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Tornado Aftermath in Kansas; Bomb Threat Prompts Closure of Ferry Terminal in Edmonds, Washington; Reception Fit for a Queen; Entertainment Updates; A Soldier's Reasons for Going to War

Aired May 07, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, hello there, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips.

Hard to believe any good news could got out of Greensburg, Kansas, after that killer tornado, but crews have found at least one person still alive in the rubble.

HOLMES: And just when other survivors are allowed back into town, an ammonia leak forces them back out.

We're all over this story today. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Greensburg, Kansas, ground zero for this weekend's monster storms in Tornado Alley. Our Don Lemon is in Greensburg, and meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is in the CNN severe weather center.

PHILLIPS: All right. First, let's get to Don Lemon now.

The search for survivors goes on. Meantime, there's been a second evacuation.

What more can you tell us, Don?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we got a little bit more information about that evacuation. You probably saw a live press conference on CNN where they were telling us it was a tanker car that was damaged during the tornado.

And what happened, that tanker car was a 30,000-gallon tanker car. It had about 14,000 gallons of ammonia in it. And when they tried to right that car, they broke a valve, and some of the gas, which is noxious, we were told by a state troops just a short time ago leaked out.

Take a listen to what the state trooper told us just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ENGHOLM, KANSAS HIGHWAY PATROL: It just goes to show you why we're moving so slowly in our recovery and making sure it's a safe environment to bring people into. We have many places -- many hazards that are still here and have not been controlled. And -- so it's very important that we take things slowly and methodically and safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And in a tornado with destruction this size, Kyra, it is obvious that it's going to take some time for them to clear all of the debris out and to get rid of all of those hazards, because you never know what could be lurking under some of the debris and some of the rubble.

I've got to show you something before -- I want to get to someone I interviewed this morning, but there's going to be some more news coming out here in Kansas in just a short time, in probably about five minutes or so that we're going to bring to you live. More news happening here, and the city manager -- if you'll pan right there to the right, William -- the city manager and also the mayor preparing. You can see the media preparing for a press conference.

They have alluded to sort of what it is, but the city manager and the mayor, they want to report that. So as soon as they report it so us, we'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Also, you can imagine this is devastating, obviously when 90 to 95 percent of your town is gone. And when you come home to nothing, it's obviously devastating.

One man who usually counsels people who are in need and people who need help, the reverend here from the United Methodist Church, they lost everything. And he gave us his story about how he was in the basement with his family when the tornado went through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. GENE MCINTOSH, FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: The emotions are real close to the surface. You know, and when we see somebody, it's just tears, you know.

I saw one of our parishioners just a while ago that -- you know, I knew he was OK, but I hadn't seen him. And it's just like, brother, you're alive, you're OK. Good to see you.

It's -- we've lost, you know, everything. People here lost their homes and their businesses, and they've been here for, you know, how long? And yet, you know, they come out and they say, we're alive, we're here. And I believe it will be rebuilt.

LEMON: You're going to rebuild?

MCINTOSH: I think the town will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was the Reverend Gene McIntosh of the First United Methodist Church here in Greensburg, obviously very sad.

We were showing you just all the destruction here. I mean, you've seen it all. And as much as we can show you these pictures, it really does not describe it.

Block after block after block of just devastation and destruction and rubble all over the place. When someone says 90 to 95 percent of your city is gone, when they said that, they really mean it. I mean, we're just finding little things.

I just looked over here, if you'll bear with me. Just -- we're right next to the VFW hall. Just looked over here. There's a trophy stuck in there, and you can see parts of the trophy. It's someone's bowling trophy stuck in there.

American flags all over. Cars strewn about. And, you know, 18 wheelers, just all strewn about. It's really terrible.

And Kyra, I just want to again remind our viewers, we're expecting some news out of here, out of Greensburg, and we're not exactly sure what they're going to tell us. They have alluded to us, but they want the city manager and the mayor to break the news from here. They're not allowing the national people, the National Guard and what have you to do that.

They said this is their hometown and they want to break that news. So as soon as that happens, we'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Hopefully we'll hear more about that survivor found underneath the rubble.

Don Lemon, we'll take it live as soon as it happens. Sure appreciate it.

HOLMES: Well a cold (ph) after the storm in Kansas not likely.

