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Florida Man Charged with Making Threats; 80,000 Jobs Lost in March; Remembering the Mission of MLK Jr.

Aired April 04, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
TONY HARRIS CNN, ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Here's what's on the run-down. Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, in a London hospital this morning. A developing story.

WHITFIELD: And Arkansas turning upside down by twisters. Will severe storms strike the south again today?

HARRIS: April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. gunned down. Dr. King's sister today, Friday, April 4, 2008.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: We want to take you out west in to Tualatin, Oregon. This is a massive house fire taking place. And why this fire is so aggressive right now, fire officials are telling our affiliate KGW that it is difficult to get water to this fire. So, that's why they are having a hard time battling it.

But you see the black smoke, sometimes that's a sign that certain portions of the fire are going out. Meantime, we don't know much about what may have precipitated this fire. We understand, according to our affiliates there that one person who was in the home is being treated for smoke inhalation. We don't know anything more about what other kinds of injuries that might be evolving from this.

But now you can see at least from this new video we're getting, you can see the water hose to the bottom right of the screen, trying to reach it. But, the big picture is this is such a big fire because firefighters are having a real challenge trying to get water to this burning house. This taking place just outside of Portland. We're going to continue to watch the developments today and hope for the best.

HARRIS: Man, oh man. The story today.

Dazed and confused in central Arkansas. At least one fierce tornado ripped threw the Little Rock area last night. Turning homes into rubble, toppling trees, power lines, and tossing small planes around like toys. Just look at what the twister did to the airport in north Little Rock, about 30 single engine planes destroyed. A hangar left in ruins. Fires broke out after the twister ravaged a mobile home park. CNN affiliate KARK reports 50 homes were destroyed. There are no fatalities to report. But at least four people were hurt. The tornado had an emotional impact on many more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I could see at first was -- it is on fire. And there was police everywhere. It was crazy. I couldn't net get to my house. But I had to get to my family. So, I got out and came in the back way in my trailer park. And as soon as I walked in around the fence, there was just - it was a mess.

There was louvers off trailers, there was - whole sheds - I mean pieces of sheds just completely gone. It was just like - and then to where it landed, there were trailers just like - just like completely tipped over.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything was torn up. Bay doors were torn off the buildings. People's houses, their roofs were taken off. I felt the wind literally almost take me off my feet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Off my feet. Almost literally off my feet. You want to see what it looks like? How about this? The twister caught on tape. A dash cam. A police car reported the tornado as it roared through the parking lot of a car dealership. You can imagine the damage there. Powerful snap sending sparks flying Texas.

Also hit hard, thunderstorm from the same system moved through the state, ripping off roofs and toppling trees and power lines in Denton, Texas. Man, oh man, the area was also hit by softball-sized hail.

WHITFIELD: OK, that's huge. How often you hear golf-ball sized?

HARRIS: Dime-sized.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

And you know what, Rob, usually, you know, when you have hail this time of year, it is associated with the twisters or something close to it, right?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Basically in order to get softball-sized hail, it's just inconceivable. You really have to get these huge winds that are going up and down and take these -- hailstones and take them up to the upper levels and then take them out to the lower levels, sweep them up just like a conveyor belt and have that hailstone grow.

You need a super cell thunderstorm to have that sort of circulation that's and those often produce tornadoes. You are right, Fredricka. That exactly What happened. This is where Denton is, just north of Dallas, northwest of Dallas. So, it is the same system that went to Little Rock hard to say if it was the same super cell. They typically don't last that long but nonetheless there's certainly a lot of energy poking around the atmosphere, from Dallas to Little Rock last night.

Thunderstorm watches in effect this morning. For the next couple of hours, so we are watching intently. Some of these cells which have proved to be severe. This one northwest of Huntsville, there was a tornado warning out for this. Doppler indicated tornado. But that has not been reported on the ground and National Weather Service has not reissued or extended that warning.

So, right now, just severe thunderstorm warning with hail and gusty winds expected here. North of Huntsville up through Fayetteville and through parts of Tennessee as this line continues to make its marks off towards the eastern. Tupelo, Mississippi through Huntsville back to Knoxville, a little bit more diffused the father north you there certainly more energy down the south. And that's where we expect most of the severe weather to occur later on today and through the afternoon.

