son saif could play a, quote, constructive role in the transition. now, at one time he was thought of as a reformer when this fighting started to take place he said there would be rivers of blood in the streets if people try to rise up against the administration. could there be a role for gadhafi's son in anything going forward? >> i don't see that. i don't envision that. but frankly, i don't really think that's our decision, kucu weld weldon's decision, that's a decision for the libyan people. the transition council is clear, they see no role for gadhafi and his sons. >> you have them calling for the international community the play a more active role there, investigating the deaths of protesters in that country and trying to get some kind of transition out for abdullah saleh. do you see military intervention in yemen? >> i don't. yemen is a quite complicated situation. far more complex than libya. the prospect of using military force in yemen is a far more complex undertaking. if you look at libya, the united states and its european allies had their military infrastructure forces laid out across the met terrainian in such a way that this is actually a more straightforward military planning operation. libyan forces can concentrate along the coast. in yemen you're dealing with a much more complex situation. a history of a civil war, division between north and south, an active insurgency on the border with saudi arabia. real differences within the ranks of the government and a strong al qaeda presence. it's a much more complicated situation. much more difficult to bring assets to bear. frankly, this is an area where we've seen our european allies step up in libya. they wouldn't be in subpoena a positi -- such a position to step up in yemen. so we're more focused on the diplomatic, economic and political tlak to ease a transition in yemen. >> a lot of difficulties especially with us giving money to help them fight al qaeda within their country yet also saying we'd be okay with the president leaving. tough situation. damon wilson, executive vice president of atlantic council and a top aide. coming up ahead on "american morning" a new study on the number of patients who have been victims of mistakes at our nation's hospitals. wow, i thought we thoo thknew t story. the numbers continue to shock. they promised a smaller government even if it means shutting it down. why in say a government shutdown will teach washington a lesson. fiona, am i crazy or is this a lot of tires? 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[ female announcer ] wish granted. lean cuisine has a fresh new bag. lean cuisine market creations steam meals. like new chicken poblano with tender white meat chicken, crisp veggies, in a savory cheddar sauce. new from lean cuisine. 21 minutes past the hour now. this technology stuff is changing all the time. there are people still not comfortable with watching tv on their computer. >> yeah, one of them sitting right next to you. >> i watch tv on the tv. >> what youtube is trying to do is latch on to the fact that people may actually one day watch their online content on tv so youtube wants to tap into that. they don't just want you to go on for the viral videos of the cute babies and the dogs do handstands. they really want you to grab some popcorn, pull up a chair, stay a while. it's all about ad dollars. they want to start producing original programming that can bring in advertiser. youtube hasn't really turned a profit. this could really be the linchpin. as this phases in, the focus will be on arts and sports channels. they want to focus on having several hour of content. so advertisers want to advertise on there. here's what's interesting, something that may interest all of us, youtube is talking about -- i'm hearing -- top talent agencies about possibly getting headliners to have their own channels. but the way it may really go is production houses may wind up making, you know, this original programming content to lure viewers in. >> if you're a production house, you start to become agnostic. as long as someone is buying your product, i doesn't matter if it's on bravo or on youtube because clearly youtube has shown clearly as many people or more will see what you have on there. >> this opens a whole new round of entrepreneurs. >> i'm surprised they're not making a profit. >> executives say they're close. close. fingers crossed close. let's talk about money from yesterday. we look like we're seeing rumored buys on the news. so everybody is kind of buying into the market. at least until the numbers come out. then we'll probably see them sell. >> all right. thanks. next on "american morning" can't live without your morning cup of joe? turns out that that craving may be genetic. we'll tell you about this new study. >> every single person has that gene. at least that i know. more companies are warning that your e-mail could be in the hands of hackers. we have an update for you. there are a lot of questions out there about retirement. let fidelity help you find the answers. our investment professionals work with you to help you make the most of your retirement and enjoy the life you've saved for. fidelity investments. where leading companies and millions of people go to get the real answers they need. call today. [ male announcer ] surprisingly priced at $15,995, the 2011 jetta has arrived. discover german engineering and premium style on the jetta s with best-in-class rear legroom, as well as no-charge scheduled carefree maintenance, all standard. that's great for the price of good. hurry in, and for a limited time while they last get a 2011 jetta for $179 a month. visit vwdealer.com today. time for an a.m. housecall. stories about your health. coffee, the craving that you're having right now, the reason for it may be in your dna. >> we needed a study for that? >> a new study found not one but two genes linked to caffeine intake. researchers say they made the discovery of the gene in more than 47,000 people. >> caffeine gets a bad rap. you need it. >> i'm fine with it. >> in small amounts. >> so do calories. >> calories get a bad rap, but we love them. this is a new app. called meal snap. it gives users the calorie count in food items that they photograph. for each photo, you get a ballpark calorie figure for one serving of the item pictured. >> it'ses a those ones that you don't think are really fatty. i wonder if that fools the camera, too. >> if you take a picture of your chicken wing, they'll tell you. staggering news about the amount of medical mistakes being made in hospitals across the country. hospital errors might be ten times higher than previously thought. affecting one in three patients. >> our senior medical correspondent elizabeth cohen joins us from atlanta with the details on this. we're pretty surprised by these numbers. >> the numbers are very high. other studies have found in this ballpark, what they did was they used a new way of analyzing when things go wrong at the hospital. because when things go wrong. sometimes doctors will say that was fate, that's just the way it happened. maybe not. maybe it's because mistakes are being made. >> are these small oversights or things that can really harm the patient? >> it really runs the gamut. let's look at the most common ones they found in this study. they found that medication errors were the most common mistake that happened in hospitals. for example, the medicine that you got was actually meant for the person in the bed next to you. or you got the wrong dosage. bad surgical outcomes. the surgery didn't go well. sometimes that's unavoidable. but the ones they identified were really ones that the doctor or the nurse should have done differently. also hospital infections. many, many times, people would say nearly all times that you get an infection in the hospital, it could have been prevented. someone didn't do something they should have done. and that's why you got the infection. >> here's where money comes into play. you know hospital infections are so expensive. insurance