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Deadly Storms; One Year Later; Economic Rebound; Smiley Face Killers; Home Alone; Student Loan Help

Aired May 02, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Don Lemon in the severe weather center. We start the CNN NEWSROOM with some breaking news. Two tornados on the ground, one in Arkansas and one in Texas. Chad Myers starts us off with our breaking news.
Go, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Keyo (ph), Arkansas, a tornado on the ground. About two miles west of that town. It's already moved through Hensley in Arkansas. Hensley was the town that actually was hit by the tornado just a little bit ago. And now into Carthage, which is in Texas. This storm is just about two miles south of Beckville. Beckville is the town that's in -- and also Carthage in real trouble now.

Here are the tornado warnings we have. Every pink box that you see here behind me is a tornado warning. These storms are rotating. Any storm that you see today could be right on top of you with a tornado on it. This atmosphere is this prime. It is ready to go right now. Not apt to wait until 4:00 or 5:00 for the heat of the day.

So here we go. A couple of storms back behind me. The one that moved just south of Wrightsville, Arkansas, just south and into the town of Hensley. That's where the tornado went right through the town. We know that now.

We also know that there are three fatalities from earlier today now confirmed by the law enforcement officials. So this is going to be a very busy day for us. What's on the ground and what's already happened is going to be quite the event I think here this afternoon with a big risk of severe weather all day long -- Don.

LEMON: All right. We're going to be following that all day long. And, Chad, do you remember a year ago? Remember, Kansas. We were covering what happened there. We want people to take a look at some of this video. No need to remind people in Kansas on the town about the shear might of a tornado.

This is Greensburg, Kansas, that video that you're about to look at. It was nearly wiped off the map one year ago this week. And that's where CNN's Rob Marciano is there today. Rob was there one year ago. He joins us now.

And, Rob, I understand it's starting to get windy where you are. ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is very windy. It's all associated with that storm that Chad was talking about. Just a couple hours to our north and west they've got blizzard conditions happening in western Nebraska and the Black Hills of South Dakota. We're under a winter advisory, but I've got to tell you, it's blowing steady at 40, gusting to 45.

Nonetheless, this town continues to rebuild. You can hear machinery going on in the background. Workers are still out in force. Behind me, a couple of buildings going up here. Some of these trees that were stripped of their foliage sprouting new branches and new leaves. So there's constant signs of life here in Greensburg that was wiped out by an F-5 tornado a year ago this Sunday.

New tree planted here. But, still, amongst the new stuff are signs of what happened. Rubble. This is a particular building built back in 1935. A Boy Scouts headquarters here. It's torn apart. But, still, some of the stone structure there kind of left as just some remembrance.

But towering above that is the brand-new water tower. That sits atop the well where they get their water from. And there it is in all its glory there. Greensburg, Kansas. Wiped out by an F-5 tornado a year ago on Sunday.

Some of this -- they're building green. That's really the main thing that's interesting and encouraging about this particular rebuilding effort. They are trying desperately to get the highest level of energy in an environmental design certification in a lot of these buildings going up. It's a lot to do, but they're hoping that this town becomes the greenest town in America.

And one of the things, Don, is they're going to harness some of this wind. Windmills are sprouting up like the winter wheat around this town. And they hope to be energy self-sustained here going forward -- Don.

LEMON: Hey, so, Rob, remember a year ago, we both were there. We both came to the scene of that tornado. And it was, I mean, really an amazing sight to see because just within a few minutes, an entire town was wiped out. And I remember Chad was back here in the Weather Center. That's actually touring some of the damage there. We were doing live shots. This was a huge story.

I'm just wondering about the human element. We're talking about them there making this town green. But what about the human element? How are the people dealing with this? And how are they coming around just one year later, Rob?

MARCIANO: Well, there's a huge buzz in this town and they've certainly had a lot of media attention this week. But besides the cameras, they're just excited for what they have here.

This is a very red state. I mean, this is middle America. A lot of farmers here. But time and time again residents said, you know green has no political party. So you've got everybody coming together. They want to make this town the greenest town in America. Drive new business here.

And, more importantly, keep the younger generation here and have a multigenerational family-oriented city again like they had back in the mid -- I won't lie to you, Don. I mean about half the -- the population was cut in half. But, you know, that's typical. Ninety percent of the town is gone. So it's a slow go of it but they're encouraged by their progress so far.

LEMON: Well, at least they're trying to make a go of it, Rob Marciano, and we wish them the very best and we thank you so much for your reporting.

And we can see that it's getting windy there. So, again, thank you very much.

We're going to turn back now to Chad Myers here in the CNN Severe Weather Center.

And, Chad, I understand you got some new information just coming off from the weather service.

MYERS: Well, we know now that a tornado did hit Henderson. At least parts of Henderson, Texas. It's the same storm now that's going toward Carthage. Carthage, a very large town. Call it a city if you want. Just on the eastern edge of east Texas.

