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At Least 7 People Killed From Tornado in Arkansas; Four Delegates up for Grabs in Guam; Gas Saving Tips; Run for the Roses: 134th Kentucky Derby Today; Women on the Court: The Future of the WNBA

Aired May 03, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Check out this video sent in by one of our iReporters in Arkansas. Look at that twister.
We think Allen Smith has a future in storm-chasing. Don't you?

We'll get the story behind the video straight ahead.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And all eyes on Guam? The polls now closed there. Americans in the U.S. territory have cast their votes in the tight Democratic race. Will their delegates go to Barack Obama or to Hillary Clinton? We expect the results soon.

NGUYEN: In the meantime, get your money, grab your mint julep, your big hat, and of course your horse. It is Derby Day and we are live at Churchill Downs this morning.

HOLMES: And basketball fans -- and you know I am one, Betty.

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

HOLMES: But it's all about the ladies today. Look at that -- Candace Parker on the left, Lisa Leslie, they're going to be joining us live. The new face of the L.A. Sparks, the NBA team.

I don't have a choice but to look up to these two women.

NGUYEN: I know.

HOLMES: 6'4" and 6'5", 6'7", or something like that. But they're going to be...

NGUYEN: Yes, you better do the interview sitting down.

HOLMES: Yes, we will. They will be right here on the set with us. But we're excited to have them here.

A lot to talk about this morning from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. May 3rd here on Saturday.

Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.

NGUYEN: Yes, hello, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.

It is 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, midnight in Guam. And the votes, well, they have been cast in Guam. And now they're just being counted.

HOLMES: Yes. And we are waiting patiently for the results from Guam in the caucuses there. You see the results on the bottom.

NGUYEN: The bottom.

HOLMES: Zero percent of the precincts reporting right now, so we have to wait until actual votes come in. We didn't do any exit polling out there, didn't send anybody.

NGUYEN: A bit of a distance.

HOLMES: It's a little ways to go for the exit polling, so no projections to be made. But four delegates are at stake out there. And as soon as we see it we'll bring it to you.

And what we have seen, of course, is a very tight Democratic race. Every delegate -- just four out there -- everything counts right now.

NGUYEN: No doubt. And we're going to bring you those Guam totals just as soon as we get them.

Plus, we're going to go live to Indianapolis for a look at the next battleground states.

So, let's talk first though about this harsh weather to the South.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: We do want to get another look though at some of the wild weather that is causing a lot of damage that we've been talking about. Storms sweeping through Tennessee last night. It blew a mobile home across the street. Look at this. The other homes in the area were also damaged.

And a tornado hit a Texas open-air market, ripping through tents and downing power lines. As many as 25 possible tornadoes were reported in four other states.

HOLMES: And tornadoes and powerful winds ripping across Arkansas, as we've been talking about. At least seven people were killed, possibly an eighth dead as well. Hundreds of homes there damaged.

Our Sean Callebs in Damascus, Arkansas. We just got through talking to a guy in the phone who's up in the Lepanto area. This is more in central Arkansas here, where our Sean is.

And Sean, you've got a mess there to show us.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, without question.

We've talked about those pictures, and from a distance seeing the debris flying up in the air. Well, this is the close-up look. If you look at this house right behind me, simply splintered.

If we pan over that way just a little bit, you could see it was ripped off its foundation. The foundation back there, maybe about 25, 30 feet from where we are. But just amazing how much the landscape changed. The winds came ripping in here.

We've had a chance to speak with a number of residents in the area who've really come out, begin to clean up today. And what they describe, two very well-defined hurricanes that blew in basically from the west. And they say the bottom was extremely well-defined, it was very tight, and just wore through the area.

Now, if we walk over this way, you can see how close this house was dropped down to this road here near Damascus, in central Arkansas. And in the distance you see that blue tarp. That is the home of Doyce Stevenson.

He's lived there 20 years. A year ago, just one year ago, he had the foresight to build a storm cellar. And that was incredibly important yesterday.

He had just a few minutes' notice to get down in that cellar, and he did. And that probably saved his life.

Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Tell me what it was like.

DOYCE STEVENSON, WITNESSED TORNADO: You don't want to go through it. It's just unbelievable.

CALLEBS: You said that before you went in, the sky was so dark you couldn't see anything. Debris was flying everywhere.

STEVENSON: Right, you couldn't hardly see nothing. But once I got in there and in hit, you could put your hand up against your nose, still couldn't have seen it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: Now, Doyce was among the lucky, but there was a family that lived about a quarter mile from where he does, and the family perished. All three. A tornado, a direct hit on their home.

Really just punishing in this area. And this house you see behind me, no one lived in it. To give you an idea, T.J. and Betty, this is actually for sale. It's going to be a very difficult sale at this point. Eighteen acres and a home that's going to have to be reconstructed from the ground up.

But all around wherever we look, there's a chainsaw in the distance at a church going off. There's a home in that area that was splintered. Just this entire area. Landscape is going to be changed. And we've talked this morning about this area, how it is right in the path of Tornado Alley. Well, just three months ago, another tornado hit about two miles from here. Very tough -- guys.

HOLMES: Yes, that's very tough. Certainly not enough time to clean up from the last one, and they are cleaning up again.

Sean Callebs, we do appreciate you giving us that visual, taking us around in to what you're seeing there. We appreciate you.

NGUYEN: Well, happening right now, let's take you live on the campaign trail in Cary, North Carolina. You see there Senator Clinton. She is shaking hands after just wrapping up a speech at a town hall meeting.

This was organized by mymomlogic.com, and that's a women's Web site. And obviously a lot of focus there on North Carolina. Both North Carolina and Indiana having their primaries on Tuesday. In all, 187 delegates up for grabs.

But today, also, we are focusing on Guam. Four delegates up for grabs. And as you can see at the bottom of your screen, we are waiting for those results from Guam as we watch Hillary Clinton wrapping up an event in Cary, North Carolina, today.

HOLMES: Yes. North Carolina, Indiana, a lot of delegates. A big deal coming on Tuesday.

Right now though, it's all about Guam. This little, small territory is standing tall today. It is the contest we're keeping an eye on today. Four delegates. Four are a big deal. It doesn't sound like much in any other year, but this year it is a major deal.

Paul Steinhauser is joining us again from Indianapolis.

Explain to people who hear the number four -- we know the race is tight, but you were talking about four delegates, and that is a big deal.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, every delegate counts T.J. Every delegate, including the four-plus delegates at stake today in Guam.

Guam, a U.S. territory, an island in the Pacific. About 4,00 miles southwest of Hawaii. We've been hearing reports from our contributor there that there's been a steady stream of people that were voting today. Long lines, and I guess that's why they're still counting the votes there.

One other thing about Guam, you know, it doesn't get to vote in November, in the general election. So this is its moment to shine in the primary process.

But, T.J. while Guam is important, and we'll be talking about it, North Carolina and right here in Indiana on Tuesday, big contests -- T.J. HOLMES: Well, is Indiana starting to break at all? We've seen for a while and people expect Barack Obama to win North Carolina. He's been ahead for a while. But it's been so tight in Indiana in the polls, is anything starting to lean or break one way or another for these two candidates in Indiana?

STEINHAUSER: Well, the latest polls right here when we've averaged them together, it's dead even in our CNN Poll of Polls in Indiana. It's a state both can do well in.

The northwestern part of the state is in the Chicago media market. That's Barack Obama country. There's a lot of blue collar workers, manufacturing jobs here in Indiana. You'd think those people would go for Hillary Clinton, as she's done well in the past.

They're both talking about the economy -- jobs, jobs, jobs. Barack Obama today is going to lay out his plans to help middle class Americans deal with this tough economy. Hillary Clinton has been touting her plan to repeal the gas tax this summer.

That's really what they're talking about in Indiana -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right.

Paul Steinhauser there for us in Indiana, which of course is a big deal on Tuesday. Today it's all about Guam. We're waiting for those results. Ladies and Gentlemen, when we get them, we will pass them along to you.

