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Savage Spring Weather; Polygamist Sect Abuse Case; Some Stores Limit Rice Sales; Food Crisis Overseas; Gas Prices Up Again

Aired April 24, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Israel bombed it, did North Korea help build it? The Bush administration shows congress secret nuclear evidence. We are live from Jerusalem.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A run on rice. Two big boxed retailers putting limits on a dinner time favorite in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Unfolding this hour, pretty dramatic pictures to show you. Spring weather, extreme and unexpected like this. Widespread damage when a pair of tornadoes possibly touching down here in the community of Crowley near Dallas, Texas formed from savage thunderstorms that pounded northern and western Texas. Homes gone. Vehicles gone. Trees down. No word on any injuries.

That voice you hear in the background, Rob Marciano standing by for us in the Severe Weather Center lining up some shots to show you some of the damage and effects.

Is this the end result of it? Are we is saying it could be spinning and traveling to the next location?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's moving eastward but it's lost a lot of its punch.

This is the radar guys from last night. It has some punch there, Dallas-Ft. Worth. There's Crowley. There was a tornado reported just upstream of Crowley. So that's why, you know, we think it was a tornado. They are sending out a survey team out there to just make sure.

There are -- there was a warning that was put out for big time wind that could have gusted over 70 miles an hour. Certainly if it was just straight lined winds, over is 100 miles an hour, that kind of damage. You see how this cell just explodes, dives south through Dallas. This happened between about 7:30 last night to about 9:30 last night is when all this action happened.

So switch it back. By the way, here is Crowley, Dallas-Ft. Worth. Here is where that tornado was sighted. And it probably was a tornado. If not, straight line winds, big time.

All right. That was impulse number one. Impulse number two, now driving through Utah. This is Salt Lake City. The Wasatch around Utah, we've snow advisory that's in effect for that area. So unusually strong, cold air coming in. That pulses right along the jet stream. Here is the system that is now spreading out and kind of getting more diffuse, rolled through Texas last night. This will push across east of the Mississippi. This shouldn't be severe. It will have some rain. It will have some lightning in spots. Maybe thunder. Maybe some small hail. Generally speaking, these will be your garden- type variety thunderstorms as they roll eastward along the Mississippi valley here. Memphis, probably getting showers, thunderstorms that are waking up Graceland.

The next pulse that will come through the mountains into the plains will bring our severe weather threat farther north than it was yesterday. The timing will be about the same late afternoon and early evening. Once we get the sun to work in that clearing sky, that will pop the cap. Damaging winds, large hail, isolated tornadoes possible. The next piece of atmospheric energy begins to -- this is the time of year, guys. The fact that nobody at least as far as we can tell was seriously hurt, fatalities, very many folks that live there who know what to do when this kind of weather begins to develop.

WHITFIELD: Finger crossed it stays that way.

HARRIS: Rob, thank you, sir.

When the weather becomes the news as it is in Crowley, Texas, right now, take a look at this. Just dramatic. Look at your -- send us your photos and I-reports. Information in addition to the photos of what you are seeing and what the experience was like for you. Just type I-report, teach.com into your cell phone. It helps us tell the story a bit better. Always be safe.

WHITFIELD: Developing this hour, moving day for hundreds of children taken from the polygamist compound in Texas. They are headed to group homes, shelters, foster care.

Susan Roesgen is following the case in San Angelo, Texas.

Any new developments in this hour, Susan?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We think that the buses are going to start moving any minute now, Fredricka. Any minute now, we expect to see the big charter buses carrying the last of the children, the last 300 children who have been here in the San Angelo coliseum for the last three weeks.

We do have some new video of the buses lined up in the parking lot. We expect those buses to start rolling and taking the children to 16 different group homes, all across the state of Texas.

