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American Morning
Security Alert from Bin Laden Files; Epic Flooding in the South: Mississippi River Rising in Memphis; Mom's Unpaid Work; Pakistan Admits Intel "Shortcomings"; Bin Laden's Rail Plot; "Flash Crash" Anniversary
Aired May 06, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: A lot going on overnight. Let's get you caught up.
It's more than historic, it is epic. Maybe a 500-year flood. Thousands on the run. What could be the worst Mississippi River flood ever and it's unfolding right now.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: He was plotting until the day he's dead. I'm Kiran Chetry. A new alert from homeland security after they got a look at bin Laden's personal files.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. Oil prices take a dive. A sign, perhaps, that you're fed up with prices at the pump and those high gas prices are hurting the economy. But it may start to trickle down on this AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Good Friday morning. It is May 6th and a busy one, indeed. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: You were watching the river, of course, the Mississippi today.
ROMANS: Yes.
CHETRY: New concerns for a lot of people living along the flood plains.
ROMANS: And also new details from that cache of intelligence from the bin Laden compound we're watching.
VELSHI: It's giving up some information.
CHETRY: Right. They knew it was going to happen.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: And now we have some new information on that today. A threat pulled right from Osama bin Laden's files.
VELSHI: The Homeland Security Department has issued an alert about rail security in the United States. A law enforcement source says Al Qaeda was plotting to attack trains.
ROMANS: One possible date mentioned, 9/11/2011. Jeanne Meserve is going to have more on that in a moment.
Also this morning, there are some incredible new details on "Operation Neptune Spear." We now know that was the name given the secret mission to take out Osama bin Laden. "The Washington Post" reports CIA spies monitored bin Laden's lair for months from a safe house in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
CHETRY: Well, there is also this new video from the night of the assault on bin Laden's compound. This video is actually taken by a neighbor. It shows his three-story house in flames. Also today, President Obama will be traveling to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to personally thank members of the U.S. Navy SEAL team that took down bin Laden.
VELSHI: Yesterday, you'll remember he was at Ground Zero meeting with families and firefighters.
ROMANS: Meantime, we're getting a clearer picture of what happened in the final 38 minutes of the hunt for bin Laden. A U.S. official tells us the raid was launched after the CIA spotted a tall man doing prison yard walks around the compound. The first man killed was bin Laden's courier. He also fired the only shot at the SEALs.
VELSHI: Then the SEALs moved into the main house where they killed the courier's brother and found bin Laden and his family. No other shots were fired. A congressman who was briefed on the raid told "USA Today" there was concern that bin Laden may have been wearing a suicide vest and that the house was rigged.
CHETRY: Yes. There are so many ways that could have gone badly.
VELSHI: Sure.
CHETRY: And instead, they pulled off that operation. Jeanne Meserve joins us now live from Washington with more on this as we were talking about what some of this intelligence gleaned, this possible threat on America's railways. Tell us more about that, Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, a notice has gone out to state and local law enforcement and also to the rail sector advising them that in February of 2010, members of Al Qaeda discussed a plan to derail railroad cars by putting obstacles on tracks. A U.S. official tells me that they specifically talked about doing this on bridges or over valleys, presumably to maximize the possible catastrophe. I am told that it does not mention any specific city or rail system, and that the plotters did discuss doing this to coincide with the anniversary of the 9/11 attack.
U.S. officials are at pains to emphasize that this was aspirational, not operational. There is no indication that anybody was dispatched to carry this out and at this point in time, there is no information that indicates that Osama bin Laden himself had signed off on this particular plan.
Now in addition, there was some other material found in this house which gives a more general sense of what Al Qaeda was interested in doing. Specifically, we're told that Al Qaeda talked about targeting big cities, New York, D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago. In addition, they talked about hitting on specific dates, not just September 11th as was mentioned in the rail alert, but also July 4th, Christmas and the opening day of the U.N. That would be the opening day of the General Assembly when world leaders from all around the globe are gathered in New York City.
Tom Ridge, the former secretary of Homeland Security, was asked about the rail alert last night. Here's how he put it in perspective.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM RIDGE, FMR. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: It's a head's up. It's a warning. I don't think it's necessarily actionable, but I think it's appropriate to send this information out to those responsible for that infrastructure. They just wanted to remind people that there's still a potential target, take notice, but use the information that we have, but don't make any -- don't make any changes now. There's no necessity for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: It's worth noting that terrorists have repeatedly hit at rail systems. And when word went out that Osama bin Laden had been killed, many systems around the U.S. did ratchet up security knowing full well that if there was retaliation, it might be aimed at them. Many experts and officials are saying that this alert on rail security is likely the first of many that are likely to go out as a result of the great volumes of materials seized at the compound where bin Laden was killed.
Back to you.
VELSHI: Jeanne, thanks very much for that. We'll stay on top of this with you, Jeanne Meserve.
ROMANS: Meantime --
CHETRY: The question, too, is, I mean, even if they were planning this, we've made major strides --
ROMANS: Right.
