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Women & Children in Polygamist Sect Moved to Larger Shelter; Bullies on Campus; CBS Journalist Freed; Married At War: Couples Who Serve Together

Aired April 14, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The nation's largest airline is up and flying, though it might not be the largest airline for long.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Two other airlines are surging toward a merger. The pilots have reservations.

And you can't pay your mortgage. You are facing foreclosure. What happens? Are you out on the street? Not necessarily. The right approach can open the door to a win-win situation.

Hello, I'm Melissa Long in today for Kyra Phillips and we're live here at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LONG: Last week's raid on a polygamist ranch in Texas has created a mammoth and a complex situation in San Angelo, Texas. We have learned as many as 400-plus children and women were removed from the compound. They have since gotten on a bunch of buses and were moved to a larger space. Some of the moms had complained about the conditions and said that their children were sick and traumatized. They even wrote the governor for help.

A short time ago CNN's David Mattingly described what was going on as the buses pulled up to that shelter.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

VOICE OF DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're standing outside the shelter where the bulk of the 416 kids and the 130-plus women came to over 10 days ago. You were just talking about how they wrote a letter to the governor complaining about the conditions here, about so many people per room and things like that. What we're seeing here, 19 tour buses just pulled up to the shelter, suggesting that there's going to be some kind of move here today.

We talked to the San Angelo police, and they tell us indeed that the children and the people in the shelter are going to be moved a few blocks across town to a much larger building, the city's coliseum. So at this point, it appears that that letter of complaint may have had some sort of a role in this. But the home that they've had for the last 10 days, they're about to put behind them and move to a larger building, the coliseum, here in San Angelo. LONG: You know, one other question, I'm not sure if you have information on this or not, but we've been reading some news stories today about the fact that some of the moms, some of the young moms have been corresponding by phone, relying on cell phones to communicate with the kids and cell phones may have been taken away?

MATTINGLY: That's right. A judge's order came down yesterday. The cell phones were all confiscated. The concern has been among the counselors and investigators here that there's been a great deal of influence from the men at the compound, male relatives calling, making sure certain things are not said. That's what they've been telling us. The judge ordered that these cell phones be taken away and there's absolutely no communication at this point between the women in the shelter and the men back at the compound.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LONG: The voice of CNN's David Mattingly.

Now, in a San Angelo courtroom, a judge is getting the legal ball rolling. The state is expected to ask for permanent custody of the children this Thursday, in the meantime, scrambling to find enough attorneys to find represent all 416 children.

LEMON: Topping our political news today, our political ticker, fighting words between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Eight days before the biggest remaining contest on the primary calendar. A trade group meeting in Pittsburgh today, Clinton kept up her attacks on Obama's comments last week, that some small town voters are bitter over their economic state so they, "cling to guns and religion."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that people don't cling to religion. They value their faith. You don't cling to guns. You enjoy hunting or collecting or sports shooting. I don't think he really gets it, that people are looking for a president who stands up for you and not looks down on you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Obama in the meantime keeps firing back at Clinton. He appeared today at the same Pittsburgh event where he questioned Clinton's comments to the working class. He also took a shot at Clinton for taking a shot at an Indiana bar over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Around election time candidates, they just can't do enough. They'll promise you anything. They'll give you a long list of proposals. They'll even come around with TV crews in tow and throw back a shot and a beer. But if those same candidates are taking millions of dollars in contributions from the PACs and the lobbyists, ask yourself, who are they going to be toasting once the election's over?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: Now, the presumptive Republican nominee is weighing in as well at the annual meeting of the "Associated Press" today in Washington, D.C. Senator John McCain said he did not like what he initially heard about Obama's take on some small-town voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think those comments are elitist. I think that anybody who disparages people who are hard working, honest, dedicated people, who have cherished the second amendment and the right to hunt and the right to observe that and their values and their culture that they value and that they've grown up with and sometimes in the case of generations and saying that's because they're unhappy with their economic conditions? I think that's a fundamental contradiction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: If you'd still like more political news, go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com. We also have analysis from the best political team on television on that site. Again, CNNPolitics.com.

