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Day 5 of No-Fly Zones in Europe; Oklahoma City Bombing:15 Years Later; Gun Rights Rallies in D.C. and State Capitals
Aired April 19, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: I get to go from Christine to my man Tony Harris now. I need to hand this thing over.
Tony, can you imagine, paying for checked bags?
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: But T.J., what is a carry-on these days? I hear young people in people's carry-on luggage in the overhead bin. That's not a carry-on. And your carry-on that you're slipping under the seat can't be in my lap.
HOLMES: It can't be.
(LAUGHTER)
HARRIS: We have to discourage this some way.
HOLMES: You know, if we just sit up here and we spew about it for the next hour, maybe we'll get something done. But we can't do that, Tony. It's all yours, my man. Take it away.
HARRIS: All right. Have a great day, man.
HOLMES: All right, buddy.
HARRIS: The big stories in the CNN NEWSROOM for this Monday, April 19th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have seen real severe floods, I've seen severe droughts. I haven't seen anything like this in my life here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The long reach of Iceland's volcano. Farmers in Africa losing millions of dollars every day because of the air shutdown.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Terrorism is terrorism no matter where it comes from.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Fifteen years after Timothy McVeigh's bomb, Oklahoma City and the nation remember the victims and their families this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What worries me the most today is the lone wolf mentality, someone who's going to have "the guts or courage" to step over the line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Tracking hate online with point and click ease. Extremists thrive on the Internet.
Good morning, everyone.
I'm Tony Harris.
Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
You know, it is now day five of the no-fly zones across much of Europe. Volcanic ash coming from Iceland is not as dense today, but about 20,000 more flights are cancelled.
Can you imagine that? The biggest hubs on the continent in Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands shut down.
Our Diana Magnay is at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, and she joins us on the phone.
And Diana, look, so we're talking about thousands of people stranded in Europe, people we actually have taken to calling passenger prisoners.
Describe the scene at the airport where you are right now.
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I have just been behind passport control, Tony, here at Schiphol, and that's really something to behold. It's a little like looking at a refugee camp in an actual airport lounge.
There are camp beds everywhere, there are people of every nationality with blankets. There is food on hand for them. There are actual entertainers and performers to keep them entertained. There are movies that they are watching. All sorts of facilities for these people.
And the strange thing is, is that they are actually choosing not to leave these transit lounges. And the reason that they are all here is Schiphol, actually - - 40 percent of the passengers who come through this airport are transit passengers. And these ones are allowed to leave. Many of them don't have visas for the European Union, or Schengen visas, but Customs have said it's OK if they show their tickets to go outside, to go to hotels elsewhere. But they have just decided it's not worth it just in case the skies reopen and they can get on their flight here at Schiphol. So it's a very strange atmosphere, because, actually, there is a real feeling of solidarity inside there, 1,200 people stuck inside there -- Tony.
HARRIS: So, what is the sense of when the air space will start to open again, Diana?
MAGNAY: Well, this is a very difficult question. I just spoke to the chief operating officer here at Schiphol, and he said he was fairly negative because of recent reports of NATO planes which suffered engine glazing when they flew through the volcanic ash cloud. So it's still unclear.
There have been various test flights carried out by European airlines and a lot of pressure put on by the airlines, on Brussels, especially, to clear the skies, because they say their test sites have proven that their engines came down without any damage. But the trouble is that people don't want to take risks with safety. And there is a safety risk and, therefore, air traffic controllers are saying that, unfortunately, safety and not economics comes first -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes. All right.
Diana Magnay for us.
Diana, appreciate it.
The economic fallout from this air travel crisis is rising sharply day by day. Let's get that side of the story from CNN's Richard Quest. He is in New York.
Good Doctor, good to see you as always, Richard.
Are we starting to get some idea here of the economic impact of this volcanic ash on the airline sector?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Very early on in the crisis, IATA, the international agency, said that it was costing around $200 million a day. Now, I think that was a bit of a back of an envelope number, but in the last few hours airlines have started to put real numbers on that.
