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Fort Dix: Terror Target?; Storms Flood Midwest; Tornado Response in Kansas; An End to Northern Ireland Troubles; Paris Hilton Asking for Pardon From Governor Schwarzenegger

Aired May 08, 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: Hello there. We are live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Don Lemon, who's on assignment.

MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Melissa Long, in today for Kyra Phillips.

Filling in the blanks on an alleged terror plot. Who was involved, and why was Fort Dix the target? We expect to hear from the feds this afternoon.

HOLMES: Plus, spilling over its banks. The swollen Missouri River puts thousands at risk of dangerous floods.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LONG: A half-dozen men, a sinister plan to kill as many American soldiers as possible. Investigators say they foiled that alleged plan to attack Fort Dix in New Jersey. The suspects are in federal court this afternoon.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick, joins us now from Camden, New Jersey, with more.

Hi, Deb.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Melissa.

Well, the initial appearances set to begin any moment now. We can tell you that the initial tip on this came in last year, when one of the defendants apparently brought a copy of the video to his store because he wanted it turned into a DVD. Well, the person at the store thought that the video was disturbing and contacted the FBI.

On that video, it showed 10 young men in their early 20s shooting assault weapons militia-like style at a firing range, and also calling for jihad. Now, that's when the FBI brought in a confidential informant to penetrate this particular group.

Now, we can tell you that inside this court right now there are about a dozen family members who are sitting, waiting for those men to come out and be read the charges against them. The six men in court are scheduled to make that first appearance, and according to a law enforcement source, they are ethnic Albanians, some of them, and there may even be at least one man who is an ethnic Palestinian.

Now, all of this seems to have started about last summer. when the plans for all of this started to be discussed. The confidential informant made friends with one of the men, and that man showed him apparently videos of armed attacks on U.S. military personnel. And later, that man was quoted saying that he could use six or seven jihadis and perhaps kill as many as 100 soldiers.

They scouted Fort Dix, they scouted other Air Force bases. It looks like back in February is when the talk got even more serious, because then they started talking about bombs, they started talking about the possibility of striking U.S. warships that were going to be docked in Philadelphia.

They also played videos, Mujahideen training videos. They had gone up to the Poconos in order to fire their own weapons, and in a really twist of irony, when they were at a convenient store they ran into one of the undercover law enforcement agents who was there scouting them, and they actually asked him whether he knew where they could get their hands on an AK-47 and an M-16.

Now, they are in court. They are going to be charged. And we are told that they are getting representation in the form of lawyers, somebody from the public defender's office. And it will be likely if they have to enter a plea, the lawyers will do that for them -- Melissa.

LONG: When you think of the Poconos, you think of quaint cottages, romantic getaways, not this type of alleged plot.

When did law enforcement officials finally catch up with these guys and arrest them?

FEYERICK: They were arrested overnight. It's not clear exactly what triggered them to go in to and sweep up these guys, but they were in Cherry Hill.

Three of them are brothers. They are here illegally. They are believed to be the ones that are from the former Yugoslavia. They are the ones who are believed to be ethnic Albanians. The others appear to have been legal -- been here in the country legally -- Melissa.

LONG: Deborah Feyerick, from outside the courthouse in Camden, New Jersey.

Deborah, thank you.

HOLMES: Have some real-life violence to tell you about, possibly over a video game in Fresno, California. Police there saying at least one person is dead, two others hurt after a shooting last night at an apartment complex that could have all started over a video game.

The suspect is said to be 19-year-old Jonquel Brooks (ph), a student at Fresno State. The victim said to be acquaintances.

Brooks (ph) is on the loose, but also on the phone with police. Been talking to him by cell phone. They say he wants to turn himself in, but until he does, police are warning everybody to be alert.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JERRY DYER, FRESNO POLICE: The suspect in this case is still considered to be armed and dangerous. We've not located the firearm. And even if we had, this is an individual that has committed a murder. He shot two other people, and we consider him to be very serious and very much a threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: We are keeping an eye on this developing story, and we'll bring you those updates as it warrants.