LEMON: The shaky state of the nation's airlines is on President Bush's radar today. Thousands of flights canceled for safety inspections, carriers going bankrupt. The president and his cabinet covered it all in a morning meeting. Afterward, the White House said Mr. Bush and his transportation secretary are empathetic and concerned about the disruptions travelers have faced.

The sky wasn't falling, but it probably felt like it at American Airlines and hundreds of thousands of passengers last week. Finally some good news. The FAA has cleared all of American's MD-80s to fly. Three hundred of the jets were grounded and more than 3,000 flights canceled so mechanics could inspect wiring in the wheel wells.

Not all of American's troubles are over though. Hundreds of its pilots are expected to hold protests tomorrow in nine cities. Their union has been locked in a pay and contract battle with management.

Now, it is looking like a monster airline merger may indeed be near. Reports are suggesting that Delta and Northwest could announce the deal in the next day, possibly two. Now if the two join forces, they would create the largest carrier in the world. Analysts say some travelers' options would increase. But guess what, air fares might increase as well. They also point to a possible domino effect, so we may see some other big airlines scrambling to merge

LEMON: Well, foreclosure doesn't make anyone happy. Homeowners lose, obviously, but banks do too. So with mortgages tanking left and right, some lenders seem willing to negotiate. Here's senior correspondent Allan Chernoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We first met Jillian Simmons in January when she was panicked over the likelihood of losing her home.

JILLIAN SIMMONS, HOMEOWNER: This is my home. This is my castle.

CHERNOFF: Jillian's adjustable mortgage rate was due to jump to at least 11 percent, which would mean a monthly payment she could not afford.

SIMMONS: Losing my home. That's my biggest fear.

CHERNOFF: While Jillian faced impending trouble, she had never missed a mortgage payment and has held a steady job working at Bloomingdales for 27 years. Jillian came to Brooklyn housing and family services, a nonprofit that provides free counseling. Otencia Chance-Green took her case.

OTENCIA CHANCE-GREEN, BROOKLYN HOUSING & FAMILY SERVICES: She would have gone into default and probably into foreclosure.

CHERNOFF: The housing counselor told Jillian to write a simple letter to the bank explaining her circumstances and the fact that she would not be able to afford her monthly payments if her interest rate were adjusted higher. Jillian wrote to the bank, Fremont Investment and Loan, a major sub-prime lender.

SIMMONS: I'm a single divorced mother living alone with my children. Please lower my rate from the 7.95 percent I have at the moment so that somehow my payments will be more affordable and changed to a fixed rate. Thank you. Jillian Simmons.

CHERNOFF: Did you ever imagine they'd lower you to five percent?

SIMMONS: Never in my wildest dreams.

CHERNOFF: Otencia followed up with persistent calls to the bank. Two months later, a letter arrived for Jillian.

SIMMONS: I held the letter, I said, oh, my God.

CHERNOFF: It was the answer to her prayers.

SIMMONS: Congratulations. Oh, my god! Oh, my god!

CHERNOFF: Fremont Investment and Loan did more than Jillian had asked. The bank lowered her interest rate by three percentage points, dropping her payments by $1,000 a month and made the loan a fixed rate mortgage to keep the monthly payments constant.

SIMMONS: I read it and I read it and I read it, and I said, oh, my God. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, God. This is exactly -- you can't go better than this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: Why was Fremont Investment and Loan so cooperative? The bank refused comment. But on Monday the parent company, Fremont General announced a plan to sell off Fremont Investment and Loan after suffering losses from making so many risky loans.

The company has been under pressure to service loans that are being paid up rather than forcing mortgages into foreclosure. Not every homeowner can expect the kind of break that Jillian got, but the fact is banks are willing to negotiate -- Don.

LEMON: That was genuine happiness there, Allan. So banks don't really want to foreclosure on customers who are behind on their payments, do they?

CHERNOFF: The fact is, it's not in their interest. They'll be losing business and there are a lot of expenses. They have lawyer fees to pay. They have to put the home up for auction sometimes, sell it off, they have to maintain the homes. One nonprofit told me the average cost for a bank in foreclosure is about $40,000 -- $40,000 for each home that falls into foreclosure.

