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Relief Flights to Resume in Myanmar; Ed Begley Jr. on Eco- Friendly Living; Credit Card Debt on the Rise

Aired May 09, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Governments can stonewall. Aid groups and diplomats can beg, complain, and negotiate. But cholera, diarrhea, and malaria, they won't wait.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: One week after the cyclone, vital relief is making its way to Myanmar, but not to the majority of the worst-off survivors. We have got the latest on the crushing need and the agonizing wait.

Hi there. I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN Center in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon here at the international desk. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We start now with our developing news and it is coming out of Myanmar. The United Nations will send two more emergency airlifts into Myanmar tomorrow. The U.S. will send a cargo plane loaded with supplies on Monday. But will the people who need that help ever get it? Will they ever get it? Today, Myanmar's military government seized 38 tons of food and other relief at the airport and they won't let U.N. staffers deliver it to survivors of last week's cyclone.

Some places, well, they have no food, they have no water, they have no electricity or medicine. We want to tell you experts fear the more time that ticks by, the greater the risk of disease and also the greater the risk of cholera and malaria and the like.

Well, CNN's Dan Rivers, we have been telling you, he is out of Myanmar now, but he took one last trip, one last trip down a devastated and desperate delta. What he saw is really not for the faint of heart. Some of the pictures you're about to see, we have to warn you they are extremely, extremely disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We're deep in the Irrawaddy delta, making our way down the Laputa (ph) River. The banks are punctuated with destroyed homes, apparently abandoned after Cyclone Nargis hit.

(on-camera): It's been very, very difficult to get into this river delta. The roads are not passable for us. So, now this is the only way we can progress any further, by boat. And the river that we're traveling on is incredibly swollen. You can see all the trees along the side here are completely submerged by river waters. Normally, these would all be on dry land. (voice-over): The Myanmar government has refused to let any international press into this area officially. But we have managed to get through numerous checkpoints to see for ourselves how bad things are.

This 79-year-old man tells me he's lost his sister, his granddaughter, two grandsons and his daughter-in-law. His voice is cracking with emotion as he explains how he found their bodies amid the debris of their village.

A broken man, he's gathered with other survivors who have received no help whatsoever.

We're trying to get further into the delta to reach other survivors. But, shortly after this video is shot, we were stopped and questioned by the police, who said we couldn't go any further. It feels as if this government is trying to stop the world from seeing what's happening here.

Perhaps wire service photos like these are the sorts of images they want to suppress, the macabre contorted bodies that litter this landscape.

We also managed to take some disturbing images of our own in a local hospital. Conditions are appalling, injuries horrendous. Many have suffered lacerations to the back, as they clung to palm trees and were pummeled by the debris-laden storm surge. There are obviously the most basic facilities, and, again, no evidence of any aid.

We have to leave this area before we're arrested. The people we say goodbye to are without help, have little food, and are profoundly traumatized, stranded in the Irrawaddy delta, living in fear of this military regime that seems determined to hush up the scale of this tragedy.

Dan Rivers, CNN, in the Irrawaddy delta, Myanmar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And we warned you, the pictures there, some of them, are just devastating.

Sein Win is a Burmese prime minister in exile. And as we have been telling you, Myanmar, or Burma, Myanmar is also known as Burma. He spoke today in Washington and he had a few choice words about officials in Myanmar. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEIN WIN, BURMESE PRIME MINISTER IN EXILE: The refusal of the government in Burma to allow critically-needed disaster relief exports and aid into the country immediately is criminal.

Their decision to refuse the massive amounts 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And that is Sein Win.

You can see the pictures that we had earlier and also from this, I mean, really, the people there need help and they need it fast. Look at this, what people are having to do just to survive there in Myanmar.

Earlier in the NEWSROOM, I spoke with Dr. John Howe. He talked about how they're planning to give aid. He is the CEO of Project HOPE. He has a team on their way now to Myanmar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HOWE, CEO, PROJECT HOPE: 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 and medical supplies and as needed health professionals.

LEMON: 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 already on the ground in Myanmar exactly?

RIVERS: 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-foot, but a 20-foot wave raced through Banda Aceh, 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 and we have 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 Aceh and what have you, because those other areas may have been visited more by Westerners, or 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.

