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Tackling The Big E's; Budget Behind The Scenes; One Deal Down With Bigger Budget Battles Ahead; Tornado Hits Iowa; Another Earthquake In Japan; IPhone's First 3D Scanner; Credit for Budget Deal; Asian Airlines Keep Perks
Aired April 11, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Suzanne. Only in Washington can you wrap up a deal worth $38.5 billion, and then face a problem many hundreds of times bigger. Yes, the federal government is still up and running thanks to a last-second spending deal that, by the way, lawmakers and staff members are racing to flesh (ph) out.
We know some of the $38.5 billion that House and Senate leaders and President Obama agreed to cut, from what's left of fiscal 2011, will come from the labor department, the education department, health and human services, including aspects of health care reform, the state department, including foreign aid, and get this, Montana senators slipped in a measure to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list so they can go shoot it.
The House is taking up the plan today and hopes to vote on Wednesday. A senate vote will follow but first, let's see what you think. A brand new CNN poll shows 58 percent of Americans approve of the budget compromise, 38 percent do not. Among the deals architects, President Obama gets the highest marks, 54 percent of Americans approve of the president's handling of the standoff, 44 percent liked what they saw from Congressional Republicans, same goes for Congressional Democrats.
And here's what they'll be fighting about next. In just about a month, the national debt will hit the legal limit, $14.294 trillion. Deficit hawks don't want to raise it again but the alternative, well that could be disastrous. Much more about this in the hours and the days ahead, but now let's bring in our Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry and Senior Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.
Dana, first let's go to you. Regarding the current budget deal, tell us what's happening behind the scenes on Capitol Hill?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They are racing to still put pen to paper and give us -- and give the American people more importantly I think the people who are actually going to be voting on this what exactly these cuts are going to be. You gave some of the broad parameters just now, but that's really all we have. And we are expected to get some details. Members of the staff, of the leadership and the House and the Senate and appropriations committees worked all weekend, Randi, to try to do this, and we are expecting possibly not even until late tonight. Get this, the House doesn't even come in tonight until 11:00 p.m. Eastern. That just shows how much time they think they need to get this posted. And again, online and to allow members of Congress to read it. So, that they can prepare for a vote on Wednesday.
KAYE: And this next fight could really come down to the wire as well. Congress we know is leaving town again next week for what, spring break you might call it?
BASH: Spring break, that's right, a two-week recess, Congress is going to be out of here. But you mentioned at the beginning of this program, one -- the next big fight and that is going to be when they come back over raising that debt ceiling, and making sure, from the perspective of a lot of people, that this country doesn't default on its loans and maybe more importantly, send Wall Street and the markets into a tailspin if they don't deal with it.
The issue is going to be what to cut, that's right, what to cut. That is what we are going to be seeing the debate over again, because this was sort of a dry run, if you will, or first round in the fight over how much spending to cut.
Republicans have made it clear from the get-go, from as soon as they took the majority, Randi, in January, that they knew that the debt ceiling fight was going to come and it is very tough vote because it is against, sort of, I think with what they -- - what they campaigned on and also they say against what Americans should stand for being in this much debt, but they also say they're not going to do this until and unless they get additional spending cuts to go along with it.
KAYE: All right, Dana, thank you.
And let's bring in our Ed Henry. Ed, this is going to be a very busy week for the president, too.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, Wednesday he's now planning this big speech here in Washington, lay out sort of his deficit reduction plan. Significant there because he has previously said at a number of news conferences here, told us, look, there doesn't need to be an Obama plan.
You know, that's not going to magically solve this problem. And White House aides have explained that they didn't want the president to sort of lay down some markers that would have made negotiations harder if he was sort of boxed in on specific numbers and specific plans on social security or Medicare, Medicaid, some of the big-ticket items.
But the fact of the matter is they've now made clearly a new calculation which is that this debate has progressed enough that they don't want it to look like the president is falling behind here. They want him out front on all of this. And it's a big question, it's a huge challenge for this president. Is he going to step up now or, you know, not just a challenge but maybe an opportunity for him to really show he's in charge, and he's going to bring both sides together.
He did it in December with that tax cut deal during the lame duck session. He pretty much did it the last couple of days working with Speaker Boehner and Senator Reid. Now he has another big, big opportunity here -- Randi.
KAYE: And I also want to ask you just very quickly about those poll numbers. Should the White House feel encouraging given what a high rating the president got in terms of how he handled this?
HENRY: You know, a little bit, but frankly, I just don't think they can rest on their laurels (ph). As you were just laying out with Dana, they've got to pivot pretty quickly here to this fight over the debt ceiling. It's going to expire, reach its limit around May 16th, according to the treasury secretary.