Paul Steinhauser there with the Election Express in Indianapolis. Good to see you, as always. We appreciate you, Paul.

NGUYEN: In the meantime, we're focused on your money, because paying for a tax of gas, well, here's how you can make it less painful. We have some suggestions. We're going to be live from a service station with some tips on how to save you some money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting to the derby and getting to win the Kentucky Derby is to win a lot in the American dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: It's a long journey. Born in Cuba, now their first derby experience. We're going to have more from Churchill Downs coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Let's go with gas prices now.

NGUYEN: OK.

HOLMES: You know, there's not a whole lot you can do about it. I know you probably curse and yell and scream and things like that. NGUYEN: Some even pray.

HOLMES: Yes.

NGUYEN: But, you know, so far, those prices keep rising. But here's some good news. Here's a light at the end of the tunnel.

HOLMES: Something, yes.

NGUYEN: There are some things that you can do to conserve gas and actually save you some money.

CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us now from a D.C. gas station where it's nearly $4 a gallon. I think it's like, what, $3.71 there.

OK. Bring the relief on.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: $3.71 for regular. Well, the relief comes in the form of some tips. And with us here today is an expert, AAA's Troy Green.

Troy, let's start under the hood. What can people do with their engines to help save gas?

TROY GREEN, AAA SPOKESMAN: Hi, Kathleen.

Well, some of the things that consumers can do under their hood are -- one of the most important things, make sure that your air filter is clean. A dirty air filter will restrict air into your internal combustion system.

Also, you want to make sure that you keep up with your oil changes. And your spark plugs, you need to make sure that they're firing correctly.

So those are some of the things that can have a detrimental effect on your fuel economy if they're not maintained.

KOCH: You're talking regular tune-ups then.

Let's go around to the tires, because I understand those are critical. What do people need to remember about tires, tire pressure, that sort of thing?

GREEN: Yes, you want to make sure that your tires are properly inflated. Under-inflated tires will cause your engine to have to work harder to move your vehicle. So you want to make sure that your tires are properly inflated.

You can use what we have here, an air pressure gauge for your tires. Or you can check your owner's manual or check the inside door -- excuse me, inside door cover to figure out what the proper air pressure is for your tires.

KOCH: And alignments are important, too, correct?

GREEN: Yes, of course.

KOCH: Now, what about driving, how people drive? What do they need to worry about? Not speeding, I understand, and aggressive driving, too.

GREEN: Yes, you want to stay away from aggressive driving, not only from a safety standpoint, but when you're looking at the quick starts and the sudden stops, that can also have a detrimental effect on your fuel economy.

KOCH: Let's look at the back of the car, because a lot of people, especially this time of year -- the weather's getting nice, the golfers are getting out -- and they carry their golf clubs with them wherever they go.

Good idea or bad idea?

GREEN: Well, fuel economy sake, it's a bad idea. You want to make sure -- if you're looking at these two boxes here, if these are things that you do not have to keep in your vehicle, take them out, because the heavier your vehicle is, the harder it is for your engine to work and to move your vehicle. So, if you can remove the excess weight, that is definitely something that you would want to do.

KOCH: Now, another tips -- we've been debating this, and Betty was asking about this early, idling. Do you waste more energy when you shut it off and then have to crank the car back up, or is it better to just go ahead and shut it off if you're sitting and going nowhere?

GREEN: Well, it really depends. You probably would not want to shut down your car if you're on a highway in stop-and-go traffic. Or certainly, idling actually wastes more gasoline than stopping and restarting the engine. So that's a misconception that's out there, but certainly idling wastes a lot of fuel.

KOCH: All right. Troy Green of AAA, thanks so much.

And hopefully that will give a little bit of hope to drivers out there very frustrated that they can do a little something to help improve that gas mileage -- Betty.

NGUYEN: That's some good clarification. So, if we're stopped at a red light, go ahead and shut that engine off. Just don't blow your horn if I can't get the engine turned on quick enough to get going, right?

HOLMES: Oh my goodness.

NGUYEN: You know it's going to happen.

