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American Morning
Keeping the SEALs Safe; Bin Laden Revenge Attack; Viewing of Bin Laden Death Photos; Mississippi Flood Disaster; NYC Terror Alerts; Ron Paul for President?; A Supermodel At 17; Bin Laden Revenge Attack
Aired May 13, 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: Ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING, the Taliban avenging the death of Osama bin Laden, claiming responsibility for a bloody assault on a military training base in Pakistan. At least 80 people are dead and a spokesman for the terror group is promising more attacks.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: The Navy SEALs who killed bin Laden say they're concerned now about their own safety and the safety of their families. The secretary of defense suggesting it might be time to stop talking so publicly about these American heroes.
VELSHI: And she can't even vote yet, but she's America's hottest new supermodel. Alina Cho gets to know Lindsey Wixson on the catwalk and at her high school prom.
ROMANS: Plus, your favorite breakfast cereals are going to cost you more. We'll tell you why on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. A lot happening overnight. Let's get you caught up.
Attacks in the name of bin Laden. Twin suicide bombings at a military training facility in northwest Pakistan. At least 80 people are dead this morning. We'll tell you who's claiming responsibility.
VELSHI: I'm Ali Velshi. They made the world a safer place. Now the Navy SEALs who killed bin Laden say they've got concerns about their own safety on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROMANS: Good morning, everybody. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It's Friday, May 13th. Kiran Chetry has the day off, but we begin with, you know, two big terror related stories.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: One in Pakistan, one in New York, very different sorts of stories.
VELSHI: Let's start with the one in Pakistan. The Taliban exacting revenge for the killing of Osama bin Laden. The group claiming responsibility for two suicide attacks at a military training facility in Charsadda in northwest Pakistan. At least 80 people were killed, most of them military recruits who had just completed their training. Nearly 150 others were wounded and the Taliban is threatening more attacks on Pakistan's military and U.S. forces.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is live in Islamabad with the latest on this. Nick, what have you learned? (AUDIO GAP)
VELSHI: All right. We're going to fix that problem with Nick's audio. We'll get back to him in just a moment. Let's talk about those Navy SEALs, though, who helped -- who did the raid that got bin Laden and now worried about their own safety.
ROMANS: They're worried about their own safety. This is from the defense secretary, actually. And the Defense Department actually sharing these concerns.
Secretary Robert Gates says that he met with the elite unit last week and these SEALs are especially worried about their names being exposed and their families potentially being harmed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think there has been a consistent and effective effort to protect the identities of those who participated in the raid and I think that has to continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Chris Lawrence is live in Washington this morning. Chris, how do defense officials plan to keep the identities of the SEALs under wraps?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, I think Secretary Gates' comments are step one in that effort. Basically, it's sending a message to government officials who, perhaps, know the identities or know about this mission, to say look, shut up about talking about specifics about this mission, stop talking about this team specifically. Obviously, he's not going to get any specific details about how to protect their families, but it is obviously a concern for some of the SEAL team members.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: When I met with the team last Thursday, they expressed a concern about that and particularly with respect to their families. And so, we're -- as you say, I can't get into the details in this form, but we are looking at what measures can be taken to pump up the security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: And again, especially after what you guys just reported a couple minutes ago on the so-called, you know, revenge bombing there in Pakistan, obviously a lot of concern needs to be paid to protecting the identities of this team. ROMANS: You know, and Chris, I mean, Secretary Gates is irritated by the amount of information that's been released already about the raid in general. I mean, very candid he was yesterday. Is he upset with the White House?
LAWRENCE: Well, you know, when you talk to Secretary Gates' spokesman, he says look, he's not directing any criticism in any particular person or any particular building. We know that the role that the SEAL team played in this assault on the compound was first publicly confirmed by CIA Director Leon Panetta and Vice President Joe Biden a few days after the assault on that compound on that Sunday night. But, when you hear what Secretary Gates is saying, he said look, I was under the assumption that we weren't going to get into the details and all of a sudden, they're out there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GATES: Frankly, a week ago Sunday in the Situation Room, we all agreed that we would not release any operational details from the effort to take out bin Laden. That all fell apart on Monday, the next day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Yes. So not -- that's not a lot of veil to that criticism right there of all these details leaking out. His spokesman will tell you basically, there's just been too much on tactics, techniques, weapons, equipment, that's been used. Remember, this is a very, very secretive team. This is a commando team that is not public at all. They go out, they do their job, they quietly come back and get reassigned to the next job. So he feels it's a real concern, not so much for what's already happened, but by leaking all these details out, how much does that compromise the team's ability to perform a mission like this in the future.
ROMANS: I mean, there were plenty of details. In fact, there were some details that were wrong in the very beginning as well. But there were a lot of details just in the first couple of days, Secretary Gates clearly making, as you're right, not a very veiled criticism there.