CHETRY: -- in terms of blocking terrorists from coming into our country after, you know, 9/11.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: How would people have actually gotten here to pull that off or would they try to use people already in this country?
VELSHI: And that's something that Paul Cruickshank discussed with us the other day, that there's definitely been more of a sense of people planning and financing things in the United States.
CHETRY: Right, the lone wolf as he called it. VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: And that's why he also says there's a short-term danger for security in the U.S., maybe there are these plots under way right now, especially --
VELSHI: That somebody is going to rush to carry out.
ROMANS: Absolutely. All right.
Bin Laden's wife is talking and she tells Pakistani interrogators that she did not leave that walled-in compound for five years. She says she also lived with eight of bin Laden's children and five people from another family. The woman charged Navy SEALs. She was shot in the leg during a raid. This is according to U.S. officials. But Pakistan took her into custody after Navy SEALs lost a chopper and were forced to leave without her.
VELSHI: Apparently, she's recovering now in a Pakistani hospital and they say she'll be returned to her country of origin.
Now to the south where we are seeing a 500-year flood of the Mississippi River this morning. Rising waters are not expected to crest for at least another week or so in many places.
CHETRY: And this epic flooding is forcing thousands to leave their homes. In eastern Arkansas, three tows, McClelland, Gregory and Cotton Plant are under a mandatory evacuation order right now. State police and the National Guard helping hundreds of people get to higher ground.
Also, this is what parts of Interstate 40 looked like. Remember we told you yesterday they were shutting down major stretches. Well, this is why. It's the nation's third longest east/west freeway and a major trucking artery that cuts right through Arkansas.
ROMANS: A 23-mile stretch is still closed this morning between the towns of Hazen and Brinkley. Truckers are now spreading the word to avoid this freeway at all costs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It ended up just being bumper to bumper, stopped for 10 minutes at a time. It took me two and a half hours to get 32 miles from Brinkley up here to Bald Knob.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen anything like this. I've been four hours, gone maybe 40 miles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't fight Mother Nature. She's going to play whatever she's going to play.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And she's playing for sure. Further east in Memphis, Tennessee, floodwaters are threatening hundreds of homes right now. Emergency officials going door to door in some neighborhoods asking people to leave. Mother Nature when she's mean is always a woman. Have you noticed that, Ali?
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: That's right. When it's all good, it's a he.
Emergency officials in Tennessee are predicting nearly 3,000 properties in the Memphis area could be impacted by flooding if the Mississippi crests at 48 feet this weekend. That would be the river's highest level since 1937. Right now, it's approaching 46 feet.
David Mattingly is live in Memphis for us this morning.
Good morning, David. What is the situation around you?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a slow motion disaster. But make no mistake about it, this river is inching up by the hour and it is not done yet. Not by a long shot.
Here in Memphis, this is all that's left of a river front park. This is now under water. This water approaching record levels. We're expecting to see a peak here in Memphis, possibly sometime around Wednesday. That's going to be close to the 1937 level of that disastrous flood, but there's a big difference now between what they have to work with here and what they had back in '37. Now they've got flood walls and levees all over the place. They're expected to keep most of the city dry. But they're still being very careful.
There's a couple thousand properties that they've identified as being vulnerable here. They're looking at this water backing up into the tributaries into the rivers that flow into the Mississippi here, close to Memphis. Those properties are the ones that are the most vulnerable right now. So what they're looking at is a couple of thousand properties. The word is going out today to those property owners, to some of them, saying this is the time to start packing up and making plans. Don't wait until this river is in your front yard to decide to leave. They want to make sure everybody has enough time to get their belongings out and to get to safety. But again, this water moving very slowly, so officials had the luxury to make plans, to make sure that they get everyone out of the way in time. And again, they're just watching this river inch up by hour here on the banks in Memphis.
They think that it's going to stop just short of that record they had back in '37. They have a great deal of confidence in the levees they have here, but nevertheless, they have asked for a lot of volunteers to show up today to fill up sandbags. Those sandbags to be used at government buildings and at hospitals just in case they need them, just in case there's a problem with one of the levees. But again, they say they have a great deal of confidence in their levee system and they're just going to make sure that they make sure that those levees hold and they're going to be keeping a very close eye on them.
CHETRY: All right. We'll be following that and check in with you throughout the day. David Mattingly, thanks so much. ROMANS: We want to show you a look at the flood zone. From the upper Midwest as far south as Louisiana, the risk is extreme.
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: That is the danger area here. Rivers flowing over levees, tributaries backing up. Everywhere you see blue --
CHETRY: They're on a flood watch.
ROMANS: That's right. Causing a crisis or it's about to. Reynolds Wolf is in the Extreme Weather Center.
Good morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: My goodness, that's a lot of ground to cover.
ROMANS: It sure is.
WOLF: Certainly a huge mess for these folks. Looks like the worse is really going to be picking up in places downstream, in parts of the Mississippi Valley.
Let's back up a little bit and show you what we have in terms of just some of the satellite footage. This really tells the story of what's been happening.
