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NEWS STREAM
Royal Reception for Obama; Iceland Volcanic Ash Causing Flight Cancellations; Assault on Tripoli; Libya's New Front Line; Kim Jong-Il Visits China. Checking China's Mood; North Korea Food Security; Air France Flight 447 Crash Investigation; New Evidence in Strauss-Kahn Case; Anne Sinclair: "See You Soon"
Aired May 24, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to NEWS STREAM, where news and technology meet. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong.
After a rock star reception in Ireland, the US president gets a royal welcome in the UK. But on Sunday, Barack Obama will visit a very different scene. We'll follow the search for survivors after one of the deadliest US tornadoes on record. And --
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(EXPLOSIONS)
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STOUT: Raining fire on Libya. More than a dozen bombs fall on Tripoli as NATO launches a massive air strike near Moammar Gadhafi's compound.
US president Barack Obama has received a royal reception in London on his first state visit to the UK. He is currently enjoying all the pomp and pageantry that Buckingham Palace has offer, meeting Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip.
Later, Mr. Obama will head to 10 Downing Street to meet with the British prime minister, David Cameron, the so-called "special relationship" on display here for all to see.
And this was the scene as the president arrived at the palace about 30 minutes ago. He and the first lady were greeted by a rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" and a 41-gun salute.
Mr. Obama is only the third US president in 100 years to make a full state visit to the UK. And although he has met the queen before, there are protocols, and the president and the first lady have to follow them. Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry joins us now from the grounds at Buckingham Palace, and Ed, will the first lady give the queen another hug this time?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kristie, I think that's a question a lot of people are wondering. We should point out that when you talk about protocol, there's a lot of detail that goes into a state visit like this.
And last time the first couple was here about two years ago and they met with the queen, you're right, there was a lot of tut-tutting about the first lady touching the queen's back as I recall. But the queen, you'll also remember, seemed to embrace Mrs. Obama, didn't seem the least bit insulted by it. And so, there's also a little bit of give and take, maybe a little elasticity to some of the formal rules.
Although, as we heard from one of our royal experts last hour, they were telling us that, basically, it gets down to the level of detail where at tonight's state dinner that Her Majesty will throw for the president and first lady, they actually get out a tape measure to measure how far apart the wine glasses are.
So, that probably adds a little bit of pressure when you're having dinner to make sure you're using the right knife, the right plate, et cetera.
There was a lot of pomp and circumstance, as you mentioned. Two salutes, actually. You mentioned the 41-gun salute, that was at a nearby park. It could be heard by the president and first lady here at Buckingham Palace.
But there was a 62-gun salute, as well, at the Tower of London, so that the rest of the city could at least drink in some of the pomp and circumstance.
Then, they do go on to 10 Downing Street after lunch with the queen here at the palace. They will be going to 10 Downing Street for some business. And there's certainly a hefty agenda that this president wants to talk with Prime Minister Cameron about.
But then they'll make their way back here, as I mentioned, for the state dinner as well as sleep here. And we should note that the president and first lady also got a chance to meet for the first time the newlyweds, William and Kate, fresh from their honeymoon.
So, they're squeezing in official business with some of the more personal, as well, Kristie.
STOUT: I want to get your thoughts on the political symbolism or significance of that pomp and pageantry that we witnessed earlier, live on CNN there at Buckingham Palace. To what extent does that reaffirm the so- called "special relationship" between the US and the UK?
HENRY: Well, it reaffirms it, maybe even expands it. There's a joint op- ed, as you know, that the president and prime minster wrote this morning, it appeared in "The Times of London" here, where they say it's not just a special relationship, but an essential relationship.
And I think what's significant, the context, here, is that, while you'll remember Tony Blair having a very warm, personal friendship with both Democratic and Republican presidents, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, we have not seen that kind of level of warmth, that kind of personal connection between these two leaders.
And there's been a lot of international commentary about that. And so, I think this op-ed that they wrote -- penned together today is a chance to maybe restart that relationship a little bit on the personal side to point out that there's a lot of important issues they're trying to work on together.
You've got the mission in Libya, these are two key allies among others working on that. You've got the war in Afghanistan ongoing, as well.
And then, if you look at some of the big, global economic issues, especially the fact that both of these men want to show that they have a commitment to reducing budget deficits in their individual countries to try to pump some confidence in the markets right now, Kristie.
STOUT: All right, Ed Henry on the politics, the pageantry, and the protocol. Thank you very much, indeed, Ed.
Now, Mr. Obama, he cut his trip to Ireland short because of Iceland's latest volcanic ash cloud. Now, this is what it looked like from space, and it is continuing to affect parts of European air space and thousands of travelers.