All right. Thanks, Chris.
LAWRENCE: Yes. Yes.
VELSHI: Let's go back to what Chris was just talking about and this is that attack in Pakistan on military recruits. Eighty people dead in Pakistan right now. This is in northwest Pakistan. Let's go to Nick Paton Walsh who is in Islamabad right now with more on this.
Nick, what do we got?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Two suicide bombers on motorcycles. One hitting a bus full of recruits who just passed waiting at (INAUDIBLE) recruitment center. (INAUDIBLE) Pull out to deal with the injured and casualties and then a second suicide detonating causing this horrific death toll. Eighty dead, 140 or so injured people around the shop there.
As we said, Pakistanis have claimed -- there's some doubt that they could perhaps have turned this attack around after the death of bin Laden (INAUDIBLE) really to (INAUDIBLE) military carried this out. Message being out there the retaliation starting for the U.S. for the bin Laden.
VELSHI: All right. Nick, thanks very much. We continue to have problems with Nick's audio but surprisingly, you could glean quite a bit from what Nick was just saying.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: Eighty people dead, 140 injured, most of them new recruits from a military academy and Al Qaeda's representative saying this is in retaliation --
ROMANS: A revenge attack --
VELSHI: A revenge attack for the killing of Osama bin Laden, that more revenge attacks will be carried out on U.S. military and Pakistani military.
And U.S. intelligence officers have interviewed three of Osama bin Laden's wives in Pakistan. We've been talking about this. A senior Pakistani government official describes the women as hostile. The questioning was done under the supervision of Pakistan's intelligence service. The U.S. wanted to interview the women separately to see if there were inconsistencies in their stories, but that didn't happen. The eldest of bin Laden's widows reportedly spoke for the other two and we're being told that nothing new was learned from it.
Also, Senator John McCain is one of a select group of lawmakers who've been invited by the CIA to see the bin Laden death photos but the Arizona Republican tells CNN's John King he's going to take a pass.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I've lived a long life and I've seen enough dead bodies and pictures of them.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You think it would serve no purpose for yourself personally or just that you have no doubt, therefore why do it?
MCCAIN: Both. I have no doubts that this was Osama bin Laden and in my view there's no need and I've seen enough of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Republican Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma was the first lawmaker to see the bin Laden death photos. He says they are pretty graphic but he thinks some of the less shocking images should be made public. ROMANS: All right. The head of one Libyan rebel group is headed to Washington today to meet with a White House official hoping America will recognize that rebel group. This comes a day after they claimed a critical victory.
The rebels shooting their guns in celebration in the warn-torn city of Misrata after months of fighting and hundreds of civilian deaths. The opposition now says once and for all, Misrata belongs, Ali, to the rebels.
VELSHI: Wow. All right. Well, we're staying on that story as well.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisles are pushing to keep FBI Director Robert Mueller on for another two years.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: They say given his record, as long as the terrorist threat continues to evolve, continuity and stability is important for the FBI. Mueller's 10-year term expires in September and Congress would have to approve his extension.
ROMANS: All right. He was forced out of the Senate but John Ensign's legal troubles may just be beginning. The Senate Ethics Committee referring his case to the Justice Department saying there's evidence he broke federal laws trying to cover up his affair with a political aide. The Nevada Republican resigned his Senate seat last week.
VELSHI: And Texas Republican Ron Paul is expected to officially announce that he is running for president in 2012. The news likely comes during a rally that he's taking part in New Hampshire. Now this will be Ron Paul's third White House bid. He ran in 1988, he ran in 2000 and '08 again.
You know, the interesting thing, you and I talked to him --
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: -- a couple weeks ago is whether or not the Tea Party strengthens his message or weakens it.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: Because they usurp some of the stuff that he's been talking about for a long time.
ROMANS: It's true.
VELSHI: Less government.
ROMANS: That's right. And so it changes the dynamic for him this time as he comes into the race.
VELSHI: Yes. ROMANS: So it should be interesting to watch.
All right. $36 billion, that's the profit made by the five biggest oil companies in just the first quarter of this year. At the same time, they're getting billions in tax subsidies and tax breaks. Well, yesterday, the big oil executives were hauled before Congress to defend those tax breaks, saying it would be counterproductive to take away these benefits. Republicans also accuse Democrats of just trying to score political points.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: I have a chart depicting what I expect this hearing to turn into. And there you go.
That's a really nice picture. I think that's pretty good myself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's the horse and who's the dog?
