Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Severe Weather Predicted for Midwest; 9/11 Mastermind Rejects Defense Lawyers; McCain at Odds with Florida Governor Over Catastrophic Funding Bill; Comparing the Candidates' Tax Plans; Top Air Force Leaders Asked to Resign
Aired June 05, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Skip the trial, go straight to the execution. The admitted 9/11 mastermind states his preference to a U.S. military judge. And quite a few Americans would probably agree. We're live in Guantanamo Bay.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CO-HOST: Today's last (ph) in a presidential campaign everybody said was unstoppable, until people started voting. But Hillary Clinton still has prospects. And we'll look at some that you may not have thought of.
Hi, there. I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon in the CNN weather center. Weather is on our radar today in quite a big way. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We have all the ingredients today for quite some violent weather in the Midwest, and the Great Plains and the Upper Midwest. And CNN is on top of it. We have our resources in place for all of it.
Our meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider, is behind me. She is in the CNN weather center. Her colleague, Reynolds Wolf, is at the government storm prediction center in Norman, Oklahoma.
We are also tracking iReports from our viewers here on the ground. If you see weather and you think we should see it, too, send us your iReports, your photos and your videos. And we don't want you to take any chances with your safety. Safety is key. But make sure you send us those pictures, right into our iReports.
It is a dangerous day, and it could be all developing right here in the heartland. Let's start now with CNN's Bonnie Schneider. She's right behind me in the CNN weather center -- Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Don, we're going to start off with a tornado warning that we have right now, and this is in Colorado. It's for Baca County until 11:45 a.m. Mountain Time. And you can see it here, right here in the southern corner of that state.
Now, we're also tracking a tornado watch on the larger scale that we'll show you. This one just came in, and it covers portions of Oklahoma into Kansas. This goes into 8 p.m. tonight. And as we head further off to the north, you can see this is just to the north of Oklahoma City. There's Norman, Oklahoma, where we're going to go to our Reynolds Wolf in just a moment.
But first, I want to show the other tornado watch that is in effect right now. You can see this one here is covering parts of Nebraska, as well, even into South Dakota. And it's here on the border of the two states we're getting some of the most violent weather in terms of real-time lightning strikes that you can see here. This is a larger scale system. It's really just getting started. So throughout the day, we're going to see a really strong batch of severe weather and possibly very, very violent tornadoes, as well.
I want to walk over here, because we talked about the threat for severe weather in and around Oklahoma. And our own Reynolds Wolf is also in Oklahoma.
Now Reynolds, where you are in Norman, you're just outside that tornado watch box. But of course, the threat for severe -- severe weather could come to where you are, really, at any time.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're absolutely right. I mean, this is still very early in the day. And we're watching a lot of this slowly begin to erupt.
In fact, if you look at behind me, up on these monitors, you can see what they've been saying. Water vapor imagery. It shows the amount of moisture in the atmosphere. You look over to this one. This is an infrared imagery that shows some of the stronger storms. Now looking at ones back over the Great Lakes. But more development in place in Nebraska and back up into the Dakotas.
And then on this monitor, you can see just a combination of where the heaviest rain is falling. But at the same time, quite a bit of the lightning.
Now, you've got a lot of the forecasters here. It's a busy time. You've got meteorologist David Imey (ph) right behind me. You see him going at all these charts, taking a look at some developing in places like in Colorado and back into Nebraska, where we have some high-level storms, some big hail producers. Later on today many of those could spawn tornadoes. As you mentioned, Bonnie, we've got this tornado watches that will be in effect until about 7 p.m. local time.
And over here on this side we've got lead forecaster John Hart (ph). You can see him over here, pouring through some maps, too, seeing the amount of moisture we have in the atmosphere that could really, really create more storm activity into the late day hours.
And then, we also have another forecaster. That forecaster on the far side of the room. That would be Bryn Kerr (ph). And it is just a team effort. These are just a bunch of guys, many of whom here have been working here since the early morning hours. They're going to be here long after dark, too, to watch this storm system roll its way from west to east through the country. And it's going to be, really, a scary time for many people, especially in parts of the Northern Plains, the Upper Midwest, because these storms are expected to move, Bonnie, very, very rapidly, possibly in 45, 50, 60 miles per hour as they sift their way to the Northeast.
So there's still the potential for some very large, very strong tornadoes. Quick movers, as I mentioned. So these have the ability to strike very, very quickly. People in the Midwest, Northern and Central Plains really need to be careful, especially over the next five, six hours or so. Later in the afternoon as we get that daytime heating, we're going to see more development and, with that, more storms.
