we're live across the globe this morning. and journey to the epicenter, an amazing look inside the erupting volcano, as close as humanly possible. we have a live report from iceland just ahead. the plan for iran. sources say the pentagon is updating plans, giving them fresh options. the a.m. fix blog is up and running. we want to hear from you about anything in the news, go to c cnn.com/am fix. a glimmer of hope for the countless passengers stranded by the volcanic ash. this morning the frustration is mounting and there will be an emergency meeting to open more air space the they say they are hopeful 30% of more flights may

take off today. the decision comes after test flights. no passengers on board. the initial results indicated no problems during flight and also no damage to the jet engines. that's good news to the airlines. in the past five days, more than 63,000 flights have had to be canceled. a real headaches for passengers who were left stranded and costing the industry more than $200 million a day. >> as for the volcano in iceland causing all the trouble. it is still spewing ash. and massive clouds stretch across england, france and parts of russia. this morning we're covering the story with the global resources of cnn. gary tuckman, and rob marciano is live with the ash forecast. and sasha live at heathrow airport in london.

let's start with sasha. >> reporter: the scene is not a lot is happening here at heathrow. planes are still -- the only ones we've seen moving are the ones pulled across the runway by trucks. nothing is flying. as you mentioned earlier, in europe they are expecting about 30% of flights to actually take off today. and that's if they are lucky. there is going to be a meeting of the european ministers to decide whether any more flights can be taking to the skies later on. in the u.k. at the moment, no flights will be taking off until 1:00 a.m. tomorrow. and that is subject to any kind of revision. there's been an emergency meeting of what's called the cobra team here in the government. they are trying to redeploy royal naval ships to pick up the 200,000 estimated british people who are abroad and need to get back to the u.k. shores. those should be deployed. so that ban until 1:00 a.m.

here. there has been some shifting in scandinavia. some flights are being allowed and in france and spain as well. the british people abroad, get yourself to spain and there on you can get yourself home by rail or by boat. back to you. >> thank you. >> the iceland volcano is still erupting. these images are taken from a helicopter a few hundred feet away from the activity. gary tuckman was able to do a flyover and joins us from the base of the volcano. is it dangerous to do that? go up there in helicopter? >> well, kiran, here's what's amazing. we were able to fly within 300 feet of the volcano, which is right over my right shoulder. the reason we were able to do that is because we are on the correct side of it. the wind was blowing to the east.

we're on the west. it was just awesome just looking at it. also frightening at the same time, we saw boulders shooting out and glass shards coming out and lightning bolts. it was inibcredible thinking the is all this travel chaos and we were flying a few hundred feet away from it. there have been no delays at all at the airport. flights have been canceled to europe but you can fly between the united states and iceland no problem because the ray ka vick airport, you can fly via iceland air. not everyone who wants to can do it, but they had flights here and back and they have been able to do that the last couple of days. the wind is expected to shift tomorrow for the first time since the volcano erupted. that could affect the airport

and the capital city. >> gary, the other interesting thing, how common are eruptions for this volcano? a lot of people are saying, why is it causing so much trouble now? >> reporter: this volcano has not erupted since the 1820s. it lasted two years. there's no way to predict. the volcano eruptions have weakened since yesterday. but there's no real rhyme or reason to predictions. >> the pictures are amazing, thanks so much. gary tuckman, worldwide resources of cnn on display, gary in iceland. >> a lot of people are wondering, is there going to be any relief for the travelers. we were looking at satellite images showing the view from space. it's a massive cloud that blank

t eted the atmosphere. >> rob, when you look at the pictures, it's hard to imagine anything flying near that any time soon. eventually something has to give. >> we're seeing some disburgs but it looks so thick, unlike other volcano that's are throwing up steam. it is throwing junk very dense into the atmosphere. here's a satellite picture taken last night. you see the ash towards the north there. let's break down the forecast as far as what we expect to see going forward with the winds. west to east knflow of the uppe levels. that is expected to continue. what's surprising and interesting and for the folks who live in eastern canada, not all that welcome is that some of the surface winds and mid-level winds, they have been shifting a little bit going the other way, going from east to west.

this is the forecast from the u.k. office in england. showing the surface to 20,000 foot winds are directing this a little farther to the west. getting us close as newfoundland, canada. there are flights canceled out of st. johns. it shows that some of the winds at the lower elevations are bringing some of that light ash over towards north america. looks like this is going to be an ongoing story throughout the week. we'll update you as best we can from the cnn severe weather center. >> good stuff, rob. thanks. >> coming up at 6:30 eastern. europe is drenched in ash. thousands of flights canceled. how long will the volcano continue to erupt? we'll talk to a volcano expert. >> if you're trapped because of that, share us your travel horror stories. we would like to hear what you're doing, what the plan is

and whether or not you think you'll get up in the air. 30% of flights may start up again today. >> there are passengers out there on facebook, they are skyping. folks are using all the resources to get what they are going through out there. there's much more to come on the most news in the morning. the united states is updating plans for iran. is this a sign of things to come? we'll break it down for you later on in just a few minutes. stick with us. [ male announcer ] where are people with moderate to severe

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♪ little john mellencamp. >> peaceful world. we'll take it. >> welcome back to the most news in the morning. sanctions and diplomacy fail, then what? sources say military leaders are updating plans to strike iran's nuclear sites. >> iran's president ahmadinejad claiming that iran is so powerful today that no country would dare attack it. barbara starr is live at the

pentagon. issued an extraordinary statement last night. explain in the context of what he was talking about and what it could mean for relations or dealing with iran. >> kiran, the secretary of defense doesn't normally speak publicly. late last night an extraordinary statement saying he wrote a secret letter to the white house in january outlining the steps he needed to be taken. and the decisions the administration had to take in case there needed to be military action against iran. the secretary saying this was coming because of the so-called pressure track the u.s. is on right now to rachet up the diplomatic pressure against iran to give up its nuclear program. the secretary saying that the u.s. is ready to engage in any contingency if it came to that. what we know now, for the last

several weeks, the pentagon and u.s. central command updating their plan against iran. they are ready if and when president obama was to come to the military and said i have made up my mind, there will be a strike against iran's nuclear targets. the military ready to go with the freshest information, the most comprehensive planning selecting weapons against specific targets. all to be ready just in case the president says that that is the decision he's taken. kiran and jim. >> are there new concerns about iran's military? we know ahmadinejad can talk tough. we've heard these statements before. are there new concerns? >> reporter: the iranians have been reorganizing their military just a bit. late last year they established a new air defense command in iran. that means they are now focusing

their air defenses, radars, missiles, other anti-air military weapons around those nuclear sites. they are focusing their military effort to a large extent on protecting key nuclear strategic sites. that's not something that has escaped u.s. notice. jim and kiran. >> barbara starr at the pentagon. thanks very much for that. we appreciate it. >> other stories new this morning at 14 minutes past the hour. toyota's faulty gas pedals bring on the largest fine ever imposed to the auto industry. the automaker is expected to agree to pay the government more than $16 million for waiting four months before reporting problems. >> you'll love this. five major airlines backing off plans to charge passengers for carry-on bags. spirit airlines recently announced a $45 fee to store bags, yes, in the overhead bins.

chuck schumer got involved. he got delta and jetblue to promise they will not follow suit. he is meeting with spirit's ceo tomorrow. >> we actually had him on the show and talking about that whole thing and christina did a little breakdown of what you're getting when you fly these days. >> unbelievable. >> but we're talking about goldman sachs and the sec accusing this huge bank of fraud. >> a fraud charge for goldman sachs, a company that has minted money over the past 15 months, a company that took bailout money over a year ago, now charged with fraud by the sec. this story is just getting started. the drama started to unfold. i'll tell you what happens next in the goldman sachs fraud case.

well, it's about 19 minutes past the hour. time for "minding your business." we're talking about goldman

sachs. the sec -- can't even spit it out. i'm obsessed with the story. we talked about how they emerged unscathed by the recession and what rule did they play in it if any. >> i'm not sure they were ever going -- i think they were trying to see what was around the corner. the reputation problem has been unparalleled on wall street. now they are charging goldman sachs with fraud. this charge came down on friday and still, the ramifications and drama have been building all weekend. people wondering what does this mean, what's next for goldman? are there more deals like this? let me tell you what they said about goldman, wrongly permitted a client betting against the mortgage market to heavily influence which mortgage securities to invest while telling our investors that the securities were selected by an independent third party. standing in the middle getting

fees from a big client hedge fund and from investors buying something, something designed by the hedge fund, designed by the hedge fund to fail because the hedge fund wanted to, according to the sec, wanted to bet against the mortgage market. goldman's response, one line. sec charges are completely unfounded in law and we'll rig vously contest them. gordon brown called goldman sachs morally bankrupt. he is hopping mad. >> there's an election going on. >> one of the customers of the whole debacle, this complicated derivative, one of the customers is the royal bank of scotland bailed out by british taxpayers and had to pay money to unwind the whole thing. >> that's the amazing thing about the whole process. we propped up these banks with bailout money, with taxpayer money. now we'll go back and charge

them with fraud. >> the thing that is rattling wall street and investors, is the game rigged? wait a second, if the big banks are staying in the middle and making money no matter what on both sides of every transaction. >> a lot of americans have made up their mind. >> who's out there protecting investors? >> i have two big questions and i'm sure you can help me. how many more banks are going to follow? how many more banks is the se investment going to go after along with this. there's talk of a few others, right? >> it depends. it will be interesting to see what happens and interesting to see if they are going after goldman sachs because so many people have been screaming about them the past year or if they have the resources. more than a few people told me, i wonder whose lawyers has paid more. goldman sachs is going to fight this. i want to just point out

something, they took $10 million in initial bailout money, right? on friday, the market took $12 billion away from goldman's market cap. the market is saying something here. they have really punished this company on friday. futures are expected to be lower again this morning. it has really rattled wall street. >> the second question is, would any regulation stop this and will this help with the obama administration trying to push the current -- >> the answer to the second part of that question is yes. >> christine, thanks so much. >> we do have a romans numeral but we'll get to that later as well. we'll introduce you to a group of soldiers that announce their allegiance to the constitution is what is front and center, not necessarily their allegiance to the president. >> i think i know something about that story. >> you did the story. >> the oath keepers. and it's a group that founded

itself on april 19th, which happens to be today. >> we look forward to seeing more about that. 22 minutes past the hour. we'll be right back. ok, if you're one of those round the clock, we-never-close, 24-7 types who doesn't get paid until the job gets done, the last thing you need is a truck that doesn't have the stones to bring home the benjamins. no problem. introducing the all new 2011 super duty. thanks to its all-new ford-built power stroke diesel, you get it all. the most horsepower. the most torque. the most payload. the most towing. and the best fuel economy. it's payday. the all-new super duty.