And the storm itself on the ground, still on the ground, still spinning. It was two miles south of Beckville about 10 minutes ago. So if you are in Carthage, Texas, you need to be taking cover now in the lowest level. No time. You need to do this now. Get inside, away from windows. Don't be an i-Reporter. Get away from this storm. We know a tornado is on the ground with it and it is going to effect many people here.

This is going to be a volatile day, Don. You're going to come back to me a lot today, I'm afraid.

LEMON: All right, Chad Myers, we'll be checking back. Thank you so much for everything you've done. And also our thanks to Rob Marciano.

Melissa, we're going to toss it back over to you.

MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Let's focus on business for a moment. Focus on your money. After months of dismal economic news, you really can't blame us for asking. Perhaps you're asking the very same thing. Is this some light at the end of the tunnel?

The signs of hope are modest. Could be short-lived. But things that were going up are going down today. And things that were going down are finally going back up.

On the decline, the unemployment rate down 0.1 percent from last month. The price of gasoline down 0.1 of a penny from yesterday.

So what is going up? Well, let's look at the Dow Jones Industrial average. It's still on the plus side after rising above the 13,000 mark. Trading down right now, however, down 12,000 at 12,997.

So do the upbeat numbers, some what upbeat numbers, mean that we may have turned the corner or are we still in the same, long, one-way street?

Let's bring in senior business correspondent Ali Velshi who's going to help us to better understand all the numbers -- Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, we're all hoping for a moment, a break, where we can sort of say that trend has ended. All that gloomy news that we've got is actually improving.

You know, it might be, might not be. You just mentioned the Dow had turned down again. But 13,000 is the highest it's been since January. So strong day on the Dow.

We've had, although it's weakening a little bit right now, we had good GDP numbers earlier this week. The Fed cut rates but said that they might stop. Oil, it's moving its way up again, but it was at $120 and it moved all the way to $110 this week. Gas prices didn't set a record again today.

But, Melissa, the big thing we were looking at is the jobs numbers. They came out this morning. The unemployment rate in the United States actually down to 5 percent from 5.1 percent. It was expected to go up. And look at the trend. Bottom line is, it's still bad because we've got job losses. But look at January, 76,000, February 83,000, March 81,000.

We were expecting about 75,000 jobs to be lost in April. Guess what? We only lost 20,000. Most economists will tell you, you need to add 100,000 a month where we've lost more than a quarter million jobs this year. So it's not good, but it's a little bit better than expected. And for some of us who do nothing but talk about things that people think are grim, we're happy for a little bit of good news.

LONG: All right. We're going to talk more about the economy (AUDIO GAP). First, let me just focus on you for a moment. You're a dapper gentleman. Snazzy glasses. Great energy. And it seems a lot of people are picking up on that. And I want to share some tape from last night on the late night talk shows and "The Daily Show." Did you happen to seen this clip of you?

VELSHI: I've seen it since it ran, yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: This is going to be the seventh Fed rate cut in a row. You've got to pay attention to this. This is major.

JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": Who is that hairless prophet of doom and how can we appease his anger, please? If we give you our hair, will you give us back our money? Will you do it, sir? (END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: A hairless prophet of doom, huh? How do you feel about that?

VELSHI: You know, Melissa, you know I get very excited about business. I get extremely into it. I was just getting into it.

LONG: Yes. Well, we appreciate that you're so into it and help us to really understand some of the really complex topics.

VELSHI: My pleasure.

LONG: Well, that was fun. And it's always such the form of flattery, right?

VELSHI: I'm totally happy. And he seems to have changed the whole doom thing, by the way. Ever since he did that on TV last night, I've had mostly good news today.

LONG: Good. All right. Well, good. Keep bringing that good news, too.

All right, thanks, Ali. We'll talk to you a little bit later.

LEMON: All right. Not good news when it comes to the weather. We are keeping an eye on the weather this hour. We'll bring you the very latest tornado warnings with Chad Myers in the Severe Weather Center.

And perhaps we haven't noticed this. Severe flooding in eastern Canada. It's causing huge problems in parts of New Brunswick.

LONG: And another political challenge brought on by the march of the science. The privacy rights in the age of gene technology.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Breaking weather news. We have two tornados on the ground. Chad Myers with the very latest -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, you know what? There's Iowa State University site that is just amazing. We use it all the time now. And it shows us everything that the weather service is saying out of any weather service office across the country.

So we do know two south of Sheridan, in Arkansas, law enforcement, a tornado on the ground just south of Sheridan. Right there. Now that would be eight northwest of Sparkman in Arkansas. Ping pong ball size hail. And law enforcement reports a tornado on the ground near Highway 15 near Toltec in Arkansas.

