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Wildfire Burns 600 Acres of L.A.'s Famed Griffith Park; President Bush Visits Greensburg, Kansas; Florida Fire Emergency; Women Fight For Justice As They Await Death In An Iraqi Prison. Women Allegedly Tortured To Elicit Confessions Plead For Presidential Pardons
Aired May 09, 2007 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips.
In the line of fire. Griffith Park is chockfull of Los Angeles history. The fight is on to save as much as possible. We're going to talk with one anxious resident.
LEMON: And while that's happening, floodwaters take a different kind of toll in the Great Plains. One Missouri town goes completely under water, and the threat for others isn't over yet.
PHILLIPS: And even though Andrea doesn't appear to be much of a threat, the subtropical storm is getting hurricane season off to a very early start.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: It is the top of the hour, and first we go to California, where a real-life drama is playing out in L.A.'s famed Griffith Park. The villain, a wildfire that's burned at least 600 acres. The heroes, hundreds of firefighters who have contained about 40 percent of it. But the battle hasn't been easy, as our Ted Rowlands found out on the front lines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can see the Griffith Park Observatory, of course a southern California landmark.
Crews have been working on fighting this fire throughout the day, mainly from the air. They are also using some of these ground-based tankers to try to get as much water as they can on the flames.
It's been a very tricky fight for firefighters. At one point, a group of firefighters were trying to save...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: All right. We just got this videotape in of the president touring the wreckage there in Kansas. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... seen the pictures about what happened here, and the pictures don't do it justice. There is a lot of destruction.
Fortunately, a lot of folks have basements here in this part of the world, and live to see another day. Unfortunately, too many died. And we offer our prayers and condolences to those who died.
I am struck by the strength of the character of the people who live here in the Plains. People who refuse to be -- refuse to have their spirit affected by the storm. As a matter of fact, who are willing to do what it takes to rebuild in a better way.
America is blessed to have such people. And the people here will be -- will find they are blessed to have neighbors who care, total strangers who will come and help them.
Our roles as government officials is to work with the state and local folks to get whatever help is appropriate here, whatever help is in the law, to be here as quickly as possible. My mission is to, today, though -- is to lift people's spirits as best as I possibly can. It's to hopefully touch somebody's soul by representing our country, and to let people know that, while there was a dark day in the past, there's brighter days ahead.
And so I want to thank the governor, I want to thank the senators for being here. Most importantly, I want to thank the people of Greensburg and their neighbors for helping them out.
God bless the people here.
Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The pictures just don't do it justice. You heard from the president of the United States there as he took his first look at the astonishing damage caused by last week's killer tornado, a tornado that roared up to 205 miles per hour.
He actually walked the streets, he heard from the families here that lost everything. He was also able to be briefed on the recovery efforts at a makeshift command center.
You'll remember this tornado spanned 1.7 miles. That twister destroyed an estimated 95 percent of this town, believed to be the fiercest tornado in the United States in at least eight years.
We'll continue to follow the reconstruction efforts, of course, and what's happened to the people there in Kansas.
LEMON: And Kyra, we want to get back to L.A.'s Griffith Park. It was featured in the movie "The Terminator". Now it's facing a real-life villain that's just as merciless. The wildfire is scorching hundreds of acres, but in this drama, the good guys seem to be winning.
CNN's Peter Viles is in the thick of it for us -- Peter.
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly right, Don.
A minute ago, you had a Ted Rowlands report about what the firefighters went through last night. Well, for the record, they had a very good night and they beat this fire back.
It was threatening homes all around Griffith Park, and these are really nice neighborhoods with old, beautiful homes on every side of a very large city park. The firefighters were in those back yards last night trying to make sure that the flames didn't get from the city park to those homes, and they succeeded. Not a single home was lost overnight, not a single life was lost overnight.
They have this thing 40 percent contained. That means 40 percent surrounded. But it's not real active right now. And here's really, really good news.
They had 500 firefighters here last night. They've let 200 of them go. It's just the city fire department here now. That's really good news. They think they have this thing brought under control.