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situation, r.b. trombley joins us live. good morning to you. >> good morning jim and kiran, nice to be with you. >> it doesn't look like we have volcanos behind you there, but we appreciate you making time for us. >> the big question that a lot of people have this morning is essentially, how long is this going to go on? i mean, this could go on for a while. >> that is the magic question, isn't it? most volcanos when they erupt will erupt for a day or two, some erupt for a week or two. others for a month or two. this particular volcano has erupted last erupted in 1821 on december the 19th and stopped erupting on january 19th of 1823. so that was two years basically this one lasted. but i don't think that it will

erupt that long in this particular case. >> we've been talking a lot about the fact it sort of hit the airline industry very hard right now. they are losing hundreds of millions a day as traffic has stopped across the air. but they are eager to get planes running again and they have run the test flights without passengers and they've been fine. what are the hazards of the volcanic ash that they go throughout and do you think the test flights will show it is okay? >> your last statement first, the answer is yes. i think the test flights are good. i'm an ex-pilot myself. i'm sused to listening to these type of scenarios, but what happens is the ash gets into the turbines and sometimes it's made up of par tick lats and rocks and clogs up the engines and

even forms little glassy nature in there and it will actually shut the engines down. it's happened a few times. fortunately they've been able to restart the engines. but that's basically what happens with respect to aircraft. then you can have effects from agriculture and animals and even people from air -- the ash in the air and so forth. >> r.b., in your mind, the precautions being taken right now are not over the top, are not unwarranted? >> not at all. in fact i think they are ering on the side of passenger safety. i was watching cnn earlier today and said the test flights did turn out to be okay and they are probably going to increase the flights to about 30% maybe today. >> right. you think that's a good move? >> yes, i do. you know, it's -- i understand their need for precaution on the

safety side, but as things look like they are okay, i think they can resume the flights. i would predict within a week or so, maybe even a few days, it will be back up to full scheduling. >> and the other thing that is so fascinating about this, is just the shear scope. we've seen photographs from space and it's unbelievable to see nature at work here. i guess, what do you think when you look at this and you're in awe? what do you take away from this particular eruption and how much -- you don't want to be impressed by how much havoc we have from all of this, but it is unbelievable what mother nature can do. >> oh, yes, it is. this particular eruption is not really that big of an eruption per se, but they are spectacular. volcanos are very much like people.

by that i mean everyone is different. they are all different eruptive patterns and eruption lengths and so forth. >> especially when i haven't had my coffee in the morning, that is true. >> that is true. i know exactly what you mean. >> you should see the ash he spews this morning. it's a health concern for everyone here. >> at any rate, yes, they are all different. i've been working on volcanos 45 years now, we do a lot of forecasting is the main forte, our real concern is not necessarily the ash, although it is problemsome for the airlines we're keeping an eye on the volcano next door, which is catla. >> and five bucks if you can pronounce the volcano erupting. >> go ahead. >> it's called -- >> you can't read, sir. >> i'm not. i'm remembering -- just kind of

got my icelandic down a little bit. >> >> it was great to talk to you this morning. that's not that bad. >> thanks r.b. fascinating stuff for sure. thanks. >> thank you. >> volcano humor. it's okay at 6:30 in the morning. time for our top stories as well. the pentagon updating plans for a possible military strike against iran. this comes after robert gates wrote aclassified memo back in january. >> the shuttle "discovery" is scheduled to come out of orbit and land at 8:48 eastern. people across the country could catch a glimpse of the shuttle. but because of bad weather right now, conditions are a no-go.

nasa will make a final call on whether to land in the next hour. we'll have that information for you. also this morning, there's new hope the europe travel nightmare could improve slowly but surely, trying to figure out whether it's safe to get back in the skies. they are hoping to resume 35% of all flights today. to nudge authorities here, european airlines conducted test flights to gauge whether or not the ash is disruptive. they say that the skies -- in these test flights showed air travel to be safe. >> absolutely. i mean, as our guest just mentioned a few minutes ago, you have to take the precautions. you can't play around with something as serious as air travel. it appears that's what they've been doing all this time and the test flights are showing promising results. that's a good thing. >> the nation today observing the oklahoma city bombing remembrance. 15 years ago today a bomb killed

168 people in the federal building. it remains the worst home grown terror attack ever on american soil. >> kiran, across the nation, there's a growing backlash against the government. we've been reporting that for several months. former president bill clinton told wolf blitzer, the current climate reminds him of the days leading up to the oklahoma city bombing. a lot of that anger is being directed at president obama. one group says their allegiance is to the constitution not the president. many are veterans and police officers and call themselves the oath keepers. >> reporter: just a couple of miles off the las vegas strip inside this casino ball room dozens of men and women are taking the oath, an oath they say is to the constitution of the united states. >> so help me god. >> reporter: not they say, to the president. >> if we're going to watch while our country dies and think there's nothing we can do about

it, we're wrong. >> reporter: they call themselves the oath keepers and last fall held the first national conference. >> our forefathers flew this flag. >> reporter: the founder stewart rhodes says his members recite a revised section of the oath but don't include this phrase, i will o bail the orders of the president of the united states. >> our role is to defend the constitution and the republic. >> reporter: the oath keepers aren't looking for gamblers, seeking out active duty members of the armed forces and veterans. the oath keepers want you if you've taken an oath to protect the nation. they have pictures of active duty soldiers who say they've become oath keepers. the patch on this uniform bears the name. >> is it a militia group? >> no, we don't need to be.

>> reporter: the oath keepers call on members to disobey orders to disarm the american people or to force citizens into detention camps. it's a pledge he cites in an anti-obama dvd. >> i will not obey -- >> reporter: mark, who monitors extremist groups says the oath keepers are exploiting false rumors found on fringe websites. >> many of the oath keepers are people who believe that martial law is about to be imposed at any moment. it is right around the corner. >> reporter: do you think president obama is plotting to build detention camps in this country? >> i don't know. do you think president bush -- who knows? >> reporter: you have no evidence. >> no. >> reporter: he insists they are not anti-government and not anti-obama. who is talking about taking guns away? >> we have to wait until someone talks about it before we can say

we can't do it. >> reporter: worries soldiers in the oath keepers will pick and choose which orders to follow, disrupting the chain of command. >> all they are doing is hurting the unit and hurting the military and their friends. they should really think about that. >> reporter: critics say the oath keepers vindicate this report last year from the department of homeland security th rhodes blasted the report at the founding of the oath keepers earlier this year. >> across the ocean, in their country they are considered heroes. when they come home, now they are considered potential terrorists. >> reporter: the group was founded in lexington, massachusetts, the site of the first shots fired in the american revolution. founded on april 19th, in fact. there are no proposals coming from the white house for new major gun control laws.

also the department of homeland security told us repeatedly last november when we were reporting on this originally, that they have no comment on the group. >> you didn't get any indication whether or not they view them as a potential threat? >> no, i meep, this is one of those things -- when we were talking to them, they were exercising their rights to free speech and were not calling for any kind of overthrow of the government or anything of that nature. the feeling was that they are not doing anything that is against the law. they are saying what they want to say. they have the first amendment right. >> coming up next, mom and dad stuck in europe and the kids are back home. they thought they were going on a week-long vacation, but they are trying to cope now with being separated because they can't get back due to this iceland volcano. what's life like when the kids are home alone? 38 minutes past the hour. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze... my eyes water. but now zyrtec®, the fastest 24-hour allergy relief, comes in a new liquid gel.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. the worldwide travel crisis continues but this morning successful test flights are offering hope for thousands of passengers stranded by a

volcanic cloud. for so many families it has been a struggle, kiran. >> it's also interesting, acc d according to the associated press, sending the royal navy to rescue some people and blasting transportation officials saying there's not a lot of coordination going on. >> the contingency plans for a volcanic eruption. >> it is amazing, we would love to hear you weigh in as well if you're stuck in the middle because of what's going on. it's been especially hard for one virginia couple stuck in amsterdam. they have four kids under the age of 9 years old and all at home waiting for mom and dad to get there. >> reporter: what was supposed to be a few days in europe to visit family is now going on two weeks. sadness, separation and a lot of internet skyping for the pattersons of midlothian.

parents jen and steve are among millions stranded. >> our flight tomorrow is canceled because the stuff in the air is too dangerous. >> i'm dying to see you guys. this is the hardest thing mommy has ever done. you are the bravest kids in the world. i love you so much. i know that you're being so loved and taken care of there. >> reporter: a grandmother had been watching the children. >> mommy is making a funny face. can you make a funny face to mommy? >> reporter: now friends are pitching in. >> the kids run out today after your mom gets here and john will moe the grass. >> how is it looking? >> a little rough. >> reporter: even rougher for them, the anxiety of being apart. the family spends a lot of time online sharing laughs. >> little comedian.