Then we'll take you down to the Texas stuff. We know that a tornado was on the ground near Beckville and it's now just to the north of Carthage. So we're going to keep you up-to-date on these things all day long. But it is going to be -- it's going to be a rush to get things to you. All I want you to know is take advantage of what I'm giving you now. If a storm is headed your way, don't wait for a warning. Get the kids, the dogs, the pets inside and just stay away from the windows. Get to the lowest level and take precaution until it's gone. It will only be 15 minutes of your life and it might save your life. So do that for me today, please.

LEMON: All right. You heard it from the best, meteorologist Chad Myers.

Chad, thank you very much.

LONG: Now 40 suspicious deaths in 11 states in 11 years. All the victims men. All were young. And the similarities just do not end there. And now two former cops have a hair-raising theory.

With more, here's CNN's Erica Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Matt Graziki (ph) vanished from East Dubuque, Illinois, on Christmas Eve 2005. Three months later, his body was found in the nearby Mississippi River. Police called the 24-year-old's death a drowning. But could he actually be the victim of a gang of serial killers?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of these cases the evidence is so compelling it just can't be coincidental.

HILL: That chilling theory comes from two former New York City police officers convinced the drownings of at least 40 college students, include Graziki, are connected. Their interest was peaked after looking into the 1997 death of Patrick McNeal (ph) in New York City, also a young college student, also apparently drowned.

The retired cops believe the young men were murdered by a band of psychopaths in a crime wave spanning 25 cities and 11 states. And they have a name for their suspects, "the smiley face killers," because of the crude graffiti, like this, found near some of the locations where the young men were found dead.

And near one crime scene in Michigan the word "sinsinawa." Matt Graziki, who's body was found in Illinois, was last seen in a bar on Sinsinawa Avenue.

While the former NYPD officers are convinced serial killers are responsible, many local police departments are not.

CHIEF ALAN MULKIN, CANTON, N.Y. POLICE: As far as these New York City police detectives I just heard about, I don't know who they are, I don't know what they're looking at. I'm not aware of any of their evidence.

HILL: The FBI isn't buying the serial killer angle either, issuing this statement two days ago. "We have not developed any evidence to support links between these tragic deaths or any evidence substantiating the theory that these deaths are the work of a serial killer or killers. The vast majority of these instances appear to be alcohol-related drownings."

But for some families, the similarities are too strong. And they fear the lives lost were, in fact, lives taken.

Erica Hill, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: A 13-year-old home on a school day decides to go back to bed. But she was not being lazy, she was home alone and her house was being robbed. We're going to tell you what happened next.

LEMON: You've got issues with the economy? Well, you know what, just take a number. A new poll suggests it's a bigger concern now than before. And we'll tell you the one concern that seems to outweigh all the others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: An Ohio teen was home alone when two people entered her home apparently -- well, they were planning a robbery. She kept her cool, found the perfect place to hide and used her cell phone to call for help.

Brittany Westbrook of our Columbus affiliate, WBNS, has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRITTANY WESTBROOK, WBNS REPORTER (voice over): Lauren Durnbaugh was alone. Her mother was at work. And someone was turning the knob on the front door.

LAUREN DURNBAUGH, STOPPED BURGLARS: And he opened it just a little bit and said, "is anyone home?" And that's the point where I ran into my room.

WESTBROOK: She thought the closet is where they would look first. So Lauren went where many kids go when they're scared, under the covers.

DURNBAUGH: Grabbed my covers and jumped into bed like this. So like at times when they were so close to me that I couldn't breathe, I was scared. I didn't know what to do.

WESTBROOK: Call it a teenager instincts, but at that moment she let her fingers do the talking in a text message to mom.

DURNBAUGH: It says, "mommy, oh, my God, I'm scared. I think we're being robbed. I'm hiding. Help me."

MARGO ROBY, MOTHER: I was scared to death. I thought, oh my God, do they have her?

WESTBROOK: Margo Roby called 911 and sped home, where she found this car, the thieves' car, still in the driveway. She rammed her car onto theirs.

ROBY: And my instinct was to stop her. So I got out and that's when, again, you know, you have the white all over my jacket, you know, where I was pushed against the wall.

WESTBROOK: Seconds later, sheriff's deputies arrived and arrested the suspects. And, finally, she was able to get to her little girl.

ROBY: I'm amazed that she held on like that.

WESTBROOK: Under the covers until she knew she was safe.

DURNBAUGH: My mom yelled in here and said it was OK, come out. And I got up and I could barely even walk, I was so happy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was Brittany Westbrook of CNN affiliate in Columbus WBNS. We thank her for that report.

By the way, the two suspects had already removed jewelry, a computer, a digital camera and other items from the house by the time Lauren's mother and police arrived.

LONG: A report on the economy now. President Bush says he's confident the economy will bounce back. In suburban St. Louis today, the president said the tax rebate checks going out now will stimulate spending. He called on Congress to help lower gas prices by increasing supplies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: World demand exceed supply and now you're paying for it. If Congress truly is interested in helping relieve the price of gasoline, they would do two things. They would recognize that we can drill for oil and gas in environmentally friendly ways here in the United States there is good reserve (AUDIO GAP) build refineries. They would encourage the construction of refineries. Do you know that there hasn't been a new refinery built in America since 1976. No wonder there's constricted supplies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: President Bush was visiting a technology plant in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

LEMON: We've been talking a lot about the credit crunch. It's hitting more than just homeowners. Many college students are having a hard time financing their education. But now, but now, help could be on the way. Stephanie Elam is at the New York Stock Exchange with all the details on that.

