Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Severe Weather; Arkansas Clean-up; Jenna Bush Wedding; Cyber Terrorists Attack Church of Scientology; Myanmar Survival Struggle

Aired May 10, 2008 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: All right, we are in the international desk area of the newsroom here, because there is so much going on around the world from Sudan to Iraq to Lebanon. Our folks are working the sources here on the phone, and through the satellite shot so much going on in Iraq and Myanmar as well. Let's begin with what is happening in Iraq.
Shiite militants and Iraqi officials agree to halt fighting in the Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City. That's according to spokesmen for both the Iraqi government and radical Shiite cleric Muqtada Sadr. The cease-fire is expected is set to take effect by tomorrow morning. Al-Sadr's forces have been battling U.S. and Iraqi troops inside Sadr City for several weeks now, the fighting has killed about 1,000 militants and civilians including more than a dozen killed overnight.

And more U.S. aid is expected to go into Myanmar as early as tomorrow. A senior U.S. military official tells CNN the U.S. plans to send two relief planes on Tuesday, if all goes well during Monday's scheduled flight of donated goods, also, two other aid flights from Thailand and Dubai landed in Myanmar today under the auspices of the United Nations. Military rulers in the country, also known as Burma, are still keeping aid workers out. Visas are being denied. Instead distributing the donations themselves, the government that is, along with propaganda messages.

Despite the widespread devastation, the government today held a referendum on a proposed constitution. Military rulers claim it is a step toward Democracy, critics dismiss it as a ploy by the military to remain in control.

Well, the human toll in Myanmar from the cyclone is staggering. The U.N. estimates now that 63,000 to 100,000 people have been killed in the storm and up to two million people severely affected by it. Many survivors are children, now orphans and ending up at churches and monasteries across the battered region. A British reporter file this report from Myanmar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): We arrived at the school to try to learn about the fate of the refugees. A teacher introduced us to some of the displaced from villages around Laputa. It is not easy to document their fate, and those of the loved ones, such as the chaos and uncertainty still enveloping the disaste disaster. It turned out there were 87 children here. Many of whom had lost both parents.

(on camera): No father? No mother?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): The blackboard carried details about thousands of refugees how had been brought to this town from their destroyed villages, details that the regime is reluctant to divulge. All the while, we were being watched by a military man, and the insidious presence of the army is everywhere here. No wonder they appear afraid to talk. This is a place where fear compounds fear. And now, they have plenty more to worry about.

Off camera we were told by the teacher that our presence would be reported. It was time to go. There is certainly a heavy army presence here and we saw many trucks, but all appeared to be empty, transporting aid into the region apparently not their priority. The military (INAUDIBLE) paranoia is hamstringing aid.

Prevented from going south, we headed west where we found more pockets of misery and many more orphans.

At this Baptist community (INAUDIBLE) we were taken to the church packed full with refugees; at least they have a roof over their heads here. A group of children were brought out the meet us. They are from villages around Laputa and all lost their parents in the devastating cyclone.

This young boy explained how he lost both parents and all six brothers and sisters when their house was swept away and their village destroyed. He survived by clinging to a tree branch for hours in the torrential rain. Clearly numbed by the loss, he said he simply said he didn't know what to do now. For 12-year-old Siad Paul (ph), the loss was written in her eyes, staring somewhere to the distance. Her parents and siblings are gone.

The teacher explained she didn't know how to express her feelings. She just hopes her grandmother will take her in, but she's not sure. For the young boy at the end of the row, such hope has already gone. It is still hard to take in that so many thousands have lost their homes, and their loved ones. This is just one little girl facing an uncertain future alone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: You have to be moved by the images and we know that you probably want to help, so at cnn.com, we have a special page on the devastation in Myanmar, complete with links to aid agencies that are organizing held for the region. It is a chance for you to impact your world, let us be your guide.

Meantime here in this country, weather, a lot of very bad weather, particularly in the southeast of the United States just can't seem to get a break. Folks are watching the skies again this weekend bracing for more possible bad weather after a series of storms. They are getting pretty sick of it, as well.