LEMON: Great story. Allan, thank you for that.

LONG: The next story goes way beyond your corner store. How the entire world is feeling the pinch from higher food prices.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: There's a dire warning about food, the poor and the global economy. At a four-day meeting in Washington, world finance ministers said the number one threat to the World economy isn't necessarily the credit crisis, but may be the rising cost of food.

Food riots in Haiti have cost seven lives and the country's prime minister lost his job. Haiti isn't alone. The World Bank reports 33 countries are at risk of social unrest over food. It's says food prices have risen 83 percent in just three years.

LONG: Grocery bills have been going up, but rising food prices are a worldwide problem now and that could become a worldwide calamity.

CNN's Isha Sesay takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Haiti, hospital beds are filled with the wounded and the prime minister has been kicked out of office in the aftermath of riots on the streets. The violence seen sparked by rising food prices repeated around the world. In Egypt, the signs of unrest include broken windows, burnt cars and police in full riot gear. From Bangladesh to Mozambique, battles on the streets sparked by a bigger battle with hunger.

JOSETTE SHEERAN, WFP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: It's in places where people were not desperate before. More people hungry.

SESAY: The U.N. says world food prices rose 40 percent last year. Basic food stuffs, bread, milk and cooking oil, all more expensive and all increasingly out of reach to millions of the world's poor.

JACQUES DIOUF, FAO DIRECTOR-GENERAL: We believe that in this present situation, we have to tackle the problem at highest political level. To be honest with you, I'm surprised that I have not been summoned to the Security Council to discuss these issues.

SESAY: Prices continue to climb seemingly independent of supply, as rising fuel costs and slumping economies complicate the equation. Much of the unrest brought on by the exploding cost of rice. It's a commodity becoming so valued that farmers in Thailand must protect their crops with guns.

India, one of the world's major producers has banned some rice exports, hoping to keep down domestic prices but only adding to the international crisis. U.N. officials met to discuss the situation worried that the basic principles of supply and demand no longer apply.

DIOUF: The only indication we have is that this is not a short term effect (INAUDIBLE) where the first year you have prices increase. The following year, there is increased supply, that brings the prices down.

SESAY: As countries protect what they have, some are hording, while others like Haiti are diverting aid money to subsidize food. They're local short-term answers, but the UN warns even as the violence begins to subside, without concerted international action, high food prices will remain.

Isha Sesay, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, they are married and in the military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you ever hug each other or kiss each other in public?

(INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: It's hard sometimes. But it can wait until we get back to the room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: What it's like to be a couple in a war zone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: Deadline's here, April 15, tomorrow is tax day. And there's a new report that shows the IRS is targeting few corporations for an audit. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on this story.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Melissa.

IRS audits of big corporations have dropped to a 20-year low. Syracuse University studied this and found the number of large corporations audited in '07 was 26 percent, down from 43 percent just two years earlier. The report calls it an historic collapse. The report says the IRS is more focused on small and mid-sized corporations. The IRS says it's doing a better job of targeting its audits, focusing its resources better on where the noncompliance is.

It's a taxing situation on Wall Street today. Wachovia's unexpected quarterly loss and an anemic retail sales report for March aren't keeping any buying in check. Also oil surged to another record, for those of you keeping count settling at $111.76 a barrel.

Checking the numbers in the final hour of trading, the Dow industrials are down 21 points. The Nasdaq's under a little bit of pressure, but CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has a better read on that.

It's the calm before the storm, I suspect, Poppy, right?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, exactly, Susan, I couldn't say it better myself.

The Nasdaq under pressure, still the worst hit average (ph) so far this year and what we hear tomorrow is really going to determine the future, in the near future at least for the Nasdaq. That's because Intel reports this company likely makes the chip in your computer. It cut its outlook back in January saying it's going to make less than expected. If those numbers are not strong, you're going to see a big decline here across the technology sector.

Advanced Micro Devices reporting later in the week. And Google, let's talk about Google because a lot of people own shares of Google Susan. I know a lot of people who bought this stock above $600. Right now it's just above $450. This is what we've seen since January 1 for Google, a precipitous decline in the stock coming out with its earnings later on this week and if those numbers are not strong, you're going to see an even further fall here, likely. Interesting stuff that Susan you and I cover both very closely.