Shreveport, into parts of the parishes of northwest Louisiana, this line has produced some severe weather. And with heavy rain, some of these areas like from Paducah to Memphis, seeing a swath of four to six inches estimated on the Doppler in some cases more than that. So, flooding an issue.

We got flash flood warnings continue to be in effect in and around the Little Rock area. Watches and warnings extend eastward all the way to western Pennsylvania. This is still part of the same system. Rainfall today in Boston, Providence, Bridgeport, we have numerous traffic delays at the airports. Because of all these weather systems. Actually from coast to coast, even San Francisco getting into the act with their typically fog and low cloud.

WHITFIELD: Don't be in a hurry today.

HARRIS: No.

WHITFIELD: Take your time.

MARCIANO: Take you time.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Rob.

MARCIANO: See you guys.

WHITFIELD: All right, you know, Tony issue No. 1 -- your money, your job. And the government says a lot more of you are looking for work. The number is out this morning. Pretty depressing. 80,000 jobs lost last month alone. That's the third straight month of job losses, unemployment now at 5.1 percent. Earlier this week Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress of a possible recession in the first half of this year. HARRIS: Gas prices spiked to a new record. Fred, AAA reporting this morning that regular unleaded is now averaging more than $3.30 a gallon. That is up 22 percent from last year. Speculators getting some of the blame. Several senators say Congress may step actually step in to make it harder to buy high-risk oil contracts.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Race and civil rights, front and center in the presidential politics today. All three candidates are marking the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination. Next hour, Barack Obama talks about King's legacy during a speech in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Obama has made racial unity a theme of his campaign. Hillary Clinton takes part in events in Memphis where King was killed. He is trying to shore up support among African-American voters and Republican nominee-to-be John McCain also in Memphis today.

In about two hours from now he speaks to the southern Christian leadership conference which King helped establish. The King calls his vote in 1983 against the national king holiday a mistake.

HARRIS: A moment frozen in time. Where were you 40 years ago today? Martin Luther King was murdered. A stunned the nation shoved even closer to the edge of chaos. The epicenter, the Lorraine Motel, CNN's Don Lemon is at the Memphis landmark where King was killed.

Wow, Don, you got special guests there. Good morning to you.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, Tony. I was just going to say that, you know, we are having this conversation with black America today. You recognize this face don't you?

HARRIS: Yes, I do. Hey, doctor, good to see you.

LEMON: He doesn't -- he can't hear. He says he knows you recognize him.

HARRIS: Yes. That's an ode to me, very good.

LEMON: Yes, but do you know what they call him, Brother Babe, right?

HARRIS: Yes, I do.

LEMON: So let's -- we are here and if you -- if you are under a rock, you don't recognize this person.

This is Tom Joyner and then Sybil Wilkes his side kick or his co- host, I should say.

TOM JOYNER, RADIO SHOW HOST: She kicks me in the side.

LEMON: But I want to say we are having a conversation today with black America and talking to many people who really have the ear of black America and you -- they hear an earful every single day talking on black radio, urban radio, every day as I said. Tom Joyner. You have been hearing it today. We are talking politics. You had a very sort of heated and strong conversation about whether or not Barack Obama should be here today.

JOYNER: Yes. I think Barack Obama should be here today. I'm not mad at him. So -- I say that because if I -- if I didn't, I get tons and tons of calls and e-mails from my mostly African-American listeners who say I'm hating on Barack Obama. This election has become so emotional with my people that if you don't say anything positive about Barack Obama, you are -- you know, like you were talking about your mother. Your mother is a strong Barack Obama fan. We are so emotionally caught up in this election and he said, she said, that it is hard for us as broadcasters to focus on the issues that affect our community.

LEMON: So focus on the issues and to try to be in the middle, like you said, and realize that, you know, politics are always, there's always dirty campaigning going on. And many times, we feel this way. So we were talking about that. And African-Americans may feel this way to some for lack of a better term, they have a dog in the hunt.

They feel emotionally connected to this and before they really didn't care. And now all of a sudden they do. Do they think someone is playing dirty politics?