More than 250 flights have been canceled today in UK air space alone. Officials say the ash plume may also affect flights in areas of Scandinavia.
Among the major carriers, British Airways has suspended all flights from London arriving in Scotland before 2:00 PM local time. That's about one hour from now. KLM scratched flights to and from Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, as well as Newcastle.
Ryanair was forced to cancel 36 flights by the Irish Aviation Authority, but it did so reluctantly, saying there was, quote, "no basis for these flight cancellations," after conducting what it said was a successful test flight just a few hours ago.
We are joined now by a volcanology expert. Jeremy Phillips is a lecturer at Bristol University's School of Earth Sciences in the UK, and he joins us now. Thank you for joining us here on NEWS STREAM. My first question for you, how does this eruption compare to the one from last year?
JEREMY PHILLIPS, SENIOR LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL: I think the main difference between this eruption and the eruption last year is the fact that the volcano seems to be erupting much courser, much larger ash particles into the atmosphere.
The height of the plume is a little bit higher and -- but because the ash particles are much larger, they will fall out more rapidly from the atmosphere. So, we think it less likely to have very extensive coverage over European air space because most of the ash will have fallen out by the time it reaches the UK.
STOUT: OK, so the particles from this volcano, they are heavier, they're bigger. Can you tell us more about how heavy they are and how far they can travel?
PHILLIPS: Well, there is ash in the atmosphere over Scotland in the north of the UK -- the north of England at the moment. So, clearly, they can travel hundreds of kilometers in the atmosphere, because they're reaching it from Iceland.
Effectively, why the particles are larger is that the magma that's being erupted by the volcano and broken up into the ash particles is a different composition, and it tends to favor breaking up into these larger particles.
Then they're -- the material is about -- the ash is about the same density as the eruption last year, but just because the particles are larger, they tend to fall out.
I think the other thing --
STOUT: OK.
PHILLIPS: -- that was very important, as well, at the moment is the weather patterns. The weather is much less settled than it was in April last year when the ash cloud covered northern Europe extensively, so I think that the -- at the moment, the ash is being transported off toward Russia to the east, Greenland to the west, and a smaller proportion of it is coming down south towards European air space.
STOUT: In just a moment, we're going to bring up our Mari Ramos from the World Weather Center. She's going to tell us a little bit more about the wind direction, how it's affecting this latest ash cloud.
I also wanted to ask you more about these particles that are being emitted by this volcano. Because they are larger, can we jump to the conclusion that fewer make it into the upper atmosphere, and is that good news for air travel?
PHILLIPS: In general, it is good news for air travel. So, I think that the particles that make it into the atmosphere will stay -- will remain in the atmosphere for a shorter period of time. It's hard to say at this stage whether we're looking at the same -- roughly the same total mass of ash being ejected into the atmosphere. I think probably not.
The eruptions of Grimsvotn tend to be much shorter. So, it last erupted explosively in 2004, and before that in 1998. And there, those eruptions were -- lasted typically a few days to a week. So, I don't think we're looking at the very extensive activity that we saw in April last year.
STOUT: OK, so you're predicting that this eruption of Grimsvotn will be no more than a week? Just want to confirm that.
PHILLIPS: Yes, based -- well, based on previous historical evidence. Obviously, we can't predict anything for sure with natural systems as complicated as volcanoes.
But if we look at the previous patterns of activity, we've seen that the eruptions tend to be somewhat more explosive but someone shorter lasting than events of last year.
STOUT: OK, Dr. Jeremy Phillips, a volcanologist. Thank you very much, indeed, for joining us here on NEWS STREAM.
Now, I'm going to take you next to Libya, where NATO unleashed one of its heaviest attacks on Tripoli so far.
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STOUT: Well, this video was filmed in the early hours of Tuesday, as at least 18 rockets struck the Libyan capital. The smoke and the flashes you see, they come from near Libya leader Moammar Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound.
And although the explosions were heard and felt well beyond the area, NATO officials later said that its specific target was a vehicle storage facility used by Gadhafi's forces.
The Libyan government has a different version of events. It says that the target, it was a guard compound for pro-Gadhafi military volunteers. A government spokesman says the building was evacuated in anticipation of these strikes, but that some people living nearby were hurt. Now, he says three people died, 150 others were wounded.
The United States has extended a formal invitation to the opposition government in Benghazi to open a representative office in Washington, and the National Transitional Council has accepted.
But while international diplomacy is one thing, the give and take on the ground is another, with rebels controlling the east of the country and pro- Gadhafi forces controlling much of the west. One group of rebels from Misrata is working to advance their positions, and Ben Wedeman has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MACHINE GUNFIRE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clouds of dust, ear-shattering blasts of heavy machine gun fire herald the start of a rebel advance. The fighters of Misrata are on the offensive with a vengeance.