Emirates says it's cost them $50 million since it began. We have heard from Lufthansa, that says it's costing them $34 million a day. British Airways says it's costing tens of millions of pounds a day.
Now, although these airlines don't want to fly unsafe conditions -- and that must be, obviously, a priority -- there is a gray area in between total safety and it's time to fly. And that's the area we're in now, with the airlines saying, listen, if we don't ourselves get back in the air soon, airlines will go bust. And the aviation officials saying not yet, it's not safe to fly. HARRIS: So, was that the push/pull right here, right now, is with airlines? And I'm wondering where the individual countries come into this and where maybe the EU regulators come into this. Is this the push/pull that we're talking here?
QUEST: Absolutely. Well, there's numerous -- I mean, think of the European Union as the federated United States but without the federal government, in the sense that you've got all the national states that have basically controlled their own air space.
HARRIS: Sure.
QUEST: But you have Euro control that controls the movement between them all. And it ensures the smooth flow.
I have to tell you, there has been one warning today from Giovanni Bisignani, from IATA. He is the director general of the airline association. And it wasn't a particularly optimistic warning. He says, basically, if the airlines are not allowed to start flying soon, then, Tony, some airlines will go out of business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIOVANNI BISIGNANI, DIRECTOR GENERAL & CEO, IATA: If it goes on for another couple of days, we would start seeing some medium, small airlines having big problems in cash. But I still rely on quick decisions for European governments taking account of the tests that have been done and starting to reopen the skies in a safe and very proactive way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: It really just comes down to, you know, which side of the fence you're sitting on. Are you running an airline that's bleeding cash and are prepared to take a more optimistic view, or are you a regulator that might be enmeshed in confusion and politics that is prepared to say not yet?
HARRIS: Well, Richard, these airlines who, in many cases, may be bleeding cash right now, are they asking for assistance in any way, maybe a reduction in fees, maybe direct assistance?
QUEST: Yes, indeed. Very much so.
The European airlines largely are now going to both national governments and the European Union, and they are asking -- British Airways today, they've asked for financial assistance -- in other words, payouts, bailouts, if you want to use that phrase -- from the European Commission and from governments. And they have used the precedent of 9/11 when the U.S. government did indeed make payments to U.S. carriers when U.S. air space was closed. And although no lives, thank God, have been lost in this example, what they are saying is the economic impact to the airlines will be just as great because the aviation space has been closed longer than during 9/11.
HARRIS: Good stuff. All right, Richard. Appreciate it, as always. Good to see you, sir. Thank you.
And we are just getting word that several Finnish F-18 Hornet fighter jets were damaged by the volcanic dust. This was referred to just a couple of moments ago by our Diana Magnay. The Boeing jets had flown training missions over Finland on Thursday morning when the air space was still open. The traffic conditions were different at that time, obviously.
Other big stories we're following for you.
Oklahoma City marking 15 years since the bombing at the Murrah Federal Building. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano describing the evolving nature of terrorism and the government's response. A truck bomb set off by Timothy McVeigh killed 168 people on this date in 1995.
Toyota agreed today to pay a record $16 million fine to the Transportation Department. The government says Toyota hid problems with sticky accelerators for several months. Toyota says it will pay the fine to get the matter behind it, but the company denies it broke any law.
And Republicans aren't beating around the bush anymore. They say flat out they will filibuster new rules for the nation's financial system. GOP senators contend the legislation would lead to more bank bailouts and they back a crackdown on derivatives. That's news. Derivatives, the speculative investments at the heart of the meltdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: As a general rule, I think we ought to improve the current system which everyone seems to feel is falling short. Exactly how that will be done we'll leave to the experts on the Banking Committee who hopefully can work that part of it out on a bipartisan basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The White House announced this morning President Obama will travel to New York on Thursday to press for Wall Street reforms.
We will bring you more on the volcanic ash cloud creating chaos at airports around the world.