Earlier this week, storms damaged scores of homes and businesses in North Carolina and left one person dead. And a tornado that hit Layton, Alabama, tossed two cars, as you see right here, caught on some surveillance video, they tossed these cars about 40 feet away from their original parking spaces. Pretty remarkable images, there. Reynolds Wolf has been...

You've have been very busy all week long and of course this weekend, too, because we have more tornado watches that you're trying to keep track of -- this time in Arkansas?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This time in Arkansas, but the problem is, Fredricka, the places that dealt with the bad weather over the week or so, it's going to be a repeat performance.

WHITFIELD: You can't recover and pick up the pieces?

WOLF: It's going to be really, really tough to do just that. And folks, that's exactly what we're talking about, places like Arkansas, back in Alabama, places that dealt with this rough weather it could be round two and it could get rough especially in the next couple of hours.

Right now, you look over my shoulder, this is radar and as we zoom in on a couple of locations, you will notice farther to the north you'll see some scattered showers, but to the south, we're seeing this big box pop up, and it's shaded in red. That is the tornado watch that is been posted by the Storm Prediction Center, it's been in effect for an hour or so. And it is in this area where we are most likely to have the components of really unsettled air.

We got plenty of moist air and in fact, say if you had a weather vain in Natchez or Shreveport, it would show wind coming in south, strong winds, and with that very humid conditions, that coupled with daytime heating is going to really enhance the lift. And when that moist unstable air begins to rise what its going to do is interact with the cool air aloft and that's going to form the clouds and bring a good chance of strong storms as we get to the late day hours.

So, that is gong to be the story. That's going to be the recipe for the severe weather event is seeing this unfold, the possibility of large hail, deadly lightning, tornadoes and maybe even a bit of flash flooding in parts of the southeast including Arkansas back into Louisiana and parts of Texas, moving into Mississippi and Alabama and into Tennessee.

And then tomorrow, we're going to see more of it, but it's going to drift its way a bit more to the east in places like South Carolina, back into Alabama and into Georgia, maybe even north Florida could be included in this severe weather scenario. That is the story. We're going to give you the very latest as it becomes available to us. Of course, we're going to pass it on right back to you -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Reynolds.

WOLF: You bet.

WHITFIELD: More than a week after the devastating storms that hit Arkansas, well, they are still cleaning up. CNN national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, joins us from the hard-hit town of Damascus.

How are they doing, Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, not too well. You might get a sense of it by looking over my shoulder. If the area looks familiar to you, it is because last weekend this is roughly the very same area and same and spot where CNN was telling you about what happened after a tornado struck this area. Three people were killed here, seven people, last weekend throughout the state of Arkansas and folks here are continuing to cleanup.

This spot right here, we are going to slowly move off of me to give you an indication. This used to be a house. We can't move too quickly, because the picture might break up on you, but we want to show you that this used to be a solid brick home, one story, belongs to the Massey family, they lived here almost 30 years. And you can see that virtually nothing is left but the foundation.

Just to the left of the chimney is where Mrs. Massey and three of her grandchildren were hiding and survived. They were hiding inside of the bathtub and Sheila Massey is here to tell us about what that moment was like. It was about 8:30 Friday morning and you were at the computer and then you looked out the window of her grandchildren were hiding and survived. They were hiding inside of the bathtub.

Shelia Massey is here now to tell us what that moment was like.

It was about 8:30 Friday morning, you were at the computer and then you looked out the window, you heard that a tornado was coming and what happened?

SHELIA MASSEY, SURVIVED TORNADO: A friend called and told me to look out and I looked out in the back field and it was getting really dark. I ran and hollered to my daughter to grab the kid. We grabbed them and ran to the back room, covered them up with pillows and then I ran and looked out again and the tornado was in the field behind the house, and I ran back into the bathroom and we stayed there praying and the Lord took care of us. He put his hand on us and held us there while the rest of the house blew away.

CANDIOTTI: It is amazing and I saw the aftermath and there were literally pieces of wood, board, bricks and somehow, you were not crushed?

MASSEY: No, we weren't. The right pressure was there to hold us where we needed to stay.

CANDIOTTI: Now you have a storm shelter just beyond here, within running distance, couldn't you have gotten to it?

MASSEY: No, we didn't have enough warning to even do that. There were three small children, and you know, they were all still asleep, we had to get them out of bed and there was no time. We had no time.

