American Morning
What’s on Tap – Thursday May 14th, 2009
Here are the big stories on the agenda today:
- The damage being described as "unbelievable" in one Missouri town – where a killer tornado touched down last night. See an iReporter’s view of the massive funnel cloud.
- Sadness turning into anger and frustration, in day two of hearings into the deadly plane crash outside Buffalo, New York. Family members want to know why their loved ones lives were in the hands of a pilot – who may not have gotten enough sleep or training.
- The mission to fix the eye that sees through time. The crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis takes the first of five risky spacewalks to repair the Hubble Telescope. We'll have the pictures from space live.
- After weeks of pressure from state and local law enforcement officials, Craigslist, the most popular classifieds site on the web, is getting rid of its controversial "erotic services" section. Police say a medical student accused of murdering a masseuse – found her there. Hear John Roberts’ exclusive interview with Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster.
We Listen!
Wednesday’s American Morning "robocall" segment piqued viewers’ attention, as many reported their own experiences with the irritating scams.
- James: Good morning JOHN I was watching CNN this morning when you guys spoke about the ROBO CALLS. a friend on mind got a call two weeks ago about car warranty. The situation is that we are not living in the United States. We live in the Bahamas. I did not suspect anything wrong at first until i watch CNN this morning. It’s a good thing she didn't call back to give out her visa or master card number. Thanks to CNN I now can warn family and friends.
- James C: I found your story on the scams associated with the auto warranty programs now being sold via phone solicitations to be very informative and accurate. I found it very amusing that you ran an ad promoting one of those companies under investigation immediately following the story.
Have you been the victim of a robocall? Do you listen to the pitch or simply hang up? Has your cell phone bill increased because of these calls? Tell us about your experiences with robocalls.
Social security and Medicare were considered “old” issues that have remained on the “back burner” too long and simply needs to be fixed.
- Lorraine: i have been hearing this by government and the media for as long as i can remember. this [Medicare and Social Security] is no new problem but it is one that has continuously been placed on the back burner. i'm sick of hearing about it. when is the government going to do something about it?
- Sannerae22: Is anyone truly surprised that these funds are in trouble? Who has always paid into these funds? The middle class. Once again it is middle class being raped. The wealthy have loopholes protecting them from paying into the system and they funnel their money elsewhere. The lower class doesn't pay into the programs but draw from it. Congress steals from it to fund other projects. In the mid to late 1970's, my husband and I had many discussions with my grandfather about social security and Medicare being gone by the time we were eligible to draw on it and how we wished we could have the hefty sum of money taken out of our checks so that we could use it as we saw fit but it was money lost to us forever.
How do you feel about the current situation with Social Security and Medicare? Will universal health coverage help to solve many of these problems? Is there a better solution?
Senator wants end to fraudulent 'robocalls'
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/13/schumer.calls.art.jpg caption= "Senator Charles Schumer wants to put an end to fraudulent robocalls."]
We’ve all received them – phone calls from a machine saying the warranty on our car is set to expire. It seems the "robocalls" are annoying to everyone, including lawmakers.
New York senator Charles Schumer got one of those calls. And now he's working to put an end to what he is calling consumer fraud. He spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Wednesday.
Kiran Chetry: I got confused and I am sure other people get confused. I thought they knew it was my car. I thought they knew what they were talking about. And so it really is not only an issue of annoyance but also that they're not pedaling something that's legitimate. Is that correct?
Charles Schumer: This is consumer fraud, A-101. Yes, they call everybody. They call randomly. They call people who don't have cars. But unfortunately there are too many people who are gullible, particularly with everything going on with Chrysler and GM. And they ask you for your credit card and they take $200, $250 off. And, leave you open to credit card fraud. So first job here, consumers should not respond to this. If you're worried about your car warranty, call the company that issues the car.
Chetry: You and your colleague Senator Mark Warner want to do something about it. You want to ask the Federal Trade Commission to take action. How big of a problem do you think this is, besides being a nuisance and what do you hope the FTC can do?
Schumer: Well, we know that just about everyone has gotten these calls and repeatedly. By the way, another minor annoyance, when you press two, they still call you again. I pressed two the first time I got the call and I've gotten them three or four more times. There are four levels of problem. A) It's annoying. B) They have pierced the Do Not Call List. You notice, you don’t get cell phone spam much, except these folks. Third, of course it costs money if you don't have the right plan. But worst of all, many people are duped and lose lots of money for no reason.
We've asked the FTC to do a full-fledged investigation of this. It shouldn't be hard to track down who these scammers are, because after all, you follow the money. They've got to get the credit card and cash it in. The FTC has been very cooperative. They sent us a letter yesterday saying there's an investigation in progress. And we look forward to hearing from them soon about what they're going to do about it. They have the powers. This is a criminal violation of law. And they have the powers to go after these people. We just need them do it.
Mandatory training needed to prevent pilot error
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/05/13/intv.feith.ntsb.art.jpg caption= "Greg Feith is a former senior investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board."]
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill today are investigating the deadly crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407, which killed 50 people in February near Buffalo, New York.
In a story Monday, the Wall Street Journal cited investigators as saying the crash resulted from pilot Marvin Renslow's incorrect response to the plane's precarious drop in speed: He overrode an emergency system known as a "stick pusher," which sends the plane into a dive so it can regain speed and avoid a stall.
Colgan Air, the operator of Continental Connection flights, said Monday that Renslow had never trained in a flight simulator with the safety system that activated just before the plane went down. Colgan said there is no regulatory requirement that it provide hands-on training with the "stick pusher."
"A stick pusher demonstrated in an aircraft simulator is not required by the FAA," the airline said in a statement. "And thus was not included in Colgan's Q400 training program."
The Federal Aviation Administration said its standards do not require hands-on practice with the safety system.
Greg Feith, a former senior investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board, says flight simulation training on this type of system should be required for all pilots. He spoke to Kiran Chetry on CNN’s “American Morning” Wednesday.
Kiran Chetry: The cockpit voice recorder revealed a conversation took place five minutes before the crash. First Officer Rebecca Shaw said she had “never seen icing conditions.” She said “I don't want to have to experience that and make those kinds of calls. You know I’d have freaked out… I'd have seen this much ice and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we were going to crash.’” She's telling the pilot she's worried about icing conditions. It seems like a scary conversation to be having in the cockpit at the time.
Greg Feith: Absolutely. When you look at the transcript and where that conversation took place being so close to the final event, you have to wonder why their awareness wasn't higher when they first took off and got in to the icing conditions. And one of the things that the NTSB is going to really have to look at is why they breached that sterile cockpit rule. But if you look at the transcript, they talk about ice, and then they go back to their normal conversation. They don't really talk about the flying of the airplane and the approach speeds that they need to be flying.
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