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D.C. Madam Back in Court; Freeway Collapses in San Francisco; British Terror Suspects Found Guilty; Georgia Town Threatened by Wildfire; Delta Airlines Out of Bankruptcy; Bush Meets with European Leaders; Bush Holds Press Conference

Aired April 30, 2007 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CO-HOST: And I'm Susan Roesgen today, filling in for Kyra Phillips.

The alleged D.C. Madam case is back in court. A client list is slowly sleaking (sic) out -- leaking out. Were the escort services she offered legal?

LEMON: And a mangled mess. This Bay area nightmare began when the freeway buckled. How long will commuters have to live without the major freeway connector? Answers coming up, live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Time may be running out on some of Washington's best-kept secrets. Former escort service owner Deborah Jeane Palfrey appeared in court today, giving some prominent Washingtonians another reason to squirm. A State Department official has lost his job already, and that could be just the beginning.

Joining us now from Washington, CNN's Jim Acosta -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good afternoon, Don.

Washington was all ears this morning, but we didn't hear any more names from alleged D.C. Madam, Deborah Palfrey. She appeared in court this morning to request government funds for her defense against charges she ran a prostitution ring here in the D.C. area.

Palfrey claims it was a legal escort service, but unless prosecutors drop their case, Palfrey is promising to release reams of phone records that could embarrass scores of what she describes as high level officials in this town.

Last Friday, deputy secretary of state, Randall Tobias, resigned for personal reasons after confirming to ABC News that, while he was one of Palfrey's clients, he had only received massages from her service.

Palfrey says she wishes that revelation had surfaced earlier, because she says it would have helped her case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DEBORAH JEANE PALFREY, ALLEGED D.C. MADAM: I am very dismayed, however, by Mr. Tobias' refusal to come forward until now with this extremely valuable exculpatory evidence. Had he done so earlier along with the many, many others who have used my company's services throughout the years, I most likely would not be in my current predicament.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And the judge in this case denied Palfrey's request for government funds for her defense but said she could have the services of a public defender. No word yet when she will be back in court -- Don.

LEMON: Sometimes things like this, Jim, are open secrets. People kind of look the other way. I imagine that's not happening in Washington. Is it the talk of the town there?

ACOSTA: Well, it certainly is, and it came up this morning at the White House press gaggle when reporters greeted Tony Snow on his first day back on the job after being treated for cancer.

He was asked about Randall Tobias, and Tony Snow had an answer prepared. He said that the president did hear about this and that the president was saddened to hear these revelations, but that he thought it was appropriate for Mr. Tobias to step down.

LEMON: All right. CNN's Jim Acosta, thank you so much for that report.

ACOSTA: Sure.

ROESGEN: Well, if you are driving in the San Francisco Bay area, this is the last thing you want to see, a critical ramp out of commission after that big gasoline tanker crash and fire, and it promises to make the rush hour just a nightmare for months. Here's a live look now at that ramp that basically melted.

Priya David from our affiliate KTVU is in San Francisco.

Fill us in on the latest there, Priya.

PRIYA DAVID, KTVU CORRESPONDENT: Susan, it is a mess out here. Eighty thousand people use this stretch of road every day to commute back and forth to work.

And take a look behind me. We've got 250 yards of it completely gone. This is after that tanker truck dropped into one of the side rails and ended up bursting into flames. You can see here where one stretch of the freeway has dropped onto the other one.

This is in a section called the MacArthur Maze, which is very close to the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. It gets people from San Francisco into Oakland, anywhere in the East Bay back and forth, and it's really a major artery for us. The scene that caused all this devastation happened early yesterday morning, when a tanker truck crashed and spilled more than 8,000 gallons of gasoline. That gasoline burst into flames and created an inferno. The heat rose to 2,700 degrees at least.

Now, that's the amount of heat that's necessary to melt the steel, and that's exactly what it did. All the steel within the roadways melted, buckled and eventually caused the roads to break.

The truck driver is recovering from serious burns, but that's all. He actually managed to get himself into a cab and then make his way to the hospital, and amazingly no one else was hurt.