>> reporter: shedding tears but also making plans. >> what is the first thing you want to do? >> go to the zoo. >> i think i might kiss the ground when i get home. >> could you share with us again, just how you're dealing with this and how you're coping? >> it's hard. lots of tears. not a lot of sleep. i'm a stay-at-home mom, i'm not an adventurous person. this was a hard enough thing for me to do. >> reporter: cnn, midlothian, virginia. >> wow. >> seemed like a good idea at the time. >> until you couldn't back home. >> we'll talk to todd brilliant, a passenger stranded at heathrow airport. his wife is seven months pregnant and started a survival guide on facebook for people like him stranded. hey, he's got the time and got the computer. >> at least they are not away from the kids.

>> traveling with the child. >> yeah, you've got to feel for that family. >> it is 6:44. rob will have this morning's forecast right after the break. in ten minutes, you wouldn't drink fat, would you? jeanne moos shows us a health campaign aimed at trying to stop people from pouring on the pounds. very smart. we were jus discussing the circumstances by which a person can find himself in four separate places at one time. i didn't really say that. but people come in here for tires, brakes, batteries and oil changes. so it's possible? yes. oh that's brilliant. buy with confidence. thanks to our low price tire guarantee. so, with everything you need in one convenient place why would you go to four separate places? now that's a good question. well, there you go.

♪

welcome back to the most news in the morning. good morning, nashville. it is 44 degrees there in music city, 68 degrees later today. and always good to take a look at nashville. there is carrie underwood. did you know she was named entertainer of the year last night at the academy of country music awards? this is the second time she's been given that honor. that has not happened with any other woman. >> it is usually kenny chesney. good for her. "american idol" to star of the country world. good for carrie. it is 48 minutes past the hour. rob marciano is in the extreme weather center this morning. hey there, rob. >> good morning, gorgeous weather across the tennessee valley and through nashville. the sun will come up today. we have a couple of showers that we'll be dealing with in the

southeast. other than that, no huge storms, except for the pacific northwest, showers rolling in there. it was a gorgeous weekend across many spots. 68 degrees for the high expected in memphis. this little shower will bring its way over to the east. it will pose rain in memphis towards new orleans. the biggest problem will be across parts of florida where the showers continue today. that will be an issue because we have something called the space shuttle trying to make a landing at 8:48 later on today. a rare descending node approach, meaning it will come across north america and make its way down, which means if you live in seattle, at 5:13 local time, you'll be able to see this thing streaking across the sky through st. louis and arriving down across the kennedy space center. but there are showers around so we'll have to watch this closely.

if all goes according to plan, they'll be landing here on "american morning" towards the end of the show. >> sounds cool. thanks so much. this morning's top stories minutes away, including the great wait. close to 7 million travelers affected by the volcanic cloud over europe. will there be any relief today? we're watching the skies a look at how the volcano is forcing travelers to go at it the old fashioned way, ferries, ocean liners. accused of profiting from your pain. goldman sachs now facing serious charges for their part in the financial meltdown. could your bank be next? are they already doing it again? will regulation make a difference?

time now for most news in the morning. health officials are worried about america's growing weight problem. they aren't just saying you should watch what you eat. >> what you drink as well, the sugary sodas and energy drink. jeanne moos tells us, what some are calling a really gross new ad campaign. >> reporter: watching someone pour a soda, why would that make folks make these kind of faces. >> disgusting. >> reporter: it's the latest campaign from the new york city deposit of health. drinking one can of soda a day can make you ten pounds fatter that year. the american beverage

association calls it a sensationalized video that inaccurately portrays our industry's products but full of sugar that will put on the pounds says the health department the we have lots of no kcalorie soda too. >> look, i smoke but i take what comes with it. >> reporter: everyone else rated the don't drink yourself fat campaign. >> i would say horribly effective. >> reporter: even more horrible are the guys on youtube who do drink pure fat on a dare from a george foreman grill, chicken fat, good apparently to the last drop. the drinking fat viral ad is what has people saying -- >> wow. >> reporter: jay jacobs can relate. look what he sells. my pet fat it's called. >> oh, my goodness. >> five pounds of anatomically correct body fat.

>> reporter: meant to defehr the owner from eating. if his own personal battle against weight, jay says he finally had a face to his foe. when he first used my pet fat. he lost 150 pounds then gained it back. now he lost 30 on what he calls the smart phone diet. >> i upload images of whatever i'm eating that day. >> reporter: on a japanese game show they were asked to guess what my pet fat was. one answered a sex toy. actually, you're supposed to put it near your food supply. >> put one right inside the fridge -- five pounds of fat in a fridge works every time. >> reporter: we don't know if you're you'll drop pounds, but you'll drop 150 bucks.

jeanne moos, cnn, new york. >> when we spoke with the new york city health department, they say it's too early to tell. >> i'm eating some of that yellow blob jeanne was talking about. it looked delicious. >> you can't be picky at 7:00 a.m. >> your top stories coming your way. we'll be right back. re more like rocket scientists. they have to be. the technicians at ford and lincoln mercury dealerships are highly trained. they really do know their stuff. and, they have all the parts to make sure the job gets done right. get the works - an oil change, tire rotation and more just $29.95 or less after $10 mail-in rebate. does this thing do email? you betcha. see, smart and friendly.

welcome to "american morning", glad you're with us, i'm kiran chetry. >> here are this morning's top stories, latest developments on the iceland volcano travel crisis, about a third of all

scheduled flights will take off today. that's some good news. >> transportation officials from the european union are holding emergency talks saying, we can't wait for the cloud to just go away. it's estimated close to 7 million travelers have been affected so far and the airlines may be losing $200 million a day. >> a global travel group is calling flight restrictions embarrassing and telling them to lift the ban right now after dozens of test flights went okay. some experts are saying better safe than sorry. more concerned about what could happen to a plane on the second or third run through the ash. >> another option keep waiting. forecasters say we may not get relief until thursday. officials in iceland say right now the eruption is still in full swing and there's fear it could trigger a neighboring k vo

to blow. as many as 500 runners could miss this morning's boston marathon because their flights never took off. >> first though, europe under a cloud of volcanic ash for five days now. authorities are rethinking europe's no-fly zone, that ruling that they cannot fly yet and airlines are crippled by the travel shutdown. we begin our coverage with sasha, who is with us in london's heathrow airport. >> reporter: as you can see from the runway behind me, not a lot of happening. the only planes moving are ones being taxied across the runway, not even using their own fuel. this is day five since the volcano erupted and 20 european countries still have some kind of flight ban in place. that varies from country to country depending on where the cloud of volcanic ash is. sts estimated it is costing the industry $200 million a day.

that's a huge amount of money. it's believed to be affecting 6.8 million passengers and that could increase as the week goes on depending whether or not the flight bans are actually lifted. some test flights have taken place. particularly one from heathrow airport behind me. that took place yesterday. it was up in the air around two and a half hours. it land the in wales and they found the volcanic ash didn't seem to have adverse effect on the aircraft. that was mirrored by other agencies who sent their aircraft into the air and found the ash didn't have any adverse effect. no one is taking any chances and most flights are grounded. it's thought 30% of flights will be taking place in the affected area of europe throughout the day. obviously, that's a huge decrease in the total number of flights actually expected.

there's a ban in the u.k. until 1:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, tuesday morning. until then, not a lot going to be happening. there have been various emergency meetings across europe to decide what to do. the most significant one will be the european ministers. they will meet and talk about what exactly to do and how long flight bans should actually be in place. back to you. >> thanks, sasha. here's a look at where we stand right now with all of the delays and cancellations, 63,000 flights have been grounded over european air space since thursday afternoon. 5,000 flights took off yesterday. 19,000 fewer than normal. british airways announced none of its flights will be taking off and the massive cloud of ash causing all of this now stretches across england, austria, france and germany and parts of russia. unbelievable. with the iceland volcano still spewing ash.