CANDIOTTI: Well, thank goodness all of you survived. Good luck to you. I know there's a massive cleanup ahead of you, now.

They do plan to stay in this area and rebuild, probably not on this spot. Twenty-four million dollars in federal relief has come to the state of Arkansas just since February and they're still waiting for word of how much damage there was just last weekend as they brace for more storms today. Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow, it really has been an incredibly active spring season all throughout that tornado valley. Thanks so much, Susan Candiotti.

Well, on to presidential politics now. Staying the course in the race for president. Hillary Clinton, fresh from campaigning in Oregon, she's now in New York for a Mother's Day celebration weekend. Barack Obama still trying to secure votes in Oregon. Our Ted Rowlands is also there and he joins us from Bend, Oregon -- Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Barack Obama's only scheduled event is here at a high school in bend, Oregon. The 20th is the primary date in Oregon, but because this is an all mail-in state, people have received their ballots and they are mailing them in, so really this is sort of voting right now, and more so than in any other state, Oregon, people are participate by mail. A there's no actual polling places. People can drop off their ballots on the 20th, but they tend to do it earlier, so campaigning in this state is very important early on.

Last night he was in Eugene, he stopped by a track meet and met some folks there. Track is a huge thing in this state, so a good political move, undoubtedly, after prompting from the announcer at the track meet, he stepped over a hurdle, didn't jump over it, but stepped over it and talked to the crowd there a little bit and ended up throwing out some t-shirts, there.

Obama has been active in this state, he's expected to carry this state after getting pummeled expectedly next week in West Virginia. But here, he is among friends and he told people at the University of Oregon, last night, that he hopes to wrap up the nomination here in Oregon on the 20th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All across the country, the American people are saying, yes, we are ready for change, we are ready for something new, and we are ready to turn the page and write a new chapter in American history, and we are going to bring this election to a close right here in Oregon, if all of you feel that same spirit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has other ideas. She is at it. As you mentioned, she is in New York today for a Mother's Day themed event with daughter Chelsea, it is a fundraiser in New York and then she will be off to West Virginia where she is expected to do very well. In fact, the poll numbers are astounding in West Virginia, predicting a possible 30, I mean a 40 percentage point lead, there. Yesterday in Kentucky, Mrs. Clinton said to supporters in Louisville that she is by no means a quitter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One thing you know about me, is I am no slinking violet, if I tell you I will fight for you, that is exactly what I intend to do. Now, I may stumble and get knocked down, but I will always get right back up, and I will never quit until this job is done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROWLANDS: John McCain meanwhile, Fredricka, is in Texas today for a private fundraiser before taking the weekend off with family. After Barack Obama leaves this event in Bend, he is expected to go to Chicago and take Mother's Day off and spend it with family, as well -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ted Rowlands in Bend, Oregon. Thanks so much. And tune in today for CNN's BALLOT BOWL, it's your chance to learn about the candidates' plans from the contenders, themselves. BALLOT BOWL, 3:00 p.m. Eastern, Noon Pacific.

And in Texas, the president will be playing father of the bride. Details of today's wedding and a live report from Crawford.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Bush is today father of the bride. Daughter Jenna is tying the knot later on today with long-time boyfriend, Henry Hager. President Bush talked about it in his weekend radio address.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today is my daughter, Jenna's, wedding day. This is a joyous occasion for our family as we celebrate the happy life ahead of her and her husband, Henry. It is also a special time for Laura who this Mother's Day weekend will watch a young woman we raised together walk down the aisle.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, the big event is being held at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Elaine Quijano is there and she joins us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She is the daughter of the president, he the son of a well-connected Virginia Republican. After meeting in 2004 while working on her father's re- election bid, Jenna Bush and Henry Hager say "I do" in Crawford this weekend, on the president's 1,600 acre ranch.

BUSH: I had to face some very difficult spending decisions and I've had to conduct sensitive diplomacy. That's called planning for a wedding. La boda (ph).

QUIJANO: The plans are largely under wraps, but they call for gathering by a lake in front of an altar and four-foot-high cross hune (ph) from Texas limestone.

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: This is a time when wildflowers are all blooming, and I think it will be a very, very lovely wedding and it'll be very like Jenna and Henry.

