American Morning
Toyota leader pledges more safety, says no to hearing
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/17/t1main.toyoda.02.gi.jpg caption="Toyota will hire new quality control officers and conduct tests to fix problems with its cars, but the automaker's president will not appear before Congress."]
TOKYO, Japan (CNN) - Toyota will employ new quality control officers, conduct testing and will consult an independent research agency to fix their vehicle problems, the automaker's president said Wednesday.
But Toyota President Akio Toyoda said he will not appear before U.S. lawmakers at hearings scheduled for later this month.
Toyoda addressed reporters for the third time in two weeks about the massive recall.
Toyota has recalled more than 8.1 million vehicles worldwide for problems related to sudden acceleration and unresponsive brake pedals, among other things. The company has apologized for the safety lapses and pledged to repair the recalled vehicles quickly.
On Wednesday, Toyoda said the company has found a fix for the Toyota Sai, sold in the U.S. as the Lexus HS 250h, and began notifying owners about recall procedures.
"Toyota is not perfect. But when we find a problem or are made aware of it, we act as quickly as possible. We are sincerely working on that," Toyoda said. FULL STORY
Full coverage: Toyota recall
Ahmadinejad has warning for U.S.
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/16/ahmadinejad.gi.art.jpg caption="Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made his comments in a televised news conference Tuesday."]
Tehran, Iran (CNN) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned the United States and other nations Tuesday not to impose tougher sanctions in reaction to the Islamic country's nuclear ambitions.
Iran already faces U.N. sanctions and the five permanent Security Council members - the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France, all of which have veto power - have been engaged along with Germany in discussions about possible further measures.
"It's high time for some people to open their eyes and adapt themselves to real changes that are under way," Ahmadinejad said at a news conference in Tehran.
Asked specifically about the threat of tougher sanctions, the Iranian president said, "We prefer that they move in the spirit of cooperation. It won't put us in trouble. They themselves will get into trouble."
Ahmadinejad also seemed to threaten unspecified retaliation, saying Iran won't act like it has in the past.
Ahmadinejad's comments came one day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal expressed concern over Iran's nuclear program.
"Definitely, we will show a reaction that will put them to shame, like always," he said. FULL STORY
Obama announces $8.3B for nuke plants
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/16/obama.nuclear.art.gi.jpg caption="President Obama speaks during a visit to an IBEW training facility in Lanham, Maryland, on Tuesday."]
Washington (CNN) - President Obama announced $8.3 billion in loan guarantees Tuesday for two nuclear reactors to be built in Burke County, Georgia.
No new nuclear power plants have been built in the United States in three decades.
The new reactors are to be part of an expansion of an existing nuclear facility near Augusta, Georgia, operated by Atlanta-based Southern Co.
The loan guarantees will help create 3,500 on-site construction jobs and 850 permanent operations jobs, administration officials claimed. The reactors will help provide power to over 550,000 homes and 1.4 million people, it said.
"This is only the beginning," Obama said during a visit to an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers training facility in Lanham, Maryland. "We'll continue to provide financing for clean energy projects ... across America."
The president acknowledged that construction of new nuclear facilities will meet with some political resistance. Nuclear development has traditionally been opposed by more progressive elements of the Democratic Party. FULL STORY
When is your chubby baby too chubby?
By Caitlin Hagan, CNN
From Paging Dr. Gupta
A new study published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics has concluded that "the critical period for preventing childhood obesity...is during the first two years of a child's life and for many by three months of age."
It's the first study to identify a so-called "tipping point" in a child's development of obesity. This new finding comes as first lady Michelle Obama is targeting childhood obesity in a new national initiative Let's Move.
"We've been struggling with the older kids, ages 6 to 8, who are already way overweight," says Dr. John W. Harrington of Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in Norfolk, Virginia. "And at that age, it's too difficult to change eating habits."
Harrington and his team set out to determine the point at which a child's weight gain becomes unhealthy and leads to overweight.
"We backtracked and said, 'When did this weight first happen?'" says Harrington. "Since the age of 3 or 4 months, these children were overweight as babies...they had normal growth but their weights were averaging well above their heights."
By identifying when the weight gain first develops, Harrington believes pediatricians will be able to intervene early to change poor eating habits in babies and toddlers on track to becoming overweight.
Testing our nation's cyber security
You can call them war games for the 21st century, testing our nation's cyber security like never before. Today, a Washington think-tank is launching a simulated "cyber shockwave" against the United States.
An all-star lineup of the country's top security and policy experts are at the ready. Scenarios could include a large-scale failure of the power grid or an attack on something that we can't imagine living without at this point – the cell phone grid.
One of the masterminds of it all, former CIA Director Michael Hayden, joined us on Tuesday's American Morning along with one of the participants, our very own national security contributor Fran Townsend, who was a homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush.
Program note: CNN has exclusive access to the situation room during today's cyber security drill. You can see all the action as it unfolds in a two-hour special on CNN this Saturday and Sunday from 8 to 10 p.m. ET.
Dr. Gupta: Preventing a second stroke
Nearly 800,000 Americans will have a stroke this year. And of those, 1 in 12 will have another stroke soon after.
So how do you protect yourself? We paged our Dr. Sanjay Gupta for some answers. He joined us on Tuesday's American Morning.
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Welcome to the American Morning blog where you can get daily news updates from American Morning's reporters and producers. Join us for "the most news in the morning," weekdays from 6-9 a.m. ET, only on CNN.
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