Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Search for U.S. Soldiers in Iraq; U.S. Death in Pakistan; Former 'Enemy Combatant' Jose Padilla on Trial; Troops Losing Web Links

Aired May 14, 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.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Kyra Phillips today.

It's the U.S. soldier's credo: Never leave a fallen comrade behind.

LEMON: And Betty, this hour, thousands of troops are on the hunt in Iraq for three comrades who have fallen into enemy hands.

You're in the NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: We don't know where they are or what they're condition is, but their comrades want them back. An all-out search for three missing U.S. soldiers in Iraq is now in its third day.

And CNN's Hugh Riminton has the latest now from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Even as the search continues, a taunting message from the al Qaeda-backed Islamic State of Iraq. On an insurgent Web site, "Searching for your soldiers will exhaust you and bring you misery... your soldiers are in our hands. If you want their safety, do not search for them."

Now in its third day, the search around Mahmoudiyah in an insurgent stronghold south of Baghdad known as the Triangle of Death has brought no apparent breakthrough.

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, SPOKESMAN, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: At this time, we believe they were abducted by terrorists belonging to al Qaeda or an affiliated group. And this assessment is based on highly credible intelligence information.

RIMINTON: The capture of U.S. personnel touches the most sensitive nerve in the U.S. military -- the determination to leave no one behind. "We know," says the al Qaeda-based group, "you would rather have your entire army die than have one crusader in captivity."

CALDWELL: We are doing everything we can to locate our soldiers, who did nothing but come here to serve our country and to help the Iraqi people. RIMINTON: It plays here on every American mind.

MAJ. CHIP DANIELS, U.S. ARMY: It's horrible for me to think about what they are going through right now. And I pray that we can figure out where they are at and get them back.

CALDWELL: The three missing men have not been seen since their two-vehicle team was ambushed. Four other U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi were killed at the scene of the predawn attack. Analysts say there is little to no hope of negotiating their release.

PETER NEUMANN, KING'S COLLEGE: Al Qaeda, of all the various insurgent groups in Iraq, they are probably the most fanatical. And it is very unlikely that they can be bought off with money or they can be persuaded to compromise on other terms.

RIMINTON (on camera): The U.S. military says it is receiving cooperation from the Iraqi public. Already, tips from ordinary Iraqis have led to operations against what the military calls targets of interest.

Hugh Riminton, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, this much we know. In Pakistan, a U.S. soldier is dead, but did a Pakistani soldier kill him? An Afghan official says yes, Pakistan says no.

We're going to try to clear things up. We turn to Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr -- Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, it is a bit confusing, still. But here is what we do know.

Earlier today, on that remote border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, there was gunfire. U.S. military officials had gone on to the Pakistani side of the border with Afghan officials. All three countries were meeting to discuss security on the border region.

What we are told is, as the U.S. was leaving that meeting, as troops were standing outside, someone opened up on them. Gunfire was exchanged. When it was all over, there was at least one service member killed, two wounded, and two civilians wounded.

Now, the question was, were they U.S. service members? Our very strong understanding from military sources is that they were. But until family notification is completed, all the United States will officially say is they were members of the NATO security force. But there is, at this point, every reason to believe, in fact, these were U.S. service members. But who opened fire is not clear at this point, whether if it was someone in the Afghan party, the Pakistan party, or some unknown gunman -- Don.

LEMON: CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Thanks, Barbara.

NGUYEN: Well, it's a frightening end to an Alaskan cruise, 248 passengers ordered to lifeboats in the middle of the night after their ship, the Empress of the North, hit some rocks. It was taking on water and beginning to list when dozens of volunteer boats and state ferries rushed to the area known as Icy Strait, which is about 15 miles southwest of Juneau.

By mid-morning, all of the passengers were safely on board other vessels and headed for Juneau. Here is how one fishing boat captain described this rescue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAKE PAINTER, CAPTAIN, EVENING STAR: It's about 1:30 this morning, and we were just finishing up a halibut trip, coming to the inside waters. And we heard them issue a mayday, and they were only five miles from where we were.

So we buzzed over there as quick as we could, got on the scene. They were laying over pretty heavy to one side.

