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U.S. Plane Allowed Access into Myanmar; Exiled Burmese Leader Calls on China to Pressure Leaders; Fighting Slows in Beirut; Tornadoes Hit Southeastern U.S.

Aired May 09, 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: Well, you name it. Cyclone survivors in Myanmar need it. They probably don't care where it comes from or who delivers it. But Myanmar's rulers do. We're live with the latest on the desperate standoff.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Random devastation. Telltale signs of a twister in North Carolina. One person is dead. We've got the pictures and the prospects for more rough weather.

Hi, there. I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon at the international desk with our breaking news coverage from here today.

You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And we are following two big developing international stories today. Of course, we're talking about Beirut and all the fighting that happened there yesterday. And it is still going on.

But also today, new information just coming out about Myanmar and aid from the U.S. finally able to get into that country.

Now, just moments ago we learned from a press conference in the western White House in Crawford, Texas, that U.S. planes, a cargo plane will be allowed to deliver aid, to drop aid into Myanmar.

Here's what happened just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States welcomes the announcement that we have received approval from the Burmese government for a U.S. military C-130 cargo plane with emergency relief supplies to land in Burma on Monday.

We hope this is the beginning of major U.S. assistance to the Burmese people. We will continue to work with the government of Burma on additional access for USAID, nongovernmental organizations, as well as our other international partners to provide assistance to help the Burmese people during their time of need.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: All right. That was just moments ago. Gordon John Joe (ph), who is a White House spokesperson and representative. And getting some more information here, the latest coming off the wires here. But as I do this and check on all of the new information coming, exactly when that plane will be allowed to go.

And we want to go now to our State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee. She's got information from there.

Zain, what's the latest?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Don, this is really just the beginning. That's what the head of USAID, Henrietta Fore, says. They're very hopeful that the government there in Myanmar will see this, really, as a big effort on the part of the U.S. Nothing to do with politics. Just purely humanitarian and to help the people there in Myanmar.

We just got out of a meeting with Henrietta Fore just a short while ago. And this is the detail that we have.

There will be one C-130 that will fly out on Monday toward the capital of Myanmar called Rangoon. Now, it's going to be flying out from the main USAID warehouse, which is based in Dubai.

They're going to be working out right now what exactly is going to be on the plane. But they're taking into consideration the situation on the ground and what they're being told that they do need, which is shelter supplies, first aid supplies, things like gericams (ph) and sanitation kits, health kits and so forth.

They're also working, though, on who exactly is going to be distributing the aid on the ground. This is a contentious issue. The government of Myanmar or in any country in a catastrophic situation like this would really want to be seen to its own people as being the face of humanitarian aid and assistance.

One key thing we understand from senior aid officials here. They tell us the water is absolutely essential in a situation like this. They are very, very fearful of water-borne diseases, like cholera, like malaria. And what they want to do is to get people on the ground who know how to use equipment for water purification and water purification tablets so they can help the people as soon as possible -- Don.

LEMON: All right. State Department correspondent Zain Verjee with the latest on this breaking news.

Zain, thank you very much.

And I want to talk more about that video. Scotty, can you put that video up here for me? That video that you're seeing just in, again, to the CNN NEWSROOM from our crews there on the scene in Myanmar. And you see these people. They're calling them refugees, because that's what they are. They are homeless. Look at this. Children, many women and children here. And up to a million people are homeless. This video, the newest and the latest that you'll see here, you can see exactly what's going on. Water, as we see there. And as I'm getting information, someone dressing someone with -- with a bandage.

But I'm being told also that the exiled prime minister from Burma speaking right now, speaking at the press club in Washington.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEIN WIN, BURMESE PRIME MINISTER-IN-EXILE: ... major (ph) disaster of disproportion without help. But in Burma the need for outright help immediately is much, much greater.

The refusal of the government in Burma to allow critically needed disaster relief and allow aid into the country immediately is criminal. Their decision to refuse the massive amount of relief aid and expertise that is waiting offshore from the United Nations, the U.S., France, U.K. and dozens of experienced NGOs is a death sentence for many thousands of men, women and children.

We know what to do. And every inch (ph) of relief that's sent, aircraft filled with supplies and experts in Banda Aceh (ph), every hour during the 2004 tsunami was set up within 72 hours of that disaster.