SYBIL WILKES, CO-HOST, "TOM JOYNER MORNING SHOW": You know, we call it the last President Clinton, not saying there will be another one, but we call President Clinton the first black president. Now we really have someone in which that term can apply in the next several months.

And so we -- we have so much in the new generation that has come about as a result of the Obama candidacy. It is just amazing. These kids are so focused and have so much energy and hope for this.

LEMON: The whole time -- I don't want to talk about Barack Obama the whole time but he called in to your radio show this morning and talked about why he wasn't here. What - what did you think of that? You said to him "I think you should be here."

WILKES: I think he should be here. I'm not mad but very disappointed. He said that his audience in Indiana and North Dakota where he's going be. They needed to hear his message. And the people who are here today said if we're here in the rain, we'd like you to be here too.

LEMON: And many times, you know, we were saying. We were having again a conversation with black America, we want to have a conversation with all of America, don't get that wrong. Don't get it twisted as they say. We want to have a conversation with white America, American-Asian and Hispanic America --

(INAUDIBLE)

HARRIS: Looks like --

LEMON: We're not talking about what you guys are talking about?

JOYNER: No, because you're main stream. I don't have to be in the middle. I'm here to serve the African-American community. And I do that proudly. But when the election and the primary in Georgia, for example, was happening, there were people standing in lines in Atlanta for hours in bad weather, just trying to vote.

The mainstream media, didn't say a word about it until -- until like after we went off the air. And we were broadcasting about that continually as it was happening.

LEMON: And real quickly, you know we are up against a clock here. How can we bridge that gap? How do we bridge that gap if you got ten seconds. Real quick.

JOYNER: Bridging the gap right now by talking about it. You can solve a problem without first talking. And that's what you are doing right now. And this whole series that you are doing on CNN is great about black America. "Conversation with black America."

LEMON: And black in America. Tom Joyner and Sybil Wilkes. Thank you very much.

Tony is going, yes! And you know what, they let us have it -- if we had more time which we will later today, Tony, they are going to talk about it and tell us the issues that are important to people and what people are talking about. No holds barred.

HARRIS: And let's not -- let's not let the politics and what the politicians are doing cast any kind of shadow on the fact that have you a lot of people who have shown up there in really difficult conditions today to mark this anniversary and to march today and let's not lose sight of all of that or all of the political and the talk of politics and who is where and why, therefore. Just a thought.

LEMON: Real quickly. We talked about that, about the weather conditions here. And how many people showed up. In spite or despite all of it that they are here and they are commemorating it and they are celebrating the life of Dr. Martin Luther King.

HARRIS: Absolutely. Let us not lose sight of that. All right. Don Lemon for us this morning.

Don, and Tom Joyner and Sybil, good to see you all. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well, big news out of Britain. Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth, has been hospitalized in London. Let's turn to CNN international correspondent, Alphonso Van Marsh.

He is live at Buckingham Palace and what's being said there, Alphonso.

ALPHONSO VAN MARSCH, CNN, INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right Fred. We are getting some additional details at this time. As you've mentioned that the husband of the Queen, Prince Philip, in the hospital. We are understanding from Buckingham Palace, he is being assessed for a chest infection.

Now, of course, he is a prince, he is the husband of the queen. But he's also an 86-year-old man. So these ideas, this news that's coming out is being taken very, very seriously.

But at the same time, of course, he has been quite active. We have seen him engaged in duties with the queen. For example, just last month, he was at the opening of a new terminal at London Heathrow Airport, just a few paces behind the Queen there.

We also saw him at a state dinner with the Queen when the French President Nicolas Sarkozy was in town. So, it is not as if he's been out of the public eye. However, Buckingham Palace is saying that while he is being assessed for that chest infection his engagements for this weekend have been canceled. But his engagements are on the schedule for next week are on as far as we know. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so, Alphonso, Buckingham Palace, you know, always a big magnet for tourists there. People, you know, hope to get a glimpse of royalty. And they just really want to see it. So, are tourists or anybody saying anything about this news?