It is going to be tough probably to try to keep a lot of these large, extended families together. We know that one mother, for instance, has seven children. Seven children and the youngest is 4. We talked to this mother's lawyer. She says the 4-year-old has been separated from the older children. She says she realizes it is hard but the state of Texas to keep track of more than 400 children all together but she is just trying to keep this one family intact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AMY GOLDER, ATTORNEY: I think they have a very difficult job. I recognize that. And we are looking at it, I have, you know, five children. It is much easier for me. They have 421 children to look after. I don't say they don't have the children ace best interests. I have been out there. Somebody listen to me and keep this little girl with her sisters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: You are hearing a lot of those complaints from the lawyers. Obviously, would when you have such a huge child custody case like this, you are going to have cases in which people are separated. Mothers separated from children. Children separated from brothers and sisters. But the mothers of the youngest children got a concession from the judge, the nursing mothers and there are 18 nursing mothers, will be allowed to stay with their babies in whatever homes they are sent to. The mothers of children 2 years and younger should at least be able to find housing. The state has to try to find some way to accommodate them at least in the same towns where there children are. The mothers of the very young children will at least be close to them.

WHITFIELD: Extraordinary. Susan Roesgen, thanks so much. San Angelo, Texas.

HARRIS: New home sales plunge in March, hitting another new low. The government says that average sales were off 8.5 percent. Can you imagine? The slowest pace in 16 1/2 years. The median price of a new home dropped as well more than 13 percent to $227,600. Hardest hit, the northeast. The south faring better than the rest of the country.

WHITFIELD: Surprise on aisle six. Some of the nation's largest warehouse stores limiting how much rice you can buy. The reason, soaring prices and rising concerning of a world food crisis. Some people and many businesses are clearing the shelves. That's because U.S. rice prices have nearly doubled in the past few months. Food shortages have triggered panic and rioting in parts of Asia and Africa. Rice experts say rising demand from developing countries and poor crops strained supplies. They say there is no global shortage. By the way, U.S. rice futures hit an all-time high today.

HARRIS: The United Nations stepping in to the world food crisis and asking other countries to step back before taking emergency measures of their own.

CNN's Hugh Rimington now in Hong Kong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.N.'S World Food Programme now believes the word gets it when it comes to the food price crisis. The government scrambles to ensure their own supplies of rice, of wheat, of edible oils, are they making things worse? China, India, Vietnam, major rice exporter, Indonesia, these are just some of the countries that have officially banned exports of selective foods. They might be protecting their domestic stockpiles but to what cost elsewhere?

BETTINA LUESCHER, U.N. WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME: Of course, the countries that are hardest hit are the ones that are importing food. They cannot produce it on their own. They are relying on the outside, other countries and, of course, could easily lead to tension.

RIMINGTON: That tension is at its most severe in Africa, in parts of Central and South America and here in Asia particularly where the poverty is at its greatest. Asian Development Bank says countries that are supporting a policy the bank says is an overreaction and counterproductive. The Asian Development Bank says the issue is not strictly a shortage of food, rather a shortage of prices that the poorest can afford. The World Food Programme this week upped its estimate of the money it needs just to cover price rises from $500 billion to $750 billion.

The U.N.'s food and agricultural organization is scrambling to put together a global emergency meeting planned for Rome in June. It will address among other things the trend towards biofuels seen by some as environmentally better than oil bunt blamed in part for the current food inflation.

While the talk goes on, images from around the world bear out the truth of the words of an old reggae song, a hungry mob is an angry mob.

LUESCHER: The rise in food prices is not just a humanitarian issue. It's also a peace and security issue. That's why it is so important.

RIMINGTON: Hugh Rimington, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Another day, another record and all you can do is grin and bear it. Gasoline prices go from creeping to leaping, up more than two cents overnight. AAA puts the national average at just over $3.56 for a gallon of regular. A year ago, it was $2.80 a gallon. Premium now $3.91 and diesel, $4.22. Analysts predict many of us will soon be paying an average of $4 for a gallon of regular gas.

Keep watching CNN, our money team has you covered whether it is jobs, debt, housing, savings. Join us for a special report called "ISSUE #1," the economy, all this week, noon eastern. Only on CNN.

HARRIS: On to Indiana and North Carolina, the two states have the next Democratic primary contests on May 6. Hillary Clinton is in North Carolina today for a couple of speeches. Barack Obama is off the campaign trail today caucusing with aides in Chicago. John McCain continues his week-long tour of areas hit hard by job losses. He is in New Orleans to visit the ninth ward to hold a town hall meeting. He has also campaigned this week in Kentucky, Selma, Alabama, Youngstown, Ohio. Indiana in play for the Democrats, who's got the edge? We have the checklist coming up in the NEWSROOM. WHITFIELD: Also making headlines, action star Wesley Snipes facing sentencing this hour. The hearing under way right now in a California federal courtroom. Snipes was found guilty in February of failing to file taxes for three years. The government says he owes $2.7 million. Prosecutors call him a notorious offender. They want the judge to give him the maximum sentence possible, three years behind bars and a $5 million fine. We will tell you what the judge rules when it happens.