KOCH: You got it.

NGUYEN: Kathleen, thank you.

KOCH: You bet. (WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, folks. First Saturday in May. That means it is time to run for the roses. The 134th Kentucky Derby is just hours away.

HOLMES: And a lot of people asking today, Ray D'Alessio, what can Brown do for you today? Big Brown is the favorite in the first leg of the Triple Crown.

And there he is, our Ray D'Alessio, live at Churchill Downs.

Good morning to you again, sir.

RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, T.J.

Yes, you mentioned Big Brown being the favorite right now. He is the 7-2 favorite, but, T.J., I'm always looking out for you. I've been doing my homework today, and I've got a long shot for you.

Are you ready for this? Right this down. Gayego. Gayego will go off from the 19th post position, one of only two starting spots that has never produced a Kentucky Derby winner. Nonetheless, that has still not deterred Gayego's owners, Carlos Juelle and Jose Prieto. They are just thrilled to death to be here at the Kentucky Derby, consider it a huge accomplishments. And why not?

Juelle, a successful accountant in Cuba, spent two years in labor camp before emigrating to the U.S. back in the late '70s. Jose Prieto, on the other hand, is a prominent physician who spent four years in a Cuban prison for anti-Communist acts. Eventually he was released, also migrated to the U.S., where he met Carlos Juelle.

Now some 25 years later, they have finally made it to the derby, and the rest, as they say, is history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLOS JUELLE, CO-OWNER, GAYEGO: We always dreamed getting to the derby. Getting to the derby and getting to win the Kentucky Derby, it could mean a lot in American dream, and it's always been in our thoughts.

JOSE PRIETO, CO-OWNER, GAYEGO: Very challenging years and years thinking about this moment. And when you are here, you say, wow, this moment arrived. We are going to enjoy it.

JUELLE: Certainly they will look on to us saying, they did it. They came to this country. They succeeded. And anyone would try to do it the same way. That makes us very, very happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP) D'ALESSIO: Now, Carlos Juelle and Jose Prieta formed their partnership back in 1991, and each year since they have bought just one horse per year. One horse, Gayego, he was bought back in 2006. Two years later, here he is running for the roses at the 134th Kentucky Derby.

So, T.J., again, keep your eye on Gayego. We'll see.

NGUYEN: Gayego. OK. And we just looked it up. Odds, 15-1 on Gayego, so not too bad if you place your bets there.

But I have to say, Ray, Adriano, we were talking about Adriano earlier.

HOLMES: Yes.

NGUYEN: He's in the 15th slot, and we understand, according to history, no horse that's ever been in the 15th slot has ever won, and so those odds 30-1. Put a little bit of your money for me on Adriano.

D'ALESSIO: That was the other spot. And everybody is talking about Big Brown. Well, he's going to start from the far starting spot, number 20, which if this track continues to be muddy, that could be hard for him to make up that ground.

NGUYEN: Really?

Ray D'Alessio, thank you so much.

D'ALESSIO: Thank you, guys.

HOLMES: Appreciate you, as always.

And Guam, been hearing that a lot today.

NGUYEN: It's a big deal today.

HOLMES: More than you normally would. It's way, way out in the Pacific, but it is at the center of presidential politics in the U.S. today.

NGUYEN: And coming up, the latest results from the Democratic caucuses, as well as a guide to this far-off U.S. territory.

HOLMES: Once you know where it is, Josh Levs tells us why Guam matters.

Good morning to you, Mr. Reality.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning to you, guys.

OK. So, first of all, we are going to explain to you why these four pledged delegates matter, and also why after today, believe this or not, we might have to start calculating fractions of a delegate.

We'll explain that coming up right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hello again, everyone. We are keeping our eyes on what's happening in Guam. Results from the caucus happening out there.

This tiny U.S. territory still counting votes out there. The numbers at the bottom of the screen, which you see Obama has a lead right now with 10 percent of the villages -- we shouldn't say precincts right now. Villages reporting right now in Guam that he has that lead, but, of course, still a lot more counting to be done.