Experts tell us that there is a ticking time bomb in Burma. If conditions that can cause disease, malnutrition and starvation are not addressed immediately, there will be a horrific spike in the number of dead than there is from the initial catastrophe.

It is now day six, and desperately needed relief cannot get into Burma. Our first and only priority is to get immediate aid to the millions of people who so desperately need it, by any means necessary.

We deeply appreciate all that the international community is attempting to do for our country, including the effort -- efforts of the French government, promoting a resolution by the United Nations Security Council that invoked its responsibility to protect the victims in Burma.

But the fact is people are going to die needlessly if international relief efforts do not have the cooperation of the military government. For this to happen, the generals of Burma must receive firm pressure from those on whom they rely.

No other country in the world has more influence on the military junta of Burma than China. The fact is, without the strong and consistent support of China, the military junta of Burma would not be able to exist, as we know. From the weapons China provides this military to the votes China provides on the United Nations Security Council, the military government in Burma is dependent on the strong and consistent support it gets from the Chinese government. Therefore, the key of saving the lives of tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in Burma is China. I understand that China has lent its voice to the call of international concern over the junta's behavior.

LEMON: All right. You heard it straight from the exiled Burmese prime minister's mouth there, that aid is needed desperately, and he's urging the people there to let aid workers in.

CNN has a correspondent on the ground in Myanmar. And we want to go to that correspondent now to tell us about the very latest.

What do you have for us?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... that aid is desperately needed here in Myanmar. I was able to go to a camp for displaced people today. It's not a very big camp. It's about 600 to 800 people in that camp. And we asked the people who are running that camp how things would go on from here?

They said basically in the next couple of hours they're going to have to shut that camp down and ask all the people to leave that camp immediately. And they say the reason for that is, Don, that they simply don't have any more food, medication and water to help those people any more. So they're going to just ask them to go.

And really, the question that came to mind, of course, is where are these people going to go? And the only answer that the authorities there had, they said they're just going to ask them to leave and hope that they go back to where they came from. But of course those are those devastated areas, devastated by this cyclone where these people fled from in the first place.

So certainly, a very uncertain future for those people, Don.

LEMON: Yes. And I wonder if you've been able to talk, I'm sure, with an interpreter, talk with the people there on the ground? What sorts of stories? Obviously, you can see it all for yourself, but what are they sharing with you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, people here aren't really sharing very much. But the asset is a lot of these people here are very much afraid of the government here. They're afraid to talk to you. But once you do sort of talk to them for a little bit longer, you sort of get past that first bit of wall that they put in between you and themselves.

They do say that this is a very big problem. They do say that their country does need a lot of help. And it does have a lot of problems with all of that. And it sort of gives the impression that a lot of them are waiting for aid to come in and are hoping that aid will come in and come in fast.

And really, the thing that I share to you is that this -- all of this has to happen in a very fast way. And they do hope that they will get aid at some point in the near future, Don. LEMON: All right. Thank you very much.

Our correspondent on the ground in Myanmar, sharing very personal stories there and giving us a view of what's going on. And you see the latest pictures.

I want to walk back here and show you exactly how you can, if you're at home, get involved here. Obviously, what you should do is go to CNN.com. We have our international edition, which is all over this. This is "Cyclone Aid Stopped on Tarmac." But now we're learning that those -- from the White House that some planes will be allowed to go in there.

We want to show you some of the things where you can help and some Web sites here. This one is called -- it is called USCampaignforBurma.org. And you see the pictures there. This is the devastation, taken just after that cyclone hit. You can go here if you want to donate.

Also, there are some very interesting photographs here. And they're showing these pictures. Some of these pictures, because we were the first people on the ground there, the photos from CNN that they have taken from our air and also from our Web site.

And you can just see the devastation here. And when it's captured in a picture sometimes it's just amazing, because you get to see just exactly what happened. You get a chance to sort of examine it. And you see just the devastation, how this storm just roared through.

There's an animal in the back there. And then, of course it looks like a child there that's going through that.

Also we are being told there is -- obviously that plane that we talked about, going to tell you about this plane. This is a C-1 cargo -- C -- cargo plane that will be going in there. A plane just like this made right here. It's a C-130. And it's made right here. Built in Marietta, Georgia. It is the aerial workhorse, they call it.

And real quickly, I want to show you -- show you guys this. We talked about this. Hang on. There it is right there. This is Global Voices that's sharing some of their messages here.