gary tuckman got about as close as humanly possible to the volcanic activity and able to do a flyover in a helicopter this weekend. that may not sound like a good idea but he did it any way. gary joins us live from iceland. my hat is off to you for flying over a volcano that has been erupting. must have been unbelievable. >> reporter: well, first off, we should make it clear, i didn't fly the helicopter. if i flew the helicopter, there would be huge problems. we had a brave pilot who at one point said, i can't get you closer. 400 feet is close enough. considering the fact that thousands of miles away people can't fly and literally 400 feet away from the volcano. and as we're looking at the volcano, just close up we're seeing huge boulders spewing out of it and seeing lightning bolts coming out and shards of glass

and new clouds forming. powering thousands of feet in the air and it was awe-inspiring and frightening at the same time to see the immense power and knowing this particular volcano hasn't erupted since 1821. everyone that's coming out of it has been there for 189 years waiting to come out. you wonder, how long is it going to last? this is not an exact science. we're told by scientists that it has weakened a bit yesterday and early this morning. it's not like predicting a hurricane or rain storm. there's no way to know. we don't know if it will strengthen or weaken or how long it will last. what we do know is that travel in iceland is fine. the reykjavik airport has been fine, it has been a difficult time. huge piles of carbash on farms

properties. he can't start the cleanup because the ash is going to continue. jim? >> gary tuckman with that very up close and personal view of the volcano in iceland. thanks. appreciate that. >> there are signs the travel nightmare may be easing, but it appears mother nature won't be much help until the wind conditions change. rob marciano has the ash forecast. they don't think it will change until at least thursday? >> looks that way. we're seeing interesting things happen kind of at the lower levels of the atmosphere, bringing the ash a little bit more over the ocean, which is kind of good news for some. typical west to east pattern, not as much of a north to south pattern. that's good news but still fairly strong jet stream and strong plume of ash coming out of the volucanvolcano. hopefully that pattern continues and we see less stuff in the

atmosphere. from the surface to 20,000 feet, we're actually seeing a westerly -- east to west flow. so some ash has been getting into eastern canada in flights out of newfoundland have been canceled this morning. we don't and it to get to the rest of the u.s. nonetheless, that little tidbit is something to gnaw on. space shuttle trying to land this morning. they have waived that off for the next attempt. this is all due to weather, not because of ash. we'll talk more about that in about 30 minutes. back to you. >> no one can get any traction this morning when it comes to the air, huh? >> that's right. >> thousands of travelers are stranded. the ash was forcing flights carrying wounded soldiers to reroute from the usual stop in germany. now being air lifted straight to the east coast instead. barbara starr live at the pentagon this morning. the military has a cold name for this operation.

>> reporter: they do, indeed, kiran. whenever there's a mess somewhere in the world that the military has to deal with, they like to code name it. known as operation e-15, e for first letter of the volcano and 15 other letters that i won't attempt to pronounce. this is now a military operation. let's look at a couple of maps. this will show you where key bases are shut down in europe impacting the flow of cargo passengers and wounded. first in britain, in the united kingdom, two bases shut down. raf, the u.s. air force base has both bases shut down. in germany, the air base at ramstein and shan golen shutdown. let's look at the map. as you say, ramstein has been

critical now for so many years to medevacing and lifting the wounded out of the war zone. they fly from germany from the war zone and back to the united states. look at the green line. what they are having to do now is fly from spain, south of the ash cloud, over to the war zone and then air lift them all the way back to the united states. in fact, later today, another flight of the wounded expected to arrive directly at andrews air force base. this is impacting a whole lot of people, even general stanley mccrystal, the commander in the war in afghanistan, right now stuck in europe. he had been there on a prearranged visit, can't get back to afghanistan. jim and kiran. >> wow, barbara, thanks so much for that. should the flights restart again in europe or is it better to wait and let the ash cloud pass through? go to cnn.com/amfix and give us

your comment. patience is running thin for the air travelers stranded. at 7:13 we will go live to paris where they are streaming buses to make their way across europe. a win for all who fly, find out which air carriers are pledging to let you bring your carry-on luggage for free. millions of your tax dollars are going to tiny regional airports, some giving away free flights. what is going on there? our special investigations unit went digging for answers and we'll have them for you. it is 7 :10. you know, when i grow up,

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♪ welcome back, 13 minutes past the hour. europe still waiting for the skies to clear from the volcanic ash. clouds of stranded travelers are jamming trains and buses to get home. we're tapping into the global resources of cnn and our jim bitterman is live in paris with more on what the situation looks like at the train stations. i imagine there's a lot less elbow room than usual. >> reporter: absolutely right. the train stations are meant thousand through-put not

stay-put. basically it's the end of school holidays in france and great britain both. there were a lot of people trying to get across the channel this weekend and lot of them were disappointed because there was so much volume on the trains. since the weekend and since this has come up rather suddenly, the train system has now strugedled to accommodate and they figured how to get themselves an extra 80,000 places. the only landing between the continent and great britain, 80,000 extra places this week. not only are they going to relief the burden of people wanting to get from one side to. also, it looks like they are trying to win over a few new customers because they are offering the seat at a bargain price, $130 roundtrip as opposed to the usual $330 for the last-minute booking. they may be hoping to encourage a little of travel. not just relieve the current situation. >> all right. while it may seem like a

headache, everyone looking at the shot behind you, i wish i were there. >> worst things than being stuck in paris. britain's royal navy is on the move trying to bring back stranded passengers from their long journey of the one ship is headed to spain to pick up british soldiers just getting back from afghanistan. gordon brown is sending a warship across the english channel to pick up the british stranded in france. ayesha, how are things going out there? it doesn't look pretty i guess behind you. >> reporter: the keys are getting longer and longer as more passengers arrive by coach to buy tickets across the channel back to the u.k. people need to get back to work

and have their children get back to school. they are finding themselves in an increasingly desperate situation. for some of them this is the last resort. they are realizing this could be the only option. and the ferry companies have anticipated an increase in passengers and have organized additional crossings. but one thing that passengers are all talking about are the price that they are having to pay to get onto the ferry. usually they -- it costs around $38 and passengers are being charged $88. so even though they are having to pay more and their money is running out from paying for extra hotel night's stay and car rentals and taxis, they are tired and frustrated, but most are still smiling. >> thanks very much, joining us there from france with the latest on that very serious travel nightmare.

appreciate it. >> still ahead, we're talking about airlines again but not about whether or not they can get out of europe. about whether the five largest airlines are saying they are not going to charge you a fee to bring a carry-on bag. christine, this was brought on as you've reported to us last week, spirit airlines, they are going to charge a carry-on bag fee. >> for the carry-on bag. what is essential to travel when you buy an airline ticket? what are you willing to pay for and not pay for when you get on a plane? we'll have that right after the break. my subaru saved my life. i won't ever forget that. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

♪ >> 20 minutes past the hour. christine romans "minding your business." you're here this morning and we've been talking about goldman sachs saying they are going to vigorously defend the charges

against them against the sec regarding fraud. >> covering that this morning and see if the stocks go lower because there are still -- the market had been up a lot. people are rattled about that. also covering the airlines promises for no carry-on fees for bags. chuck schumer last week -- >> on thursday he said he would put legislation to stop it. >> they have a bill they introduced on wednesday that basically said they are a essential thing. when you buy a plane ticket there are things that are essential, like bringing clothes with you. spirit airlines kicked the whole thing off a couple of weeks ago when they said they would charge $45 for the carry-on. there was public outrage against this. and chuck schumer got a promise from five airlines, that they will not charge carry-on fees. american airlines delta, jetblue, jetblue which never did before, never had any indication that it would. united airlines and u.s. airways.

it's interesting because spirit is stucking to its guns. it's a free market. people want to see what they are paying and see -- they want everything broken out to see how much the plane ticket costs. how much is the gas? how much is the ticket? how much the fee to check a bag? how much is the fee to carry on a bag? the reason they are doing this, not because they are mean. it's because the airline industry is losing $7 million a day. >> they are charging more for tickets? >> well -- >> enough with this stuff. >> that's the debate. trying to charge a little here and little here to keep your business so you think you're getting a low -- jim is like, no. >> i'm done with it. just charge me more. because it's basically gotten ludicrous. >> loot a krus.

get it? >> i do get it. it's out of control and people are just -- if this doesn't make common sense to me, why does it make any sense --schumer's posis popular. spirit airlines and others say they hear people say they want to pay for what they choose. >> i need to follow because ryan air was saying they were paying to use -- that was the whole pay, taking it to the next level. >> if you like nuttiness with the airline stories, check this one out. some airports giving away free parking and free flights and doing it to try to get millions of your tax dollars. we'll explain what's going on. it is 23 minutes after the hour. [ male announcer ] nature valley

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welcome back. first an "a.m. original." something you'll see only on "american morning." special investigations unit has been tracking small airports across the country using your

tax dollars to stay open. what got our attention? how some of them are getting the money. they are offering free parking and free flights. confused? we were too. drew griffin headed to west virginia to get some answers. >> reporter: this airport near clarksburg west virginia boasts quick check-ins and convenient baggage claim which is not surprising because the planes don't exactly fuel up. . you can park here for free and park all day and watch and you may not see a single plane. if you did stay all day, would you catch just three commercial departures covering six passengers. 30 million to lengthen the runway in 1999. last year 1.6 million in

stimulus cash. for the last two years, an extra million dollars, money given to this and any small airport that can show it gets at least 10,000 passengers in a single year. get just one passenger less than that magic 10,000 and you'll get a measly, $150,000. it's an all or nearly nothing program that government waste watch dog tom coburn says could only be devised in one place. >> it's exacerbated now because of the economic downturn. >> reporter: tiny airports across the country, airport managers do just about anything they can to hit the jackpot of 10,000 passengers and get the government's money. and that includes free flights. >> it was just a little --

>> reporter: ad. >> free flights, trying to meet the quote ta and there were 300 passengers short of -- >> reporter: literally a free flight? >> it was awesome. >> reporter: last december susan pearson saw an ad in the paper for a free sightseeing flight. >> it was quite a thrill. >> reporter: local news was there too, catching her, her grandson donovan and hundreds of others flying a chartered 757 above bridgeport and clarksburg. where did the flight go? >> it went everywhere. >> reporter: it went nowhere, just up and down. they became part of the $10,000 a year passenger count. in nebraska, residents paid $15 for tours of christmas flights.

back in clarksburg, rick gets money to fly school students to washington d.c. for the day to bump up the passenger count. how is that paid for? >> through contributions through the board of education. this is the restaurant. looks like it's closed. >> reporter: the airport just got a separate $150,000 grant from the faa to -- well, you guessed it, to promote itself. >> no planes or restaurant. >> reporter: consider this, the three scheduled departures a day, they do go to washington, but all stop in morgantown, 35 miles away. i took the flight myself. and no sooner were we reaching altitude we were preparing to land. >> approximately 10:20.

