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Major College Drug Bust; Killer Cyclone Hits Myanmar; Indiana Votes: Huge Turnout Expected

Aired May 06, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Brianna Keilar.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right. Right off the top here, it is breaking news just into the CNN NEWSROOM. College students working on their criminal justice and homeland security degrees, well, now tangled up on the wrong side of the law. We've got a major drug bust at San Diego State University to tell you about this hour.

Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now live from Washington with the details on that.

Jeanne, I think it's 75 students, 21 or 22 other people who are not students.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It is. It all started back in 2007, when a student died on campus of a drug overdose. Campus police went undercover about five months ago. An official tells me the DEA got involved, and all in all, they witnessed or participated in about 130 transactions on campus.

Pretty amazing to hear some of the details of this case. I think it's pretty widely-known that there's drug use on campus, but this investigation found that a lot of the dealing was taking place out of fraternity houses on campus.

In one instance, a member of a fraternity sent out a mass text message to his "faithful customers," telling them that he and his associates would be traveling to Las Vegas and cocaine would not be available, but then listing some special sale prices on cocaine that they were dealing.

Also, as you mentioned in the lead-in, students involved here, one of whom was one month away from getting a master's degree in homeland security, this is someone who worked with the campus police. Also another student arrested with 500 grams of cocaine. He's a criminal justice major.

Clearly, a very disturbing case and a very large one unfolding out in San Diego.

LEMON: It must be pretty big, though. It must be pretty big for the DEA to get involved in all of this.

Why is it so different? Do local authorities, local police usually handle cases like this?

MESERVE: Well, oftentimes they are handled by local and state authorities. I'm told by a DEA official that they got involved here because there were two students -- two student deaths. The one back in 2007 that triggered the investigation, and then another one of a student who was visiting campus in 2008.

Also, according to this DEA official, they will be announcing this hour out in California that they found connections to a significant drug ring that operates out of Pomona, California. So that's another reason why the feds got involved in this one.

LEMON: OK. You said this hour -- is there a news conference scheduled?

MESERVE: There is. The district attorney out in San Diego, the San Diego State University Police and the DEA holding a press conference out there in San Diego, slated to start just about now.

LEMON: We'll bring you information on that just as soon as we get it.

Jeanne Meserve, homeland security correspondent. Thank you.

MESERVE: You bet.

KEILAR: From Myanmar, the numbers are mind-numbing. State radio and opposition forces say more than 22,000 people were killed in Friday's cyclone. That has more than double yesterday's count. At least 41,000 may be missing. As many as a million people, if you can imagine that, homeless.

Now, we don't know for sure, since many villages are virtually cut off from the rest of the world. But food, shelter and safe drinking water are urgently needed, and many nations are offering it all. That includes the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our message is to the military rulers, let the United States come and help you, help the people. Our hearts go out to the people of Burma. We want to help them deal with this terrible disaster. At the same time, of course, we want them to live in a free society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: President Bush mentioned the U.S. Navy was standing by ready to respond. So let's bring in now or senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

This is a really sensitive situation. What might the Navy's role be here realistically, Jamie? JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the U.S. military really sees this as a chance to set aside political differences and show its ability to deliver humanitarian relief.

And the U.S. Navy is uniquely positioned to do that, already having ships in the area, including a couple of aircraft carriers, and the USS Essex strike group. That's an amphibious assault ship that has on board 1,800 Marines aboard several ships, along with 23 helicopters -- 19 of those are capable of lifting and transporting things. And also, three amphibious landing craft that could bring relief supplies ashore.

But the Pentagon says right now all they can do is plan, until they get some sort of formal invitation from the government of Myanmar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: We're now working with the State Department and with U.S. Pacific Command to at least begin the planning for a possible humanitarian assistance. But that's all we can do at this point is to plan, because we have not received a request from the Burmese government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: And it's not clear that that request is going to come, even though the military junta in Myanmar has indicated that it would be open to outside aid.