First and foremost, when you go back in time to April 29th of 2010, you see how things normally look on the Mississippi River. This is not a draught situation, not flooding, this is how it's expected. However, you look at more of the recent photos. We go to April 29th of 2011, you see things beginning to build up a little bit along the Mississippi. And then as we fast forward a bit more and zoom in also toward Cairo, you can see the water, the Mississippi River completely spilling its banks cutting off right through parts of the floodway. And, of course, some of the oxbow lakes and even part of the meandering portions of the Mississippi River just all filled up. Same deal also just due west of Cairo.
Now, the problem that we're going to be dealing with is we have more flooding, more expansive flooding and, again, farther downstream, especially when you look at these numbers as we get into May, May 20, 22nd, 23rd. As we go from Vicksburg, Vicksburg is going to be 14.5 feet above flood stage. All of these above flood stage. Nashua is about 16. Nearly 18 feet along the Red River landing and Baton Rouge about 12.5.
As we wrap things up, one thing to share with you is that we have a frontal boundary that is going to be pulling in from the west that may bring some rainfall in the days to come. But today's shower activity along the Mississippi River should be confined a little bit farther to the north and thankfully back towards the Great Lakes. Things relatively dry in the southern half.
That's a look at your forecast, guys. Let's pitch it back to you in New York.
ROMANS: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
VELSHI: Thanks, Reynolds.
CHETRY: Well, disturbing delivery, 25 different schools in D.C. getting sent envelopes with white powder inside, obviously raising huge concerns. We're going to tell you what it ended up being.
VELSHI: And a new proposal to try and get people to conserve gas. How about taxing people by how much they drive. A tax by the number of miles you drive. We'll discuss that.
ROMANS: You're going to love this one. The replacement costs of all those things that the mom does in the house or the Mr. Mom. $61,000 a year. Hmmm. We want you to weigh in on this. Really interesting study about the value of the stay-at-home mom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: New this morning, a disturbing delivery to dozens of Washington, D.C., schools. Officials say 25 schools received envelopes filled with a white powder yesterday, some of the schools were evacuated. Tests on the substance, however, discovered it was not toxic. All the letters were postmarked from Texas. The FBA says - FBI says it may be part of a similar pattern happening across the country. The Post Office is taking some extra screening precautions as a result.
ROMANS: OK, gamers, you can relax. Sony says PlayStation will be up and running in the next few days. As Sony's chief executive blogged updates on the network's cyber attack, you know, that shut down the Sony servers last month. The breach sparked fears of stolen credit card and personal information. Sony says it's launching an identity theft insurance policy and plans to reimburse users without network access.
VELSHI: It's not just those gamers. I keep reminding everybody, I can't watch a movie on Netflix because I use my PlayStation network to do that.
CHETRY: See that. All right. Just when you think -
VELSHI: I'm reading a lot more.
CHETRY: -- you can't get taxed any more, you can. TheHill.com is reporting about the government floating an idea that would tax drivers by the mile. Congressional Budget Office suggests that they would be using an electronic tracking system to see how -
VELSHI: That's going to go over well in this country.
CHETRY: Yes. The White House says it is an early draft, that it's not a formal proposal. The interesting thing, though, a similar proposal was floated in the beginning of the Obama presidency and at the time spokesperson Robert Gibbs says this does not represent the views of the president and is in no way an administrative - administrative proposal.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: You pay tax on the gas.
VELSHI: Yes. You're taxed by the gas.
ROMANS: So if you use a lot of gas, you pay more tax.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: What - but the argument for supporters of this, and I'm - I'm not saying I support it. I'm just saying this is what their claim is, is that it would more fairly, I guess, distribute how much you use bridges and tunnels and infrastructure. You would then be charged by how much you use it.
VELSHI: Right, but wouldn't doesn't paying tax on gas achieve the same thing? Unless you happen to just be driving around your farm.
ROMANS: So, Kiran, we've pushed you into the - into the corner.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Come on, Kiran. Why do you think it's a good idea, Kiran?
CHETRY: I do not think -
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Tell us why you think my privacy should be invaded and people should be taxing my driving, Kiran?
CHETRY: I'm telling you what? I'm still teetering on the edge of the easy pass, OK?
ROMANS: I know.
CHETRY: If I didn't need to get over the GW Bridge quickly, I don't know if I would have that thing.
VELSHI: All right, here's a story that's a - that's a - we all found fascinating this morning. It's an informal survey by a group called Insure.com, but they have - they've put a price on all the work that a mom does at home, whether she's a working mom or a stay-at-home mom. It's a lot of money.
ROMANS: Yes, how much is all of that worth? It's - and what is your mom worth?
CHETRY: From the laundry to the cleaning, to the packing, to the chauffer.
VELSHI: To (INAUDIBLE) wounds, to the decorating the house -
CHETRY: Yes. VELSHI: -- all that kind of stuff.
CHETRY: It's worth a lot.
ROMANS: And how much does a second pair of eyes in the back of her head cost?