Now, Governor Schwarzenegger toured the site last night, and he declared this a state of emergency for the area. That means we'll get federal funds and also a way to cut through some of the red tape. All of the construction that's going to be done doesn't need any permitting right now.

So they're hoping that it'll get this work done as soon as possible and get commuters back to their usual routes. And they haven't gotten a great estimate for that time, but they're hoping to get it done soon.

ROESGEN: Soon. What do you mean, with no real estimate, six months, six weeks? I mean, what are we talking about here?

DAVID: Yes. What we've heard from experts say anywhere from two months to a year. Caltrans this morning said that they were very happy. Caltrans is our local construction company here in California. They say they're very happy with the amount of demolition they were able to do on this one section.

If you take a look behind me right now, that section of the freeway that dropped down onto the other one, you can see half of it is sort of demolished already. And that was all done in just about an hour this morning.

So what they want to make sure is, once that is gone, then they hope to open up the bottom level. They need to check and make sure that the heat didn't damage any of the metal in that section of it. But as long as that's clear, they hope to open up that section of it very soon.

So it's a little bit difficult to say, but in the next few days we should have a much better idea of how soon we'll be able to use those roads again.

ROESGEN: And get some relief for people. Thanks, Priya David, reporting for us live from San Francisco -- Don.

LEMON: We've been hearing a lot lately about campus scares. There is another one, this time in Pennsylvania. T.J. Holmes has all the details for us.

What are you working on, T.J.? T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, they're taking this one very, very seriously, is the word.

Again, this is not too far outside of Philadelphia. This is the Delaware County Community College. This is comprised of several different campuses around a couple different towns and several different learning centers, where they have been shut down now for the past four days because of threats that came in via e-mail.

Those e-mails were fairly general in the threat but did mention Virginia Tech, of course, the killings that we saw there about two weeks ago, and mentioned a couple of the campuses specifically. But according to officials there, it was a general enough threat that they decided to shut down all of their campuses, all of their learning centers, all of their locations until they get this thing under control and have full confidence that the campuses are safe.

Now, this is a commuter school. No campus -- or rather no dorms on the campuses. But about 10,000 people, students you can find on those campuses, day in and day out.

Now, about this e-mail, they do believe it came from one person, because all the e-mails came from just one domain name. Police are now interviewing some 100, 160 faculty members trying to find out if they have anybody in their classes, know of anyone that they think might think is a threat.

So -- and again, here, Don, they are not going to open campuses. They say they're even going to consider it until they know that the campuses are safe. Certainly in light of what happened at Virginia Tech, all of these being taken very seriously.

LEMON: Absolutely. Better safe then we know the rest of that. Thank you so much for that, T.J.

Convictions today and life sentences in the longest terror case ever to wind through British courts. The suspects were rounded up three years ago, but details were kept secret until now.

CNN's international security correspondent Paula Newton joins us now, live from London with the very latest on this -- Paula.

PAUL NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, as significant as these convictions were, it was the story within the story here that has really jolted people here in Britain.

What has happened is that this crevice plot or the fertilizer plot, it was a very large surveillance operation that continued between 2003 and 2004. Seven defendants were -- were put on trial, five found guilty two today. Two were acquitted.

Certainly, here it was a landmark case that showed how al Qaeda could reach into Britain, and really it was a precedent-setting case. It was the first case of that kind of home-grown terror that we've now, unfortunately, learned so much about. What was interesting here, Don, and what we've been unable to report until this moment, now that the publication ban has been lifted, is the fact that two of the suicide bombers that blew themselves up on July 7, 2005, on the London transit system were caught in this web, caught in surveillance, caught in audio recordings, caught on video by police.

And yet they were never tagged again, never tailed again, not referred to local police. Seventeen months later with explosives strapped to them they killed 52 people and injured hundreds of others.

Today, Don, many people asking could 7/7 have been prevented if those security services were more on the ball and continued to try and tag and tail those two suspects -- Don.

LEMON: All right, CNN's Paula Newton in London, thank you very much for that report.

ROESGEN: Well, it's been two weeks now, and still the largest wildfire in Georgia history just keeps on burning, nearly 140 square miles so far. And the winds have shifted again, putting a new community in danger.