HARRIS: Divine dialing, a church rents steeple space to cell phone companies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I looked at the spire and realize that the cross is an antenna. I think -- that's exactly what the cross was meant for.

HARRIS: Answering god's call. Right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

They are young, they're tuned in, and Muslim in America.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Raise your hand if you think the war in Iraq was a mistake.

Every one of you thinks the war in Iraq is a mistake.

WHITFIELD: Our Rick Sanchez talking with first-time voters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A top secret nuclear evidence revealed this morning to members of congress. U.S. intelligence trying to support claims Syria was building a nuclear reactor at this site with North Korea's help. Israel bombed the suspected facility last September

Live now to our Ben Wedeman in Jerusalem.

Ben, Israeli officials would rather not have this whole discussion in public.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. In fact, since this bombing took place in September of 2007, Israeli officials have been strictly quiet on this subject and they say that they will continue to do so and wait to see what comes out of the hearings on capitol hill. Afterwards they may say something but nobody expects them to say much. They are worried about that this tape that's going to be shown to members of congress may compromise some of their intelligence gathering methods. In addition to that, they are concerned that there will be pressure after the hearing on the Syrian president from within his regime to wreak some sort of revenge on Israel for that attack. For those reasons, they really would rather the subject not be discussed, not be aired publicly. And as said, they have been surprisingly quiet about this attack since it took place in September.

HARRIS: Ben, what impact is all of this having on the possibility of peace talks between Israel and Syria?

WEDEMAN: Ironically, it seems to be a completely different subject. We learned from an interview with the Syrian president published in an Arabic newspaper today that Israel and Syria have been passing notes back and forth about the possibility of reviving peace talks which came to an abrupt halt in the spring of 2000. These notes being passed back and forth through Turkish intermediaries and we did hear there was a report in Syria earlier in the week that the Israelis said that -- Israeli Prime Minister Olmert said he would be willing to give up the Golan Heights which Israel has occupied since June of 1967 in exchange for peace with Syria. Ironically, the Israeli prime minister is on his Passover vacation now. He is spending it in the Golan Heights. Figure that one out, Tony.

HARRIS: It is absolutely fascinating. Ben Wedeman for us in Jerusalem; Ben, thank you.

WHITFIELD: Their bodies are torn by war but their spirits are forged by competition. Iraq's disabled athletes games in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A state with the fate. Indiana is next for the Democrats. Tom Foreman has the political scorecard.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: About 6 million people living in Indiana, half as many as in Pennsylvania. And each candidate has likely natural power supplies here.

Let's start with Clinton and race. Indiana is 89 percent white. That's above the national average. That's above Pennsylvania. Where exit polls show race was a factor that hurt Obama. So that's likely a plus for Clinton. The percentage of female voters is just a little below Pennsylvania. She probably won't pick up extra ground there. But a lot of the Democrats here consider themselves basically conservative and that could disincline them to Obama's message of change.

So what helps Obama? There are fewer older people here per capita than in Pennsylvania. And since senior citizens tend to like Clinton, having less of them could help him. There are plenty of young voters to pursue. Indiana has dozens of well regarded colleges and universities, Notre Dame, Purdue, among others. The college kids tend to love Obama, rolling out impressive numbers of new voters. But there is a catch. When young people graduate in Indiana, they often move away so overall, the state's population is less educated than average and less educated people tend to vote more often for Clinton.

There are many blue collar workers here who have done well with them but Indiana has not been hit quite as hard economically as some other states. So they could be a wash depending on whose message really connects with them. WHITFIELD: Their first vote. We talked with young Muslims about this election and what it means to them.

HARRIS: Left disabled by war but that's not keeping them from competing. CNN's Jill Dougherty on Iraq's disabled athletes' championships.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Beating the odds comes naturally to these athletes. competitors at Iraq's Disabled Athletes' National Championship. They are here from all over Iraq, 250 men, women, and even some children. Many of them are victims of this war. Three years ago, Sabrina Wardi was an amateur gymnast and runner.