VELSHI: That's right.
ROMANS: That's what I want to know.
All right. Also, apartment hunting. You know, rents are climbing fast. We're going to tell you how much and how -- what you can do maybe to get ahead of it in signing a lease.
VELSHI: Nineteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Twenty-one minutes past the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Stocks tumble and oil prices fall below $100 a barrel. A huge decline for all sorts of commodities as investors brace for this morning's all-important April jobs report. The Dow is down 139 points yesterday, the NASDAQ and S&P 500 were also down.
After 44 straight days of going up, this morning gas prices are down, but not by much. According to AAA the national average is now $3.98 a gallon.
And as I just mentioned, the April jobs report out at 8:30 Eastern this morning. And economists predict employers added 185,000 jobs last month. That would be down slightly from the jobs created in March. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 8.8 percent.
Demand for apartments is igniting a sharp rise in rent. According to researchers, rent is expected to jump between four and five percent this year. That's the biggest increase in four years.
And Coca-Cola counting down this morning to its 125th birthday. To celebrate, Coke is throwing a concert tomorrow in Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park. The first Coca-Cola was served on May 8th, 1886, at a pharmacy in Atlanta.
We're back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: So what is a mom worth? How much time do we have?
Carmen Wong Ulrich is "Minding Your Business." So they did this interesting look at -
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. CHETRY: -- if you had to pay for everything.
VELSHI: That the mom did in the home.
CHETRY: Yes. That the mom did in the home, the tasks.
ULRICH: Moms are worth a lot. We know that.
CHETRY: Just in time for Mother's Day.
ULRICH: We're going to tell you a little bit, out of the dollar signs and the amount, Insure.com has a Mother's Day index. They were looking to put a price tag on what moms do at home because research has shown that life insurance for women is only 69 percent of the coverage for men. And much of the thinking is that stay-at-home parents don't have income to replace, but the reality is that what a home-based parent does is worth money, a lot of money. For example, child care alone runs on average $10,000 to $30,000 a year.
So how much is what mom does worth overall? Well, if you hired a professional, instead of mom, to perform some tasks, here's what it would cost you annually. That chauffeuring to and from practices, almost $7,000, right? Now, help with homework that's if you hired a tutor, $7,000. Shopping for the family, if you hired someone to shop for you, about $1,500 a year.
Now, fixing up the house, this is interesting, this is just making it pretty, it's about $1,000 if you hired an interior decorator. Cleaning the house, $5,000 a year. Now, so they added up all of these costs together and the total annual costs or worth of what mom does is, which I think is pretty low, is about $61,000.
VELSHI: Right. But that's not value added, right? That's just literally replacing tasks with someone else.
ULRICH: That is just literally - what they do with the hourly wage of somebody or cost of actually hiring -
VELSHI: Right, right.
ULRICH: -- someone to do it.
CHETRY: Now, I know there's going to be a lot of guys and dads writing and saying, wait a minute, we do this too.
ULRICH: That too. Well, the whole point is that what you're doing is worth something -
VELSHI: It's a value.
ULRICH: -- and it's a value. So no matter who's staying at home -
VELSHI: Right.
ULRICH: -- it's really worth something and you should be insured to replace that costs. ROMANS: And if both - if both people and the couple work, it shows you how valuable all those things is. You're juggling and treating about who's going to be responsible for.
VELSHI: So basically there's an extra $60,000 of value -
ULRICH: Right.
VELSHI: -- for all the stuff that's getting done that you don't think about -
ULRICH: Exactly.
VELSHI: -- for just having a family life.
ULRICH: Yes. And the point is, really, it's about insurance and -
VELSHI: Right.
ULRICH: -- being insured even if you're a stay-at-home parent.
VELSHI: Right.
ULRICH: You have to pay for the cost of replacing that.
(CROSSTALK)
ULRICH: Exactly.
VELSHI: Great. Carmen, thank you.
ULRICH: Thank you. Happy Mother's Day.
CHETRY: You, too.
VELSHI: We want to get your thoughts on this. We know you've got them. So e-mail us, tweet us, go to our blog or find us on Facebook. We'll be reading your comments, what do you think about this. Go to CNN.com/AM, tweet us @CNNAM or go to Facebook.com/AMERICANMORNING.
ROMANS: All right. Top stories are coming up after the break, including this epic flooding. Where the water is, where it's going to go.
VELSHI: And one of Osama bin Laden's wives says she didn't leave that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, for five years. We're going live to Pakistan, even more information coming out from that treasure trove.
It is 27 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Good morning.
Epic flooding, the mighty Mississippi overflowing its banks this morning, threatening to flood millions of acres of farmland. The City of Memphis under the gun right now. Emergency officials now going door to door, asking people to leave on this AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: And we're crossing the half hour right now.
And, yes, we are watching as people have described sort of a slow- motion disaster unfolding. It affects so many towns, so many areas up and down the Mississippi. But the problem is, is that even though you're seeing this epic flooding right now, it's not going anywhere. This problem is not going anywhere.