LISOVICZ: Yes and that conference call should be interesting, given all of the companies that want to get its share of the search engine.

HARLOW: Exactly. It's exactly right. A lot of people talking about those paid clicks and whether advertisers are -- whether Google is losing out on those paid-click advertisers. That's how it makes its money. So if that's the case, it's going to be bad news for Google -- Susan.

LISOVICZ: We'll be watching. Thanks so much, CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow.

Coming up. Waving a magic wand won't make this lawsuit go away and that's making author J.K. Rowling very upset. I'll tell you about it when I return for the closing bell.

Melissa, back to you.

LONG: Thanks so much, certainly piqued my interest with that story. Talk to you a little bit later.

LISOVICZ: You've got it.

LEMON: A college education is more expensive than ever. Even applying for college can reduce your bank account.

CNN's Christine Romans has some saving tips on this week's right on your money.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Paying for college tuition is tough enough. One cost many families fail to factor into their budget, the cost to apply to college. Application fees can range from about $25 to $60. Many students apply to more than one college, up to a dozen in some cases. Then there's the cost of visiting all those schools to check them out.

KATHERINE COHEN, AUTHOR, "TRUTH ABOUT GETTING IN": We found that students spend on average $3,500 just applying to college.

ROMANS: But there are a few ways to cut costs once you've been accepted.

COHEN: You could try to graduate in three years, which cuts the cost of college tremendously. If you've taken AP courses in high school, you can see if those credits transfer or go to a less expensive institution over the summer, make sure those credits will transfer over and try to graduate sooner.

ROMANS: Or if three years sounds too short, there are other options.

COHEN: You might want to look at room and board verse renting an apartment with your friends off campus. Sometimes that's less expensive. Also think about buying used books instead of new books.

ROMANS: Check out half.com, ecampus.com and bookswap.com to compare prices on used textbooks. That's this week's "Right on your Money."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: You can follow your fortunes at CNNMoney.com. We've got all the day's market news and the numbers, expert analysis and much, much more.

LONG: Depression, suicide, even murder can all be the price when school bullies simply go far too far.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

LONG: Hello, I'm Melissa Long in today for Kyra Phillips and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Coming up at the bottom of the hour, let's take a check on some of the stories making news at this hour. Hundreds of children taken from this Texas polygamous ranch now need hundreds of lawyers. Attorneys are huddling in a Texas courthouse today trying to figure out how to represent 416 children.

A change of pace for the Olympic torch relay today. There were cheering crowds in (INAUDIBLE), a big contrast to protesting taking place in other nations, London Paris and San Francisco. In the meantime, Pakistan is closing Wednesday's torch relay in Islamabad to the public, holding it instead before guests in a stadium.

And you're seeing pictures right now of French forces capturing some of the pirates who hijacked a French yacht off the coast of Somalia more than a week ago now. The pirates have released that 30- person crew.

LEMON: Well, 45 mayors are meeting in Washington right now with one goal, that's a cut down on illegal gun trafficking and make sure gun laws are enforced. The group is called "Mayors Against Illegal Guns."

It's co-chaired by New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who reminded the presidential candidates they're not the only ones who get 3:00 a.m. phone calls. That is a reference to that ad campaign about who's best equipped to handle a crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: When a police officer is gunned down in the line of duty, it is the mayor who gets the 3:00 a.m. phone call. It is the mayor who goes to the emergency room, who meets with the families and who is forced to break the news that will break their hearts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the "Associated Press" reports Bloomberg and Wal- Mart have struck a deal to tighten standards for gun sales. Wal-Mart is the biggest seller of firearms in the U.S.

Well, recent studies show bullies pick on 30 percent of American schoolchildren every year. Experts say those victims have higher rates of depression, low self-esteem and even suicide.

Well, tonight on "A.C. 360," CNN's Special Investigations Unit correspondent, Abbie Boudreau, will tell us about a teenager who was bullied to the point where he felt revenge was his only option.