The concern, though, is that sometimes these fires, even if the wind is not blowing -- and it's not blowing right now -- but even if the wind is not blowing, sometimes these fires can literally create their own weather, little, tiny fire tornadoes. And that's sometimes how they get out of control.
This is how one of the fire officials talked about that particular fear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. BRIAN SANDWICK, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPT.: You'll see almost like tornadoes of fire, and that is typical of real unstable conditions, plus the heating and those kinds of things. And those tornadoes spread embers into areas that haven't burned before. If the winds have changed directions, it makes fire pretty much scatter in all different directions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VILES: But again, Don, the very good news, they do appear to have this thing under control, 40 percent contained. No homes in immediate danger. Most of the people evacuated last night can go back to their homes in the surrounding communities.
But last night here in Los Angeles, this was a very big scare. It was a primetime live television event. There were firefighters literally rushing through people's houses to get to the back yard so they could turn around and put water on those houses to save the houses.
And the very good new, as you pointed out, is the firefighters succeeded last night, saved every single one of these homes.
LEMON: And Peter, I'm willing to bet that no one minded that intrusion of firefighters running into their homes.
Peter Viles, thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Joining us now on the phone, a woman who can't wait to get back home and to sleep in her own bed. Bernadette Soter lives in Griffith Park. And of course she's been a part of that organization trying to keep that area safer from wildfires.
Bernadette, why don't you sort of tell me what happened when you first got word that these fires were spreading?
BERNADETTE SOTER, GRIFFITH PARK RESIDENT: Well, when we first heard about it, we immediately came home from the office to see what the dogs were up to and see if they needed rescuing. And when we came home, it looked as if the fire was not particularly threatening to our community.
I live at the top of North Commonwealth. So, what we did is we packed up a few papers, photo albums, put them in the car with the dogs, and took them back to the office.
But when we came home later that day, at the end of the day, it was a different story. It was calm for about the first half hour. And then around 6:30, it was as if a wall of flame had kicked up behind our homes and at the end of our street. It got really dicey.
PHILLIPS: Now, Bernadette, you have lived there for 20 years.
SOTER: Yes.
PHILLIPS: And back when I was a reporter there at KCBS, I had done an investigation on the water hydrants, how it was an antiquated system. There were water hydrants that didn't work, and a lot of you were very afraid of, if, indeed, a wildfire like this happened, it would immediately take out not only your homes, but the observatory, the zoo, the park. It was a huge concern.
What has happened since then -- it's been 10 years since I reported on the lack of water pressure and water in those hydrants.
SOTER: Exactly, Kyra. What happened was that in 1997, pressure from area residents and the (INAUDIBLE) Improvement Association, which is the residential association here, caused the city to take a look at this antiquated water system. It had dated from the '20s.
And as a result of taking a look at it and discussing it, they began a $30 million project that renovated that water system and transferred its management to the L.A. Department of Water and Power, in the hopes that if we had a catastrophic fire, there would be the water there for the firefighters to fight it. And I do believe that is what happened yesterday and today.
PHILLIPS: So, do you think that because of the water hydrants up and running now, firefighters have been able to leak into those various -- or tap into those various areas and fight the fires so that they Don't reach up to your homes or to the observatory, or some of the other key -- even the Greek amphitheater that's located there.
SOTER: Well, that is truly by belief. And I can't imagine what this fire might have been like if it the water system was the antiquated water system that existed before.
PHILLIPS: Well, Bernadette, are you going home soon?
SOTER: Yes, I am going to go home this afternoon.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll stay in touch with you.
Bernadette Soter, appreciate it.
SOTER: Thank you.
LEMON: And we wish all of them well.
And more than 200 fires are burning across some 200,000 acres in Florida. And as if that weren't enough, state is also getting heat from its neighbor. A wildfire in Georgia has crossed state lines, forcing hundreds more people to evacuate.
It's all coming in one of Florida's worst droughts ever, a drought that's quickly drying up Lake Okeechobee.
CNN's John Zarrella is there -- John.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don.