Right now, those U.S. ships are taking part in an exercise off the coast of Thailand, and they are not moving any closer to Myanmar, we are told by officials at the U.S. Pacific Command, but they would be ready to do that as soon as they get any indication at all that their help would be welcome. We're told it would take anywhere from a couple of days, perhaps as many as three or four days, for the ships to get there, but they do have a tremendous capacity.

That USS Essex, for instance, has hospital facilities on board, it has the ability to generate pure drinking water from ocean water, and of course those 1,800 Marines, if they were able to go ashore, could do all kinds of humanitarian tasks -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Jamie McIntyre, our senior Pentagon correspondent. Thanks for that.

And we know that you folks out there, you might want to help. And at CNN.com, we have a special page on the devastation in Myanmar. This is complete with links to reputable aid agencies that are organizing help for the region, if you do want to donate or help yourself. This is a chance for you to impact your world, and let us be your guide.

LEMON: All right. Early voting, new registrations, lines at the polling sites. But any -- by any measure, Hoosiers and North Carolinians are savoring their moment at the center of the political universe.

And CNN's Dan Lothian is in Indianapolis for us.

Dan, the county clerk there predicted a heavy voting day, and I think the county clerk might be right.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were right on target. Take a look behind me here. A line forming here.

This is how we've seen it early in the day, and then it kind of tapered off a little bit. Now it has picked up again.

This is one precinct. And then right through that door is another precinct. And both of these precincts have already surpassed the all-time record for an entire day. So that gives you a good sense of how folks are showing up to vote not only at this precinct.

But we're told by the secretary of state's office, although they don't have official numbers, they're telling us that voter turnout has been strong across the state. And they tell us that in anticipation of this, at least 75 percent of the counties did order additional ballots so that they could meet the high demand.

Now, as folks have been coming in here, voters, we've had a chance to talk to some of them. And the issues that are really important for them are the economy and the war in Iraq.

But we met one lady who, by the way, showed up with her dog that was wearing an Obama T-shirt, Puppies for Obama. She tells me it's not a large organization, it's just her own puppy. But she's an Obama supporter, and she told us that the big issue that has been important for her is fighting poverty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHY GEHLHAUSEN, "PUPPIES FOR OBAMA": Well, I'm a social worker, so I really pay attention to what's going on with people who are living in poverty. I've worked as a counselor for the last two years, and I work in addictions, so Medicaid reform, health care reform, that's definitely on the top of my priority list. After that, child care. You know, making sure that if someone has fallen to the bottom, they actually have got a way to get back up.

LOTHIAN: And you felt that Obama was able to address those issues?

GELHAUSEN: Definitely. I completely trust him.

He was a community organizer in Chicago. I know he's worked the same streets with the same people that I have. So I can trust him to care about those people because he has been there, he's seen them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: And the one thing that all the voters tell me that they feel very good about is this race has gotten so much attention. They say in the past, typically, they don't get a whole lot of face time with the candidates and they tell me -- one person telling me that typically the candidates fly over Indiana.

But obviously because of the kind of race that we've had, the candidates have come here a lot of times, spent a lot of time here on the ground, in fact. Senator Clinton will be here tonight. Senator Obama will be in North Carolina, although he did start out here in Indiana today. And so they feel like their vote really counts this time -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Dan Lothian in Indianapolis. Dan, thank you.

KEILAR: Presidents serve for eight years at most. But federal judges chosen by presidents are on the bench for life. Those judges' rulings can be -- we're going to head now, folks -- sorry to interrupt this story, but we're going to head to San Diego, California. This is a news conference about that drug bust there at San Diego State University.

Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officers were often able to contact them and say, "Hey, I heard you deal. Will you sell to me?" And they did. And they would sell over and over again.

And as you can see, it wasn't just marijuana, but it was also cocaine, ecstasy. And these people had firearms. In addition to the guns that you see here today, another three guns were found on campus -- or, excuse me, in one of the fraternity houses today by some of the dealers, along with ecstasy and cocaine.

The bulk quantities of marijuana were not sold to the undercover officers, but rather were found as a result of search warrants. Last week they started doing search warrants on the out-of-campus off- campus people, non-students, the bigger dealers, and then they worked their way on to the students on campus today, resulting in 18 people being arrested pursuant to arrest warrants, and another four or five people being arrested as a result of being in places where they probably shouldn't have been with sales quantities of drugs.