And Abbie joins us now here with a preview. Abbie, that is a sad story. His only option was suicide?

ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: That's what he felt. Well, he felt like his only option was revenge and he was planning a mass shooting at his high school.

LEMON: Oh, gosh.

BOUDREAU: Now, this is one of those extreme cases where bullying is the motivation for planning out a school shooting, just like what happened with Columbine. Right now, new anti-bullying laws are being considered in Florida that would penalize schools for not reporting bullying. But, unfortunately, experts say the problem is only getting worse and most parents, like the mother in our story tonight, just don't know what to do.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE SONNEN, CONCERNED MOTHER: I mean there's just so much bullying that came out in this, I guess, is the torment he went through every day, whether he brought it upon himself or it was just done.

WILLIAM POLLACK, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST: There's harassment and bullying in college, as well, not just in your classical fraternity, but in academic societies, just in classes. Over 100,000 students every couple of days won't go to school because they've been bullied the day before. We found close to three quarters of the boys who are involved in the school shootings in our study had been mercilessly bullied prior to the studies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: We've had thousands of e-mails in response to our SIU documentary that aired over the weekend called "Campus Rage."

This is from a teacher who says she sees bullying in class every day. She writes: "Many parents refuse to believe their child is the problem when the schools report it. Our society turns a blind eye to the fact that teens are de-sensitized to violence every day."

Here's another e-mail. It says: "Instead of thinking of other ways to get back at bullies, the first resort is just to kill them. Since when do we think is this OK? Maybe the parents should be teaching their kid how to handle being bullied because it's going to happen."

And we are blogging about this issue today on CNN.com. We want to hear from those of you being bullied. Tell us what you go through at school every day and whether you think your school is doing enough to protect you.

And remember, tonight on "A.C. 360" we'll hear from the parents' perspective and we'll also hear from the students' perspective.

LEMON: Yes. And we have to say this. I mean bullying used to be different. You used to just get into a fit, and, you know, maybe a fist fight. You'd get suspended. But now people are bringing guns to school and we see all the campus rage that can...

LONG: And cyber bullying.

LEMON: Yes.

LONG: That's a huge problem that people are trying to deal with right now, is how to handle cyber bullying -- not just bullying on the school yard, but bullying when you go home. You just can't escape it.

LEMON: Oh.

All right, Abbie, thank you.

Here's a reminder for you. Again, you can see Abbie's full report tonight on "A.C. 360." That's tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

LONG: A CBS journalist has nothing but praise for the troops who freed him after two long, frightening months in captivity in Iraq. Richard Butler calls his quick rescue by Iraqi soldiers brilliant. An Iraqi military commander says troops were doing house-to-house searches of a Shiite militia stronghold today in Basra when they found the British reporter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BUTLER, CBS JOURNALIST: The Iraqi Army stormed the house and overcame my guards. And they burst through the door. And I had my hood on, which I had to have on all the time. And they shouted something at me and I pulled my hood off and said...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) never would ask. Now we can.

BUTLER: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

BUTLER: They ran me down the road...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: Now butler's Iraqi interpreter was kidnapped with him on February 10. He was released three days later.

Two career couples -- nothing new. Nor couples who happen to have the same career, even work at the same place. But it does happen in the military, as well.

And here is what is new -- husbands and wives who serve together and live together in a war zone.

CNN's Jill Dougherty met a case in point in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Romance on a military base in Baghdad?

BRIAN HEGENBART, MARRIED COUPLE IN THE WAR ZONE: Come on.

DOUGHERTY: Well, not exactly. The electricity is out again...

B. HEGENBART: Well, unless you make me.

DOUGHERTY: But these two officers are in love -- Jessica and Brian Hegenbart, married for over three years, deployed together twice. Under traditional Army rules, they wouldn't be allowed to live together. But under a policy quietly introduced in 2006, they can if the housing is available.

DOUGHERTY (on-camera): Do you think there is an amount of jealousy at all among people who say...

B. HEGENBART: Definitely.

DOUGHERTY: How's that come out?

B. HEGENBART: Maybe not, maybe not true jealousy, but in a jokingly matter, I get it all the time from the guys, you know?