>> reporter: every single person who leaves clarksburg has to take the ten-minute flight. the man who runs the clarksburg airport says he's proud of what it's done to get as much money as possible. >> we have a study done that says the economic impact of this community is 395 million. i think there's no question we need this airport. >> reporter: but how can you say that when you've got three flights a day, you can go to morgantown ride, pittsburgh, most people do. and obviously the community is not flocking in here. >> i think that they have in the past and i'm an optimistic penitentiary and think they will in the future. >> reporter: the question is should federal taxpayers foot the bill while we wait to see if the passengers ever do show up at the small airports? obviously senator coburn says no. first he's trying to get an accounting much how much money

is spent on these before he puts anything into a bill. >> i'm afraid to ask, if there are other airports out there like this one? i'm assuming the answer is yes. >> reporter: of course, you know that, jim. maybe as many as 36. we don't want to -- these airport managers are doing anything they can to keep the airports running. do we have the money right now to afford this money to be spent on airports where it literally 18 people a day at this whole airport? that's a good day. jim? >> i think i could take a free flights sometime for the heck of it. sounds like a good time. if i'm not paying for it, even better. drew, thanks very much for that story. eye-opening stuff. appreciate it. it is 7:31. time for the top stories. the pentagon is updating plans for a possible military strike against iran should diplomacy fail. it comes after robert gates wrote a classified memo to the white house in january on

whether the u.s. was ready to deal with a nuclear iran. meantime, ahmadinejad says iran is so strong, no country would thing of attacking it. toyota is expected to agree a record $16.4 million fine for not reporting sticky gas pedals when it should have. the automaker waited four months to report accelerator problems in some of its vehicles. by law they have five business days to report any kind of potential problem or defect. officials will not say that the fine shields toyota from criminal or civil suits. janet thit is the deadliest domestic terror attack in u.s. history, very sad anniversary there for the folks in oklahoma city. >> it's amazing, it's been 15

years since that happened. thanks so much, jim. 32 minutes past the hour. all eyes are on the fate of goldman sachs. after the got filed civil charges against the bank accusing it of fraud, goldman has been the target of public outrage after getting a bailout then turning a profit a year later. diane brady and william cohen, contributor at the daily beast.com. thanks to both of you for being with us. as we talk about goldman sachs emerging some would say unscathed from the bailout. then they ended up earning 13 billion last year, now facing the fraud charges. what is the sec alleging happened to goldman? >> they sold a product designed to fail, that's the allegation.

they presented a product to the market that was stuffed with these bonds that had been chosen by somebody who was trying to bet against them then they placed the bets themselves. in essence what they were doing was misleading people. that's the nub. accusation, it's a civil charge, nobody is going to go to jail over this. there are questions of whether or not it was illegal. >> the inner workers of these exotic financial instruments, or whatever you want to say, there was sort of an internal battle, that the housing bubble was not going to continue and they raised the red flag but found a way to hedge their bets against the housing market tanking. >> whether you admire them or not, whether you like what they did or not, this is a very big and diverse firm, 30,000 people. some people were in the business at goldman sachs of packaging up

mortgages and selling them off to investors around the world. other people at goldman sachs took a different view in december of 2006 and throughout 2006 saying that, hey, we think there's real problems in the mortgage market. we as a firm will find ways to bet against the mortgage market. at the same time other colleagues are packing up and acting as middlemen to sell the mortgage securities to the public. both things were going on at goldman at the same time. that's what distinguished them at other firms. at other firms they are -- merrill, they hadn't made the secondary bet that the market may fail. they made profit in 2007 when other firms lost money. >> when we were on the brink of financial ruin as they call it. >> the truth is nobody knew. >> some people obviously knew. >> nobody knew which way the bet would come out.

now they look smart. if it had gone the other way, they wouldn't have looked smart. hindsight is 20/20. >> paul krugman said goldman sachs and other firms marketed mortgage backed securities as they sout to make profits by betting that the securities would plunge in value. this practice wasn't illegal and now the sec is charging that goldman created and marketed securities that were deliberately designed to fail so an important client, made money off that failure. now, how do they prove this? >> well, that's what's going to be difficult. i think one argument goldman could have, they were selling them to sophisticated investors. their argument will be they could do their own due dilige e

diligence, we were selling them to people who knew full well. they packaged a product and did not disclose who had played a major hand in designing that product, which is a man who is betting against the market. so he had a vested interest in putting lousy stuff designed to fail into a product. and the argument was goldman was not clear about that. you're seeing outrage in germany and britain. gordon brown has called for an investigation. this is the beginning of some scrutiny of goldman sachs. >> that's a lot of outrage, but can anything be done? would anything what we ultimately may see in a reform package have prevented this? >> i don't think so. this is highly super sophisticated financial engineering going on. and nothing as i could see, except for putting derivatives on an exchange which is an important aspect of the financial reform legislation,

but stopping this, you have to stop this at its root. you have to get people designing these things not to want to do them because there is too much risk involved because they have their own net worth on line. at the moment, that's not the way it works. i think in this case goldman sachs may have outsmarted itself. i think there's going to be a lot of evidence to shows they did do the proper disclosure. . it may not matter because they are now subject to headline risk as opposed to really this narrow issue of disclosure that the sec is building its case on. >> i think that's a good point. the reputation, if you look at all of the kind of tragedies of the past 18 months, aig, greece, goldman has played a major role, played a major role in profit from that and executive pay. and with greece, it played a major role in helping greece

disguise its debt. they are coming from a deficit in terms of how they are viewed right now. >> they say they will vigorously defend the charges. there are reports the sec is looking into other banks as well. this could be quite a hot potato, not only in wall street but in washington as they try to get reform passed. great to talk to you. great to get your insight, thank you. coming up next, how does a volcano under a glacier in the middle of the ocean rock cash crops in africa. . the worldwide impact of all of these airport delays. it is 39 minutes after the hour. [ female announcer ] grass stains, believe it or not,

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. 42 minutes past the hour. when we say the volcanic delays are having a worldwide impact, it truly is worldwide. visiting a family in kenya and joins us firsthand from africa. hey, zain. >> reporter: hi, there, kiran. exporting here are so frustrated. you know what they have been

doing all day? they have been dumping fresh vegetables all day long and so upsetting to people here. a few moments ago they got word that a couple of planes, one to france and one to spain are going to be taking off in a few hours. there's been a little bit of activity. what's happening there, they have fresh fish and going to load things like vegetables and flowers on the planes. i talked to some people here though, kiran. they say they are really nervous about keeping their jobs. lucy may be out of a job if grounded planes in kenya don't take off soon. >> i'm very worried about this. >> reporter: canceled flights to the u.k. and europe mean lucy may not be needed to pack fresh vegetables for export every day. >> what would happen to my house? >> reporter: lucy just has to

look across the room, normally buzzing with workers, the area is now suddenly silent because thousands are not working. exporting horticulture, look at the amount of fresh vegetable stuck at the airport. this one company alone is 200 tons lying around, things like red chilies, broccoli, apar gus, these are things you see on the shelves in britain. have you ever seen it this bad? >> not at all. i've been here for eight years and seen severe drought, haven't seen anything like this in my life. this is a catastrophe because it doesn't have the end time. >> reporter: no one knows when the trucks will hit the road again and shuttle fresh goods.

johnny mcmillan is ready. what's going to happen to the appreciate produce? >> we only have two choices, give it to farmers for cattle feed and the second thing, take it back to the farms and kpoestcompost it. >> reporter: fresh cut flowers from farms like these are flown to europe every day. the long way is killing them. also in the numbers, kiran. more than $3 million a day have been lost in this industry because of this crisis. it is such a catastrophe. for so many kenyans, 1.5 million that depend on this industry. if it comes to a standstill, their lively hoods are at stake. >> zain in kenya, thank you.

the a.m. fix blog is up and running. people are weighing in about what's going on. we have one guy who is stranded -- >> daniel here is stranded in new york with soon to be wife, i must comment on the fact the ash cloud was deadly to attempt to fly through days ago and saying if there's a 30% of flights resuming today, i don't want to take a 30% risk of being safe up in the skies. not exactly what the experts are saying, but it is interesting to see that even now folks are feeling like they've got to reach out and say, i'm stuck too. >> would you want to be on one of the first flights that resume to see if it's safe? it is a little nerve-wracking. >> it's not a matter of public opinion, it must be decided by experts. >> he didn't think it was a stretch to cancel the flights,

better safe than sorry is what all of the experts are saying at this point. >> a couple of people weighing in on the baggage stuff. >> another guy saying, can you move on beyond the spirit airlines story? i'm sorry, sir, we will not move on. >> yes, we will, eventually. be part of the conversation, go to cnn.com/amfix. thanks so much for taking the time to write in. 47 minutes after the hour. rob will be along with the travel forecast after the break. hi. i'm dan hesse, ceo of sprint. we're so confident in the improvements we've made to our network, our phones, our plans, and to customer service that we're offering you this simple guarantee. join us, and if you're not completely happy with sprint within 30 days, we'll give you your money back. pretty simple, huh? [ male announcer ] the sprint free guarantee.