I also want to commend Dr. Weber and his whole administration, and the San Diego State Police Department. Being proactive in taking on these problems at schools is not easy. Nobody likes that.

We've often had issues with people not wanting to take on issues at schools. I dare say that many universities in our country have this same issue, and certainly should welcome the presence of law enforcement and local district attorneys' offices to eradicate some of the problems and make it a safe learning environment.

And I have to commend Dr. Weber. I thank him for allowing us to do this, because I think it will make San Diego State a much safer place in the future, which can be commended.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next, I would like to introduce Dr. Weber, who is the president of the San Diego State University -- Doctor.

STEPHEN WEBER, PRESIDENT, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY: Thank you, Jesse (ph).

This investigation that was conceived and initiated by San Diego State University began approximately a year ago. The investigation targeted drug trafficking on and around our campus.

Approximately five months ago, as the investigation evolved and multiple leads were developing, we solicited and received the assistance of the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency. I want to commend the excellent, proactive work done by San Diego State Police. I also want to extend our thanks to the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency and to the district attorney's office for their outstanding cooperation and support.

Our investigation targeted individuals suspected of selling drugs to San Diego State students. Related arrests, as you heard, have taken place in recent weeks and months.

If proven guilty, these individuals have preyed on students and have ruined hundreds of lives. We believe the individuals arrested today are all students at San Diego State University.

In addition, to the criminal charges that have been brought against them, they have been immediately suspended from the university, and in the case of students living in campus-managed housing, they have been evicted. Today's arrests underscore the scope of the challenges universities face as we fight this major societal problem.

Drug use is a concern on virtually every university campus in our country. SDSU has taken this action to confront it directly.

San Diego State University is dedicated to the pursuit of higher learning and human growth and development. Trafficking in illegal substances is inconsistent with our values and the pursuit of our mission.

We are determined to remove people from our community who place our students at risk, and to see that they are turned over to the criminal justice system. The health and safety of our students at San Diego State is our highest priority.

Today's arrests are a big step forward towards a safer environment for our students, faculty, staff and neighbors. SDSU will continue to do what is necessary, both through education and law enforcement, to encourage students to make responsible choices to ensure their own health and safety and that of our community.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Doctor. Next we'll hear from Chief Browning, John Browning, who is the chief of the campus police. And he was the initiating force that brought us all together to combat this problem in San Diego State -- Chief.

Thank you, Jesse (ph).

CHIEF JOHN BROWNING, SDSU CAMPUS POLICE: One of the things I'd like to do is thank again the district attorney's office, the Drug Enforcement Agency, as well as the county sheriff's department for their assistance. We could not have done this without the aid of several other university police departments that came to our aid in a time of need.

Our investigation is still ongoing. There's not a lot that I can tell you at this point in time, but I'd be more than happy at some point in time to discuss the further incidents regarding the incidents of today and of the last past year.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the message today is going to be clear to all the people out there, to the community, to the students, that there's a future in education, but no future in drug dealing and drug trafficking.

At this time, we'll take questions.

QUESTION: Once you got on this and began doing (INAUDIBLE) and keeping an eye on these people, how blatant was it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it was...

QUESTION: Can you come up to the mike?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, sorry.

It was very blatant. Once -- a lot of the drug trafficking is done via text messaging, very simple text messages, that they would get a code to just cold-hit somebody saying that they were going to traffic, and they would cold-hit them with a text message, and that person would text back, and they would meet our undercover agent with drugs, with never having met them before.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do have several different groups at play. Chacho (ph) was one of the Theta Chi, He was one of the senior people involved in Theta Chi in terms of the drug dealing, he was at the top of the hierarchy there.

Other ones weren't necessarily as sophisticated. There were no problems doing the text messaging, they were smaller cells. But the fraternity house, which has a unique bond anyway, many of the brothers were selling, and that enabled law enforcement to actually serve a warrant on them today. Otherwise, they would not have been able to get into such a location.