If I complain about something, they're like ah, yes, whatever. Your wife is here.

DOUGHERTY (voice-over): By allowing married couples to live together, the Army is trying to make long deployments of up to 15 months more bearable. The idea is the couples will stick together and stick with the military.

JESSICA HEGENBART, MARRIED COUPLE IN THE WAR ZONE: This is our kitchen area over here. We have a microwave and a refrigerator.

DOUGHERTY: The Hegenbarts cramped trailer is standard issue -- eight feet wide, 15 feet long, with some of the comforts of home -- computer, air conditioning, stuffed animals.

But the mission of these two Blackhawk pilots is deadly serious. Brian flies infantry troops on air assault missions. Jessica transports military personnel.

J. HEGENBART: I don't usually worry unless it's -- he's getting to the point where he should be home and it's going on a couple of hours and I feel like he should have been home by now. So I try not to think about it otherwise.

B. HEGENBART: So I normally call her right when I get back. I'll get back in the office and I'll pick up the phone and call her office just to let her know I'm back so she doesn't have to worry.

DOUGHERTY: The Hegenbarts say having time together in the middle of a war zone is priceless. But Army rules still apply -- no public displays of affection. DOUGHERTY (on-camera): Do you ever, you know, hug each other or kiss each other in public?

B. HEGENBART: No ma'am.

J. HEGENBART: We can't. We just can't.

B. HEGENBART: It's hard sometimes. It can wait until we get back to the room.

DOUGHERTY (voice-over): Tomorrow, the mission begins at daybreak. Lights out.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: The (INAUDIBLE) of 32 U.S. servicemen and women have lost their lives in Iraq. We now salute some of those fallen heroes.

Army Staff Sergeant Emanuel Pickett was a National Guard soldier from North Carolina. He was killed a week ago in a mortar attack in Baghdad. The 34-year-old Pickett was on his second tour in Iraq. He leaves a wife and three children.

Colonel Stephen Scott of New Market, Alabama was planning to retire from the Army in June in time to be home for his grandson Dylan's first birthday. Well, the 54-year-old Scott was an avid runner. He was hit by a mortar while exercising on a treadmill in Baghdad's Green Zone last week.

Twenty-one-year-old Specialist Gregory Rundell was killed by sniper fire outside Baghdad on March 26. His family in North St. Paul, Minnesota said he joined the Army in hopes of becoming a police officer once he got out.

In a letter to his mother he wrote from basic training, he said, "Take heart if the worst happens." He said, "Please don't shed a tear for me. I don't want tears of loss, but tears of happiness for what I was able to do."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: A swarm of bees -- yes, we've heard of that. But a swarm of earthquakes? That's what scientists are calling the rumblings off the coast of Oregon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, somebody mixed up the temperatures, Jacqui Jeras, with chilly where it's normally warm, warm where it's normally chilly.

What's going on?

(WEATHER REPORT) LONG: Well, the Earth is shifting under the sea. This is happening in the Pacific Northwest. More than 600 quakes have been recorded in the past 10 days. But for now, scientists say don't worry.

We get the story from reporter Keeley Chalmers of our CNN affiliate, KGW.

That's in Portland, Oregon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEELEY CHALMERS, KGW REPORTER (voice-over): The swarm of quakes started a couple of weeks ago, off the southern Oregon coast. The latest, a magnitude five, struck about 200 miles west of Bandon.

VICKI MCCONNELL, GEOLOGIST: It is interesting, but it's not something that we consider threatening.

CHALMERS: State geologist, Dr. Vicki McConnell, has been monitoring the quakes. She says they've all been happening along the same fault line. But she adds, they are not related to the nearby Cascadia subduction zone.

MCCONNELL: These are relatively shallow; they're only occurring about six miles deep.

CHALMERS: Scientists believe the Cascadia subduction zone caused a magnitude nine earthquake near the Pacific Northwest 300 years ago. McConnell says the recent quakes are much more shallow, measuring magnitude five or smaller.

MCCONNELL: But they don't have enough of a magnitude and they're not the type of movement that we would worry about tsunamis or anything else.