VAN MARSH: Well, people are talking about this. As the word spread throughout the city, throughout the country. And the fact that he had been hospitalized late last tonight. Of course, many people are actually talking about another royal story. That, of course, is the inquest into the deaths of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed.

The jury expected to give a verdict at any moment on that. Of course, that information is being trumped at this moment. Here we are, the husband of the serving queen in the hospital at 86 years old on this, the 60th anniversary of their wedding. Gives a lot of people a lot to talk about here outside of Buckingham Palace. Fred.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Alphonso Van Marsh there, outside of Buckingham Palace. They have been married since 1947. Pretty remarkable. All right, Tony.

HARRIS: And still to come this morning, deadly turf wars among Mexican drug dealers. An alleged gun supplier now in custody.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Welcome back, everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

Martin Luther King a hero to many, a trouble maker to some. A little brother to our guest. His sister's memories in the NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: A little bit more on what's taking place in Tualatin, Oregon just outside of Portland. There you are seeing the live pictures of what appears to be a house fire under control. See the darker smoke, fewer flames.

Earlier you saw the flames. I mean, this house right there, house and adjoining barn really on fire there. We understand that one person is being treated for smoke inhalation but we are not clear on who that person was.

(INAUDIBLE)

HARRIS: You are getting some new information.

WHITFIELD: All right. I'm sorry about that pause because we are getting more information about the neighbors saying that relatives or people that were in that home apparently were away. I think that's what I was getting. They actually left town early this morning.

We understand that thankfully the house was vacant. But that might help investigators now try to pinpoint exactly what was taking place, whether it was something -- something like a stove, you know, that was left on. Who knows. But those are the kinds of

HARRIS: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: The kind of putting the pieces together that they will do. So, it was difficult for them to put out this fire because there are not a lot of fire hydrants in that area. It was difficult for the firefighting apparatus to try to get to douse this house.

But they did manage to get it under control. And you're seeing now the remnants of this house and adjoining farm that were on fire there, just outside of Portland. So, more information. We will bring it to you.

HARRIS: Deadly drug turf wars on the Mexican side of the border and now an arrest. A Tucson man accused of being the leader of drug smuggling network. Drew Griffin with our special investigations unit has been looking into this for some time now.

Drew, what have we learned?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is a problem on the border, Tony, where these drug cartels in Mexico are in a real war with the police in Mexico. And to fuel that war they have been coming up and getting people to buy big caliber guns in the United States and smuggle them south so they can engage in this battle.

Here is the bust made yesterday in Arizona by the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. These are guns that were being smuggled to the drug cartel just south of the border now. I'm talking about you can walk these guns across the street and these are being used as these drug cartels engage in turf wars and also engage in a war with Mexican police. Now, these cartels like these large caliber guns basically as I reported --

HARRIS: Yes, you have.

GRIFFIN: That went down in Juarez, the police are outgunned in Mexico. As we were discussing this the Juarez Police Department, they say look, at some -- sometimes we just have to back away. These guns are too big for us to fight with. And so we have just to leave these drug runners and drug cartels to their own devices. This particular gun is called a cop killer in Mexico because it shoots these rounds that pierce through just about anything that the Mexican police have to defend themselves.

So, they arrested a 23-year-old Tucson man. And he is accused of supplying the Juarez cartel in Mexico with rifles and guns and huge ammunition. And the attorney general of Arizona is going to prosecute this person as a gunrunner.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRY GODDARD, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: We believe this suspect is a significant supplier of firearms to Mexican drug cartels. He is alleged to have purchased illegally large caliber rifles as well as a number of handguns. And those guns were subsequently found in next in connection with drug cartel activity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: This is a big bust. And this is a two-country effort that we are sharing information with Mexico, Mexico with the United States trying, Tony, to stop the flow of drugs. Basically -- the drugs come up north and the guns go south.

HARRIS: I remember a report of yours from a while ago now on the 50-caliber and just how lethal a weapon that is and the range on that.

GRIFFIN: Yes.

HARRIS: It is frightening.

GRIFFIN: It is incredible. It literally shoots palm-sized bullets up to a mile at pretty much deadly range. An incredibly powerful gun. And extremely easy to buy. That was the point of the story. Basically, bought it over the Internet, no questions asked.