QUESTION: What do you mean by unique bond?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People in fraternities tend to socialize together, they tend to know each other for a period of time. And as a result of that, there's a level of trust, and that's why I think these people worked together who normally would not have. Generally, drug dealers don't trust a lot of other people, so they're not going to sell with large groups of people. There will be more of a step-down hierarchy.

QUESTION: This question is for President Weber.

Allowing undercover officers on campus, was that a difficult decision for you? My experience is that that's the kind of thing the faculty have strong views on.

WEBER: No, this was not a difficult decision. These people are, as I said earlier, preying on our students and jeopardizing their health and their safety, and even their lives, as we heard. So we needed to do something about it.

As the investigation unfolded, and we saw how complex it was, and the various leads, we knew we needed the assistance of DEA, who are absolute pros. And they handled themselves in exactly that way.

QUESTION: A follow-up question, if I could. You spent your adult life on campuses, you were on campuses in the '60s and '70s as a graduate from Penn State, right?

WEBER: No, but...

QUESTION: OK.

WEBER: I was on campuses in the '60s, yes.

QUESTION: What does your gut tell you? Are drugs more prevalent today than when you and I were undergraduates and graduates?

WEBER: Well, let's -- I do not know that. I could speculate -- no, I could speculate, but my view isn't any better than anybody else's on that.

What I think is important here is we're talking about trafficking. We're talking about people who were trafficking in drugs. And that's the thing that we were not prepared to turn around -- turn our back on.

We had to deal with this. And I'm very grateful to Chief Browning for taking the initiative to say, this cannot stand and we're going to work to turn it around.

QUESTION: Dr. Weber, during the investigation, when children were overdosing and one died during the investigation, did you ever feel like you needed to just bring it out and get it over with so that maybe more of your students wouldn't be adversely affected, i.e., dying or overdosing?

WEBER: Well, let's be clear. What we're trying to do here is protect the health and safety of our students. If we prematurely brought the investigation to (AUDIO GAP) really between John and DEA.

QUESTION: Did you keep the faculty...

QUESTION: Is this it? Or do you think there's more?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One at a time.

WEBER: No, we did not keep the faculty informed.

QUESTION: Is that going to cause you grief later?

WEBER: I do not know. I do not care. If we had done that, we would have placed these agents at risk.

We would have jeopardized the investigation. This is not the sort of thing that you send out an e-mail saying, by the way, we're investigating. I didn't keep anybody informed of it.

QUESTION: Is this it? Or do you have any feeling that there are more?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, let's rephrase it and get back to the question you asked of Dr. Weber.

Absolutely, confidentiality in any undercover operation. He doesn't have the option to identify and say, we're going to let people know that -- let the faculty know this is going on, because it's officer safety.

And sending undercover agents into something like this, that's not his decision. This is a criminal investigation, although he was very, very up front and supportive all throughout this. They knew at some point it would come to an end.

QUESTION: Is this -- with the 96 or more arrests that you've done now, is this is, or have you still got some outstanding warrants out there? John said the investigation is ongoing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it is ongoing. It just started this morning -- I mean, the actually takedown. So we're tightening up some loose ends, we're trying to identify some people that we haven't picked up.

But as a part of this investigation, it's phasing down. That does not mean that as we go forward, as Chief Browning said, that we identify more information that we'll follow up on. But certainly we can't discuss it at this press conference.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Right now, our operation, this operation, is coming to an end. We're executing arrest warrants. QUESTION: Doctor, were there ever any sanctions against the fraternities?

WEBER: There are due process provisions set forth in the laws of California and in regulations, both with regard to the individual students and with organizations such as fraternities. If we find that the fraternities are complicit in this as organizations, they will be kicked off campus.

QUESTION: On that, was this a fraternity deal? Are all of these people involved in a fraternity, or was it just some of them happened to be in a fraternity?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was one main fraternity that definitely was, as a group, selling. A second one were a significant portion of the brothers were (ph).

As to the other people, people that were involved in the trafficking, no, it wasn't exclusive of the Greek system or fraternities. They were students, and they were selling sales quantities.