Need to turn to some weather now.

Evacuating, sandbagging, and waiting. Painful duties for thousands of Midwesterners as rain-swollen rivers and streams creep higher and higher. A state of emergency exists in Missouri, where the governor has mobilized National Guard troops to help.

And our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, in the CNN weather center, tracking the storm

(WEATHER REPORT)

LONG: Now, as Jacqui just mentioned, the Missouri River is on its way down near the town of St. Joseph, having crested just last hour.

Joining me on the phone now is the mayor of Elwood, just across the river in Kansas.

Lawrence Mays, thanks so much for your time. We appreciate it.

MAYOR LAWRENCE MAYS, ELWOOD, KANSAS: You're welcome.

LONG: Considering that the river has now crested, what does your community look like?

MAYS: Our community looks very well. Yesterday there was a voluntary evacuation. We had gotten a lot of support from surrounding communities and our high school.

We are now able to come back in to the city. The river has crested at 23 feet. And so it is safe now to come back in. The river's dropping up north and is continuing to drop here in our area.

LONG: Now, this situation is unlike the massive flooding of 1993, because if I understand properly, this rain came fast and furious.

MAYS: Yes. Yes, it did. Unlike '93, '93 the rain lasted for several week. And we didn't have any rain inside our levee area, so we were able to keep, you know, the water flowing through the area. And so that kind of helped this -- you know, this area out quite a bit.

LONG: How often do you wonder as you hear of the potential for severe flooding, wonder, oh, no, is this going to be '93 all over again?

MAYS: Well, any time you get a big rain that just comes in hard like that and you get a lot of rain up north, that always sticks in to the back of your mind, you know, because it was pretty devastating at the time.

LONG: Considering what you've been through in the past, what type of proactive approach did you take this time? Aside from the voluntary evacuation, what else did the residents do in your community to be sure they're going to be ready for the next big flood?

MAYS: Well, I think because we let them know early enough what we were going to do if the river crested at a certain point, and we were going to blow our sirens off, it gave them time to plan, you know, their evacuation, where they were going to go, who was going to help, just how they were going to do that. So, you know, it gives them an idea of now what they need to do, if it ever happens again.

LONG: Considering it's an area that is known to be vulnerable, what do you say to the people who say, well, just don't build there?

MAYS: Well, it's not as vulnerable as most people, you know, believe it to be. We have a pretty strong federal levee here, and it is -- there are plans for it to be strengthened and built higher, about 3.3 feet higher on an average.

LONG: So, again, the river cresting about an hour ago. Are you feeling OK about exactly what has taken place today?

MAYS: Yes. Yes, we are all feeling very relieved.

We got a lot of help from American national -- the Missouri National Guard and the Kansas National Guard. A lot of different agencies, you know, in the area, in the county, came to our aid and really helped out -- Salvation Army and other people. So it was a community effort.

LONG: Mr. Mays, thanks so much for your time. And of course we're happy that you're feeling relief today. We appreciate your time.

MAYS: Thank you. Thank you very much.

HOLMES: All right.

Want to take you now to Oklahoma City. A look at some video and also mix in some live pictures here for you as well.

This is a live picture from our affiliate, KWTV. Can't make out exactly what's happening here, but let's tell you -- we'll tell you here what we've been looking at, which is rescue crews and fire officials trying to get their way to a submerged vehicle. I believe it's a submerged SUV.

We've certainly been talking about today -- and there you go. There's the video we've been talking about.

But that appears to be an SUV that is pretty much taken over by this water. And they're trying to figure out maybe how to get to that vehicle.

They don't believe, I think, is the right word, or the right way to put that, that anyone is in this vehicle, but they are checking it out, nonetheless. Again, no word on whether or not somebody was in that vehicle, was able to get out of there, or if somebody might have been carried away by this flood water.

Again, we've been watching all of this flooding in some of the midwestern states. And here's a wider vantage point of it, but you can see that small dot in the middle of that water. There's a collection of some of those emergency vehicles we were talking about.