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(MEN SHOUTING)
WEDEMAN: Half an hour's drive from the once beleaguered port city, civilians-turned-soldiers are going over the top, taking ground from an enemy who, just a few weeks ago, tried and failed to strangle Misrata.
(BOMBS EXPLODING)
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WEDEMAN: Faredgi Suelhe (ph) listens in on Gadhafi's forces on a captured radio and passes on their movements to the advancing rebels.
"They don't know this area," he tells me, "So I hear them say, 'we're next to a tall tree, or a short tree, or a white house.' Then, we know exactly where they are."
It's all a far cry from the stalemate in eastern Libya. This seems to be a well-organized fighting force, battle-hardened in their home town.
(MACHINE GUNFIRE)
WEDEMAN (on camera): These fighters seem to know what they're doing. They've set up good defensive positions and they've managed to move forward under gunfire in the direction of the town of Zliten.
(MACHINE GUNFIRE)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): The men here talk of an enemy demoralized and deluded, sent into battle with empty promises.
MOHAMMED KHALIL, OPPOSITION FIGHTER: Gadhafi gives them the money and swears to them to give him houses, farms, cars, everything in this life.
WEDEMAN (on camera): If they fight against Misrata?
KHALIL: Yes, Misrata. But Misrata, here, in this area, don't back. Never back. Always go ahead.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): While their foes fall further back.
Says this fighter, "They ran away and left their blankets."
(MACHINE GUNFIRE)
WEDEMAN: Nearby, in the town of Dafniya, rebels fire down the main highway to the capital, Tripoli, a two hour drive from here. Earlier in the day, Gadhafi's forces tried to push forward, but were repulsed.
(EXPLOSIONS)
(MEN SHOUTING)
(MACHINE GUNFIRE)
WEDEMAN: Despite occasional incoming fire, the atmosphere is relaxed. A good time to rest and prepare for the next battle. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Dafniya, Libya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: Coming up next on NEWS STREAM this Tuesday, at least 117 people lost their lives in Missouri as a tornado ripped through this state, leaving a trail of death and destruction. We will have the latest from Joplin, which was hit so hard, and could face more twisters today.
And flight data recorders are giving us new information on that crash that brought Air France Flight 447 down in the Atlantic, killing everyone onboard.
And we'll also be in Lebanon with Syrians who have been forced to make life-changing, possibly lifesaving decisions to get there.
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STOUT: Welcome back. Now, secrecy surrounds him wherever he goes and, now, we're beginning to learn more about North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's latest trip to China, his third in little over a year.
Now, this amateur video, it gives us a glimpse of Kim. It was purportedly shot earlier today as he got out of his car to tour an electronics company in Nanjing.
Various media reports say the North Korean leader is focusing this visit on business and industry, and China's foreign ministry is not commenting.
But just because Beijing and Pyongyang are allies does not mean people in China have positive feelings for Kim Jong-Il. Here are some comments that are posted on the microblog Sina Weibo, that's China's equivalent of Twitter.
Maverick_Rex writes this. "Every time Kim's train arrives, it always disrupts the train schedule in China. It is still a mystery why he is visiting and if he has fulfilled his purpose."
And the next tweet, it's making reference to China's monetary aid to North Korea, Weibo user Wolf from the South writes this. "Chinese citizens are not even allowed to ask the government for anything, but chubby Kim has the guts to ask."
And Statepolicy sums it up like this. "Kim Jong-Il is probably the most powerful beggar in the world."
Now, a US delegation is due in North Korea from now through Saturday in response to the country's latest cry for help. As Eunice Yoon reports, news of floods and famine have raised real concerns.
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EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spring in North Korea, a time for farmers to harvest their crops. But this year, concerns are rife that floods and harsh weather have devastated the country's fields.
MARCUS PRIOR, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM: It's had a big impact on the winter crop, and there are real concerns, now, for the levels of food available through the public distribution system.
YOON: North Korea has called on the international community for urgent assistance. Major donors have been slow to respond. South Korea wants an apology for the deadly sinking of one of its warships last year, an incident it blames on the North, as well as the shelling of a South Korean island.
The US, a close ally of the South, suspended food aid two years ago after officials monitoring the distribution were expelled from the Stalinist state. It's now sending an envoy to North Korea to look at the situation.
Pressure is mounting on Washington and Seoul, both former US president Jimmy Carter and American televangelist Franklin Graham have warned of famine after visits to the isolated nation.