Jacqui Jeras in the CNN severe weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: And we are standing by as well here. Folks, just want to let you know that that press conference we were keeping an eye on expected in Greensburg, Kansas, there is the podium. There's the spot.

We're expecting to get more information possibly about that survivor that was pulled from the rubble. Don't know if this lady is going to be speaking or not, or just setting up, probably. But as soon as that press conference does take place and happens, we're going to bring that to you live.

PHILLIPS: Well, "There's nothing left. It's the end of the world." That's one survivor's bleak impression of the aftermath of the Greensburg tornado. And today many survivors are getting their first real look at their former homes and lives.

Jeff Flock has one family's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what much of what Greensburg, Kansas, is doing today. That is, combing through the rubble. Many folks getting a first chance to get back into their homes since the Friday tornado.

We are out on the edge of Greensburg, and perhaps you can see this is the kind of destruction that hit here. This is where the storm hit first.

We're out in farm country, about seven miles from the downtown. And perhaps with a 360 degree view you see we're out here on the Kansas plain.

The storm came from this direction and began to destroy farmsteads out here first before it got into downtown. The folks that lived here, not being close to downtown, didn't hear the sirens. The folks in downtown got about a 20-minute warning, so they had time to prepare. Folks out here did not.

So when they saw the storm coming, they immediately go for the basement. But as perhaps you can see, even though they got this door closed, the roof began to come off their house. And as they're racing down the stairs, the Unruh (ph) family that lives here, they begin to get debris down on their heads as they get down into the basement.

They're going for the southwest corner, because that, of course, is the direction from which the storm is coming. They manage to get in a safe place back in that southwest corner. But as perhaps you can see, the debris getting down here into the basement following them down.

They had to clear quite a bit before they could get out. They were OK, but as perhaps you can see upstairs, their house didn't fair as well.

I'm Jeff Flock, CNN, in Greensburg, Kansas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And we want to take you now to just some remarkable pictures, some scary pictures out of Altamonte Springs, Florida. This is right outside of Orlando where this apartment fire is taking place.

This fire was reported just about 1:45. This was not too terribly long ago, but now the site is a fast, fast-moving fire that has pretty much -- it looks like it's taking the roof off of this apartment complex.

No word on how this thing started, if anyone is injured, anyone trapped, even. But we've been watching as firefighters attempt to go after this thing, and putting water on it for high (ph).

This is from our affiliate WKMG, but amazing pictures. And again, it was just reported about 1:45. So not really a half hour ago, and this again has been described as a fast-moving fire. And no doubt has not been going that long. But it has pretty much taken over this apartment complex.

Again, it looks like -- from the pictures at least we've been able to see -- a fairly large -- a large apartment complex. We see on the left of the screen, too, it appears that firefighters, people trying to douse other buildings maybe attached to this apartment complex to keep those from catching fire. But this one building we know and can see, it is apparent that this thing has really taken off at this apartment complex, and really taken the roof off of it right now.

Again, no word on if any people are possibly trapped, if everybody was able to get out, got warning. And have no idea how this possibly started. But we are keeping an eye on these amazing pictures out of Altamonte Springs, Florida. Again, not too far outside of Orlando, where there is a terrible situation going on right now.

We'll get more details and continue to update you on that story.

PHILLIPS: All right, T.J.

Our affiliate out of Seattle, Washington, KOMO TV, bringing us live pictures here out of Edmonds, Virginia. This is the Edmonds ferry, and we're told that the terminal has been shut down right now because of a bomb threat.

Apparently, a threatening note was found in one of the restrooms here on this ferry. That Ferry Spokane, actually. That ferry was evacuated right there at the Edmonds terminal -- Edmonds, Washington, correct. But this is our affiliate KOMO, out of Seattle, bringing us this live picture via the helicopter.

Now, we're told that a bomb squad has been called in to search this vessel to try and find out if indeed this threat is real, and if indeed something is aboard this vessel. The bomb squad of course will come on with dogs and other types of electronics to search out the entire vessel.

Not quite sure if there's anybody on board or if everybody has already been evacuated. We don't see any signs of anybody at this point. But the Edmonds ferry here evacuated due the a bomb threat. A note found in a restroom.

We'll keep you updated on what we get as soon as we do.