HATCH: I think we both know. I know who the horse's ass is. I'll put it that way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: OK. It was sort of some humor at the grilling yesterday. If the tax breaks were repealed, Congress would use the money the oil companies would have been saving to pay down the deficit. The reduction, $21 billion over 10 years. But you can see the public anger, paying $4 almost at the gas tank and they hear about these billions in tax subsidies.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: And it just to them, it's a direct line --
VELSHI: Right. You know, it's not as black and white as it appears.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: The oil companies --
ROMANS: Nothing ever is, isn't it?
VELSHI: There never really is, yes.
All right. It was a night when Dixie was on everybody's minds. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSIC: The radio station don't sign off with Dixie up there the way they did in sweet home Alabama. And the people didn't offer me no Jim Beam whiskey, the way they did in the Tennessee land.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VELSHI: Wow, that was fun. Hank Williams Jr. playing "Dixie on My Mind" at CMT's special benefit concert for tornado and flood victims in the south. Country's biggest names including Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, Trace Atkins, who was on our show yesterday, all pitched in. We won't know how much was raised until the CMT awards next month. You can still donate at redcross.org and HLN's own Robin Meade was one of the co-hosts.
ROMANS: And Trace Atkins told us yesterday, which is a really fun interview to do. He told us look, this is a disaster that's still unfolding. It's going to be trouble for people for a long time.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: They want to keep it in the headlines because there's a lot going on in the world.
VELSHI: And it is hard because it's the slow evolving flood.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: But as we know from reporting, floods are very, very difficult. They go on for a long time.
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: The effects of it are felt for a long time. And, of course, there's tornadoes just two weeks ago. That devastation that we kept looking at, it was remarkable.
ROMANS: Right. All right.
CBS may have found its man to replace Charlie Sheen in "Two and a Half Men" and that is Ashton Kutcher. Reports say they're pretty close to finalizing a deal with him to star in TV's top rated sitcom. Kutcher would get about $1 million an episode. Not bad for a day's work. The actor also tweeted what's the square root of 6.25? The answer is in fact two-and-a-half.
VELSHI: That's smart. He's witty. He's a witty guy.
ROMANS: Yes. The show's original star, of course, Charlie Sheen, was fired back in March. In case you've been under a rock and didn't know that, since then CBS and Warner Brothers have been looking for ways to save this show. It's a cash cow for the network.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: So being able to save and get some, a high profile person is something they've been looking at.
VELSHI: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the Mississippi flood disaster. The Mississippi River is now -- that bulge in the river that's causing the flooding is headed further south. Homes and harvest washed away. More farms, more homes in danger downstream. We'll talk about that and we'll talk to somebody on the ground there who can tell us what's going on.
ROMANS: OK. Next to the live shot of Ali falling off a box --
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: -- this is the best one I've ever seen. It's the tale of a TV reporter and a camel with -- a camel with some powerful timing and a bit of an appetite. That is better than you falling off the box.
VELSHI: And I almost forget that I have actually more work to do here. Our question of the day, by the way, which has nothing to do with this, so we'll just stop showing that for a second. Is America safer after the death of Osama bin Laden?
We want to know what you think. You probably heard a lot of analysis about it from other people.
ROMANS: Yes.
VELSHI: But do you think America's safer? E-mail us, CNN.com/am. Tweet us at CNNAM or at Christine Romans or at Ali Velshi. Tell us on Facebook, facebook.com/American Morning. We'll read through some of your responses later in the show.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Everything they owned, everything they worked for, their livelihoods washed away. This morning we're hearing the painful stories of flood victims in the south. This wall of water is still surging along the Mississippi River.
VELSHI: Hard to - hard to understand but it's all - some people are calling it a bubble. It's like this - this increased water level just keeps on moving slowly, but -
ROMANS: It's like a bulge in a hose except the hose is - is leaking -
VELSHI: Right, right.
ROMANS: -- and - right.
VELSHI: It doesn't have - it doesn't have a skin around it.
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: Officials say three million acres of farmland have been washed out. Six hundred people who live in Vicksburg, Mississippi, have already been told to pack up and get out. The river is not even expected to crest there until next week.
Rob Marciano live in Greenville, Mississippi this morning. Rob, you've been following this river all the way down from - from - from the north part of the country. What - how is this playing out differently in Mississippi? ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, there's miles and miles of - of levee system here and there's also a lot of cutoffs where they've shortened the river in order to, you know, make it more efficient to ship here. And every place that they've shortened the river, there are these - there are these cutoffs where there's leftover what they call lakes or (INAUDIBLE) tributaries - or not really that, and that's one that we're standing right in front and - behind me.