RIVERS: Yes, without question. This is a much, much more difficult conversation.

On the other hand, Aceh Province was off limits to foreigners before the tsunami. There was a restriction on being able to go into that area. So, again, this is a 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 have got lots of breaking news here, but what do you say to the American people who are watching and who now they may 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?

RIVERS: Yes.

Now is the time for Americans to put a face on their humanity and do this and do this well. We did it with the tsunami, and we will do it with the cyclone. And there are many wonderful organizations, including Project HOPE, in which cash support to the volunteers is very, very important, as well to the companies that are providing medicines and medical supplies.

Indeed, this is the one opportunity to put the best face on wonderful generosity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And of course we know that you may want to help out. And at CNN.com, we have a special page on devastation in Myanmar, complete with links to aid agencies that are organizing help for that region. It's a chance for you to impact your world and let us be your guide. Just go to CNN.com.

And I want to show you this. It's -- really, it's very disturbing. I'm going to warn you here. These are pictures -- we have been telling you about just how bad it is. Well, this tells the story. This picture on uscampaignforburma.org, and it's in their photograph section. That's a body, sad to say.

And as we go down here -- excuse me for that -- these are more bodies that you can see here just floating, and then on this Web site as well. And I warned you -- more bodies as well. That's the devastation that we're dealing with in Myanmar.

Now we want to make a turn now. We have been talking a lot about the battle in Beirut. And there's our Cal Perry. He's getting ready. He's in a monitor there. He's getting ready to do a live shot with us in just a little bit.

Before we get to Cal, I want to give you a little bit of background. The furious fighting that gripped Beirut that we have been talking about has tapered off, finally tapered off a little bit, 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 we want to go now to our Cal Perry. He's standing by on the ground, but he was in the middle of this firefighting yesterday, right in the middle of the thick of it.

And, Cal, I mentioned, it has tapered off, but people there still fear a possible civil war that may be worse than 1975.

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely right, Don.

And, as you mentioned, there was fierce fighting. Today, it has tapered off. But part of the reason it's tapered off is because Hezbollah this morning moved in and took half the city, just control of the entire west of this capital.

Now, the city as of right now, there are gunmen on pretty much every corner in the west of this city. Interestingly enough, you can have Hezbollah gunmen on one corner and you can have the military on the other. The military's job here is of course to de-escalate the situation. But it got out of control so quickly that they really were unable to do anything today, except almost negotiate a peaceful surrender of the western section of the city.

Now, what we're expecting in the next few days, of course, is hopefully, as Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah said yesterday, hopefully, the government will come and will speak to him and will negotiate this issue about the telecommunications.

The government came out and said that Hezbollah's telecommunications system, it's off the grid, if you like. It's their own telecommunication system, is illegal and a threat to state security. The head of Hezbollah said in fact that he needs this to protect Lebanon, that they used this during the war with Israel for commanders to speak to each other. So, we will have to see how this plays out in the next few days.

But certainly the government here, which is, of course, backed by the U.S., is really up against the wall and in a corner right now in Beirut -- Don.

LEMON: And, Cal, you know, we were talking to Barbara Starr at the Pentagon just a little bit ago. And surprising to me, and probably to many people, they were saying even in country, they were having a hard time convincing some of the officials that things were as bad as they are, because they couldn't get information to them. Obviously, they're not seeing some of the pictures that we're seeing.

PERRY: Absolutely.

And when we were out in west Beirut today, I talked to a 12-year- old. We interviewed him live on CNN. And he looked at me and said, this started as a war of words. It's going to end with a war with guns and it's headed towards civil war.

So, when you talk to people here on the streets, even a 12-year- old is looking at pieces of grenades and buildings burning down and he's saying to me, this is going to end in civil war. For the people that live in west Beirut, it's an everyday now struggle for food, and for water and for the basic necessities.

As we always say here, it's usually the civilians that pay the heaviest price. One thing I want to point out, I think it would be interesting for an American audience to know, the airport here is totally shut down. And, in Lebanon, that can bring the country to a complete halt because the land crossings are inaccessible. You cannot go south to Israel. It's basically a demilitarized zone.