QUIJANO: More than 200 guests are expected.

JENNA BUSH, DAUGHTER: All relatives, our families really kind of big, so it's half family and then half very close friends.

QUIJANO: Not all of Jenna Bush's friends will be on hand, though.

DOUG WEAD, AUTHOR, "ALL THE PRESIDENT'S CHILDREN": Because, according to them, they -- she would be afraid of their behavior.

QUIJANO: Doug Wead is a former aid to George H.W. Bush and author of "All of the President's Children." He says unlike the pageantry of White House weddings past, like that of Tricia Nixon's in 1971, the Texas ceremony will take place away from the glare of the media spotlight.

WEAD: The Bush's are very private. It's a time of war. It's at a time of economic struggle. This president has high negatives right now. It's much more of a low-key event.

QUIJANO: And for the couple, another consideration.

WEAD: They know that they don't own the White House, that they can't go back, but Crawford, Jenna and Henry can walk through the moonlight and hold hands and say: this is where we were married, and it will always be theirs.

QUIJANO: The first lady's office is keeping a tight lid on specifics, but the bride did reveal dress details to vogue magazine describing her gown as an Oscar de la Renta creation made of organza with embroidery and mass beading.

L BUSH: I'm very, very excited. It's a very interesting passage of life when -- at that time in your life when our child -- first child is getting married and we're getting for us, our first son.

QUIJANO: And already the first lady is joking about names of possible grandchildren down the road.

L BUSH: George and Georgia, Georgina or Georgette. (END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Now, as for the even, here is a sneak peek of the color palette. It is taken from the Texas wildflowers that grow in this state. Of course, this is what you'll be seeing if you were invited to the Bush family wedding, but instead, of course, reporters are being kept seven miles away. In any case, the 14 attendants that Jenna will have are going to be wearing dresses designed in these colors by Lela Rose, she's a Dallas designer, and Jenna's gown, herself, is an Oscar de la Renta creation -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, and I'm not sensing any bitterness in your voice that you are seven miles away from the big extravaganza.

QUIJANO: It would be nice to see, though. A lot of interest in this.

WHITFIELD: I know. You, being part of the White House Press Corp, you really are like family, so all of you should have been invited. I don't know what they were thinking.

QUIJANO: I don't know either.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll have to talk with them. All right, Elaine Quijano thanks so much, there from Crawford.

Well next, critics of the Church of Scientology have launched a high-tech attack on the group.

Also ahead:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came back with a really heavy heart knowing the extent of the human suffering that was occurring.

Almost dreamlike at first, because...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I will speak to a man just back from the nightmare of Myanmar. You're in the newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Church of Scientology says it's under attack by cyber terrorists and that some of its members have even had their lives threatened. A masked group that calls itself "Anonymous," admits it's taking on Scientology on streets and online, but only by peaceful means. Kareen Wynter has this tech effect story.

BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Church of Scientology has had its share of critics over the years and more than its share of negative press. The church has always fought back, but now the critics have harnessed a new platform, the Internet and Scientology may have a harder time defending itself.

Groups like this one called "Anonymous" are using cyberspace to challenge the church.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are "Anonymous." We are legions.

WYNTER: The group's postings on YouTube generated heavy traffic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want you to be aware of the very real dangers of Scientology.

WYNTER: "Anonymous" recently staged protests in several cities alleging among other things the church tears families apart, something the church denies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't care who you are, they'll disconnect you from your family.

WYNTER: The group is made up of a growing coalition of anti- Scientology activists. Some say they are former Scientologists. They wear masks they say to shield themselves from potential harassment by the church and claim their actions are harmless.

The Church of Scientology calls "Anonymous" cyber terrorists who have polluted the Internet with lies about the religion and that is not all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: January 2008, a message from "Anonymous" is sent to the Church of Scientology.

WYNTER: The church released this video to the media alleging Anonymous made thousands of harassing phone calls to church members including death threats. "Anonymous" says it has waged an online war against Scientology, but says it's not guilty of any hate crimes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a categorically false accusation. We want change, but through peaceful methods.

WYNTER (on camera): The FBI told CNN it's investigating whether the group's online videos crossed the line between free speech and illegal activity.