And I got one thing from one -- real quickly I want to show you here. One person said, "In our house we were trapped when trees around the house fell over after 11 hours of strong winds at 200 to 240 knots. The mess is terrible everywhere with all the electricity down and no water for days."

Those are from the blogs here. And then we have I-Reports, as well, that we're going to show you a little bit later on in the news cast.

So everything that's happening on the ground in Myanmar and in Lebanon, we've got it covered for you right here at our international desk -- Brianna. KEILAR: Well, Don, the furious fighting that gripped Beirut has tapered off but only after Hezbollah dramatically strengthened its hand against the pro-western Lebanese government.

We saw it happen live: the Iran-backed militia outgunning its rivals as the Lebanese army stood by.

And let's go live now to Beirut and CNN's Cal Perry, who was in the thick of the firefight yesterday.

And I understand, Cal, looking at what one pro-government leader said, he said that the government here, obviously backed by the U.S. and other countries, is at the end of a gun barrel.

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think that's absolutely right. At the end of a gun barrel and backed into a corner.

Late last night and early this morning, Hezbollah took over the entire western section of this city. We just drove back from that section of the city. On every street corner almost you see men holding RPGs and machine guns.

Just down the road, often, from them you'll see the Lebanese army. It's really interesting to see the Lebanese army just standing there as Hezbollah has taken over control of an entire section of the city. They set up road blocks. They're checking ID's. It's a sight to be seen, for sure. And it's still unclear at this point how long they'll stay.

Now, the government has been backed into a corner, because what are they to do? They came out and they said Hezbollah needs to take down this telecommunications network. But what are they going to do? How can they do that? They can't go into south Beirut and just take it down. Hezbollah is incredibly powerful. So the government, indeed, may be at the end of its rope here, Brianna.

KEILAR: Call, tell me, what is that that we're hearing behind you?

PERRY: You're hearing the sit-in. This has been going on now for over a year, the Hezbollah sit-in around the government buildings where I am in downtown Beirut. There are tents set up, over 100 of them. They've been sitting there 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

And I can tell you, in the past 48 hours, I've been trying to walk from where my hotel is in a nearby Christian neighborhood. I can't get here. I have to walk all the way around, because Hezbollah will stop me and push me aside and say, "No, you can't come through where these tents are."

At night they run Al-Manar Television, which is the Hezbollah-run news organization. That's what you're hearing behind me. A loud noise, indeed, Brianna.

KEILAR: Cal, I have many more questions for you. But I know your window is about to close here. So we're going to let you go and check in with you a little later.

Cal Perry for us in Beirut.

We're also watching severe weather along the East Coast. We've seen the latest damage in from around the southeast. And Chad Myers has that in the NEWSROOM next.

Now, we'll also tell you about a possible scam with some of your rebate checks. You're going to want to watch this.

And you're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Those cyber crooks, you know, it seems like they never miss a beat. And one of the latest scam involves economic stimulus checks, if you can believe it. And to fill us in, from Washington, CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena.

This is such a bummer, Kelli, because so many people are expecting these checks, hundreds of dollars, soon.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. So here is your advice for the day. Do not respond to any e-mails that you get that are reportedly from the IRS. The IRS will never solicit personal information from you over e-mail or over the phone, ever. Got it?

KEILAR: Got it.

ARENA: Good. OK. So here's what's going on.

The FBI says that it's received dozens of complaints about yet another e-mail scam which advises recipients that they've got a rebate or a refund coming and tries to solicit personal information, usually something about direct deposit.

So to convince consumers to reply, the e-mail warns if you don't complete this form quickly, your check will be delayed.

Brianna, I got two of these e-mails: one yesterday, one today. We're showing it right on the screen. It says I'm entitled to a refund. I wish. And it has a link to a site where I'm supposed to provide personal information.

So do what I did. Do not click on the link, as tempting as it may be. Just hit the delete button.

KEILAR: So the IRS doesn't solicit personal information. Good advice also, as well, for banks and that kind of things. A lot of these scams kind of take this route.

But I'm wondering: if you get one of these e-mails and you report it, does it really help?

ARENA: Absolutely. The link on the e-mail that I received has actually been shut down. So it helps other people from getting defrauded. The FBI says all you have to do is go to a Web site. It's called www.IC3.gov (ph). File a complaint. It's easy. You heard it here. You be smart; help somebody else who may not know that they're in for a scam.