We came alongside. They put 33 passengers on us. About that time another fishing boat showed up. They put a few guys on them. An hour or so later, more people started coming to the scene, and we kind of spread the passengers out amongst everybody and got everybody off the boat safe.

Everybody is really fortunate that they only breached a certain part of the ship, because this water is, you know, frigid cold. If it would have went down, the people -- there's no survival suits. All they have is life jackets, and I wouldn't expect anybody to live more than minute or two in this water.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow.

PAINTER: It was fortunate. The weather was nice. We were on scene, a couple of other boats tended, they were on scene. So, everything worked together in their favor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Now, some of the crew is still aboard that crippled ship, which is en route to Juneau under its own power and under Coast Guard escort. This is the second time in two years the Empress of the North has run aground. Last march, it was in the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington State.

LEMON: His name is Jose Padilla. He's a native born U.S. citizen, a U.S. citizen who was arrested by federal agents, given over to the U.S. military, and held without charges for three and a half years in the government's war on terror. Well, today he is on trial. He is in federal court on far lesser charges than the government long alleged.

With more on that story, CNN's Susan Candiotti live for us in Miami -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.

It's a case that has taken five years to come to trial. Gone are the allegations from the government's case that Jose Padilla was setting out to detonate radioactive bombs inside the United States. Instead, the government now says Padilla and two other defendants were planning a violent jihad outside of the United States.

And in opening statements this day, the government said that Padilla and two other people were providing money, were providing equipment, and were providing recruits to fight this so-called violent jihad in Chechnya and in Lebanon. In other places, as well. And furthermore, they claim that Padilla volunteered himself, as the prosecutor said, to "train with terrorists."

They say they will present evidence by way of a form called the Mujahideen data form that they say Padilla filled out to "train with terrorists." This was a form completed in the year 2000, and the government says that Padilla filled it out to "... prove that he supported al Qaeda..." and that he told other people he wanted to be where the action was.

Now, as part of the government's evidence, they say they will bring forward someone who has already pleaded guilty to participated in the Lackawanna cell -- the Lackawanna Six, you might recall that case from back in 2002 -- someone the government says attended the same training camp in Afghanistan, but a year after Padilla did, to simply come firm the type of form that Padilla filled out.

Now, so far, we have not heard opening statements from Jose Padilla's defense attorney, but we did from one of the other co- defendants, and that lawyer says that the government has absolutely no evidence that his client or anybody else, for that matter, provided any kind of support to al Qaeda, nor were they associated with al Qaeda. But instead, that his client was simply providing humanitarian relief to people in Lebanon and to Chechnya, for example.

And Don, this trial will last quite some time. It's expected to go at least four months.

Back to you.

LEMON: Susan Candiotti in Miami.

Thank you, Susan.

NGUYEN: It is a critical day on that wildfire front. Almost 250 fires burning across Georgia and Florida. Hundreds of people are out of their homes, and many more could be as well, and it all depends on which way the wind blows.

CNN's John Zarrella joins us now. He's with fire crews in Lake City.

Now, we talked to you over the weekend. I could barely see you with all the smoke. Does this mean there's been improvement today?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, certainly improvement from the standpoint of the motorists.

You know we had I-75 closed over the weekend, the north-south corridor. We had Interstate 10, the east-west corridor, closed down over the weekend. So, from that standpoint, yes, the wind picked up and it's blown the smoke away. Although, in the distance behind me, you can see sort of a haze, and that's out there back in the distance, you know, 10 miles or so from here, where the fires are.

But you know, they say white smoke is a good thing, and that's what firefighters like to see. And all that out there looks white. It's not black smoke. So that's very good news.

And I guess you could say, on the other hand, no news is good news, as well. We had a briefing about 10:00 this morning, where fire officials were telling us, they were a little bit concerned about the high winds maybe picking up this afternoon, the humidity coming down, which would make fire-fighting more difficult.

A little bit concerned about that, as they described some of the efforts they put in yesterday to prepare for today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

And we'll start out this morning with the incident commander from the Southern Area Incident Management blue team, Mike Quesinberry -- Mike.

MIKE QUESINBERRY, SOUTHERN AREA INCIDENT MANAGEMENT: Good morning.