VELSHI: It's getting worse. It's a combination of two terrible things -- farmland, very valuable important farmland where we go so many of our crops, and some major fully occupied metropolitan areas.
ROMANS: And you have the spine of the United States, the Mississippi River, that has been harnessed by a series of locks and dams and levees for years and years -- and when something like this happens, it is very intricate engineering to figure out what has to be flooded and what doesn't. And you got mayors and engineers who have different ideas about the best idea to do.
CHETRY: Right. And also, just how much control you have over it. Even if you are doing these controlled explosions along these areas, what happens after that isn't known either.
ROMANS: That's right.
CHETRY: The economic impact as well as huge.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Barges that are in slews that are stuck. I mean, barges carry grain and the like, stuck in slews, you know, completely clogged with trees and the like. So, it's real a mess.
CHETRY: And we're going to be following all of that this morning.
But, first, we want to get you updated on the latest -- some new intelligence uncovered from Osama bin Laden's own files. Well, the Homeland Security Department is now issuing an alert about rail security. This comes after a law enforcement source says that al Qaeda was plotting to attack trains in this country, certain dates mentioned, 9/11/2011.
Also, the CIA was on to him months ago. "The Washington Post" reporting that U.S. spies set up a safe house where they were watching bin Laden's compound and actually tracking the terror leader in Pakistan through every step of his daily life. It's being called one of the most sensitive intel operations ever.
We're also learning more about the final night of the mission to kill bin Laden. U.S. officials say only one shot was fired at Navy SEALs as they swooped in to get bin Laden. There were fears that bin Laden could have rigged his body with a suicide vest or that the compound itself was booby-trapped, even though Osama bin Laden did not have a gun. VELSHI: Now to the South, here in the United States, what we were just talking about and showing you those pictures. They're watching a disaster unfold in slow motion. The Mississippi keeps on rising and, by the way, getting wider as it rises. The epic flooding is forcing thousands of people to leave their homes.
ROMANS: Also, the slews and these other tributaries, they're actually flowing backward because of the pressure from the Mississippi. Three towns facing a mandatory evacuation order this morning in eastern Arkansas, McClelland, Gregory and Cotton Plant. Look at Interstate 42, it's the interstate 40 also, I should say, it's the nation's third longest east to west freeway, a major trucking artery that cuts through the heart of Arkansas. A large stretch had to be closed again yesterday because of the flooding.
CHETRY: And I-40 remains shut down for several miles in both directions this morning as well. According to the Arkansas Highway Department, truckers are now spreading the word, find a way to avoid it if you can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It ended up just being bumper to bumper, stop for 10 minutes at a time. It took me two and a half hours to get 32 miles from Brinkley up here to Bald Knob. My back feels terrible. I had to stop here and just get out. It was miserable, especially since we didn't expect it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: In Memphis, Tennessee, floodwaters are threatening hundreds of homes right now. Emergency officials are going door to door in some neighborhoods. They're asking people to leave.
VELSHI: There's a threat of severe flooding all along the Mississippi River this morning. Reynolds is joining us now to give us a real look at how serious this is.
Those areas that are in imminent danger of flooding and those areas this could extend to, Reynolds. It's quite a big piece of this country.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is a tremendous part of the country.
I heard -- I believe Christine mention earlier, this is the spine of the country, and that's really a perfect way to put it. This is a major mode of transportation for people in this country for many, many years, obviously. You've got some of your best farmland in this area as well. A lot of people live here, and, unfortunately, things are going to get worse farther down river.
What we don't need is more precipitation. We don't need one more drop of rainfall. And, thankfully, looks like it's going to cooperate over the next couple days. In fact, you take a look at this computer models that shows some of the heaviest precipitation we can expect anywhere in the region, a little bit of light precipitation over the next five days or so, from about St. Louis, maybe north of Paducah, all the way up to Minneapolis. Very light stuff, heavier precipitation farther out to the west and, of course, just in portions of the Ohio Valley.
So, that is some good news that we're going to get a break in terms of the weather. Problem is, though, you still have that huge wall of water that's slowly going to be entering it ways down into the southern half of the Mississippi, getting closer to the delta. When that happens, we can expect May 20th, May 22nd, even May 23rd, things beginning to crest in places like Vicksburg, actually about 14 feet above flood stage, 16 feet above flood stage in Natchez. Same story for the Red River landing, very, very high, almost 18 feet. And Baton Rouge, the same situation.
The flooding in Memphis has been horrific. This live camera that we have, this live shot, is going to show you that the situation is getting very grim. You see the pyramid there in Memphis. Beale Street for the time being, things look great there. But as you get closer to Mud Island, the situation is very dire.
However, we can expect things to get a little better in Memphis as we make our way through the next several hours and days with more flooding, massive flooding again, heading farther downstream.
That's the latest on this story. We're going to keep a sharp eye on it. Guys, let's pitch it back to you in New York.