KEILAR: Certainly pass it along. Because what -- that would just be so upsetting if, for some reason, because of this economic stimulus check, you managed to give some of that away. That would be terrible.

OK. Kelli Arena for us in Washington. Thanks so much.

ARENA: You're welcome.

KEILAR: And by the way, we're wondering what do you plan to do with your stimulus payment? We put that question to the public. And here's what we found in a CNN/Opinion Research poll.

Forty-five percent say they'll put it towards bills. Twenty- eight percent, they're either going to save or invest it. Seventeen percent plan to spend it on a necessity. And seven percent say they'll go buy something they want. Only seven percent.

Well, the government wants more spending, less saving, less bill paying, of course. These aren't exactly the answers that the stimulus backers had in mind -- Don.

LEMON: And Brianna, cleanup is under way in Greensboro, North Carolina, where a dangerous storm rolled through last night. One person was killed, at least three others hurt. Homes and businesses are badly damaged. You can see it there. Just amazing video.

And next door in Virginia, dozen more homes were hit along with this dog kennel. The storms are gone now but parts of the state are still under flood warnings.

And joining us now to update us on all of this, some amazing video and pictures coming into the CNN NEWSROOM and to the severe weather center, Chad. Just unbelievable.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's going to be a rough weekend, too, Don.

I mean, we're going to have some storms today, but tomorrow is the day. Oklahoma, Tulsa, Little Rock, Memphis, all under the gun for major tornado outbreaks tomorrow. Today is kind of in between. We won't call it in between storms: in between energy coming down out of the southwest.

But last night I was watching it from home and then even from here. Some of the places. Some of these storms that were rotating through North Carolina were just going for miles and miles and miles. So I think we're pretty lucky we only had a few tornadoes yesterday.

LEMON: OK. We've got -- look at this, Chad, more pictures. Talking about these pictures, that roof. Oh my gosh. MYERS: Well, you know what? For most of the night we had only hail and some wind damage. And then all of a sudden right around 11 p.m. last night it started out near Winston-Salem, just south of Winston-Salem and then right through Greensboro, as you said. It's kind of the triad there.

And a couple of storms on the interstate blowing trucks off the interstate. And I'm sure it was this storm. Because really, there only were about three or four storms in North Carolina last night that did put down a tornado.

Although one right around Fredericksburg, Virginia, I thought it was on the ground. There was a hook. It was spinning. And I'm thinking to myself, we're in trouble. This thing is going to be on the ground in Fredericksburg. And it went over with a little bit of hail, but that was it.

LEMON: Is it, meteorological term, is it F or EF now? Is it F?

MYERS: Enhanced Fujita scale, because somebody had to make something up -- have a job (ph).

LEMON: What do you think these were?

MYERS: I don't know. Probably the one looked a 2, maybe even a 3. About 150, 160 miles per hour at times. Some of them, when you just lose a roof, that's probably like a 1: 110, 120 miles per hour.

LEMON: OK. Chad Myers. Thank you, sir. Thank you for inviting me over in -- in the severe weather center.

MYERS: Any time, buddy.

LEMON: All right. We'll throw it back to you, Brianna.

KEILAR: Thanks, Don.

North Korea, the enigmatic and closed nation. Christiane Amanpour is back from her first trip there. What she expected and what she didn't. We'll talk to her about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Oil prices have settled at record highs every day this week. And once again crude hit an all-time high today. And that is sending stocks in the opposite direction.

Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the latest.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna.

We've seen this painful dance many, many times. Oil topped $126 a barrel earlier today and, if you're wondering, "Wait, I didn't even know it was at $125 a barrel," it blew past that overnight.

Some of the culprits today continue to be the weak dollar, the European Central Bank indicating that it's going to hold interest rates steady, which puts pressure on the U.S. dollar.

Also a report in the "Wall Street Journal" saying that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been establishing closer ties to Colombian rebels. And the way that could play out, in this article, is that sanctions could be imposed by the U.S. government, which wouldn't mean that we would not have supplies; we just pay even more for them.

And then there's supply and demand. A majority of economists surveyed by the "Journal" say that it's rising demand in China and India, obviously, hugely populous countries that, as they achieve a higher standard of living, need a lot more energy. And then you have your typical supply disruptions. It all adds up to oil at $126 a barrel, Brianna.