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♪ all right, good morning, cincinnati. 44 degrees right now. later today, sunny and 63 and

that is not the tune63. that is not the tune to wkrp in cincinnati. >> let's get a check of this morning's weather headlines. it didn't make it all the way to cincinnati. >> no but it is getting closer. good morning, guys. for a lot of folks, a gorgeous spring weekend. a couple of showers across the mid south and mississippi valley through memphis and nashville and parts of georgia tomorrow. all eyes across parts of florida, especially the east coast towards orlando and cape canaveral. we are trying to get the space shuttle on the ground. they waved off the first attempt an hour ago. the next attempt, shortly after 10:00. the problem is, quite a bit of showers around the kency space center. if you get within 30 naught cal miles, that's enough to wave off the landing. we will see what happens. we will know more in an hour and a half. if you are traveling closer to earth, boston, wind delays.

new york metro as well. dallas-ft. worth, maybe some wind delays as well. rain coming into the pacific northwest. that will affect the rest of the country later in the week. until then, 68 degrees in memphis. 71 in kansas city. talk about the ash, that's the big story. from the surface to about 20,000 feet, mid to lower levels of the atmosphere, winds from the east to west. taking a little bit of that ash over towards north america and some flights have been canceled out of st. john's newfoundland because of mild ash conditions there. we don't expect them to get further west. this ash story continues to not want to go away. now, it is affecting more people in more parts of the world. more at the top of the hour. back to you. >> meanwhile, we'll take a quick break. much more ahead. top of the hour. 52 minutes past the hour. 00-3450 so where's that help when i need it? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 if i could change one thing... tdd# 1-800-345-2550 we'd all get a ton of great advice

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buy one packet seeds get one free. welcome back to the most news in the morning. 55 past the hour. a major supermarket is telling customers, toss out the beef. they are worried about e. coli. they are recalling meat purchased from march 28th to april 29th. >> the law requires a foern tell police officers if they have a gun and to temporarily hand it over. more than 154,000 people have permits under the old law which required background checks. waved off at first pass, shuttle "discovery" will be

trying again later today, 10:00 a.m. eastern. it could force nasa to land the shuttle at california's edwards air force base. the super violent super hero action flick "quick ass" could not slay "how to train your dragon" at the boss office. "death at a funeral" debuted in fourth plays just behind the comedy "date night." whenever i hear that movie "quick ass," i can't help but thinking of cart marn. we have your top stories coming your way in just two minutes.

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airlines should get a third of the planes back in the skies. they are hoping it happens after ann arbor cloud shut down travel. a lot of questions about whether they can guarantee safety in the sky and were authorities to ground so much flights. a no-go for round one. nasa calls off the first landing attempt for the space shuttle "discovery" because of bad weather. will the crew get back to earth today. all eyes on goldman sachs, the dow took a dive friday after the fed charged the bank with fraud. stock futures falling today on concerns about the fallout over goldman sachs. charged with civil fraud tied to its dealings and bonds backed by sub-prime mortgages. will the crackdown on wall street bring out the bears. we are following that. our a.m. fix blog is up and running. we would love for you to join, cnn.com/amfix. we will read some of your

comments. first, the ash cloud that's casting a devastating shadow over international air traffic may be lessening. the agency overseeing european air space seas that air traffic could return to one-third of its normal level. they are desperate to get their business back up and running. live from france, what is happening right now? are things looking up there? >> reporter: well, the cues are getting longer and longer as more passengers arrive at the airport here in calais. passengers are finding themselves in an increasingly desperate situation where the money is running out and they need to get to their final destination to go back to work and for their children to go back to schools. the ferry companies have anticipated an influx of passengers and organized additional crossings. take, for example, sea france,

in a day, they only carry 90 passengers. yesterday, they carried a total of 540 passengers and they expect around the same amount today. so passengers are getting on to the ferries and continuing their journeys home. >> those passengers do not look happy. thank you for joining us live from cam llais, france. many european airports remain closed but several runways are open for business. they may have become the hot new ticket. passengers are finding flights limited and, of course, understandably, mostly sold out. as frustration mounts, pressure is building to ease some travel restrictions. >> the airlines say their tests show the ash is not a threat, though one nato officials says several f-16s flying through the ash suffered engine damage. our richard quest joins us live. the airlines are really pushing

back. they are losing more than $200 million a day. that's a lot of money. >> not only is it a lot of money as you might expect. the airlines are now starting to seek support from your great government, individual governments and from the european union. british airways in the last hour has come out and says it will be seeking airline support for the losses they have been supporting, similar to the support airlines received after 9/11. the federal government did come out and department of transportation did offer support to the airlines, financial cash support and now european airlines are saying this is a similar situation. they are devastated by what has been happening in this way. it's not their fault. >> the other thing that's different about it, because there are safety concerns, who wants to be the first one to have a problem and have an engine go out and figure that out. there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. we don't know when this volcano

is going to stop spewing ash. they are now saying it is safe to fly in parts of europe and they should be allowed to begin some form of flying schedule. this is where it gets really interesting. because what the aviation authorities are saying is, we're taking no risks whatsoever. the airlines say, we north stupid. we are not going to ask to fly if it is dangerous. you have this tussle between the air tlins want to get back in the air and the aviation authorities say not until we are 100% safe i spoke yesterday to one pilot. he said he was taking planes up. he would take planes up. it was quite safe and time to start flying again. >> richard, you have been all over the world. you have racked up more than a few sky miles in your day. have you ever encountered or seen anything remotely close to what's happening right now in terms of a danger that is widespread to a huge number of

air travelers? >> no. the significance of this, if you take 9/11, where the air traffic in the united states was a domestic crisis. there was almost like we knew that travel would start again. it was just a question of when. the unknown wasn't as unknown. here, to quote a former u.s. administration, the unknowns are unknown and we don't even know what we don't know. >> you are dealing with mother nature. >> you don't want to be the guy that makes the call if it is the wrong call. >> that's the interesting thing, because the airlines are saying, it is time to make the call. >> but they don't want to make the call. >> i think the european officials, my gut feeling is that flying will start again and it will gradually build up. unfortunately, there are many tens of thousands of people who are at the back of the cue and, yes, tonight, i become a refugee here in new york. >> you were scheduled to go

back? >> tonight i was supposed to be on a continental flight to london. it is not going to go. the awful part -- >> make yourself comfortable. there are showers on the seventh floor and a gym downstairs. >> if it is your plane that's due to go and it goes, you are at the front of the cue. you are a confirmed seat. the moment your plane doesn't go, there is the back of the line. >> exactly. so we talk about the travel headaches for all the people out there. that is huge. everybody has their own. we just heard from this married couple that went. they left their four young children with relatives and now they have been stuck in amsterdam trying to talk to their kids on video, skype. what about them being able to recoup the losses financially? this is a huge hit for the airlines. >> it is a huge hit for the airlines. that's why they are going to be seeking financial support from the government in some shape or form, tax breaks or direct financial support. for individual travelers, that depends on your insurance policy. back in january, i was stranded

for 32 hours at an airport coming back from egypt. my insurance covered me, because it was a weather delay. >> covered you for putting yourself up? >> travelers insurance. whether or not travelers insurance covers you for this, an act of god, i'll tell you tomorrow morning if i'm still here i'll come back with an authoritative answer on what that means. >> it is such a small fee that's tacked on to your airline bill, you can click it but most people say, my flight will be fine. i'm not going to worry about it. >> i have one of those multipolicies that you buy once a year and covers you for many trips. >> we will see if it covers this one. >> you are looking mean. you are looking mean. >> whenever they pull out the act of god, you know you have some arguing to do with the insurance company. thanks so much, richard. >> coming up, in less than 30 minutes, we will talk to todd

brilliant, an american stranded in london. wait until you hear how he and his pregnant wife are passing the time. > 8 minutes past the hour. we will check in with rob march season know for a look at the forecast. interesting things coming out of the u.k. met office, the equivalent of our national weather service. they have been tracking this ash cloud. here is their forecast. lines on the map, greens and red. the lower levels. that has been moving westward. this goes beyond europe and we have seen that just in the past day or so. the typical westerly winds bring things into scandinavia and parts of u.k. and northern europe. that is expected to continue today and for the next couple of days as we get through the rest of this week. the lower level flow is bringing some of that ash into north american. some flights have been canceled in st. john's newfoundland. just enough to make them worry

in the eastern provinces of canada. we don't expect it here in the northeast. it is spreaded out and affecting just about everybody. we will talk more about that, the nation's weather and whether or not they will be able to land that space shuttle. they already had a failed attempt because of weather. we will talk about the second attempt which will happen in the 9:00 and 10:00 hours. >> it is either that or they head to edwards air force break. we will take a quick break. 9 minutes past the hour. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 if it was up to me?