And these are the areas that are most likely to flood and there are businesses in these areas, namely a lot of casinos, one of which is flooded behind me and there are also some residents, residents who choose to live on the other side of these protective levees. And we've been talking to those people throughout -
(AUDIO GAP)
MARCIANO: -- the most heartbreaking part. And it's such a long- term event. You guys have been talking about this. Such a long-term event. You know, it's the waiting game that's weighing on the psyche of these flood victims.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a day by day situation which nobody can hurry, nobody can speed it up. We have to live until the fact and the water recedes to see what we have left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the immediate reaction to these disasters is, first off, shelter and support, physical support, and the - the shock of what was going on and reacting to that. I think they've - they've started - they've gone through that stage and they're at the stage now as I said, where I think they're ready to move to the next step. They want information and they seem to be very thirsty for that information.
MARCIANO (on camera): Several of these folks not only homeless, but not even able to go back to their home to see what's left. What does that do to their psyche?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they want to see. Some of them just said just put me on a boat. I've been on the river many of times. Just put me on a boat and let me go see.
One of the things we try to provide for them were mental health, as we've been able to get on the computer, and one of the local newspapers has a website, they're able to get their reporter out there and take some snapshots of their facilities.
And so we're able to get there and we brought some - those who want it, into the computer lab here, and we're able to bring up those pictures for them. And - and it gives us a chance to, you know, relate with them what's happening in their lives and how they feel about it. But it seemed to be therapeutic.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MARCIANO: There - there are people in Greenville here going through the same - same thing. Vicksburg, as you mentioned, they're already evacuated there. The river not supposed to crest here until Monday. It will come up a couple of more feet until then and cresting at 65 feet.
But the levee here is massive that protects the main - main street of the town. That is built to - to support a wall of water up to 75 feet. But up and down this system, guys, there - you know, it's a constant maintenance. We hear reports all the time of seepage, some leakage, sand boils where there's - where there's - parts of it - the river that's coming up and underneath the other side of the levee. So the Army Corps of Engineers and local officials continue to battle back (INAUDIBLE) fight this flood and they're going to do it all the way until it gets down into the Gulf of Mexico, which as we've been reporting all week long is going to take several more weeks.
Back to you.
ROMANS: All right. Rob Marciano. Thanks, Rob.
VELSHI: Space Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly and his crew back at Kennedy Space Center. They arrived yesterday in preparation for Monday's scheduled liftoff. This would - this would be - this (INAUDIBLE) -
ROMANS: This is the second time they've done it.
VELSHI: Yes. It's so hard.
Kelly's wife, as you know, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is expected to attend the launch. She's still recovering after being shot in the head back in January.
ROMANS: Look, they do all that to get ready for a space shuttle launch and then at the last minute they've -
VELSHI: And, you know, some of (INAUDIBLE) those launches -
ROMANS: -- (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: -- they're in and they're ready to go.
ROMANS: Oh, yes.
VELSHI: You know, you've psyched yourself out. You slept right. Ate the right things and then they scrub the launch.
ROMANS: Part of all the training.
VELSHI: That's what it is.
ROMANS: That anticipation and trying -
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: - of the do over.
All right. Who says TV reporting is a - is a non-contact sport?
VELSHI: It's so hard. It's a hard gig.
ROMANS: Check out what happened to reporter Tara Morgan in Richmond, Virginia. She was doing what's known in the business as a stand-up at a farm when a camel - a camel got serious or perhaps amorous, we're not sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARA MORGAN, GENERAL ASSIGNMENT REPORTER, NBC12 NEWS: Two of the dogs are in isolation at Hanover Animal Control. They're still looking for the other two. Meanwhile other livestock owners -- [bleep].
No. Get it out.
-- looking for the other two. Meanwhile --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: All right. With some help of the cameraman, she managed to escape with all of her hair. I love the very typical reaction of the cameraman had to be bleeped out. And - and, wow, there you go.
VELSHI: I feel bad for her. But that will go down in, you know - it will make her Christmas - her station's Christmas reel. Wow.
All right. Coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, Facebook versus Google, it's getting ugly, maybe the biggest tech battle since Bill Gates versus Steve Jobs.
We'll be back in just a moment. It's 22 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Twenty-five minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" now.
The plot reads like a sequel to "The Social Network," the movie. Facebook apparently caught red handed hiring a PR firm to pitch anti- Google stories to journalists.
ROMANS: Whoa.
VELSHI: Facebook admits to CNN that it hired the firm to make people aware of how Google was using their personal information but denies that it intended it to be a smear campaign. So far, Google not commenting on the attack by Facebook.
ROMANS: All right. Gas prices down slightly this morning. According to AAA, the average - the national average for a gallon of regular is now $3.98 a gallon. Gas prices are still having an effect on your everyday purchases. According to a study by America's research group, half of Americans are cutting back on small luxuries like eating out, a third are making fewer shopping trips and more drivers are also ditching the car, opting to ride the rails instead.
In Miami, ridership is up 12 percent and in New Mexico, 14 percent more people are taking the train from Albuquerque to Santa Fe, showing you that -
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: -- those higher gas prices (INAUDIBLE) change your consumer behavior.