KEILAR: Well, sure. India and China are growing. They're going to keep growing. Does that mean that we won't see any pullback in prices then?

LISOVICZ: Not necessarily. You know, every analyst I talk to say that oil is just trading too high for the fundamentals, even everything I just mentioned.

Some of the same economists, by the way, in the "Journal" say that they see oil at the cheaper price of $93 a barrel by the end of the year. In a separate survey by oil executives at KPMG, 55 percent say prices will fall below $100 by year's end.

And of course, while oil prices surge, puts a lot of pressure on stocks with the added culprit of AIG, which is a Dow 30 stock, reporting a net loss of nearly $8 billion due to the meltdown we've seen in that housing market.

So right now the blue chips under pressure as they have been all day. Down 100 -- round it out to 140 points. The NASDAQ is down 12 points. And oil is down nearly two bucks, but below $126 a barrel.

In the next hour, we know there's not much of a silver lining to the housing mess, but there may be a green lining. And I will talk about that in the next hour, Brianna.

KEILAR: Looking forward to it. Susan Lisovicz for us at the New York Stock Exchange. Thanks.

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

KEILAR: Well, don't forget Mom this weekend. But not every family is complete heading into Mother's Day. We are reuniting military moms today and the people who love and miss them. Like this mom here. We've got that live coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the international desk in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Kyra Phillips.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

It is 31 after the hour and here are three of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The U.N. World Food Programme says it will resume emergency airlifts to Myanmar. The flights were suspended earlier after Myanmar's rulers blocked the program from distributing supplies. Also today, the White House says Myanmar has agreed to let one U.S. cargo plane land with supplies.

Drug traffickers appear to have intensified their war on the Mexican government. Mexico's federal police chief was murdered yesterday and a top Mexico City police official was gunned down today. Both have played active roles in a crackdown on organized crime.

Violence in Lebanon today with Hezbollah gunmen appearing to have the upper hand. They seized control of most of western Beirut and two pro-government television stations have been shut down -- Don.

LEMON: And we continue now with our developing news -- breaking news, really, coming out of Lebanon and also Myanmar.

I just want to show you here, I'm at the international desk, this is how much of our stuff comes in here. A lot of it by satellite, but much of it also now by computer. The bottom right, that new stuff that we just got in from Myanmar. The refugees there.

Let's move back here. I want to tell you about some new information that we're getting here as it relates to Beirut. I want to tell you here about some of the web sites, some of the information that we're getting.

This one right here, you can go on now. It's called Now Lebanon. And they do just about every five minutes or so they can update. You can see, 20:17 (ph), new information here. They do it in Arabic. They also -- this is the English version. This one, 20:12 (ph). Just clashes in parts of the country. A port roads leading to hotel remains blocked.

So really information if you have loved ones in that area, if you know people, you want to know what's going on, you can get all of that there. And, of course, the very latest pictures coming in. Just an amazing web site that you can go to there.

I want to move on now. And this one is also -- this is one of the -- is this one of the television stations, Glenn (ph), that was shut down or this is just another one that has it. That's another independent web site here that we have with new information. Unrest across Lebanon enters the third day. You see a gunman here. And then also update -- there's updated information on that.

Let's see if we can refresh it real quick. There we go, 7:22 p.m. They talk about all of these things that are happening, the unrest here.

We go here to this one. This one is -- we told you about Future Television last night during our coverage on international, that Future Television was shut down. This is Future Television's web site. Obviously the pictures no longer coming from their television station.

Also a newspaper -- let me click on that -- a newspaper here, as well, that was shut down in the area, but the web site's still up and running here. And then this web site, refresh me on this one, Glenn, exactly Al-Manar Television. This one is Al-Manar Television.

And this one -- is this the Hezbollah Television? This one is Hezbollah TV here. And also the web site. So this is sort of -- this is the opposition -- what they're calling the opposition here. And I believe this one is an opposition as well. The pro-government. OK. This is the pro-government web site as well and also pro-government television on this one.

So you can see all the information. And just to -- I've been talking to the people here about the unrest and exactly what's going and they're telling me on the international desk, the ones that update -- they update every five minutes of what's happening in Beirut. They have every version. An English version, an Arabic version, and just about every language that you need. And it talks about the divisions in Lebanon.