Well, you know, right now, there are 54 fires, 54 counties of the 67 counties in Florida that have active fires burning. And right now, as we speak, Governor Charlie Crist is actually crisscrossing the state, visiting some of the fire-ravaged areas.
So what's causing all these fires? Drought. What better place to show you the examples of the drought that is gripping Florida, right here, Like Okeechobee.
I am standing on what is literally Lake Okeechobee. As far as you can see, grass has grown over what would have been water. A year ago, all of this would have been under water.
You can take a look down here, Don. This is lake bottom, and this is grass that has all started growing up inside of this super nutrient-rich soil that would be at the lake bottom.
Out in the distance out there, that out there, that's a fishing pier. Completely out of water right now.
All across the state, again, fires are burning. And right now, we are in a deepening drought that is threatening all of Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ZARRELLA (voice over): Thunder, lightning and rain. Wonderful rain. It came down hard in south Florida this past weekend, but for all the sound and furry, it did nothing to break or even put a dent in what is fast-becoming what could be the worst drought in the state's history.
Dry conditions have sparked fires. More than 200 are burning from one end of the state to the other.
CAROL WEHLE, SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT: We've been getting rain, but we get like an inch, like little teasers.
ZARRELLA: Carol Wehle heads the South Florida Water Management District. She has never seen it this dry.
Lake Okeechobee is less than nine and a half feet, five feet below normal, and dropping fast. A prime source of drinking water for five million people, the lake is so low water can no longer flow from it.
WEHLE: This is the entire watershed for the Everglades system, is totally dried out.
ZARRELLA: Everywhere you look on and around the lake, water has been replaced by land. Pontoon boats sit high and dry. New islands emerge every day.
For Dave Self, the drought has dried up his business.
DAVE SELF, WYLD WEST ANNUALS: These are pentas. These are a great half-hearty perennial.
ZARRELLA: A nursery owner, Self's business is down 90 percent, about $500,000 in seasonal sales.
(on camera): But nobody is buying.
SELF: Nobody's buying. Even -- you can't give them away. I told people I would be glad to give them some to move them so I don't have the extra labor in it, and they said, "Dave, why should I plant these when I can't keep them alive?"
ZARRELLA (voice over): Can't keep them alive because of ever- tightening restrictions on outdoor water use.
RON PARKINSON, HOMEOWNER: It's not only for the lawn. The lawn is not the most important thing. It's the lake that needs to rise so that we can have water in our homes.
ZARRELLA: Watering twice a week in much of south Florida is going to once a week by Monday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: And water managers tell us that if we don't get some rain very soon, and a lot of it, that those water restrictions may end up to be a total ban on outdoor watering.
Those thunderstorms we showed you, Don, at the top of that piece, well, you know what they did? They only served to spark 25 fires in Florida because of the lightning strikes. Twenty thousand lightning strikes were recorded during those storms that raced across Florida this weekend, and did us no good in breaking this drought -- Don.
LEMON: Oh, yes. And you know what? Florida very rich, fertile, lush, so it's ripe for varmints. What about the alligators? That's a legitimate question.
ZARRELLA: Well, you know -- you know what happens? As soon as the water starts to dry up, we end up seeing alligators under cars, in swimming pool, in people's backyards.
LEMON: Oh man.
ZARRELLA: Because they go looking for water. In fact, yesterday, on the east side of the lake, we saw an awful big alligator in the town of Pahokee, right along the lake. He is at least 12 feet, maybe bigger than that. Just kind of wandering around out there in the lake, looking for something to eat -- Don.
LEMON: Oh my gosh.
John Zarrella, thank you, sir.
And we heard about the fires there in Florida. We're going to take you back live now to Griffith Park. This is courtesy KABC. Hundreds of acres burning there. The good news, 40 percent contained.
Let's hope those winds don't shift and cause trouble for firefighters there. Our Jacqui Jeras is going to stay on top of that, update us on the fires, the winds, and the first named storm in the Atlantic a little bit later on. She's checking it out now.