Jay Carney just opened up the White House briefing with the whole fushalaws (ph) of, you know, saying it would be Armageddon he said, to quote one thing. If the debt ceiling is not raised and laid out all the reasons why, we'll default, and Wall Street, the markets will be spooked.
So, they are immediately turning their attention to that debt ceiling vote. And Speaker Boehner's made clear, you're not going to have the debt ceiling lifted unless you put some really big spending cuts on the table. that's why this Wednesday's speech by the president is huge.
KAYE: All right, Ed Henry. Thank you, Ed.
HENRY: Thank you.
KAYE: Well, you know, we were almost an hour away from a government shut down last week, so we want to hear from you. What do you think about the last 72 hours in Washington? Who came out ahead on this if anyone? Join the conversation on our blog and tell us what you think at CNN.com/Ali. And you can also post on Ali's Facebook and Twitter pages along with my Facebook and Twitter as well. We'll share your comments later on in the show.
Our "Sound Effect" is a stark reminder that for all its charm spring is also tornado season in much of the country. Potentially violent weather is forecast today in parts of the south while a couple of towns in the upper Midwest face long recoveries from a very stormy weekend. I want you to hear from tornado chasers who tracked a big one near Mapleton, Iowa. There excitement is not matched by folks in Mapleton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, Mapleton. Mapleton's in big trouble.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
TERRY RUS, HOME OWNER: Scared me. Went outside and looked around after it quit and couldn't believe it. I was out on the front porch and I seen that tornado coming and I got in the house. AL GRIES, SON TO HOUSE OWNER: It was getting black out and she was going to go to the basement. Thank goodness she did because her house is completely gone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: That last man had driven into town to check on his elderly mother. It's estimated 60 percent of Mapleton was leveled by Saturday's twister but no one was killed.
Texas firefighters are struggling to control massive wildfires. This one in this Midland County, Texas has destroyed 34 homes. The biggest fire is in Procedo (ph) County, it's grown to 80 thousand acres and is only 10 percent contained. Wildfires have consumed more than 643,000 acres in Texas since the fire season began.
In Japan on the one-month anniversary of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, another powerful aftershock hit the already devastated country. The 6.6 earthquake struck just about 30 miles southwest of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This latest earthquake triggered landslides in the city of Iwaki. They buried three homes trapping several people under mud. Workers briefly evacuated the Fukushima Daiichi plant but have returned.
In the meantime, Japan's government is calling for evacuations to include towns that are beyond the designated danger zone. They say residents could receive high doses of radiation for quite some time.
OK, so take a good look. This is the last official public appearance of Britain's Prince William and his fiancee, Kate Middleton, before their April 29th wedding. They toured towns in northwest England, opening a school on their first stop. And despite rain, more than 15,000 people turned out to catch a glimpse of the prince and the soon-to-be princess.
The city of Los Angeles is often associated with the glitz and glamour of celebrities and box office hits, but the city does have quite a few challenges to deal with. We'll talk to the man at the helm, L.A. mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, next.
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KAYE: Welcome back. Los Angeles is probably best known as the city of stars and big-screen fame, but the nation's second-largest city does have more than its fair share of challenges. Take a look at this. Let's call these challenges the three big Es.
First, the economy. Los Angeles is working to close a $492 million budget gap right now.
Second, employment. Right now there are eight unemployed individuals competing for every single job, according to the department of labor.
And third, education. The L.A. Unified School District has a projected deficit of more than $500 million and may lay off 5,000 teachers. Let's talk about these three Es with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Thanks for joining us, mayor.
ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES: Thanks for having me and thanks for playing "I love L.A." I love L.A., too.
KAYE: Well, so do we. Listen, first up, on Wednesday, you are set to deliver your sixth state of the city address. What is going to be the main of this one?
VILLARAIGOSA: Education. It is the -- as you said, the economic issue of our time. It's the democracy issue of our time an it's the civil rights issue of our time. If L.A.'s going to be competitive in a world economy that's founded on intellectual capital, we're going to have to do a lot better job to educate our kids to graduate more of them, to set higher standards, to continue the reform efforts that we've engaged in over the last five and a half years, and to really step up our game, if you will.
KAYE: But when you talk about those numbers, though, and you look at them closely, they're staggering. I mean, right now the L.A. Unified School District has a projected deficit more than $500 million and may lay off those 5,000 teachers that we mentioned. So, how do you plan on improving education under such horrible circumstances?