And for many Lebanese, the majority, depending on their political views, they can't go to Syria. Those are your only two options. One of the main routes to Syria in fact has been shut down by these protesters. So, the country really is grinding to a halt -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Cal Perry in Beirut -- Cal, and we're glad you're safe and continue to stay safe. Thank you very much for your reporting today.

We want to take you deeper inside the story just to give you a little bit more of an understanding about what's going on.

Lebanon's longstanding drama is due in part, due in part to its makeup. Christians, Sunnis and Shia all have maneuvered for power there. Religious struggles led to a ruinous civil war and now political -- a stalemate going on there.

Another complication of course is the geography. You heard Cal talk about that, one way in, one way out, as far as the airport goes. The tiny nation shares a small southern border, a small southern border with Israel, but mostly it is surrounded by Israel's enemy, which is Syria.

Now, going back years, Lebanon has been the unfortunate staging area for other nations' agendas, including those of the United States and also Iran.

KEILAR: This is the body of Esteban Robles Espinoza, Mexico City's top anti-kidnapping police official. Somebody shot him dead this morning outside of his home. That is two high-ranking cop killings in just two days and the latest in a string of grisly violence.

CNN's Harris Whitbeck is in Mexico City.

Harris, what can you tell us?

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, Mexico's secretary of public security says that the recent killings of high-level police officers indicate that the drug cartels have been hurt and are retaliating. And he's referred specifically to military and police actions taken against the Sinaloa drug cartel, which operates in northern Mexico and transports drugs through Mexico and from Mexico into the United States.

The latest killing, the one you mentioned, occurred this morning, was against the former head of the Mexico City anti-kidnapping unit. He also headed an honor and justice commission within the Mexico City Judicial Police, which is basically the equivalent to an internal affairs department.

Yesterday's assassination of Edgar Millan, who was the highest- ranking federal police officer in Mexico, has sparked a lot of reaction. Mexican President Felipe Calderon called his killers cowards. The U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza said publicly -- said in a statement that he considered Millan a hero.

And he also urged U.S. lawmakers to push fourth a $500 million aid package for Mexico that would give Mexico the resources it needs to continue its fight against the drug cartels.

Now, most chilling about these recent killings, Brianna, is the fact they occurred in Mexico City. To many, that indicates that the fight against the drug cartels, which is becoming more violent, is being brought into the Mexican capital and away from the northern provinces, where these drug cartels normally operate.

KEILAR: Harris Whitbeck for in Mexico City -- thanks, Harris.

A new cyber-scam, a lot of folks are going to get taken. And if you stick around, it will not be you.

Also, how would you like to buy zero more gallons of gasoline, maybe slash your electric bill? This guy, you probably recognize him. He's got answers. Ed Begley Jr. joining us for an eco-friendly chat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Some developing news just into the CNN NEWSROOM.

This is coming from Spokane, Washington. And you're looking at live pictures from our affiliate KREM. You see the officials there on the scene, and obviously some emergency workers. Here's what's going on. We're being told that a bank there had to be evacuated. A building had to be evacuated because of some sort of hazmat situation. And specifically this was a threatening letter, we're being told from our affiliate there, was sent to a Spokane attorney whose office is located in this building.

Authorities have responded to this suspicious letter recovered there at the Washington Trust Bank. They say individuals who came in contact with this letter, they have been isolated.

And just to give you a little bit of background here, more than 400 workers are estimated to be in the building, but only a few came out, came in contact with the letter. Workers there said authorities told them they could leave the building, but could not come back inside once they left.

Again, the building had to be evacuated -- it was a downtown post office -- after a threatening letter, and we're told also with bloodstains on it recovered, a letter mailed to the Washington Trust Bank. I guess it's very near a post office, if not in the same building. The building had to be evacuated. Happening now, Spokane, Washington. We will get more information and update you.

KEILAR: Life off the grid, what does that mean? A cabin in the woods? Not always. There is actually plenty that you can do to reduce your dependence on fossil fuels and do the Earth a favor at the same time.

One Hollywood name doesn't just preach this philosophy. He lives it completely.

Ed Begley Jr. and his wife, Rachelle, joining us now live from their home in Los Angeles.

guys, thanks for being with us.

(CROSSTALK)

ED BEGLEY JR., ACTOR: Pleasure, Brianna.

KEILAR: And I want to ask you -- we're going to talk about ways that you can save water, that you can save electricity.