ROMANS: All right. You know, you said I mentioned the spine of the -- I have to say I quoted you on that, Reynolds. You were the one that said it.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: We're tweeting each other.
WOLF: It sounds a lot smarter when she says it. It really does.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: You're feeding smart stuff, Reynolds. Thank you.
WOLF: Whatever it takes.
CHETRY: He said whatever it takes.
VELSHI: It takes more than just that.
CHETRY: Yes.
Well, with the royal wedding and death of Osama bin Laden dominating the headlines for the past 10 days the disaster relief efforts in tornado ravaged Alabama have in some ways fallen of the radar screen -- certainly not if you're there and if you're living through it. That's why some of the biggest names in country music want to come out and help. Hank Williams Jr., Keith Urban, Tim McGraw are among the headliners who are going to be performing at a 90-minute benefit concert. It's next Thursday night and it's going to air on CMT, Country Music Television, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. All the proceeds go to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund for Alabama.
You can also donate $10 right now to the Red Cross relief fund for the Alabama tornado relief by texting 90999. Or for other ways to help, you can head to our "Impact Your World" site, CNN.com/Impact.
ROMANS: All right. The U.S. raid deep in Pakistan territory, to kill bin Laden, has put a strain on relations between the two countries. Bin Laden was hiding in a compound that was only footsteps away from Pakistan's military academy, a force the United States helped fund. The chief of Pakistan's military admitting there were shortcomings in tracking bin Laden, but he slammed the raid and basically warned the U.S. don't do it again, saying, quote, "any similar action violating the sovereignty of Pakistan will warrant a review of the level of military intelligence cooperation with the United States."
Here at home, lawmakers are questioning whether Pakistan has the tools and the desire to really fight terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This relationship won't be salvaged unless Pakistan gets its house in order, and unless we are clearer amongst ourselves about what we can and cannot expect from Pakistan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This week's dramatic killing of Osama bin Laden was found by our forces near Islamabad, in a well-populated area, close to Pakistan's military academy, have raised questions about Pakistan's reliability as an ally. Pakistani officials have been accused of being complicit or incompetent. But in either case, some critics say, it's time for us to wash our hands of the whole country.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
ROMANS: CIA Director Leon Panetta, shown here at Langley during the bin Laden raid, he has said Pakistan was either involved or incompetent -- neither he says is a good place to be.
VELSHI: Nick Paton Walsh joins us now from Abbottabad, Pakistan, with new information on what is going on there right now.
Nick, there's certainly a great deal of curiosity about all the information and stuff we're gleaning from this compound. What have you got?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONJDENT: Absolutely. I think one thing I should point out immediately, a breaking piece of news, is there has been a drone strike in the tribal areas again, a key one, this time, the first since the operation against bin Laden. Eight militants killed, we're told, by a total of four missiles. I think it's important to point out, getting into a rhythm now, talking about the relationship between America and Pakistan. And it really appears that each time the Pakistanis ask the Americans to curtail their drone operation, the American response is simply another strike. And we've heard those noises in the last few days, really, from Pakistani officials, suggesting perhaps less operations by Americans here -- obviously, with the exception of the bin Laden one -- would be welcomed.
I think this drone strike today suggests really that the conversation is simply taking place through the drone strikes almost -- Ali.
VELSHI: Nick, we're getting some information that you've found one of Osama bin Laden's bills that can tell us a little bit about his existence in this house?
WALSHI: Absolutely. Yes. This does, from what we can make out, this does appear to be the last gas bill that was sent to bin Laden's house. We've obtained it from local sources here. It has on it the name of the -- the kind of alias of one of the Waziri (ph) brothers who were supposed to be renting the house there and perhaps building it.
Bin Laden's family appears to be using gas mostly in winter months. But also, this has an important element on it, too. It says the meter was installed in 2007, which might suggest that he actually lived from the compound from around about then. No proof bin Laden was there, but perhaps it was set up for his family or for these what Waziri brothers from that particular date.
Another thing we're hearing, though, from government official here is that there was an outstanding tax bill of about 60,000 Pakistan rupees in connection with that property, the local property tax. That's about $700 or so.
Now, obviously, tax evasion is pretty common here in Pakistan. (AUDIO BREAK) wasn't paid isn't an enormous surprise. And you might even argue if they paid it, that could even possibly have drawn attention to the compound, Ali.
VELSHI: All right. Nick, thanks very much. That's interesting information.
We certainly -- there doesn't seem to be any lack of hunger for how Osama bin Laden lived, who was there with him -- this new information about his wife saying she was there for five years. Nick Paton Walsh really digging through that.
So, between what he's finding out there and what the FBI is finding out with the stuff that has been transported from the house to Quantico, it really is almost -- it's going to be a more interesting story than even the killing of Osama bin Laden.
ROMANS: And the fact that the wife didn't leave the house for five years, she said.
VELSHI: Unbelievable.
ROMANS: Also that there was intelligence and surveillance of Osama bin Laden actually walking the grounds almost like a prison yard walk. You can't leave. So, he's walking, doing exercise outside -- all that fascinating to put it together.