The people who are pro-government and the people who are pro the militia. And they're hearing very different stories from many different stories. And what they're having to do here is sort of just vet through the information, see (ph) through the information and decide what's accurate, what should be reported and what shouldn't be reported. So all the information that's coming in, is coming in right here to the international desk.

And also this is CNN.com, the international version. And you can get your own pictures any time. This is video that's streaming on our web site 24 hours a day that you can look at here. Amazing pictures. And as I understand, we've got some new information coming from our State Department and also from our correspondents on the ground. But before we get to that, I want to throw it back to Brianna and then we'll continue to update you in just a little bit as we get that new information and we sort of put it together for you -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Well, Don, Mother's Day weekend coming up here. And today's modern military puts more moms in combat zones than at any time in our history. What better reasons to use the worldwide resources of CNN to put deployed military moms together with their families, albeit just for a short time. But let's go for it here. Look at this. Army Specialist Rebecca Trea, smiling there live for us from Iraq, and Robert Trea. He is holding down the fort back home. Holding, as well, two-year-old Kadence (ph), known as Katie as well, in Ugley (ph), Michigan, along with Rebecca's mother, Linda Rumptz.

And thank you guys so much for being with us. We appreciate it. I know that on -- you know, Mother's Day really brings up that a lot of times we kind of take mom for granted. But I certainly know, Robert, that that's really -- you and Katie don't at this point, understanding that Rebecca's so far away.

Tell us the hardest part about Rebecca being so far away for so long.

ROBERT TREA, HUSBAND, FATHER, RESERVIST: The hardest part about having my wife away is she misses a lot. And what Katie and I get to do and just being home, cooking, cleaning, the daily chores, just everything that we used to do is gone.

KEILAR: And, Rebecca, tell us what you miss, but also tell your husband, talk to your mom and your daughter about what you miss, especially ahead of Mother's Day here.

SPEC. REBECCA TREA, DEPLOYED TO IRAQ: I miss the most just everything that I'm missing with my daughter, her growing up and taking her to school every day, being there for her. When I call and I hear she's sick, I'm not there to really take care of her. So it gets hard.

KEILAR: And, Rebecca, I'm wondering, how do you get to -- I mean when you have a child Katie's age, it's like, I mean, the time just flies by and they grow so fast. How are you able to monitor her growth? She's going to be such a big kid by the time you get back.

SPEC. R. TREA: Oh, I know. She -- my husband's very good about getting pictures out. The web cam has been an amazing tool for us. And just as many pictures and letters as I can get that Robert and my mother can send out. That's -- I've been watching her grow up.

KEILAR: I actually -- I think Katie's starting to fall asleep. It's pretty cute. But is there anything that you want to tell her, Rebecca? We're going to try and get the . ..

SPEC. R. TREA: I just want to tell Katie that . . .

KEILAR: Sorry, we're trying to get the ISP (ph) in her ear. OK, yes, I think she can hear now if you want to go ahead.

SPEC. R. TREA: I just want to tell you, Katie, that I love you and I know that you can't say Happy Mother's Day to mama, but I definitely love you and I know that you would say it if you could.

KEILAR: Yes, I just have to tell you, I'm not sure if you can see her, but she was kind of falling asleep there and she perked right up when she heard your voice. She's down for the count. I think she's falling asleep there, Rebecca, but she sure is cute and I'm sure that she misses you so much.

And I want to talk to you, Linda, as well because this is such an interesting position that you're in. Happy Mother's Day to you, as well. You're a grandma, but you're also, in a way, playing mother while your daughter is away. How does that feel? LINDA RUMPTZ, REBECCA TREA'S MOTHER: It's kind of given me a second chance to raise a little one again. It's a little bit more demanding. I'm a little bit older now. But when I see her and I see her long, blonde hair and her pony (ph) smile, it reminds me of Becky as a little girl. Her favorite words are "no" and "me." And she loves make-up, just like Becky did. And as often as we talk, I try to convey all those things that are going on as she's growing up and looking forward to Becky coming home on leave.

KEILAR: And you guys, Rebecca, I just want to give you a last chance, we're going to wrap this up here, but I want to just give you a last chance to say whatever it is you want to say to your husband and to your mom before we go.