As of yesterday afternoon, late, we have completed the tractor lines around the fire. We've still got a lot of unburned areas between the fire edge and the containment lines, so we are still going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 percent containment today, because none of these lines out on the west side or the north side have been tested yet.

But we were able to accomplish burnout from the lines all the way around the west side of the fire, up into the Pinhook Swamp. We've got about a mile area in the north end of the Pinhook Swamp that wasn't conducive to burnout last night, so we have got about a mile that hasn't got a burnout edge around the fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: So, now that's the one concern, that swamp there where they weren't able to do a burnout, literally, a back burn so they could basically build a perimeter between themselves and the fire line, up to where that fire line is, burn everything out. So if there isn't any fuel on the ground for the fire to burn, and then it will just basically die out right there. So that's the one area they are concerned about. But if they can get up to that 50 percent containment or above that 50 percent containment, heck of a lot better than where they were yesterday, at 15 percent containment. So, if the winds cooperate as they've been saying today, and don't get as bad as they thought, then maybe they'll be out of the woods, so to speak, come this afternoon, or tomorrow.

And again, Betty, as we've been saying all day, the next couple of hours now between 1:00 and 4:00, the critical time when you get this heating, the sun, the wind picks up, the ground heats up, that's when you have the chance for the real flare-ups out there. But so far no news is good news. We haven't heard anything about any new flare- ups -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, we're going to be knocking on wood around here. And just looking at that map, all the red showing where the fire has burned, it is just a huge fire that they are dealing with.

John, thanks so much for that. We'll stay on top of this.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

Now, what all those areas need? Obvious, rain. So, when is it going to happen?

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: It is the end of the road for one of the least successful mergers in automobile history. Car maker Chrysler is getting a new boss. We'll break for details, of course, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Nice. Nice.

Also, this space is MySpace. This space is your space, unless you are in the U.S. military. We have details on an Internet crackdown.

That is ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is 17 past the hour here. Three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Battling flames and also the elements. High winds could fan the huge wildfires that are scorching Georgia and also Florida. And more evacuations may be on the way.

The U.S. government says he held support -- he helped support terrorists. His lawyers say he was denied his rights and tortured. Opening statements are under way in Miami in the terror conspiracy trial of Jose Padilla. He was once accused of plotting to set off radioactive dirty bombs, but that is no longer part of that case.

Glad to be off the cruise. Two hundred and forty-eight passengers have been evacuated from the Empress of the North, which ran aground off the Alaskan coast. Dozens of volunteer boats helped rescue them. The ship is now limping its way to port.

NGUYEN: Well, they are on duty, but not online. Not anymore, anyway.

Starting today, many U.S. troops around the world will be cut off from popular Web sites, including MySpace and YouTube.

To tell us why, here is CNN Internet Correspondent Jacki Schechner.

What's this all about, Jacki?

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Hi, Betty.

We saw a memo turn up online from the Department of Defense, basically saying they are blocking access to what they are calling Internet entertainment sites on all of the computers that are Department of Defense networks and computers. So, these are official military business computers.

We're talking about some 13 sites. Some of them you've heard of -- YouTube, MySpace, MTV.com.

Now, we have seen partial restrictions before. The multinational forces in Iraq say that they have been blocking streaming video and audio sites for some time, that these are on military computers, official computers that soldiers do still have access to these sites through networks that as are scattered throughout Iraq and are not official military networks. But this is the very first time that we're seeing the Department of Defense cracking down on this worldwide.

We're talking about some five million computers here that are not going to be able to access these sites. They say the reason is twofold, Betty.

That, one, it's a security concern. Any time you visit a Web site, they want to make sure that they are blocking access to certain sites. They also say they want to make sure that military bandwidth is being used for military purposes.

And if you think about it, that's actually true of a lot of businesses. They want to make sure that you are doing work at work on your work computer.

NGUYEN: All right, but let me ask you this: Doesn't the multinational forces have their own YouTube page?

SCHECHNER: They actually do. They started a multinational force page back in March. They said the idea was to reach out to a younger crowd and to get the story of the war out from their perspective.

They post videos and information on this YouTube site. I'll see if I can play this video here for you. But what they say is that the site is maintained through a computer system that is not an official military network computer system. It's one of the other ones they are talking about. So, they will continue to update it and maintain it through that separate network, and, of course, soldiers will have to use those networks to access it. They can't do it from their DOD computers or networks.