But first let's talk about saving gas. We're coming up here on four bucks a gallon, and I know that you don't just have a normal car, Ed. Tell us how you get around.

BEGLEY: I get around -- most trips I walk in my neighborhood. I have a beautiful neighborhood in Studio City. I can walk and then I take public transportation or my bicycle. I have got a bike there I can ride without any help, or it has an electric motor, too, that is very good.

I charge that on my solar. You can see it from my roof perhaps. I have a lot of solar panels, 6.5 kilowatts of solar. They can charge my electric bike, run my house or charge my electric car. I have a wonderful electric car that I drive around Studio City and around the whole L.A. area. When I need to go further, I borrow Rachelle's car. She has a wonderful Prius.

RACHELLE CARSON-BEGLEY, WIFE OF ED BEGLEY JR.: I love the Prius. Ed bought it for me.

BEGLEY: And when I need to go to San Francisco or Florida or anywhere, I drive from L.A. crosscountry in that Prius, which is very fuel efficient. Everything here is very energy efficient. We grow a lot of our food. We make our compost. We have a no-water lawn here. You have got a lawn that is made out of recycled materials and it's a no-water lawn. It's fake grass. We have got a solar oven...

(CROSSTALK)

BEGLEY: ... we cook a lot of our food.

CARSON-BEGLEY: And, Ed, it's so interesting, because you look at that lawn, and at first glance -- I saw it earlier before we did the segment with you -- it really -- it looks like a real lawn.

But, Rachelle, I want to ask you, because you two star in the HGTV series "Living With Ed" together in its second season, finishing up its second season.

CARSON-BEGLEY: Right. KEILAR: And of course the best thing about reality television is when there's a little source of conflict. I know that you are not maybe as gung-ho about conservation as Ed is. What car would you really like?

CARSON-BEGLEY: Well, actually, a few years ago, I was about to buy a new car. And I was going to buy a Volvo or a Saab, one really -- because I was scared about getting killed on the freeway.

And I said I was going to buy it and he said, OK, you can pay for that yourself or there's this new car coming on the market called a Prius. I will purchase that for you.

And I thought about it for about a split-second and I said, OK, you purchase that. So, he got me a Prius, which I normally wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I would have purchased the safe car.

I love the Prius. It's safe. I love it. It's -- I have one that has 140,000 miles. My second one has 60,000 mimes. It's fabulous.

BEGLEY: And has good crash testing, too. It's a very well- designed car for safety.

CARSON-BEGLEY: Yes.

KEILAR: It is. It's improving.

And especially, Ed, I know you have even rolled up to premiers on your bicycle. I'm just wondering...

BEGLEY: I have.

KEILAR: ... if someone is not a Hollywood star, maybe they're not making a significant amount of money, what can they do to make changes to save gas, save electricity?

BEGLEY: They should do it the way I did it in 1970. I was a struggling actor then. I picked all the low-hanging fruit. I did the stuff that was cheap and easy.

And, nowadays, you can buy an energy-efficient lightbulb, an energy-saving thermostat. You can do weather stripping on your house. You can ride a bike if weather and fitness permit. You can take public transportation if it's available near you, some home gardening or home composting.

If you don't have a home, you're in an apartment, as I was in 1970, in an apartment, I did some composting and gardening, community garden kind of stuff. So, there's lots of cheap and easy stuff that you can do today. And it's in our book "Living Like Ed." And there's many other wonderful books about it. Ours is just one of them about ways you can do stuff on the cheap that can save a lot of dough.

KEILAR: Thanks you guys so much, Ed and Rachelle, for giving us a tour of your home and all of your modes of transportation. (CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: I think I saw a rain barrel behind you. And I especially like the solar-powered grill. Very cool.

(CROSSTALK)

CARSON-BEGLEY: You can have it, by the way.

(CROSSTALK)

BEGLEY: She's trying to get rid of the rain barrel.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: OK. Did you hear that, Don? I can have it.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: All right, thanks, guys. We appreciate your time.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: I think she said, "I hate that thing."

So, you can have it. She doesn't like the rain barrel so much, not so much. He likes it.

KEILAR: Of course he likes it. I saw him tinkering with all of his fun little toys. It was great.