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for the dreams of generations to come. that's why we're here. ♪ ♪ a catchy tune. welcome back to the most news in the morning. nasa wishing it had a big enough umbrella for the shuttle "discovery." the first landing attempt not so much. scheduled for 8:48 eastern. it's been called off. rain and clouds are making life difficult down there at the kennedy space center, kiran. >> will the crew get back to

earth today. our own john zarrella joins us live. we always wanted to play that song when you were coming up. >> i'm going to make her stop doing that, by the way. >> i love that song. that was really good. >> reporter: we need a bigger umbrella here. it is duck weather here in south florida. it raineded all day yesterday. it is starting to clear out. that's what they are hoping at the kennedy space center. the rain showers are moving away. now, there are some clouds lingering behind. they are hoping that they can get this shuttle down after a two-week mission. the landing, the next attempt would be at 10:23 a.m. eastern time at the kennedy space center. so they have got to make a decision in the next 40 minutes or so or else they are done for the day. no other options but the kennedy space center tomorrow if they have to land tomorrow morning, then they would also bring up the edwards air force landing sites. for the viewers across the united states, if they land today, could be a spectacular

site, very rare landing path where they are coming from the north down to the south. they have only done it twice since the "columbia" accident. they will come over seattle washington, denver, little rock, starkville, mississippi and montgomery alabama and tallahassee, florida, before they circle into the kennedy space center. go on outside and look up if the shuttle is coming down. >> in dallas many years ago, saw one of those flyovers from the shuttle. it is dramatic, beautiful. it was about 9:00 at night, sort of almost right at twilight in this orange streak. just comes across the sky. a beautiful site. i hope it works out for folks to see this today. >> i really do too. say the eastern part of the u.s. may be a little bit cloudy. midwest to the west should be a really spectacular sight if they can get this shuttle down today. >> and it has even more because,

really, for those who are nostalgic about this, only three more shuttle flights and the program is done. >> that's it, three after this one. the plan was to end the shuttle missions by september. problem is, the main mission looks good. the july mission doesn't look good. it may slip. they may have to flip-flop september with july. the program might not end until december or early next year. real serious issues with the payload on that july mission. >> john zarrella for us tracking it all. thank you. >> thanks, john. >> my pleasure. still ahead, you may have heard of fraud charges the s.e.c. is filing against goldman sachs. it may get ugly. how does it all coincide with the push for financial regulation? christine romans is going to be joining us. 15 minutes past the hour. [ tires screech ] how a car performs in a quarter-mile? [ engine revs ] or a quarter-century? is performance about the joy of driving?

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18 minutes past the hour. a developing story. new developments from toyota as the lawmaker slapped with the largest fine ever in the industry, $16.4 million for holding out before telling the government what it knew about faulty gas pedals. toyota is expected to pay that fine. it has one month to do so. transportation officials say the punishment does not protect toyota from criminal or civil lawsuits relating to accident or injuries related to the gas pedal. >> i have a tidbit. $16.4 million would be the biggest fine ever. they have a month to pay it. that would be about 21 hours of profit. in less than one day, they make enough money to pay that fine. >> it may be the biggest fine but no sweat off their brow. >> when we see these big fine, especially wall street, it's like, wow, that's 15 minutes of

sales. >> goldman sachs, in big letters, what did they know over the pictures of various wall street executives and goldman sachs executives. that's the question folks have this morning. what did they know? when did they know it? >> and was it immoral and illegal. that's what the s.e.c. is charging that it was illegal. a lot of americans feel like the game has been rigged, that the banks stand in the middle and make money on all sides of everything. this one is specific. this is goldman on behalf of one of its clients actually making an instrument to sell to inwitting investors that that first client, the big hedge fund was going to sell short. that first hedge fund helped design, so that it would fail and that person could make a lot of money on the upcoming housing collapse. this is what the s.e.c. said. they wrongly permitted a client that was betting against the

mortgage market to heavily influence the mortgage security to include an investment portfolio while telling the other investors that it was selected by an independent third party. goldman says this is unfounded, that they will vigorously contest this. friday was the fraud charge. it is still ricocheting around the world. futures are expected to be lower. wall street is unnerved by all of this. >> and we have something that's jermaine to all of this. >> $36 million. $36 million a day. >> is how much goldman sachs made in 2009. so goldman was printing money as the rest of the world is reeling. now, this is raising questions about how does goldman make its money. is it fair? is it fair? now, you mentioned last hour, talking about, is the s.e.c. looking at other firms? was there just one derivatives trade in 2007 where these sort of shin an abegins were going

on. >> one last thing, it gives this administration a little more leverage on its financial reform almost everyone is saying. they didn't have a fire burning under them. >> the question is whether it was strategic. the white house says they did not have any advanced knowledge. >> it is going to get interesting. >> what reforms if put into place would they make a difference? would it have stopped this type of activity? >> specifically on derivatives. a california man and his pregnant wife stranded in london. we have been hearing these stories for the last several days. how facebook is helping them cope. i guess he has free time on his hands. tod brilliant stranded in the u.k., had a brilliant idea for dealing with all that free time. he is joining us in a few minutes. 21 minutes after the hour.

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♪ we are back today most news in the morning. our top stories are only a few minutes away. first, our special investigations unit has been tracking small airports across the country. you are not going to believe

this. airports using your tax dollars to stay open and what got our attention. how some are getting the money. >> they are offering free parking, free flights. confused? well, we were too. so our drew griffin headed to west virginia to take a look at what this is all about. >> drew. >> reporter: this airport near clarksville, west virginia boasts quick check ins, free parking and convenient baggage claim, which is not surprising because the planes don't cue up at north central west virginia airport. >> you can park here for free. you can park right next to the terminal. you can park all day and watch and you may not see a single plane. if you did stay all day, you would catch just three commercial departures, carrying on average six passengers. still, the federal government pours money into this airport.

$30 million to length then the runway. last year, $1.6 million in stimulus cash. for the last two years, an extra million dollars, money given to this and any small airport that can show it gets at least 10,000 passengers in a single year. get just one passenger less than that magic 10,000, and you'll get a measly $150,000. it's an all or nearly nothing program that government waste watchdog, senator tom coburn could only be deviced in one place. >> congress did, created the incentive to weasel on it so you can get more money. it is exacerbated because of the economic downturn. >> weaseling because at tiny airports, airport managers do just about anything they can to hit the jackpot of 10,000 passengers and get the government's money. that includes free flights.

>> it was just a little. >> ad in the newspaper, free flights. they were trying to meet their quota and they were like 300 passengers short of it. >> so a free flight coming up? >> yeah. it was awesome. >> reporter: last december, susan pearson saw an ad in the local paper for a free sightseeing flight. >> this was quite a thrill. >> reporter: local news was there too, catching her, her grandson, donovan, and hundreds of others flying a chartered 757 above bridgeport and clarksburg. >> reporter: where did the flight go? >> everywhere. >> actually, nowhere. up and down. susan and her grandson became part of the airport's 10,000 passenger a year count. dozens of airports have been chasing that number as well. in nebraska, residents paid $15

for aerial tours. they offered free ten-minute flights in altoona. rick gets money to fly school students to washington, d.c. for the day to bump up his passenger count. >> how is that paid for? >> it was through contributions through the board of education. this is the restaurant. looks like it is closed. busy airport. >> reporter: the airport just got a separate $150,000 grant from the f.a.a. to, well, you guessed it, to promote itself. >> no planes, no restaurant. >> reporter: now, consider this, those three scheduled departures a day, they do go to washington but all stop in morgantown, 35 miles away. >> reporter: how are you doing? i took the flight myself. >> a quick ten-minute flight, cruising altitude of 5,000 feet. >> reporter: no sooner were we reaching altitude, we were

preparing to land. every single person who leaves clarksburg has to take that ten-minute flight. the man who runs the clarksburg airport says he is proud of what it has done to get as much money as possible. >> we had an economic benefit analysis study done that says that the economici impact to ths community is $395 million. there is no question we need this airport. >> reporter: how can you say that when you have got three flights a day. you can go to morgantown, pittsburgh. most people do and obviously the community is not flocking in here. >> well, i think i see that they have in the past and i'm an optimistic person and think they will in the future. >> the question is, should federal taxpayers keep footing the bill while we wait to see if passengers show up at these tiny airports? senator coburn says, no. >> it is interesting to see the

lengths they will go through to keep it going and keep the money going, right? >> you bet. >> you focused on one airport. any idea if we are talking about a lot more like that one? >> reporter: it could be as many as 36 or more than that. the problem is, there is all these different grants and programs earmarking, et cetera. nobody knows for sure, kiran. this legislation did get through. coburn is going to get some kind of accounting for all this money to find out what we are dealing with with these airports across the country. >> dr. coburn on the case. >> and so is drew griffin this morning. we are crossing the half hour. time for a look at our top stories. two more survivors pulled from the rubble in western china, nearly a week after mate juror quake there. a woman and a 4-year-old girl trapped under a bed in the rubble of a collapsed mud hut. the woman is in critical condition and the child suffering from some heart problems. the china quake killed more than 1,900 people. >> keep your fingers crossed.

do hope europe's air travel nightmare could improve. european authorities are hoping to resume at least 30% of all flights. to nudge authorities, european airlines conducted test flights yesterday. initial results indicated no problems during the flights and no damage to the jet engines. >> the same cannot be said for a group of nato fighter jets. several f-16 fighters suffered engine damage after flying through the val canic ash clouds. they say that glasslike deposits were found inside of the plane's engine. two bomber jets suffered similar problems last week. right now, there are scores of americans here in the u.s. and abroad that are feeling the pain, pain in the ash, is that what we were saying earlier? >> that's one way to put it. >> american tod brilliant is one of them. he and his pregnant wife, andrea, went to a wedding in paris. >> they were supposed to leave last thursday. it is now monday.