But this is the northwest -- excuse me, northeastern part of Oklahoma City. Again, as we watch our affiliate there zoom in and out, but there it is in the middle of all that water.

But rescue crews trying to figure what to do from here. And again, no word just yet if anyone was actually trapped in that vehicle or was able to get out of that vehicle or might have been swept up in some of that water. But we're keeping an eye on that in Oklahoma City.

LONG: Hopefully that is vacant today.

Federal agents are in the case on Vegas. They're looking for clues in a deadly bomb attack.

The details ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: And it might look like a routine photo-op to you, but in northern Ireland, it's history in the making. Stay here for details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: 2:16 in the afternoon here in Atlanta. Here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM this Tuesday.

(NEWSBREAK)

HOLMES: Well, it's certainly not a post-Katrina pitch, but there's some consternation about the response to those weekend tornadoes in Kansas. The governor, Kathleen Sebelius, told CNN yesterday the federal response was hampered by the Kansas National Guard's obligations in Iraq. And that matter came up today at the White House press briefing.

Our Kathleen Koch was there.

And please tell us, what was the response from the White House? KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, T.J., I must point out that for the White House, the timing of this is rather inconvenient. President Bush heads this morning for Greensburg, Kansas, to meet with officials there tomorrow morning, to get again kind of a readout on how the recovery efforts are going, the response, talk to the residents who have lost so much. Most of them, all of their homes.

And so Snow was doing his very best -- Tony Snow at the briefing today -- to try to tamp down this controversy. Again, as you pointed out, the governor had said to CNN and to numerous other news outlets that her state's recovery was being hampered by the fact that the National Guard units didn't have the manpower, didn't have the equipment they need. But Snow this afternoon insisted that the administration has taken steps to make sure that Kansas is getting all the resources that it needs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You keep trying to say if we're going to have National Guard units in Iraq protecting Americans, you're not going to be able to deal with disasters here at home. The fact is, you do have, I've just pointed out, more than 6,000 available units. And there's only 566 deployed right now in Kansas, 6,800 available. So there are, in fact, large amounts -- large numbers of individuals and equipment available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, Snow says that, in fact, White House national security -- homeland security adviser Fran Townsend talked to Governor Sebelius just this afternoon before the briefing, asked her how things was going, were the state's needs being met, and Sebelius did say, yes, indeed, the state has what it needs, though it is apparently talking right now to Texas and Oklahoma about perhaps borrowing some Black Hawk helicopters.

But, again, T.J., this coming at an inconvenient time as the president does head to Kansas tomorrow. Important to point out, though, that there was a study that came out in early March by the Commission on National Guard and Reserves that did find that 88 percent of the National Guard units in the country are so short on equipment, they are not ready to respond to disasters like the tornado.

HOLMES: Oh wow. All right.

Our Kathleen Koch for us as the White House.

Kathleen, thank you so much.

KOCH: You bet.

HOLMES: We're going to head back to some pictures out of Oklahoma City. KWTV, our affiliate there, keeping an eye just a short time ago on one submerged vehicle, an SUV we saw in this water. This is a second vehicle we've now been able to pick up, a pickup truck, as you can see there, in Oklahoma City.

These pictures, live pictures now coming to us from our affiliate, but no word here that this vehicle or the other vehicle we saw had anybody in it. We were trying to see in the window there.

This is tape of that other vehicle we were talking about. But rescue crews are there on the scene.

Of course, there's been some nasty flooding in Oklahoma City, other parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri especially, seeing some nasty floodwaters. And this is one place that's seeing it. This is the northeastern part of Oklahoma City, and -- where we see at least two vehicles submerged.

Trying to see inside that vehicle. Doesn't appear to be anybody in there. And certainly they would be waving if they were -- get me out of here. But that doesn't appear to be the case.

We were talking a short time ago to Jacqui Jeras about people trying to drive through floodwaters. Don't know if this was the case with these two vehicles, but rescue crews are on the scene just in case, checking out these two vehicles that have gotten caught up some of those floodwaters.