SCHNEIDER: Absolutely, Reynolds. And incidentally, today we were upgraded from the Norman -- the Oklahoma weather center there from moderate risk to high risk because of the multitude of tornadoes that are expected.
WOLF: You're absolutely right.
SCHNEIDER: Yes.
WOLF: A very rare event.
SCHNEIDER: Absolutely.
WOLF: And the last thing we had, Bonnie, is we had that watch that popped up, of course, as you mentioned earlier, for Nebraska and parts of extreme northern Kansas considered a particularly dangerous situation. You don't see those every single day. That's going to be the risk today. We're looking at the potential of large hail, damaging winds and, of course, the possibility of tornadoes.
SCHNEIDER: That's right, Reynolds. And I can hear the computer going now. We're going to cut back in just a little bit, because I have a feeling we're going to be getting more warnings throughout the day, maybe even throughout the next few minutes.
So Don, back to you for now. I'm sure we'll have more for you in just a moment.
LEMON: Absolutely. Thank you very much, Bonnie and also Reynolds.
We are on top of it. And of course, we want your reports. Check this iReport out. These days, storms seem to come out of nowhere. Take yesterday at this time. Rain, lightning and thunder were pounding the Washington, D.C., area. Look at those soldiers. They're standing right there in the middle.
IReporter Daniel Wilkinson was at the Arlington National Cemetery recording the funeral of a fallen hero. What amazed him was the honor guards. Look at them. They moved not a muscle the entire storm.
And as we told you at the top of our broadcast, we would like your iReports, as well. Go to iReport.com to solicit those iReports. And iReports producer, Tyson Wheatley (ph), standing by right here at our iReport center, at the iReport desk. He'll be taking those for you, and we will get them on the air. Stay out of harm's way, though -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Well, Don, saying that he wants to be a martyr, the confessed mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks today began a legal process that may well end with the death penalty. This is a very rare thing. We're going to go live now to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and CNN's Kelli Arena.
Kelli, you have a very unique vantage point there. What's going on?
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, it was a very dramatic day in court. It was supposed to be an arraignment, where as you know, usually defendants are read the charges and they plead "guilty" or "not guilty."
Today, though, very different story. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged master mind of the September 11 attacks, said that he rejected U.S. law as evil. He rejected his legal team, said that he wanted to represent himself.
The judge wanted to make sure he understood the ramifications of what he was doing, because after all, he does face a possible death sentence. And Mohammed said, "Yes, that is what I wish. I wish to be martyred."
He also called the entire military proceeding an inquisition, saying that he's been in custody for five years, says that he was tortured and that now he's been moved from being tortured to inquisition land. As you know, Brianna, the government has admitted that Mohammed was waterboarded during some harsh interrogations.
A big point of contention for the defense lawyers here, each one of the defendants -- there were five that were in the courtroom today. All have military council. Some also had private council available.
Lawyers that had volunteered to help out with this process, they -- those lawyers have argued that this whole system is stacked against them. That evidence that may have been gotten through coerced statements or through hearsay may be admitted into this court, which would never be allowed in a civilian court or another military court, for that matter. And so they say this is not justice in the way that the American people are used to justice.
We also heard from some lawyers today who were very dismayed that this arraignment today was not postponed. Lots of back and forth between one private lawyer and the judge today. It got very heated, very contentious, where he just kept saying, "We needed more time. We needed more time. They're rejecting council. This is why. They don't trust us. We have not had time to build a relationship."
Court is on break right now, Brianna. We should be back around 2 p.m. This was supposed to be wrapped up today. But I'll tell you what: if the first part of this morning was any judge, we'll be here through tomorrow.
KEILAR: All right. Kelli Arena, giving us this inside look from inside the courtroom, because again, there are no cameras allowed inside. Thanks, Kelli.
And you know, it's an intense few hours today that happened in Zimbabwe. A convoy of U.S. and British diplomats was stopped. Reportedly, they were roughed up, even, and then held by police near the capital.
The U.S. ambassador told CNN that police threatened the diplomats, who were looking into allegations of political violence.
But Zimbabwe's deputy information minister says they were detained because they didn't comply, as they put it, with police and tried to run away from a road block. We are now told that everyone has been let go.
LEMON: All right. Time now to talk politics. Having held out for weeks, Hillary Clinton is getting ready to rally behind Barack Obama. Clinton has sent an e-mail to supporters, saying she'll speak Saturday on the need to unite the party behind the presumptive Democrat nominee.
Obama, meanwhile, is back on the campaign trail in Virginia today. He's also looking ahead to his next big decision: whom to choose for a running mate.
Obama's all but certain opponent, Republican John McCain, is campaigning in Florida, a state considered a must-win for both sides.