NGUYEN: Yes. And that 10 percent equates to two out of 21 villages reporting so far.

And you know what? For the first time, Guam is getting the same kind of attention usually reserved for big states, and that's because in this tight Democratic race every single delegate counts.

HOLMES: And we are talking about four at stake in Guam. And again, we're keeping an eye on the results out there. When we get the full results, we'll bring them to you. Don't expect projections here. We're waiting on hard numbers, so we will have a winner when the numbers bear out who that winner is.

NGUYEN: All right.

In the meantime, though, in January it was Iowa and then New Hampshire. February, it was Super Tuesday. Well, today, as we've been talking about, it is Guam.

HOLMES: Yes. And our Josh Levs here now with the Internet guide to Guam's role in this presidential race.

Good morning.

LEVS: Hey, guys. You know, we keep talking about how this race keeps going on forever. This is the good side of it. Right?

I mean, people are learning more and more about the electoral process. More places are getting involved. All of a sudden, Americans are learning that Guam gets to help decide who the nominee is going to be.

Let's take a look at this. I'm going to start off showing you why we care so much about four delegates.

This right here, CNN.com, this is where the count stands right now. And you'll keep seeing us update in general once in a while at the bottom of your TV screen.

He's at 1,734; she's at 1,597. Keep in mind, there's hundreds of delegates to go, it's incredibly close. They're only 22 apart among superdelegates, and right now every delegate really does make a difference. I'm going to bring you over to the Political Ticker. If you want to get the latest news throughout the day from Guam, this is what you check out, the CNN Political Ticker.

Now, I want to show you what the lead says right now. To emphasize an important political point here that could have ramifications, look at this. They can't vote for president in November, but today their votes to help choose the Democratic nominee for president will make a difference.

Now, there are some groups out there that are pushing for what they call voting rights in the territories. They want them to be able to participate in November. Being able to point to Guam and say, hey, Guam made a difference in the primary, it could be political fuel for those groups. Keep an eye on where this goes from here.

Let me show you here quickly why it's going to matter so much. Barack Obama's campaign, if he gets this victory, it's hard for you to see on your screen, but what he -- as you can see, see that 30? It says 30 or 45. His campaign every day leads with the total number of contests that he has won.

If he can ratchet it up one more, that's political fuel for him again. Obviously, in general it doesn't mean that much numerically in that sense, but if he can call it another victory, big for him.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has a page for Guam. I want to scroll through this and you can see what she's been doing.

She has been putting out video messages to the people of Guam via her Web site. There's one right there. You can watch it. And in recent days we've been hearing both of them start to comment on this issue of voting rights and say that as president, they would both look into that very carefully and push for more rights for the people of Guam.

There you go, guys. We're going to keep a close eye on this at cnn.com, and as soon as we get the final results, expect them to show on your TV screen, as well as right here, CNN.com's Election Center -- Betty, T.J.

NGUYEN: Yes. And so far, just 10 percent of the villages have reported, and it looks like Obama is ahead with 64 percent to Clinton's 36.

We'll keep a watch. Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thanks, guys.

HOLMES: So, you might be wondering, where is Guam? Who lives there? What drives the people? What drives the economy?

We have some answers now in our Fact Check.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES (voice over): Guam, it's out there in the Pacific between Hawaii and the Philippines, and it's tiny, measuring about three times the size of Washington, D.C. But it's big on great weather.

Temperatures hover between 82 and 86. Rarely hotter, rarely cooler.

The native people are known as Chamorro, and at the last census they made up about a third of the population. They were on Guam in 1521, when the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan showed up.

Spanish priests arrived in the 1600s, creating a population that is largely Catholic today. Guam was a Spanish military garrison until Spain ceded the island to the U.S. after the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Guam has two things that keeps its economy ticking -- beautiful beaches for tourism and U.S. military facilities that employ more than 23,000 military personnel. The population of Guam, just under 176,000.

Residents are known as Guamanians. The island gets a lot of Japanese tourists. It's about a three-hour flight from Japan. It takes about 20 hours to get there from Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: A little something about the Guamanians there you might not have known.