SPEC. R. TREA: I just want to say, I love you all. Happy Mother's Day, mom. And thank you for being a mom to my daughter, as well. And, even, Robert, you've been the mom and the dad to Katie. And I love you all.

KEILAR: And Happy Mother's Day to all of you, especially you, Rebecca. Thank you so much for spending your time with us. Rebecca, Robert, as well as Linda and little Katie there, who is taking a nap. Thank you guys.

SPEC. R. TREA: Thank you.

RUMPTZ: Thank you.

ROBERT TREA: Thank you.

KEILAR: Don.

LEMON: All right, Brianna. What a cute family there. And we wish everyone the best there.

We want to go now -- we're talking about the aid that finally may be getting to those people who desperately need it in Myanmar. One person helping out is Dr. John Howe. He is with Project Hope and he joins us now to tell us about his workers.

Do you have workers there on the ground yet, sir?

DR. JOHN HOWE, PRES & CEO, PROJECT HOPE: We're in the planning stage as we speak. Project Hope is partnering with World Vision. A wonderful organization that's been present on the ground in Myanmar for over 30 years. And we look to support them in providing medicines, the medical supplies and, as need, health professionals.

LEMON: Yes, and so you're in negotiations now and you're about to go in. Are you hearing anything from people who are already there, already somewhere in the region, if not on the ground, in Myanmar exactly?

HOWE: To date it's been radio silence. Very quiet. But this is not unusual. It wasn't long ago that we were in a similar situation after a 20-foot, not 12, but a 20-foot wave raced through Banda Ache killing also tens of thousands of people. And Project Hope was there. And as such, this is very familiar to us.

LEMON: Yes. And Dr. Howe, we remember that devastating tsunami that happened. But for some reason, and we were talking about this yesterday, we've been talking about it in our coverage a lot, not just us, but as well as other news organizations, because the other area in Banda Ache and what have you, because those areas may have been visited more by westerners and what have you, it appeared that people were able to get in easier and there was more of a connection there. This place is so remote and they have such restrictions on who can go in and who can leave that we're not getting that feeling necessarily and we're having a tougher time getting in.

HOWE: Yes, without question. This is a much, much more difficult situation. On the other hand, Ache province was off limits to foreigners before the tsunami. There was a restriction on being able to go in to that area. So, again, this is familiar territory. Much more intense. But it's a perfect setting for America's generosity, just as we saw with Indonesia.

LEMON: Yes, and, real quickly, because we've got lots of breaking news, but what do you say to the American people who are watching and who now may, you know, feel some relief at least that some aid may be getting in or if they want to donate. Do you have a message to people about this?

HOWE: Yes. Now is the time for Americans to put face on their humanity. And we do this and do this well. We did it with the tsunami and we'll do it with this cyclone. And there are many wonderful organizations, including Project Hope, in which cash support and (ph) volunteers, it's very, very important, as well as to the companies that are providing medicines and medical supplies. Indeed, this is the one opportunity to put the best face on our wonderful generosity.

LEMON: All right. Dr. John Howe from Project Hope. His aid workers from his group are getting ready to assemble and go on the ground and help these people.

We appreciate it, sir. We need more like you. Thank you.

HOWE: Thank you.

LEMON: All right. When we come back, we're going to talk to an American man. He finds himself in the wrong place. Guess where he was at the wrong time? He was in Myanmar at the time of the cyclone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know how long I'm going to be here, what it's going to be like, what's the food supply going to be like. There was already no electricity. There was already no hot water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: But as you can see, he managed to get home. His story ahead in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Big issues abound in this year's race for the White House. Sandra Endo is listening to voters in Washington for this week's "Election Express Yourself."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The economy, the war in Iraq, health care, all topics of debate throughout this entire presidential campaign. But what matters most to you? We asked people right here in Washington what the most important issue is as they decide who should live here next?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The economy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we need to move towards universal health care.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Energy policy and the economy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tax, the foreclosure, it's health benefits. All of those things are important.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The cost of gas. And the steepening prices for food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spending on the war is an issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bringing the troops home. Bring the troops home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Iraq War. We're hemorrhaging money for no reason.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The troops. The effect on the economy here at home. The impact that the war has on our whole futures of our families.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Up next for the Democrats, West Virginia. And we're live from there with Bill Schneider in just a few minutes.

Then on primary night, join Bill and the rest of the best political team on television for complete coverage. That's Tuesday night starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. CNN, your home for politics.