companies and even medicare and medicaid programs are telling hospitals we're not going to pay if the infection is your fault, we're not paying for that. the hope is they'll clean up their act. how can you avoid something happening like this? >> there are certain steps that you can take. so since medication errors were the most common both in this study and in others. when you get that medication in the hospital, you or your loved one who is there with you check that bottle or check that iv bag and make sure it has your name on it. i know that sounds so stupid, but really it does happen. make sure the dosage is right. make sure you're getting it at the right time. ask in advance, what time am i supposed to get that medication? just doing that can avoid a lot of errors. ask doctors or nurses to wash their hands. if they walk in the room and you don't see them wash their hands, ask them to wash their hand. if you have a catheter in you, ask every day, when can this come out. those catheters are great places to get infections. >> elizabeth tells you things that you shouldn't do because you thing you'll come across as a pain. >> by nature, they don't want to talk back to the doctor. sometimes that means you have to do it. you have to be there with your mother or grandfather saying, did you wash your hands, please can can you just humor me? and when can we get this catheter out? >> go to cnn.com/health. your top stories now. the president met with house speaker john boehner and senate majority leader but there's still no agreement on the budget. if one can't be reached by midnight, the government will be shut down midnight friday. the troops will see their paychecks interrupted. a dramatic rescue in ivory coast. laurent gbagbo remains holed up in an underground bunker refusing to surrender this morning. french forces air lifted the japanese ambassador from his residence after it was stormed by gbagbo's troops. opposition forces say they plan to attack gbagbo's residence again today to try to remove him. but he can't seem to be wedged from out of that bunker. he lost a november election but refuses to give up power. there's an evacuation order in effect for one community just outside of oklahoma city. the flames have jumped several roads. we're getting reports that four homes have been burned. a tea party helped bring the gop back into power in the house with the promise that they would shrink the government, cut wasteful spending. many in the party are saying a promise is a promise. the government has to shut down, that may not be the worse thing. >> the gallup poll shows two-thirds of americans don't want to compromise. jim acosta is live in washington. jim, this isn't necessarily democrats verse ow republicans. it's republicans versus republicans. >> right. that's right. if you had a poll up that showed what tea partiers think, you'd get different numbers on whether member of congress should compromise here. leaders in both parties have said time and again, they don't want a government shutdown. but some in the tea party say they hope that is what happens saying they hope it will teach washington a lesson. >> shut it down! shut it down! >> as the clock ticks toward a shutdown, the tea party is turning up the heat. at a rally near the step of the capitol, activists urged republicans to stand and fight. you would support a government shutdown? >> absolutely. it is time for taxpayers to take back the government. let's shut it down for a few days. it won't come to a catastrophic end. >> reporter: mike pence was right there with them. >> the liberals in the senate would rather play political games and force a government shutdown instead of accepting a modest down payment on discipline and reform. i say shut it down. >> reporter: but not all tea partiers are sure that's a good idea, despite appearances. >> shut 'er down. i don't want to shut the government down. i'm making a point. >> reporter: what is that? >> we need to get serious about cutting our budget. >> reporter: why hold a sign that says shut 'er down if you don't want to shut 'er down? >> i'm making a point. >> reporter: michele bachmann stopped short of calling to are a shutdown saying she thinks a deal will happen. >> i actually think that we will see a resolution by friday. i think that in all likelihood, it will happen. >> reporter: that would be good news for thousands of federal employees who would be deemed nonessential and furl ode. >> i'm concerned about the delay and being able to pay my mortgage, i'm concerned about being able to pay my bills. >> i know you're working on that cure for cancer. i know you're working on that cure for alzheimer's or autism or arthritis, sticking just with the "a" words. but you know what? washington, the congress says you're nonessential. >> as for those calls to shut it down, even republican mike pence is showing some wiggle room this morning. the tea party favorite released a statement yesterday saying he could sign on to another stop gap spending measure to avoid one of the big consequences of a shutdown. that is military troops not getting their pay on time, guys. >> we'll watch this closely. thanks very much. jim acosta in washington. right ahead on "american morning, trying to stop an explosion. a new move by crews in japan. we'll tell you what they're trying now. also, deadly air strikes taking place just hours ago in libya. an opposition convoy may have mistakenly been hit by nato war plane. we'll check in with correspondents there. ff! business is good! it must be if you're doing all that overnight shipping. that must cost a fortune. it sure does. well, if it doesn't have to get there overnight, you can save a lot with priority mail flat rate envelopes. one flat rate to any state, just $4.95. that's cool and all... but it ain't my money. i seriously do not care... so, you don't care what anyone says, you want to save this company money! that's exactly what i was saying. hmmm... priority mail flat rate envelopes, just $4.95 only from the postal service. a simpler way to ship. the 3.6-liter pentastar v6 engine in the jeep grand cherokee has a best in class driving range of more than 500 miles per tank. which means you don't have to worry about finding a gas station. which is good... because there just might not be one. have you been diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, or afib? if so, now's the time to talk to your doctor again, even if you're already taking medication to reduce your stroke risk. atrial fibrillation can cause a blood clot to form here, in your heart, that can break free and go straight to your brain, where it can cause a serious stroke. strokes that are twice as likely to be deadly or severely disabling as other types of strokes. but if you're one of the 2 million people who have atrial fibrillation, there's never been a better time to talk to your doctor. because you and your doctor can choose from different kinds of medicines to help prevent a stroke. for a free interactive book, call... or log-on to afibstroke.com. and with this valuable information in your hand, talk to your doctor. we have breaking news from eastern libya, ajdabiya where ben wedeman is there in a hospital. he told us about what appears to be air strikes. what can you tell us about what is happening, ben? >> reporter: we're at a hospital where there are at least ten wounded and at least two dead. >> okay. ben, we can't -- i'm sorry. our connection, the cell phone connection appears to be pretty rocky. >> two deaths and ten wounded. >> he told us that he was at a hospital in ajdabiya where people were coming in after the air strikes. >> the big question is who launched the air strikes. gadhafi force ors an accidental missed target on the part of nato. we'll check in with him once we have a better connection. >> his view of this is how would it be libyan forces doing that because much of their if not all of their air strike capability is supposedly -- >> and there's concern among the rebel forces, they feel that they're becoming targets