SCOTT BURNS, GEOLOGY PROF. PORTLAND STATE UNIV.: We have been following them.

CHALMERS: Portland State University geology professor, Scott Burns, is also monitoring the quakes. He believes these tiny tremors are a good thing.

BURNS: If you have a whole bunch of small earthquakes, that's good. You're releasing all of that energy. That's good.

CHALMERS: And although they are not directly tied to the Cascadia subduction zone, Burns wonders whether these quakes could be a precursor to a much bigger one to come.

BURNS: The question -- are we going to get the big one? The answer is, yes. The question is when, and we don't know.

CHALMERS: And that could be hundreds of years away. These quakes now simply tiny reminders of our constantly changing Earth.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LONG: Now, scientists are keeping tabs on these quakes with hydrophones on the ocean's floor. That is the same technology used, do you remember, during the cold war to track Soviet subs.

LEMON: All right, how about this? F is for fake -- presidential candidates face a disinformation fight on the Internet. Wikipedia wars in the NEWSROOM.

LONG: And a curse on the Yankees? Here, you do it better than I do.

LEMON: Forget about it.

LONG: There you go.

We're going to tell you about the fuss over a tattered baseball jersey coming up.

LEMON: Forget about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: Taking a look at some of the political stories making news on this Monday.

Hillary Clinton laying blame for NAFTA -- guess where?

Senator Clinton tells a trade group in Pittsburgh that former President Clinton made mistakes by championing the North American Free Trade Agreement, which many workers blame for job losses in the U.S. Senator Clinton says she plans to fix those mistakes if elected president.

Now, earlier at the same venue, Democratic rival, Barack Obama, questioned Clinton's commitment to U.S. workers.

Well, the Bush administration isn't saying it, but John McCain is. At the annual meeting of the "Associated Press" today in Washington, the presumptive Republican nominee says he believes the country is in a recession. Senator McCain says, "The important factor here is that Americans are hurting."

And Senator David Vitter will not have to take the stand -- the witness stand in a federal prostitution trial. Lawyers for alleged Washington, D.C. madam, Deborah Palfrey, have rested their case without calling the Louisiana Republican, who had been on notice that he might have to appear. Vitter has admitted being a client of Palfrey's escort service.

LEMON: A Web war is underway in politics. All three of the presidential candidates are under attack from fake biographers.

CNN's Tom Foreman has the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three hundred million times a day people click on Wikipedia for information about chameleons, catastrophes and presidential candidates. And that is where it gets tricky, because for months supporters at all three have been furiously changing Wikipedia entries to make their choice look good and the opponents look bad.

Andrew Rasiej is studying the impact on this election.

ANDREW RASIEJ, FOUNDER, TECHPRESIDENT.COM: The people who are watching over those pages have to basically act as vigilantes to make sure that the information remains as unbiased as possible. It's a very difficult thing to do.

FOREMAN: Volunteers like Dan Rosenthal oversee the Wiki world, where almost anyone can alter an entry as long as they cite a source.

(on-camera): This is something of an intellectual war.

DANIEL ROSENTHAL, WIKIPEDIA EDITOR: Yes, you could characterize it like that.

FOREMAN: Over and over, users try to change Obama's page, for example, and make him a Muslim. He is not. They have tried to label Hillary Clinton a white supremacist. She is not. And they have accused John McCain of starting a huge fire on an aircraft carrier that took more than 100 lives. He barely escaped with his life in that incident, but he did not cause it.

But some in the Wiki war will try relentlessly to get a false fact to stick.

ROSENTHAL: They bring it up time and again.

FOREMAN (on-camera): Even though it's not true?

ROSENTHAL: Even though it's not true, they want it in the article.

FOREMAN (voice-over): All the candidates' pages have been locked at times and some users are banned. But Wiki fans say most edits are well-intentioned and worth it.

RASIEJ: We're going from top down politics to bottom up politics. And the powers that control the future of our country are being realigned around a more participatory citizenry. And the Internet is facilitating that.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The Wiki wars, they say, are really all about changing politics.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. So these are the real numbers on the Democratic delegate count eight days before the big contest in Pennsylvania. Barack Obama leads in overall delegates, with 1,631. Hillary Clinton has 1,488. One hundred-fifty eight delegates are at stake in Pennsylvania. Two thousand twenty-four are needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.