And Rob Marciano -- where is the man? There he is, right there. He's tracking the ash in the Weather Center for us. We will get a full update with Rob in just a couple of minutes. And he tells us what's heading for North America.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Remembering the worst homegrown terror attack on U.S. soil 15 years ago today. The front page of "The Dallas Morning News" summed up the Oklahoma City bombing in one word. There it is -- "Terror." "The Daily Oklahoman" called it the "Morning of Terror."
More than two weeks later, the search ends, 164 bodies found. The actual death toll, 168. A day of mourning followed amid the rubble.
Timothy McVeigh was put to death for the crimes six years later. Today, survivors and family members of those killed have returned to the site. They're gathered at a memorial where the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building once stood.
The impact of that deadly building still reverberates with those who lived through it. Here are the thoughts and memories from one survivor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a daycare center in the building. That daycare center would have been devastated.
CHRIS NGUYEN, OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING SURVIVOR MALE: When I see the pictures of me in the hospital, in the bed, I see a little boy covered in blood. And it's unbelievable.
I'm Chris Nguyen. I'm 20 years old. And I'm a sophomore at OU.
Terrorism is terrorism no matter where it comes from. The only thing I do know is that I was in the bathroom. That's what I have been told. I don't remember it myself.
I got cushioned maybe by -- some of the wall blocked most of the heavy debris. So maybe that's what helped save me.
I think about the other parents, all the other daycare children and families. I feel guilty almost.
I have been given, like, a gift, you might say. And if I don't make something of my life succeed and make a difference of some kind, then I would have wasted my life. That just dishonors those who died, because who knows what they could have done with their lives. But they don't have that chance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And still to come in the NEWSROOM, the feds are going after big banker Goldman Sachs for alleged fraud, but is there an old boy network connection here? Our Christine Romans looks at that.
Plus, the markets have been open -- I guess we're coming up on two hours now. Let's take a look at the numbers.
We were in positive territory. We have turned south. We are in negative territory now, down just about five points. Still early in the trading day.
We will follow these numbers, of course, for you throughout the day, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. A quick break and we're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, when it comes to trusting government, it is all about location, location, location. A recent CNN/Opinion Research survey asked whether you trust the government always or most of the time. Twenty-six percent say they trust the federal government always or most of the time, but trust rises the farther you get from Washington. Thirty-three percent say they trust state government always or most of the time. That jumps to 52 percent for local government.
A rally for gun rights going on right now in the shadow of the Washington Monument.
Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is there.
And Jeanne, if you would, what is the purpose of the rally going on behind you today?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are several hundred people gathered here today. They're from Virginia, they're from Michigan, from Pennsylvania, various states around the union.
They are all concerned about their Second Amendment rights. They feel that they are in jeopardy at this point in time.
We have heard from a number of speakers up there today. One of them was Larry Pratt of the Gun Owners of America. Here's a bit of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY PRATT, PRESIDENT, GUN OWNERS OF AMERICA: We're in a war. The other side knows they're at war because they started it.
They're coming for our freedom, for our money, for our kids, for our property. They're coming for everything because they're a bunch of socialists. And meanwhile, we've got some feckless leaders in the opposition party that want to make nice.
Well, I'll tell you what, folks. We can get rid of these nice guys and get some fighters. That's why we have some primaries this year.
And we need to send them a message that we're coming for the Republican rhinos, the Republicans in name only. Not just the Democrats. That's the second event, in November.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: So that's the flavor of the rhetoric. Let me give you a flavor of some of the signs.
Here we have some over here, "What part of 'shall not be infringed' don't you understand?" That's just a for instance.
There are a few guns at this rally, but they are replica guns. They are inoperable guns. They are not guns that could be used in any way. The Park Services checked them out and made sure of that.
But there is a second rally today that's going to take place in Virginia, across the river, where the gun laws are different. Some of those demonstrators are planning to have some guns with them. Some of them handguns, loaded, with them.