(voice over): First Amendment attorney, Douglas Mirell, that is often a fine line that's open to interpretation.

DOUGLAS MIRELL, FIRST-AMENDMENT ATTORNEY: From a First Amendment perspective, everybody who speaks on the Internet has the right to speak, so long as they are expressing their opinion and aren't defaming anybody. That doesn't mean that the church won't try to come after them.

WYNTER: Legal experts say the church may be facing its biggest challenge yet, trying to protect its image in a loosely policed medium seen by millions of people.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood. (END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: "Across America" right now, "I thought I was going to die there," those words from a woman trapped in the undertow near an Oklahoma City dam. Fire crews managed to pull the woman to safety before she was swept over the spillway.

And take a look at this surveillance video just released by the FBI. It shows a powerful pipe bomb exploding at a federal courthouse in San Diego, last Sunday. No one was injured, investigators think the bomb might be linked to last month's explosion at a FedEx building.

And in North Carolina, a 93-year-old woman pleads guilty to crack-cocaine charges. Police say they caught Helen Taylor red-handed kicking the drugs out of the back door, but Taylor's grandson says the drugs may have belonged to someone else in the house. Taylor won't go to jail though, a judge sentenced her to three years probation.

The struggle for survival in Myanmar, and just ahead, I'll speak to an American just back from that devastated country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Top stories happening right now in the NEWSROOM. Cease fire in Baghdad. Iraq's government and Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr comes to terms after weeks of fierce fighting. It is still not clear if all militias in the Sadr City area of Baghdad will abide by the truce however. Meanwhile in Sudan, military sources say armed rebels have entered the capital city of Khartoum and reports say machine gun fire and explosions were heard over the past 24 hours. An overnight curfew is in place.

And as the country faces catastrophe, Myanmar's military leaders are holding a referendum today on a new constitution. Voting was postponed in areas devastated by the cyclone, but the United Nations had urged leaders to put it off entirely and concentrate solely on relief efforts.

Well, cyclone-ravaged Myanmar is finally opening its door barely to U.S. and other international assistance, but only ever so slightly. Military rulers are still blocking the bulk of aid from getting in, despite the suffering of millions of homeless and hungry people. However, a senior U.S. military official tells CNN that the U.S. plans to send two relief planes on Tuesday at the latest if all goes well during Monday's scheduled flight of donated goods. Earlier this week, I asked U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon about trying to reach the Myanmar leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: If the talking doesn't work, because thus far it hasn't, is there a way in which the U.N. can be empowered to just make the deliveries outside of junta saying we have opened our doors to you?

BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: I think we can manage this situation. I am continuing to press Myanmar authorities. They should think about all of the humanitarian situations and all international communities are ready to provide help.

WHITFIELD: What is the bargaining tool? How do you negotiate? How do you convince the junta officials to acquiesce?

KI-MOON: I am urging again in a strong way, and I'm trying to talk over the telephone to the general as soon as possible, but I have not been able to set the time. I am trying my best efforts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It has been difficult to make that contact because obviously phone lines are down throughout Myanmar and so actually making the connection whether it be from statewide to Myanmar, that's been the biggest challenge according to the secretary-general there at the U.N.

Meantime, an American who travels to Myanmar regularly was caught in the cyclone. Hal Nathan is back in San Francisco now. He is one of the founders of a charity group called Foundation for the People of Burma. Good to see you, Hal. You have been going back and forth over the past seven years, you told me, to Burma, Myanmar, doing humanitarian work and also learning about the Buddhist culture and religion. So at the time of the cyclone hitting this country, you were in the northern section of Burma, correct?

HAL NATHAN, CYCLONE SURVIVOR: Yes, I was.

WHITFIELD: So you were not directly impacted by the cyclone or were you?

NATHAN: No, not at the time. Life was calmer there.

WHITFIELD: When you heard about this cyclone hitting, in what way would you hear it? This could kind of underscore what communications have been like in the country. What did you hear about it when you were there?

NATHAN: Well, I heard from one of my local friends up there and they had gotten a phone call from the Rangoon area that the storm was passing through, that they had grounded all of the aircrafts going into Rangoon and all of the roads were closed. That is all I knew at the time.