and now accidentally and that there's some sort of disconnect with how they're engaging in these air strikes. we'll check in with ben wedeman there. new in japan. officials at the badly damaged nuclear power plant now say that radiation levels in the seawater are dropping dramatically. they're shooting nitrogen into the reactor core at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. that's a move to try to stop a hydrogen explosion that the plant denies there's any immediate danger. reuters reporting that five people have been killed in an air strike on an opposition convoy near the town of brega in eastern libya. we were talking to ben wedeman trying to get the details. he said two deaths. he said it's not clear if the aircraft belong to nato or pro gadhafi forces. they launched new attacks in the central part of tripoli. >> gas prices jumped again overnight. aaa says they went up another two cents a gallon. $3.73 for a gallon of regular. gas prices are now up 20% over this same time last year. >> everybody's feeling that. donald trump up in the polls for president. a new poll has the donald tied for second in the race for the republican nomination. tied with mike huckabee. trailing mitt romney. among tea party supporters, trump finished first in the poll. he hasn't officially declared he's running but he's getting headlines by questioning president obama's birthplace. >> he said in this interview he had people on the ground and he would be looking in hawaii to look into the circumstances surrounding our president's birth. >> what did gadhafi say in the letter to president obama? >> in the three pages of rambling -- >> he called him our son or something. that's going to confuse the mix now. >> not helpful. >> head to cnnpolitics.com. i really shouldn't have said that because i didn't want to imply anything there. people pick up on trends. >> there's no way to win, with the white house, the president, hawaiian officials, everybody has said from top to bottom there is no question that this man was born in this country, american citizen. but it goes on and on. >> that's why i think it's interesting that donald trump is going down that road. but again a poll is a poll. he's tied for second. getting ready to fork out more money if you're renting an apartment. we were talking about how this may be getting cheaper to rent. >> when he's not winning grammys john legend is fighting poverty through education with his show me campaign. he's here tlm with us. >> he's here? >> yes, he is. talking education, science, technology in america's schoolrooms. victoria secret is sending out warnings that their customers e-mail addresses may have also ended up in the wrong hands after a security breach at an e-mail markets firm. colorado state university, a leading center for storm forecasting predicting four major hurricanes in the atlantic this season. they're calling that above average. since more people are choosing to rent instead of buy, demand for apartments is up and so is the rent. the national average now $999 a month. the defense has rested in the trial of baseball slugger barry bonds. the case should go to the jury today. bonds is charged with lying to a grand jury about his alleged steroid use. and phil mickelson is the favorite to win the third green jacket at the masters this week. tiger woods is in the field, too. seeking his fifth masters title. you're caught up on the day's headlines. enough whole grain. but actually, it's never been easier to get the whole grain you want from your favorite big g cereals. from cheerios to lucky charms, there's whole grain in every box. make sure to look for the white check. >> it brings your best minds and their brightest ideas. it helps the largest of companies seize opportunity like the smallest of startups. it's the network-- the intelligent, secure cisco network that lets your employees, partners, suppliers and customers innovate and share so you can unleash the power of your most valuable asset: your people. i sleep with my rain boots on now. there's no point in taking them o off. >> bonnie schneider tells us what we need to know -- >> i got up way too early this morning. i bought online a pair of gal oshs and stuff to protect my shoes. it's too wet. >> i think that's a good idea. we are going to see more rain across the new york area for sure. it would be nice to get wet and cooler weather for the southwest, but that is not happening. we're looking at more fire danger for areas in oklahoma and texas. gusts up to 45 miles an hour. it will be very dry and windy across the southwest today. just be careful out there. fire danger is a real problem this time of year despite scattered showers that have been popping up in kansas. nothing that's going to accumulate. in the northeast, that's a different story. we're looking at scattered showers rolling through the new york city area. they're clipping long island sound to connecticut. temperatures holding steady. we'll look for temperatures in the 40s and washington, d.c., a little colder upstate and in new england but not too cold. it will warm up to the 50s today, which is good news. you can see nice high pressure across much of the eastern half of the u.s. that will make for fair conditions in the southeast. windy weather out west. look at this, more mountain snow for the rockies. what does this all mean for travelers? we're happying airport delays due to windy weather. in las vegas. san francisco. 30 minute to possibly an hour. if you're catching a flight, you may have a weather related delay. temperatures will be warm across texas into the 80s and heat up this weekend in the southeast. even in atlanta we'll be in the 80s coming up to saturday. >> bonnie schneider. thank you so much. jane goodall is here, she's followed her dreams right to the jungles of africa. now she has a children's book based on her life. 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[ male announcer ] visine-a is clinically proven to relieve all your worst eye allergy symptoms. it goes right where you need it, relieving allergy eyes in minutes. get visine-a. the most complete allergy eye drop. . ♪ that was actually a clip of john legend performing at our c in. n heroes event, grammy-winning artist, john legend, taking his message about trying to change the world from c in. n heroes to schools across the country. he has teamed up with samsung trying to boost the next generation of mathematicians and engineers and computer scientists, key jobs to get ahead. through a video submission contest with $1 million in prizes. >> it is called the solve for tomorrow initiative and joining us to talk about it, is singer, john legend and david steel, executive vice president of samsung. first of all, why did you do this and what was the point behind the video project and what you found? >> well, the exciting thing about this is samsung inspired these young people to be creative and say, convince us why you deserve this technology we are going to give $1 million worth of technology to schools around the country. show us why you deserve us at your school. so these kids made videos. they talked about local issues and how science and math related to those local issues and how they could do something about it. they were inspired to be creative and reach high for this great technology they were going to receive. they did such a great job, the finalists and the winners were awesome. >> we need more kids like this. when you take a look at how we are in this country and where we lag, the u.s. lags internationally in both math and science. >> and reading and all kinds of things. >> unfortunately, yes. you are trying to focus on these. 