Do you trust anything you read on the Web?

LONG: CNN.com.

LEMON: That's about it, right?

LONG: A hundred percent.

LEMON: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

LONG: Yes. He is in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with a preview of what's coming up on his program in just a matter of minutes -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, guys.

Coming up, religious discussions used to be associated largely with the Republicans. But now the two Democratic presidential candidates are talking a lot about faith and God and they're hoping this shift will bring in more voters.

Also, later tonight, the road to the White House makes a stop through Nashville. How all three presidential candidates are dipping into the country music scene.

Plus, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright speaking publicly now for the first time since the controversy about his sermons. You're going to hear what he to say in his own words.

All that, guys, and a lot more, coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM".

LEMON: All right, Wolf.

We'll be watching. Thank you, sir.

LONG: Thank you.

And still to come on our program, the closing bell and a wrap-up of all the action on Wall Street today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: Let's take a moment to check on some of the stories you find most interesting today, some of the more popular video clips.

A 17-year-old in Oklahoma being called a hero for rescuing his neighbor from a dog attack. A Shar-Pei and a pit bull grabbed that 5- year-old, dragged him away. The teenager heard the screams and rushed over to help. The little boy has a bunch of stitches, but he's just going to be fine.

Now, if oysters really are an aphrodisiac, the guy right there with the Mohawk was set for a spicy weekend. He polished off 35 dozen raw oysters in eight minutes. Why? Well, that was to win a contest in New Orleans. Thirty-five dozen -- fast math, that's 425 slimy shellfish.

Doctors orders or no, a Dr. Phil staffer bailing out a Florida teen accused in a vicious attack. And the show says "it went beyond our guidelines." They've scrapped plans to do an episode on the story.

If you want to find out more, go to CNN.com.

LEMON: I'm sure this is on CNN.com, as well. But we're going to tell you about it now. A potential curse averted by the New York Yankees. After seven hours of digging, construction workers excavated a Boston Red Sox jersey buried under the new Yankees Stadium by a fan of the Yankees' hated rival. The saboteur had worked at the construction site. He confessed last week to the "New York Post," prompting indignant cries of desecration. With evidence now in hand, the Yankees say they may file suit.

But on what grounds?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN SMITH, ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY: Well, there's a curse charge.

(LAUGHTER)

No. I mean, there's no -- but, really, what they can do is he's intentionally altering a construction site, which can actually cause problems -- safety concerns, things like that. They could do something on that. They could also -- there's the issue of actually causing charges to be incurred by having to dig this out. So they can file criminal charges against him. I don't think that would really happen here, but I don't think they'll just let it go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: A great story.

LEMON: Yes, it is a great story.

The Yankees say they'll clean the shirt up and sell it at auction, with the proceeds going to a children's cancer charity, which is good news.

LONG: Yes, making good of the situation.

LEMON: Yes.

LONG: I'm sure our resident New Yorker, Susan Lisovicz, has something to say about this.

LEMON: Can you believe that? It's blasphemy, right, Susan?

LISOVICZ: It is absolutely below the belt and below the concrete and it was removed just in time before the Red Sox come to the Bronx later this week so...

LEMON: Yes, I know. Can you imagine if that had stayed there? My goodness.

LISOVICZ: No. No. Because baseball -- players and fans are very superstitious.

LONG: Oh, absolutely. Especially with that (INAUDIBLE).

LISOVICZ: Listen, let me just tell you. All right, so the Red Sox come to town later this week.

J.K. Rowling, the author of Harry Potter and that empire, in town today, in federal court to -- in a case against a fan who wants to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia. There she was, accompanied by security, no less. She's made quite a tidy sum. Let me see -- Harry Potter, 400 million copies, $4.5 billion at the worldwide box office. She's done pretty well. We'll let you know the outcome of that.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LONG: All right. Thanks, Susan.

LEMON: Now it's time to turn it over to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Mr. Wolf Blitzer -- Hey, Wolf.

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