NGUYEN: All right. So, with all these new rule that as are out now, that they can't go on certain sites, 11 of them, I believe, I imagine a lot of military types do use these sites. I mean, you can put your pictures up, you can talk to your family. It's just easy that way.

SCHECHNER: Yes, they do. We were trying to get numbers. It's tough to narrow it down to how many people in the military are using these sites, but we do know that MySpace has 176 million users worldwide, and we know that YouTube, because it is so easy to upload and share video, is the top online video site right now on the Internet.

So, we know that it's being used heavily, and the easy access of it is making it very appealing to share war stories. But the thing is, that they have to be able to use these from computers that are not officially DOD computers. So that's where they can send their photos, their videos.

The military is not saying, don't send information home. What they are saying is, don't use your work computer for something that's not work.

NGUYEN: So you can use your personal computer.

SCHECHNER: Of course.

NGUYEN: But the question is, are you -- do you have access to one if you are on the front lines? You Don't have access to one.

SCHECHNER: Well, they do have some access. They say that there is a part of the Department of Defense that is like a morale department, and they do provide networks that are not official military networks. So there is some access.

I would assume that it is limited for some, but others do have extensive access. They were telling me this morning that some of these soldiers have access in their trailers in their barracks.

NGUYEN: All right. Jacki Schechner, we appreciate it. Thank you.

SCHECHNER: Sure. Any time.

LEMON: It is the end of the road for one of the least successful mergers in automobile history. Car maker Chrysler is getting a new boss.

And again, we brake for details straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A peculiar thing is happening at the post office. Two cent stamps have suddenly become very popular.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen in for Kyra Phillips today.

End of the road. Daimler pulls over and Chrysler pulls out.

LEMON: And Ali Velshi has Wall Street's reaction to the automaker's sale, and hear what Chrysler workers have to say about it, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Well, there's no single formula to greener cars and cleaner air, but President Bush says 20 and 10 is a start. Mr. Bush says reducing the nation's gas consumption by 20 percent over the next ten years is definitely doable. And today, he explained that. He'll be asking cabinet changes to make some changes that won't need congressional approval.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, U.S. PRESIDENT: So, today, I'm directing the EPA and the Department of Transportation, Energy and Agriculture to take the first steps towards regulations that would cut gasoline consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, using my 20 and 10 plan as a starting point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: The president unveiled the 20 and 10 plan in his State of the Union address back in January, if you recall. And among other things, it extends the tax credit to people who improve their home's energy efficiency. That can mean installing new windows, adding insulation, things like that. The plan also seeks a big boost in the use of alternative fuels and higher fuel standards for new vehicles rolling off the assembly line.

LEMON: And, Betty, a capital management firm is buying the keys to Chrysler. In a deal announced today in Germany, America's number three automaker is getting scooped up for a fraction of what it went for, just a decade ago.

CNN's Ali Velshi reports on that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is one of those breakups that everybody involved thinks is for the best. Ten years, almost, after the merging of Daimler and Chrysler, well, now they are going their separate ways. Daimler-Chrysler, the German corporation, will now be called Daimler AG. And Chrysler Corporation, the U.S. organization, will be called Chrysler Holding.

Chrysler has been bought out by a private equity firm, Cerberus Capital Management. This is a company that is headed by former U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow. The cost? Seven and a half billion, almost, and that's a big discount for what Daimler paid for Chrysler in 1998. Now, here is the thing. This private equity firm thinks that it can do more with this company than Daimler-Chrysler could have. And Diamler-Chryler was getting pressure from it's shareholders anyway to unload the U.S. operation because its been losing money.

Chrysler in the U.S. has some strengths, it owns the minivan market. It's done pretty well with its small SUVs and had some design successes with things like the Chrysler 300. But it is still heavily dependent on trucks. It needs to move away with that, especially with gas at the price it's been selling at.

The union, the UAW, is supporting this deal, saying it is the best deal that the workers could have got from one of the companies that as was bidding on Chrysler Corporation. So, all-in-all, we have a deal that Chrysler Corporation her in America, what's going to be called Chrysler Holdings, can live with. Daimler-Chrysler, and it's shareholders in Germany, seem to be happy with, and a private company thinks it has a deal that it can turn around and make some money out of.