HARRIS: Drew Griffin with us this morning. Drew, appreciate it. Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, the economy wheezes, you wonder how do I make the most of my money? Gerri Willis is in the NEWSROOM to answer your e-mails.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Yes, the economy, issue No. 1. A lot of people in this country struggling right now, personal economy is taking a big hit. Recession in a lot of households around the country.

Take a look at the Dow now, New York Stock Exchange, Fred, in the first hour of the trading day, the Dow down 81 points. Let's be honest about it. The market is just going to have to hang on today -- 80,000 jobs lost in March. That's the reporting in the latest jobs report.

The unemployment rate rose from 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent. The Nasdaq down at least seven points. The Dow down 83. We are going to follow the market. Get some thoughts on what is happening today from Susan Lisovicz in just a couple of minutes right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still on money and helping you save. Helping you manage mortgages and credit counseling, all stuff. A lot of e-mails to sift through. Here to answer your questions about issue No. 1, CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis.

Good to see you, Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good to see you, Fred. Hit me with that first question

WHITFIELD: OK. Here you go: "If you are receiving credit counseling do you pay back more or less than the original amount owe before counseling?" That's from Carl.

WILLIS: Good question, Carl.

You know, you wouldn't pay more than the original amount if you go to a credit counselor. In fact, you could you pay less if your counselor puts you through a debt management plan or known as DMPs. With the DMP, you pay back the debts that you owe but your counselor will work with your creditors to try and lower your monthly payments, reduce your interest charges.

It could take three to five years to work through one of these things. For more information, go to National Foundation for Credit Counselors, the Web site, nfcc.org.

WHITFIELD: OK. And this from a freshman in college, pretty encouraging, I think: "I have $2,000 in a CD right now and $4,500 in my savings. I want to invest it in something that will give me a big gain in the future. Should I put it in a mutual fund or keep flipping it into CDs?"

WILLIS: Great question, Ernest. And congratulations on putting together some savings. That's great.

But first, make sure that you have some savings that you can rely on pronto. Three months worth of living expenses before you investment. If you get a CD, they're safe but the returns not spectacular especially considering that the Fed has been cutting rates.

Of course, you can invest in a mutual fund. For that, you can check out morningstar.com for ideas. You should also consider investing in say an index fund, or an exchange traded fund, the fees there are generally lower, go to Fidelity or Vanguard for some low- cost options.

WHITFIELD: OK. And this one from an anonymous e-mailer, asking: "My income is significant. However, I'm uncertain if I should buy a house or continue renting with the current market and mortgage crisis. What do I do?

WILLIS: Well, great question. You know, I think this person is in a great position to actually buy a home in this environment. And look, there are a lot benefits from owning a home. If you want to be a homeowner now, now is a good time to get a good deal on houses.

Prices are falling. Buyers are eager, eager to sell. And don't try to time the mark, it's really tough to do rather start looking in areas you're interested in and if you have good credit and a solid income as you say you do, you are going to be a very good candidate.

WHITFIELD: All right. And this from Ed, "are there situations where it would make sense to use 401(k) money to pay off a mortgage?

WILLIS: Not my favorite strategy. If you use your 401(k) money to pay off your mortgage, you are going get taxed twice. That's because when you take a loan from your 401k you have to pay yourself back with interest. Now that money that you pay back is after tax money.

Then when you pay the rest of your 401(k) you will be taxed again. Yes. Losing out on the power of your 401(k) to earn compound interest until retirement is another loss. Not a great idea. Find another way to pay it down. If have really low interest mortgage it may make more sense to pay off other debts.

If you have any questions, send them to us at toptips@cnn.com. We love hearing from you. We answer these questions every Friday. Right here on CNN.

We love to hear that. In the meantime, "ISSUE #1." Something we are very used to now, seeing you in the noon hour every day. Let's talk about what is on "ISSUE #1."

WILLIS: Well, tune in. We are going to be talking about jobs, your debt, housing investments but especially your job today. Folks out there are worried about the job losses and what do you do? You are worried about losing your jobs? What are the strategies to help you keep the job? Join us at noon. We will answer your e-mails.