The Park Services, they do not believe that pose any kind of threat. They're going to treat this like any other First Amendment rally. This is all about freedom of speech.
Tony, back to you.
HARRIS: All right. Jeanne Meserve for us.
Jeanne, appreciate it. Thank you.
The volcano in Iceland continues to erupt and disrupt tens of thousands of flights, but there may be a change on the horizon.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on top stories right now.
The volcanic ash that has shut down airports across Europe for five days is letting up, and so are flight restrictions. We are now hearing the restrictions over Scottish air space will be lifted tomorrow morning, and other British airports may also reopen soon. Germany has granted Lufthansa permission to fly 50 planes back to Germany.
And the U.S. military has confirmed that two of the most senior leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq were killed in a security operation north of Baghdad. The men were killed in a joint Iraqi/U.S. operation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REBA MCENTIRE, SINGER: And the ACM Entertainer of the Year is Carrie Underwood!
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes, how about that Reba McEntire? Oh, sorry.
For the second time, singer Carrie Underwood wins Entertainer of the Year at the Academy of Country Music awards. No other woman has ever won the award twice. Not even Reba?
The Oklahoma native is a multiple Grammy Award winner at the age of 27. Wow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, get ready. That ash cloud causing so much trouble on the European continent is now reaching North America.
Rob Marciano is in the CNN Severe Weather Center with that.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Under fire over bonuses and bailout money, now Goldman Sachs now faces fraud charges. Christine Romans takes a look back and ahead at Goldman's struggles.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Goldman Sachs promises a vigorously fought fraud charges -- to vigorously fight the fraud charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC accuses the Wall Street bank of defrauding investors in the sale of securities tied to subprime mortgages.
Goldman also came under fire for bonuses it paid after the government bailout. Some are asking how much of its profits came on the backs of U.S. taxpayers.
Christine Romans filed this report earlier this year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Goldman Sachs alumni have a tradition of public service like former Treasury Secretaries Henry Paulson and Robert Rubin. Goldman alumni often go on to become top players in government, and in the world's leading financial institutions. So when the financial industry almost collapsed 16 months ago...
HENRY PAULSON, FORMER TREASURY SECRETARY: We are acting with unprecedented speed, taking unprecedented measures that we never thought would be necessary.
ROMANS: It was a former Goldman Sachs CEO who, as treasury secretary, helped push through a $700 billion bank bailout known as TARP. Ten billion dollars went to Goldman Sachs. But now that bailout money has become a thorn in Goldman's side.
LLOYD BLANKFEIN, CEO, GOLDMAN SACHS: Had I known it was as pregnant with this kind of potential for backlash, then of course I wouldn't -- I would really not have liked it.
ROMANS: The firm paid back the public's $10 billion with interest. But to some, the story doesn't end there. When the government rescued insurance giant AIG from the brink of failing last year, Goldman Sachs received a full payout of what it was owed, nearly $13 billion. Critics say Goldman and other banks should have taken a haircut. ELIOT SPITZER (D), FORMER NEW YORK GOVERNOR: Goldman Sachs has figured out how to take advantage of the guarantee that we have given them to internalize the profit and hold on to it.
ROMANS: Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer faults Goldman Sachs and other banks for not passing along the benefits of billions in government-backed loans they received at nearly zero interest. For Goldman, it amounted to a $21 billion security blanket. Critics claim all of these taxpayer-financed programs allowed Goldman Sachs to reap bigger profits.
SPITZER: Thos of us who save got to the bank, get 0 percent, the banks take that guaranteed money, invest it in Treasury bills and make money and keep it. Now, the real problem is the banks are not lending to the businesses that could create jobs.
ROMANS: After mounting public backlash, Goldman's CEO apologized and told the commission investigating the crisis --
BLANKFEIN: Anyone who says I wouldn't change a thing, I think, is crazy. Of course I would go back and wished we had done whatever it took not to be in the position that we find ourselves.