One quick thing about Cerberus Corporation, this is the private equity firm that bought Chrysler, it also owns General Motors Acceptance Corporation, GMAC, the finance arm of GM. Which GM had to sell it last year just to get some cash. So, now this company will own a finance arm of a company, and a car company, that's something they can work to make more valuable for them. They don't have to answer to shareholders, and that might help them turn this company around over a slightly longer period of time. All-in-all, generally good news for the auto industry in the United States.

In Auburn Hills, I'm Ali Velshi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Alright, Ali. We've heard from the executives about the Chrysler sale, but what are the workers saying? Rachel Bianco from our affiliate, WVIE in Detroit, talked with workers during shift change, and she found out some of them feel sold out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RACHEL BIANCO, CNN CORRESPONDENT FROM WVIE (voice over): Shift change at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant (ph). Workers leaving behind what they know, no choice but to embark on yet another new beginning.

WALLY FORBES, CHRYSLER EMPLOYEE: I don't think it's fair. We've been -- we got sold by Eaton, now we're getting sold out by Deeter. What's that going to say, that the next company that's going to sell us out?

DENISE CIMEOT, CHRYSLER EMPLOYEE: We get sold twice in a ten- year span, that's scary.

BIANCO: They say what's even more frightening, is the buyer, Cerberus, a private equity firm with a reputation of quickly and drastically cutting the work force of troubled companies.

CIMEOT: We don't, you know, how long this is going to last until they start chopping the place down. That was our fear, you know, you buy the company, start going in pieces, and, we don't know.

BIANCO: Chrysler's CEO says no additional cuts are planned beyond the 13,000 announced in February. In addition, Chrysler will retain $19 billion in pension and health care costs. UAW President Ron Getlefinger has voiced strong opposition to private equity firms, but surprisingly, he says Cerberus is the best choice for the nation's 50,000 hourly workers.

GREG JONES, CHRYSLER EMPLOYEE: I was shocked. I was very shocked. I didn't think that Getlefinger would do that, I didn't think he would give it the okay.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And that was Rachel Bianco from our affiliate in Detroit WDIV. The Daimler-Chrysler website says the Warren Truck Assembly Plant has more than 3,700 employees.

Betty?

NGUYEN: We are getting some new video into CNN of that cruise ship that ran aground in Alaska. Going to show you the pictures as they come into us. Right here, there you see it. That is the ship that ran aground overnight this morning, some 248 passengers on board. It is called the Empress of The North, those passengers had to be evacuated. It was discovered that this ship actually, despite the damage that it had to it, was able to move on its own power, into port, but it is being escorted by the coast guard there.

The oil tank was breached on this ship, and, again, it's called the Empress of The North it is heading into port, obviously an investigation is going to be under way because as of March of last year, this same ship, which was built to resemble a Mississippi River paddle boat slammed into a sand bar while cruising the Columbia River. And, in that incident, one of the sister ships were able to get all the passengers off. But it also ran aground in the Columbia River in 2003, as well, and that was just blamed on human error. So we don't know what happened to cause it to run aground today. But it is heading back into port and an investigation will be underway.

LEMON: Amazing to see because it looked like a river boat. When you looked at it.

NGUYEN: Yes. A paddle boat.

LEMON: Okay. Well, this is very graphic, what we're going to show you. Graphic video that may be too disturbing for some to watch, it was disturbing for me to watch. It's a 91-year-old man, he was attacked. What the victim is saying now about the man accused.

NGUYEN: Oh, man.

LEMON: I know. Do you see that?

The man accused in this beating. We're going to show you that. Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Okay, from Detroit. I have to warn you, these are pretty horrifying images, of a 91-year-old man beaten for his car. Some viewers may find it too disturbing to watch, and we get the story from Derick Dennis of CNN affiliate, WDIV in Detroit.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DERICK DENNIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Ninety-one-year- old Leonard Simms reacts to seeing the man who hit him, pounded him in the face over and over again, finally brought to justice. The arraignment of his suspected attacker beamed into Simms's living room.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The fact that the complaining witness is a senior citizen.