They weren't selling used quantities, they were selling half ounces to ounces of cocaine, which suggests resale. So they were midlevel distribute tours, not low-level end user distributors. And that's why these people were targeted as a result of that.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a state prosecutor, I'm going to handle it with my state charges. And then we're going to proceed with the appropriate resolution for the cases with these people.

QUESTION: Was it a lot locally grown or smuggled in from Mexico? Locally grown or smuggled in from Mexico?

DEA?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would suggest that given -- you guys are sitting in the front row. That's pretty pungent. That is not traditionally Mexican-grown marijuana, it's more higher-grade quality marijuana.

QUESTION: Based on what you just said, along with what Dr. Weber said, it sounds like (INAUDIBLE). You're saying that they're high- level dealers and you're mentioning a complicity factor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, you k now, I'm sure all due process aspects will take place with the suspensions and expulsions, both as students and as organizations, but I would suggest that there certainly is ample evidence for people to look at it and draw their own conclusions at whatever point in time.

KEILAR: All right. We're watching a news conference here coming out of San Diego. The authorities there, as well as officials at San Diego State University, talking about the big drug bust there. Almost 100 people arrested, most of them San Diego State University students.

We will continue to follow this. We'll have details for you ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Drugs, guns and a lot of other things seized in that.

And when it comes to airports now, we want to talk about, few are busier than O'Hare. Especially when you're talking about -- look at that, rodents. Something look forward to if you get stranded there overnight, right?

KEILAR: Plus, the border fence is supposed to keep people out. But could it be putting endangered wildlife in greater peril?

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. We're working on several developing stories for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Polling stations are packed in North Carolina and Indiana, sites of today's crucial Democratic primaries. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are fighting for a total of 187 delegates. Georgia is planning to execute a man convicted of killing his girl friend some 20 years ago.

If it goes of as scheduled later today William Lynd would be the first inmate to be put to death since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection. The Georgia Supreme Court has just denied Lynd's request for a stay.

Nearly 100 people including 75 students were arrested today at San Diego State University on drug related charges. Authorities say drugs, cash and guns were seized from sellers and buyers in a bust that followed a five-month under cover operation.

KEILAR: The death toll soaring from a monster cyclone half way around the world. Our T.J. Holmes is tracking Myanmar developments from our International Desk.

T.J., what can you tell us?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: The numbers are just amazing, and it seems to keep going up. We're at 22,000 now, but over the weekend after this happened we first got initial reports of a few hundred people, nothing specific but a few hundred. Then it jumped to 4,000 for us on Monday, jumped to 10,000, 15,000, now at 22,000. I want to share with you some of these pictures that we have been getting in here -- been monitoring them.

Information is kind of slow to trickle in, of course because of the situation on the ground. Not a lot of journalists there, but we're trying to get what we can and bringing it to you. These pictures here are from the Democratic Voice of Burma, that's an anti- government group. And it shows just the devastation there.

It shows just what was going on at the time really, when ten straight hours of rain, 20 inches dumped on this particular area of Myanmar. Now, food right now is scarce. Water supplies cut off, so it's a humanitarian crisis going on right now. So sad about the 22,000. Again, that report coming to us from the state radio and opposition sources. But many more is the fear could die if humanitarian aid does not get there and get there quickly.

We're going to get to some more pictures we have for you from an i-reporter. We actually have an i-reporter there on the ground who has been sending us images. Eric is his name. This is a picture here. You know, you can't glean much from it, because, you know, is that devastation in is that the area? Well, this happens to be a structure that has gone untouched. This is one of the few pictures of something such as that that we have seen.

Another image he has sent us is some of the destruction, shows a lot of debris. This is really the mess going on in so many of the areas there. Power lines are down. Electricity is out in so much of the area. And also, one more thing here. We want to share with you something we're getting from a blogger. We'll share with you. This is from the Democratic Voice of Burma, the Web site there as well, critical of the response from the government.

A lot of scrutiny on the military rule there. Saying that the military did not come out to help and offer food and shelter. They were quick to come out in force shoot hundreds of monks a few months ago, but they did not appear when the wind blew off the roofs, the trees, and the people died. Of course, making a reference to that military crackdown that happened last summer.