We're keeping an eye on it.

LONG: And federal agents are in the case in Vegas today looking for clues in a deadly bomb attack. The details ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: Coming up on 2:30 on Wall Street. A potential deal that would unite one of the most influential people in media and the bible of Wall Street is turning out to be a sensational story in its own right.

Susan Lisovicz with the latest developments, including action by the SEC today.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HOLMES: And we're going to get back to the Midwest flooding situation next. Live cameras here on the scene. It's not really showing us what we were expecting to be shown there, but we're going to be talking about the Midwest flooding here in a little bit and trying to figure just exactly what that was a live picture of.

Our Jacqui Jeras has been all over the flooding and the weather situation for us. She's going to have more on when the worst will be over.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hello to everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes. Live at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

LONG: And I'm Melissa Long, in for Kyra Phillips.

On the case in Las Vegas, who built a deadly bomb and left it in a casino parking lot? And was it meant to kill a man who sold hot dogs? We have the latest from police on this bizarre crime. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: Boy, this melamine food recall story just will not go away. Now getting word from U.S. health officials that farm fish were fed melamine, or feed that was contaminated with this melamine. You had to go back a few step here. This melamine was the original chemical from the original pet food recall that made so many animals sick here,in this country. Some 60 million packages of pet food had to be recalled because wheat gluten from China was contaminated with this melamine.

Now we heard not long ago, chickens were fed some of this feed, that was contaminated with melamine. Now we're hearing farm fish have been fed feed, contaminated with this same chemical melamine, that was causing so many pets around the country to get sick.

Now, we also know that U.S. officials, health officials, were also saying that people who ate the chickens who ate this feed, didn't have a risk really, of getting sick. Don't know if that's the case with the fish as well, but that's the new word. Health officials say farm fish have been fed feed contaminated with melamine. We'll bring you more details as we get them.

LONG: Other stories we're following, the flooding taking place in around the heartland. Live pictures there from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from our affiliate KWTZ. In a moment, when the camera goes right again you'll be able to see two people trapped in that orange Chevy right there. You see woman trying to get out of the situation. A little child as well. Earlier we following stories of submerged cars as well. Some trucks, didn't look like there was anybody inside. Here you see people stuck in the middle of what was likely a street at one point, but streets are being turned in to streams. In some cases, rivers. Be careful out there. Let's check in with our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, who's been following this story, tracking the severe weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LONG: Of course, during severe weather situations we've been relying on our I-Reporters from across the country. Especially in this region this weekend and early this week. This picture I wanted to share with you is from Joe Brown in Bellevue, Nebraska. Where the water is knee-high in this park, it's Hayworth Park (ph). Park rangers have closed it off until the campsites are dry. Brian Crowson sent us this image from Lawrence, Kansas, he took it yesterday he says, in Bertram Park (ph). Brian tell us the water has gone down a little bit since then.

If you happen to see severe weather happening, do send us an I- Report. Go online to CNN dot com, click on the icon that says I- Report and type in ireport@CNN.com on your cell phone. You can share your still photos, you can share video as well, but do not put yourself in danger. Do not jeopardize your safety.