HOLMES: And one more live picture to show you here, something we're keeping our eyes on.

In Greensburg, Kansas, expecting some folks to step up to those microphones and update the press, update us all about the situation in Greensburg. Of course that town devastated by a tornado on Friday evening. Several people killed.

We also know now that part of the town had to be evacuated today because of ammonia leak. Also, we know that one person was actually pulled out from the rubble on Sunday evening.

So a lot of stuff, a lot of questions. Trying to get an update, expecting that any time soon. And when we get it, we will bring that to you live.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 2:15 now. Here are three of the stories we're working on here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(NEWSBREAK)

HOLMES: We need to take you back to these live pictures out of Altamonte Springs, Florida. This is an apartment complex we've been keeping an eye on for the past half hour or so, where a fire was reported about 1:45 Eastern Time, and it spread quickly.

This -- we saw from the pictures a short time ago that the roof of this apartment complex looks like it was completely engulfed by flames and being taken out. We see -- can't see through the smoke there right now, but the firefighters have been attacking this thing from the air, trying to get above it.

Don't know any word on how this fire started. Also don't know if people were able to get word and get evacuated. No idea if anyone might have been trapped and had to be rescued, and certainly hope that everyone was able to get out. But this is something we're keeping an eye on.

Again, this is not too far outside of Orlando, Florida, where this apartment fire is taking place. These live pictures coming to us from our affiliate WKMG.

From this vantage point, not seeing -- not getting the best angle of that apartment complex right now because of the smoke and what not. But there's a better shot as we're starting to see now the water coming in from several different angles. Firefighters trying to attack this thing, but a fast, fast-moving fire that has pretty much taken the roof off this apartment complex.

We're keeping an eye on it.

PHILLIPS: We're also keeping our eye on a bomb threat in Edmonds, Washington. Our affiliate out of Seattle, KOMO, is bringing us these live pictures via the helicopter. And just a moment ago -- this is actually tape

Once we work on getting our live picture back because they're moving around the scene, we actually got a first shot of part of the bomb squad with the dogs. A threatening note was found in the restroom. This was -- it's been evacuated.

We'll keep you updated on the situation.

HOLMES: And again, back to another live event we've bee waiting on, a press conference out of Kansas, out of Greensburg.

We'll listen in.

STEVE HEWITT, CITY ADMINISTRATOR, GREENSBURG, KANSAS: The total's at 10. Ten fatalities at this time.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

HEWITT: We did find a survivor last night. I don't have a lot of details except we were happy to find another survivor out there. Again, that just confirms why we are continuing the search and recovery.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

HEWITT: I can't not in this point in time.

QUESTION: And the two fatalities, were they in Greensburg the number, 10?

HEWITT: Ten is what I believe at this point in time.

QUESTION: In Greensburg?

HEWITT: In Greensburg.

Now, I do not know if they are actual, you know, residents, but in Greensburg -- I know the lake is actually outside the city limits, but we consider that part of Greensburg. So -- and we'll have more information later, but I wanted to just come out real quick and give you a quick briefing and update.

And I hope to have more information, or I'll get the information to the folks. We have a really busy day. We have a lot of people impacting our community, and we're trying to work on keeping our facilities safe and our areas, you know, clean so folks can get to look at their stuff and hopefully adapt and understand what's going on, and somewhat cope with the situation.

I appreciate it. We will get with you later. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. We will have the 3:30 briefing. It may be a little after 3:30. That's the time we're shooting for. And it will be right in this area.

HOLMES: All right. That was the word from the city administrator, who has certainly been a public face of a lot of what's happening in Greensburg.

He himself lost his home in this -- in this tornado on Friday evening. We've been listening to his personal story, and also trying to -- as city manager, managing the city, that he doesn't really have much of a city left there now. But we're hoping -- we're hoping -- we were hoping for more of an update, many more details. But the word from him is that 10 dead, and he says 10 dead in Greensburg. The word we had earlier, that there were 10 dead all together in the storms in Kansas, and eight of those were in Greensburg. So maybe -- don't know if the numbers went up or there was just some confusion about where all of the dead actually were. But he's saying 10 dead in Greensburg, and again, one survivor was pulled out of the rubble.