Let's start with John McCain and his speech later this hour to a gathering of newspaper editors. Our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, is standing by in Lake Buena Vista.
And Susan, that speech expected to happen in about 40 minutes or so.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And I think that, being that he is talking to the Florida Press Association and newspaper editors, that it's a pretty safe bet -- where are we? We're in Florida. So what do you think one of the subjects is going to be? I suspect hurricanes will come up, and in particular a national catastrophe fun -- catastrophe fund -- can't say it today -- that has been under debate in this country for quite some time.
And Florida Governor Charlie Crist is one of the strongest supporters, among many, who are in favor of a national catastrophe fund. And that would help spread the wealth. In other words, when a catastrophe would hit, that it would prevent insurance companies from going under and make sure there is enough money to pay for the damages that everyone suffers.
Now, Senator McCain -- what's interesting about this -- is against that kind of a fund. And in fact, Crist will be standing next to him, or is expected to, if he can make it today at this particular meeting.
So today the Democrats happen to be rolling out a brand-new TV ad that will illustrate what McCain has said about a national catastrophe fund. And in fact, let's listen to just a few seconds of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: Would you support a national fund that would provide similar protection for homeowners throughout our country?
GRAPHIC: In Washington, McCain bragged about his disregard for the people of Florida.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I campaigned in Florida against the national catastrophic insurance fund bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: So, in fact, if Governor Crist is here today, perhaps he might also get a question. But in the past he has said, "Well, I don't necessarily agree with everything that Senator McCain stands for." But this is certainly an issue where the two of them differ.
It is a close race in Florida, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll that was taken last month. It shows Senator McCain ahead of Senator Obama by 45 percent to 41 percent. So it's indeed very, very close here -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Susan Candiotti, thank you very much. Susan is standing by for John McCain's speech, and we are, as well. He'll be speaking in Lake Buena Vista, starting at 1:45 Eastern. We'll take that for you live.
KEILAR: The all-but-certain general-election match-up between Barack Obama and John McCain looks just about even. A new national poll of polls leading our political ticker; it shows Obama with a two- point edge over McCain. That's 47 to 50 -- or pardon me, 47-45 percent. Obama actually led by just one point earlier this week.
And the Democratic Party is joining the Obama campaign in rejecting donations from lobbyists as well as political action committees. The Obama team also is sending one of its top fundraisers to help the DNC. The national party has lagged behind its Republican counterpart in raising campaign cash.
Well, Michelle Obama is getting her chance to join the women of "The View" later this month. She's going to be co-hosting the show. That's on June 18. "View" watchers will remember that John McCain's wife, Cindy, co-hosted the show back in April.
And we have got all the latest campaign news at your fingertips. That is at CNNpolitics.com. We've also got analysis there from the best political team on television. Again, that's CNNpolitics.com.
LEMON: And we expect crazy, angry and dangerous weather today all across the plains. And those of you in the storm zone need more than just luck to help make it through. Radios, lights, basic survival gear. We'll help get a storm kit together.
KEILAR: And who has the winning economic plan? Is it McCain? Is it Obama? We'll be taking a hard look at the dollars and cents strategy of the next president.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Are there foreclosure signs in your neighborhood? The Mortgage Bankers Association says a record two and a half percent of mortgages serviced by its members are in foreclosure. That is about 1.1 million houses.
Americans are falling into foreclosure and making late payments at levels not seen since way back in 1979. In the first quarter alone, almost 1 percent of mortgages started the foreclosure process. Payments were at least a month late on more than 6 percent of home loans.
Now the MBA expects this trend to continue.
And let's talk now about your tax rebate. This check may not be in the mail. It could actually be in the hands of your local tax collector. The state of Georgia says that it has snagged some 16,000 of those economic stimulus checks from people who owe state taxes. The total so far, that is $4.6 million. And Georgia's revenue commissioner admits he's pretty surprised by that number.
New York gets the top spot for dollar value of check interceptions: $4.7 million worth -- Don.
LEMON: All right. And speaking of taxes, Brianna, Barack Obama and John McCain would take two very different approaches toward reviving the nation's economy. They differ on taxes, in particular.
Our senior business correspondent, Mr. Ali Velshi, standing by in New York.
OK. How different are their two tax plans, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, different enough in one of those areas, different enough, Don, that if you were making a decision about voting for a candidate because of economic issues, taxes are one of those issues in which they are in completely different places.
So here's -- there's a lot of talk. President Bush said the other day that if they don't renew those tax cuts that he put into place in 2001 and 2003, 43 million Americans are going to pay a whole lot more in taxes.
Let me just clear this up. There is nobody who thinks all those tax cuts are going away. Or at least none of the two major candidates for president thinks so.