Reporter Emily Pantelides (ph) is in the city of Folkston -- Emily.

EMILY PANTELIDES (PH), CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Here in Folkston, they have not been threatened by anything before. This fire has not come close to them. But now, apparently, fire officials are telling us winds in this area have shifted to the southeast, which means this massive 82,000-acre blaze is now being brought into this Folkston area.

Now, you take a look behind me. I don't know how much you can see, but this is U.S. 1, a main artery in this city. And what you're looking at is a massive detour, making people turn around and really kind of causing a little bit of a disruption here.

This is, like I said, a main artery of this city, and simply officials are telling us it's too dangerous to let people go through there. There's too much smoke, too much ash in the air. And they worry that people may get distracted driving.

And, really, you look in the air right now, and you don't see a whole lot of smoke, but the difference is really hour by hour. One minute you have a beautiful blue, clear sky like we're looking at right now, and then the next minute that thick dense smoke comes into the area.

Now we are a news crew from Jacksonville, Florida, which is about 45 minutes from here where we're standing. And I can tell you, even there, you put your hand up in front of your face, and you can't even see that, because so much smoke is billowing into the city of Jacksonville.

So you can imagine what a large fire this is, just kind of to make all the areas filled with smoke, filled with that ash in the air.

Like you mentioned, the biggest fire in southeast Georgia history at this point, 82,000 acres burned, 70 percent contained. Now, that is sort of a difficult number, because when you hear 70 percent containment, you think, "Hey, that's a good thing. These fires may be out."

But that is not the case. In fact, two days ago firefighters said this fire was 80 percent contained. It went back down to 20 percent contained because of the winds, and, of course, back up to 70 percent at this point. So really, firefighters battling this blade, battling these winds. And most importantly, everybody in this area simply praying for one thing: rain.

Back to you guys.

ROESGEN: It's a stubborn fire. Emily Pantelides (ph) reporting for us. Thank you.

LEMON: Above the clouds of financial failure, Delta Airlines flies out of bankruptcy but not without cost. Details straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

ROESGEN: And we are anticipating a departure of another kind this hour. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is supposed to leave the hospital. When he does, and if he says anything about the crash that put him there, we will bring that to you, as well.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Fifteen past the hour, and here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

So far, so good. Morning rush hour was mostly normal in California's Bay area, despite this overpass collapse near the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco. But officials warn the afternoon drive could bring headaches. Many commuters are using mass transit, which today is offering free rides.

More names. Alleged Washington D.C. Madam, Deborah Palfrey, expects more of her former clients to be revealed as a federal racketeering case moves forward. She also says she feels sorry for Randall Tobias, a top State Department official who resigned after revealing he had been a client.

And we're expecting a news conference this hour from President Bush, who is hosting European leaders at the White House today. Mr. Bush's popularity has taken major hits overseas, and he's using the annual summit to try to reach out -- Susan.

ROESGEN: Delta Airlines is flying high today out of bankruptcy and with a brand-new look. CNN's Rusty Dornin is at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which has been Delta's home base since 1941. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a very painful nearly 20 months for Delta Airlines and its employees. Not only were pensions and payrolls cut back, but more than 6,000 lost their jobs.

So it was a joyous occasion today as they unveiled the new image, the new paint job on the jets and as the CEO, Jerry Grinstein, announced that bankruptcy is officially over.

JERRY GRINSTEIN, CEO, DELTA AIRLINES: At 10:20 this morning, the last condition was fulfilled, our DIP financing was paid off, our exit financing kicked in, and Delta is officially out of bankruptcy.

DORNIN: The airline followed the old adage of you have to spend money to make money, spending nearly $30 million to upgrade the lobby at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. They also upgraded the interiors of the aircraft, new paint job on the outside and new uniforms for the airline attendants.

DIANE REDDIEN, DELTA EMPLOYEE: We're playing the songs and giving away lottery tickets and doing all these great thing, thanking our flight attendants for everything that they've done.

You just feel like, you know, that this is just fantastic, that the company has started at a certain point and now we're, like, back on the right track and that everything is positive.