VELSHI: Do you know about lazy cakes?
ROMANS: I don't but I'm - I'm slowly learning to like them.
VELSHI: Brownies laced with melatonin, which, of course, is an herbal way of making use of -
ROMANS: A lot of melatonin, right?
VELSHI: Quite apparently a lot more that the normal dose that one should be taking. Now, there's a discussion about banning them. We're going to tell you about what they are, who takes them or eats them and whether or not they should be banned when we come back.
It's 27 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Good morning. It's 30 minutes after the hour. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING on CNN.
Let me bring you up to speed with the top stories we're following right now.
The Taliban in Pakistan claiming responsibility for two bombings at a military training base in northwest Pakistan. At least 80 people have been killed, most of them Pakistani military recruits. The attacks are said to be in retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Here in the United States, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has concerns for the safety of the Navy SEALs who killed Osama bin Laden. Gates says he met with the elite team last week and they're worried their identities might be released and harm might come to their families. The secretary says the Pentagon is studying ways to pump up the security for them. He also says perhaps there should be less talk about them in general.
And U.S. intelligence agents interviewed three of bin Laden's widows in Pakistan. The women were described as hostile. The official tells CNN nothing knew was learned through those interviews.
Well, he was convicting of aiding in the extermination of nearly 30,000 Jews in a Nazi death camp. But, today, he's walking free again -- Christine.
ROMANS: That's right, Ali. Ninety-one-year-old John Demjanjuk, a retired U.S. autoworker, was sentenced to five years in prison yesterday in Germany. You know, it looked like the end of a 30-year legal battle, Ali, but a judge set him free pending an appeal, and that has Jewish groups concerned this morning it's not fair.
Let's tell you a little bit about his story. He's someone who emigrated to the U.S. in 1952. He was identified as the infamous guard known as Ivan the Terrible, who worked at a Nazi concentration camp in Poland. You know, this is a 30-year legal saga that frankly has unfolded.
In 1958, he became a citizen in this country, living in Cleveland, Ohio. Then, in 1986, he was extradited to Israel. He was extradited to Israel and tried for being Ivan the Terrible and assisting in deaths in a concentration camp. He was sentenced to death, but that sentence was overturned, and he actually returned then to Ohio. So, he returned to Ohio and lived there for a while until essentially he was deported back to Germany again in 2009 where he had been standing trial.
This is a little more about his story about why he -- these accusations came up to him. He was drafted in the Soviet Army in 1941. He's Ukrainian-born. He's been captured by the Germans, as a German POW. Then, he volunteered to be a guard at a Nazi camp. He was charged as an accessory to 27,900 deaths.
And here we are again. He was sentenced to five years in prison by this German court, Ali, but he's been allowed to remain free as his appeal is being heard. At 91 years old, quite frankly, many people who are Nazi hunters and who are survivors of the Holocaust are saying, you know, where was the mercy for them. He's been convicted, and after a 30-year saga, now they say they still don't feel much closer to a solution here.
VELSHI: And the judge saying, you know, he's old and he's ill, and what happens if his appeal is successful, they don't want him sitting in jail sick. And a lot of groups, the Nazi hunter groups are saying, well, you know, a lot of victims who don't get that kind of consideration.
ROMANS: That's right.
VELSHI: All right.
ROMANS: So, after 30 years, still now the appeal process begins.
VELSHI: All right. Christine, thanks for that.
ROMANS: Sure.
VELSHI: A new United Nations report claims that Iran is providing Syria with weapons that have been banned by -- from export by the Security Council. The report says the weapons transfers are carefully concealed. Syria is denying those allegations.
Meantime, Syria is stepping up its violent crackdown on protesters. Take a look at this. More video, security forces preparing for a new round of anti-government demonstrations across the country following Friday prayers.
ROMANS: All right. New information this morning about the two terror suspects charged in New York City yesterday. They're accused of a plot to blow up a synagogue and allegedly had bigger fantasies of blowing up the Empire State Building.
VELSHI: The question: were those fantasies or were they possibilities?
Susan Candiotti is following this for us this morning.
Tell us what you know about this.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, police are calling these guys would-be jihadists who they said were very much aware of other would-be plots -- for example, the Times Square bomber. Evidently, these men allegedly told undercover cops that they wanted to use cash, for example, instead of credit cards so that they wouldn't get caught, they said, like the Times Square bomber.
VELSHI: Right.
CANDIOTTI: So, the alleged plotters may have been short on details but they had lofty dreams. There was talks of blowing up both crowded and empty synagogues, a church and possibly even New York's iconic Empire State Building. But the plot was busted before it became operational.