ROMANS: CEO Lloyd Blankfein's mea culpa is not enough for Janet Tavakoli, a finance expert who wrote a book in 2003 about collateralized debt obligations, CDOs, complicated investments whose value fell with the housing market.
JANET TAVAKOLI, TAVAKOLI STRUCTURED FINANCE: Goldman creating securities along with a lot of other people on Wall Street. These were value-destroying securitizations spewing out of their financial meth labs. And today, they are trying to pretend that they weren't responsible for massive systemic risk.
ROMANS (on camera): Goldman Sachs disputes that, priding itself in being a top manager of risk. As far back as 2006, it saw trouble ahead and began selling off the mortgage-backed securities.
The problem is, critics say, Goldman continues to sell toxic assets to others while at the same time investing in bets that they were going to tank.
(voice-over): Goldman says it was executing prudent risk management.
BLANKFEIN: We didn't know at any moment if asset prices would deteriorate further or had declined too much and would snap back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Christine Romans live from New York.
Christine, I have got so many questions for you on this story. How is Goldman responding to the fraud charges filed by the SEC?
ROMANS: Goldman saying it will fight vigorously and its going to fight hard. Goldman also pointing out that it, too, lost money. It put $90 million into this investment that's now at the center of the current controversy, this fraud allegation from the SEC. And the company says, "SEC's charges are completely unfounded in law and in fact and we will vigorously contest them and defend the firm and its reputation." -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, here we go. Does this happen a lot, Christine? Should I assume as an investor when I'm asking by an investment banker to consider investing in a portfolio, should I assume that there is someone on the other side betting against it?
ROMANS: Well, that's at the heart of this matter, right? The SEC is saying that there was a group of investors who didn't know what they were buying had actually been designed by someone who was going to be betting big against it --
HARRIS: Against it.
ROMANS: -- and that that they needed to know that. I mean, it makes the American public and investors feel as though the system is rigged. You know, that it's not a fair deck of cards that you're dealing with.
And that's one of the reasons why the stock market has been so concerned here. The idea that the SEC is poking around in the subprime mess, Tony, and is going to be looking for other examples like this. Was this one instance in 2007 where there was an investment vehicle created by someone who wanted to bet against it and sold unwittingly to other investors, or was this something more widespread? That's what the SEC is looking into.
HARRIS: This is rich. This is so rich.
All right, Christine. Appreciate it. Thank you. Good to see you.
ROMANS: Sure.
HARRIS: As Goldman Sachs deals with SEC charges, other Wall Street firms are returning to profitability and then some. Last week, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase reported multimillion dollar profits. Today, it is Citigroup. Citigroup? Citigroup?
Stephanie Elam is in New York with details. And, Stephanie, Citigroup is back to profitability. Why are these companies doing so well seemingly so soon?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, there are a few things you've got to factor in here. You have got to look at the fact that last year was just an awful year, so anything comparing to that is going to look better.
But you know, you talk about these companies together and these three companies earned nearly $11 billion last quarter. Now Citigroup actually made up the bulk of that with more than $4 billion. It has two things working in its favor. First, trading revenue. So the trading activity for stocks, bonds, other securities, all of that way up and that's really helping Citi, Bank of America and JPMorgan.
The other big factor is that more people are paying their loans on time. We saw a lot of people having difficulty with that last year. Now while Citi is still losing billions because of credit losses, it's still setting aside a billion dollars less for loan losses than it did a year ago, Tony. So that shows you things are not as bad as they were.
HARRIS: So, last month, am I correct here, Citigroup's CEO made a pretty big projection. He said the bank would soon deliver a profit of about $20 billion. Is that realistic, Stephanie?
ELAM: Yes. You know, one quarterly profit does not allow us to just pick a trend here, obviously. But if this keeps up, an annual profit of $20 billion would be within reach. So it's not out of the question. As long as things stabilize in the markets and people keep spending and paying the bills on time, Citigroup doesn't expect it's performance to be a smooth trajectory since unemployment is a big worry.