17th in science, 25th in math in the latest testing. how do you hope that this program as well as others can sort of help people in the u.s., help these kids move up on that list? >> a lot of it is about making it exciting. it is about taking stem out of the classroom, not being a formal learning environment but getting kids outside and realizing that stem, science, technology, engineering and math is behind everything we do. you go out and look at the community around you and think about how you can apply science and math. that makes it more cool. >> if you like your iphone, somebody really smart thought about that. >> a lot of these kids were turning in videos that had an environmental focus or renewable energy. the whole green field, that's science, energy, math and technology. tell me a little bit about that. >> we kind fids akids are gettie interested in the environment. teachers want to use that as a way of getting kids excited. we had kids looking at water quality quality, carbon emissions all sorts of issues. >> imagine in japan the kind of conversations they are having where we are all trying to understand the background of nuclear energy and cleanups. it is interesting that's the trends kids are seeing. john, you are famous for being a musician. kids look up to you. they love you are a superstar musician. how do you convince them that you can also be a role model or you can also do something great by maybe focusing on something like science? >> i speak to schools all the time. one of the things i tell the kids is that most of you will not become successful musicians. most of you will not become successful athletes. most of the successful people that i know are not famous. i actually loved math in high school. i had some great math teachers and i think i was inspired by them just as much as i was inspired by people in liberal arts and music. >> we know we need inspiration in our education system. david steel, john legend, thanks so much. >> great to you. we are going to continue to follow you on our social networking. this contest is getting a lot of the attention and we are glad. top stories coming your way after a very quick break. e fligs for 25,000 miles, but... 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if there is a government shutdown at midnight friday, it could hurt our troops. the defense department is preparing our soldiers to fight without pay. the latest on that on this american morning. good morning, it is thursday, april the 7th. friday 8th may be a deal we all remember if there isn't a deal on the budget. just about 40 hours remain. if congress can't compromise on a budget by midnight tomorrow, the money dries up, the federal government stops operating and hundreds of americans face the prospect of losing their paycheck. >> the president was there with the house speaker and senate majority leader. they didn't get it done. everyone agrees there was some progress made. let's listen. >> i remain confident that if we are serious about getting something done, we should be able to complete a deal and get it passed and avert a shutdown. >> i have confidence we can get this done. we are not there yet. >> no one wants the government to shut down. >> congressional correspondent, brianna keilar is live on capitol hill. house speaker, john boehner, has said that the president has failed to take the lead on these budget talks. what do you make of that? >> reporter: if you were to ask the white house about that, they would say no. we heard from ed henry. he said they feel the president got involved in an important time. that is certainly a criticism that republicans have bb lobbying at the white house. let me tell you what happened after that meeting last night. that was very late when that wrapped up. later than that, you had top aids to senate majority leader, harry reid and house speaker, john boehner who continued to talk into the wee hours of the morning. they will be at it again today. we are watching for any signs that they could be coming to an agreement. in the meantime, house republicans are planning to put on the floor a stop gap measure that would fund the government for one more week. here is what's so interested about this. it has $12 billion in spending cuts. in the last several weeks, congress has been funding the government at the rate of $2 billion in cuts per week. this is six times that. very difficult for democrats to swallow. here is the other issue. it also would fund the defense department through the end of the year. the spoipoint is that house republicans are calling it a troop funding bill. they are daring the senate to not take this on. as you know, we have been talking about the real effects of a government shutdown. one of the worst once sish visually will be military men and women that won't be getting paychecks after friday. >> we know some of the big issues they are stuck on your policy issues. more politics than necessarily math. >> the math is playing into it. we have talked a lot about that as well. the number of spending cuts, how many billions of dollars. you are exactly right. there is this issue of policy. many house republicans say they are not going to vote to fund the budget if it doesn't include a provision to defund health care reform, which is the president's number one legislative achievement. he is not going to go for that and another one that would defund planned parenthood. republicans say the point is to make sure federal laws don't go to pay for abortions. already, federal dollars aren't going to pay for abortions democrats say. these are hot button issues also on the table and one of the moving parts in these negotiations. brianna, thanks very much. we will stay on top of this with you. you are going to be working hard on it all day. there are staffers, members of congress all devoted to keeping the government rung. some members of the tea party movement are publicly rooting for a government shutdown despite the pain it is going to cause at a rally outside the capital yesterday. tea party supporters can'ted bring it on. meaning bring on a government shutdown. listen to what republican congressman, mike pence, told the cheering crowd. >> the liberals in the senate would rather play political games and force a government shutdown instead of accepting a modest down payment on fiscal discipline and reform. i say, shut it down. >> if there is a government shutdown, our troops will stop getting paid. federal tax refunds will be delayed. hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be furloughed. >> and one of our contributors, john avalon is here with us. while all the pain in the offing, the tea party will say, maybe this will teach a lesson. it we learn anything in 1995 when the government shut down? >> republican revolution ending in 1995 during the shutdown. they are blaming president clinton. many say it helped ease his re-election. republicans know the states. john boehner doesn't want this shutdown. he realizes it is not in his interest or the nation's interest or the republican party's interest. you have some folks on the far right cheering for a shutdown to take this nation over the cliff right now. >> let me show you a gallop poll taken on april 5th. 53% want to compromise. 