VILLARAIGOSA: Well, I'm working with Jerry Brown to put the current taxes -- - to extend the current taxes for another five years so that we don't have to lay off any more teachers across the state. We're working to get a lot more bang from the buck, focusing more of our money in the classroom, cutting bureaucracy.
And then, we're just going to really focus a lot more on the continued reform efforts that we've implemented over the last five years. We can do more with what we have now. Having said that, at some point we just got to recognize we're 47th in per-people spending and close to the bottom in virtually every investment area -- technology in the classroom, libraries, teachers per student, the list goes on and on.
KAYE: Yes, and if you have these larger class sizes, then there's that trickle-down effect, it could affect students getting into college and really just their education as a whole.
VILLARAIGOSA: Without question. The drop-out rate in Los Angeles and in big cities across the country is still too high. When Tom Friedman talks about the world is flat and says that our kids aren't competing, he's talking about yours and mine. These kids aren't competing with the developing world. And so when you have a drop-out who averages about $10 an hour over their lifetime, a high school graduate about $15, a college graduate about $34, and someone with a masters about $50, you see the impact to the economy that happens when we're not educating our kids.
KAYE: And speaking of the economy, we know that education is very important, but how are you planning on addressing the crippled economy in your city? VILLARAIGOSA: Well, we're focusing on a number of areas, including, first of all, we've got to get our own budget house in order. We'll be solving almost $500 million in deficit this year, making tough choices. As you know, we passed a landmark pension reform bill, moving our pension for 19,000 workers to about -- about 11 percent from 7 percent.
But we're also doing more. We're focusing on America Fast Forward to invest in infrastructure, to accelerate the investments that we need to put people back to work and move people and goods. And it's actually getting bipartisan support because what it would do is get the federal government to loan and/or bond against what cities and counties are already doing.
KAYE: And just very quickly, what about the unemployment in your city? How -- what will you do to fix that?
VILLARAIGOSA: Well, that's the big challenge. As I said, America Fast Forward is one of our solutions or one of our proposals, but we've got a big challenge here. We've got to educate more people because disproportionately the people who are unemployed are also uneducated. Ultimately the federal government, instead of shutting down, has to invest in job creation. Instead of focusing on women's reproductive health, they've got to be focusing on putting people back to work.
KAYE: And, you know, I think a lot of people, they look at Los Angeles, they see all the glitz and the glamour and they say, how did you get into such a grim economic situation. So how did you get here?
VILLARAIGOSA: Well, first of all, the whole country is in a grim economic situation. The economy's getting a little better, but we haven't seen enough of an impact on the unemployment rate. Here in L.A., there are a couple of reasons why we have the unemployment rate that we do. One, construction is way down. Two, the undereducated workforce. That's why we're focusing so much on education to get us more competitive and to put people back to work.
KAYE: All right, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, thank you so much for your time. We loved having you on the show. Thank you.
VILLARAIGOSA: Thank you so much.
KAYE: Even in an economic recovery, some industries are on the verge of extinction. Is your career in one of these fields? We'll tell you next in "Your Money."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A new study by a research firm called IBIS World looks at 10 industries that may be on the verge of extinction in the United States. Each has experienced a severe drop in size and revenue and each is expected to continue dwindling over the next six years. Topping the list -- wired telecommunication carriers, largely due to the growth of new technologies like cell phones and the Internet. That's the same reasons industries like newspaper publishing, record stores and video and game rentals are also declining. Photo finishing and video post production services are dying industries due to the growing use of affordable digital cameras and digital media.
The housing boom increased the number of manufactured home dealerships, but now that the bubble has burst, the industry is struggling. U.S. mills and apparel manufacturing have been hit hard by cheap imports. Low clothes prices are also hurting businesses that rent formalwear and costumes. Many consumers also are now choosing to buy instead of renting.
Visit our blog at cnn.com/ali for a link to the full report.
And be sure to join Christine Romans for "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" each Saturday morning at 9:30 Eastern. And don't miss "YOUR $$$$$" with Ali Velshi Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sundays at 3:00.
Time right now, 22 minutes past the hour. Time for some top stories.
We're learning more about Friday's budget deal between President Obama and congressional leaders. "The New York Times" reports that $13 billion will be cut from programs at the Labor, Education and Health and Human Services Departments. It also says there will be $1 billion in across-the-board cuts at domestic agencies.
A west African civil war that's claimed hundreds of live may be nearing an end. Laurent Gbagbo was arrested today in Ivory Coast. Gbagbo refused to step down from the presidency after losing a November election to Alassane Ouattara. It's not clear yet who made the arrest today, but a U.N. spokesman says Gbagbo is being held at a local hotel.