WHITFIELD: So the message was not delivered to you that this was catastrophic, this is huge, hundreds of thousands of people in trouble if not dead.

NATHAN: No, no, no. That wasn't known at all for a couple of days anywhere.

WHITFIELD: And at what point did you make a decision that you wanted to start heading south and that maybe you could help?

NATHAN: Well, that is the only way to get out of the country. I had planned to go fly out of Rangoon and then go out the next day to Bangkok. So most if not all of the international flights go in and out of Rangoon, so I had to get back down there if I was going to get out of the country.

WHITFIELD: And what was that like once you got there?

NATHAN: Oh, it was complete devastation. I just saw a tiny bit of Rangoon, but the areas that I am familiar with were unrecognizable. There were huge ancient trees all over the roads. Most of the roads were just cleared for one lane of traffic. All of the power lines were down. I didn't see one power pole up in its place and just a few people walking around seemingly dazed.

WHITFIELD: And so in the interim then what were you thinking about these people? How were they going to get help or were you kind of processing it all in terms of the immediacy of any aid or lack thereof?

NATHAN: Well, at that point, I didn't have communications with the outside world, so I had no idea how much if any international relief aid was coming into the country, and how long it would take and even at this point, I didn't know the extent of the devastation. Since then, we have been -

WHITFIELD: Go ahead, sorry.

NATHAN: Since then, we have been able to mobilize people that we know in the Rangoon area, and start providing aid to about 8,000 people there.

WHITFIELD: Really. And in what way? What kind of aid and how do you actually get the aid to the 8,000 people? How, you know, what are the lengths in which some of your friends there are having to go to make these deliveries?

NATHAN: Well, the people there are amazing, and they really have a community spirit. They really believe that their deeds are the most important thing in their lives. They have been able to locate seven places, monasteries and temples where people have congregated and they have set up distribution systems for food, clean water tablets and are constructing sanitary toilets and trying to create some semblance of clean living space for these people.

WHITFIELD: Hal Nathan, we appreciate your time and welcome back stateside although I know you are concerned and worried about the so many people that you know and have left and care about there in Myanmar. We understand that you are going to try to make your efforts to try to get back to continue to help in any way you can. Please keep us posted on the efforts.

NATHAN: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: Hal, all of the best. WHITFIELD: Turning to politics. There is lots of pressure on Senator Hillary Clinton this weekend to put her presidential ambitions aside. All of that is straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An affordable vacation may be all about the timing.

CHRIS MCGINNIS, EXPEDIA.COM: If you can time your trip properly and travel through non-peak travel time, you can save 40 to 50 percent right off the bat. The cheapest time to fly is mid week. The key is to travel mid-week when business travelers are not traveling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But the opposite may be true when searching for the best deal on a hotel.

MCGINNIS: Weekends in business travel city are a lot less expensive. In vacation destinations like Las Vegas or Orlando, you will find that you'll get the very best deals if you are willing to travel mid-week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: McGinnis also suggests thinking outside of the box when considering a vacation destination.

MCGINNIS: Consider going somewhere like Arizona in the summer. Some of the most beautiful and luxurious spas in the world are in this area. You can have a great time and pay maybe $100 a night for a room that you would pay typically $500 or $600 a night for in the middle of the winter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, turning to politics now. There is a lot of pressure on Senator Hillary Clinton this weekend to put her presidential ambitions aside. But Tuesday's West Virginia primary could send a sobering message to Barack Obama. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): West Virginia is expected to go for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday. The polls show it. Knowledgeable West Virginians know it.

KENNIE BASS, WCHS POLITICAL REPORTER: This state is really in Hillary Clinton's wheelhouse. It's an older population, socially conservative, blue-collar workers.

SCHNEIDER: Barack Obama knows it.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's going to do very well in West Virginia and Kentucky. She will win those states, likely -- in all likelihood, by significant margins. SCHNEIDER: A big Clinton win will send a powerful message that there are a lot of Democrats not yet ready to get on the Obama bandwagon.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There was just an "A.P." article posted that found how Senator Obama's support among working, hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening again and how the, you know, whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me.