HOLMES: A Las Vegas whodunit. Federal agents and local police want to know who planted the explosive that killed a man in the parking garage the Luxor Casino Hotel. The latest now, from CNN's, Thelma Gutierrez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It happened early Monday morning here at the Luxor. Twenty-one-year-old Antonio Gurantez (ph) was leaving work about 4:00 in the morning with a female co-worker. He walked out to the second floor of a parking garage nearby, he approached his car. He saw something on the roof of his car. As he attempted to remove that device, it exploded. Gurantez was transported to an area hospital where he later died. His co-worker was not injured. Now, police are saying that this was not an act of terrorism, it was not a mob hit. It was a homicide where the choice of the murder weapon was actually an explosive device.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEPUTY CHIEF TED MOODY, LAS VEGAS METRO POLICE: At this point in time, based on the manner in which that device was placed. The design of the device, the size of the device, we believe that it was intended to target a single individual.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: Nearly every light post on the second floor of that parking garage had a security camera. Police are now looking at all of the tapes, all of the different angles, to try to determine not only how the bomb was placed on top of that car, but, perhaps, who placed it.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Las Vegas, Nevada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: Taking you back to the story we showing images a few minutes ago of a boy and possibly a mom, possibly a guardian, trapped in this Chevy in what was once a street. Here you see the authorities closing in to rescue that little boy. It looks like he's about elementary school age. Good news, we'll show you in a moment. His rescue, likely pretty slippery out there. This is from Oklahoma City, a lot of cars today have been trapped, a lot of SUVs have been totally submerged. There we go. The little boy, safe and sound today. I'm sure next they'll be able to rescue that young lady as well. Rivers are swollen as Jackie Jeras been saying all day today. Do not risk danger to yourself and don't risk the danger to your car either. Because it is just dangerous in these types of situations. But good news to report there. The little boy safe and sound this afternoon.

Ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM today, this may look like a routine photo- op, but it's nothing like that. In Northern Ireland, history in the making. Stick around for more on the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well finally, an end to the troubles after decades of violence and political stalemate, Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders agreed to share power in Northern Ireland.

CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley has the details on why many think this time it is for real.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN OAKLEY, EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR (voice-over): All along the stage together, mediators and old enemies, a lifelong loyalist, an ex-IRA commander and the British and Irish prime ministers. This was history in the making.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): You raise me up ...

OAKLEY: These are the scenes burned on the memories of the leaders who finally forged Northern Ireland's key peace agreement. The bombings, burnings, and shootings that killed more than 3,600 Protestants and Catholics, men, women and children through 30 years of the troubles.

Now, they hope Northern Ireland's new first minister is right. Past scars, he said, would not be forgotten.

IAN PAISLEY, LEADER, DEMOCRATIC UNIONIST PARTY: That was yesterday. This is today. And tomorrow will be --

(APPLAUSE)

OAKLEY: Tuesday, May the 8th, was the day when politics should finally have replaced terror, symbolized by two longtime bitter foes signing up to run a restored power-sharing executive.

PAISLEY: I affirm the terms ...

OAKLEY: Mr. Paisley, the one-time fire brand preacher, the hard- line Protestant leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, took the pledge as its leaders.

PAISLEY: And I ask for Martin McGuinness to step (ph) --

OAKLEY: Martin McGuinness, the one-time IRA commander and chief negotiator for the IRA's political aims (ph), Sinn Fein, stepped up as number two. The 80-year-old Paisley was passionate in his hope for the future.

PAISLEY: From the depths of my heart, I can say to you today that I believe Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace. A time when hate will no longer rule. How good it will be to be part of a wonderful healing in this problem.

OAKLEY: McGuinness warned that all disagreements wouldn't disappear overnight but pledged they'd see things through.

MARTIN MCGUINNESS, CHIEF NEGOTIATOR, SINN FEIN: We knew this would not be easy and that the road we're embarking on will have many twists and turns, and it is (ph) however a road which we have chosen and which is supported by the vast majority of our people.

OAKLEY: There for the culmination of a peace process he has driven for 10 years, was Britain's prime minister.

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Look back, and we see centuries pockmarked by conflict, hardship, even hatred among the people of these islands. Look forward today, and we see the chance at last to escape those heavy chains of history.

OAKLEY: The Irish Prime Minister, or Taoiseach as he's called, Bertie Ahern, who shared castle meetings and cups of tea with Mr. Blair through years of pushing and prodding Northern Ireland's parties, was lavish in his praise of Britain's soon-to-depart prime minister.

BERTIE AHERN, IRISH PRIME MINISTER: But he has been a true friend of peace, and a true friend of Ireland and for that we express our heartfelt thanks. I thank him not so much for the tea, not so much for the castles that I had the pleasure of spending so many times in, but for the true determination that he had and for just sticking with it for ten tough years.