PHILLIPS: Gone without a trace. A former FBI agent disappears in Iran, but Iran pleads ignorance. Now in an interview you'll see only on CNN, Robert Levinson's wife is speaking out.
That's next.
And we're standing by for the latest announcement on interest rates from the Fed. Susan Lisovicz has those numbers for us in just a few moments.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS REPORT)
LEMON: We want to get you back to the newsroom and Fredricka Whitfield. She's working on the details of a developing story out of Dulles Airport. We reported it earlier.
What do you have new for us, Fred?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Don, it's unclear exactly how many people were inconvenienced out of Dulles, going in and out of Dulles International Airport because of smoke and fumes that were reported in the main control tower. The fumes and the smoke apparently were apparently so bad that a number of controllers had to be treated on the scene. Others were actually taken to the hospital.
Well now, about four hours after we first reported it to you, we are now being told that the control tower is up and running. Hopefully, all the flights in and out Dulles International Airport will soon get on schedule. What's still unclear, Don, is exactly what the source of that smoke and fumes was in the main control tower.
LEMON: Wow. We would like to find that out.
WHITFIELD: We will today.
LEMON: Hopefully we will find out soon. Yes. OK, Fredricka. Thank you so much.
It is 20 minutes past the hour. Here are two of the stories we are working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It's been a tough fight, but the good guys appear to be winning. Firefighters have a 600-acre wildfire at L.A.'s famed Griffith Park about 40 percent contained. Hundreds of people who fled their homes are now being allowed back in.
Should Gitmo shut its gates? The House Defense Subcommittee is pondering that question today. Chairman John Murtha says closing the U.S. prison camp for terror suspects might improve America's standing around the world.
When we come back, gone without a trace. A former FBI agent disappears in Iran, but Tehran pleads ignorance. Now, in an interview you'll see only on CNN, Robert Levinson's wife is speaking out.
That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, retired FBI agents don't just vanish, but its' now been two months since anyone has seen or heard from Robert Levinson, last seen on a resort island off Iran. Levinson's worried wife spoke exclusively today to CNN's Jill Dougherty. And Jill joins us now from Washington.
What did she have to say, Jill?
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, you know, it's amazing, but she really doesn't know what happened to him. The Iranians say they don't know what happened, that he has not been arrested, they have no information. And the United States, the State Department, says they don't know. So it's really turned into a pretty much of a mystery, Don. We did an interview, by the way, with Christine, Christine Levinson, this morning, an exclusive interview. And here is some of what she said her family is going through.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE LEVINSON, MISSING AMERICAN'S WIFE: I have been telling my children to take it one day at a time. That daddy will be home as soon as he can, and try to get each day -- through each day, and, you know, just keep going on. Because we don't want to disappoint him, we don't want to have to look back when he comes home. We want to move forward.
And that's the way we've been doing it, but it's been a nightmare. Every day, one of my children cries. And my son had a baseball game on Monday. He's 13 years old. And after the game was over, it was very late and we were going on, and he said, "Can we stop for ice cream?"
And I said, "No, it's late." And he started crying, because he said, "Daddy would always say yes." So it's very difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOUGHERTY: So, Mrs. Levinson said that she did know his schedule. At least she had that. That he called in every single day, as he always did. But the day he disappeared he did not call in, and they figured something had happened.
He was supposed to be there in Iran. It's called Kish Island. He was supposed to be there for only for a day. And now, again, no information.
She's actually -- Don, she's put this on a Web site that people can log on to. And also, she has written to the president of Iran.
LEMON: Yes, she has written to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
What does she hope to accomplish from this letter, if anything? Obviously, to get her husband back. But what is she hoping to get from Ahmadinejad?
DOUGHERTY: Well, I think she told us that she feels that he must know something, that somebody must know something. He is already written to the American public several months ago, talking about compassion, et cetera. And she is saying, "We need some compassion, we need to get my husband back."
LEMON: Yes. And sometimes the worst thing is just not knowing.