Now, New York's counterterrorist squad said they had their eyes on these two men for seven months. They set up a sting and once they sold the men three semi-automatic pistols, 100 rounds of ammo and a disabled grenade, police arrested the two men on a New York City street.
So, there you have it.
ROMANS: What do they say is the motive, Susan? I mean, do they know quite yet? You know, they're charged with a terror plot, but it's not -- the FBI is not involved. What is the motive?
CANDIOTTI: Well, it even goes beyond the alleged terror plot. It's also they're being charged with hate crimes. And authorities are saying that the men claim that Muslims are being mistreated all over the world. They wanted to target Jews.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly summarized what suspects allegedly told an undercover cop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COMMISSIONER RAY KELLY, NYPD: He also said, quote, "We will blow up a synagogue in Manhattan and take out the entire building." On the same day, after Mamdouh said, quote, "I hate Jews," Ferhani replied, "I want to kill them."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, authorities say the plot is not linked to the death of Osama bin Laden. As to whether they could pull it off, it's really hard to say. The suspects talked about growing long hair, disguising themselves, going into a synagogue, and then blowing it up to try to mix in with the group.
ROMANS: Who are these guys?
CANDIOTTI: Well, so, one of them is 26 years old. He's an immigrant from Algeria in North Africa, unemployed. The second man is only 24 years old, originally from Morocco, a naturalized U.S. citizen. Now, he was a delivery dispatcher.
The FBI was aware of the case, as you mentioned, but they deferred to the New York City Police Department and Manhattan district attorney's office to lead and prosecute this case.
And police say these guys didn't belong to any extremist group, but they said they're just as concerned about lone wolves because they're equally as dangerous.
VELSHI: Sure, and harder to track because they got less interaction.
CANDIOTTI: That's right.
VELSHI: We've got Police Commissioner Ray Kelly on the show a little later on to talk about this and this idea of revenge attacks. So, ones that are connected and ones that aren't.
Susan, thanks very much. Appreciate it. Great reporting on this.
CANDIOTTI: Thank you.
VELSHI: All right. In Fall River, Massachusetts, city officials say it's time to ban the sale of lazy cake.
ROMANS: I didn't know what these things were.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: We're not that hip. We don't know the latest in street stuff. But these are marketed as relaxation brownies.
ROMANS: Ease stress, apparently -- improve your sleep.
VESLHI: Yes.
ROMANS: They contain eight milligrams of melatonin, one brownie equals two servings. But who really eats half a brownie, right?
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: They come in a psychedelic wrapper featuring a reclining cartoon character named Larry Lazy Cake.
VELSHI: Officials say they're marketed to children, but the ingredients are not suitable for them and they should be pulled from shelves. Again, melatonin is a long used herbal remedy for relaxation, for sleep and sometimes given to women as they approach or are dealing with menopause.
ROMANS: All right. Let's get a quick check of the morning's weather headlines. Reynolds Wolf is in the extreme weather for us this morning.
Good morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Lazy cakes, weird stuff. Have that with some coffee and your body gets really confused. That's a little bit weird.
All right. Something that's not worth snoozing at your flooding story that we have along the Mississippi River. I mean, it's just been unbelievable. Take a look at the levels we have of feet that we expect above the flood stage. A record set in Vicksburg expected by May 19th, May 21st and May 22nd also, and Natchez and Red River Landing well in excess of 17 feet in Red River Landing. Baton Rouge is still a record, expected on May 22nd, 12.5 feet and about 2.5 in New Orleans.
We're talking about the water, the river. And some of the water expected to fall from the skies. We have today a moderate risk of strong storms developing, at least -- I'm sorry a slight risk for parts of the Ohio Valley and mid-Mississippi valley. We expect most of those storms to form into the late afternoon hours. Some possibly severe thunderstorms, maybe even some hail and some flash flooding expected for parts of the Ohio Valley, all due to this area of low pressure and this frontal boundary moving from west to east and places like Atlanta, Birmingham, Alabama, could also see some rainfall.
Very quickly, high temperatures, 72 the expected high in Chicago, 58 in Minneapolis, 68 in Denver, 89 in El Paso; New York, highs into the upper 60s.
That's the latest in the forecast. Let's kick it back to you in New York.
VELSHI: Reynolds, if there wasn't this issue of the flooding going on, that nation's map looks fine, a little cool in some points, but no other major happenings beyond this flooding.
WOLF: Absolutely right. I mean, this is all based from a rough winter, some heavy, heavy snow melt moving its way down. But, you're right. I mean, just aesthetically speaking, I mean, it should be a beautiful day weather-wise, just the flooding issues on the river itself.
VELSHI: All right. Reynolds, thanks very much for that.
WOLF: You bet.