Libyan opposition leaders have rejected a cease-fire deal proposed by the African Union. The deal, accepted earlier by Libyan Leader Moammar Gadhafi, did not address the question of whether Gadhafi will step down. Gadhafi has ruled Libya for almost 42 years.
The big budget deal is done, but what was the president's real role in getting the two sides together? Our Ed Henry is standing by to take us behind the scenes at the White House. You'll come along next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: We talked earlier about the budget deal in Washington and what comes next, but we wanted to go back for a minute to Friday night, hours before the government was supposed to shut down. So let's bring in senior White House correspondent Ed Henry, as we do every day at this time.
Ed, great to see you.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Randi. Good to see you.
KAYE: Tell us what was going on behind the scenes at the White House in those final, tense hours.
HENRY: I think the most significant part is that you had the president of the United States on the phone throughout the day with both Senator Reid on the Democratic side and Speaker Boehner on the Republican side, including four phone calls with Boehner right up until the late evening there on Friday night, just hours before the final deal that averted that midnight shutdown.
Now, why is that significant? This president had taken a lot of hits publicly, even from some of his fellow Democrats, more conservative Democrats, but Democrats nonetheless saying, where are you? You're not on the playing field. You're not getting your hands dirty here. I think the president, you know, in the White House estimation, was saving it for the final stretch when maybe he would have the most impact.
Why is that important now? Well, fast forward to this week. And Jay Carney just announced just a minute ago that the president's big deficit reduction speech we've been hearing about is going to be early afternoon Wednesday here in Washington at the George Washington University. This is a big moment for this president who, again, had been criticized for a long time here now for not getting his hands dirty on these big budget issues. He's now going to lay out some sort of a plan early on Wednesday. This is going to give his critics a chance to pick it apart.
And, by the way, there are not just going to be critics on the Republican side. There are going to be some on the left who are not happy with some of the spending cuts, potentially, this president puts on the table. But watch for him -- when you talk to some of his senior aides -- to try to carve out the middle. That's what he's been trying to do in recent months and say, look, liberals have some ideas, Paul Ryan and some of the Republicans have their ideas. Here's where I'm at. And there's that whole center ground where he has a big challenge, but also a big, big opportunity if he rises to the occasion and shows some leadership here, Randi.
KAYE: So take us back, though, one more time if you can, to that Friday night. I mean was there a sigh of relief by the president? Any sign of a victory dance inside the White House?
HENRY: Well, no victory dance. It's funny, you know, they, in the middle of the night, they were briefing reporters and basically saying, some White House aides, you know, look, this is not a victory for us or a victory for the president, it's a victory for the American people. And that's typically what White Houses v the Party do after a big victory like that, when you and I both know that if this had gone down and the government had shut down, there would be people pointing the finger at the president, people pointing the finger at Speaker Boehner and there would be losers in all of this.
So if there are losers if there's a shutdown, there's got to be winners if there's not a shutdown. And as much as they protest that, oh, we didn't win here, the fact of the matter is, privately they feel like this was a huge victory for the president because, again, he was the one in the final hours that pulled this back from the precipice.
Now, Speaker Boehner has got a case to be made as well in terms of a victory because the narrative the Democrats had been pushing was, look, you know, Boehner is a captive to the Tea Party. He'll never agree to a deal with this president. He's going to shut the government down just to make the Tea Party people happy. No, in the end, Boehner compromised as well and showed a lot of people in this town that maybe he and the president have a more trusting relationship than they thought. That's going to be important in these battles ahead.
KAYE: And, Ed, just real quickly, I want to ask you about some of the choreography. When the president announced that there would not be a shutdown, he had the Washington Monument framed up perfectly in the window next to him. And then he showed up at the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday. Was that staged or spontaneous? What do you know?
HENRY: Oh, I'm sure it was spontaneous, Randi. Again, that's why his White House said, this is not a -- White House aides said, this is not a victory for the president. He just ran over to the Lincoln Memorial just as a coincidence. I mean obviously this was some stagecraft as much as they protest this was not a victory for the president. There he is with adoring crowds at the Lincoln Memorial saying, thanks, Mr. President, for keeping this open. All these school children in town for spring break. So the fact of the matter is, he's running for re- election, let's not forget, and that's hanging over all of these budget battles.
KAYE: I do think I saw his fist-bumping some of the children there at the Lincoln Memorial, so certainly not spontaneous.
HENRY: Not at all.
KAYE: All right. Thank you, Ed. Great to see you.