Both candidates -- let's start with -- with John McCain. They all think that the tax cuts should stay in place for low- and middle- income Americans. But McCain wants to keep the tax cuts for people earning more than $250,000. He wants all the tax cuts to stay in place. He does want to repeal the alternative minimum tax, what we know as the AMT. That was started to be a tax on the very rich. It has now moved into the middle class, because it wasn't sort of orchestrated the right way. And he thinks there should be a 3/5 vote in Congress to raise taxes at all.
Now Barack Obama thinks that those tax cuts from 2001 and 2003, which by the way, are set to expire soon, should be kept in place for low- and middle-income earners. But they should disappear for people earning more than $250,000 a year. So if you're one of those people, you can be pretty sure that Barack Obama is going to try and take those tax cuts away.
He also thinks there should be no tax for senior citizens who earn less than $50,000.
There are other details to their tax plans. You know, they get a little bit granular. But fundamentally, you can expect Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress, if there is one, to try and change those tax cuts. And you can expect John McCain-controlled White House and maybe a Republican Congress to try and keep those tax cuts in place, Don.
LEMON: All right. Thank you, Ali.
Obviously, Ali has not gotten his rebate check, because he hasn't bought a jacket.
All right, Ali.
VELSHI: That's right.
LEMON: Thank you very much. Our senior business correspondent.
And next Monday we bump "ISSUE #1," we take it up one notch by taking a day-long solutions-oriented look at your money concerns: your house, your job, your savings, your debt. How the No. 1 issue this country is facing, it's the economy, and how it's affecting you. "ISSUE #1," extended coverage all day Monday, right here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
KEILAR: It's a shocking site that is becoming too common this year. Tornadoes on a record pace. We're going to be looking at the worst.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: We've got breaking news to tell about, this coming to us from the Pentagon and specifically, from the Department of the Air Force. We have just learned that the top Air Force leadership is out, fired.
Let's head straight to the Pentagon and our senior correspondent there, Jamie McIntyre. What's going on, Jamie?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, this is an example of Defense Secretary Robert Gates's no-excuses management style. As you said, heads are rolling over the issue of the handling of nuclear weapons and other leadership issues in the Air Force.
"Asked to resign," which is code for "firing," is the top civilian in charge of the Air Force, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and the top military general in charge of the Air Force, Air Force Chief of Staff General Mike Moseley.
The two top leaders of the Air Force are being replaced, because Secretary Gates has received a highly critical report of how the Air Force has reacted to an embarrassing incident last year, in which a B- 52 bomber flew across country with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles that nobody knew were live nuclear weapons until the plane landed in Barksdale, Louisiana.
There were supposed to be big changes made from that. But a recent inspection of the base was less than satisfactory. And Secretary Gates just got a report on his desk from an independent investigator, a Navy admiral who has been in charge of reviewing what the Air Force has done to take care of this.
It's not just this issue, though. There have been a number of leadership issues in the Air Force, including questions about a conflict of interest around the high-profile public-relations contract that was left from the Air Force. And all of that together led Secretary Gates to decide that he was going to take decisive action.
It's not unlike, by the way, what he did when he heard about the shortcomings at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital. In that case, he fired the army secretary and the head of the hospital there, as well -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre, thanks.
LEMON: In business news, major job cuts have been the theme this week, and we've already told you about General Motors and United Airlines. Well, today it is Continental Airlines.
Our Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with all the grim details.
Hi, Susan. The bearer of bad news today.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. But it really is -- these are necessary -- painful, but necessary steps -- that the airlines and, basically, lots of companies in the transport sector have to take, all related to those sky-high fuel costs.
Continental cutting 3,000 jobs. Most of them will be through voluntary buyouts. All of these cuts add up.
Consider this. Challenger, Gray and Christmas says total airline cuts for this year, nearly 22,000. That is double for all of last year. Continental also is taking 67 airlines out of service -- planes, I should say, out of service, reducing capacity by 11 percent. The CEO and the president won't take salaries for the rest of the year.
Continental says fuel expenses are $2 billion more than they were last year.
These are, you know, moves that we've seen for lots of different airlines, Don: American, United, Delta, Northwest. What's telling here is that Continental was considered to be one of the strongest players in the airline sector -- Don.
LEMON: So Susan, we've seen these big cuts. And then we, you know, later we'll see round two, round three. Are all these cuts going to be enough?
LISOVICZ: Well, some -- some airline analysts, Don, say that capacity needs to be cut by as much as 20 percent more. Continental CEO said today that this is the biggest crisis in the airline industry since 9/11. One of the fundamental differences: after 9-11, passengers were afraid to fly. There is no fear of flying. It's the fuel prices that are really paralyzing the airlines. They can't raise fares fast enough to keep up with costs.