VELSHI: It's got 160,000 Facebook fans and now, the government is getting involved. Two Connecticut state lawmakers say they are trying to help a high school senior -- we told the story yesterday -- who is banned from going to the prom for this, card board letters that he put up on the school wall. James Tate decided to plaster his proposal in big letters on the side of the school building. But not a marriage proposal, just a --
ROMANS: Can you go to the prom?
VELSHI: Can you go to the prom with me? She said yes, by the way. But, now, he can't go. The school says they're punishing him. So, he can't go to the prom.
Lawmakers say they're drafting legislation to give the option of community service as punishment instead. The school says it is not budging.
ROMANS: Wow. Some guys are sending text messaging now, saying, you know you want to go to the prom with me? So low tech and not romantic. He does something romantic and gets burned.
All right. Ron Paul running in 2012. We'll tell you what his prospects are and who else is out there competing against him.
VELSHI: On some levels, his argument has got more traction than it ever had the other times.
ROMANS: Right. The Tea Party actually highlights what he's been talking about for a long time. But does the Tea Party compete with his message.
VELSHI: Forty minutes after the hour.
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ROMANS: Another Republican expected to get in the ring officially get in the ring today.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROMANS: Republican Ron Paul expected to announce he's running for president in 2012. There's word the big news may come during a rally in New Hampshire.
VELSHI: Our Jim Acosta live on the case in Washington.
Jim, in some ways, the environment has never been more ripe for Ron Paul's smaller government views.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, people are sick of those bailouts. They don't like where the economy is heading right now. So, there is room for a guy like Ron Paul to jump back in there.
He was there in 2008 and, as you said, he is expected to announce he is running for president later this morning in New Hampshire. This will be the libertarian Republican's third shot at White House. And Paul knows how to generate attention with his small government views, such as ending the Federal Reserve and slashing foreign aid programs just to name a couple -- and take what he said yesterday on a talk radio show in Iowa where he told the program's host he would not have ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just want to be clear, a President Ron Paul would, therefore, not have ordered the kill of bin Laden which could have only taken place by entering another sovereign nation.
REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: I don't think it was necessary. No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. It wasn't necessary to do.
PAUL: It was absolutely not necessary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, Ron Paul says, you know, this is consistent with this small government views, that you don't goo into a sovereign country and do something along those lines. He says he would have worked through Pakistan to capture Osama bin Laden. He says sort of in the way that the United States worked through Pakistan to get Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
So, you know, Paul does come to this contest with some controversial views. This comes just after the GOP debate down in South Carolina last week where he repeated his support for legalizing drugs, including heroin.
Guys, Ron Paul's one of those rarities in presidential politics. He will literally say whatever is on his mind.
ROMANS: Sticks to his, you know, philosophical view.
VELSHI: The government is not meant for these things.
ROMANS: The funny thing about -- funny, I guess, the thing about the Bin Laden comment is that it's a one thing that -- it's one piece of bipartisanship we've had in some time is the patriotism over the killing of Bin Laden.
VELSHI: Where is this getting him? Poll wise? ACOSTA: You know, I mean because of these views and because he's so willing to be outspoken about these views, this explains why GOP voters have always been a little weary of Ron Paul. He's a national candidate. Take the latest CNN polling, it shows Paul really in the back of the pack with about 10 percent of support. He does pull better than guys like Mitch Daniel and Tim Pawlenty and folks like that, but that is basically where he was four years ago when he ran in 2008.
And, you know, the views on Paul also on evenly split inside the Republican Party, about 30 percent like him, nearly that same number do not. What Paul does have working for him, guys, is a very loyal and vocal following. You have seen this before at some of those informal straw polls like the CPAC convention earlier this year.
You know, he, sometimes, wins those straw polls because of that vocal following but make no mistake, guys, he is a long shot for this nomination, but he will make it interesting. That's good for us.
VELSHI: He is consistent. It will be interesting to watch. Thanks, Jim. Good to se you.
ACOSTA: You bet.
VELSHI: By the way, our question of the day is this, is America safer after the death of Osama Bin Laden? We want to know what you think. So, e-mail us at CNN.com/AM. Tweet us, you got a lot of choices where you tweet, @CNNAM, @alivelshi, @christineromans. Go to Facebook.com/americanmorning. Go to our blog anywhere you want. We check all of it. We read through some of them, and we'll read them on air a little later in the show. Forty-seven minutes after the hour.
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VELSHI: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): Revenge attacks in Pakistan. The Pakistani Taliban claiming responsibility for at least 80 deaths in two bombings at a military training base. A spokesman said the attacks were in retaliation for the killing of Osama Bin Laden.
Three of Osama Bin Laden's widows were reportedly hostile while they were questioned by U.S. intelligence officers. Pakistani agents supervised the interview. Officials tell CNN nothing new was learned from them.
The head of a Libyan rebel group going to Washington today asking a White House official to give his group the official nod.