WHITFIELD: All right. We will all be tuning in. Thanks so much, Gerri. Good luck to you. Have a great weekend.

Hello again. Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.

Good Friday to you everyone.

A Florida man packing plenty of firepower, Calin Chi Wong is charged with making written threats to kill or harm over the Internet. Wong allegedly threatened a Virginia Tech style massacre. Homestead Police say Wong had complained about being ripped off while trying to buy a gun over the Internet.

Police say Wong apparently posted the alleged threat in frustration over the botched gun purchase. Authorities found a significant amount of weapons and ammo in the home of his parents where Wong lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DET. ANTONIO AQUINO, HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA POLICE: Approximately 13 firearms, four of them were AK-47s, two sniper rifles, seven semi auto handguns and over 5,000 rounds of ammunition.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Man. Wong was leased on $7500 bond. He told police he had been buying and selling guns for almost two years. He says never intended to kill anyone.

WHITFIELD: President Bus's European tour, he had just arrived in Croatia after wrapping up a summit in Romania. Croatia and Albania were invited to join the alliance. The president wanted a pledge of more troops in Afghanistan and NATO's endorsement of a missile shield program in Eastern Europe. That has Russian President Vladimir Putin worried. It is on the agenda for his meeting with President Bush in Russia this weekend.

HARRIS: A U.S. general cautioning against a quick military pullout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Currently -- it could go south tomorrow. We have to watch it closely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Our Nic Robertson, assessing Iraq's security forces, "Baghdad On Watch."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A funeral procession turns deadly in Iraq. An official with the provincial military command says 15 people were killed today when a suicide bomber struck the procession in Diyala Province. The funeral was for a police officer killed by gunmen last night.

Also today, Iraq's prime minister orders his security forces to stop raids targeting Shiites militiamen. He says the pause will give repentant fighters a chance to lay down their weapons.

Assessing what the administration refers to as a surge of troops in Iraq and Iraq security forces. CNN's Nic Robertson tours the Baghdad neighborhood with a U.S. commander.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAJ. GEN. RICK LYNCH, U.S. ARMY: How are you? Nice to see you. Is everything OK?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: General Rick Lynch is the American commander of Baghdad's suburbs. In this one, in the east of the city, he is checking on Iraq's newest security forces. The sons of Iran.

LYNCH: I have been studying along the progress we made with the sons of Iraq movement. You two have done amazing work.

ROBERTSON: Lynch sees success. Attacks in the mixed Sunni Shiites neighborhood are down massively. Its market open. Thanks to the surge and beefed up Iraqi security. It brought us to see the change.

Security for this visit is really tight, a lot of the American soldiers, observation helicopters in the sky, sons of Iraq in their brown uniforms, Iraqi national police as well. We're talking to the market holders, the store holders here. They say that this market couldn't have existed a few months ago. It would have been too dangerous. The risk of kidnap or attack is really high.

What I want to find out is the impact of last week's violence involving Shia militia. Was there a time at the peak of the battles last week that you were worried the situation could escalate?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure there was. I mean we always worry because it's a security situation. This place could inflame, the problem could have been major problem but it wasn't. The reason it wasn't was because the security forces did what they needed to do.

ROBERTSON: That, Lynch says, gave them an advantage over 600 Iranian-backed fighters that he knew existed but couldn't fight.

LYNCH: We were able to identify better who were the Shia extremists in our area. It was a tactical opportunity. We took 18 large weapons caches off this battlefield.

ROBERTSON: And arrested over 500 suspects, including ten the military calls high-valued targets. Lynch readily admits that this is one its best neighborhoods. Last week's violence, he said, a caution about drawing down troops too fast.

LYNCH: Currently enjoy a good situation but it could go south tomorrow. We have to watch it closely. Last week was an indication that the enemy is still out there.

ROBERTSON: Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Martin Luther King, a hero to many, a trouble maker to some, a little brother to our guest. His sister's memories in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: To business news now with the economy and jobs are the life blood it is safe to say we will need more than a band-aid to top the bleeding. The economy lost not 20,000, 80,000 jobs in March.

Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with details.