So they don't expect it to be all roses from here on out, but the bank CEO says this Citigroup is very different from the one two years ago. Citi split into two separating out bad assets and its paid back the government bailout at this point as well.
So taking a look at Citi shares, they are up 5.5 percent now. A new report showing the outlook for the economy also helping to keep the markets from taking a trip deeper in the red. So we're doing a little bit of that flat-line dancing that you know so much about there, Tony. So we're up seven points, 11,025. Nasdaq off 9 at 2,471.
And since you were talking about Goldman Sachs, I should let you know that that company will be reporting tomorrow. We'll get a look at their books tomorrow.
HARRIS: Yes. The next thing you're going to tell me is AIG is about to turn a profit. Hello.
ELAM: Well, now --
HARRIS: Well, now, pump the brakes.
All right, Stephanie. Appreciate it. Thank you.
And you can learn more about Citigroup and Goldman Sachs by logging onto CNNMoney.com.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A CNN exclusive, we take you inside our town hall meeting with CNN's Don Lemon and Education Secretary Arne Duncan on what needs to be done to fix America's school.
Here's Secretary Duncan touching on teacher quality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: How do we encourage teachers? How can leaders and our school administrators encourage teachers to move outside of the box and be creative in their teaching approaches so that they can reach all needs of students and so that kids can have a quality, world-class education and that standards would be met at the same time?
ARNE DUNCAN, SECRETARY OF EDUCATION: I think teachers are unsung heroes in society today. I think the vast majority of teachers do an extraordinary job, are working unbelievably hard, never had less resources than they do today. Children come to school with more challenges than ever before. We need to do a better job of supporting those teachers, mentoring them, providing them with meaningful professional development, meaningful career ladders.
We don't invest in teachers at our own peril. And I've challenged schools of education, I think they need to do a better job of preparing teachers to come into education. More practice, less theory, more hands-on experience.
But if -- we have to do a much better job of helping teachers be successful in rewarding excellence. That's one thing that always amazes me in education. We've been scared to talk about excellence. Great teachers make a huge difference in students' lives. Every kind of study shows, three great teachers in a row and that average child will be a year and a half to two grade levels ahead. Three bad teachers in a row and that average child may be so far behind they may never catch up.
We need to recognize excellence. We need to reward it, we need to shine a spotlight on it. We need to clone those teachers, put them in real leadership positions to help them share their knowledge. We have to stop being scared of talking about excellence. Great teachers, great principals, talent matters tremendously in education.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Let's catch you caught up on top stories now.
The worst home-grown terror attack on U.S. soil is being remembered in Oklahoma City. Fifteen years ago today, a truck bomb set off by Timothy McVeigh ripped apart the Murrah Federal Building killing 168 people. McVeigh was executed in 2001.
That cloud of ash from Iceland's erupting volcano not quite as dense. As a result, flight restrictions over Scottish airspace will be lifted tomorrow morning. Other parts of Great Britain may follow later in the week. An industry trade group says airlines have been losing at least $200 million a day.
That volcanic ash is delaying the return of some U.S. troops. Family members with are waiting anxiously for Army reservists who deployed to Iraq about a year ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA, GREENWOOD, SOUTH CAROLINA: So heart-breaking to watch my daughter go through these milestones, especially with her being so small and to know that he's missing almost all of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Family members say they are hoping their loved ones will arrive in Fort Stewart in Georgia tonight.
How does a volcano under a glacier in Iceland destroy cash crops in Africa? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Dust from Iceland's volcano grounding not only planes and passengers, but produce as well. When we say the volcano delays are having a worldwide impact, we really mean it. Our Zain Verjee, who was visiting family in Kenya, found this out firsthand. She files this report from Nairobi.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lucy Wanjiku (ph) may be out of a job if grounded planes in Kenya don't take off soon.
LUCY WAJIKU, EMPLOYEE, VEGPRO (K) LIMITED: I'm so worried about this.
VERJEE: Canceled flights to the U.K. and Europe mean Lucy may not be needed to pack fresh vegetables for export every day.