CHETRY: It really is. It absolutely is.
All right. When we come back, we're going to be talking a little bit more about energy independence. If our country was completely independent of Middle East oil, would it end al Qaeda? Interesting --
VELSHI: Interesting question.
CHETRY: Yes, interesting theory. Jim Acosta joins us live after the break.
ROMANS: And don't forget to weigh in on our question of the morning. We want to know what you think about this. Insure.com says the value of the family-related tasks that mom performs, versus, say, paying professionals, outsourcing it all, $61,436 a year.
Tell us what you think. Email us, tweet us, go to our blog. You can find any of us on Facebook. We're going to be reading your comments later in the show.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. We're quick after a back break.
CHETRY: Back break.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Or something like that. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. Forty-four minutes past hour the now.
CIA Director Leon Panetta said it: bin Laden is dead, but al Qaeda is not. Some experts are now saying that it's America's addiction to foreign oil that has actually fueled the terror network and they say that energy independence could actually strike a fatal blow.
ROMANS: It's an interesting -- it's a really interesting connection.
Jim Acosta is following this for us. He's live in Washington.
Good morning, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys.
You're right. You know, the death of Osama bin Laden does not change the fact that America's still addicted to Middle East oil and counterterrorism experts will tell you that addiction not only keeps gas prices high, it helps al Qaeda.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): The man behind the wheel of this new electric car can't stand the sight of a gas station.
(on camera): How do you like the car?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I like it a lot.
ACOSTA: That's because former CIA Director James Woolsey sees the nation's addiction to foreign oil as its Achilles heel and the war on al Qaeda.
On every fuel-efficient vehicle he drives, Woolsey posts this bumper sticker, "Bin Laden hates this car."
JIM WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: There we go.
ACOSTA: Woolsey points to past appeals made by Bin Laden for jihadists to bring chaos to the Middle East. The push up gas prices and hurt the American economy. The only solution, Woolsey says, is to break the region's dominance of global energy supplies.
WOOLSEY: So, we really in the interest of everybody, need to undermine oil's strategic role, even if they have a monopoly of oil, they don't have a monopoly over transportation. We need to break that link.
ACOSTA: And so, you want to stick it to these guys? Simply put?
WOOLSEY: Absolutely.
ACOSTA: Instead, Americans are the ones feeling stuck. At a congressional town hall in Florida --
EILEEN GAINES, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: My gas bill for my three vans in the last three months have gone up hundreds of dollars a month.
ACOSTA: Small business owner, Eileen Gaines, explained how the bill to fill up her commercial vehicles stopped her from hiring a new employee.
And so, had the gas prices not gone up, you would have been hiring?
GAINES: Oh, I would have hired someone two months ago. I really need that much help right now.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R) FLORIDA: We have to produce more of it ourselves.
ACOSTA: Republican Senator Marco Rubio, like many in his party, wants more offshore drilling.
RUBIO: We have to figure out a way to become more efficient in our use of energy. We also have to figure out how to produce more of it domestically.
ACOSTA: This thing pops open when you press a button.
For James Woolsey, plugging your car into your house isn't just going green.
WOOLSEY: I think it would be a very embracing message. It would say that the United States will get its act together.
ACOSTA: Sending one more signal to al Qaeda that they're running on empty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (on-camera): But there are no quick fixes to America's addiction to oil. For example, millions of new electric cars would require countless new charging stations across the country, and experts say new domestic oil drilling would only impact gas prices years down the road. And I should also mention, James Woolsey drives one of the Chevy Volts.
He would tell you, that yes, you have to plug your car into your house to power the electric side of that car, but it still has a gas tank in it that will keep that car going for miles and miles, but that is not a solution for everybody. It's going to take years to solve this problem, guys.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, although, increasingly, it's going to become a solution for more people with gas at almost $4 a gallon.
ACOSTA: Right.
VELSHI: If we keep getting threatened by this, even the gas prices come down a little bit, the fact is, some people will start to say, it will just be easier to budget for spending less on gas.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: If you buy an energy efficient car when gas is $4 a gallon, you're not going to trade it in when it goes back up.
VELSHI: Jim, thanks very much for that. It's an interesting story. I'm not sure I fully buy -- I love what Woolsey is doing. I love the idea of alternative energy. I'm not sure I fully buy all the dots all the way to al Qaeda, but we'll see.
CHETRY: All right. We're going to take a quick break. Our top stories are coming up, including the latest on the flooding in the Midwest. It's 48 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): Intelligence gathered during the raid on Bin Laden's compound suggested al Qaeda planned to attack America's rail systems on special days such as the fourth of July and the anniversary of 9/11. There is no indication, though, that the plots were operational.
One year after Wall Street's infamous flash crash that sent the Dow plunging nearly 1,000 points in 20 minutes, there is concern about whether markets around the world are prepared to handle a similar event. Following last year's crash, the SEC expanded the use of circuit breakers that halt trading when a stock or an index falls by a certain percentage point in a short period of time.