OAKLEY (on camera): It was Mr. Ahern who insisted that politicians across the island of Ireland must ensure that this is the last generation to feel the anger of old quarrels, setting up a power- sharing assembly won't cure all ills in a society where Protestants and Catholic children still mostly learn apart and where Protestants and Catholic communities are often still divided by massive walls. But at least it's a start on the road to normality.

Robin Oakley, CNN, Belfast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: Things are getting worse for David Hasselhoff. We're going to tell you what a judge had to say about his drunken videotape and what his ex-wife is saying about how that tape surfaced, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

And joining us now with all the latest entertainment news, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" A.J. Hammer.

Hi, A.J.

A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Hey there, Melissa. Free Paris Hilton! Well, that's what some people are saying. Will the Hollywood socialite be spending some time in the slammer or will her 45-day jail sentence be terminated? I will tell you who could be coming to the rescue for Paris straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Take you to a live picture here in Sarasota County, Florida. You can see that smoke there and you can see a structure or two or three or several we've been able to make out here, close to some of this smoke we're seeing, but brushfires, we've been seeing them pop up in different spots in Florida, also around the southeast, really, and they have really been cause for concern and weather has been an issue. Weather's causing all kinds of problems.

Jacqui Jeras, what is happening -- or what has been happening? Why have the conditions been so ripe and have just been essentially, literally, fanning the flames?

JACQUI JERAS, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, well, the number one thing is just the drought, and that all the vegetation is just tinder dry. So, it doesn't take much to get a fire going.

Today in Sarasota, winds are gusting right now 23 miles per hour. So, very, very strong winds and also just very low humidity. We have a huge coastal system, too, by the way, and that's helping to drive in the strong winds across the area. This is a great satellite picture that we got in from NOAA today showing you the storm and then also, look at all these little red dots that you can see here. Those are fire signatures. And we've got about seven large fires burning in Florida, four large fires burning in Georgia. Those are the big fires, not to mention a lot of the little spot fires ongoing.

As the (INAUDIBLE) gets closer, we'll see those strong winds remain but, a little bit of relief in terms of getting a little rain across the area.

HOLMES: A little rain, a little relief. And we did see a few evacuations, I believe it was yesterday, on the fire in Florida. No word about this particular fire we're seeing in Sarasota, Florida now. We can tell folks that parts of I-75, specifically at Fruitville Road, has been shut down for right now because of this brushfire, but keeping an eye on it.

Again, don't know -- I don't know the word right now on any possible structures, homes being threatened by it, but we are keeping an eye on this story, one of many situations happening live around the country we have our eye on right now.

LONG: Well, they certainly have enough cash to call a cab, hire a chauffeur, get a limo for the night, but some celebrities choose to get behind the wheel when they really probably shouldn't, and they run head-on into trouble.

"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" A.J. Hammer has the latest from the celebrity police blotter.

Hi, A.J.

HAMMER: Hi Melissa, and let's talk Paris first. And in case you were interested in doing publicity for Paris Hilton, you should probably hold off on putting that resume in the mail because Paris Hilton has rehired the publicist that she canned over the weekend after she was sentenced to those 45 days in jail.

Elliot Mintz is the guy. Let's show him to you from this video we obtained from TMZ.com. He confirmed early this morning that he is once again representing hotel heiress Paris Hilton by declaring, "I represent Paris and I'm proud to."

The pair's off again, on again relationship hit the skids on Friday, when the 26-year-old socialite appeared in court for violating the terms of her probation by driving with a suspended license. When the judge threw the book at her, Hilton claimed Mintz told her it was OK to drive without a license for work obligations.

All right, news of their split came on Sunday when Mintz issued a public apology for what he called a "misunderstanding." But Melissa, we are happy to report, apparently the two of them had dinner last night and they agreed to continue their working relationship.

LONG: So delighted to hear they are working together again as a team.

Let me ask you about this, though. Is this true that Paris, the heiress, has asked Governor Schwarzenegger to pardon her?