Just consider this. BestFares.com says flights on some nonstop routes are up 100 to 300 percent from last year.
Airline stocks today are rallying because these are the kind of steps investors feel need to be taken in times of crisis. So you're seeing Continental shares up nearly 6 percent. United, Delta, Northwest, all up for a second straight day.
On the other hand you have Ford shares, which are down by about 1.5 percent. Ford announcing today that it is going to cut white- collar costs by 15 percent, trying to consolidate jobs, merit pay. Everything is on the table in order to cut costs.
Of course, we were telling you yesterday how miserable sales were last month.
But they're buying on Wall Street today, because retail stocks are strong. So are airline. Check it out: the Dow is up 172 points. Tech's up 37. Oil is up $2.50 after two days of sharp declines.
In the next hour we're going to be talking about home foreclosures and a big milestone there. I'll leave it at that, Don.
LEMON: OK.
LISOVICZ: See you in the next hour.
LEMON: Thank you, Susan.
KEILAR: Take a look now at a press conference going on. You're looking here at Congressman Charlie Rangel. He is talking about -- he is actually joined by a delegation of New York Democrats.
And this is a press conference that is really to applaud Hillary Clinton's support of Barack Obama. Now, you may know that she has not suspended her campaign. She has not conceded. She's not planning to suspend her campaign until Saturday and endorse Obama then. But again, this was an event going on from this New York delegation of Democrats, applauding the fact that she would be supporting Barack Obama.
We'll keep an eye on that, in case anything comes out of that.
Well, she lost a photo-finish for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, of course. So what is in the picture for her now?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: (INAUDIBLE) for you today, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Zimbabwe's police have released several U.S. and British diplomats, after detaining them for hours. The U.S. calls the detention an outrageous breech of diplomatic immunity and the U.N. security council has scheduled a meeting.
Two Discovery astronauts are on a 6 1/2 hour space walk, the second in three days. They're doing exterior work on the International Space Station's new lab.
Another major airline announces cutbacks. Continental will eliminate 3,000 jobs and cut 11 percent of its flight capacity to cope with soaring fuel prices.
KEILAR: Well, we are on pace for what could be a record tornado season.
CNN's Rick Sanchez, taking a look at some of the deadliest storms of the year so far.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a large tornado. Very large.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tennessee, Oklahoma. A helicopter pilot can't believe his eyes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look at that roof come off of that building.
SANCHEZ: CNN meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, watches this twister rip up this farm, live on CNN. Boards flying. Amazingly, no one is hurt. The next day, Iowa, is not spared. The state gets hit with its most powerful tornado in 32 years. A level five, the top of the weather service's scale.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know how my kid got out. I don't know the rest of my employees got out. SANCHEZ: The sirens sounded, sending people rushing for their basements. When it was over, more than half the town of Parkersburg, destroyed. One of those did a number on Pitcher, Oklahoma. Everything within a 20-block area destroyed. A couple carrying groceries into their house, hears sirens and sees this monster funnel cloud coming straight at them. They run for the bathroom. The wife gets into the bath tub.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I grabbed a hold of him because I didn't know if he could hang on. And I was holding on to him. And the tree came and hit him in the back of the head and went into my arm, here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a small nuclear bomb going off. The power of these kinds of storms is very difficult to describe. You really have to see it for yourself.
SANCHEZ: And in February, an unusually early and brutal start to the tornado season. Dozens of twisters unexpectedly rip across the south.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got in the basement. I told my wife, I said, most of the house is gone. Part of it is gone.
SANCHEZ: 57 people dead throughout Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. The nation's deadliest tornado tragedy in 23 years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Let's bring in Bonnie Schneider, now. Because this is one of those days when you really need to pay close attention to the sky. And there certainly are some items you should have that are must- haves, a couple right in front of us.
What are these and what do they do? What all do they do?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well Brianna, these are NOAA weather radios. And this one is an older model that a lot of people may already have. And then some of the newer ones, like this one, comes with a crank. Let's say you don't have then batteries in. Obviously, you should have your batteries. But this one actually can crank so you can get the power and it also has a cell phone charger which I think is key because a lot of people misplace that or you lose power completely during the storm. So this one can actually help you activate your cell phone. It has other features. Both of them have the NOAA weather sirens that will go off that you'll immediately know there is a tornado warning for your area. And it's important to always have your batteries ready.
Really, a lot of people think these should only be in hospitals or groceries stores, but it's actually recommended that everyone has one at all times, working condition, on and accessible. Not buried at the bottom of your closet, but accessible.