So, Stephanie, how's it going to help?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, the idea here is that new legislation could help stabilize the $85 billion student loan industry. Both the Senate and House have approved a bill aimed at helping students get access to money. And President Bush has expressed his support and is expected to sign it.

Obviously what would likely happen here is that the bill would allow students to receive more federally subsidized loans and that should decrease the reliance on private loans. That's important because many private lenders have tightened their standards while others, well, you know, that we've heard about this, they've completely gone out of business. The bill also allows parents to defer repaying loans until after students graduate and increases grant aid to low-income students -- Don.

LEMON: OK. So I don't think it's just students, right? Credit card reform is also being worked on, right?

ELAM: Yes, that's definitely the case, too. Two federal agencies are proposing new rules aimed at stopping what they call unfair practices by credit card companies. The seven-point plan would give consumers more notice before their monthly payments are due and prevent companies from charging fees to open an account. The Federal Reserve is expected to sign off on it later today. And the new regulations could be finalized by the end of the year.

Now the credit card industry, as you're probably not surprised to hear, is fighting the new rule, saying they could actually hurt consumers by choking off access to credit. So, obviously, there will be more on that.

Let's take a look at what's going on here on Wall Street. We had an early rally right in the morning. It looked great. The Dow was up by triple digits after the April unemployment report came in better than you. But now a $3 jump in oil is bringing prices back down.

Let's take a look at the numbers. The Dow on the up side still, but just barely, up four points, 13,014 there. NASDAQ slipping into the red, off 14 points, at 2,466.

Now coming up next hour, details on that jobs report. And I'll tell you who's hiring and who's not. But, you know, there is a little bit of good news in there I guess somewhere along the way, Don and Melissa.

LEMON: Who's hiring, who's not. That is news you can use.

ELAM: Exactly. We like that.

LEMON: Absolutely. Stephanie Elam, thank you.

LONG: They're trying to save their livelihood. The livestock with the flooding in eastern Canada because the St. John River is filling the valley today. And the water is still rising as people are heading for higher ground.

LEMON: All right. Look at the TV. Do you remember this person? Take a good look. It's former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan. Since she left CNN, she's been really, really busy and she has some amazing stories that she wants to tell you. And, guess what, we're going to get the scoop from Daryn straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Our breaking news in the CNN NEWSROOM is afternoon is the weather. We have confirmed reports of tornados on the ground. Joining us now with the very latest on that, CNN's Chad Myers on top of it.

Chad, what do you have for us?

MYERS: Carlisle, Arkansas, exit on I-40, tornado on the ground moving northeast at 55 miles per hour. Here's the problem, Don, you're not going to be able to get out of the way of these storms today moving almost 60 miles per hour. Even if you're driving the car. Unless the car is going directly away from the storm. I mean there's nothing you can do about it.

You need to be away from these storms, inside your house, inside the lowest level and stay away from the windows. Don't try to be an i-Reporter today until it's gone and then maybe you can get out there and show us some of the damage. I don't need tornado pictures today. I know they're on the ground today. And it's going to be a rough day for a lot of people in Arkansas. This is just southeast and east of Little Rock.

LEMON: OK. And I want you to stick with me, Chad, because we have Renee Preslar on the phone.

She's from the Arkansas Department -- is it public management?

RENEE PRESLAR, ARKANSAS DEPT. OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Emergency Management.

LEMON: Emergency Management. She joins us now on the telephone.

You've heard Chad Myers telling us about all of the problems that you're having there. What's new? What can you tell us about what you're seeing on the ground and what you're hearing from people who live there?

PRESLAR: Well, you know, we're really just getting reports of damages from all over the state. Currently we have 11 counties that have said they've received some sort of damage. As far as our fatality total, that has just recently increased to six from the three that we had originally thought it was. And right now our injury total is staying around 11.

LEMON: Around 11. Chad Myers joins us now and he's our meteorologist here. And, Renee, he may have some questions for you. Chad is used to dealing with this, would know the exact questions to ask you.

MYERS: Well, I guess the thing people need to know today is that this is going to be a day for anybody to -- when you see a storm, to get out of the way. I mean, and I know you people try to -- we all try to stress this. Not try to go out there and take pictures of the tornados and go chase them.

PRESLAR: Absolutely.

MYERS: It's very difficult to chase a tornado in Arkansas because of the topography anyway, right?