33% say, no deal. hold out even if there is no deal found. when you look at republicans, they are split. some of them want a deal and some of them want the holdout. >> independent voters overwhelmingly want them to find a way to work it out. politics is the art of compremize. that's what we are not seeing. compromise seems like collaboration to some folks. it is this all or nothing. a $30 billion cut that's on the table is a compromise. it would be the largest dollar per dollar cut. they want that plus the policy riders and everything to do with social conservative politics. >> where are the moderates in this discussion? >> the center is trying to hold. the extremes have been hijacking our political debate not just rhetorically but with real results. at the end of the day, people realize, congress is going to have a hard time why they are going to keep getting paid but american troops in the field are not. >> the thing is, kristy brought this up and so did some of the tea party people, they didn't get a budget cut when it was all democrats in power. >> but the government kept running. it becomes a symbol of washington's culture of dysfunction. most americans at homer saying, get it done, do your job. >> it is not just proving a point, you are saying? >> not only that. it is really stupid. if you care about fiscal responsibility and care about dealing with the deficit and the debt, you don't focus on this comparatively small piece of the pie. you live to find another day about entitlement reform. it would doom the budget are from the get-go. >> wait until we have to start worrying about the 2012 budget. >> thank you very much for that. new developments from libya. a deadly air strike near the town of brega in eastern libya. that is area largely opposition controlled. there has been some dislodging. at least five were wounded, five people killed, ten others wounded when an opposition convoy was attacked. it is not clear whether that air strike came from pro gadhafi forces or from native aircraft. that happened earlier in the week. our ben wedeman is there trying to get to the bottom of it. explosions have been reported in the skies over tripoli. they report seeing two allied planes overhead as they launch strikes against gadhafi positions in the capital. >> japan is now saying that radiation levels have fall nn the seawater around that badly damaged nuclear plant. they were as high as 7.5 million times the legal limit over the weekend. it now now dropped to 280,000 yesterday morning. that reading was taken before they managed to plug one of the leaks that was dumping highly radioactive water into the pacific. the plant's operator, tepco, says that levels will be greatly diluted. the fight is far from over. the body of a second american has been found in the wreckage from japan, his name was monty dixon, 26-year-old from alaska. his local paper says he was part of a japanese exchange program teaching english at schools there. secretary of state, hillary clinton, will go to japan next week, expected to meet with japan's prime minister to talk about how to deal with the ongoing nuclear crisis and recovering reconstruction efforts along the destroyed coastline. a soldier in iraq wants to know, are we going to get paid or not? the defense chief, robert gates, bringing good news and bad news to soldiers on the front lines. >> he reportedly had his own pillow and blanket. another air traffic controller found asleep on the job and this time, it was on purpose. >> forecasters calling for a big and bad hurricane season. how many are expected to find land? we will tell you on the other side of the break. it is eight minutes after the hour. the smartest thing you could do is cut the fuel supply... ♪ ...unlock the doors, and turn on the hazard lights. or better yet, get a car that automatically does it for you. ♪ ♪ >> an am security watch, accused of trying to set off a bomb hidden in his underwear on a flight to detroit, 289 people on board. the so-called christmas day bomber, in court today representing himself in a pre-trial hearing charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and the attempted murder of everyone on that flight. another air traffic controller busted for sleeping on the job. he did it on purpose, reportedly found even under a blanket and a pillow. >> it happened at mcgee tyson airport in knoxville, tennessee. he apparently took a five-hour nap while his co-worker landed seven planes alone. it happened in february but was revealed yesterday during a congressional hearing. >> there have been other instances of the same thing happening? >> yes. in our investigation, we did find another incidence. >> just one? >> it was unfortunately, willful. we are in the process of a disciplinary proceedings which will terminate this employee. >> the faa also weighing in and releasing a statement saying they will not tolerate this type of unprofessional behavior. news of this comes after the incident at reagan national airport while one controller, only one there on an overnight shift and fell asleep and two pilots had to land planes on their own. >> i want to start talking about hurricanes in april but, in fact, we have some forecasts that i want to tell you about for the 2011 hurricane season. let me start with the 2010 atlanta hurricane season. the second busiest on record. not a lot made landfall. a total of 19 named storms, 7 of them were storms, 12 were hurricanes and five of the hurricanes were a total of a category three or higher, which makes them major. a hurricane is considered major if it is category three or higher. that means it has sustained winds of more than 110 miles per hour. that's important to note that although there were five hurricanes, none of them made landfall in the united states. let me take you over to 2011 as we head into the season. colorado state university is predicting an above-average season with 16 storms. nine of them becoming hurricanes. now, what are the odds of these hurricanes actually making landfall this year? let me show you what the numbers say. first of all, there is a 72% chance that a storm. at least one major hurricane, category 3 or higher, will make landfall on the u.s. coastline. the east coast has a 48% chance that a major hurricane will hit it. the gulf coast, a 47% chance down there. so that's how it is shaping up for the year. 72% chance of one storm, category 3 or higher, 110 miles per hour or higher, will hit the united states. 48%, the east coast. 47%, the gulf coast, which affects oil production. we are going into the season with already high oil and gasoline prices. let's take it over to the extreme weather center. bonnie schneider will be busy with this if we get there. we are talking about fire danger for oklahoma. very strong wind gust, dry condition, all that comes together for red flag warnings in place for texas and oklahoma the guchsts will climb to 45 mis an hour. look for scattered showers across kansas to oklahoma, west texas. as we head to the northeast, we are tracking more wet weather for, you guessed it, new york, especially eastward into long island. temperatures are cool, holding steady in the 40s this morning. they will warm up. in the mid-30s in boston and upstate. washington, d.c., in the mid-40s right now. we will look for snow popping up into the mountains of pennsylvania. across the country, we have mild conditions throughout much of the southeast today. temperatures will actually get much warmer in the days ahead. even here in atlanta, we are looking for highs in the mid-80s by saturday. that is unusual. chicago will climb to near 70 by saturday. if you could just stick around the weather will get better. on the west coast, still looking at wet weather for san francisco and that will impact your travels. anticipate airport delays there due to wet an windy conditions in san francisco. windy in vegas. the slowdowns will mainly give out 30-60 minutes. not so bad. high temperatures for today, look pretty good. hot unfortunately through much of the southwest. dallas, 86 degrees. 68, washington. 