DORNIN: And for many of the employees, they're going to receive a big bonus tomorrow in the form of a $480 million distribution of stock options and cash, something that's been long awaited for, for many years.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: His father's motto is "I serve," but it's Prince Harry who will turn those words into action if he heads for combat duty in Iraq as now planned. Details straight ahead, right ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's get you live now to the president in the Rose Garden. He is hosting European leaders today.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... concrete results. And we have done so. I thank the chancellor very much for the transatlantic economic integration plan that the three of us signed today.

It is a statement of the importance of trade. It is a commitment to eliminating barriers to trade. It is a recognition that the closer that the United States and the E.U. become, the better off our people become. And so this is a substantial agreement, and I appreciate it. We also talked about Doha. And I thank Peter Mendelssohn and Susan Swath (ph) for briefing us.

The first thing I told the group in the cabinet room was that I am firmly dedicated to a successful Doha round. I believe it's in this country's interests that we reject isolationism and protectionism and encourage free trade. I'm under no illusions as to how hard it will be to achieve the objective. But the first thing is there must be a firm commitment by the leadership to get a deal.

Secondly, I reminded the people that this country is dedicated to working to eliminate poverty and disease, and the best way to help the developing world is through a successful Doha round.

We told our trade ministers, work hard, work often, work constructively, and I believe we can be successful. We're committed to reducing our intercoastal (ph) subsidies in order to advance the process. We expect others to follow suit in market access.

Anyway, I am optimistic we can achieve the objective. And today's meetings gave us a chance to discuss our way forward.

We talked about the visa waiver program. We talked about Iran and the need for our nations to continue to work closely together to send a unified message to the Iranians that their development of a nuclear weapon is unacceptable to peace.

We talked about Darfur. We talked about Afghanistan and Iraq, and I appreciate very much the E.U.'s support of the international compact that will be meeting on Iraq here in Sharm El Sheikh.

We talked about Cuba and the importance for Cuba to be a free society, a society that respects human rights and human dignity, a society that honors the rule of law.

We also talked about climate change, and here we share a common interest. One, we recognize that we have a problem with greenhouse gases. Two, we recognize we have a problem with a dependence on oil. Three, we recognize that we can use technologies to help solve this problem. And, four, we recognize we have an obligation to work together to promote the technologies necessary to solve the problem and encourage the developing world to use those technologies.

And so I found the discussion refreshing and interesting, and I appreciate the candid conversations we had.

Madam Chancellor, welcome back here to the Rose Garden. And I'm looking forward to your comments.

ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY: (speaking German)

LEMON: All right. The president meeting with European leaders there. And this news conference was expected all day. Mr. Bush, of course, his popularity has taken major hits overseas, and he's using this summit to sort of boost that. Of course, they're talking about, you know, greenhouse gases. They said they spoke about Cuba, Afghanistan, climate change and what have you.

So the president meeting there with European leaders. We're going to monitor this, and as soon as they make any news from this and the president speaks again, of course, we'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Susan.

ROESGEN: And now we have some more business news. If you are shopping for a computer, you probably go to a big electronics store like Best Buy or Circuit City. But if you do, there is one leading brand of computer that you won't find there. And that's Dell.

Felicia Taylor is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us why that could change.

Hi, Felicia.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Susan.

Now, do you remember that Dell commercial that shows a father finishing his shopping with just one phone call. He basically buys a Dell computer for his daughter. Well, that type of sales model, known as direct sales, helped make Dell the leading seller of PCs back in the '90s. But lately it's fallen on hard times.

Now CEO Michael Dell is revising that strategy. He sent a memo to employees outlining a new distribution model, saying, quote, "The direct sales model has been a revolution but is not a religion," end quote.

Right now Dell sells computers by phone and on its own website -- Susan.

ROESGEN: So does that mean that we're actually going to see Dell computers in the stores now?

TAYLOR: It's very possible. Michael Dell, though, hasn't said that outright, but there is speculation that Dell's computers will soon be in retail stores.

It would be a major change for the company but necessary in order to boost sales. Last year, Hewlett Packard overtook Dell to become the largest computer maker. And over the past two years, Dell has missed the street's earnings forecast several times. Shares of Dell are up more than 1 percent right now.