HENRY: Good to see you.
KAYE: Don't mind making a commitment to a wireless provider, right? But not all of us want to be tied down for two whole years! Well, you want to hear what Verizon is doing to keep the ball and chain on you even longer. That next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Thirty minutes past the hour. Some stories you may have missed. Now that President Obama and congressional leaders have agreed on a plan to keep the government running through September, they'll have to sell it to the full Congress. The House begins considering the deal today. A vote is expected later this week, and the Senate will take up the bill after that. The budget will cut $38.5 billion in nonmilitary discretionary spending. The president will lay out his plan on how to reduce the nation's long-term deficit on Wednesday.
Nature has turned destructive in Texas. People are not only dealing with wildfires but are now cleaning up from severe thunderstorms that tore through north Texas overnight. High winds and hail downed trees and power lines, cracked windows and damaged roofs. Despite the widespread damage, there are no reports of any injuries.
In Iowa over the weekend, a wave of powerful tornadoes. The twisters destroyed a big portion of Mapleton, but emergency workers say there were only minor injuries and no deaths.
Well, this was the scene out of Japan today. The nation grieved and marked the one-month anniversary of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. But while it observed the occasion in quiet prayer and reflection, another powerful earthquake rattle the already-devastated country. The 6.6 magnitude quake just about 30 miles southwest of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. This latest earthquake triggered landslide in the city of Awaki, trapping several people. Workers briefly evacuated the plant but have returned. In the meantime, Japan's government is calling for evacuations to include towns that are beyond the designated danger zone.
France's controversial move to ban Islamic veils took effect today. The ban specifically targets burqas, a full body covering. Also the full face veil. The law does not ban head scarves, head gear and other head covers as long as it does not prevent the person from being identified. The French prime minister defended the ban last month as in keeping with national values. The law imposes a fine of 150 euros, or $190, or community service.
Well, if you are with Verizon, you had a choice between a one-year or two-year wireless contract. Well, not anymore. If you just want one year and not two, you have until just this Sunday to sign up. Verizon says it's getting rid of the one-year contract as of April 17th. Verizon claims the move is a simple matter of supply and demand saying, quote, "a greater majority of customers sign up for the two- year contract."
There is no magic pill for shedding those extra pounds, at least not right now. But we'll a new drug may come pretty darn close right after this.
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KAYE: As much as some of us would love one, there is no silver bullet for weight loss. At least not right now.
But researchers say they are getting closer. It is a new drug called Qnexa, which is a combination of two existing drugs, phentermine and topiramate. In a one-year trial, those who took Qnexa, along with getting lifestyle and exercise counseling, lost an average of 22 pounds. The drug also lowered cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
Qnexa has a somewhat controversial history, though, you should know. It was rejected last year by the Food and Drug Administration because there wasn't enough data on the risk of birth defects and heart problems related to the drug. Topiramate has been linked to a increased risk of cleft lip and palate deformities in babies born to women who took the drug and can cause mood changes.
The FDA also asked the company that makes Qnexa, Vivis, to extend the trial period of the latest study and to provide additional findings on the drug's effect on heart function and its safety for use in women who might become pregnant. Vivas says when the two drugs, phentermine and topiramate, were taken at controlled released doses, they were very safe. The study was conducted by Vivis, and according to "The Los Angeles Times," three of the seven authors work for that company. Results of the study are in today's online edition of the medical journal "The Lancet."
All right. No let up for Japan. Exactly one month after the devastating earthquake and tsunami, another powerful quake hits the very same region. The latest right after this.
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KAYE: There's simply no relief for Japan. Another powerful earthquake hit the country today exactly one month after much of northern Japan was devastated by a major quake and tsunami. CNN's Kyung Lah joins us from Tokyo.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, Japan was rocked by a series of earthquakes. These are aftershocks, and the strongest of the aftershocks was a magnitude 6.6, according to the USGS.
And what really got people concerned is that it was very close to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, that's the crippled nuclear facility. It caused the evacuation of the nuclear plant. The plant also lost power. That meant, and the power being so critical here, that meant that the plant wasn't able to for about 50 minutes, keep pumping cool water onto those reactors. Reactors one, two and three, which are all damaged. And without that water the concern was the reactors could overheat.
But after about 50 minutes, TEPCO, the owner of the plant says they were able to start that again. They did resume power, and no lingering damage is expected.
All of this, though, coming on the one-month anniversary of the tsunami and earthquake. Across the country, from the tsunami zone, all the way down here to Tokyo, people paused, they prayed from the office buildings to the evacuation centers, taking a moment to try to remember the thousands of people who died.