We're bringing you the candidates up close, unfiltered. CNN's "BALLOT BOWL," we go beyond the 20-second sound bites. You can watch that, "BALLOT BOWL, " today at 3:00 Eastern.

NGUYEN: Well, it's 35 minutes past the hour on this Saturday morning. We do want to give you a quick look at some of the stories that we're following for you.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: And as we've been showing you, Arkansas certainly took a deadly blow in these storms, but Tennessee also hit by severe storms yesterday as well.

NGUYEN: And we are hearing some scary survival stories out of Tennessee.

Lisa Chavarria of our affiliate WTFV talked with one man whose home was blown off of its foundation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA CHAVARRIA, WTFV REPORTER: All right. Thanks, guys.

We're here in Nashville, Tennessee. And again, there's a family that was sleeping in their home overnight when these storms just came pounding through and literally threw their home across the street.

We're standing here with Jeremy Durgen, who was home at the time. He's here with his little 2-year-old, who's doing OK.

So, Jeremy, explain to me, what exactly happened last night?

JEREMY DURGEN, STORM SURVIVOR: After we put the baby to bed, we laid down to go to sleep. I guess at some point they -- I guess his mama Jen heard, you know, the house started shaking and whatnot, and she ran in the bedroom to cover him up and get a hold of him. And by the time she made it in the room, we were already started on our way.

When the house came off the foundation, it took the front porch off. From the front porch, it went through the light post in our front yard, rolled back over and came across the street and took out the neighbor's pole, which split the roof open in the house. So from there, you know, it's a mad dash to get everybody else. You know?

CHAVARRIA: And what's amazing is that none of you -- it was yourself, your wife, as well as your son. You guys are not hurt, no broken bones. Nothing like that.

DURGEN: Nothing. A couple bruises and some scratches, a little bit of blood. But he was smiling before we even got to him, you know. So it could have been way worse. It could have been a lot worse.

I mean, it's bad we lost everything again, and, you know, the second time in two years, but it's material stuff. We'll get all that back.

We've got the baby, we've got his mama, and we've got the dog. We're good. Our family is OK.

So, I mean, other than that, we'll just bust our butt to get everything else back again. You know?

It's just one of them things in life that you can't, you know -- if you let it keep you down, you're never going to get back on top. If it wasn't for my neighbor and the Palmyra, you know, volunteer fire and rescue, we'd have been -- I'd probably still been digging through the house trying to find them.

So, you know, everybody on this block came together to make sure that we got everybody out. And all the personal belongings, we'll get that stuff back. It's OK.

CHAVARRIA: Well, we're very glad to see that you and your family are OK. Thanks so much for speaking with us. We do appreciate that.

And this is just one of probably about three different mobile homes that were destroyed throughout these storms. And again, this county, we're out here in Montgomery County, in the Nashville, Tennessee, area, just very blessed.

Nobody hurt. No major injuries, at least, and definitely no fatalities.

I'm Lisa Chavarria.

Betty and T.J., back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And like he said, you can replace all those material things, but just as long as everybody is alive, that is what matters.

HOLMES: Everybody's all right.

NGUYEN: Coming up, a plea from parents searching for their son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want him back. We love him. We miss him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: A young pilot is missing, and the FBI is actually on the case.

HOLMES: Plus, Candace Parker, Lisa Leslie joining me live. We'll talk with one of the new faces of the WNBA and one veteran of the WNBA.

Just how tough is it in that league? And a whole lot more to discuss with these two ladies. They are here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. It's spring. People think about the NBA playoffs and whatnot, but it's also time for the WNBA to get on the court just about now, and I have two members of the Los Angeles Sparks.

Such a pleasure. Lisa Leslie, a veteran of the league, and also Candace Parker, one of the new faces, the new bright faces.

Hello. Good morning. How are you all doing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning. We're great.

HOLMES: It's kind of a rush to get you all up here and get you in spot. The chair is not working, all kinds of things. But good to have you all here. Thank you for being here.

Candace, I will start with you.