(STOCK REPORT)

ROESGEN: Time to check the 401(k) and see where we stand on that. Thanks, Felicia.

And we are waiting for another live event this afternoon. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is expected to leave the hospital after three weeks. If he does, and again if he says something about the crash that put him there, about not wearing a seat belt that led to very serious injuries, we will bring that to you.

You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

ROESGEN: And I'm Susan Roesgen filling in for Kyra Phillips.

It has been almost three weeks since he was critically hurt in a car crash. Today New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine heads home from the hospital. We understand that people are lining up already, but the question is, will he talk about why he wasn't wearing his seat belt? We are standing by in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And right now you're looking live at President Bush there in the Rose Garden. Some thorny issues in the White House Rose Garden, as President Bush meets with leaders of the economic union, talking about things like standing firm in policy toward Iran, talking about trying to lessen the dependence on foreign oil.

When the president begins to take questions from reporters, we will take that news conference live.

LEMON: And they're also talking about Iraq. And speaking of that, marching orders for Prince Harry. Just in to CNN. The head of the British army says he's personally decided the prince will be deployed to Iraq, but General Richard Dannatt emphasizes that decision will be under constant review up until the time Harry is scheduled to head out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. SIR RICHARD DANNATT, BRITISH ARMY: He will deploy. Third, I will of course keep that decision continually under review and if circumstances are such that I change that decision, I will make a further statement. And, fourth, I would urge that the somewhat frenzied media speculation around this issue ends in the interests of the overall security of all our people deployed in Iraq at this time. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And all of this comes amid reports of threats to Harry if and when he goes to Iraq. A British newspaper cited Iraqi militants as warning they will target the prince for kidnapping.

ROESGEN: And some explosive claims from George Tenet coming years after the fact. The former CIA chief says he warned Condoleezza Rice in the months before 9/11 that al Qaeda was planning imminent and spectacular attacks. But first let's go back now to President Bush live in the rose garden where he is beginning to take reporters' questions.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And also imposes the judgment of people here in Washington on our military commanders and diplomats. It also adds domestic spending that's unrelated to the war. I have made my position very clear. The Congress chose to ignore it so I will veto the bill. That's not to say that I'm not interested in their opinions, I am. I look forward to working with members of both parties to get a bill that doesn't set artificial timetables and doesn't micromanage and gets the money to our troops. I believe that there's a lot of Democrats that understand that we need to get the money to the troops as soon as possible and so I'm optimistic we can get something done in a positive way.

QUESTION: Peter Limberg (ph), (INAUDIBLE) Germany.

BUSH: Yes, yes.

QUESTION: Mr. President.

BUSH: How could we ever forget your face?

QUESTION: That's great. Thank you very much. I remember yours too.

BUSH: Thank you.

QUESTION: Mr. President, concerning the nuclear -- the dispute about missile defense, missile defense with Moscow, what concrete steps are you planning to convince President Putin that in is a good idea of NATO and the U.S. and can the German chancellor help you on this issue?

BUSH: I've -- as you know I'm having a regular conversation with the German chancellor. We have a secure video that is beamed in the White House and her office and so we consult regularly. And she expressed her concerns that the U.S. position wasn't very clear about the missile defense systems and that there were some people concerned in Germany as well as Europe about our intentions and she also suggested that it might make sense for me to share my intentions more clearly with President Putin, and I took her advice very seriously.

Our intention, of course, is to have a defense system that prevents rogue regimes from holding western Europe and/or America to hostage. Evidently the Russians view it differently, so upon the advice of the chancellor, I asked Secretary Gates to go to Moscow where he had a very constructive meeting with President Putin. I called President Putin and asked him to see Secretary Gates and that we would put forth an interesting information sharing proposal. Our intention is to say to Russia that the system is something you ought to think about participating in. It's in your interests to have a system that could prevent a future Iranian regime, for example, from launching a weapon. It's in Russia's security interests and therefore we have started a dialogue as a result of Secretary Gates' visit that hopefully will make explicit our intentions and hopefully present an opportunity to share with the Russians so that they don't see us an antagonistic force but see us as a friendly force.