WAJIKU: What will I do? What will I have in my house? Because I rely on these things. It's the one that gives me money.
VERJEE: Lucy just has to look across the room at Vegpro Limited. Normally buzzing with workers, the area is now suddenly silent because thousands are not working.
Exporting horticulture is Kenya's highest foreign exchange earner, more than $1 billion a year according to Kenyan industry analysts.
(on-camera): Just look at the amount of fresh vegetables stuck here at the airport. This one company alone has something like 200 tons lying around. Things like red chilies, green chilies, broccoli, asparagus, onions, pea, stir fries. And these are things that you see on shelves in Britain as well as in other parts of Europe.
Edward's running things around here. Have you ever seen it this bad?
EDWARD KARANU, OPERATIONS MANAGER, VEGPRO (K) LIMITED: Not at all. I've been here for eight years. I've seen real severe floods. I've seen severe droughts. I haven't seen anything like this in my life here. This is a catastrophe, so to speak, because it doesn't have the end time.
VERJEE (voice-over): No one here knows when the trucks will hit the road again and shuttle fresh goods. Johnnie McMillan tells me he is ready for the worst-case scenario.
(on-camera): What is going to happen to all this fresh produce?
JOHNNIE MCMILLAN, GROUP OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, VEGPRO (K) LIMITED: Well, we've only got two choices. We either can give it away to farmers for cattle feed, so at least we make some use of it. And the second thing that we'll do is we'll take it back to our farms and compost it so we can use it in the future.
VERJEE (voice-over): Also a victim, top quality Kenyan roses. Fresh-cut flowers from farms like these are flown to Europe every day. The long wait is killing them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For us as a company alone, we currently are looking at a backlog of around 2 million stems across our four farms and here in Nairobi.
VERJEE: Industry insiders at Nairobi's main airport say Kenya's losing more than $3 million export a day because of this crisis.
While Lucy waits, she prays for Iceland's volcanic ash clouds to creep away and the skies to open to save her and the more than 1.5 million Kenyans that depend on this industry.
Zain Verjee, CNN, Nairobi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So the volcanic ash cloud is riding the jet stream right now and it is reaching North America.
Where is Rob Marciano? Show us that there, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: All right. So the jet stream, as you mentioned, it's a little bit weaker now compared to last week. It was really strong and focused and that was really pouring everything into northern parts of Europe, Scandinavia, even into parts of northern Asia. And the middle latitudes, this red, indicates the cloud at the surface to about 20,000 feet.
I should mention that the last advisory also states that now it's just been erupting to about 8,000-foot level. So it's diminished quite a bit today and at least temporarily subsided.
But this is the weather pattern that's bringing some that ash all the way to North America in through eastern parts of Newfoundland, Canada -- where they also cancelled some flights there. We don't think it will get to the northeast, but it's interesting to note that in at least the mid and lower levels of the atmosphere, we're seeing it get all the way to North America.
It feels like things are getting a little bit better, Tony. And the word now that at least temporarily, hopefully permanently, this thing has stopped erupting ash into the atmosphere. We can get things back to normal slowly but surely throughout the week -- Tony.
HARRIS: We need that. Yes, we got to get folks home.
All right, Rob. Thank you.
MARCIANO: You bet.
HARRIS: Tracking hate online -- how groups are using social networking sites to spread their message of hate and how one human rights group is hunting them down.
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HARRIS: I need you to reach out to the program, talk to me directly. A couple ways to do it. First of all, CNN.com/Tony takes you directly to this -- bam -- our blog page. To send us your thoughts on Facebook, here's what you do. Tony Harris, CNN. Here's my Twitter address, TonyharrisCNN. Call us. Pick up the phone. 877- 742-5760. Let's have more of your thoughts on the program. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris.
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HARRIS: OK. Here's what we're working on for the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
A small Georgia town with two nuclear reactors and a high cancer rate rallies against building any more. Is there a connection? CNN Special Investigations Unit takes a closer look.