Jill Dougherty, thank you so much. We look forward to your complete report on it. Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a plea from death row in Iraq. A first-of-its-kind look inside an Iraqi women's prison. Arwa Damon joining us live straight ahead right here in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hello, everyone. I am Kyra Phillips live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. A desperate situation even in a country that has no shortage of desperation. We will take you to a women's prison in Baghdad, where being condemned to death means condemned to weekly trauma. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It is one of those unannounced visits in Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney turning up in Baghdad for a meetings with Iraq's prime minister, it's president, military commanders and also troops. Insurgents got their own point across with an explosion, supposedly a mortar round in the green zone, but no body was hurt. Cheney says he told Iraqi leaders U.S. patience is running out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did make it clear that we believe that it is very important to move on the issues before us in a timely fashion and that any undue delay would be difficult to explain and that we hope they would approach these issues with all deliberate dispatch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, there is nothing new about Iraq's latest suicide bombing except the location, Irbil, the relatively peaceful capital of Iraq's Kurdish region. A suicide attacker killed at least 14 people outside the Kurdish interior ministry. Almost 90 people are hurt. Rescuers are combing the rubble hoping to find more survivors.
PHILLIPS: You're about to see a place where television cameras have never been. CNN received exclusive access to a maximum security prison in a country that ranks fourth in the world for executing inmates, the country is Iraq. The prison is for women only. And as you can probably imagine, the stories that inmates tell are riveting and heart-breaking, reflecting the utter chaos and sadness that paints Iraq today. Here's CNN's Arwa Damon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Death row in the Kadnia (ph) Women's Prison in Baghdad. Samar Sa'ed Abdullah (ph) has been here two years.
SAMAR SA'ED ABDULLAH, ON DEATH ROW (through translator): I don't sleep at all on Wednesdays. I stay up from morning to the night, because that is the day they pick for executions. So I stay scared all day.
DAMON: The warden initially tells Samar to hide her face before talking to us. She was sentenced to death by hanging for being an accessory to the murder of three members of her uncle's family. She swears she's innocent. Terrified of being executed. S. ABDULLAH: Give me life in prison; even 20 year, I don't care, anything but this.
DAMON: What Samar doesn't know is that the appeal against her sentence has already failed. Her family hasn't had the courage to tell her.
HANA'A ABDUL HAKIM, SAMAR'S MOTHER (through translator): I couldn't tell her. I was afraid she would do something to herself.
DAMON: Her father sold everything he had to defend her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I thought she was guilty, I swear I wouldn't go see her. I swear I have nothing left that I didn't sell. My house, my car, my belongings.
DAMON: Her mother, Hannah (ph), shows us pictures of Samar with the cousin she is accused of helping to kill. Hannah tells us, Samar had become involved in a relationship with a young man, Saif (ph). At first, the family didn't approve of the romance, but eventually relented.
Then one night, three months later, Saif (ph) duped Samar, the family says, into taking him to her wealthy uncle's house. According to her mother, Saif locked Samar in the kitchen and killed her uncle, aunt, and cousin. Then, he came looking for Samar.
HAKIM (through translator): He came in and dragged her from here. From her collar and hit her. She had marks here. He put a gun to her head, said take me to your uncle's room and get me the money and the gold.
DAMON: He took off with less than $1,000 after allegedly threatening to kill Samar and her family if she went to the authorities. Samar was arrested by the Iraqi police the next day. Her mother said she was brutally abused.
HAKIM (through translator): She didn't confess. It was from the beating they gave her. She was bleeding. She finally said, write what you want, just stop.
DAMON: In court documents, provided by Samar's lawyer, Ailiya Zaowi (ph), she admits going to her uncle's house to steal. But she told the court she only confessed after being tortured. Samar's testimony in court mirrors what her mother told us. That she was duped by her husband. The court file says in reaching the verdict the judges disregarded Samar's court testimony.
S. ABDULLAH (through translator): The judge didn't hear me out. He refused to hear anything I had to say.
DAMON: Under Iraq law, the court should have investigated her claim to confession under torture. The higher judicial council in Iraq did not answer CNN's multiple attempts to get a response. She may not know it but with her appeal rejected, Samar is out of legal options.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The judiciary is no longer involved. Nothing can be done unless new evidence comes to light, which is unlikely.