So, Japan attempting to mourn a month later but finding it has to deal again and again with aftershocks and this nuclear crisis. Randi?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Kyung, thanks.
In Libya, rebels fighting to overthrow Moammar Gadhafi today rejected a cease-fire proposed by the African Union. Rebel leaders say any peace deal must include Gadhafi's immediate removal. Gadhafi had already approved the measure, which called for ending the fighting and allowing outside forces to help maintain peace. Despite the peace efforts, heavy fighting continues on several fronts, including in the embattled city of Misrata.
This picture is of a Gadhafi rally outside the city. NATO air strikes destroyed 12 government tanks over weekend, and at least eight people were killed in fighting between rebels and Gadhafi's forces.
In Ivory Coast, a victory finally for elected president Alassane Ouattara. His rival, former president Laurent Gbagbo, was captured today. He had been holed up in a bunker in the presidential residence. Troops storm the residence, overpowered Gbagbo's troops and captured the former president.
The move raises hopes his capture could bring an end to the deadly conflict. Gbagbo lost last year's presidential election but refused to honor the results. Secretary of state Hillary Clinton says Gbagbo's capture sends a strong signal to dictators and tyrants that they may not disregard the voice of their own people.
Time right now, 42 minutes past the hour. Let's take a look at our top stories. One government shutdown averted, but another budget crisis looms right around the corner. "The New York Times" reports that as a result of Friday's budget deal, $13 billion will be cut from programs at the Labor, Education and Health and Human Services Departments. Meanwhile, the battle over raising the debt ceiling is due in about a month. If not raised by May 16th, the government could run out of money.
In the Barry Bonds trial today, jurors will rehear the testimony of a woman who claims she saw the baseball legend inject himself with a syringe. Bonds is accused of taking performance enhancing drugs and lying to a federal grand jury about it.
It's past pain at pump, and has become, well, a nightmare, really, for many American. Gas prices are up another 19 cents in the past three weeks. Analyst say the national average $3.76, only 37 cents behind the all-time record set in July 2008. Prices are already over $4 in San Francisco and Chicago.
So you want to take 3-D photos of yourself that you can share with the world? Yes, there is now an app for that. And we're bringing you a live demo of it next. I used it earlier today. Yes, our guest is using it right there. It is way cool! You don't want to miss it.
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RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Well, this is certainly exciting. CNN is going 3-D. Sort of. In today's "Big I," we are looking at the world's first 3-D scanner for the iPhone which can capture three-dimensional models of yourself or your friends that you can then share or print.
And joining me now is the app's creator, Grant Schindler.
All right, Grant, welcome. This is really cool.
GRANT SCHINDLER, CREATOR, 3-D PHOTO SCANNER: Thanks.
KAYE: Now before the show started, you took me into this dark room and you snapped a photo of me with your iPad. And this is the result?
SCHINDLER: This is the result. KAYE: It is not very attractive.
SCHINDLER: It is not. So, yes, this happen a lot of fun. You can use it to take goofy pictures. Now in the dark room, a really dark room it would work even better. Here's me, here's my son. He's seven months old. And it works for things other than faces. This is my hand. This is a doll. So you can just capture all kinds of goofy expressions, and it really just captures all the 3-D aspects of your face. This is really a breakthrough.
KAYE: I mean, it's almost like a mind. You can see my eyelashes were coming out, and in these cases, you know, even your pupils are jumping out.
SCHINDLER: Right.
KAYE: How does it happen? How does it work?
SCHINDLER: So it works by, it takes four pictures of you while it is lighting up the screen in different ways. So I can show it your live, but it won't work because we're in a light room. But it displays these four patterns that are used to light your face and then it actually does some math to come up with a real 3-D model based on those four pictures that I just took with different lighting conditions.
KAYE: And you created this.
SCHINDLER: I created this.
KAYE: How did you come up with this one?
SCHINDLER: So I was a student at Georgia Tech a few years ago. I was reading papers late at night in my laptop, and I realized that the screen was lighting up my face in a way that could be used for 3-D reconstruction which is what my studies were about. So a few years later when the iPhone came out with a front-facing camera, that's the key. And you have the camera with the same size as your screen, and then you can just capture 3-D models just like that.
KAYE: And so you can send them out to your friends or family?
SCHINDLER: You can send them out, yes. You can e-mail them right away. So I can just click e-mail here. I can e-mail this image and within a second I've got an e-mail sent here. So I can e-mail the images, I can e-mail movies or animated gifts to put on the web.