SCHNEIDER: West Virginia used to be solidly Democratic, until 2000, when George W. Bush surprised everyone by winning the state. How did he do it? Social issues, abortion, gays, and, most important, guns, in a state where more than 70 percent of the voters own a gun.

Republicans believe they know how to beat Obama here.

BASS: They would likely paint him, if he's the nominee, as a far-left liberal, who is pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, pro-civil union. That will not play well in West Virginia. Social issues register very high on the meter here.

SCHNEIDER: Democrats can fight back by running against the Bush economy. But they could be in for a surprise.

BASS: As coal goes, so goes the economy of West Virginia in many respects. Coal prices right now are at about $100 a ton. Metallurgical coal is trading at twice that. So, these are not difficult -- these are not difficult times in West Virginia, economically, so to speak.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: If Obama gets the nomination, and it looks like the only way he can win is to get the back those Democrats like the ones in West Virginia, I think he is going to be thinking seriously about asking Hillary Clinton to go on the ticket.

WHITFIELD: Oh, well, wow, that is really remarkable given that it has been so contentious between the two. And I have heard so much analysis on both sides as to how in the world could these two actually come together after so much bickering and biting.

SCHNEIDER: Well, it would be a difficult marriage so-to-speak, because they have been on very contentious, but the issue differences are not vast. I mean the gas tax has been one of the bigger ones. She has minimized the differences on the war in Iraq. It would be awkward because her husband would still be there and she has a lot of stature and to be the number two position would be a little bit awkward, but all I am saying is that if it looks like that maybe the only way he is going to win, he's going to seriously consider it.

WHITFIELD: The only way to win like a state like West Virginia or Kentucky that she is likely to win if he were to win in November against McCain. But that's interesting, too, because if you listen to the remarks of Senator Kennedy earlier in the week who said he would think that Americans would want to see Obama make one of the first critical choices if he becomes the nominee of who his running mate would be. And if it were a Hillary Clinton, that is just too easy, it doesn't say enough about his ability to make a selection.

SCHNEIDER: I think it does say something. It says that he wants to bring the whole Democratic Party together after this bruising fight. It does make a strong statement. I disagree with Senator Kennedy about that.

WHITFIELD: So the healing that that party needs. Bill Schneider, always appreciate your insight. Thank you so much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: And of course, tune in today for the CNN's "BALLOT BOWL." It's your chance to learn about the candidate's plans from the contenders themselves. "BALLOT BOWL" today 3:00 p.m. Eastern, noon Pacific.

All right dozens of college students are arrested in an undercover drug operation. It is a story that will make your jaw drop. Our legal team is in its place and we are ready to gavel with them in a session coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A drug bust on a college campus may not surprise you, but the one this week in San Diego was anything but minor. Undercover drug agencies, gunned large amounts of cocaine, marijuana and ecstasy from students at San Diego State University. During a five-month investigation more than 100 people were arrested including 75 students. According to prosecutors, some of the students did nothing to hide the drugs in their possession. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAWN TAFRESHI, PROSECUTOR: This defendant was identified as a major source of supply in anything, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy. Two days ago when agents went into the defendant's home, they found a gram of cocaine on his desk, several ecstasy pills, 15 and marijuana as well. We believe that bail set is appropriate in light of what this defendant has done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Ouch! Well, some of those arrested face 20 years in prison. Let's see what our legal guys have to say about this. Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Good to see you.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Richard Herman is a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Good to see you as well.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hey, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right guys, this is crazy, isn't it? And very blatant I understand according to the material that I read. So let's talk about the evidence and why this really might be an easy one for prosecutors, I guess. Richard, we are talking about text messaging and just as we heard that one attorney mention, the stuff was right out in the open according to the law enforcement.

HERMAN: Hey, Fred, what a challenge for defense attorneys when your prospective clients are texting drug dealers to each other. I mean these people obviously didn't know where the stacks in the library were to do any research because this was ridiculous. Five- month undercover investigation by the Feds, five months. Avery will tell you Fred, if they do a five-month undercover, there are people flipping on people and the ones that they found with the guns, those people will be doing double-digit time in prison. This is unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: Well, so, Avery, I wonder that they were so cavalier about having everything out and the text messaging then clearly, or maybe it's not so clear, but to me it seems clear that this has been going on for a long time and maybe with a lot of folk's knowledge?