PRESLAR: Right. Well, I mean, and you know just as well as I do that, you know, the landscape, the topography, you know, from the mountains, to the hills and the plains, I mean, these things jump. So you might think that you're ahead of it or you're in front of it or behind it or aside it, but it can change at any moment. You know, we stress to people that we do not want you to go out and take pictures and to videotape this to get the extra footage. I mean, you know, you stay indoors. You know, you get to a low area of, you know, surrounded by inside walls and you protect yourself. That's the most important thing.

LEMON: Renee, you said 11 counties in that area. Tell us when the calls started coming into you? And again, what people were saying and what were you advising them to do there?

PRESLAR: Well, what we do is we monitor what the counties are doing. Disasters, as you guys know, are on the local level. So the counties take control of everything and we help the counties out with damages, be it they need extra support or they need resources. That's what the state is here to help the county individuals do. So we help the county officials while the county officials help the public.

LEMON: Renee Preslar, thank you so much for joining us and we want to make sure that you get back to us if you get any new information on this, we may be calling you back because I have a feeling that it's going to be a very busy day. Hopefully there isn't any more damage in Arkansas.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There's going to be. There is no question. We still have tornados on the ground right now, that one near Carlisle. And more storms are going to rotate today. They are going to get more severe again and we're going to have more on the ground. All the way down through Texas, maybe Louisiana and as far north even as Memphis. So this could be a day that we kind of go on and on and on. We talked about the topography in Arkansas and how difficult it is to see a tornado. Because you're -- then you kind of look up the hill and there are trees in the way. I used to work in Oklahoma City and we would chase west of Oklahoma City. As soon as those storms got to Tulsa, we said the only way to chase in Arkansas is with a chainsaw. Because you just can't get out of the way. You can't see and then all of a sudden you have one tree down in your road and you're in trouble.

LEMON: There, you heard it folks from Chad Myers and Renee Preslar, Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. Good information here. We are going to continue to update you on our breaking news right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Melissa?

MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Don, of course you've been talking about problems with tornados but we're going to talk about water worries as well. The problem up in New Brunswick is simply too much water and that's because of the St. John River. It's way out of its banks and the St. John River Valley is flooding, also causing problems in Maine. Let's get the latest now on New Brunswick from reporter Lisa La Plame of CTV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA LA PLAME, CTV: Off the back of military transport vehicles, the bewildered, the belongings, the stories tumble out. Even the most stubborn holdouts had to admit defeat.

EMILY ESTABROOKS, FLOOD VICTIM: Water was coming up higher and higher in the house. That's why. Even if we had power, I would still be out there.

LA PLAME: When New Brunswick Hydro shut off power to hundreds of homes for safety, the light bulb went off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One thought entered my mind and that's, what happens if the house catches on fire? There is no place to go. You could freeze to death in the water. So your family comes first.

LA PLAME: This is what farm families woke up to. As far as the eye can see, the punishing river had them surrounded.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our dog's house floated over, the barns are filling with water. Like the old cow's barn flipped over.

LA PLAME: Trapped also, herds of dairy cattle, leaving desperate farmers at the command center pleading for help.

PAUL REYNOLDS, DAIRY FARMER: It's really not looking good. He's scared he's going to end up with 140 dead head of cattle.

LA PLAME: Moving agitated cattle through deep water is a difficult maneuver, but this was a day of delicate operations. In the city police divers looking for a main valve under this home, descend into the basement where the contaminated river is threatening the city's drinking water. Parts of the city are full of water. Not as widespread as feared. Still for those flooded, devastating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know the situation is under control.

LA PLAME: The premiere promised financial aid is on the way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today we are more concerned about the safety and security of New Brunswickers. Next week in the recovery stage we'll look at financial assistance packages to help and there will be financial assistance given.

LA PLAME: The gentle handling of this unsettling situation was a comfort to the very old who had been through it before.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello Mrs. Hurley. How are you doing, darling?

LA PLAME: But the very young embraced the waters and a new adventure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people think it's a nuisance having their basement flooded, but we find it very fun.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: Optimistic young man. Again that, report from CTV. Now we're hearing some of the water levels upstream in Fredrickton have stabilized. But the cities down stream, including St. John will get more water through the weekend. So we will monitor it. Back to monitoring the tornados in Arkansas. Don, you have an update for us?

LEMON: We have some new pictures just coming in. I haven't seen these and we're going to take a look at them. Coming in from Damascus, Arkansas where we heard the emergency management director in Arkansas tell us about three new deaths there, confirmed now. Six deaths in this area. So take a look at this, you see roofs blown off the homes there. There are some people standing in the window there or standing on their, I guess what was their roof or their second floor. It is completely gone. These are typical of the pictures that we normally see any time we see a tornado, especially of the size that this one may be. You heard Chad Myers talk about it, but I mean just really amazing stuff. It comes through very quickly. Again, these new pictures just coming in courtesy of our affiliate KATV. Of course they're showing the debris that you typically see on the ground from a tornado. Much of this is probably insulation. We want to tell you that we don't have control of these pictures because they are coming from our affiliate. But then when you see these pictures and you see the trucks going by, life going on as normal. Folks are dealing with this utter devastation in many cases. And it appears like I guess they put a crane up to this. And a lot of people are loading and unloading their belongings from these pictures. So it's really just amazing here. And Chad -- I'm going to turn to Chad now. We heard from the emergency management director in Arkansas. She confirmed three deaths. We have a total of six deaths now in Arkansas.