We saw so many -- pro-democracy test there's in Myanmar. Finally here, if people want to help, and we know you do, you can go to our Web site, CNN.com/impactyourworld and find links to legitimate agencies that can you contribute to. A lot of people right now, Brianna, trying to reach out, trying to find a way to help.

KEILAR: All right, T.J. Holmes keeping an eye on this from the International Desk here at CNN World Headquarters.

Also keeping an eye on what happened here, Chad Myers. He is at the CNN Weather Center. And you have actually mapped this cyclone, right, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We've map it, and we've gone back three years to go get an old picture, and now we have a new image from NASA as well after the storm hit. This is the southern tip of Myanmar, of Burma, whatever you want to call it. Here are some rivers that are flowing down from the north and into the ocean. Now, the whole area here is a swamp. It's a delta. It's a very fertile area.

So people live right along the rivers, because that's where they do their farming. Now, this is a picture taken just from yesterday. You can see the width of the rivers, almost three to four times as wide as they were, and floods all the way up to the rivers up to the north. I'm going to go back to the first picture again.

You'll notice in March of 2004, these little red spots? Can you see them at home? A couple right there. Those were actually fires on the ground that the censor is picking up. Part of this region was on fire with wildfires. Well, no more, obviously. The rain came in. The rain came right up the rivers, and now the water has to wash back down. Here's a map of really why it was so devastating.

It's really a map of what happened to Lake Pontchartrain and also into New Orleans. Notice the direction of -- these cyclones spin the same way. They're in the northern hemisphere just like ours. So, it came up from Bogalay and then right up into Yangoon. Now, that area there the water got pushed right up into that delta by the storm surge.

So all those people that were right along the river, the water came up and up and up, and then the water got stopped as the rain ended, and that water washed back into the bay there. It was just an ugly, ugly weekend for those folks there.

KEILAR: And already, Chad, these villages you can't really get to without a boat or plane, right?

MYERS: You couldn't anyway. Right? These are places that don't have roads, and you will take a boat from one place to the other. So the evacuations were a nightmare as well.

KEILAR: So even more cut off now, of course.

MYERS: Absolutely.

KEILAR: All right, we know, Chad, that you will continue to monitor this. Chad Myers, for us there in the Weather Center. Thanks.

LEMON: Talk about another natural disaster now. Lava and ash fill the sky over southern Chile. The volcano looming over the town of Chaiten. It's been erupting since Friday. Most of the villagers have already fled. Those who haven't are being ordered out. The government is also evacuating a town 75 mile as way near the Argentine border. That's how far the wind has blown the volcanic ash.

KEILAR: Things to do in Chicago when you're stuck in a snow storm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At least the kids have something to do. They're feeding the mice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Yuck. A passenger says she saw dozens and dozens of them. Rodents at the airport.

LEMON: Nice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: OK, well, running through the airport, not for a flight, but for food. Rodents have been spotted at Chicago O'Hare and our Jackie Bange from affiliate WGN has the story. And just a warning for you, varmint video is included here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACKIE BANGE, WGN REPORTER (voice-over): O'Hare International, the gateway to Chicago. More than 70 million travelers pass through here every year. With its bold architecture and signature terminals, this is often a visitor's first impression of Chicago.

But not all impressions are good. You may not see them in the daylight, but if you happen to be stranded here overnight ...

CYNTHIA VLEUGEL, STRANDED PASSENGER: Oh, once you notice one mouse, then you saw that they were everywhere.

BANGE: Oklahoma resident Cynthia Vleugel is describing her creepy experience in O'Hare's terminal one. It was March 21st. A winter storm struck at the height of spring break.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of flights are continuing to move, but it doesn't mean that they're moving very quickly.

(voice-over): It left Vleugel and several other passengers stranded for more than 24 hours.

VLEUGEL: That's when somebody said, at least the kids have something to do. They're feeding the mice!

BANGE: Feeding them with popcorn at midnight, says Vleugel here at concourse C near gate 8. For three hours, she said, she watched the show.

VLEUGEL: Suddenly, I realized how many mice there were.