DENNIS: Twenty-two-year-old, Denonte Bradley, (ph) formally charged with felony car jacking and assault for the brutal and vicious beating of Simms in the middle of the public car jacking caught on tape.

LEONARD SIMMS, VICTIM: If he wanted the car, he could have grabbed the keys and taken off. Not to beat.

DENNIS: But that's exactly what Simms said Bradley did, using the side of his face like a punching bag, literally trying to knock his block off. And let's not forget the people caught on tape standing by, watching this beating go down, not one person bothering to help. Still, Simms has a message for the suspect.

SIMMS: Turn his life around. Go to school. Learn a trade. Get a job. And work for his living. Not steal it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Awful.

LEMON: Unbelievable. A police report says after the suspect took off in Simms' car, several bystanders did call 911 to help the victim.

NGUYEN: Yes, but all those that were standing there while he was being beaten, that is incredible.

Two people killed, two others wounded today, in a bank robbery near Birmingham, Alabama. The two people killed were bank employees. One was pregnant. The Birmingham News reports the gunman went into Wachovia branch in Bessemer (ph), just after it opened, passed a line of customers and then started shooting tellers. Deputy's's say the gunman was holding a gun to a female hostage's head as he made his getaway. At that point, he tripped and Deputies were able to shoot him. There's no word on his condition.

LEMON: They are no crash test dummies. No, they're not. Three vehicles are named top safety picks. The results, strait ahead, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, he usually makes people laugh, but police in Florida are not laughing at a former Saturday Night Live star. Plus, Kristie Alley might not live in Kansas anymore, but her heart is still there. And a new Trump is in town. "Showbiz Tonight's" Sibilia Vargas here with the scoop on all that. I know you've got all those three stories, but what is going on with Tracy Morgan? Man on man.

SIBLIA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: A little bit of hot water, for sure. A female D.J. in Florida is not happy with the NBC star. Disk jockey, Uleka Castro, (ph) filed a misdemeanor battery complaint against the comedian. Castro says the sitcom star groped her at a south Florida radio station last Friday.

She also claims the former Saturday Night Live cast member smelled of alcohol when he touched her shoulders and arms and then he kissed her on the back of her head. She says she tried to push him away and that Morgan was eventually escorted out of the studio. The morning show D.J. who is on-air name is Sandy Domingo said she filed a complaint because she felt violated and dirty. The Brouward County (ph) state attorney's office will determine whether to file charges and meanwhile, Morgan's attorney says his client is not yet prepared to speak. And Morgan's Friday and Saturday nigh shows at the Improv Comedy Club, in Coconut Grove, were canceled.

Now, for some good news. Some tornado victims from Kansas are getting a helping hand from one of their own, actress Kristie Alley. The former Cheer's star is paying for truckloads of supplies for the survivors and their animals. Many are still recovering from the tornado that nearly destroyed the south central Kansas town of Greensburg. The actress, who is a native of Wichita, arrived there on Thursday plans on being in the town of Greensburg for the next several days.

Lots of pomp and circumstance for Donald Trump over the weekend. Just 14 months after his wife, Melania, gave birth, the new daddy became a granddaddy. His son, Donald Trump Jr, and wife, Vanessa, became parents on Saturday, in New York. Their baby girl, Ky Madision, weighed in at 6 pounds and 14 ounces. Trump Sr. says being a granddad is terrific. Not something he necessarily had in mind, but it feels very nice, he says. Well, tonight on "Showbiz Tonight," a Paris Hilton smackdown. One of Hollywood's most powerful mothers gives Paris a hard reality check about going to jail. And even Patty Hearst has choice words for Paris, that's right, Patty Hearst. The inside story on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, that's "Showbiz Tonight," at 11:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on headline prime. See you there.

LEMON: That would be "Showbiz Tonight" at 11:00 eastern. Did you say ... VARGAS: ... you got it?

LEMON: ... a smackdown, Sibila?

VARGAS: Smackdown. You're not want to going to miss it.

LEMON: I'll be watching the smackdown, and you, as well. Thank you.

NGUYEN: Who doesn't love a good smackdown?

Speaking of smackdowns, three vehicles top the industry's new list of safe cars after all these crash tests. The 2007 Acura MDX SUV, the 2008 Mercury Sable and the 2008 Ford Taurus are named top safety picks by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They scored highest in combined test of frontal, side and rear impacts. The top safety pick awards go to vehicles that score highest and have electronic stability control.