like a lot of others, they are still stuck. tod and his wife, andrea, join us via skype. thanks so much for being with us. tell us what you are hearing about when you may be actually getting back here. >> well, we have tickets for this coming saturday and we're hoping that we can make it out. i don't know the overall status of the international flights leaving heathrow. it sounds like they are trying to resume some flights within the u.k. but for us, we are keeping our fingers crossed for saturday. >> sunday for sure. >> you guys launched a facebook group this weekend. when volcanos erupt. it sounds like a hit reality tv show but not as entertaining as the real thing. have you guys been coping? are you trying to roll with it, have fun with it? are you suffering? tell us. >> yeah, i think that's it. we're rolling with it and having fun with it. we're actually in a wonderful,

very lucky, we are in stratford on the avon, where shapkespeare was born and died. a group of neighbors have been amazing, given us their homes, four different homes so far in our short stay. we are in good shape compared to a lot of people that are out there. andy, my wife, is 32 weeks pregnant. she is the one with the discomfort. >> you want your creature comforts when you are in your third trimester. you are not in any fear that you may deliver your baby on the other side of the pond, are you? >> at this moment, i'm not. i am in really good health. i haven't had any complications. as the uncertainty of the air quality is here, it just does make me a little nervous if we are grounded for several more weeks, then there is definitely the potential that my child may

have dual citizenship. >> our child. >> you are in the land of shakespeare, so perhaps william might be a good name. >> we are take that into consideration. >> very good. what do you do when you are stuck in england and you can't get out? there has to be a pub around the corner. >> she is eight months pregnant. clearly, she isn't doing that. >> i wasn't talking about her. >> i have been enjoying half-pints of guinness every other day. it is doctor prescribed. so i feel safe about that, getting my iron. >> the other thing that's interesting, though, is that you guys and millions of other people stranded either one way or the other, some people are trying to get back to the u.k., some people are stuck here in the u.s. and you guys are over there as well as many americans. there is this big debate going on. some of the airlines were saying, look, we think it is safe.

they put test flights out there. we want to be able to have it be our discretion. as our richard quest was telling us, some of the aviation officials in europe were saying, it is not ready yet. not ready for us to make a call on this. what do you think? do you think they should go for it or wait until they are absolutely sure that everything is okay. >> i would rather be safe than sorry. it is an obvious risk, reward scenario. to me, this is just us. >> the feelings, i think, are definitely -- i feel conflicted. i would like to get on a plane as soon as possible and just get home and get safe but if there is any chance that it is not safe to fly, i certainly am much happier safe on the ground and comfortable in stratford than risking something horrible on a plane. >> that said, there are a lot of people out there that don't have great lodgeings that are sleeping in airports and

outside. it is probably a different scenario for them. >> tod brilliant and his wife, andrea, we wish you the best of luck, especially with the little one on wait. >> thank you. >> congratulations on the facebook page. more proof that misery loves company when it comes to flying the airlines. >> and you will have quite a story to tell your little one about what they went through without knowing it. good luck to you guys. keep us posted on when you finally get back. we will have our fingers crossed for saturday. tod brilliant and andrea, thanks so much. >> safe travels. >> thank you. >> we have a member of our own cnn team who is doing some traveling these days. tom for meman is in kansas wher there are no volcano problems. why this winery is booming despite a recession. tom foreman is going to show us all of that. stick with us. it is 36 minutes after the hour. [ vrrroooooomm! ]

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then. 40 minutes past the hour. the next installment of our ongoing series, building up america. in kansas, people are embracing the past to get through difficult economic times. our tom foreman live in wichita this morning. your not in kansas anymore. hello, tom. >> reporter: hi, how are you doing? wichita has really changed in the past 15, 20 years. remarkable how they have revitalized their downtown, tremendous number of excellent museums and excellent restaurants. what they have done throughout this state at the geographic center of america is tap into their past and their basic principles in these hard time toss build things up again. >> fire. >> reporter: out of the tourist attraction called old coy town

amid the canon and guns, kansans are reenacting some battles from their historic past. their present struggle is for the future. do you see a lot of people around here worrying about the economy right now? >> yeah. my friends, some of them, don't know where the next check is coming from. >> i'm in the automotive industry. we have seen a big downturn. everybody is worried about it. >> ♪ we are off to see the wizard >> reporter: worried but like dorothy in "the wizard of oz" not sitting still. they are historically rolled out cattle, transportation and aviation products worth bill yun bill yuns. >> reporter: many have tournd

past success. >> kansas before prohibition was the third largest grape producing state in the nation. >> this wine is not too sweet, not too dry. >> reporter: just three years ago, he had an idea to combine the state's little known wine-making past with its fame as dorothy's home and oz winery has been booming ever since despite the recession. >> since we have opened, we have grown every year. we don't know if we would be ten times more than that or if we would just be at the same level. we just don't know if it is affecting us yet. we have no way to tell. >> reporter: such efforts by thousands of small businesses have helped produce an unemployment rate well below the national average. a housing market on the rebound and a population, if not entirely upbeat, at least hopeful. that classic american tune "home on the range" was written in kansas almost 140 years ago. since that time, it has become a lot more than just state song.

for many people here, it is a measure of commitment. their commitment to always build up whenever times turn down. >> the people here still have the same mentality. whatever happens to us, we are going to manage. we are going to make do. >> reporter: it's truly a situation where they have felt the effects of the recession, no question about it. people have lost jobs, homes. they have had the same problems other states have had. just like that little place, the oz winery, many, many folks here have simply said, we must rely on ourselves out here on the great plains where they always have. we must build up again. it really is working and we are going to spend this whole week traveling around visiting folks in small communities around this state seeing what they are up to. >> great. it is great to get a chance to highlight the success stories. you are looking for those gems in a pretty tough time.

>> reporter: they have had some real gems here. in many cases, it is exactly what we are talking about there. they found variations on what they have done in the past. we are going to visit later today with a company that makes farm implements. a little husband and wife team that said, you know what, we see an opportunity here and they got in there and started making them some years ago and they have held on through the hard times and they are competing with the big companies and competing really well by offering a high level of service and that downhome attention that especially in a big economy, sometimes people really rely on because they want real quality for their money. that's what folks in kansas are saying they can bank on. >> if you are not spending very often, when you do, you want it to be good. tom foreman in wichita, thanks so much. >> thanks, tom. there is another story we are keeping our eye on. down in florida, showers there delaying the next space shuttle landing. our rob marciano is going to be tracking this.

he is going to have an update for us in a few moments. we want to find out if the shuttle is going to make a landing today. with only three shuttles left, we have to saver every moment. >> 45 minutes past the hour. we'll be right back. hey -- who's our best presentation guy? carl. i thought you said carl was our best presentation guy. [ worker ] well, he is.

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♪ it's 47 minutes after the hour. boston, massachusetts, good morning to you. 46 degrees. partly cloudy later today. a high of 59 degrees and we should mention that the boston marathon is being affected by the volcano. 10% of the runners are stranded in europe. >> i thought you were going to say it was perfect marathon weather, 59 degrees, not too bad. we have an update on that icelandic volcanic ash.

it has erupted. just because it is stopping now, doesn't mean it can't wreak havoc down the sfloroad. >> absolutely. right now, it appears it was slowing earlier and now the eruption beginning to wain. hopefully, clearing some of that out as we go through time. that would be the common sense solution to it. raining, that would help too. the rain is in florida. a lot of it. anywhere from 2 to 1.5 inches from the keys through south florida and the west coast as well. this rain has impacted what has been going on with the space shuttle. trying to land today. having a hard time doing that because of the showers around the kennedy space center. last check, the observations at the landing fascility, a 300 fot

fog and mist. if they allow for deorbit burn, what happens there will be pretty rare. it will come over north america, through seattle and cooking along at tulsa at about mach 18. ground on a sea level down across parts of florida. mach 6 expected at tallahassee and slowing down quickly to make the landing at the kennedy space center. i think nasa will make the call in the next 30 minutes. if they allow it, you will see it streaking across the sky and landing around 10:23 eastern time. >> that's what they call it, the overburn? that streak across the sky? >> the deorbit burn.

>> it's such an impressive sight that we really hope it does make that landing but they have got to make the right call here. >> that's right. >> everybody wants to fly safely. that's the problem today. >> a running theme through this show. that's it right there, rob. >> isn't it just as interesting, though, to see when it is piggy backing on one of the huge airplanes coming back from edwards? that's also a sight to see. >> as a taxpayer, i know you, kiran, you don't want that to happen. you twant to co you want it to come down nice and easily. coming up 52 minutes past the hour, some of the health risks associated with the volcanic ash.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. 55 minutes past the hour. a lot of conflicting advice as to whether it is safe to breath in the volcanic ash flying

across europe. obviously, not safe to breath in the ash. but the air around it. respiratory problems, those with asthma, could be aggravated. others say the debris is so fine that it doesn't pose the risk. >> you would think it would be unhealthy just looking at it. how about getting this close to the islandic volcano while it is still erupting? that's what gary tuchman did. when you flew over this thing, did it get warm, did you feel it? was it like looking out the window at the grand canyon? >> reporter: that was one of the amazing things, jim. we were about 400-600 feet away from the cater where the volcano was erupting, it was so cold here on the ground, we did not feel any heat whatsoever. over my shoulder, that white cloud you see, that is the ash

plume from the col volcano. it looked a lot different when we came up to it. people say, how can you get so close to it? that's because we were on the side of the volcano where the wind was coming from and going away from. also, yesterday, we took a drive to the other side of the volcano, not a flight but a drive on the east side. the wind was heading in that drix. there, because we had light turn into complete darkness with the ash falling, we wore masks. they are not forcing people to evacuate. they are telling if you live on the east side or the south side where the ash has been coming down, it is imperative to wear a mask. play it safe, wear a mask. that's what we did on that side of the volcano. >> gary tuchman boldly going where few reporters have gone before. thank you, gary. we appreciate that. we appreciate that. that's a little too

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welcome back. now, continue the conversation on today's stories, go to our blog at cnn.com/amfix. >> we would love to hear fro