FRANKLIN GRAHAM, PRESIDENT, BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELISTIC ASSOCIATION: I don't think the United States needs a crisis in Asia right now, a crisis with a country that has the second-largest army in Asia, and a country that has nuclear weapons.
People are going to starve. Why? Why are we waiting so long?
YOON: The United Nations estimates a quarter of the population, about six million people, is in need of international aid. The World Food Program has launched an emergency response to feed roughly half of those people.
PRIOR: People have been told to eke out their food supplies, particularly their maize and rice, for as long as possible because the county officials, the city officials I spoke to, really don't know where the rations for June are going to come from.
YOON (on camera): Yet, some suspect that North Korea is exaggerating the severity of its food shortages. They fear that outside food aid could be diverted to the military and allow the government to allocate some of its resources towards centennial celebrations next year, marking the birth of late founder Kim Il-sung. Eunice Yoon, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: Well, it is almost two years since Air France Flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic, killing everyone onboard. And only now are the flight data recorders beginning to give us insight into the final moments before the crash. We'll tell you what we know.
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STOUT: And that is Hong Kong outside. You are back watching NEWS STREAM.
Now, did human error contribute to the crash of Air France Flight 447 in 2009? That question is being asked as investigators retrieve information from the plane's flight data recorders.
"The Wall Street Journal" is now reporting that preliminary findings suggest the pilots may have been preoccupied by broken air speed indicators and failed to concentrate on other important flight systems. All 228 passengers and crew were killed when the plane plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.
With more on this, we can go, now, to our Richard Quest, who is standing by in London. And Richard, was pilot error in any way to blame for this disaster?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it's far too simplistic to use the phrase "pilot error" in that sense. What happened to 447, there was clearly a very serious failure of several systems that took place, the reasons for which are not yet clear, but it's perhaps icing --
What the core area that everything -- that the investigation is looking at is the information about the speed of the plane and how that was, then, interpreted by the computers in the cockpit. And when the computers started to react and respond, how the pilots, then, reacted to that.
It's a chain effect, if you like. So, to that extent, clearly, the plane was flyable. Clearly, the plane fell out of the sky, and clearly the pilot had something to do with that. And that, really, is about as far as you can take it at the moment.
I do know that many people are now concerned at the amount of information that pilots are being bombarded. The so-called e-com, the computer that sends out error messages when these things happen. We saw it here, we saw with the Qantas case.
And these pilots are just bombarded with what they have to deal with. And perhaps in that core moment, they forgot the most important rule of all, which was to aviate first. And that seems to be, maybe, what happened here.
STOUT: So, you're saying that information overload could have played a part in this disaster?
QUEST: This -- it was the middle of the night. They were flying in the most appalling conditions through a terrible storm.
And all of a sudden, one of their core pieces of information, their raw data, seemed to be incorrect, the air speed from the pilot tubes, we believe, which is fed into the ADR, which is part of the ADIRU. And that's a unit.
And then, the other areas of the plane start to send messages. The primary flight display, the auto thrust or the autopilot. All these different systems start to react to the information that they are receiving, perhaps inaccurate information.
And those pilots, in that short period of time, have to make judgments about what's accurate and what's not, what to do about it and how not to do about it. And it's -- second-guessing from the comfort of the studio is way too simple for what happened that night.
Was pilot misjudgment a factor in this? There'll be little doubt about it. The plane shouldn't have come out of the sky. I've spoken to three pilots who all said this was an accident that shouldn't have happened.
But they will -- the investigators will be looking exceptionally closely into why a flyable plane crashed in the middle of the night.
STOUT: An accident that shouldn't have happened. Richard Quest, joining us live, there. Thank you very much, indeed, for that analysis and insight, there, Richard.
Now, reports out of New York are saying that investigators have found traces of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's DNA on the clothes of a hotel maid that he is accused of sexually assaulting. New York police are not making any comments on that report.
And now, days after Strauss-Kahn resigned his post as head of the IMF, his wife, Anne Sinclair, is saying, quote, "See you soon" on her blog. The former broadcaster has been uploading her thoughts on American life since 2008, but with her husband fighting these sexual assault charges, she says that she is forced to suspend the blog.
Still ahead here on NEWS STREAM, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to Washington. After addressing the country's main Jewish lobby on Monday night, could his tone shift the morning after in the US Congress? Stay with us.
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STOUT: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. You're watching NEWS STREAM. And these are your world headlines.
U.S. President Barack Obama is set to tour damage caused by a deadly tornado in the state of Missouri on Sunday. Now 17 people were rescued from the rubble yesterday while the number killed by the tornado rose to 117. The National Weather Service says that there is a 45 percent chance of another tornado outbreak today. And that could affect a large area of the Midwest, including the devastated town of Joplin.