DAMON: But some are not giving up on Samar Abdullah. In a run- down building in Baghdad, the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq, is fighting for her life. Dalal Rubaie is leading the effort to save her. The organization has already had two successes. Fatima Mash (ph), who was sentenced to death, confessing to murder after she says she was tortured.
DALAL RUBAIE, WOMAN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: She had her fingernails pulled out. Hung from the ceiling, they took pictures of her naked while she was hanging. They cuffed her to a bed and raped her.
DAMON: Fatima drafted a letter detailing her plight. The women delivered it to the government and made it public on the Internet. She is now awaiting a retrial.
Now, Samar's parents are working with Dalal to fight for Samar's life.
HAKIM: The judge said to her, "What are you a sheep or something?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I thought she was guilty --
DAMON: Her mother has written a letter to Iraq's president, begging for a pardon. Never knowing if the next Wednesday will be Samar's last.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Arwa Damon, now, joining us live from Baghdad.
Arwa, I know you have been working on this piece for a really, really long time. Tell us how you met her, how you came across the story. Why you wanted to pursue this?
DAMON: Well, Kyra, as blatantly is obvious, we were inside the prison, and happened to stumble against Samar in the sewing room. And the warden that was with us was rattling off a list of names.
A woman who was there, and actually one of the producers who was with me, Jamana Harachi (ph) recognized Samar's name and said, oh, my God, that is one of the girls on death row. We actually originally been denied access to them. So, we managed to catch a few minutes with her while she was still in jail. Then she slipped us her father's phone number. And through him we were able to contact her lawyer, get involved in the women's organization, we had also happened to have met in prison that day.
But as you mentioned, this something that has really been coming together for about a month now.
PHILLIPS: Where is her husband? How does he play into all this?
DAMON: Well, her husband has basically disappeared. No one who we spoke to knew where he was. He is essentially a fugitive from the law right now. They are still technically looking for him. But the reality is, as you well now know, that the Iraqi security forces are just ill-equipped to try to hunt down someone who is wanted for murder. They are just too busy dealing with all of the other security aspects here.
PHILLIPS: So, final question, Arwa, what do you think is going to happen? How long could this take? If indeed her husband somehow came forward, is he the one that could lead to her freedom?
DAMON: Well, if the husband came forward this -- and is one of the things that her lawyer pointed out -- technically the case would go to a re-trail. That would be considered new evidence coming forward.
If his testimony, in fact, cleared Samar's name, if he testified that he did force her to take him to her uncle's house, that would clear her of all of the charges. But as everyone has pretty much said to us, that is highly unlikely. So pretty much her only chance right now is a presidential pardon.
We have been in touch with the Iraqi government and her file is not yet at the presidency council. The Woman's Organization's next step is going to be delivering Samar's mother's letter to the authorities, hoping that perhaps she will be granted this pardon.
PHILLIPS: I know you'll have another piece for tomorrow. You are working on a number of pieces, obviously, within this prison. What will we see tomorrow?
DAMON: Tomorrow, really, we are going to be taking an in-depth look at the other women that are held behind bars at this same facility. There are about 162 of them; and 16 of them have children with them under the age of three. So, tomorrow, we will be bringing you those stories.
And also, something that we did find out. That is that, in fact, just under half of them are not prisoners. They are still detainees and that some of have been waiting to see a trial just to get to court for about two years.
PHILLIPS: Arwa Damon, thanks so much. And thanks to your producer Jamana (ph). We look forward to the second part.
DAMON: Thank you.
LEMON: Crossing state lines: Georgia's wildfires are now spreading into Florida. Is relief on the way? Our Jacqui Jeras has the latest straight ahead, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right there, is the newsroom, and Fredricka Whitfield, she's working on a developing story for us.
What do you have, Fred?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Well, Don, in Detroit, Michigan the search is on for a two year-old boy that has been missing since last night.