LEMON: I can see new a Sable or Taurus ...

NGUYEN: As long as it is safe.

LEMON: As long as it's got wheels on it and it moves, right?

NGUYEN: And gas saving, especially these days.

LEMON: From north to south, east to west, Florida wildfires have clogged two major traffic arteries, speaking of cars. We check in with the highway patrol for an interstate update, straight ahead right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fire in California, massive flooding in the midwest and a major tornado wipes a town off the map. Our I-Reporters sent us amazing video and pictures, and you can find it online at CNN.com.

First, we can't forget the tragedy in Greensburg, Kansas when a major tornado destroyed everything in its path. Twelve people died in that tragedy. This gallery chronicles the devastation as our I- Reporters sent pictures of cars overturned, trees left bare and buildings completely destroyed.

In California, the story was fire. Bill Wesphal sent us a few pictures of choppers from the L.A. fire department dropping water on the fire consuming the Hollywood Hills. And Glen Nakamura filmed this from his home. The fire, on California's Catalina Island. A resort island about 25 miles from the mainland.

As the waters of the Missouri River rose, flooding many towns near its basin, our I-Reporters documented the devastation. In this photo, by Nikki Harmon-McKim, river waters were as high as the upper deck of this house in Falls City, Nebraska.

You'll find more I-Reports at CNN.com/exchange. I'm Veronica De La Cruz for the dot com desk.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well you may be too busy crying, but if not, you may wonder while you are filling up your gas tank who is taking in all that money you are paying out? I certainly am. CNN's Josh Levs has a reality check for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The prices are being steadily driven up, prompting promises of action, again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm pleased that we have scheduled seven hearings in the House between now and Memorial Day.

LEVS: Meanwhile, where is your money going? Here is the breakdown. Federal and state taxes take 15 to 20 cents of every dollar you spend at the pump. Distribution and marketing takes about 5 to 15 cents. That's money for the gas station. Next, refining, where the big oil companies make a lot of their profits. Refining takes as much as a quarter of every dollar.

These amounts vary, but what generally stays the same is the biggest percentage of all. Crude oil, which takes more than 50 cents of every dollar. The price of crude oil is affected by supply and demand. And set largely by OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world's oil and that puts a production limit on its members to keep prices at a target level. The most prominent member is Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil producer. Oil has long been at the core of U.S.-Saudi relations. Among the twelve countries that make up OPEC, Iran and Venezuela, whose leaders are political enemies of President Bush. OPEC has condemned terrorism. Still, some U.S. lawmakers worry about what happens with the money.

REP. ED MARKEY, (D) MASSACHUSETTS: But the money which is then spent is used by many of these countries to finance the terrorists.

LEVS (on camera): And it is a mammoth sum of money we're talking about. Americans each year use about 140 billion gallons of gasoline.

Josh Levs, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And if you are wondering, gas prices are at a record high, according to AAA.

NGUYEN: You think? No wondering here.

LEMON: The average price of unleaded is $3.07 a gallon. That's a lot. The Lundberg (ph) Survey reported the same price, a week ago. AAA says this is the third year in a row, Betty, that gas prices have surged past $3. That mark, reasons include equipment troubles and planned maintenance at U.S. refineries, and a supply drop of 15 percent since February. I heard in Europe, gas prices are like ...

NGUYEN: Don't tell me.

LEMON: ... seven, eight dollars.

NGUYEN: Ew. I'm going to start riding my bike.

LEMON: Listen, that's true, I ride my bike when I do errands on the weekends.

NGUYEN: But you didn't today!

LEMON: I didn't. I will tomorrow.

NGUYEN: Change our ways. Well, the changing face of America as hoppas join the melting pot. What's a hoppa, you say? Find out in the next CNN NEWSROOM, the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Hey, there everybody, I am Betty Nguyen in for Kyra Phillips at the CNN center right here in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. Fire and wind, a volatile combination that's consumed almost 500,000 acres of bone dry Georgia and Florida.

NGUYEN: Fire crews try to save the houses while they pray for rain. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: It is the top of the hour. Vigilance, the word for the day-long, along the

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com