53, new york city. 53, boston. we are starting to feel more like spring. it will feel like summer, though, across the eastern half of the country this weekend. back to you. >> thanks bonnie. this is so cute. i love monkeys to begin with. >> this is an extremely cute situation. >> this is not a monkey. this is an ape. monkeys have tails. a baby orangutan. how could the mom abandon this adorable little one. that babe way was rejected by its mother and 50 zoo staffers have to work around the clock as surrogate moms. when they are little, they cling to their moms, on their backs or bellies for the first year of life. that's why they need 50 of them to help out. the zoo is inviting the public to name the newborn. >> have you thought of any names? >> we have been talking about this for a few times. >> just too cute. >> i'm still trying to name that snake. >> i like mia for the snam and the jury is out for the orangutan. we are going to talk about world renown anthropologist, gain goodall. the talk of the master's government tournament, just 19 years old, a japanese star athlete plans to donate all of his earnings back to his homeland for the entire year. next. ♪ is there a reason we are playing this song? sometimes we have a theme, something to do with the masters. >> what's that green jacket have to do with the masters? >> it is not the cute test in terms of fashion. the masters is underway in augusta, georgia, a couple of fellows named nicholas and palmer got things started about an hour ago. >> a lot of media attention has been focused on this rising young japanese star. patrick snell joins us live from augusta with that story this morning. patrick, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, to you. welcome to augusta. as you say, play is just underway. you are talking about 19-year-old ryo ishikawa from japan. he has quite a resume as well. ten career vic sorries to his name. not one is yet on u.s. soil. i am sure it is only a matter of time. if he can breakthrough here this week at augusta, it is the people back home who will be benefiting in a big way. >> esh ishikawa was playing last week when the earthquake shuck. he has decided to donate all of his winings. >> it is my turn to support those people who are in need. i believe that it is my responsibility and as i recognize that, my social status in japan is getting higher but i believe that that is one of the responsibility to provide those people who are in need. >> reporter: the tokyo team will also throw in extra cash for each birdie he makes and he hopes there will be plenty of them. anything to brighten his countrymen's outlook. >> translator: i would like to emphasize the power and energy that sports can create for those people to encourage them. it is my intention to play really well, that it will be the best way to encourage people in japan. >> reporter: ishikawa has yet to return to japan for the first time since the cat tas vastroph. no doubt, he has already earned the huge respect for the people back home and the whole golfing community, the fans and patrons. he is looking to earn huge sums of money as well so that those back home who are very close, very dear to his heart, they are the with uns wones who will ben. the well wishes from everyone here as i send it back to you. >> enjoy the fast tas tick weather you are going to have for the masters. >> they got lucky. budget battles, military paychecks, hundreds of thousands of our troops are wondering if their paychecks are going to get cut off as the debate goes back and forth in washington and a shutdown of our federal government looms. live at the pentagon next. now include a once-in-a-lifetime offer: book now, save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. ♪ [ male announcer ] lately, there's been a lot of talk about fuel efficiency, hybrids, and plug-in vehicles. and we've got cars like that, even trucks. but we can do more. when you buy a chevrolet, we'll invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and tree-planting programs across america, reducing carbon emissions by up to 8 million metric tons over the next few years in just one more way, we can proudly say, chevy runs deep. ♪ you think i have allergies? 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[ male announcer ] get zyrtec®'s proven allergy relief and love the air®. ♪ who would that be on the streets of new york? >> this is right outside of our building. >> water? what i love, there is a million tax is out there. when it rains one drop, you can't get one to save your life. 42 degrees and cloudy. more showers if you are living here in new york and some other places in the northeast. mid-atlantic today. you are still dealing with it. 53 degrees and showers. at some point, we knoll what it is like. delaun day lugs in your inbox. companies are telling your e-mail may be alerted. verizon and j. crew. it may be in the hands of scamers. epsilon said hackers broke into their computer system and stole an unknown number of names and e-mail addresses. i am going to venture it was a big, big number. unemployment rates are falling, believe it or not in. it is the national rate that gets that. unemployment rates in big cities and little cities across the country are coming down. it is not limited to certain regions. in february, we saw more than 300 areas. their unemployment rates fell compared to a year earlier. in 52 other cities, we did see a rise. giving more perspective here. some of the rates are still in the double digits. another good sign here. hiring happening across the country. 53,000 jobs added in l.a. new york, 18,000. miami, 16,000. we can't forget. we still have 13 million people out of work. >> thanks, alison kosik. at least five people are reportedly dead and ten others wounded following an air strike near the town of brega. right now, it is not clear whether this attack was carried out by progadhafi forces or nato aircraft. still no agreement on a budget. the president met late last night but they could not get a deal done. if one can't be reached by midnight friday, the government will shut down. if that happens, hundreds of thousands of federal workers will see their jobs furloughed and our troops will have their paychecks cut off. news for your budget. for the 16th day in a row, gas prices jumping again overnight aaa says gas went up 20% over this time last year. robert gates making what could be his final trip to iraq as defense secretary. he met with u.s. soldiers and military leaders overnight. plans to meet with rocky government officials later today. he is expected to retire some time this year. we are talking a lot about what would happen if the government did shut down. if the parties can't pass a spending bill, the money basically stops flowing. what exactly does it mean? we wanted to take a look at what's going to stay open and what is going to be affected. one of the things we talk about is the irs, tax time. a lot of people waiting on the refund checks will have to keep waiting. processing of any type of tax return, paperwork and refunds will stop. however, electronic filing and those refunds will continue. what about people worried about social security checks. social security payments are going to stay. medicare payments and claims, they will stay. this is what has some people a little bit exasperated. congress, they are going to keep their paychecks as well. let's take a look at the other screen. what is going on when it comes to troops? will they continue to get paid? if the government shuts down for an extended period of time, what is going to happen is the defense department says that troops, including those fighting in iran and afghanistan will not get paid on time. that could be devastating. small businesses, struggling homeowners. when you take a look at processing of loans, small business loans, those, as well as government-backed loans, those will stop as well. if the government is still making sure some kids don't go hungry, that is going to continue to happen. here is the good news when it comes to that. federal school lunch programs, those continue even though the government may shut down. government-backed mortgages, those also will end. a lot going on when it comes to how much we will feel the impact on main street if members of congress can't come to an agreement. defense secretary, robert gates is in iraq right now. troops are finding themselves in the middle of the battle in washington. barbara starr live at the pentagon. this is the type of water you don't want to wade into in terms of politics and government shutdown could mean active duty troops stop getting paid. >> indeed, keir rieran. it was one of the questions that bob gates got right when he met with the troops. they know what's going on. they wanted to hear from him. he acknowledged if the government shuts down and it goes on for several days, the troops will not be paid. there will be catchup pay after everything is sorted out. for some period of time, they will not see a paycheck. the secretary said he regretted that. he offered a bit of gallos humor about the whole thing. have a listen. >> as a historian, it always occurred for me that the smart thing for government