I don't know if there is a silver lining to this. You are great at finding one -- 80,000 jobs, that's a lot of folks without jobs.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I would have to say, Tony, that the patience or in this case the economy needs a transfusion -- 80,000 is a big number, it was worse than expected. It is the biggest monthly loss, by the way, five years. You know, keep in mind, Tony, that the economy needs to create about 100,000 jobs just to keep up with population growth.

Ben Bernanke earlier this week, chief of the Federal Reserve, says that the unemployment rate would probably rise. It did, from 4.8% to 5.1%. The trend isn't good either. These monthly jobs reports are often revised.

HARRIS: That's right.

LISOVICZ: January and February were revised to show even bigger losses. So it's the third straight month of decline. A total of 230 jobs lost. So far this year. And it is the first time we have seen three straight monthly declines since the recession of '01. There is a great quote from a chief economist in CNNMoney.com.

The revisions are the surprise in Wall Street today. If we had known it was anything like that, there would never be any debate as to whether we were in a recession. It is pretty stark. That's from one of the economists, quoted in money.com.

HARRIS: Is it safe to assume most of the job losses are coming from, let's say, manufacturing and the housing sectors?

LISOVICZ: Yes. Two big losses in those two sectors, construction lost 51,000 jobs, manufacturing, close to 48,000. It is widespread. Professional services down 35,000. Retail lost 12,000.

You were asking for a silver lining. There's all these opportunities, health care, education, and government. Leisure and hospitality all created jobs. Apparently people are golfing and doing things like that still. But not enough to offset the losses on Wall Street, you know, this is the big report of the week.

We had a very muted open. This is the kind of reporting that's so big and a lot of hand wringing and talking about all the different sectors, what does it mean, things like that. We are seeing losses, you see on the big board, Dow down 65. Nasdaq is down six. By the way, let's have a pile-on. Oil is up $2 and the dollar is weaker. It is a tough Friday.

HARRIS: All right. Susan, we will talk to you again next hour. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Well, talk about a tough Friday. Let's talk about going out the west. Right outside of Portland. Look at that house. A house no more. House and adjoining barn that caught on fire. Great news is we understand the occupants of the home were not at home at the time of the fire because they happened to leave, according to some relatives, early this morning and then you have this taking place.

On the line with us now, Karen Eubanks, public information officer of the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Department.

So Ms. Eubanks, give me an idea how bad this fire was. The pictures tell an amazing story.

KAREN EUBANKS, TUALATIN VALLEY FIRE AND RESCUE: They do. Here is the situation. At 6:16, we received call. We had an engine on scene within three minutes. We called for additional resources because this home was almost fully engulfed when we arrived on scene. In fact, the initial calls to the 911 center reported smoke, seeing smoke and flames a quarter mile away. So significant fire.

The situation here in that area, there are no fire hydrants. We had to bring in addition to the water carried by the engines we brought and utilized water tenders which are a special unit, they carry water and bring it to the scene. They dump it in portable tanks and for the firefighters to extinguish the fire and they go back and grab more water, bring it back to the scene, and they do that continuously throughout the operation.

WHITFIELD: Wow. This is very laborious trying to battle this. In the meantime, as you said, it was fully engulfed and tough to fight a fire that multiplied within minutes upon your arrival.

EUBANKS: As I said significant fire. For that reason once we knew there was no hope of saving that home we focused attention on that barn in trying to save it. I'm not sure if there were any animals inside. I have not heard. I'm told firefighters did a good job of trying -- keeping that fire from spreading to that barn.

WHITFIELD: All right. Karen Eubanks of the Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue. Thanks so much for the opportunity.

EUBANKS: You're welcome.

HARRIS: Touchtone of a generation of Martin Luther King, murdered 40 years ago today. Has his dream survived? A progress report in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: What a job we have. Martin Luther King Jr. murdered 40 years ago today. Our next guest remembers the icon as simply Tweed. He was her little brother, Christine King Farris, is Dr. King's only surviving sibling. She is also a noted lecturer and civic advocate.

Christine, great to see you. CHRISTINE KING FARRIS, MLK JR.'S SISTER: Thank you.

HARRIS: Tweed, where did that name come from?