QUESTION: If I can ask you, the president of the commission, first of all on the trade agreement you reached presuming this is an agreement that's going to make wealthy countries richer --

ROESGEN: Once again, that's some of a live news conference in the rose garden where President Bush is hosting leaders of the economic union.

Back now to former CIA Director George Tenet. He's got a book that's come out and he is suggesting that Condoleezza Rice did not take his warnings about a 9/11-style attack before it actually happened. Tenet again has been doing a series of interviews to promote the book and the book is called "At the Center of the Storm" in which he defends his agency against post-9/11 criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE TENET, FMR CIA DIRECTOR: All these commissions and all these reports never got underneath the feeling of my people, you know, to see us written about as if we're idiots, which we didn't understand this threat as if we didn't understand what happened on that day, to impugn our integrity, our operational savvy, you know. The American people need to know that's just not so. We're the ones that stand up and tell you the truth about (INAUDIBLE). That's the great thing about this government. The only people that ever stand up and tell the truth are who, intelligence officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Condoleezza Rice told CNN's "Late Edition" there were some things that went right and some things that went wrong and you know what, we will have a chance, she says, to look at that in history and she says, I will have a chance to reflect on that when I have a chance to write my book. So why didn't George Tenet speak up or just pack up sooner? That's what some of his former colleagues are asking. They say that he also claims that top Bush administration officials rushed the U.S. into war with Iraq. So in an open letter now, six former CIA officials are calling their former boss' book an admission of failed leadership. And one told CNN that Tenet should have stepped down instead of taking part in the buildup to the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SCHEUER, FMR CIA OFFICIAL: If Mr. Tenet had the intelligence and I think he did because his officers were telling him that the war in Iraq was going to turn into the disaster that it did, his responsibility was, A, to tell the president, but, B, if no one listened to resign and go to the public because this was the first American war that depended solely on the intelligence information to justify it and if he had that information and it wasn't being listened to, it would seem to me his duty was to resign and tell the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: It is a critical question and tonight at 9:00 Eastern, George Tenet kicks off Larry King's 50th anniversary week. The former CIA chief joins Larry for his first live prime time interview about his new book. He'll be taking your calls and e-mails, as well. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN.

LEMON: We'll following all of the day's developing news right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Live pictures from Camden, New Jersey where New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is expected to be released momentarily. It is also expected that he's going to talk to the press and may answer questions about not wearing a seat belt during that crash. We'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Also, this story, the crash was bad enough, but what followed was even worse, a young Michigan woman trapped and injured inside her partially submerged car. Details on her rescue straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: Well, more proof that eating sweet treats could be big trouble for your children's teeth. A new study finds that tooth decay is on the rise in two to five year olds. Preschoolers may be eating too much sugar. The findings are part of the largest government study of Americans' dental health in more than 25 years but they say they do see some improvements. The study found that older children get fewer cavities these days and more of us as we grow older are keeping our teeth our whole lives.

LEMON: It has been a rough couple of weeks for New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. We're about to get our first glimpse of him after that accident in New Jersey on the Garden State parkway that left him injured. He has some rehabilitating to do and also has to answer some questions about not wearing seat belts. He has said that he is going to pay for his own medical treatment. It's going to come right out of his pocket. Let's take a listen. Here comes the governor.

GOV. JON CORZINE, NEW JERSEY: Thank you all for being here. God bless you. What a beautiful day, huh? I'm -- as I said last week, I'm a blessed human being. I couldn't be more grateful for the support I've had from all the people of the state, my family, the medical people, the people that rescued me. I don't think people understand how much people care about others and reach out and support them and I just want to make sure that I say thank you. I also understand that I set a very poor example for a lot of young people, a lot of people in general and I certainly hope the state will forgive me and I'll work very hard to try set the right kind of example to make a difference in people's lives as we go forward. And I think the last thing I want to say is behind me -- behind me are my family and some of the people closest to me. Some can't be here today, but nothing counts more in life than those people who care about you all the time and at the moments of joy and at the moments of pain. So thank you very much. We will see you. Thank you all for coming out. God bless you.