BANGE (on camera): How many?

VLEUGEL: Dozens, dozens, dozen.

BANGE (voice-over): The 34-year-old college instructor first complained to TSA, who then referred her e-mail letter to the Chicago Department of Aviation. Here's their response dated March 27th.

It reads, in part, "The Department of Aviation has a very aggressive pest control program." It goes on to say, "As for the specific area you address, I will make sure it is inspected immediately."

Inspected, perhaps. Resolved? Apparently not. We visited O'Hare four times since Cynthia received her response. April 1st, April 10th, April 14th, April 22nd. Each time, our undercover cameras captured these unsettling scenes of rodents. Then, we visited one more time. Nothing had changed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, that's definitely a Norway (ph) rat. You can see the big ears.

BANGE: We asked two rodent experts, both with more than 35 years of extermination experience, to help verify exactly what we videotaped.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's a mouse. But the other pictures looked like a rat.

BANGE: Mice and rats. We checked food stations in terminals one, two and three. Most of the rodents were spotted in terminal one, concourse C, the area where Cynthia pointed out in her letter. We brought them out by dropping cookies. It didn't take long. We found the rodents crawling on the floors, under coolers and on the very countertops where food is prepared and served. In terminal two, we did find this one as it struggled to free itself from a trap.

(on camera): So, who's responsible for cleaning up? Well, in the walkway area, it's the Department of Aviation. In the gates, it's the individual airlines. As far as the food stands go? It's up to the individual concessionaires. But from what we saw, the rodents were in all of those places.

(voice-over): They were all around these food stands that serve the foods that define Chicago, Chicago-style hot dogs and pizza. We spoke with passengers hours after finding rodents near the food they just bought.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sick. I said, how do I ditch this where I won't eat it? But it looks like it's wrapped up OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's interesting to know. It'd be nice to not have that happen in the airport. But -- oh, well, no time to eat today on the way to the flight. So ...

BANGE: As for Vleugel, this experience gives her second thoughts about traveling here.

(on camera): You going back to O'Hare anytime soon?

VLEUGEL: No, I -- your city is lovely, I'm sure. But really, I'd rather not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANGE: Now, we made repeated attempts to contact the Department of Aviation and they refused an on-camera interview. But they did release a written statement that basically said they had an aggressive pest control program and they believe that it is a cooperative effort between all parties involved. And they indicated that meant the airlines and the food venders and themselves. We expect to talk to them, though, on camera today -- Don?

LEMON: Oh, Jackie. OK, Chicago, very proud of the city there. Especially the city managers, especially the mayor. That's why they call it the city that works. What has been the reaction so far, especially from city officials or from the people there in Chicago? BANGE: Well, the mayor did address it this morning. He did say thank you, WGN. But he also said that he contacted the appropriate departments and asked that they take action right away. And we contacted the Department of Public Health, which oversees the rodent problems, and they did bring in an inspector out there. We do not yet know what the results are, but we will let you know.

LEMON: You're continuing this investigation, I'm sure, Jackie?

BANGE: Yes.

LEMON: OK, Jackie Bange from our affiliate WGN, we really appreciate you sharing this story with us ...

BANGE: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: ...even though it's unsettling, Jackie.

BANGE: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you.

KEILAR: Leading our political ticker, Hillary Clinton at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Don't call it a victory lap, though. The candidate who prides herself on going the distance won't even make a prediction about today's races.

Barack Obama began the day in Indy, but plans to watch the returns in Raleigh, North Carolina. Our Poll of Polls showing Clinton with a four-point edge in Indiana, Obama with a 10-point lead in North Carolina.

A separate poll shows most Democrats, 60 percent, want the nomination fight to go on, to continue. Fewer than one in four say Clinton should drop out. Just 15 percent say Obama should.