KEILAR: Where can you get one of these? Just at any sort of store?
SCHNEIDER: Right. Anywhere where you'd buy electronic goods. But they're actually becoming more and more available. And of course, you can find them online, as well.
KEILAR: We tell people all the time, make sure you turn on your NOAA radios, there's going to be some bad weather. But, you want to keep this on if there is some sort of disaster because it comes in handy say, after a tornado.
SCHNEIDER: Right. Imagine the confusion, not only if there was a tornado, but any disaster that could occur, you don't know what to do next. This NOAA weather radio can help you and your family, provided with instructions where to go to the nearest shelter. Maybe don't go outside at all because there could be downed power lines and there could be danger. So, this actually can provide you with information, in the case of, the chaos that follows after a disaster.
KEILAR: And we're not just telling people in tornado-prone areas about this. I'm from California, I think earthquakes. I know tornadoes don't affect me. This can help you as well, if you're in an area prone to other disasters.
SCHNEIDER: That's one of the newer features with these NOAA weather radios. Because natural disasters are happening all around the world. That they're actually being able to alert let's say, a volcano erupted or an earthquake occurred. This could actually provide you with the important life-saving information that you would need in that sort of situation, as well.
KEILAR: And we know that you're going to be keeping an eye on all of the tornado watches and warnings today. But this is probably some of the most important information, Bonnie, that you've shared with us today. So we really appreciate it, thanks.
SCHNEIDER: Absolutely.
KEILAR: Don, back to you.
LEMON: Thanks, Brianna and Bonnie.
OK, Hillary Clinton is promising to throw her support behind Barack Obama, on Saturday. But what, if anything, does she want in return? What does she want? And what does Hillary Clinton do next? Even she is asking the question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I understand that a lot of people are asking, what does Hillary want? I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected, to be heard and no longer to be invisible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, there you go. Well, let's talk more about this with Ken Vogel, senior reporter at Politco.com.
Hey Ken, thanks for joining us.
Anne Kornblut, national political correspondent at the "Washington Post," and joined us yesterday. Thanks again for joining us. Thanks to both of you.
Before we get started, I want to tell you though -- I want to run through these scenarios and these are just scenarios, she's not said anything publicly about what she wants yet. But Barack Obama, is saying he is open. Take a listen and then we'll go through these scenarios.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Lincoln basically pulled in all the people who had been running against him, into his cabinet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So he's comparing -- saying that Lincoln pulled all those people in. So, gives you an idea of his frame of mind here. All right, let's go through the scenarios. And can I start with you, is that cool?
ANNE KORNBLUT, WASHINGTON POST: Please do.
LEMON: Let's talk about the possibility of vice president. What are the pros? What are the cons? What are the chances?
KORNBLUT: Well, the pros obviously, for Senator Obama, would be that he would get at least a much greater crack at all the millions of people who voted for Senator Clinton. He'd get her goodwill, he'd get her support. And he would hopefully, at least from his perspective, get some of the white working class voters.
LEMON: OK.
KORNBLUT: The cons are obvious. You know, she -- they don't -- they're not -- they don't really like each other at this point. Her husband was something of a liability for her in the campaign. So, they're weighing that right now and trying to figure out whether it would make sense.
LEMON: All right, Ken Vogel, what are the chances?
KEN VOGEL, SENIOR REPORTER, POLITICO.COM: I think they're pretty slim, I agree with Anne. That she brings a lot of negatives with her. Additionally, she is still viewed as a very polarizing force by many of the independents and the moderates whose support will be key to determining whether Obama or McCain wins the White House in November.
LEMON: OK. Ken, does she have a better chance of possibly secretary of state, maybe that position? VOGEL: It's possible. I mean, there's always talk about -- you heard Senator Obama about bringing people into the cabinet. And certainly she has tried establish herself as a real force on foreign policy, military affairs. Both in the Senate, where she's on the Armed Services Committee and as first lady, where she talked extensively -- Anne and I heard her many times -- about how she traveled the globe doing things that were sort of beyond the first lady role.
The con on that though, is that she staked out a position that is much more hawkish than that which Senator Obama, has. Talking about how she would obliterate Iran if it you know, made (INAUDIBLE) to Israel. And how she criticized him for saying that he would meet with foreign leaders without preconditions. So, if he tapped her as secretary of state, it might be a real disparity there in sort of, approach to foreign policy.
LEMON: OK, we're going to move on now and talk about -- this one is kind of cropped up and people are going what? Anne, we're talking about supreme court justice here. What's the possibility of that? I'm hearing people saying, you know what, she's in her 60s now. It may be older than someone Barack Obama wants to appoint, at this point.