The WNBA -- you have had a stellar and storied college career, back-to-back NCAA championships, player of the year, drafted first in the WNBA, all this. Now a lot of people are looking at you as the savior of the WNBA, a league that has struggled for several years.

Are you certainly aware of that, are you taking that on as a responsibility, or do you think, hey, that's a little too much for you?

CANDACE PARKER, WNBA BASKETBALL PLAYER: Well, I don't think the WNBA needs saving at all. I feel like a lot of players in the past have paved the way for new players like myself to reap the benefit, and, you know, I think that this class is definitely going to have an impact on the WNBA and help grow it. But, I mean, the players have held it down, so I'm happy there's a professional league to play in.

HOLMES: Lisa, you're probably tired. I know you are. You're tired, because they say it, and they say it every year, that this will be the year that the WNBA folds.

What's the status? You've been there from the beginning. How is it doing?

LISA LESLIE, WNBA BASKETBALL PLAYER: Well, I don't know about the WNBA folding. We've never been close to folding at all. I mean, in fact, our numbers are going up. Our fan support has been great. And we're happy to have a new team here in Atlanta, the Atlanta Dream.

And for me, obviously it all started here in Atlanta in 1996, when we won the gold medal. And we've been able to start the WNBA from that winning. And I think it's going to continue to grow.

And like Candace said, with this great type of talent coming in -- she's a phenomenal player already. It's only going to continue to grow and bring fan support. So, it's been a great career for me and I'm just excited that I'm still young enough to play with the greatest player coming into the WNBA.

HOLMES: Now, you have a different -- and it's different, WNBA. You have situations that the guys in the NBA don't have to deal with. You took a year off to have a baby.

LESLIE: Yes, I did.

HOLMES: How are you going to get back into it, I guess? Not like you necessarily got completely out of shape, and I know you kept yourself in shape. But still, what's it like to take a year off and then have to come back?

LESLIE: Well, it's definitely difficult. For me, obviously being a mom, it's a great opportunity. I love being a mom and having my baby, but getting back out on the court, it has been challenging.

I had to have a Caesarian. My baby is 10 months. So people say, oh, how long is it going to take to you get in shape?

It's taken me about 10 months. So I'll get a chance to get out there on the court tonight. But it's been a great challenge for me. And also, while I was in the off-season I had an opportunity to finish my book, so that was one of the other positive things, so I'm excited about that.

HOLMES: And I know you have a book there. We're certainly going to show that. I promise you.

LESLIE: Yes. Yes.

HOLMES: But also, something else with the league. We know so much in professional sports has to do with the sport itself, but also marketability of the athletes.

LESLIE: Yes.

HOLMES: A young woman like this, it's kind of like the Danica Patrick effect I know you're all aware of...

LESLIE: Yes.

HOLMES: ... that some questioned her talent in racing. But hey, she's plastering herself up, showing herself sexy, scantily-clad. Not saying you're going to do that. But is that...

LESLIE: Take it off.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: But is that -- not that we're discouraging it here, but something like that, is that something -- should that be necessary? Is that just part of it? Are you OK with a role like that, a little sex appeal to sell and to bring people into those seats?

PARKER: Well, I feel it's all within the person, you know. It's what your aspirations are.

Obviously, I feel like, you know, Danica has taken away from racecar driving, and has chosen to take other, you know, endorsements and things like that. So I think -- you know, I mean, a lot of different athletes choose to go different ways with fashion magazines and makeup and things like that, but...

HOLMES: Where are you going?

PARKER: ... really, I'm just interesting in growing the WNBA and making people aware of it, whether it's, you know, from different ads or not. So...

HOLMES: Both of you, are we going to see a day -- it might not be the same, it may never be the same, or maybe it could, if you think, the WNBA would see some kind of similar popularity as the NBA sees? Are we going to see that one day?

LESLIE: Well, yes, I think so. I think we have definitely taken small steps and we're gradually getting there.

But when you look at the NBA in its past, when it first began, you're comparing the NBA 50 years, you know, old, versus the WNBA that's 11, 12 years old. So it's going to be a difference, but we're going to get there.