FARRIS: When we were growing up and Martin -- I called him M.L., graduated from junior high school then. And he picked out a suit. It was a tweed suit. And he loved that suit. And he wore it so much. The boys teased him about it and started calling him Tweed.

HARRIS: I did not know that.

WHITFIELD: I love that story. That's sweet.

HARRIS: I have to ask you, Christine, what was the moment -- so many questions to ask you. What was the moment you began to realize that your brother was special? Special in a kind of man, he -- he is not only gifted but he's really special. Was there a moment?

FARRIS: Well, I always thought he was special. He did things -- when he preached, that was quite indicative of what was to come later.

HARRIS: What do you remember of that?

FARRIS: Very serious about it yes. When we first started to college and we were in college at the same time, we would go dancing and everything. All of a sudden, he got very serious and said I'm not going to be going to the party. Come on. No. He was sitting there reading the bible. That lasted a couple of months. Then he came back around.

HARRIS: I have to ask you to this day, 40 years ago, what were you doing? Where were you?

FARRIS: I was at home and with my children. I was making an Easter dress for my daughter. And we were looking at the evening news. And I started out of the room, to another room, and I heard the interruption. We interrupt this broadcast to say that Martin Luther King Jr.has been shot in Memphis.

Of course, I wasn't prepared for that. And then I think it was Ted Huntley the reporter. He came back and said we have up-to-date news. Dr. King has been shot and it is critical. I knew what critical meant.

At that point I started to try to get to my sister-in-law. Her line was busy. I tried to call my parents. Their line was busy. And my husband came in and he said we will have to go. I can't find anybody to get the children. Found somebody to keep the children. And we went on to Coretta's house.

When I got to Coretta's house, Coretta was coming down the steps with Mayor Ivan Allen. And she said I'm on the way to Memphis. I got a call saying that, you know, you should -- Jesse Jackson, come. My husband said we have to go with Coretta. I said, but I'm not dressed to go, you know, on a plane. You will have to go with her. We got in the car and rode to the airport. HARRIS: Christine, this was -- what you described is the orderly procession of events. Of what happened. But I'm curious about your emotions. This was -- your brother.

FARRIS: That's right.

HARRIS: Tweed. What were your emotions?

FARRIS: I was just in shock. I don't know how -- I couldn't believe it. However, I did know that when it was said, it was critical, I knew that that was very serious. And almost death. I was just really not myself.

HARRIS: Forty years later, it is a question Fred asked of you a moment ago. I will ask it. What does this day mean to you? How does it feel to you? Sorry for the how does it feel questions. Tell me about this day.

FARRIS: I'm trying to hold my composure and carry on. But it is very sad, emotional day for me. And that is why -- I'm not going to Memphis. I can go. I have not been back to Memphis since we went to pick I am up that day. I can't. I can go back through that.

HARRIS: Your brother dies and immediately you, Coretta and the children essentially become the protectors of the legacy. Has that ever been a burden for you?

FARRIS: Not really a burden because I -- I still -- Coretta all the way, building the King Center and everything, did that while I was still working full time at Spelman College. It hasn't been a burden.

HARRIS: One final question. What has it been like for you living your life, leading your journey, and asking the questions who am I apart from the sister of a civil rights icon? How difficult has it been for you to chart your own personal journey?

FARRIS: Well, it hasn't been difficult because I know who I am. And what I can do. And I do that. So I do know who I am.

HARRIS: Christine King Farris, it is great to see you. I wish I had more time with you. It's an honor to be in your presence today. Thank you for being with us.

FARRIS: Thank you.

HARRIS: This afternoon, from 1:00 until 4:00 Eastern, CNN joins some of the top black radio hosts, conversations with black America. You can join that conversation. E-mail CNN.com/blackinamerica.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Good morning. You are informed. Thank you for staying with us this morning.

Christine King Farris leaving the set.

I'm Tony Harris.

WHITFIELD: Fredricka Whitfield in for Heidi Collins today.

HARRIS: Developments keep coming in on Friday, the fourth day of April. Here is what's on the run-down.

WHITFIELD: Strong storms peel off roofs in Texas and Arkansas.

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