Now U.S. President Barack Obama is enjoying a royal reception in London on his first state visit to the UK. Now he is visiting Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. He also got to meet the newly wed Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Katherine. Now the president left Ireland for the UK ahead of schedule last night to avoid any delays caused by the cloud of volcanic ash.
Now NATO has launched one of its heaviest rounds of airstrikes on the regime of the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. Now the alliance says its missiles hit a building used to house government vehicles. The Libyan government is describing it as a military volunteer center. They say it was empty at the time but that three people nearby were killed and 150 were wounded.
Now Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address both houses of the U.S. Congress in a couple of hours. In Washington on Monday, he spoke before a prominent pro-Israel lobbying group. Netanyahu and the White House have been at odds over the issue of Israel's potential future borders with a Palestinian state. Now here is how Mr. Netanyahu addressed the issue on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Tomorrow in Congress, I'll describe what a peace between a Palestinian state and a Jewish state could look like, but I want to assure you one thing it must leave Israel with security, and therefore Israel cannot return to the indefensible 1967 lines.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Now CNN will have special coverage of Mr. Netanyahu's speech to congress, that starts about two hours from now.
Now an Ash cloud caused by an erupting volcano in Iceland is stalling the travel plans of thousands of people. Let's bring in Mari Ramos from the world weather center. Mari, what is your reading on the ash cloud and its movements?
MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: I think we're going to continue to see that ash cloud spreading into parts of western Europe, northwestern Europe in particular. And actually the latest advisory the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center is telling us that, yeah, even areas as far north as northern France could see an impact from this ash cloud as we head into the next 24 hours.
And they're only doing this in 24 hour increments, because the weather if very unstable across this area. And so there's going to be a lot of different factors.
What you're looking at over here, the red from the surface to about 20,000 feet. What does that tell you? This is where the ash is going to be. Planes, I guess you know, would not want to be taking off and landing in this kind of situation. But you could theoretically go over the ash cloud. So if you have Transatlantic flights, those could still be happening if they're not in these -- flying in or out of these areas.
Now, one really important thing, Kristie, that is different from this situation than what we saw last time what I've learned is that they're not going to be closing the air space this time around. Europe Control will not be closing the air space. It's going to be up to the individual countries to do that for their area. And it's also going to be up to the individual airlines to see if they are going to be flying depending on their assessment of the risk.
So there's a lot of different layers here, there's a lot of different agencies that are going to be working on this to try to figure out what is going to be canceled. We know that there's about 500 flights already that have been canceled in the northern parts here of the UK as a safety precaution.
Now notice that the ash cloud extends even into areas here to the north of Europe and to Denmark and southern parts of Scandinavia. And then in the higher elevations, 35,000 to about 50,000 feet that's when we have to head back over here, that's where the ash moving toward the west. But this should not have a huge impact, also, on air travel.
But we could see some problems. Remember that when we talk about ash here, it's not what you would see if you burn a piece of paper, for example, these are rock and mineral and glass that's tiny -- broken up into tiny little pieces because of the explosion during the eruption. And so that's different. It's abrasive and it's corrosive and that's why it's so dangerous for aircraft.
I want to very quickly take you to Joplin, Missouri. This is a picture of a rescue -- search and rescue worker going through the rubble in the late hours. They're still searching for survivors here. What a terrible tragedy Kristie.
We have learned that a preliminary assessment from the National Weather Service puts this tornado at the high end of what is called devastating, an EF 4, close to 320 kilometers per hour winds. That's amazing. And of course that kind of damage that we've seen has been tremendous.
Again, the same area here across the central portions of the Midwest, including the area of Missouri, could again see damaging winds, hail and tornado even as we head through the next 24 hours, through the rest of the day today. A very dangerous situation again setting up in this region.
Kristie, back to you.
STOUT: Yeah, Mari, you know some of the devastation we saw live here yesterday on NEWS STREAM with Brian Todd on the ground there absolutely mind boggling to see. Mari Ramos there with the forecast.
Now more on the situation there in Missouri, another body has been found in Joplin where the governor says the death toll from Sunday's massive tornado now stands at 117. The devastation in the town it is almost unfathomable, some 2,000 buildings or either damaged or destroyed.
Now Kasey Wian filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This will give you an idea of the devastation caused by the tornado that ripped through Joplin, Missouri last night. Over here you can see cars overturned. You can see debris scattered everywhere. Over here you can see a tree, or part of a tree, has actually gone through the rear window of this car.
Behind that, you can see an apartment complex. The residents say that this was actually a beautiful apartment building before 6:00 pm local time last night.