I think the game is definitely improving. As you see, Candace, a phenomenal player. You have two women on the same team that can slam- dunk.

It's a very exciting game. We're crossing over, shooting fade- away jumpers. Whatever you want to see it, we've got it.

The L.A. Sparks got it, anyway. I can't speak for the whole WNBA. But it's coming.

We've seen so many great players coming in, you know, that are also on other teams. Candice Wiggins, a phenomenal player. She's there in Minnesota.

So you're going to see a lot of good talent around the WNBA. We just need our fan support.

Come out there, watch, especially even tonight. Atlanta Dream, you're going to see the L.A. Sparks, a great game tonight.

HOLMES: A new team. And again, you were the first in the WNBA to dunk in a game.

LESLIE: Yes.

HOLMES: You were the first to dunk in an NCAA tournament. Is that correct?

LESLIE: Correct, yes.

HOLMES: First to dunk twice in a game.

Both of these ladies have done something I never did in my career in basketball, which is dunk in a game.

So let's see the book. We want to make sure we get that in there while you're here.

LESLIE: Oh, please do. This is my book...

HOLMES: Before we let you go.

LESLIE: ... called "Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You."

HOLMES: "Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You." Perfect.

LESLIE: And it's available at Barnes & Noble, and lisaleslie9.com (ph) and also on Amazon.com.

HOLMES: Ladies, it is an absolute treat to have you here. I was watching you like nuts with the shoulder. Is it all right?

PARKER: It's doing great.

HOLMES: That shoulder's good. Game tonight, right?

PARKER: Yes. Come see us.

HOLMES: Candace Parker...

PARKER: Thank you very much.

HOLMES: ... Lisa Leslie, it's an absolute pleasure to have you all here.

LESLIE: Thank you. Appreciate it.

HOLMES: All right?

I'm going to read the book during the break. We'll be right back.

NGUYEN: And we'll be watching for those dunks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Parents plea for word of their son, missing for more than a month. And they fear that he is being held for ransom.

HOLMES: However, that might not be the case. Or, this is really a confusing story police are trying to put together.

And CNN's Susan Candiotti reports for us from Tampa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT WILES, MISSING: Congratulations, man, and I wish you guys the best.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As best man at a wedding last year, Robert Wiles was beaming. Friends describe him as a good-natured guy. No one can explain why anyone might want to kidnap the 26-year-old, least of all his parents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a very positive, strong young man, and that's what we have to be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want him back. We love him. We miss him.

CANDIOTTI: Robert Wiles was last seen April 1st at the family's aviation business in Lakeland, Florida. Two days later, his father received a ransom note.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It threatened Robert with harm if the terms were not complied with exactly as they say.

CANDIOTTI: The note demanded money and was signed with a unique name the FBI won't reveal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think when I first looked at it I felt like it wasn't for real.

CANDIOTTI: His parents said they tried to comply but were met with silence. His last day at work appeared normal.

GERRY GRIEFF, NATIONAL FLIGHT SERVICE, INC.: We talked about his trip that he was going to, that he was supposed to be a going to Texas, and we talked about aircraft.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Robert Wiles spent time both in his office and on the road, flying across the U.S. and in other countries. But it's not clear whether the suspected kidnapping had anything to do with this aviation business or his personal life.

(voice over): The FBI says it's pursuing individuals of interest.

STEVE IBISON, FBI, TAMPA: We still have some viable leads out there that we're aggressively pursuing. Here -- again, here in Florida, other states and outside the United States.

CANDIOTTI: Wiles' mother saved phone messages from her son sent not long from before he disappeared.

WILES: Hey, mom. It's Robert. I just wanted to call and thank you for sending that stuff down to me. And I hope you have a good weekend. And I'll talk to you later.

CANDIOTTI: His parents are offering a total of $250,000 for their son's safe return and the arrest of those responsible for his disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please let him loose.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're willing to work with them, do anything to get him back. I mean, anything to get him back. We just -- we just want Robert back. And they can just go and live their life, and we just want him back.

CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, Tampa, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)