SABRINA WARDI, ATHLETE (through translator): I was on my way to computer class when a car bomb exploded nearby. It knocked me over and I was hit by shrapnel.

DOUGHERTY: She lost her leg and her hope that she would play sports again. But her friend encouraged her to join a sports club. And Sabrina took up the shot put and javelin. The violence in Baghdad makes training difficult.

WARDI (through translator): I'm afraid go out alone because of the security situation. My mother needs to go everywhere with me.

DOUGHERTY: Athletes with disabilities in any country have a lot to overcome. But these athletes are competing in the midst of a sand storm with explosions going off in the distance.

The National Organization for Iraq's Disabled Athletes has no training center. Its secretary says they need cars to for transportation and better equipment. Their ability to overcome these challenges, he says, makes their accomplishments even more extraordinary.

FAKHIR ALI AL-JAMALY, IRAQI NATIONAL PARALYMPIC CMTE. (through translator): We are the school of life against terrorism. Our determination proves to the world we love peace.

DOUGHERTY: Hussein Abdul Zahara is 11 years old. He says he has been running since he was 6. A year ago, he was shot in the head as he stood on a street corner and lost his sight.

HUSSEIN ABDUL ZAHARA, ATHLETE (through translator): After I was shot, I didn't know what happened. I was awake. I was bleeding and my eyes were closed.

DOUGHERTY: He says he feels sad a lot of the time. Today is not one of those days. A coach ties a handkerchief to his hand and guides him down the track. Exactly how many people this war has maimed is not known. The head of the Paralympics Committee estimates there are 3 million disabled throughout the country of 27 million. For these competitors bombs and bullets have hit their bodies but not their spirits. Jill Dougherty, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: To get your daily dose of health news online, just logon to our Web site. There you will find the latest medical news and health library and additional information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

WHITFIELD: Rice, a linchpin in the deepening food crisis across the world. We will tell you one country is confronting the fear at its roots.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Planning segments for tomorrow's show. Maybe we should tell the producers we are working on something. Hello. Coming up on the half-hour, welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

A food crisis all the way across the world. A ripple felt as close as your corner grocery shelf. Across much of the U.S., some Costco and Sam's Clubs are limiting how much rice you can buy today. The limit more than likely you want, 80 pounds per shopper. Some people in many small business remembers stocking up for two reasons. One, U.S. rice prices have nearly doubled in the past few months. And more ominously food shortages have ignited panic and rioting overseas. Rice experts say poor crops and rising demand from developing countries has strained supplies. There is no global shortage. Rice futures actually hit an all-time high earlier today.

HARRIS: People getting clubbed trying to get food. Rice supplies, experts say it is not a shortage CNN's Eunice Yoon has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chinese farmer Wu Yuan Shang is preparing the earth for the first crop of rice this season. Last year, he left much of the land untilled. The costs were so high and the selling price of rice was so low. But this year, he's filling his fields with the Asian staple.

WU YUAN SHANG, CHINESE FARMER (through translator): Fertilizer and seed have been so expensive, rice was hardly worth planting. Now, I'm getting more money.

YOON: The Chinese government now pays farmers more to grow rice amid fears of a global shortage. Rice prices are soaring worldwide. Demand up and supplies down. But not in China.

(on camera): Rice sold in markets like this one is far cheaper than it is in most parts of the world. That's because the Chinese government keeps the cost of this grain in check using price control. (voice-over): Rice here sells for $350 a ton, about a third of what most rice goes for worldwide. China keeps the prices down to ward off social unrest.

STEPHEN GOLLOP, CEO, TYCHE: If you look at Haiti, you look at Egypt. They've had riots already about the price of rice and a few other food products. If that were to come in to China, then that would be the biggest single fear for the Chinese government.

YOON: But price controls discourage farmers like these ones shown on Chinese TV, with Premier Wen Jiabao. Wen says China grows enough rice to feed all its people. Yet, to help make sure Beijing cut rice exports, raise prices paid to farmers by nine percent and is doling out billions of dollars in subsidies for tractors, fertilizer and fuel.

Still, critics say these policies fail to address a more fundamental issue.