And what does Barack Obama have to say about a possible run against John McCain in the general election? Hear what he tells our Wolf Blitzer when he sat down for an interview in "The Situation Room."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: Hillary Clinton is close to losing her once commanding lead in super delegates. It's down to three now that four more have declared for Barack Obama. Among them, Congressman Peter DeFazio of Oregon, and Donald Payne of New Jersey, who had been a Clinton supporter. Obama holds a commanding lead in total delegates, 1,855 to 1,691 for Clinton. Of course, 2,025 the magic number. That's what's needed for the nomination.

But Barack Obama hasn't clenched the Democratic nomination yet, but you wouldn't necessarily know that from new stands. Check out "Time" magazine's new cover and you have to look pretty closely or you'll miss the asterisk. That's right. The Illinois senator talked about the primary marathon and what may lie ahead with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in "The Situation Room."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's been intense in the primaries, but you realize it's going to be much more intense in the next chapter and the next phase given the differences between you and John McCain. Are you ready for this next phase?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm actually looking forward to it, if we're successful. I don't want to get ahead of myself here. Senator Clinton is a very formidable candidate. She is very heavily favored to win West Virginia. She'll win that by, you know, a big margin. She's favored in Kentucky. We'll probably split the remaining contests. And so she's going to be actively campaigning. If I'm fortunate enough to be the nominee, then I'm looking forward to the general election, precisely because there's such a big, stark contrast between . . .

BLITZER: There are major differences between you and John McCain on a whole host of domestic issues . . .

OBAMA: Exactly.

BLITZER: And foreign policy issues. And I want to go through those right now.

OBAMA: Sure.

BLITZER: Already some of his surrogates, some of his supporters, are suggesting you're not ready to be commander in chief, president of the United States. Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, said this. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He has not accomplished anything during his life in terms of legislation or leading an enterprise or making a business work or a city work or a state work. He really has very little experience. And, you know, the presidency of the United States is not an internship.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLITZER: Wow. That's a strong statement.

OBAMA: Yes. Well, the contest didn't work out so well for Mitt Romney. I think he was making those same arguments against John McCain, suggesting that John McCain, as a senator, hadn't done what Mitt Romney had done. And yet here we are and there Mitt Romney is.

Look, when it comes to national security, I think that what people are looking for is good judgment. They're looking for somebody who's going to be able to assess the very real risks that are out there and deploy our forces, not just military, but diplomatic, political, economic, cultural, in a way that makes the American people safe. And whether it's my judgment on Iraq and recognizing that that was going to be a strategic blunder, to my insistence that we need to talk, not just to countries we like, but countries we don't, to my assessment in terms of how we had overinvested in the Musharraf government in Pakistan, and that was going to be setting us up for failure later on, I think I've consistently displayed the kind of judgment that the American people are looking for in the next president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Primary season is not over. Don't forget, West Virginia votes Tuesday. Kentucky and Oregon the week after.

Some depressed teens smoke pot to make themselves feel better. But the drug is actually making things worse. We'll tell you what a new report says about teens, drugs and depression.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Depressed teenagers who experiment with marijuana are taking big risks. That is the conclusion of a new government report that links several major health problems to occasional pot use.

Here's our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A new report from the White House points out an irony about teens and marijuana use. The report talks about how sometimes when teens are depressed, they use marijuana to feel better. The irony is that the marijuana may actually make their depression worse and could lead to even more serious mental disorders such as schizophrenia.

Let's take a look at some of the statistics in this report. What they found is that kids who smoked pot once a week, it doubles their risk of getting depression or anxiety. Kids who smoke pot once a month, they were three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts. The report also found that marijuana can trigger short-term schizophrenia.

Now, of course, this will make parents wonder, gee, what can I do about this? First of all, parents should always be on the lookout for whether or not their children are using drugs. But in light of this report, they also need to be on the lookout for whether or not their child is depressed.

So if a child is, for example, withdrawing from friends or family or doesn't enjoy doing the kinds of activities that they used to enjoy, that could be a sign of depression. And in light of this report, parents might think, gee, that could also be a sign for drug abuse.

From New York, I'm Elizabeth Cohen, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Shrouded in mystery, stuck in a time warp. North Korea opens its doors to very few westerners. We'll get a rare glimpse inside this reclusive country from our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)