KAYE: And what's been the reaction when you send these to your friends. They're like, whoa, Grant --
SCHINDLER: Yes, they think it is a little creepy, a little funny, a little silly, but reaction from a lot of people actually -- so I made this as a toy, as a piece of entertainment at first, but then there's a lot of designers, professional designers and 3-D artists and people working on video games and all this areas who say we deal with 3-D models all the tame, we've love a simple way to capture 3-D models right on our phone.
And so that's the feature we just release yesterday for a $5 upgrade. This is just a 99 cent app, but for $5 you can then send these 3-D models everywhere in the world.
So for example, if you have this 3-D printer, so here's a 3-D model of my face sent straight from the iPhone app. And in one second you capture the model, and then you can send it straight. So there are some services like Shapeway.com. They print these 3-D models for you. Makerbot makes this home 3-D printers that you can have for yourself. So there's a lot -- a big coming revolution in 3-D printing.
KAYE: I checked out your blog, actually. And I saw somebody was asking about uniforms or maybe if there's a way if you're shopping online that something like this would help you get fitted for something.
SCHINDLER: Right. So that's in the future, to be able to do a full body scan is a little bit tougher. We need to be able to have, you know, light up the whole body.
KAYE: That sounds a little questionable.
SCHINDLER: Yes, yes, perhaps. But that can also come. Now other things for the future are to be able to do this in real time, that you could actually see your face moving in 3-D in real time, maybe use it to control your video game character if you're playing Lord of Warcraft. You could have your character animated as your faces animating in real time. So that would be very cool.
KAYE: And so you only can take this picture, you will only get this quality, you have to go into a dark room, right?
SCHINDLER: Yes. So a dark room is really needed to get the kind of quality that you see on this. So yours, yours was taken in a light room a little bit so you don't get as much fun?
KAYE: So mine is a little even more straight, right?
SCHINDLER: That's a little iffy, but --
KAYE: They're trying to get back through it for us.
SCHINDLER: Sure, sure. Let's get back to it. I can get back to it right there. So there's you.
KAYE: See, look how -- I mean, that's really so exaggerated.
SCHINDLER: It is.
KAYE: I don't have cheekbones like that as much as I wish I did, I don't.
SCHINDLER: Yes, yes, so it's like a fun house mirror.
KAYE: So it's available now as you said. SCHINDLER: Available now.
KAYE: And any kind of technology will handle it?
SCHINDLER: So iPods, iPhone 4s, anything that has a front-facing camera, even the new iPad 2 will be able to run this. And it is coming soon to Android phones as well.
KAYE: Oh, wow. All right. So pretty cool stuff.
SCHINDLER: All right. Thanks a lot.
KAYE: You keep taking of them. Can I see that again?
SCHINDLER: Sure, sure.
KAYE: This is really cool.
SCHINDLER: Absolutely.
KAYE: All right, very cool. Cool, cool, cool.
SCHINDLER: Thanks. Thanks a lot.
KAYE: OK, thank you so much, Grant Schindler, the creator of that cool stuff.
For more about this application, just visit our blog at CNN.com/Ali.
How do the American people feel about the last minute budget deal? Well, we have some new numbers for you this afternoon.
CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser joining me now from Washington.
Paul, how are people reacting to this deal?
PAUL STEINHAUSER CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Randi, our new poll indicates most Americans are giving it a thumb's up. Check this numbers out. This is from the CNN Opinion Research Corporation, a national poll. We conducted it Saturday and Sunday after that late- night Friday agreement.
Right there, 58 percent of Americans, they say they approve of this deal which of course averted a possible government shutdown, 38 percent say they disapprove. But Randi, there is a partisan breakdown. Look at this next number.
2/3 of Democrats, yes, they're giving the deal of thumbs up. A majority of independents as well. But the Republicans, 47 percent of Republicans say they have a problem or they approve of it, and 49 percent say they disapprove of the deal.
KAYE: And Paul, who is really getting credit here for ending this impasse? These were some pretty tense moments? STEINHAUSER: Yes, some very tense moments. And this is interesting. More people, not a majority, but more people are giving credit to President Barack Obama and the Democrats than Republicans.
You can see right there that the numbers are slightly on the president's side, and the Democrat's side, when it comes to, you know, who is best to, who most orchestrated this deal, who is most responsible for it. But Randi, what is also interesting is even though the president and the Democrats were on top there, it doesn't mean the president's approval rating has gone up. In fact, our numbers indicate, it's going down a little bit. So maybe he's not getting that, you know, political boost out of this deal.