was always to pay the guys with guns first. >> a little bit of humor as we said there. if it does come to this, it will be everybody in the u.s. military in uniform, everybody from general david petraeus on down to a private first class in the army who may make very little more than about $20,000 a year. these young troops live, many of them, paycheck to paycheck. their families need the money. this is not an option for them. yes, it will even include the wounded still lying in their hospital beds. kieran? >> barbara starr, thanks so much. donald trump is rising in the polls for president. a new nbc wall street journal poll has the donald tied for second with mike huckabee. they are trailing mit romney. has anybody declared their running? >> president obama. >> donald trump is getting a lot of headlines by questioning president obama's birth place. saying that people on the ground investigating this issue. just how serious is donald trump. we are going to ask him this afternoon. don't miss the donnel at 12:15 eastern. jane goodall is considered to be the world foremost expert. that will be donald trump we are looking aat. jane goodall is the foremost expert on chimpanzees. she has a new children's book with a message for children, follow your dreams, even if they are wild ones. ♪ we could've gone a more traditional route... ... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪ ♪ the word living legend should be used sparingly. they certainly fit our next guest to a tee. jane good tall has rekey fined the way we look at prime mates. best known for her work with chimpanzees in tan zan nia. now, young children can learn how her fascinating life took shape in a new book titled. "me, jane." it is a great measure to have jane goodall with us this morning. welcome, first of all. >> thank you. >> this story is a children's book. it is beautifully illustrated. it reads like a fairy tale. it is really your story of how you got involved in decades worth of work dealing with primates. >> that's exactly right. it is amazing. it almost is as though my story was kind of created to say to kids, follow your dream. >> the legend has it that your father gave you a stuffed animal that others thought would be a little bit scary for a little girl to have. that's not necessarily what got you involved. >> that's why he gave me a stuffed chimpanzee. he is about this big. when i had him, he was all covered in hair. i took him everywhere. so he is now almost naked and very fragile. he is 74 years old, 75 years old. >> wow, your life's work has been devoted to working with animals. the interesting thing is, you have got a ph.d. but you didn't study as a researcher initially and you made your way to africa and started working with lewis leaky and ultimately started studying animals different than traditional scientists did. you changed some of the things we used to think. tell me some of the things you discovered that you didn't know. >> when i got there, it was very obvious that each chimpanzee was as different one from the other as we are. it was very obvious that they had little minds that could think and work out problems. it was very obvious they had emotions, happiness, sadness, fear. i named them all. i have named all my animals all my life. >> which is not how scientists do things. >> i went to cambridge, because lewis said, i had to get a ph.d. no time for a ba. i was told i did it all wrong. animals could have numbers an not names. i could not talk about personality, mind or emotion because those were unique to us. i already knew that that was wrong, because i had a wonderful teacher when i was a child, my dog, rusty. >> you knew they had personalities. you went to africa working as a secretary. you just wanted to get there and be closer to animals an you worked your way into becoming a researcher and one of the preimminent researchers in this field. the other things that we didn't know is that they use tools. >> tool users. >> we thought only humans used tools. >> man, the toolmaker is how we were defined. lewis said we have to redefine man or redefine tool or accept chimps as humans. >> did you ever want to get up and say, i'm kind of done with chimps, i want to study dolphins? >> i would love to study all animals. lewis leaky suggested chimps. they are the most like us. they helped me to persuade other scientists and to some extent religious people that there isn't a sharp line dividing us from the others. it is a blurry line. chimps are so like us biologically as well. you can't really argue against it. >> i want to just ask you about roots that shoots. that' this is an organization that helps kids connect with animals and wildlife. >> roots and shoots began in tanzania with 12 high school students have the the idea was, choose projects to make the world better for people, animals and the environment. at that time, they weren't teaching about the environment in tanzania. from that little group of 12 high school students, we now have about 16,000 active groups with an average of 30 per group, ruffle, in 126 countries, ages preschool all the way through and including very strongly university. also, normal adults want to form groups. the main message, every single one of us makes a difference every single day. >> you have made a difference for decades. the book is a very easy read. it is the kind of book you cherish. it is beautifully illustrated and it is your life's story condensed, highly condensed into something that you can read in 10 or 15 minutes. thank you for being with us, because your life can't be told in such little time. it is a pleasure to meet with us. thank you for being with us, gain go jane goodall. >> nice to meet you. severe storms moving into the midwest and tornadoes possible, a threat of crass fires in the tsao. bonnie schneider following all of that next. er with positively radiant spf 30. with active naturals soy, it's now proven to visibly transform all five factors of radiance; tone, texture, blotchiness, dullness and brown spots. so now the definition of radiant skin... you're looking at it. [ female announcer ] positively radiant. and try skin brightening daily scrub, only from aveeno. discover the power of active naturals. ♪ ooh baby, (what) can i do for you today? ♪ [ female announcer ] need help keeping your digestive balance? align can help. only align has bifantis, a patented probiotic that naturally helps maintain your digestive balance. try align to help retain a balanced digestive system. try the #1 gastroenterologist recommended probiotic. align. try the #1 gastroenterologist recommended probiotic. forty years ago, he wasn't worried about retirement. he'd yet to hear of mutual funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more with our free usaa retirement guide. call 877-242-usaa. he met with moammar gadhafi, joined by a former staffer. they are here to tell us exactly what message they have delivered to moammar gadhafi and what exactly gadhafi has said. congressman weldon, thank you so much. you met with gadhafi. how did that meeting go? what did you talk about? >> first of all, we have not yet met with gadhafi. the meetings we have had have been with all of the key staffers. we just left a two-hour meeting with the prime minister mamudi. we spent yesterday an the day before meeting with the chief of the staff and one of the sons. we are still waiting for the meeting with the leader. >> what did they say? >> well, we have brought them over some suggestions. we are here on a private delegation only because i have met with gadhafi more than any other american on three official congressional delegations. i know the man and i wanted to basically have the chance to confront directly the issues that are important. we are here in support of president obama and secretary of state, hillary clinton and vice president, joe biden. we are not here with a different agenda. we are not here to do any type of negotiation. we are here conveying a message. i have worked libyan issues, both incongress and congress ant libya. >> what