LEMON: Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey getting out of the hospital there in Camden and in Cooper University hospital. He went right to it. First of all, he talked about how blessed he was as a human being, how grateful for the support he's had from everyone there and he went right ahead and said you know what, I set a poor example for a lot of young people and people in general, he said, and I hope the state will forgive me and he's going to work hard, he said, to set a better example in the future. Also pointing out the people behind him, his family members, staff, and what have you who have been in the hospital with him or at least rooting for him at the time. But, again, addressing that, hasn't addressed the 91 per hour issue that the state trooper apparently was driving according to initial reports in the investigation, but he told why he was not wearing a seat belt and that he was setting a bad example for folks there. So we'll have much more on this story throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Also, someone who is facing health issues. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, he is back and he's on the job just five weeks after announcing his cancer had returned and spread to his liver. Well, Snow says he'll start chemotherapy on Friday to make sure all of the cancer is knocked out. That's a quote. He got choked up speaking to reporters at his first, his first press briefing this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You never anticipate this stuff. It just happens. I want to thank everybody in this room. You guys -- 0I'm getting there. Thanks for the basket. No, I just -- I want to thank you all. It really meant the world to me and it's -- anybody who does not believe that thoughts and prayers make a difference, they're just wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Emory University oncologist Dr. Otis Brawley joins us in the NEWSROOM next hour to talk more about Snow's cancer and also the treatment. That's at 2:30 Eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

ROESGEN: And we're about to see a lot more on the debate on immigration. Protesters are ready to hit the streets again while the president renews his call for reform. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: An update now on those campus closings in Pennsylvania. Let's go straight to TJ Holmes. What do you have for us?

TJ HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Don. Police still trying to track down who sent these e-mails, several threatening e-mails sent to people who work at these -- at the Delaware County Community College, again, this is just outside of Philadelphia. The Delaware County Community College comprised of several different campuses, several different learning centers around that area but several e-mails up to a dozen sent to some faculty members that threaten violence and did mention the Virginia Tech shootings, of course, we saw two weeks ago, also mentioned a couple of campuses specifically. But it was a general enough threat that the campuses, the entire system has been shut down for the past four days. All campuses have been closed and school officials say they will not even consider re-opening any of those campuses in any of those centers, anything until they get the word from police that they have full confidence that this is OK and there is not a threat. Again, no one specifically named, specifically a target in the e-mails but they are taking this quite seriously. They even admitted that if this had been a month ago before Virginia Tech they probably would not have taken this threat as seriously, but times have changed certainly at this point. We do have our Allan Chernoff, who's headed to or probably has arrived on that campus by now. We expect to have him up live for us in the next hour. We expect him to get a lot more information from him, Don.

LEMON: All right, thanks a lot, TJ. We'll check back.

ROESGEN: And the police are still sorting out a chaotic scene in a Kansas City mall yesterday, a gunman on the loose firing at random. Several people were shot and two were killed. Reporter Marcus Moore of our Missouri affiliate KNBC has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARCUS MOORE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was pure chaos.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just sounded like a cap, like a toy gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then we heard pop, pop, pop. We were like what's going on?

MOORE: A man armed with a rifle was on the loose inside the Ward Parkway mall. Within minutes, police showed up as hundreds ran out of this Target for safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People screaming and running and all kinds of stuff.

SGT. TONY SANDERS, KANSAS CITY POLICE: Everybody was leaving when the officers ran inside. They confronted the man and after confronting him shot and killed him.

MOORE: But as authorities investigated they soon realized the totality of what happened at this crowded mall, the carnage visible from this parking lot where it seems the shooting started.

SANDERS: Once the man with the long gun got to the mall, he pulled into a parking space and he shot one person on each side of his vehicle.

MOORE: Those two people died on the scene. Police say several others were hurt when the gunman who witnesses describe as a white male in his 50s opened fire here and sent people running for their lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And the police also suspect that that gunman killed an elderly woman whose body was found earlier in her home. The woman's stepdaughter says the gunman was a neighbor and she says he talked about shooting people.