LEMON: Yes. Well, at least she likes the Prius.

OK. Let's move on now and talk about a new cyber-scam, Brianna. A lot of folks are going to get taken. If you stick around, it won't be you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Every day at noon, weekdays, at least, issue number one right here on CNN.

Those cyber-crooks, well, they never seem to miss a beat. One of the latest scams involved those economic stimulus checks that some people got. I guess it was direct-mail to them or direct bill to them to their account. And other people are going to get them in the mail.

But to fill us in from Washington, CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena.

OK, so, crooks are after the rebate checks, Kelli?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: You know, Don, you would think stuff like this would get old, but unfortunately, there are still people who fall victim to these types of schemes. The FBI says it has received dozens of complaints about yet another e-mail scam that advises recipients that they have got a rebate or a refund coming and tries to solicit personal information.

Now, to convince consumers to reply, the e-mail warns, if you don't complete this form quickly, your check is going to be delayed. I actually got two of these e-mails, Don, one today, one yesterday.

I'm going to show it on screen, I believe. There it is. It says, "I'm entitled to a refund." And it has a link to a site where I'm supposed to provide personal information.

But you need to do what I did. Do not click on the link, as tempting as it may be. Just hit the delete button. I cannot stress this enough, Don. Do not respond to any e-mails that you get that are reportedly from the IRS, the Department of Treasury. Those organizations, the IRS, Department of Treasury, they are going to not solicit personal information from you over the e-mail or over the phone ever, Don.

And that's something that people just really need to hear, ever. They will not be -- they will not be e-mailing you.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Say it again?

KEILAR: Ever.

LEMON: Ever. Don't ever do it. You got it.

OK, Kelli Arena, thank you.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

LEMON: All right, let's talk about gaining weight. It is a slow process. Then one day you look down at the scale and you're 50 pounds heavier than you remember. Well, that's what happened to Barbara Aldrich.

How she turned her life around is the subject of today's Fit Nation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Barbara Aldrich had always been overweight. But as the years flew by, the pounds added up. And as she edged toward 50 years old, her doctor made it clear it was time for a change.

BARBARA ALDRICH, LOST 75 POUNDS: I got to the point to where my doctor told me I was border line diabetic. And when it gets to be bad for your health, you've got to make the right decisions.

GUPTA: Determined not to be a burden on her family, Barbara took action right away. ALDRICH: I just made the decision that I'm going to find a program that worked for me.

GUPTA: A balanced diet, daily exercise and a multivitamin. The pounds came falling off.

ALDRICH: It just seemed to come off, just eating right. And I mean I wasn't hungry. I wasn't starving myself. It was all store bought food. For me, I would lose sometimes four to five pounds every week. So, it was like 20 pounds a month.

GUPTA: Now looking back on her experience, Barbara says she looks better, feels better and she's proud that even at age 50 she could reach her goal weight.

ALDRICH: It's just a good feeling to know that I accomplished this. I did it on my own. Yes, I had to wait until it was medically necessary, but that's the way life is.

My name is Barbara Aldrich and I've lost 75 pounds.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: A superdelegate for sale?

One powerful voter is offering his support to Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton for a pretty penny. Wait until you hear what he thinks his vote is worth and what he wants the money to go for.

LEMON: Mother's Day cards -- no, not the store bought kind. Oh, look at them. These are the best kind. They're for a lady who will spend this Mother's Day in harm's way, though, in uniform in Iraq. And we'll meet these little artists. We'll also meet their mom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. This is what Mom's Day is all about. We are all Mother's Day warm and fuzzy today right here in the CNN NEWSROOM because this weekend many Americans will be spending time with their families. Some will be split up by conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. And we wish we could put every military family -- every one of them one of them on television. Believe us, we do.

But we did track down Jayden (ph) and Cornell Alison (ph).

Hello Jayden and Cornell.

Wave to us. How are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Hi.

LEMON: Hi.

Wave to her. UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Hi.

LEMON: OK. They're in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their mom, Specialist Lynell Whitted, she is serving in Iraq this Mother's Day weekend. And, look, we hooked them up all up right together right here on CNN. So thank you all for joining us today.

Don't be nervous, guys. Say whatever you want. This is a long distance hookup right here on TV.