KORNBLUT: Perhaps, although she would bring her obviously, the liberal credentials that he would want for somebody on the bench. She could probably get confirmed, having been a senator. They tend to be differential toward their own. She's obviously a lawyer, having gone to law school. I'm not sure it's the kind of political role she would want. It's a very behind the scenes job. But it would be a great honor for her to be offered that.
LEMON: OK, Anne. Now what about this? I'm sure Harry Reid might want to weigh in on this, but what about the Senate majority leader? Now, she may have more of an influence there and be able to shape legislation and have more influence if she is in that role.
KORNBLUT: Yes, that's true. And yet, she didn't get the support of many of the -- her fellow senators. So, I think at this point it would be hard for her to go back, as you mentioned, there's somebody already in that job.
LEMON: Yes. What do you say to that Ken?
VOGEL: Well, I could see her taking on a much more significant role in the Senate. Maybe not majority leader, but perhaps if Senator Obama, were to agree to push her universal health care plan, give her another crack at this, obviously something that she cares deeply about, talked a lot about it on the campaign. But really failed, rather spectacularly, when she was first lady to -- in her efforts to pass a plan. Maybe she could be Senator Obama's point person in the Senate for substantive policy initiative, like universal health care.
LEMON: OK, all right. Ken Vogel, senior reporter for Politco and Anne Kornblut, "Washington Post" national correspondent, we appreciate both of you joining us today. Have a good day, OK guys? KORNBLUT: Thanks.
VOGEL: Thanks a lot, Don.
LEMON: Of course, these are only scenarios that we are going through. And we'll see as this shapes up.
All the latest campaign news is at your fingertips. Just go to CNNpolitics.com. We also have analysis from the best political team on television, or BPTOT. It's all there at CNNpolitics.com.
KEILAR: For your eyes only. Your private medical records online. The truth and the consequences.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Your medical records online. Well, it sounds like a good idea or are you worried that they may not be for your eyes only?
Here to talk about this, is CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.
It's kind of a scary thing because we hear about things being compromised so often online..
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, and you know what? People might have their medical records online and they don't know it, Brianna.
In the course of doing research for this story I found mine online. Everything. Every doctor's appointment for the past five years that I had no idea that they were there and all the prescriptions. And It was definitely a very strange thing. But, There definitely are advantages to having your medical information online. You got to listen to the story of Doug Smith. His cancer was caught early because he had online medical records.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): Doug Smith, caught his own cancer. Two years ago, Smith had a CAT scan for a possible heart problem. He was relieved when his doctor called to say everything was fine.
DR. JIM JIRJIS: Great news, no aortic tear.
COHEN: But then Smith went online and read the CAT scan report himself. Towards the end, he noticed this little section.
DOUG SMITH, PATIENT: I started looking through it and sort of e- mailed him back and was like, well, what's this about this thyroid?
COHEN: That legion turned out to be cancer. Smith caught it only because he could look at his medical records online. So, Smith and his physician, Dr. Jim Jirjis, said Vanderbilt University Medical Center are big fans of online medical records because sometimes doctors don't catch everything. JIRJIS: Most physicians are reviewing an enormous amount of lab results every day. The patients are reviewing one person's lab results. We've empowered them to be able to get their own test results online.
COHEN: If your doctor doesn't offer online records, you can try doing it yourself. Google, Microsoft and others have secure sites where you can put your medical records and even your pharmacy records. But, many wonder. Is it really 100 percent secure? Could someone else see your private health information?
JIRJIS: I think they are very valid concerns.
COHEN: He says these sights go to great lengths to keep information confidential. And remember...
JIRJIS: The world has now changed. And people get kind of cranky when they can't do something online because they're doing everything else online.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COHEN: Now before you go putting your medical information online, you have to look at these three issues, and a couple of others. Find out if the web site you are thinking about using has a secure server. Also find out who else will have access to your information, if anyone. And make sure that the site allows for an audit trail. That means if someone else does get on to your information, it will leave a stamp and you'll be able to see that someone else has been there.
So old us, in researching for this story, you went online and unbeknownst to you there were your medical records. How did you do this? How did you go about doing this? I mean, I want to go and check to see if I can find mine.
COHEN: Well, it was sort of fairly easy, how I did it.. I went to my health insurance site and I went to the site for the folks to give me my prescription drug insurance. And on both of them, all I had to do was make a phone call to an 800 number, give out my Social Security number, my date of birth and my address. And viola, I was able to just go online and get access to that information. Every doctor's appointment, every treatment, every diagnosis. And we've talked to experts about this, they said it shouldn't be that easy, but here's two cases -- two different cites where it was that easy.