MYERS: Right. They were earlier today. These were when the storm rolled through about between 9:00 and 10:00 local time in the morning. But now another tornado on the ground for Lonoke County. This is just coming out. Remember we talked about the town of Carlisle, just 10 minutes ago, another tornado just west of Carlisle now. And so it's just one storm after another and they're all rotating.

LEMON: Wow, just amazing. That tells you exactly what's going on. Again, we want to take a look quickly at the pictures. Those are the area behind me, that's where they hit near Little Rock.

MYERS: The top two were the Damascus on the right and this one behind it, slide right in here. There's the Damascus tornado, kind of in a rural area, but still it only has to hit one house. You have to be inside and you have to be in the lowest level.

LEMON: All right, Scotty, give us those live pictures back if you can, just to show the devastation people are dealing with. This is what we're talking about, we're talking about lives here and people's belongings. We can tell you about wind and all the stuff and the damage, but this is what is affected, real people just by weather that's uncontrollable. So when Chad Myers tells you to get into a place that's safe, you need to head his advice. We're going to be following this all day long. Chad I've got to get back. Melissa has some other news. Chad Myers is going to be following all of this today, our meteorologist in house in the severe weather center here, all day long in the CNN NEWSROOM. Melissa, over to you now.

LONG: Maybe it is the Reverend Wright effect, maybe it was Hillary Clinton's win in Pennsylvania. Something has cut into Barack Obama's lead in the democratic presidential race. Nationwide CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll shows a virtual dead heat with 46 percent backing Obama, 45 percent favoring Clinton. Now think back six weeks ago, Senator Obama was ahead by seven points. The same poll has both Obama and Clinton beating Senator John McCain in a head-to- head match up. Clinton by five points, Obama by four. Just about seven more hours now until the big vote begins on Guam, the U.S. territory opens its democratic caucuses tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. We will of course have the results for you in the morning. Now Guam is worth four pledged delegates. Senators Clinton and Obama are both running ads there. Now make your teachers proud. Can you find it on the map? Venture all the way over to the deepest parts of the pacific, east of the Philippines, south of Japan. That island is about a 20- hour flight from Washington, D.C.

Now more than ever, the economy really is "Issue #1." There is a new CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll that is suggesting no other issue even comes close. To find out more about this, let's bring in senior political analyst Bill Schneider to talk about the numbers. Bill?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well that's exactly right. When Americans are asking what issue concerns you most in this presidential election? The answer is the economy by nearly a majority, 49 percent. That number has been rising all year. In fact back in October it was 22 and January 35, now you see 49. The only other issues in double digits, Iraq and health care. Ok, so it's the economy. What is it about the economy that bothers people? Answer? Inflation, rising prices, more than unemployment, more than the housing crisis. People say the big deal with the economy is rising prices. Ok. Which rising prices concern them the most? The answer you will not be surprised to know is gas prices. Two thirds say gas prices is the big issue. 23 percent food prices, just 5 percent say prices of everything else.

So there you have it in a nutshell. The economy is the issue. Rising prices is the problem with the economy and rising gasoline prices which people see every day as they ride down the road. That's what angers people the most. Melissa?

LONG: Senior political analyst Bill Schneider, thanks for helping us understand the latest polls, the latest numbers.

Well the gas tax holiday, is it a possible solution to the skyrocketing prices at the pump? It is certainly fuelling debate among voters. CNN's Josh Rubin is listening on this week's election express yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH RUBIN, ELECTION EXPRESS PRODUCER (on camera): You don't have to drive a bus around the country to realize that gas prices are going up. This week the election express is in Indianapolis, Indiana. So how are folks around here coping with rising fuel costs? Well Indy, it's time to express yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty bad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It costs too much money.

UNIDENTIIFED MALE: My wife and I drive a lot less than we used to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife is a nurse. She quit her job because it was cheaper to stay at home with the kids than to pay for daycare and gas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anything that they can do to make the gas prices drop would be great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard about the president trying to do something about the taxes on the gas to make it more affordable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like that idea for my pocket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unless he's going to do something long term, it's not going to do a whole lot of good for us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not enough to make a difference.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well you know, the food's going up. Everything is going up. But our wages aren't going up, so everybody is going to struggle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty soon we'll have to choose between eating and gas, you know?

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, well it is easier than ever to learn the details of your genetic make-up. But could your genes be used against you by your employer or even your insurer? We'll tell you what Washington is doing to prevent genetic discrimination. And of course here in the NEWSROOM, our breaking news, severe weather, tornados on the ground and we have confirmed deaths. Updates from our Chad Myers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We are following breaking weather news today here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We have been told six deaths in all of this and confirmed tornados on the ground. Our Chad Myers checking it all for us. Chad?