(on camera): Farmland like this has been diminishing in recent years in China's great drive towards industrilization. Factories are cropping up all over the country and young people are choosing to leave the farms for higher paying jobs in the city.

(voice-over): The government praised Yu Doyao (ph) for his farming techniques, but even he is disillusioned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't want my grandchildren to become farmers.

YOON: A feeling among many farmers here and one that left unchecked, could make rice an even more prized dish on the dinner table in years to come.

Eunice Yoon, CNN, Anhui Province, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: An election too important to pass up. Voter registration rolls are rising ahead of November's election. And we're talking with first-time voters nationwide.

Here now Rick Sanchez. He sits down with a group of young Muslims.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When you hear the words "War on Terror," what do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many Muslims are confused about this war. Is it a war against terrorism or is it a war against Muslims and Islam?

SANCHEZ: Raise your hand if you think the War in Iraq was a mistake. Every single one of you thinks the War in Iraq is a mistake. Why is it a mistake? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is miscommunication about weapons of mass destruction, there's miscommunication about what terrorism really is. There have been groups in Iraq that have been oppressed for decades.

SANCHEZ: Right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And those groups are fighting against those oppressors. And we are getting the wrong image and connecting the wrong people in thinking that terrorism from the 9/11 attacks is linked to Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think if the U.S. was really concerned about fostering a stable democracy in Iraq, it would look to the kind of indigenous forces that are really in favor of democracy. I don't think that's fair to assume that all Iraqis oppose democracy. But when it's framed as something that's like a foreign imposition and some people see it as almost like new imperialism or something like that, then I think it's just really counter-productive at achieving that.

SANCHEZ: You think our policy in Iraq and our policy throughout the Middle East in the last six, seven years has actually helped Osama bin Laden?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We've given him what he wanted? Is that what you're saying?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It gives him more people to sympathize with his cause.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reason we have the image we have overseas is because of this idea that we can bulldoze and not be aware of cultural differences. Not be aware of sensitivities.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A key point that makes me want to vote for Obama is he's open to dialogue. He's a man of action and serious about peace.

SANCHEZ: Would you say that's the most impressive thing about his platform?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say like that he's really open and he's really accepting of others and he'd be willing to at least compromise if it's possible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he's a leader who will take this country to the next century, you know, as a global superpower.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking for a new leadership with a new direction. We need a leadership that will work to enhance and restore the American image abroad, especially in the Muslim world.

SANCHEZ: Raise your hand if you're planning to vote for Barack Obama. Raise your hand if you're planning to vote right now for Hillary Clinton. Two in the back. Raise your hand if you're planning to vote for John McCain. Nobody voting for John McCain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, this election, get the facts and have some fun. Join the league of "First-Time Voters." Powered by you, informed by CNN. Check in, join in, weigh in. CNN headquarters for the independent thinker, join now. For more information, log on to CNN.com/league.

HARRIS: Fred, just a bad, bad scene to show everyone right now. Take a look at this. This is in Pennsylvania, Somerset Township, Pennsylvania. Just a horrible accident here. And the tales -- the tales in this story make it a bit worse. This is a tractor trailer hitting a van carrying mentally handicapped children. Four people have been taken to a local hospital in the area. The extent of the injuries not known at this time. But that is just a ...

WHITFIELD: It is. I was having a hard time figuring out ...

HARRIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: ...the vehicles. But now, I see the red tractor trailer, at least the cab of it there to the left and then just between it and the wall of that building ...

HARRIS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: ...appears to be that van overturned or at least on its side there.

HARRIS: So, again -- if you're familiar with this area, this is Route 136, it is closed now at Route 519 because of this accident, Brownly (ph) Road, Somerset Township. This is Washington County, Pennsylvania. And that is a pretty nasty scene right now. Again, four people have been taken to a local hospital. The extent of the injuries not yet known.

We are going to continue to develop some information on this story. Maybe we'll be able to give you a more detailed update on the other side of the break.

Let's do that. Let's get to a break. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Maryland says no more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will no longer be in our state that draconian fast track to foreclosure that has existed in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But will it be enough to help homeowners in trouble?