New evacuations downstream. Six hundred people in Vicksburg, Mississippi, told to get out of the way of the Mississippi River. Entire neighborhoods already under water upstream from there. Ron Paul may be closer to running for president in 2012. The Republican is expected to make a major announcement later today. He formed a presidential exploratory committee last month.
And It Appears Ashton Kutcher will be replacing Charlie Sheen on the CBS sitcom, "Two and a Half Men." Reports say CBS and Warner Brothers are set to pay Kutcher about $1 million an episode.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: You may not know her by name, but you can't forget this face.
VELSHI: Lindsey Wixson, she is one hot party (ph) right now. She's on top of the fashion world. She's not even old enough to vote. Alina Cho got a chance to spend some time with this teen supermodel.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, in glossy magazines, she, basically, looks like an older version of herself.
VELSHI: Right.
CHO: Even her mom can't recognize her sometimes. You know, if you're an insider in fashion, you probably have heard of Lindsey Wixson. If not, you should know her name. She's a rising star in fashion, not your average teen, but she does have teenage dreams, like going to the prom. So, we decided to follow her there, to the heartland, Wichita, Kansas, and it's certainly a long way from the runway.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): She's the supermodel of the moment, at 17, Lindsey Wixson has had a meteoric rise in fashion.
LINDSEY WIXSON, TEENAGE SUPERMODEL: I have friends that tell me, oh, Lindsey, you're famous. I know a famous person.
CHO: Wixson started modeling two years ago at 15. A week after posting photos on models.com, she got the attention of a famous photographer. Then, Prada came calling. She has it all, except for a ticket to the prom.
JASON WU, FASHION DESIGNER: I think it's time to show Wichita a little glamour.
CHO: That's right. Wichita, Kansas, Wixson's hometown. She'll soon be there in a dress designed especially for her by Jason Wu. The same Jason Wu who designed Michelle Obama's dress for the inauguration.
WIXSON: OK. Check it out.
CHO: A one of a kind.
WU: We're calling this the Lindsey.
WIXSON: It's so beautiful, Jason.
CHO: The next time we see Wixson, we're in Wichita, and it's prom night.
How do you stay grounded?
WIXSON: I come home. I come home, and I do yoga and I cook.
CHO: In some ways, she is a normal teenager.
WIXSON: This is my room, but it's really messy. Necklaces.
CHO: What is going on in here?
WIXSON: Bags.
CHO: In other ways, not so much.
That's Mark Jacobs.
WIXSON: Mark Jacobs.
CHO: A gift from the designer himself, but it's this designer dress she'll wear to the prom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
WIXSON: Hey, everybody cheese.
CHO: After a few photos with mom, there's a kiss from dad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think so.
CHO: Daddy's girl and her friends then pile into a limousine, then they're off to the place where memories are born.
You're a long way from the runway.
WIXSON: Yes, I am. This is teenage zone. This is teenage zone.
CHO: The night has just begun, and so has this young girl's career.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (on-camera): And my ears are still ringing. So, what's next for Lindsey Wixson? Listen to this, she's headed to the Cannes Film Festival invited by Naomi Campbell to walk in a runway show for Japan relief. She's also going to Hong Kong in June for Prada. She's taking acting lessons, and then, she will visit Wichita some time later in the summer so she can spend some time with her friends because they are all going to go off to college.
VELSHI: How were they all reacting at the prom?
CHO: They said, you know, it's great being friends with Lindsey. She's still the same Lindsey Wixson except for the times where in New York and the paparazzi is chasing us, but it's really incredible. And you look at her, and she really looks and acts her age. She's a 17- year-old. She's sweet as could be. Then, you see her on the runway and in glossy magazines, you almost can't believe it.
ROMANS: Let's hope that she can keep that kernel of Kansas and the Midwest.
VELSHI: You're a nice Midwestern girl. Do they often have Jason Wu designed their --
ROMANS: No, my first prom was from JC Penney (ph), my second prom my grandma made. So, I do not ever have anything like that.
CHO: You like most of America, Christine Romans.
VELSHI: Alina, great to see you. Thanks so much. What a great story.
CHO: Thank you, guys.
VELSHI: Don't miss Alina's half hour special, by the way, called "Fashion Backstage Pass" this Saturday, may 14th, 2:30 p.m. right here on CNN. You want to get up to speed on fashion, Alina is the one to tell you about it.
ROMANS: All right. Top stories minutes away. Also, new details on Bin Laden's life in the compound. Officials say he was so comfy he didn't even have an escape plan. No reason for him to suspect that he was going to be pulled out of there.
VELSHI: Which makes some people suspect that he may have had help closer than we think. Author and Bin laden expert, Robert Miniter (ph) is back here just after the break. It's 56 minutes after the hour.
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