MYERS: Hey guys. The areas that are most concerned with right around Desark in Arkansas and also Lonoke in Arkansas, these are just really areas, communities that are just to the east of Little Rock itself. Also down to the north and west of Pine Bluff, a little town of Bunn has some rotation right over the top of it. But right now, no confirmed tornados on the ground that I've seen in the past 15 minutes. Even the ones out of Texas have lifted. Although the rotation is still there, according to storm spotters the tornado is no longer on the ground. That was near the city of Carthage in eastern Texas, that storm has pretty much dissipated in the past 15 minutes.

LEMON: All right Chad, keep us updated. Thank you.

LONG: It is about to be illegal for your genes to cost you your job or your health insurance. President Bush says he will sign a bill that bans discrimination on the basis of genetic make-up. Let's bring in medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to help us understand why this is just so important for all of us.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This is something that has been debated for quite a long time. But it's really come to a head because there are so many things these days that you can get genetic testing for. There are great tests out there for breast cancer or for diseases like Huntington's disease. The list really goes on and on but many people are scared to do it because they are scared if they get a positive result they are going to get fired because their employer might find out that they are about to get a disease or they might have a hard time getting health or life insurance.

So let's take a look at what this legislation would do once it's signed by the president. It would bar insurance companies and employers from discriminating against you if you have some kind of genetic testing that shows that you are likely to get a certain disease. It would also bar insurance companies and employers from requiring you to get genetic testing. That's sort of an interesting turnout in all this. There are fears that an insurance company might say, sure Melissa I'm happy to insure you but I want to make sure first that you don't carry breast cancer genes, because I don't want to pay for it.

LONG: Well something you mentioned a moment ago, a lot of people may be skeptical or worried because they're scared that they may not be able to get the insurance or their employers may find out and it could hurt them. So you're saying it is legal for them to possibly discriminate against us.

COHEN: Right now as we speak. Yes, in many places. Different states have different rules and different insurers and it's sort of a mess right now, it's this patchwork. So yes, in many instances it is legal for an insurer or for an employer to say oh well you have a positive test for whatever. Sorry, we don't want you working here any more.

LONG: Patchwork or mess, but hopefully will be cleared up then.

COHEN: Right, that's what this legislation would do.

LONG: What can you get the genetic testing for? How does it benefit all of us?

COHEN: Right, there is a long laundry list of different things that you can get a test for. Let's go over a couple of t hem now, there are tests for breast cancer genes. Those have been out for a while. There are tests for colon cancer genes. And there's newborn testing that screens for a variety of diseases. Now one thing that geneticists tell us that people really need to be careful about is that now private companies are going out and are soliciting business directly to patients. You don't always want to get those tests. It may cause you more angst and anxiety. You want to go through doctors and geneticists to see what you really need to have, not kind of just willy nilly start getting genetic testing.

LONG: Have the option of really shopping around too?

COHEN: Right, exactly.

LONG: Any of our health stories, of course you can find them on our website cnn.com/health. Thank you Elizabeth.

COHEN: That's right, thanks.

LEMON: All right, breaking news in the CNN NEWSROOM this afternoon. This of course the weather you're looking at damage there from Arkansas where six people have died. This that you're looking at specifically is in Damascus, Arkansas. Texas also hit by tornados. Severe weather breaking out in the southern part of our country. Our Chad Myers is on top of it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Someone sent me an e-mail about Daryn Kagan. Her website, her new book, let me check it out. Darynkagan.com, ok. Wow, this is really cool. I always wondered what it would be like to like sit on the anchor desk with her, maybe anchor with her. That would've been cool.

DARYN KAGAN: What are you looking at?

LEMON: Daryn Kagan. Oh, my gosh. I was just on your website here.

KAGAN: Funny how that works.

LEMON: How'd you get in here, they let you in the building?

KAGAN: It was not so easy. Good to see you.

LEMON: Good to see you my friend. You look fantastic. KAGAN: It's good to be home.

LEMON: Yeah, you're pretty familiar with this.

KAGAN: Yeah, 12 years, this was home for sure. Yeah, now the internet is home.

LEMON: Obviously I knew you were coming in but I do get alerts from you and I peruse your website and I take a look at you and I did used to sit at home when I was in local and go, oh, it would be nice to be with her.

KAGAN: And here I am.

LEMON: Thank you for doing this.

KAGAN: Thank you.

LEMON: "What's possible."

KAGAN: The new book.

LEMON: The new book, tell us about that.

KAGAN: It's 50 true stories of real people who dare to dream they can make a difference and it's a lot like the website. It's 50 stories of people overcoming all different types of obstacles to go on and do something great in the world.

LEMON: Yeah?

KAGAN: Yeah.