HARRIS: And "Fortune" magazine is releasing its list of the top 500 companies this week. We went beyond the numbers for a closer look at what makes these companies tick. And in one case, it is all about geography.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This small town is best known for its Hollywood connection and as the backdrop for movies and TV shows. But it's also full of companies that top the business box office. What small town has the most Fortune 500 companies? Find out after the break.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Want to take you -- we want to take you straight to Washington. Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee for a briefing on this North Korea/Syria connection.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

REP. SILVESTRE REYES (D), TEXAS: ...between our committee on a bipartisan basis and the administration. Decisions that the administration makes have implications that affect the ability of Congress to provide the checks and balances that our founding fathers established over 200 years ago.

The challenge that we're having, particularly with the administration today is that there's a veil of secrecy that gets in the way of the -- certainly, our committee feeling comfortable that we're getting the kind of information that we're supposed to have in order to carry out our oversight responsibilities and our obligations to make sure that the funding is provided to keep our country safe.

That's the gist of what I wanted to say this morning. And I'll now turn it over to my ranking member, Mr. Hoekstra for any comments he wants to make.

REP. PETER HOEKSTRA (R), RANKING MEMBER, INTEL. COMMITTEE: Good, thank you. Thank you, Silver. Obviously this morning, the White House and the administration have notified the press, you know, that we were briefed on what happened in Syria on September 6th of 2007. The chairman and I have been briefed on that issue a long time ago. This is the first time that the full Intelligence Committee has been briefed on that.

Over the last eight months, the chairman and I, the Republican members of the conference, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and the ranking member on International Relations, we have forcefully argued to the administration that we believe for Congress to be able to do its full oversight capabilities, that the full Intelligence Committee needed to be briefed. It happened today. It happened eight months later than what it should have been.

I really believe on an issue that is this critical to the issue of proliferation, to the situation in the Middle East, this is what's going on in the six-party talks and these types of things, Congress needed this information to be a full partner in those efforts.

So, what's the end result? I think what we saw in the committee today, I think the chairman would agree that the relationship that we need to get international issues done, foreign policy issues done, a trusting environment between the administration and Congress, does not exist. I think many people believe that we were used today by the administration because -- not because they felt that they had to inform Congress, because it was their legal obligation to do that, but because they had other agendas in mind.

Remember, it is the legal responsibility of the administration to keep Congress fully and currently informed on the issues that the administration is dealing with. I think we have a question as to whether the administration actually moved forward in that direction.

The other thing that I think that has happened through this process is by waiting so long to be brief the Intelligence Committee and other committees on the Hill, the administration has made it much more difficult that if they do reach some kind of an agreement with the six-party talks, if they reach some other kinds of agreements, it will be much harder for them to go through the Congress and get these agreements approved because they have really damaged the relationship between Congress and the administration.

And that's a big disappointment, but I think that's something that we heard consistently from all of our members today.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

HOEKSTRA: Well, I mean, they're going to -- the administration is going to release the information.

WHITFIELD: Strong words there coming from Congressman Peter Hoekstra there, a ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. After being briefed, he and other committee members being briefed by U.S. Intelligence about nuclear -- about North Korea's alleged building of a nuclear site there in Syria, thereby being bombed by Israel back in September.

Peter Hoekstra saying that the members of Congress are feeling used by the administration, that the administration has not been forthright about information that it should have shared with Congress. They are learning of this information eight months after the fact of Israel bombing this suspected sight. So, very strong language being used by ranking House members there from the Intelligence Committee.

Of course, we'll get more information as we continue to delve into those very strong words and the kind of U.S. intelligence information that was revealed today before that committee.

Meantime, we're also keeping a close watch of the markets and your food, the world food crisis. Rice is critically important. It's a food staple in so many parts of the world and many communities now here in the U.S. are depending upon it as well. And now, some places are looking at limits on exactly how much rice you can buy.

Susan Lisovicz is in New York at the Stock Exchange there with more details on that. Pretty alarming to hear that there is now rationing of rice across the board in this country. At least, being, I guess, exercised by some big supermarkets.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

HARRIS: So, here's the church, here's the steeple. Open it up and there's the cell phone towers.

WHITFIELD: Ruined it, ruined that rhyme that we thought we knew.

HARRIS: We'll be back in a moment.

WHITFIELD: But this is clever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Which small town is home to the most "Fortune" 500 companies? With a population of about 16,000, the Los Angeles suburb of El Segundo, California tops that list. Mattell, Computer Sciences, DaVita and DirectTV all call El Segundo home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Talk radio listeners, sound off -- the never-ending battle between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is growing heated opinions.