JAMES BLACKWOOD, TORNADO SURVIVOR: It was normally just starting off with hail. I'm used to that. And then it just went insane afterwards.
JUSTIN HOWERTON, TORNADO SURVIVOR: The winds were so strong it made my ears pop. I mean, my ears kept popping. They -- the force -- you know, the suction of it -- I mean, it literally lifted up the ceiling and it dropped it back down on us.
WIAN: People are trying to grab everything they can out of their homes. And complicating the search and rescue effort, which is still ongoing, is the fact that another storm cell has just moved through here, bringing 60 mile an hour winds, quarter sized hail.
Here you can see the downed power lines. Over there you can see destruction as far as the eye can see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a sad event. Money can replace a vehicle, it's more about the lives that are lost.
WIAN: Now we've moved to a new location. This is actually a Home Depot almost flattened by this incredible tornado. The search and rescue teams have just arrived at this location. One of the concerns they have is a young lady here who has told us that her father and uncle were shopping in this Home Depot when the tornado hit and she believes they are still inside that rubble.
AUDREA OSBORN, TORNADO SURVIVOR: My dad and my uncle are in there. And I just -- I'm hoping and praying to god they're OK.
WIAN: When was the last time you heard from them?
OSBORN: Before the tornado hit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: Now let's hope that they are OK.
Now Casey Wian joins us now live from Joplin. And Casey, will more survivors be pulled from the rubble today?
WIAN: Well, Kristie, search and rescue crews certainly hope so. They're going to be clearing out two sectors of Joplin that they have not been able to completely search yet because the weather was so bad yesterday. As you can see behind me, it's a beautiful day here in Joplin, Missouri. If you can ignore these miles and miles of devastation.
This is going to actually allow rescuers to get through more of these buildings, something they were prevented from doing yesterday. So they do believe that there's still hope that survivors could be pulled from this rubble.
One of the other things that they're very concerned about, 1,500 people are still reported missing after this tornado. A lot of those people are expected to have been -- fled town to try to get out of the path of the tornado. So they're hoping that when people come in and start to survey the damage to their homes that they're going to be able to account for some of those 1,500 people that are still reported missing. They don't believe that that many people are still either alive or perished in the rubble of these homes.
The rubble stretches six miles from one end of where the tornado hit to the other, and one mile wide. So that's why this tornado was so deadly, Kristie.
STOUT: You know, Casey, there's clear skies behind you, but more severe weather is in the forecast planning to return to the area on Tuesday. So are the residents, emergency crews, local officials, are they all ready for another potential onslaught?
WIAN: They are. And they're rushing against the clock. We're expecting 4:00 local time this afternoon is when Joplin, Missouri and surrounding areas could be hit by more tornadoes. They've got beautiful weather right now so they're really trying to get as much of the search and rescue operation complete before it's too dangerous to continue doing so later this afternoon, Kristie.
STOUT: All right. Let's hope that more lives will be saved today. Casey Wian joining us live from Joplin, Missouri. Thank you, Casey.
Now Syria's foreign minister has hit out against EU sanctions against his country's president and top officials. He told state television that Israel will benefit most from the measures adding that the sanctions will harm Syrian and European interests alike.
Now Syrian President Bashar al Assad and several others now face asset freezes and a ban on EU travel. The penalties are an attempt to stop the government's crackdown on pro-reform activists.
And thousands of Syrians have fled to neighboring Lebanon where one group of children had to make that dangerous trip on their own after seeing horrors that continue to haunt them. Arwa Damon caught up with them in Lebanon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're not revealing these children's identity for their own safety.
"My mother was crying. She could barely talk,: 13-year-old Omar -- the eldest of them -- recalls. "She said, your father died. And then the phone cut off."
The family was visiting an uncle when the military assault on Pelkella (ph) began. Their parents left to check on their home.
"We thought that they would be gone for two or three hours," Omar says.
But the military offensive was so intense the parents were trapped. Their father, shot dead.
That small village over there is in Syria. The children made an amazing escape coming across rugged terrain similar to this, but to the north of us, arriving here in the small Lebanese village of Svavia (ph). Joining other refugees fleeing the crackdown, they snuck across the frontier at times they say having to crawl to avoid detection by the Syrian military.
The children we met are now with their aunt (inaudible), a Syrian married to a Lebanese, along with other relatives who fled with them. They tell stories of bloated bodies lying in the streets of Pelkella (ph). And their aunt says they can't sleep and are traumatized by what they've seen and heard.
"If they hear a fire crack or that the other kids play with they are petrified," she says. "Or if they see black cars similar to the ones the Syrian authorities use, they scream aunty they have come for us."