LEMON: Why did you do it?

KAGAN: Well you know it's an extension of the website. Every day at darynkagan.com I do a daily webcast where I show the world what's possible. It's all inspiring news. The idea always was to have the content and put it on different platforms, much like they do here at CNN.

LEMON: Yeah, and it's amazing to see that. I want to talk to you, one, about, I think the one that touched me the most -- there were a couple of them. The guy who is a double amputee.

KAGAN: Scott Rigby.

LEMON: And you think you had problems, right?

KAGAN: Yeah, well Scott really has no problems. Scott is an amazing, inspiring guy.

LEMON: Let's listen to him and then we'll talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN (voice-over): Scott now plans to become the first documented double amputee to complete the iron man triathlon on prosthetics.

That's a 2.4 mile swim, 112 miles on his bike and a full marathon, 26.2 miles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I'm running I feel like I'm fulfilling my destiny and I feel like I'm fulfilling my purpose in life. I'm supposed to do two things on this earth, I'm supposed to run like heck and inspire people.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I see you're smiling when you are looking at that. You were having a hard time keeping up with him.

KAGAN: I know yeah, it was fun to go for a run with him. But that's why I say Scott has no problems. He has what so many people in life wish they have, and he has this purpose. His purpose is inspiring people. In fact Scott did make history in October. He did become the first double amputee to complete the iron man triathlon.

LEMON: Ok, it must just be amazing because you get to tell good stories. And I mean obviously we have to do it but we tell such bad stories. We've been talking about the weather here today, people dying and that kind of thing. Talk to me about Bill Montgomery, which is another inspiring story as well.

KAGAN: Bill Montgomery is a man who I like to say, he's the blind man who taught me how to see. He's 91 years old, he's an accomplished sculptor. But get this? Bill only learned how to sculpt when he turned 80 and lost his sight and went blind.

LEMON: Here's his story.

KAGAN: Let's take a look at him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Life is exciting. I can open up my eyes and say, what am I going to do today? What's going to be exciting for me to do today? These are my children and I love them just the way they are. We're all imperfect, for heaven's sake. I think it's the accomplishment of "I did this." I was able to, God's helped me through my eyes and my fingers he's allowed me to do these things.

(EN D OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Wow. Amazing guy.

KAGAN: You can see we are not just talking about a nice little art class. He clearly is a very, very talented man. As he says he now sees with his fingers. Life took away one thing, took away his sight but gave him this incredible gift. He can hardly wait to get out of bed every day. LEMON: This is filled with story after story. How many people do you profile in here?

KAGAN: A total of 50. A total of 50.

LEMON: A total of 50 people, yeah. All right, all inspiring stories and what's possible. But that's also sort of a play on words for your life as well. Because let's be honest. You thought that the worst thing that could happen to you was that CNN would not renew your contract.

KAGAN: Actually no, I never thought that was the worst thing that could happen to me. But that was the end of my journey here and I want to be really clear that I am so appreciative of CNN. This was a wonderful place to spend 12 years. But every gig ends and mine ended in 2006. For me it was a chance to ask myself if I could do anything I wanted to do, what would I do. Just like you sit in that anchor chair now and get to do all sorts of stories, that's what I used to do. But my favorite stories were always the inspiring ones. So I set off on that journey. And in fact, my story is how I created what I have with my own media company. It's the first chapter in the book.

LEMON: Yeah, and you wanted to show people what's possible with their lives and with other people's lives.

KAGAN: And hopefully not just have them enjoy the book but inspire their own what's possible dreams in their own lives so they can make a difference in the world as well.

LEMON: Daryn Kagan, it's always a pleasure to see you. It's good to see you around town and to hear you on the radio and see you in other venues. The website is DarynKagan.com. The book is "What's Possible" and it is available now in stores.

KAGAN: And a great mother's day present.

LEMON: A great mother's day present, a great father's day present and graduation as well.

KAGAN: Graduation, inspire what's possible in young people, as well.

LEMON: All right thank you. It's great to see you.

KAGAN: Thank you. Good to be home.

LEMON: Of course we have to update you on some bad news of course that we have to report here. It's the breaking news here in the CNN NEWSROOM today. Tornado warnings and tornados on the ground as well as six people who have lost their lives from this. Details to come right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: Oregon little leaguer Jacob Garcia, you have to meet him, he wears an oxygen tank for a lung condition. Well a league umpire decided recently that that tank amounted to illegal equipment. So Jacob had to sit on the bench. While word spread, anger grew and grew nationwide. So finally the little league headquarters got involved and just the bottom line, you can see that Jacob is back playing ball.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB GARCIA, LITTLE LEAGUER: I just think it was an unfair and really mean call, but it just happens, I guess.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: Yeah, well mean call. Well, Jacob had to miss three games because of what he calls that mean call. His team calls him an inspiration. They rallied from eight runs down in his first game back, before losing in extra innings. The next hour of the NEWSROOM starts right now.