The little boy, you're seeing the picture right now, Troy Squalls. He's two years old, about three and a half feet, weighing 32 pounds, black brads, brown eyes. Last seen wearing a yellow and blue short set. And apparently he was with his mother last night, when his mother got into some alleged confrontation with a man. This man allegedly took off with this child, with Troy.
And the van that this little boy was last seen in with this man is a gold-colored minivan, which may possibly be a Chevrolet Astro van. It is unclear whether police are willing to give the identity of this alleged suspect, the man who has this child. But they are willing to at least give a description of the little boy. So, if anyone out there, in the Detroit area, recognizes that little boy, Troy Squalls, to call authorities, so that help can be on the way. So, that little boy can be reunited with his mother.
LEMON: Yes, certainly. It's good we have a picture. He is a cute little guy. If we can get his picture back up. If you've seen this. What is it? Troy Squalls?
WHITFIELD: Troy Squalls, two years old, 32 pounds, last seen wearing a yellow and blue short set. And may be in a gold minivan, which could be a Chevrolet Astro van.
LEMON: All right. Fredricka Whitfield, we hope they find him. Thank you so much.
PHILLIPS: Hurricane season is still three weeks away, but we already have our first named storm of the year. Jacqui Jeras is tracking it in the CNN Weather Center.
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LEMON: You know the gaff President Bush made with Queen Elizabeth the other day, 1776 -- uh, 1976. Well, she had a comeback last night. As she said farewell to America. We have quotable quotes, Kyra, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm A.J. Hammer in New York.
Paris Hilton is trying to avoid her prison sentence. We're going to tell you what she's planning, that is next in the NEWSROOM.
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LEMON: Jail-bound Paris Hilton. I can't believe I said that in the same sentence. Paris Hilton is going to jail. Well, she has proven she is no legal eagle, but she can certainly hire a few, she's got enough bucks. It looks like she may have someone new on her team, to tell us about that A.J. Hammer, live in New York for us.
Does she have a new attorney?
HAMMER: This is the latest word coming from the celebrity bloodhounds over at TMZ, Don. That Hilton may in fact be pulling a bait and switch with her legal counsel. While well-known criminal defense attorney Howard Whitsman remains technically the attorney of record for Hilton, the 26-year-old hotel heiress is reportedly now taking meetings with the famed DUI defense lawyer, Richard Hutton.
Hilton is planning to appeal the 45-day jail sentence that was handed down to her on Friday, for violating her probation, Don. But you know, the common wisdom here is she will have no luck with that appeal. So, we'll have to wait and see what happens with that.
LEMON: So, do you think Paris Hilton, A.J., is really going to go to jail?
HAMMER: I think Paris Hilton is really going to jail, Don.
LEMON: I did a little informal poll in the control room here, and about 80 percent of the people said, yes, she should go to jail. She violated the law.
HAMMER: Yes, on "Showbiz Tonight" we took the same poll.
LEMON: Oh, you did?
HAMMER: And about 95 percent saying, yes, she should do the time.
LEMON: OK. Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
HAMMER: Exactly.
OK, O.J. -- O.J.? A.J., from one troubled celebrity to another -- and you'll know why I said that. I understand O.J. Simpson is still commanding strong reactions -- sorry for calling you O.J., I had O.J. on the brain.
HAMMER: It has happened before.
Certainly, it was a shocking and controversial scene, not just now. But when O.J. Simpson was refused service at a Louisville restaurant the night before the Kentucky Derby. I want you to listen to what the restaurant owner had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF RUBY, RESTAURANT OWNER: I said, I am not serving you. And he looked at me just like you are looking at me now, dumbfounded. You know the expression, this look. And I repeated. I said, I'm not serving you.
They all got up and started applauding. When I went back through the restaurant, table after table started getting up applauding me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HAMMER: Restaurant owner Jeff Ruby says that he refused to serve Simpson and his friends, because the attention that Simpson continues to receive makes him sick to his stomach. Ruby says that Simpson got his group together and left, which in his opinion was the first bit of class the Heisman Trophy winner has shown since 1994. Of course, back in 1995, the NFL Hall of Famer was found not guilty of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. But he was, of course, later found liable in the civil suit that followed.