HAMMER: Yes, actually, it is true. Listen to this. Hilton says that her sentence is unfair, of course, and she's already started this online petition, and she's asking California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to pardon her from serving a month and a half in the slammer. The petition is titled "Free Paris Hilton." And she demands she be released from her sentence because, and I am not making this up. She says, "She provides hope for young people all over the U.S. and the world. She provides beauty and excitement to most of our otherwise mundane lives."

Hey, who can argue with that? More than 900 people, Melissa, have already signed this petition and meanwhile, Hilton's lawyers have filed the legal appeal on the judge's ruling. I don't think that will see it overturned.

LONG: She's saying this or the club that's supporting her is saying this?

HAMMER: Well, you know, it's being quoted in not the first person, but I don't know. It's kind of fishy to me. It looks like it's coming from her. I can't say for certain.

LONG: Well, my life may be mundane but it's OK with me. I don't know about you.

HAMMER: That is just hideous.

LONG: All right, well let's talk about another celeb, I understand this one's saying, I'm sorry?

HAMMER: Yes, this was actually done right. And hats off to this guy. He's another Hollywood publicist who was pretty busy over the weekend, the publicist employed not by Paris Hilton but by carpenter turned TV star Ty Pennington. He, of course, is the popular host of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and he is now apologizing to fans and ABC after his arrest early Saturday morning in Los Angeles for investigation of drunken driving.

In a well worded statement, the reality show guru is calling the incident, "my wake-up call" and he says he made an error in judgment. Pennington also says he's grateful no one was injured. He was released after posting $5,000 bail. He's due back in court on June 4th, and that sets a pretty good example on how to deal with a situation like that.

And of course tonight, we're going to have plenty more on Paris Hilton on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" because the countdown to lockdown continues. As we just reported, Paris Hilton is appealing to none other than the Terminator himself. But you won't believe who is actually behind the petition to pardon Paris. Will she do the time? Will the governor terminate the heiress' conviction? We'll get into it tonight on TV's most provocative entertainment newshour, the "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." We'll see you at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on Headline Prime.

LONG: We'll be watching. Again, June 5th that's when she's due to serve her time, right?

HAMMER: June 5th is when she has to report by. She could show up tomorrow, if she so chose, and I don't think she'll be doing that.

LONG: No, I don't think so. A.J., thanks so much. We'll be watching tonight.

HAMMER: You got it.

HOLMES: All right, we will stick with the theme of celebrities behaving questionably. You've seen this video probably by now. The TV show "Extra" got hold of footage of a drunken David Hasselhoff recorded by his 16-year-old daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tell me you're going to stop.

DAVID HASSELHOFF, ACTOR: I'm going to stop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Promise?

HASSELHOFF: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes?

HASSELHOFF: Hmm? This is a mess.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: It is a mess, Mr. Hasselhoff, a lot of people have seen this video, including an L.A. judge, and he has suspended Hasselhoff's visitation rights with both his daughters. The former "Baywatch" star and his ex-wife, Pamela Bach have been locked in a custody battle since last year. And last night, the ex-wife talked with our Larry King about this video, which she said was made just two weeks ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAMELA BACH, DAVID HASSELHOFF'S EX-WIFE: And my oldest had called me in such a rant, in a rage. And I was -- calm down, what are you saying? What are you saying, and she's saying, a tape. And this was Wednesday, and I -- I was trying to have her explain what tape? And then she went on to say she had taken a tape of her dad. I didn't know about it and I said, why didn't you ever tell me you taped him?

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Why did she tape him?

BACH: I think that -- I don't think, I know. It is her cry for help, because she thinks nothing else is going to work. As I've tried thinking if I just pour out the bottles, if I just be by his side, if I just baby-sit him, give him more love, do more for him, or make him see himself, it will get there, but the disease of alcoholism is cunning. It's a baffling disease. And it's very chaotic, and it's a family disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And of course, you can catch Larry King weeknights at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

LONG: Now we all know that breaking up can be hard to do. But one billboard is pushing it anyway. Life's short, get a divorce. There's the phone number. The uproar over selling divorce, ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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