And John McCain is also in North Carolina today laying down the law about courts. The Republican nominee in waiting made the conservatives' case against so-called activist judges who legislate from the bench.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Federal judges today issue rulings and opinions on policy questions that should be decided Democratically. Assured of lifetime tenures, these judges show little regard for the authority of the president, the Congress and the states. They display even less interest in the will of the people. And the only remedy available to any of us is to find, nominate and confirm better judges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: McCain attacked Obama for voting against the current chief justice, John Roberts. LEMON: In remote areas of southern Myanmar, entire villages have been wiped out. A look inside the disaster zone straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: National security and the environment at odds along the Arizona border. A fence being built to protect Americans may be hurting an endangered species.

Our Rusty Dornin looks at how the border fence is threatening the existence of the jaguar in today's "Planet in Peril."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Arizona rancher, Warner Glenn, saddled up his mules on that spring day 12 years ago, he was tracking mountain lions. He's hunted the big cats since 1948. But what he saw that day stunned him.

WARNER GLENN, RANCHER: In 1996, I took the picture of that first jaguar right on the far ridge over there.

DORNIN: Perched high atop a rock, Glenn took what's believed to be the first photo live jaguar in the United States. Then in 2006, he saw another one.

Jaguars have a small breeding population in northern Mexico, but are classified as an endangered species. Scientists say there are no more than 120 left in that area.

GLENN: The wildlife corridor here is right on this mountain chain and that's directly south going into Mexico.

DORNIN: Wildlife corridors for jaguar and other animals.

But this say conservationists could stop the creatures in their tracks -- the border fence. This month, the Department of Homeland Security waived 30 environmental laws to finish 470 miles of fence by the end of the year.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I feel an urgency to get this tactile infrastructure in. And although we're going to be respectful of the environment, we're going to be expeditious.

DORNIN (on-camera): Critics of the Department of Homeland Security say this fence is not keeping people out. These items were discovered right along the fence by a border landowner. But they say it is stopping wildlife from crossing back and forth across the border.

(voice-over): Two environmental groups have filed appeals with the Supreme Court to stop the environmental waivers. They say national security and the environment don't have to be at odds.

MATT CLARK, DEFENDERS OF WILDLIFE: What we're looking at here is the federal government ramming a project through that's ineffective and is going to harm our public lands and our wildlife and is going to be -- irreparable.

DORNIN: That worries mountain lion tracker, Jack Childs. He captured video of this jaguar a few months after Glenn. Now he spearheads the Borderlands Jaguar Detection Project.

JACK CHILDS, TRACKER: I have no idea what the end result of all this border infrastructure is going to be. I know what's happening now is bad for wildlife, especially our jaguar.

DORNIN: We followed Childs and biologist Emil McCain up into the mountains to one of 50 remote cameras they've planted to track jaguars as they roam across the border.

EMIL MCCAIN, BIOLOGIST: We're going to check the camera, see what's been here in the last few weeks. We've got a coyote. There's a mountain lion, cotton tail rabbit.

DORNIN: No jaguars this time, but they've photographed three different cats on numerous occasions since 2001.

For Glenn, protection of the jaguar is about much more than just the border fence. It's about what's left in the wild.

GLENN: It's just an animal that's a beautiful, magnificent cat. And they're having a little bit of trouble surviving. But they're doing it. And I would hate to see us do anything that would cause that -- the survival of that cat to go backwards.

E. MCCAIN: They're a part of the American West and the American wild as much as the bald eagle or the grizzly bear.

DORNIN: Rusty Dornin, CNN, Douglas, Arizona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Thousands upon thousands are dead, missing or homeless. Offers of aid are piling up and starting to trickle into Myanmar. We've got an exclusive view from the ground. CNN's very own Dan Rivers, the only Western correspondent in Myanmar. That ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK, well it may not be their last chance to turn the tide, or close the deal, or do whatever they need to do. But for Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, today's primaries in Indiana and North Carolina are the last best chance. Together, they're worth 187 pledged delegates, more than any other contest still on the calendar.

KEILAR: At the moment, Obama has 1,745 delegates. That's by CNN's count. That is total including superdelegates. Clinton has 1,602. And of course whoever gets the magic number, 2,025, they get the nomination.

LEMON: We shall see ...

KEILAR: Shall see.

LEMON: ...if that will happen today. Probably won't, but we shall see. And we've got everything covered here today in the CNN NEWSROOM.