LEMON: She barely survived a driver's worst nightmare. Twenty one-year-old Jennifer Bova is hospitalized and she is in critical condition after spending two days trapped inside her partially submerged SUV. Now, it crashed into a pond near Detroit last week. Her family says Bova vanished after she called them Wednesday night to say she was headed to her grandmother's house. Police found her Friday morning after a truck driver spotted the SUV in the water. Bova's parents are thanking him for his help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE AND BRENDA BOVA, JENNIFER BOVA'S FATHER: Very grateful that he spotted her.

BRENDA BOVA, JENNIFER BOVA'S MOTHER: And that he reported it.

J. BOVA: And reported it.

B. BOVA: Instead of just driving by and not saying anything.

J. BOVA: And also to the state troopers and whoever else that helped get her here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, police say Bova suffered injuries including bleeding in the brain and multiple fractures to her pelvis, arm and face.

ROESGEN: A nation of immigrants struggles with immigration. It's sort of like that line about everybody talking about something, but nobody doing anything, legislatively at least. Tomorrow is May Day and immigration rights protesters are planning demonstrations all across the country. Some have gotten a head start. CNN's Alina Cho has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Los Angeles Sunday, hundreds of children in the streets, young faces, U.S. citizens, many of their parents are in this country illegally. The children argue they too are victims when their parents are targeted for deportation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMLAE: Children in our group are aware that although they are born here, they are from immigrant parents and the possibility the way the immigration laws are now of them being separated from their parents is very likely. And that's something that children don't want absolutely to have happen.

CHO: Last year's immigration rallies were much larger and louder than expected. Tomorrow hundreds of thousands are expected to gather in cities like LA, New York and Chicago. The rallying cry, how U.S. immigration raids are uprooting families and tearing them apart. Shortly after last year's rallies, the U.S. immigration and customs enforcement launched "operation return to sender." The goal, round up illegal immigrants and deport them. To date the operation has netted more than 23,000 arrests nationwide. President Bush renewed his call for immigration reform during a commencement speech Saturday at Miami- Dade College. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is not working. We need a system where our laws are respected. We need a system that meets the legitimate needs of our economy and we need a system that treats people with dignity.

CHO: The president and Congress have yet to work out the details. So some cities like San Francisco are taking matters into their own hands by not cooperating with the Federal authorities as they try to arrest and deport illegal immigrants.

MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO: We are a sanctuary city. We don't cooperate with the Federal government as it relates to these raids.

CHO: Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And be sure to tune in to CNN tomorrow as we cover all angles of the immigration debate. CNN correspondents are spread out across the country and coast to coast and along the Mexican border and we'll bring you complete coverage only on CNN.

LEMON: To the weather now and there's a lot going on. CNN's Rob Marciano checking it all out in the weather center for us. Hey Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi Don. The ongoing thing the past couple of weeks is too much rain in certain spots and not nearly enough rain where we desperately need it and that is across the southeast. The entire southeast region under a big-time drought and because of that and because of the heat that is now building especially across parts of Georgia today, daytime highs in Atlanta, 82, likely get up into near 90 in some spots across southeast Georgia and that's not good news.

Actually now we have a couple fires. A cool satellite picture from NASA, high resolution taken yesterday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. showing the fires and their smoke plume as they drift down into Florida. There were reports yesterday of smoke and reduced visibilities all the way down to two miles in Orlando, Florida, so northwest winds yesterday.

Here's the sweat farm turnaround fire. This one is at about 80,000 acres, 70 percent contained and this smaller one with a pretty big plume here in the roundabout fire that is about 3500 acres, you see the plume there heading southeast. Today not nearly as much wind, so that will help but the heat is going to be really the main issue. Here's where the heavy rain is across parts of Texas, big-time thunderstorms rolling out just east of San Antonio down I-10, nickel size hail and some heavy rain with that. We'll watch that. They're starting to spin a little bit. We'll keep an eye out for tornado warnings possibly along the I-10 corridor. Don, back to you.

LEMON: We'll keep an eye out for that. Thank you so much, Rob.

ROESGEN: Well, first the meltdown, now the mess. What's a San Francisco commuter to do? We're on it in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: First as we go to break, let's take a look at the big board and the stock market is starting the week up 25 points. Felicia Taylor has more from the stock exchange in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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