FRIEDMAN: Well, actually what is interesting. Richard is exactly right. What happened here is that there was the death of a freshman about a year ago which triggered this undercover work.

WHITFIELD: Right.

FRIEDMAN: What happened is that in fact the text messaging that you mentioned came about because the defendant involved had to go to his prom in Las Vegas and he indicated, look, I'm going to discount the coke and the other drugs to you so this is what prosecutors are talking about a pants' down vaudeville obvious kind of case, a lot of trouble here.

WHITFIELD: You guys kill me. One of the interesting text messages about the whole Las Vegas kind of trip was essentially, you need to stock up, because the sales won't be able to take place in Las Vegas. We can't do the transactions there. We have a problem.

FRIEDMAN: They had to get the tux.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. Well, let's move on to another case except that you really don't think there are going to be any more arrests from here?

FRIEDMAN: Oh, I think there's going to be more arrests, Fred.

HERMAN: Yes, the more people they are going to put pressure on, the more people are going to fold and pin other people. It's bad.

FRIEDMAN: And the marijuana boys are going to flip, they're going to roll to get the big guys. This sends a message to all college students, watch out, and look at who is watching.

WHITFIELD: Just say no, right. Interpol, and the Interpol pedophile case. There was an arrest made out of New Jersey. This man by the name of Wayne Corliss. However, Interpol has known about him for quite some time. We're talking about searching for pedophiles over the Web, that kind of activity. That's what this constitutes, right, Avery?

FRIEDMAN: Yeah, this is a great effort by Interpol, in cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A beautiful way of really getting their hands on the bad guys and this Wayne Corliss is a bad guy. They have overwhelming evidence concerning pedophilia involving three young boys as well as pornography. This guy is in a world of trouble.

WHITFIELD: And he actually admitted to it, Richard? He admitted to this kind of activity with at least three young people in Thailand, traveling to Thailand for this very activity.

HERMAN: Yeah, he didn't admit to it occurring in the United States, he admitted to it occurring in Thailand which I don't know what is going on in Thailand. We have to look into that there. But anyway, Interpol puts this out there to the world they are looking for this guy and it's only the second time in the history of Interpol they did that. Within 48 hours, they zeroed in on the guy.

WHITFIELD: Well, speaking of alleged very inappropriate relationship with a young person, let's talk about Grammy winner R. Kelly. Good lord, after six years after the first allegations of he having videotaped sex with a 13-year-old and now Monday is going to be jury selection. Avery, why so long? What's going on? Is this case - will it hold water? I want to be really careful about any kind of clever thing here.

FRIEDMAN: Well, overwhelming water. He believed he could fly, he is not flying anywhere. What is going on here is that they are crazy things. The judge gone, fell off of a ladder. The defendant had appendicitis. Some brilliant defense moves, but it delayed it.

Now it is show time and R. Kelly is going to face off to some very serious evidence. Interestingly enough, a witness surfaced from Atlanta right there where she purportedly claims to be the third person in the video with the underaged, and if that happens, that is the end.

HERMAN: Hey, Fred, the case is beyond a reasonable doubt. The alleged victim in the video says that wasn't me. R. Kelly says that is not me in the video. You've got to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, and Shaggy said it, "It wasn't me."

WHITFIELD: Richard and Avery, we're going to talk about this some more, but for now, we are out of time. Always great to see you.

HERMAN: Hey, Fred, happy Mother's Day, Fred.

FRIEDMAN: Yeah, take care.

WHITFIELD: Oh, thank you so much. Thank you, thank you.

Well next, an amazing Mother's Day story. She is going to need more than a dozen roses, people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. Mother's Day will be really special for an Arkansas woman. This woman really deserves to kick up her heels. She and her husband are expecting their 18th baby. Oh, my gosh. Michelle Duggar and her husband Jim Bob already have 17 kids. Look at that beautiful family portrait. Seven girls, 10 boys ranging in age from 9 months to 20-years-old. All are home schooled by the way. Mom and dad say that they will keep having kids as long as God wills it. The baby, the new one that is, is set to arrive in January. Wow. All right, a look at the top stories in a moment. "YOUR MONEY" is next and here is a preview.