Their mother is still in Syria, refusing to leave her husband's body, afraid that snipers will shoot her if she tries to bury it or that the Syrian military will take it away."
"There is news that they are burning the bodies, or grinding them up with garbage." Rehab (ph) tell us.
The Lebanese relief organization is doing what it can to make the refugees comfortable.
This is one of the many distribution centers that has been established where families can receive food supplies. They also are handing out mattresses and blankets. Interestingly, it's not the families themselves that come to receive this, it is the local representatives, the mayors in the various areas where they are seeking shelter. Partly fear, partly shame that keeps the families themselves away.
But this box is intended to last a family of five to seven people for around a month. It's got basics like lentils, oil, there's beans in here as well.
Local families are taking in many of the Syrians. But despite the sanctuary they've found and the help they are getting, these people are still terrified of retribution from the regime they've escaped.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Sbabia (ph), Northern Lebanon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: An explosion rips through an Iranian oil refinery while President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was there visiting. Now he was not hurt, but at least one person was killed and 25 were injured. Mr. Ahmedinijad went on to give a televised speech. And the blast is being blamed on a gas leak.
Now just ahead here on NEWS STREAM, he had a super injunction to keep an alleged affair under wraps. His name had been splashed all over social media. But until a British politician spoke out in Parliament, we couldn't name him. Now as you can see, that has all changed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUT: Welcome back.
Now British celebrities beware: if you want to keep your scandalous behavior a secret a super injunction might legally silence the press, but it won't necessarily do the same with politicians in Parliament.
One high profile sports star has just found that out the hard way. Atika Schubert talks us through the latest twist to the super injunction story that has been splashed all over social media.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SCHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There had been tens of thousands of tweets about him. Football fans booed his name over the weekend. And the man in question had his face splashed across the cover of Scotland's Sunday Herald. But no British media could identify him as the man alleged to have had an affair with a reality TV star until this moment when M.P. John Hemming identified Ryan Giggs in the House of Commons.
JOHN HEMMING, BRITISH MP: With about 75,000 people having named Ryan Giggs on Twitter, it's obviously impracticable to imprison them all.
SCHUBERT: Welcome to the surreal world of Britain's injunctions, super injunctions and hyper injunctions keeping the media from naming names.
How did it get to this point? Well it's all based on a European human rights law that states, quote, "everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home, and his correspondence." Based on that a number of celebrities here in Britain have preemptively filed for, and been granted, injunctions that prevent Britain's notoriously aggressive media from identifying them in any scandal that pops up.
They can even file for a so-called super injunction in which the media aren't even allowed to report that an injunction exists.
And then came Twitter. Earlier this month, an anonymous user posted a list of celebrities alleged to have taken out super injunctions. Within minutes, the micro blogging site was swamp with tweets breaking all kinds of injunctions.
But it got downright farcical when that footballer took legal action against Twitter and anonymous users for breaking that injunction. Well the Twitterverse responded in force with at least 30,000 more tweets breaking the injunction.
The social media problem has gotten so bad that Prime Minister David Cameron issued this comment in an interview.
DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER OF BRITAIN: It is rather unsustainable, the situation. Where the newspapers can't print something that everyone else is clearly talking about. But there's a difficulty here, because the law is the law. And the judges must interpret what the law is. But I've said in the past is that the danger is that judgments are effectively writing a sort of new law which is what Parliament is meant to do.
SCHUBERT: So what happens now? Well, a report last week by Britain's top judges said that M.P.s should not be using Parliamentary privilege to breach a court order. But an M.P. cannot be prosecuted for naming names in the House of Commons and letting Britain's worst kept secret out of the bag.
Atika Schubert, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: Now Ryan Giggs is one of the most highly decorated players in English football. And the numbers say it all, 875. Now that's how many games he has played for Manchester United. That is more than any other player.
Also talk about the number 12. He has won 12 premier league titles. Let's just put that into perspective. That means Ryan Giggs has more league winner's medals than most football clubs. Only Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester United have won more league titles than Giggs' total of 12.
And finally, earlier this year the fans, they named Giggs as Manchester United greatest ever player.
Now Ryan Giggs will have a chance to add to his legacy on Saturday as Manchester United face Barcelona in the European Cup final on Sunday. And Kate Giles is here with more on that -- Kate.
KATE GILES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right, Kristie. I mean, it's all a bit of an unfortunate distraction, somehow, from this match which is the match of course that the whole European season has been building up to -- the Champion's League final, it's this Saturday. It's been played at Wembley Stadium in London. That for ManU, of course, means when it's a train or a car ride not too long at all. For Barca, well, it's a short flight for them, but the match, of course, it isn't until Saturday.