is the message? >> the message is that there are certain steps that have to be taken. they were outlined in the op ed i had run in the "new york times" on the day we arrived here, yesterday, which are very succinct and clear. they are the message that hillary clinton again repeated yesterday in her press event. we north deviating from that. there is no separate agenda. it is to reinforce the importance of an immediate cease-fire monitored by the u.n. on both sides with the libyan army pulling back in all the cities in distress and the rebel forces stopping their forward movement to protect the people. i understand there were other people killed today. >> do you have any indication. >> the leader had to step aside. >> you and i are talking over each other with a little bit of delay. do you have any indication from the people you have met so far, the officials, including one of the sons of moammar gadhafi, that he is hearing this message. he delivered a three-page rambling letter to a president telling the president of united states to stop an unjust war. it is a very different position. are they hearing you? >> well, they have no choice but to hear me and us because i'm meeting face to face, which is the reason i came here. oftentimes, you can't convey the same intessnsity or emotion. that's why i made this trip. no one is paying me to be here. i have not made any money from any of my work in libya. i am here to avoid war, to avoid americans from being killed and innocent libyans from being killed. they are listening. they are receiving and we have given them suggestions, numerous. our hope is that they p accept some of the suggestions but, more importantly, to fully understand the gravity of the situation. time is running out. the world is very concerned about what's happening in misrata. i have been to misrata. the world is very concerned about what's happening in benghazi and all of the communities. we don't want more libyan people to die. >> the question is, is moammar gadhafi going to hear this message? you met with him more than any other official in the united states. that is true. this is someone who has again and again defied the west, been openly confrontational with the west and his own people. after a three-page rambling letter to the president yesterday, how do you think you are going to be able to push him in the u.s. direction and not just you yourself find yourself on state television as a prop for him showing that he is big and important and the west listens to him? >> well, i'm not a prop for anyone or i wouldn't have written the op ed that appeared in "the new york times" yesterday on the day i arrived. i don't think anyone would tell me that that op ed was an attempt to apiece anyopease any. it was very direct. i did that in my first meeting with gadhafi when i chaired a bipartisan delegation in 2004, he said to me, congressman, why did it take 25 years for someone from your country to come and sit down with me and tell me from my face you thought i was a criminal and then bomb me. you didn't do that. you bombed me first. i said, it is time for me to come over and ask to meet with him personally and tell him, it is time for us to resolve this conflict and these are the simple steps necessary to move this to a point where the president and the secretary of state can send an official envoy to interact with them directly and to do the actual negotiation. we are not doing any negotiation. we are here to reinforce the message of the obama administration. >> do you think you will be meeting with gadhafi today? will you meet with him or just his aids? is it clear you will be able to tell him, deliver this message in person? there were some planes that flew over in attempts to shoot them out of the air. we heard some rifle shots. there is uncertainty here. they are concerned about security. in my previous meetings with gadhafi, you never know until the last moment that you are going to have the meeting. we are here and we are available for the rest of tonight and into tomorrow. so there is no other excuse now. we are here to give a message face to face. >> congressman curt weldon, thank you so much. also, brian ettinger, a former staffer. thank you so much for your time and best of luck to you in your mission. >> interesting stuff. we will keep following that. at this very moment, america's future is at stake. students don't have the skills to tackle some of the high-tech jobs of the future. >> one of the lowest performing schools in boston attempts to turn things around. 51 minutes after the hour. to the morning bowl of cereal. and to lactaid® milk. easy to digest and with all the calcium and vitamin d of regular milk. [ female announcer ] lactaid®. the original lactose-free milk. there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. our premium litters now work harder to help neutralize odors in multiple cat homes. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. i don't have to leave my desk and get up and go to the post office anymore. ♪ we have a crisis in american education. the race is on to transform terrible schools into top performers. >> this is no easy task. president obama is talking about taking drastic steps. his administration wants to shell out millions in funding to try to fix the country's worst schools. >> cnn's suzanne malveaux visited a school in boston that is receiving some of that money. their once bad school is on the path to excellence. >> 13-year-old eric hall is in the seventh grade at orchards gardens, one of boston's poorest performing schools. he has seen a lot since he started in kinder garden. >> i have seen different teachers and principals and students come and go. >> reporter: this year is different. >> gym, writing, reading, math. i am pretty much enjoying all of my classes. >> reporter: that's because orchard gardens is one of 5,000 schools around the country getting millions of dollars from the federal government to turn around. the goal, to become a top-performing school. we first visited principal, andrew bott last september. >> we need to do something bolt. we need to restart orchard gardens. >> reporter: he hand-picked his staff to replace the 80% he fired. the turnaround rules mandate he replace at least half. he also has $3.7 million in grants to help him over the next three years. seven months into the year, with standardized test season in full swing, we checked back in. >> i did not imagine we would be this far. i know that within three years, we can have over 90% of our kids proficient or advanced and on a college track. >> reporter: these could be monumental gains when you consider only 10% of the students were proficient in years past. >> now, we are anywhere from 35%-50% proficient in english and anywhere from 15% to 75% proficient in math. >> reporter: these are projections. official scores from state tests won't be available until this summer. justin cohen works to improve failing scoots. he calls. bott's goals ambitious and cautions against declaring early victory. >> they can slide back once resources are taken away or attention is distracted. >> reporter: improvements go beyond test scores. behavior, night and day. >> reporter: eric hall thinks his school is doing something right. >> there were headaches every day. they actually made it fun. >> reporter: reporting for in america, i am suzanne malveaux. >> the promise is, how do you expand that out and take the time with the individual kids, they really surprise you. good thing. how can america compete if our kids don't have the skills they need to excel? soledad o'brien is looking into this as well in a special report "don't fail me, education in america." it is 56 minutes after the hour. versity where the faculty average over 14 years of experience in their fields to help him turn a thesis into a business plan and accelerate the path between ideas... and actions. my name is myron sullivan, i'm developing a robotic system to clean oil spills, and i am a phoenix. 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