KEILAR: That is freakily easy. A good reason hold on to your Social Security number for sure. Say like for the ease of it, you want your medical records online. What do you do, is it easy?
COHEN: Right. Again, there are some real advantages to having your information online as we saw with Doug Smith. If like most people you have paper records from your doctors, it is not the easiest thing in the world to get an online medical records. You have to scan in all that paper. Either you do it or hire someone to do it and you pay them. It's not easy, but can be done. KEILAR: And maybe it's convenient if you want to go to another doctor later.
COHEN: Right, for people who travel around a lot or move from job to job, there you go, it's there definite advantages.
KEILAR: OK, great information and a little scary, as well.
Elizabeth Cohen, we appreciate that. And remember that you can become a more empowered patient. Any day at any time you can just go to our web site for more on this story as well as others. That is CNN.com\health. This is for a wealth of medical information, right at your finger tips.
LEMON: All right, you really need to listen up because we want you to be safe. Danger zone, a high risk of a tornado outbreak puts the heartland on alert, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The tragic legacy of Hurricane Katrina lingers in New Orleans as a standoff over a FEMA trailer turns deadly.
CNN's Sean Callebs reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ragged, blood- stained blankets, tear gas canisters on the second floor of a gutted home, signs of the violent end to a 10-hour standoff with police.
HOMER MINSHEW III, BROTHER KILLED IN POLICE STANDOFF: This is where my brother lost his wife.
CALLEBS: Homer Minshew says his 49-year-old brother Eric is another victim of Hurricane Katrina.
MINSHEW: My brother has had a problem with mental illness for several years. And since Katrina, it just pushed him over the edge.
CALLEBS: The final blow came Monday, when FEMA representatives arrived to talk to Eric Minshew about moving out of the FEMA trailer on the front lawn of his family's New Orleans' property and into a hotel or apartment.
MINSHEW: He pulled a revolver on him, and told him to get off his property. They were trespassing.
JAMES STARK, FEMA GULF COAST RECOVERY DIR.: I don't think we were the bad guy in this case.
MINSHEW: James Stark is the director of FEMA's Gulf Coast Recovery Office, and says the agency has been work with Eric Minshew for months.
STARK: FEMA did the right things. We did all the steps necessary to fulfill our obligations in the emergency housing mission (ph) with him.
CALLEBS: What happened to Eric Minshew shines a light on two of the region's most glaring problems, a lack of adequate housing for Katrina victims and a lack of available mental health care in New Orleans.
FEMA's role in the Gulf is coming to an end, even though thousands of hurricane victims still have no permanent residence. That combined with a lack of affordable or accessible mental health care in post-Katrina New Orleans became too much for a man who had lost so much.
MINSHEW: He was shooting at police all night long.
CALLEBS: In the wee hours of the morning, after Minshew had fired several rounds at police, authorities returned fire, killing him. Today Homer Minshew doesn't blame police or FEMA.
MINSHEW: The medical profession is out of whack here.
CALLEBS: But he is incensed his brother couldn't get mental health treatments.
MINSHEW: I have some friends that are in mental health here. I called them and e-mailed them, and they said there's just nothing available.
CALLEBS: Now Homer Minshew plans to tear down the family home where his brother, in a cruel irony had found safety when Katrina's floodwaters swept through the Lakeview neighborhood, only to die in the very same house nearly three years later.
Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, New Orleans mental health care system was thrown into chaos after flooding from Katrina inundated city hospitals. Almost three years after the storm, lack of bed space for mental health treatment remains a tremendous problem. How much so? Well, experts we reached out to simply didn't want to talk in detail.
KEILAR: I want to tell you that if graphic video disturbs you, you may want to look away from the screen right now. Police in Hartford, Connecticut released this surveillance video of a hit-and- run accident. That's a 78-year-old man there. And no surprise he, was injured. This victim is actually in critical condition. He's paralyzed from the neck down. Police are hoping that someone can identify the driver of the blue or black Honda that hit the man last Friday. The driver of that Honda appeared to be chasing another vehicle described as a tan Toyota.
LEMON: A terrifying spring, and experts warn today, today could be especially dangerous. We're live where they're are predicting and tracking twisters. Our Bonnie Schneider in the severe weather tracking it all for us. KEILAR: Taking a flying leap, that is what a Minnesota man did 100 times. Can you even imagine? We're going to tell you why he did it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
KEILAR: The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts now.
Well, the Pentagon says they're the worst of the worst, the men who made 9/11 a day like none this country had ever seen. Well, today is their day in court, six years and nine years later. Wait until you hear what the ringleader said to the judge.