KAYE: And when it comes to Republicans, I understand that there is some anger at the Republican leaders in Congress for signing off on this deal. Can you tell us more about that?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, we asked specifically, just the Republicans -- do you think that the Republican leaders in Congress kind of gave away too much in these negotiations? Do they gave it away?
And yes, you can look at this numbers right here and you can see Republicans think -- a slight majority think that, yes, they think their leaders gave too much away, 50 percent, and 44 percent saying no.
But what is also interesting is that among Republicans only, Randi, House Speaker's John Boehner's approval rating is still quite high. And again, this is just a taste of things to come. We've got big fights ahead over the 2012 budget, and of course, raising the debt ceiling.
KAYE: All right. Paul Steinhauser, thank you very much.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
KAYE: Good to see you.
Your next update form The Best Political Team on Television is just an hour away.
No extra fees, free food, or lavish lounges, at least not in the U.S., but there are still places where flying does indeed have its perks. We will tell you where.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: While U.S. carriers continue to shelve services and charge for everything from baggage to blankets, overseas, it is a very different story. CNN is looking into the challenges facing air travelers today in a series that we call "Fix My Flight."
For many Asian airlines, the customer is still king, even in coach. CNN's Pauline Chiou explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAULINE CHIOU, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When you fly domestic in North America, you will most likely pay extra fees. On Delta, $25 for the first checked bag. On American Airlines, $8 for a pillow and blanket. Don't even think about access to the lounge if you fly economy.
It is a whole different story when you fly in Asia. Bangkok Airways offers free food and drinks to all passengers in its lounge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even on our flights here, if it was only one hour, you got a full meal. And that is so different because Canada if you were flying domestic, you have to pay for all your food. So it was a nice surprise.
CHIOU: In an industry with tight margins and volatile fuel prices, does it make sense to provide free food, free internet and the kid's playroom and the lounge? Bangkok Airways says yes, because hospitality is the brand.
M.I. NANDHIKA VATAVARN, BANGKOK AIRWAYS: We are all in one full service, and that is given as a package to our passengers. When they return, they go back to their country, they talk about us, and they recommend our airline.
CHIOU (on camera): Another reason Asian Airlines get pretty high customer ratings is new aircraft. One-third of all new airplanes flying in 2011 are headed for this region.
PETER MORRIS, ASCEND, CHIEF ECONOMIST: What you see in the Asia Pacific is dynamic growth. There hasn't been a huge amount of growth over the last decade in North America. It is almost been rearranging the furniture, and as a consequence, there hasn't been the money for investment in planes and services.
CHIOU: Cathay Pacific is a Hong Kong-based airline that does not charge extra for meals, checked bags or movies.
Spokesman Alex McGowan explains how the airline affords this.
ALEX MCGOWAN, CATHAY PACIFIC: We are as efficient as we can be and as productive as we can be behind the scenes so that we can put all of our money into the customer proposition.
CHIOU: For example, Cathay sells ads on in-flight entertainment to offset the millions of dollars it spends to show blockbuster movies.
MORRIS: Passengers vote with a fee for a combination of the price and the product and the service, and the Asia Pacific carriers seem able to get that kind of combination right.
CHIOU: Setting the stage for more repeat customers who don't have to pay those dreaded fees.
Pauline Chiou, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KAYE: And be sure to stay with us for another "Fix My Flight" report next hour. We will look at why it is taking so long to develop new rules on pilot fatigue.
Only in Washington can you wrap up a deal with $38.5 billion and then face a problem many hundreds of times bigger. Yes, the federal government is still up and running thanks to a last-second spending deal that by the way, lawmakers and staff members are racing to flesh out.
We know some of the $38.5 billion that House and Senate leaders and President Obama agreed to cut from what is left of fiscal 2011 will come from the Labor Department, the Education Department, Health and Human Services, including some aspects of health care reform, the State Department, including foreign aid.
And get this, "The New York Times" reports Montana senators slipped in a measure to remove the gray wolf from the endangered species list so they can go shoot it. The House is taking up the plan tonight, late tonight, and hopes to vote Wednesday. A Senate vote will follow, but first, let's see what you think about all this.
A brand new CNN poll shows 58 percent of Americans approve of the budget compromise, 38 percent do not. Among the deals architects, President Obama gets the highest marks, 54 percent of Americans approve of the president's handling of the standoff. 44 percent liked what they saw from congressional Republicans, same goes for congressional Democrats.
And here is what they'll be fighting about next. In just about a month, the national debt will hit the legal limit, that $14.294 trillion. Deficit hawks don't want to raise it again, but the alternative, well, some say could be disastrous.