The Mississippi river continues to rise. Flooding farmland and forcing thousands of evacuations in Arkansas and Tennessee. The Mississippi is not expected to crest until some time next week.
Just nine percent of people in a new survey say they keep track of their daily calorie intake, and when it comes to deciding which foods and beverages to buy, their priorities are taste, price, and then health.
New York may become the first state to ban indoor tanning for anyone under the age of 18. Lawmakers point to a study that says people who use tanning beds are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
The suburban Chicago house made famous in "The Home Alone" movies is officially on the market and can be yours for a mere $2.4 million. Slide down staircase is included.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (on-camera): You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. It's about eight minutes to the top of the hour. Picture this, going to sleep with your, you know, your typical American accent or Canadian accent and waking up sounding like a Brit or an Eastern European.
CHETRY: It happened to one woman in Oregon. Jeanne Moos shows us her overnight accent change.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before Karen Butler went to the dentist, her regular old American accent sounded like this.
KAREN BUTLER, ACQUIRED FOREIGN ACCENT SYNDROME: Hi, this is Karen. Sorry, I can't come to the phone at the moment.
MOOS: But after being sedated to have her teeth pulled, we're not pulling your leg, she sounded like this.
KAREN BUTLER: You talk to young girls, they think it's a very, very pretty sound. And they say, oh, I want an accent like that. Oh, just go see my dentist. (INAUDIBLE) MOOS: Some say she sounds Irish or English or Eastern European.
KAREN BUTLER: Now, you open your mouth and everybody goes, what's your problem?
MOOS: She's from Toledo, Oregon, and she's never been to any of those foreign places.
MOOS (on-camera): There's nothing fake about this. It's a medical condition called foreign accent syndrome, very rare, fewer than 100 known cases.
MOOS (voice-over): For instance, a Florida woman named Judy Roberts who had a stroke and went from sounding like this.
JUDY ROBERTS, ACQUIRED FOREIGN ACCENT SYNDROME: We've got fabulous things.
MOOS: To this.
ROBERTS: I felt like I was going bloody crazy.
MOOS: Doctors believe foreign accent syndrome is usually caused by some sort of brain injury or stroke, but it didn't affect Karen's sense of humor, even when it first happened a year and a half ago.
KAREN BUTLER: I sounded more like I was from Transylvania.
MOOS (on-camera): So, her daughter insisted, mom, record a special ring tones saying the words, "I want to suck your blood."
KAREN BUTLER: I want to suck your blood. It's my mom calling.
MOOS (voice-over): After 27 years of marriage.
Kind of exotic like you had a new wife?
GLEN BUTLER, KAREN'S HUSBAND: No.
MOOS: You never miss her old American self?
GLEN BUTLER: She still is her old American self. Just her voice has changed.
MOOS: Except that it doesn't sound change to Karen. She doesn't hear her new accent until you play it back.
KAREN BUTLER: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
I sound German.
MOOS (on-camera): Things can get really weird when someone calls who knew Karen before her accent changed.
KAREN BUTLER: Hi, this is Karen. MOOS: So, now, they don't believe it's her answering the phone.
KAREN BUTLER: Hello, this is Karen.
MOOS (voice-over): She's a tax consultant, and her voice over the phone shocked one of her clients.
KAREN BUTLER: She calls her mother right away quick and says, somebody is impersonating Karen.
MOOS: One thing about acquiring a new accent overnight, sometimes even your own husband can't understand you.
KAREN BUTLER: I did even want to buy some postcard.
GLEN BUTLER: You want to buy some push carts?
KAREN BUTLER: Not push cart. A postcard.
GLEN BUTLER: Oh, postcards, OK.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN.
KAREN BUTLER: Push cart.
MOOS: New York.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: The relationship, right, after all those years.
VELSHI: What a strange thing. Where do you think that comes from?
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: They're not native born. You'll learn the accent a year out (ph).
ROMANS: Look, I'm no brain scientist, but we should get Sanjay and his brain to tell us this, but you get bombarded all this time by all of this stuff --
VELSHI: She's just absorbing something.
CHETRY: But the other thing Jeanne wrote to us, and she said that the funniest thing is she used to be pretty shy. She was almost a wall flower.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: And then, now, because of her accent, people are always asking her where she's from. So, she's had opened up a whole new world, talk to more people. And she says when she gets stressed out, it sounds a little more Australian than Irish. ROMANS: Her husband seems very cool. He answered the question just as a good husband should. No, I don't want the old way (ph). No, I love her just the way she is.
CHETRY: Did he say he want to buy a push cart?
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: All right. A new threat pulled from Bin Laden's files. The next target in the war on terror. Peter Brooks joins us on the war after Bin Laden. Coming up in the top of the hour in just four minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (voice-over): Good morning. Seven o'clock here in New York. Epic flooding. The mighty Mississippi overflowing its banks this morning threatening to flood millions of acres of farmland and cities. Memphis, in fact, under it right now. Emergency officials now going door-to-door asking people to leave on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