Hey, Lynell, you're smiling from ear to ear, girl. How are you doing?

SPEC. LYNELL WHITTED, DEPLOYED TO IRAQ: I'm good. I'm so happy to hear them.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: You can't see them, though.

You can hear them?

WHITTED: Yes, I can. And that's enough for me.

LEMON: Yes. I know that you miss them and tell us about...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I can hear her.

LEMON: Go ahead. Say hi to mom real quick before I start talking to her. You guys say hi to your mother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say hi to your mom.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Hi, mom.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Hi, mom.

WHITTED: Hi, babies.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Hi.

LEMON: You guys go ahead and talk if you want to talk.

WHITTED: Hi.

LEMON: What do you want to say to your mom, guys?

What do you want to say, Jayden, to your mom?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We got something for you.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I love her.

WHITTED: One at a time baby.

LEMON: Yes, they can -- just let them talk whenever they want. OK, so you've got -- tell me what you've made for her.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I love you, ma.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I love you, mom.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITTED: I love you, too babies.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We've got a happy -- we have a happy mother picture.

WHITTED: You do?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes.

WHITTED: I bet it's so pretty.

Does grandpop going to send it to me on e-mail?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm going to send it to you on e-mail.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yes, she's going to see it. He's going to send it.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: To you on the mail.

LEMON: Well, I'm looking at them...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: But I love...

LEMON: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I left the card at school, mom.

WHITTED: Oh, you left it at school. That's OK, baby. You can send it to me.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: But we made another one.

WHITTED: OK.

You made me another one?

I got all your pictures, so I'll put it in -- I'll put it inside my room, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: All right.

WHITTED: With you ones where you're riding your bike.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we have a...

LEMON: So, Lynell, I'm sitting here and I'm looking at Cornell there on the left. He's wearing a little black shirt for you. Jayden's on the right. He's wearing a white shirt. Granddad is in the middle and he's wearing a black shirt and they're sitting in the middle of a yard. I imagine that's their yard in Charlotte.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (INAUDIBLE).

LEMON: I just want to make sure. I thought he was talking. So I imagine it's their yard. So they're sitting and grandpa is holding the card that they made for you.

What do you want to say to these guys about them making that card for mom all the way in Iraq?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Happy Mother's Day.

WHITTED: Mommy really appreciates it.

Thank you, baby.

Thank you so much.

And I am -- man, I have no words for it.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Happy Mother's Day.

WHITTED: I mean that card doesn't outweigh any other card that they didn't ever made for me. Every day is Mother's Day. I mean like, my dad keeps me in touch with everything that they send me. They draw me stuff all the time.

I just came back from leave not too long ago, maybe about three weeks ago, was it, dad?

About three weeks ago?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About a month. Yes.

WHITTED: And, man, they sent me home with all kinds of stuff to bring back. And I've got it all over the wall. So right now you can't see like my wall or, better yet, my mirror, because I've got pictures of them every year. And so...

LEMON: Well, Lynell...

WHITTED: ...there's probably not a person here that can't tell me what they look like.

LEMON: Well, Lynell, I just let you guys talk, because I'm sure it meant more to you that you can actually hear these guys' voices and they can tell you their stories. And I didn't want to ask a lot of questions because I wanted you guys to have your moment.

But I will ask you one last thing -- and real quickly here, because, you know, there's a lot of breaking news happening internationally, which you know.

What do you want to say about all the moms who are serving, who are away from their families this Mother's Day?

WHITTED: Hang in there. I mean, I know it's hard. I mean, but we know why we're doing it. And so, I mean, with every day, we get a day closer to going home to our kids. And then I've got to also say that, you know, they should appreciate the ones that are taking care of their kids at home, because those are the ones who we really depend on to keep the connection between us and our children while we're gone doing this.

LEMON: All right, Lynell Whitted and Cornell, Jayden and, of course, Mr. Taylor, as well.

You guys, Happy Mother's Day. All the best to you. And we really appreciate you joining us here in THE CNN NEWSROOM.

And stay safe, OK?

WHITTED: Thank you.

I will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we love you.

WHITTED: Bye babies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Janet said hi.

WHITTED: I love you, too, daddy.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Hi, momma.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

WHITTED: Hi, baby.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give her a kiss.