Our Don Lemon is certainly there and all over this story there for us in Greensburg. We are going to be checking in with him coming up soon.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, pulling out all the stops in Washington for a royal arrival. The pomp, protocol and plans straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And we get straight back to our Don Lemon. He's there in Kansas, in Greensburg, following two developments out of there, Don, right?

We're waiting for this news conference, probably tell us more about this evacuation, and possibly the survivor that was found underneath the rubble last night.

LEMON: Yes, well, three developments, actually.

You heard Steve Hewitt just a short time ago. He is the city manager.

What he was saying, just to clarify, we want everyone to know that was two additional bodies. It's 10 bodies now found here in Greensburg. At first it was eight. But he's telling us that it's two additional people found here.

Both of them found dead. Not alive. One of them was found here in the lake here in Greensburg, and we're told the other person was found amid the rubble and the wreckage here. So, again, now we have a total of 10 people in this area. A total of 12 overall from the tornadoes throughout the area.

So that is just to clarify that part of it.

And then again, last night, even though they found two people today, last night they found a person alive in the rubble. That person is in the hospital. We don't know their condition, we don't know anything about them. We just know that they found a person alive.

And in another development here, the entire east side of town had to be evacuated because of an ammonia leak. They were trying to right a train car, a 30,000-gallon train car that had been damaged during the tornado, and in their efforts to do that, a valve was damaged or broke loose, and then the ammonia escaped into the air.

So we have three developments here, Kyra. We have the ammonia leak. People have been evacuated, not sure when they'll be able to get back to their homes on the east side of town.

Then we have the person who was found who is in the hospital. Not sure of their condition.

And then two more people found dead, one in the lake and one in the rubble.

That's the latest developments from here. We'll keep on top of it for you.

PHILLIPS: All right. We'll keep checking in, Don. Thanks so much.

And our Jacqui Jeras is staying on top, of course, of all the new pictures from the CNN weather center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, the red carpet is just the beginning of the royal treatment being given to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip today at the White House.

Our Brianna Keilar is on royal watch. She joins us now live from Washington.

Hello to you, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, T.J.

It's a day of spectacular events really fit for a queen ahead of tonight's state dinner. We're here at the British ambassador's residence here in Washington, where there's a massive garden party.

We're expecting the queen here shortly. She's not here yet.

Seven hundred fifty guests that we've been seeing trickle in here, including the likes of Mickey Rooney, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Dennis Kucinich, as well as Joe Lieberman. And right now the queen will be heading over from a luncheon, a mouthwatering luncheon with President Bush and first lady Laura Bush.

Earlier, we also saw the president and Mrs. Bush welcome Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip warmly there at the White House there on the south lawn. A 21-gun salute there, a procession by an Army band and Drum Corps.

All of this, of course, planned to the T. But, of course, President Bush, as you may have already heard, did show us there was room for a little error.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people are proud to welcome Your Majesty back to the United States, a nation you've come to know very well. After all, you've dined with 10 U.S. presidents. You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 - in 1976.

(LAUGHTER)

She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So later this evening, the state dinner, this President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush hosting this dinner. They've had several state dinners before, but this is the first white-tie state dinner of the Bush presidency. So certainly something new there.

And Queen Elizabeth was here back in 1991 for a state dinner. That was the last time she was here in the U.S. That was hosted by George H.W. Bush when he was in the White House, T.J.

HOLMES:, Well, Brianna, that old President Bush, he just had a little slip there. Didn't sound like she was laughing too much about it.

But, talking about this dinner tonight, you have to tell us what's on the menu.

KEILAR: You know, some of this visit is about diplomacy, but a lot of it is about the decadent details. And we're waiting, actually, for First Lady Laura Bush to hold a news conference -- that's right, a news conference -- telling us the nitty gritty details about this dinner. But we do understand there's going to be fresh pea soup with a hit of lavender, as well as fish, lamb, salad and a dessert called sugar roses. I don't know exactly what that is. I guess we're going to have to stay tuned. Maybe she'll explain it to us here in a little bit.

But also the entertainment is going to be phenomenal, T.J. Itzhak Perlman, the violin virtuoso. Of course, something so many people must really be looking forward to, really a great thing to see if you're going to this dinner tonight.

HOLMES: All right, lavender and sugar roses. I'll try to get me some of that for my dinner tonight as well. Feel like I'm there.