And we will also talk with a former neo-Nazi. What led him into that life and what did he get out of it and why did he ultimately get out? And how worried should we be about a rise in hate speech across the country?
As America pauses to remember the Oklahoma City bombing 15 years ago today, there are new concerns about extremist groups and the climate of anger in the United States. Earlier in the CNN NEWSROOM, T.J. Holmes talked with Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center about comparisons between now and then.
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MARK POTOK, DIRECTOR, 'INTELLIGENCE' PROJECT, SPLC: Back in the 1990s, when really the first wave of militia movement happened, it was really set up, in particular, the events in Waco. So, you know, a lot of people who analyze this situation say, and I think they're right, is that all that's really lacking in terms of comparing this moment to 1995 is a real spark. Something that will simply ignite the fury out there.
You know, look, the reality is is we've already begun to see very serious criminal manifestations of this kind of resurgence at the radical right. One need only think back to last week and the members that -- the arrests of members of the Hutaree militia up in the upper Midwest and an amazing plot to kill hundreds of police officers.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Last thing, is there a way to -- do you have numbers of just how many more of these groups have been popping up? Is it a disturbing number that continue to show up, hate groups, militia groups?
POTOK: Yes. I mean, we counted almost 1,000 hate groups out there very recently. In addition, there's been an expansion of by about 80 percent of the number of hard-line, anti-immigration groups. And most astoundingly of all, a huge growth, 244 percent by our count, of the anti-government patriot groups, the militias. That's 363 new groups in a single year. It's really been quite something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A friend request from someone named "Hitler Hate Groups" turned to social media sites to recruit new members. How one human rights organization is hunting hate online.
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HARRIS: Social networking sites have become popular recruitment tools for hate groups and potential terrorists, but an organization dedicated to human rights is monitoring the groups by hunting hate online.
The story now from CNN's Casey Wian.
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CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This looks like a typical office, where one employee spends most of his days on social networking sites like Facebook. His friends include, Adolf German, Duce Mussolini, and Aryan Butcher.
RICK EATON, SENIOR RESEARCHER, SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER: I have racist -- quote, "racist friends" all over the world.
WIAN: But Rick Eaton has the full blessing of his employer because he's hunting online racists and potential terrorists for the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization. He also infiltrates groups undercover, so he's asked us not to show all of his face.
EATON: The only way to really find the material is get down in the mud with these people, and join their group. You don't have to be, you know, rah, rah, let's go off and blow up an airplane, but you do have to get in there and make comments occasionally.
WIAN: The Wiesenthal Center has identified more than 11,000 hate groups on the Internet, a 15 percent increase from last year. The growth, it says, is fueled by social media.
RABBI ABRAHAM COOPER, SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER: Extremists of all stripes, in all cultures, are streaming to Facebook and similar social networking, with a neighborhood of 400 million separate users, and growing. That is an environment, a climate that allows extremists to do a hit-and-run, maybe use it for a day to do a propaganda hit against their enemies.
WIAN: When Eaton identifies a site, he notifies federal authorities and the operator of the social network. He said Facebook in particular is quick to shut down offenders, but they often pop up again under another name.
(on camera): For someone like me, if I have a Facebook page, it may suggest I become friends with people I went to high school or college with or co-workers. But if you're a racist living in California, let's say, they may suggest that you should become friends with another racist group in Michigan or South Africa.
EATON: Without a doubt. It makes it so easy. And it really has eclipsed the rest of the Internet, because it doesn't take much work.
WIAN (voice-over): That's why they say it can work as a recruiting tool for potential terrorists.
COOPER: What worries me the most today is the lone wolf mentality, someone who's going to have "the guts or the courage" to step over the line, the next individual or small cell that's ready to change history.
WIAN (on camera): Given what you've seen online and in social media, do you think it's inevitable that that's going to happen?
COOPER: It is inevitable.
WIAN (voice-over): Casey Wian, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