So, O.J. still makes noise wherever he goes.
LEMON: And A.J., the big summer movie season about to happen now. So there was a big premier last night, I understand, in New York. What can you tell us about that? Where you there?
HAMMER: Big stars were turning out for that. I was actually at the big Time 100 party last night, hanging out with some of our colleagues. But Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Lindsey Lohan, all the stars of "Georgia Rule" were at the red carpet premier last night, right here in the Big Apple. The flashbulbs, of course, were firing away as the trio made their way into the historical Ziegfeld Theater.
This was the film's very first official screening. This film was directed by Gary Marshall. It takes a look at the tenuous relationship of between three generations of very opinionated women. "Georgia Rule" is rated R, it will be in theaters on Friday. And you don't have to wait until then to get up close and personal with star, Jane Fonda, because she'll be speaking her mind on tonight's "Larry King Live" right here on CNN.
And make sure you tune in to "Showbiz Tonight" where Paris Hilton's countdown to lockdown continues. Why is Paris Hilton refusing to take responsibility for what she did and just do the time already? It's a heated debate, tonight on TV's most provocative entertainment news hour, at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on Headline Prime.
LEMON: It looks like, A.J., 90 percent of the people agree with you. Why not just do the time already?
HAMMER: Yeah, she has until June 5th to show up, and shut up.
LEMON: All right, we'll see you tonight at 11. Thanks, A.J.
PHILLIPS: She would look good in orange, don't you think, guys?
LEMON: I think she might.
PHILLIPS: A little jumpsuit with some bling?
LEMON: With some bling. A.J. might be doing a little red carpet, or Sibila, or somebody. I don't know. We will have to check it out.
PHILLIPS: Well, Britain's Queen Elizabeth has ended her visit to the colonies with some pay back for President Bush. The queen hosted Mr. Bush at a dinner last night at the British embassy in Washington. During a toast, she poked fun at his slip of the tongue from the day before.
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QUEEN ELIZABETH II, UNITED KINGDOM: Mr. President, I wondered whether I should start this toasting, when I was here in 1776.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you didn't catch it the president had mentioned the queen's trip to America in 1776. What he really meant to say, of course, 1976.
We have just learned of a live new conference coming up at the top of the hour on the fire situation in California. We are going to bring that to you live. We are expecting the mayor, Antonio Villariagoso to speak.
And also, when we come back, your responses to this question: When it comes to high gas prices, what are you doing differently, if anything? Send us your comments. The address is CNNnewsroom@CNN.com.
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PHILLIPS: So, when it comes to high gas prices, what are you doing differently, if anything? Here's a few e-mails that we've received from you.
Kathryn from Toronto says: "I think I invested in a hybrid just in time...accelerating a little slower has saved me so much that my average mileage since I bought the car is 39.9 miles to the gallon. Now to break 40!"
LEMON: And Ronald from Omaha, Nebraska says: "I decided last year to ditch my car and buy a scooter, when prices began rising. My gas cost per week has gone up a few cents. I've decided to give up one bottle of soda per month."
PHILLIPS: Good. That's bad for you. Another viewer writes: "I have not driven my car at all in over three years. I may be the only person out there who is boycotting gas, but the people around me know at least one person has the energy to walk or ride a bike nowadays. I've lost 64 pounds since. And I've saved so much money."
Hey, that's not bad.
LEMON: Aren't you riding your bike to work? You have a pretty short commute. I saw you on --
PHILLIPS: No, I'm skateboarding. Yep, going back to my youth. My G&S skateboard.
LEMON: I'll meet you in the parking lot on a scooter tomorrow, how about that?
PHILLIPS: Sounds good.
LEMON: The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
PHILLIPS: Hello, I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: I'm Don Lemon.
Five levees break and big Lake Missouri goes under. We'll hear from the county about other places at high risk.
PHILLIPS: And we know what he said. It is what he mean that in dispute. Al Sharpton --
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