CNN's Mary Snow has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN LEHRER, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Lisa in New Rochelle, you're on WNYC.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It didn't take long for things to heat up on Brian Lehrer's talk show on public radio station WNYC. Callers quickly squared off about the results of Pennsylvania's primary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the one thing I have about Hillary, is that I think that she is -- absolutely will do any damn thing she can.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, and what American politician won't?

SNOW: And the bottom line?

LEHRER: Joyce (ph), if Clinton gets the nomination, will you vote for her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Reluctantly, I will, anything to get a Democrat in.

LEHRER: Lisa, if Obama gets the nomination?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would have to think about that. I have never voted for a Republican in my life. I might abstain.

SNOW: Lehrer says callers in this Democratic city have changed their tune.

LEHRER: What I don't hear from the callers anymore is what I used to hear in January and February, which is, gosh, we're so lucky to have such great nominees this year. I will be happy with any of them -- any of them. Now it's like, oh, they're -- they're being so unfair.

SNOW: In Indiana, the next big battleground state, host Amos Brown broadcast his show from a Hillary Clinton rally in Indianapolis.

AMOS BROWN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: This is something we have never experienced in Indiana. I have been here 34 years.

SNOW: A number of his callers voiced support for Obama, but also expressed concern about the fierce fighting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I happened to say to myself last night, let me see who won in Pennsylvania. You know, you need to slow it down a little bit, because now we need to find out, where are we going? Because we need to start mending.

SNOW: And, in North Carolina, the other big May 6 primary state?

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let us know if you think the Democrats can all come together after the dust has settled on the campaign, hold hands, and sing kumbaya in Denver. What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I agree with Jesse Ventura. We need a "none of the above" slot on our ballot this year.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't see myself voting for any of these candidates they're putting up, Democrat or Republican, for president.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It's tough to rest at night. Gas prices leap while you sleep. What to expect at the pumps today. It is "ISSUE #1," coming up at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Talk about a holy calling. Cell phone towers at a church steeple signal a good deal for kids.

Reporter Holly Samuels of affiliate WDTN has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLLY SAMUELS, WDTN REPORTER (voice-over): It's been about five years since First United Methodist prayers were first answered. But it all started more than a century ago when the church on Salem Avenue was built, on top of one of the highest hills outside of downtown Dayton. Who would have guessed in the 21st century a steeple that reached for the heavens would be a gold mine to cell phone companies.

REV. TIM FORBESS, FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: We said, if you will allow us to put cell phone towers in our spiral on Salem Avenue, we'll make a commitment we will take the funds that are derived from that and use them not simply for the parish mission, but we'll use it for an overall mission and ministry for the whole neighborhood and our whole area of the city.

SAMUELS: The deal launched a successful mission. Since 2003, the church has installed three more towers. And even the cross is used as an antenna. Now the fifth will be installed by AT&T may 1st.

But what's more amazing is what's been done with the roughly $400,000 the deals have brought in.

FORBESS: I believe that not only has it changed and affected us as a congregation, it made us excited of our mission of what we can do, but it's also done amazing things for children's lives. And we feel very proud of that.

SAMUELS: Remember, in the beginning, the church promised to use the money to help the community. So although the church itself is in need of repairs, none of the cell phone money will be used here. Instead the church launched a school for learning-disabled kids called New City School. There's also an infant daycare and proposed plans for another daycare to be built across the street and a tricycle park. So far housing cell phone equipment has created 30 new jobs with the church and has helped to care for about 300 kids.

MARECCA WEATHERS, NEW CITY SCHOOL PARENT: I think that's awesome, and I hope that they continue to grow and help as many people as they possibly can, because they deserve it.

SAMUELS: Pastor Forbess admits the topic could be controversial, but says this is a project all his parishioners stand behind.

FORBESS: When I look at the spire and realize that the cross is an antenna, I think -- that's exactly what the cross was meant for. It was meant to care for people, to be close to people vulnerable, to care for the disadvantaged. SAMUELS: So maybe these contraptions are providing a direct line to God.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, CNN NEWSROOM continues an hour from now.

HARRIS: "ISSUE #1" is next with Gerri Willis and Ali Velshi.