WHITTED: Bye babies.

KEILAR: That is just so sweet.

LEMON: Very nice. Yes.

KEILAR: Well, another story that we have been covering the last several days, a natural disaster, the threat of a manmade catastrophe, though. People in Myanmar who survived the cyclone could fall victim to their government's inaction.

How much longer will tons of food and supplies just gather dust?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The U.N. estimates anywhere from 63,000 to 100,000 people died in last week's cyclone in Myanmar, most of them in the Irrawaddy Delta.

Reporter Neil Connery went through that Delta and what he saw, it is not for the feint of heart. The pictures you're about to see are graphic and disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEIL CONNERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We're on a journey into the horrific the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. It's compounded by a regime indifferent to its people's suffering.

Within minutes of setting off, we pass one of its victims floating in the Delta. As we head on, we see another body amid the debris. And then it feels like they never stop -- men, women, children all swept to their deaths by the cyclone.

This is a vast area and the dead, which some estimate could be more than 100,000, are spread along the shoreline.

(on-camera): All along the Irrawaddy Delta, there are scenes such as this -- corpses lying in fields. You can see the dead animals there and the homes where these people once lived completely obliterated by this cyclone.

(voice-over): We arrive at what's left of the village of Amay (ph). For six days, they've waited here for help. Kochi (ph) tells me 450 people were killed here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have -- we have no aid, no help.

CONNERY (on-camera): Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are still here, our (INAUDIBLE).

CONNERY: Kisor (ph) takes me to see what remains of his house. There used to be 400 homes here. Now, barely a dozen are intact. "I've lost my mother, father and my five sisters. What do I do now?," he asks me.

In the monastery grounds, we find women and children taking refuge -- sitting in silence, their suffering hidden from the world by a secretive regime. The monks tell me they desperately need supplies. There's so much we have to do here, he tells me, but we have nothing to give these people.

Along the river, yet more bodies rise and fall in the Delta's waters. This used to be a rice factory. But not after the cyclone.

(on-camera): Wherever you turn here, there are bloated corpses lying on the ground. It's difficult to imagine the terror these people endured as the cyclone struck here on Saturday.

(voice-over): We head into another village, but this time we're stopped by a government official. Amid the humanitarian crisis, he's more concerned with what we're doing. They take our details. It's a nerve-wracking few minutes, but we soon make a quick escape. And as we head away, more bodies. Burma's suffering is on a scale hard to grasp.

Neil Connery, ITV News, in the Irrawaddy Delta, Burma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And we know that you may want to help, especially with such tragic images and so many people in need of assistance. You can go to CNN.com. We've got a special page there on the devastation in Myanmar. And it's complete with links to reputable aid agencies that are organizing help for the region. This is a chance for you to Impact Your World. And we will be your guide.

LEMON: On now to politics -- a superdelegate for sale?

Well, one powerful voter is offering his support to Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton -- whomever -- for a pretty penny. Wait until you hear what he thinks his vote is worth and what he wants the money to go for.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Katrina destroyed families, homes. We were a normal, red-blooded American family and one day it took to wipe us out. I was so beaten down, I was going to blow myself away.

LIZ MCCARTNEY, WORKING WITH ST. BERNARD PROJECT: When Katrina hit, I was living in Washington, D.C. I couldn't believe the pictures that I was looking at. I wanted to come to New Orleans and volunteer.

I naively thought that six months later, you would see all kinds of progress. But St. Bernard Parish looked like the storm had just rolled through. We realized very quickly that we were going to move to New Orleans. It was just something that we felt like we had to do.

I'm Liz McCartney and I'm helping families rebuild in St. Bernard Parish. A hundred percent of all homes in St. Bernard Parish were deemed uninhabitable after the storm.

The red X on the house means that it's going to be demolished. The problems in this community are widespread, but the solutions are really simple.

The St. Bernard Project can take a house that was gutted down to the studs, hang the sheetrock, put in new floors. We do all of that work in about 12 weeks for about $12,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These volunteers have come and spent the week at my house, working hard for nothing. The St. Bernard Project, Liz and her group, they saved my life.

MCCARTNEY: Once you get one family back, other families are more confident and they're willing to come back, as well. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little by little, one house at a time, we'll be back. I feel it. I know it. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, this just in to the CNN NEWSROOM.