Brianna, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: Well, it was a life-altering event in more ways than one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Life for me changed, you know, being at the World Trade Center and I -- I changed my life. Or, I began to make the changes in my life and to where I am with you right now.

PHILLIPS: A 9/11 survivor now on a mission to Iraq. His story right ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Back live now to Greensburg, Kansas. Our Don Lemon getting a firsthand look at the devastation. A town of 2,000, once stood there, Don. Ninety-five percent of that town wiped out by that tornado. Yet, you continue to find a lot of love and a lot of stories of survival and strength there as well.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, it is just amazing. But sadly, even amid the good news that they found someone alive last night, there's still bad news to report here -- that they found two more bodies. One in Kiowa County state fishing lake. And according to the town manager, it's not exactly in the heart of Greensburg, but it is so close to the area that he's counting it among the people who were lost in his community. And then another person found amid the rubble here. So that makes a total of ten people found in this area.

You can just see the devastation. It's all around us. And you can hear, there just behind me, the National Guard, there they go. They're going through the neighborhoods. They were lined up, I guess, about 20 to 30, maybe 40 trucks lined up on the streets as we went through this morning. And I'm going to show you while I'm here, look at this. Cars that were just tossed all about. That's a rear-view mirror from someone's car here.

And then we've got all these things that were literally projectiles -- and that's some of the dangers and hazards that they're concerned about. This, stepping on sharp objects, glass and also there was an ammonia leak here, just a short time ago, about an hour ago, and it caused people on the east side of town to have to be evacuated. So the news is still developing and still happening here. But people are beginning to go back to their homes. When the sun came up this morning, they were lined up to go back to their homes.

One woman I met, Barb Miller, who doesn't live here, but her mother does, Grandma Margaret, she is an amazing woman. We talked to her this morning with the governor. And then we went to her house to see what she found as she came home this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Hey, Barb. This is it?

BARB MILLER, SURVIVOR: Hi. . I didn't know it said nine o'clock.

LEMON: This is it?

MILLER: This is it. This is it..

LEMON: And what are you seeing?

MILLER: We have found pictures. We have found some -- you know, that's what we're looking for now is pictures and things that are precious to them.

LEMON: Do you want to show us around?

MILLER: Yes, that would be fine.

LEMON: This is the porch I'm sure you enjoyed.

MILLER: This , ittells it all. Every day I would e-mail my dad and I'd say, are you going to get in some porch time today?

LEMON: He'd be sitting right here.

MILLER: He'd be sitting right there.

We all came to Greensburg for porch time. That meant that we would be sitting out with lemonade and popcorn and this porch is very important to the family. We're glad it's here. We won't be sitting in it, but, yes. It's going to go somewhere.

LEMON: Hey, guys. How are you?

GRANDMA MARGARET, RESIDENT: We only know what's important. Nothing. We're just looking at it.

LEMON: Wow.

MARGARET: This is the only room that has any ceiling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we came in today, there were six angels sitting up on the fireplace, and they were all untouched. That was just remarkable. To have those six angels. She was a collector of angels, and to come in and see that first thing that they were all sitting there untouched, was awesome.

LEMON: You guys put the flag up? It was already there or did you put it up?

MARGARET: We put it up. The kids found it and just hung it up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: It's just unbelievable. That Barb is Grandma Margaret's daughter. So you know, like you, Kyra, very much like you, never met a person that I didn't like, and this woman really touched my heart. That's what a lot of folks, most of the people who are coming back here, are finding the very same things that that family is finding.

PHILLIPS: It's those type of people and people like Grandma Margaret who keep families strong and keep families moving forward.

Don, thank you. We'll talk to you again in just a little bit.

HOLMES: Winning hearts and minds. We've heard that so much from the U.S. military in Iraq. And before that, Vietnam. It becomes somewhat of a cliche, but for many American troops, it's a mission and the goal is to keep Iraqis from dying.

CNN's Hugh Riminton talked with one soldier who is a true believer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no electricity here.

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Every soldier has his reasons. Jack Androski's go back nearly six years.

JACK ANDROSKI, SOLDIER: A guy went to work that morning, rode his bike to work that day, and didn't get to ride his bike back that day. Life for me changed, being at World Trade Center -- and I changed my life. Or I began to make the changes in my life to end up to where I am with you right now.

RIMINTON: He won't talk about that day. But he will talk about the man he was, a commodities trader, loving New York, loving the money he was making. Not yet 30 years old then, with two masters degrees, the world at his feet.

(on camera): Your rank is corporal, is that right?

ANDROSKI: I'm a corporal. Corporal promotable, I'll be sergeant June 1st.

RIMINTON: Congratulations on that.

ANDROSKI: Thank you.

RIMINTON: How much money were you making as a commodities trader compared with what you're making now?

ANDROSKI: I make less.

RIMINTON (voice over): But the work matters more to him now.

ANDROSKI: We changed the route for safety measures ...

RIMINTON: Central to the new Iraq strategy is to get down the with the people, win them over, turn them away from supporting the terrorists. So every day, Jack risks his life to listen.

(on camera): It's been a somber few days for this battalion. In the last three days, they've lost three people. Others have been terribly wounded, which make's today's mission in comparison in here seem almost surreal. A Sunni community leader, wants a football field.

ANDROSKI: If he wants this, we can push this through ... because there's going to be a soccer league here.

RIMINTON (voice over): Encouraged by the response, he brings out his big plan -- rebuilding a local shopping area. Jack sees problems.

ANDROSKI: It will never pass unless we know these shops will sustain this park.

RIMINTON: But he also brings ideas.

ANDROSKI: But if this became an association, the Adul (ph) Park Association, we could provide them, you know, small micro-grants. RIMINTON: Sunnis are the natural support base for al-Qaeda in Iraq. If the war can be won, it means winning their trust.

"The Americans have changed. They're 90 percent better than they were at the beginning of the war," says this man. "Everyone is sick of the violence. If people can get a taste of comfortable life, they'll be wanting to live in peace."

Jack's role is all the stranger, given he opposed the original invasion.

ANDROSKI: The initial invasion I thought was wrong. I thought there should have been a diplomatic solution. I thought the focus should have been on Afghanistan.

RIMINTON: But with America here, he felt a duty to put his skills to use.

(on camera): You see the U.S. army as a positive change agent in Iraq today?

ANDROSKI: I see the U.S. army as the dominant player of change in Iraq.

RIMINTON (voice over): Jack Androski now believes in a strange way 9/11 liberated him, to live where his heart really was.

(on camera) Would you count yourself as an optimist?

ANDROSKI: I would consider myself a soldier.

RIMINTON (voice over): A soldier who believes less in his gun than in his notebook.

ANDROSKI: Sir, thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. I'll write that stuff up for you and then we'll have some discussion points next week to follow up on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUGHES: And Hugh Riminton is joining us now. Hugh, it's a touching story about that guy, that personal story. And the mission, his mission. So many other soldiers' mission, to build those relationships with the community, with those community groups. Well, is there a real chance of success in doing that?

RIMINTON: Well, it's the best chance they've got. I was talking with Major General Rick Lynch who is in charge of an area from south of Baghdad going into central Iraq. And he makes a point, there's about 26 million Iraqis. On any given day, he says, there are about 10,000 extremists. The trick is separate the 10,000 from the 26 million, and you can only do that by reaching out.

And the U.S. military, the Iraqi government says they're seeing some significant improvements, particularly in Baghdad. People still dying everyday, but more tip-offs about munitions, about weapons caches, about the location of roadside bombs. And also a lower murder rate. The great danger, of course, as all the generals will tell you any time they're asked, this means the potential, the reality of a higher casualty rate among coalition forces, U.S. forces, men like Jack Androski you just saw there in that report.

HUGHES: And also, Hugh, we have to ask you about an update, another violent day there in Iraq. Give us the latest on attacks and deaths there in Iraq.

RIMINTON: Sure. The focus in the last 24 hours, more to the west and north of Baghdad itself. Two bombings in the city of Ramadi. This is to the west of Baghdad. A Sunni area. The first one was in a market, mid-day, packed, of course, as you'd expect. A couple of minutes later, about a mile nearby, at a police roadblock, another car bomb killing at least 13 people and injuring many more. An area that seemed to be getting on top of the extremist violence.

Also, five more Iraqi police killed by a roadside bomb just a day after al-Qaeda claimed credit for killing 12 Iraqi police in another attack. This in Samarra, a Shiite city just to the north of Baghdad. It just goes on, T.J.

HOLMES: It just goes on. Hugh Riminton, for us in Baghdad. Hugh, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: A daring rescue operation at sea. We' re going to tell you more about what led to this video you're about to watch. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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PHILLIPS: We're talking about an heiress on her way to jail, a rapper allegedly driving drunk and a huge weekend for a super hero. Those are the headlines. "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer joins me now with all the details.

A.J. HAMMER, HOST "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Hi, there, Kyra. Nice to see you again.

For anybody who hasn't heard, it's true, Paris Hilton going to the slammer for 45 days. And here's the shocker of shockers, Hilton says, it's not her fault, it's her publicist. On Friday, a judge sentenced the socialite to 45 days in jail for violating her probation.

Now, she had been on probation since she pleaded no contest to driving under the influence. That was back in the fall. As part of her probation, her driver's license was suspended from November 30th to March 31st. During that period, the police caught her driving with that suspended license three times.

Paris said that her publicist, Elliot Mintz, told her it was okay for her to drive. The judge said Mintz was wrong and threw the book at Paris. Mintz, isseen in this video from TMZ.com, had been Paris' flack through a number of incidents, but over the weekend, he lost his job. He did apologize for miscommunicating information to Paris from her attorneys. He said that he has nothing but love and respect for his former client. Mintz also called the sentence irrational and the Hilton's seem to agree on that. Paris, over the weekend said, surprisingly, she thinks the sentence is cruel and unwarranted.

Well, in another reminder that celebs certainly shouldn't feel that they are immune from the law. On Friday, while Paris was being sentenced, the rapper Eve was being charged with driving under the influence. These charges stem from an accident that Eve was involved with back on April 26. Eve, whose real name is Jihan Jeffers, struck a concrete median in that accident. And then she failed a breathalyzer test. She's going to be arraigned on May 17th. She faces a maximum of six months in jail and a fine. The minimum sentence here for this misdemeanor would be three years of probation, a fine and some other DUI related conditions.

Now let's go from celebrity crimes to super hero crime fighters. Spiderman with a huge opening weekend. Around the world, the comic book crimefighter had the biggest opening day ever on Friday when it took in $59.3 million. And it had the biggest opening weekend ever with a big haul of $148 million. That's over the three-day period.

Pirates of the Caribbean set the opening record a year ago. Then it took in $135 million, that was last year. The good news for the newest Spiderman sequel wasn't limited to the domestic box office. It has taken in an additional $227 million internationally.

You got to figure Sony, the group that put this picture out, breathing a sigh of relief today, since they reportedly spent more than $300 million to make the film. It looks like that investment is definitely paying off. A lot of studios hope this is a good sign for sequels because there are a lot of expensive sequels that are all scheduled to open up this summer, and that includes the third Pirates of the Caribbean film.

Well, coming up tonight, on "Showbiz Tonight," the countdown to Paris in lockdown. Now that the judge has ordered Paris Hilton locked up, what should she expect when she goes to jail? Is it possible this could even make Paris more popular than ever? "Showbiz Tonight" investigates. It is TV's most provocative entertainment news show. You'll find us at 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on headline prime. And Kyra, I assure you we will have the countdown to lockdown every single night on "Showbiz Tonight."

PHILLIPS: I can just imagine. But let me just ask you a question: With all her money, why doesn't she just hire a driver? Why does she even have to drive a car?

HAMMER: I have been asking that same question every single day. And let me ask you something, Kyra, is it unprofessional of me that I have been smiling through this whole thing?

PHILLIPS: No, not at all.

HAMMER: Is that rotten? OK.

PHILLIPS: It's kind of hard to feel sorry for her, you know what I mean?

HAMMER: Karma. Alive and well in 2007.

PHILLIPS: What comes around, goes around, my friend.

Thanks, A.J.

HAMMER: You got it.

HOLMES: Poor Paris. Poor thing. I hate it for her. What am I going to do without Paris for 45 days? Don't know how we are going to make it.

Well, we're going to get back to this video. We've been showing this over the weekend. You know, a lot of folks trying to get away from tornadoes, some folks out there are going after the tornadoes. We're going to meet a storm chaser. Risking life, risking limb to get close to the storm, that is ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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