But Barca has now said that they are actually going to fly over to the UK this evening. That is because of the volcanic ash cloud which is threatening to disrupt European air travel later on this week. Barcelona were due to fly on Thursday. They've now announced, though, that they will travel at 10:00 pm tonight.
It is probably a wise move, the last time that volcanic ash affected European travel, Barcelona were then forced to take a very long bus trip, you might remember, to Milan where they then lost 3-1 to Inter.
Well, the fans, though, they will still be affected, of course. 12,000 Barca fans are scheduled to arrive in London on Saturday afternoon. The match, of course, is a repeat of the 2009 final in Rome which Barca then won 2-nil back then. But the manager Pep Guardiola, well he is doing his very best to try and take the pressure away from his team.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEP GUARDIOLOA, BARCELONA MANAGER: They are competitive. They are a strong team. And they can make four, five lineups without a problems. And all their four or five lineups are competitive. So it's one of the best teams in the world. You know, just this year, the last five, 10, 15 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GILES: All right. Let's move on with basketball for you now. And in the NBA playoffs, the Mavs are looking to swing game 4 of the Western Conference finals. This was on Monday night.
Now after the game, the Mavs coach says that this game had tested the courage and the mental strength of his team. It was a test that Dirk Nowitzki would certainly prove that he was more than up to.
Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant here hugging his mom before game 4 started. The Thunder trying to even their series with the Mavericks at two apiece of course.
Let's get right on to the fourth quarter. Durant burying a three to give Oklahoma City its biggest lead of the game. They are up by 15.
Well, Dirk Nowitzki was just huge for Dallas down the stretch, though. With the Mavs down 10, here Nowitzki hits a three from the top of the key, then he would hit the tough off balance jumper. And then the German would knock down the fall away jumper. As always, Dirk Nowitzki leading the Mavs on point and Dallas are back in this game. It's 101-98 now the score.
And now with just over six second on the clock, Dirk scores to tie the game. The game, of course, it would go to overtime. Nowitzki has scored nine of the Mavs last 10 points to end that regulation period. The big German making the difference in overtime as well. He would finish with 40 points on the night.
The Mavs win game 4. That means they are now 3-1 up in the series which now heads back to Dallas. It's looking good for them this -- in the next game -- game 5.
All right, don't forget later on, on Tuesday it'll be the Eastern Conference teams going at each other. The Heat hosting the Bulls in Miami with the Heat up 2-1 in that series at the moment. It's getting very, very interesting in the playoffs -- Kristie.
STOUT: All right Kate, thank you for that.
Now the world, it was supposed to come to an end last weekend. And thankfully it did not. And now the preacher who made that prediction says he made a mistake, but he's not done yet. He's got a new date. We'll fill you in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
STOUT: Welcome back.
Now May 21, judgment day, except it wasn't. Now this is actually the second time that California Preacher Harold Camping has got it wrong. But he is confident he will be right the third time around. Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What was good news for most of us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The world didn't come to an end.
BARBARA WALTERS: The world did not end.
MOOS: Was not such good news for the leader predicting judgment day. Knock, knock. Who's there? Someone from the International Business Times looking for egg on the face of Harold Camping.
HAROLD CAMPING, PREACHER: Give me a day. No news at all.
This is a big deal. And I've got to live -- I've got to think it out.
MOOS: If you think it's bad coming to work after the weekend, imagine coming back to work when you're the guy who led people into believing in the rapture?
Camping finally admitted on his radio program that he'd made a mistake.
CAMPING: But if people want me to apologize, I can apologize, yes. I did not have all of that worked out as accurately as I should have.
MOOS: Now he says May 21st was the spiritual beginning of the end. The physical destruction will be in October.
CAMPING: The end if five months away now. But it won't be spiritual on October 21, because the Bible clearly teaches that then the world is going to be destroyed altogether.
MOOS: Taiwanese animators mocked the leader of the rapture believers, showing him high fiving Jesus. Kids on YouTube rapped about rapture.
In response to judgment day billboards, nonbelievers raised enough money to post a counter billboard in Greensboro, North Carolina saying "That was Awkward."
OK, so the rapture didn't happen. But if it had happened, it might have looked like this.
The concept of all those people ascending to heaven with their clothes left behind inspired a flurry of rapture prank photos. Clothing left on a motorcycle, the dog left behind on the leash from the toilet to the subway steps, complete with the ear buds.
The rapture theme was played up on commuter trains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What the hell?
MOOS: And even poolside. At least one outfit was so fresh it was still smoking.
And this couch potato was left behind. His family ruptured by the rapture.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STOUT: And that is NEWS STREAM, but the news continues at CNN. "WORLD BUSINESS TODAY" is next.
END