Look at this. Unbelievable stuff here. This is near Huntsville Alabama. It's actually in Leighton in Alabama. It's surveillance video, SNM equipment here. And this is that devastating weather that we've been talking so much about.

Chad Myers, weigh in on this -- what are we looking at here?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're looking at a tornado. We're looking at amazing video of how this one tornado -- as it comes by, we're going to play it again, probably over and over and over. But how one of the cars goes left and the other car goes right, because they're on opposite sides of the funnel. And then you will notice that the other cars don't get moved at all. And, you know, we always say, man, how could one house get knocked down and the house right next to it, nothing happens?

Well, as the tornado came by, the right side -- the kind of the whole counterclockwise thing -- you'll see one car get lifted up another one get lifted up and the other car get lifted up and they almost like cross each other like a pair of scissors. I don't know if we're going to see that.

You know, a very small tornado, probably an EF0 or a 1. But yet still strong enough to pick up those cars and send them flying. And from another direction -- I don't know if we ever get to see the tornado on this direction or not but...

LEMON: We'll make sure. We'll re-cue it to make sure that we get it, because that's -- that was the -- that's the best part of this.

MYERS: Yes, we didn't quite get that.

OK.

LEMON: Yes. If you guys, can we -- Roger, can we re-cue this and make sure we get that?

OK. They're working on it now, Chad.

MYERS: OK.

LEMON: But just, this -- this is when -- when you tell people to get out of harm's way.

MYERS: There we go. There we go. See those two cars?

They got lifted up in opposite directions.

LEMON: Yes. MYERS: Amazing. That's why you don't want to be in a car when a tornado hits it. That's why they say get in a ditch. Because if that was a bigger tornado, there would be no room left for you in that car. It would be -- it would be crunched with no room left for you in it.

LEMON: All right, Chad Myers, thank you very much, sir.

MYERS: Amazing video there.

LEMON: Yes.

Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

A very interesting interview yesterday with Barack Obama.

KEILAR: That's right. He's standing by in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what's coming up today -- Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, guys.

We'll follow up on that and more, including Democratic turned Independent turned Republican presidential supporter Joe Lieberman is here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to talk about his candidate, John McCain. I'll also ask him what he thinks of Barack Obama's stance on Hamas versus John McCain's position on that group.

Something Obama said in my interview upsets McCain's supporters regarding one issue. Obama said McCain was "losing his bearings." You're going to find out why McCain's campaign takes offense.

And new death estimates in Myanmar from that devastating cyclone. And on the day the world accuses its isolationist regime of simply sitting on its hands as tens of thousands of people die, the country opens up -- just a little.

All that, guys, and a lot more coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM".

KEILAR: Thanks, Wolf.

LEMON: The closing bell and a wrap of all the action on Wall Street, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: How much is a superdelegate worth, one of them?

Well, for Steven Ybarra, it is $20 million. He's a member of the California DNC and he wants a promise from Obama or Clinton to spend that money registering Mexican-American voters, something that he says the DNC is skimping on. He thinks Mexican-Americans are the key to the White House in November.

LEMON: And absolutely, you know what Sunday is, right?

KEILAR: It's Mother's Day. LEMON: Moms, we hope you're watching.

Go ahead to your mom.

KEILAR: Yes. And we're going to give a shout-out to our moms. So we actually have a couple of pictures. That's -- look at my mom in the middle and my sister Kel, Kelly. She gets a shout-out because she's a new mom. She's got an 8-month-old. This is her first Mother's Day.

LEMON: And there's you. And there's my mom. That was Christmas season.

See how fat my cheeks were?

She made me really fat for the holiday. She was visiting. Happy Mother's Day, mom. I love you. She's coming in on Saturday and we're going to spend the weekend together.

KEILAR: Oh, that's fun. Happy Mother's Day.

And the closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

LEMON: Susan Lisovicz is standing by.

Susan, take it away. Happy Mom's Day to your mom.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I'm a godmother four times. So I celebrate, as well. And my mother -- I will see her and honor her on Sunday. And so will millions of Americans.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LISOVICZ: See you guys next week.

LEMON: All right, Susan. Have a great weekend. Thank you.

KEILAR: And let's head now to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer.