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Homes Burn in Oklahoma; Captured American Tries to Escape; How's the Economy Doing?; Burglars Caught on Camera; Teed Off at the Masters

Aired April 10, 2009 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. It is Good Friday, April 10th. And here are the top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The South stands guard today against a possible tornado outbreak. Already, a twister slams one Arkansas town, leaving three people dead. Spectacular wildfires roll over neighborhoods around Oklahoma City, the flames fueled by hurricane-force winds.

A desperate attempt to escape. An American held by pirates off Africa jumps overboard and tries to swim for it.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, it looks like a war zone. That's how one emergency official describes the damage from a deadly tornado that slammed an Arkansas town. At least three people were killed by the twister in Mena, Arkansas, near the Oklahoma border.

Authorities say more than 100 homes were damaged. The tornado also hit City Hall, the courthouse, churches, and a middle school.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Let's talk about the wildfires whipped into a fury by hurricane-force winds raging across Oklahoma and Texas. At least two people are dead, dozens of homes lost.

Our Ed Lavandera joining us now from Midwest City, Oklahoma.

And Ed, I mentioned just a moment ago, what a devastating set of wildfires here. We're talking about a number of homes burned and businesses lost.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, it was an incredible day yesterday. Firefighters struggling to keep up in the late afternoon, into the evening, with all of these wildfires that were breaking out across Oklahoma and into north Texas. So basically a line from Dallas/Ft. Worth, all the way up past Oklahoma City. And in some neighborhoods, this is what people are finding this morning.

As we've looked around this particular home, you look inside, it is nothing but ash. Impossible to even make out any of the belongings that were once in here just yesterday. So an incredible scene. We were speaking with some of the firefighters who had to come back out here to this house a few hours ago, because so many of these spots, they had to quickly douse out these flames and move on to the next one. So a lot of this stuff is still smoldering, a lot of this debris, so they had to come back out here this morning and spray water down on several of these homes, and this is what we have seen.

But Tony, the interesting thing is, is that a lot of the damage you see in some of these neighborhoods in Oklahoma kind of reminds you of tornado damage, where you enter a subdivision and one home is destroyed but the next two are standing. And that's because of the wind. The wind picking up the debris, and the embers that were flying from these wildfire fields landing on top of the homes, setting them ablaze. So that's why you see in some of these neighborhoods, the one we're in here, literally, the house next door is standing perfectly intact, and so an incredible scene.

But you also do see the remnants of what the battle was like. In fact, on a driveway just across the street here, the garden hose that people were fighting these fires with on their front lawns is still sitting here this morning -- Tony.

HARRIS: Boy. And Ed, we just added a guest, a man you're probably familiar with from your time there covering this wildfire. Jerry Lojka is the fire marshal of Midwest City, where you are right now. We're going to talk to him in just a couple of minutes.

Ed Lavandera for us.

Ed, appreciate it. Thank you.

Turning now to the hostage standoff on the high seas, the American ship captain held by Somali pirates tried to make a nighttime escape, but his attempt failed. Here is what we know.

Captain Richard Phillips jumped off of the lifeboat where he is being held. He tried to swim to a nearby U.S. warship off the coast of Somalia, but the kidnapers jumped into the water, recaptured him, and returned him to the lifeboat. He is surrounded by four armed pirates.

Meantime, two more U.S. warships are on their way to the area. They will assist the Navy destroyer crew in charges of resolving this crisis.

Let's get right now to our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. She is in Bahrain, home of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

And Barbara, if you would, bring us the very latest on this. As we mentioned just a moment ago, there are a lot of new developments here.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, a lot is going on.

What we can first tell you is U.S. officials have confirmed the basic fact that Captain Phillips apparently did try to make a break for freedom, jumping over the side of the lifeboat in which he is being held to swim possibly to the USS Bainbridge, standing a short distance away. What happened, apparently, is he was very quickly recaptured by the four pirates holding him.

There was no time, we are told at this point, for the U.S. Navy to effect a rescue. No helicopter flying overhead, no swimmers in the water. And it's not as all clear that the strategy would have been to keep a helicopter overhead, because that might have unsettled the pirates unduly, it might have churned up a lot of water and made it unsafe for Captain Phillips.

So they quickly recaptured him. And now, of course, the U.S. wants to ensure there's a proof of life, that there is continued proof that Captain Phillips is OK.

At the same time, Tony, a number of warships moving into this area, some U.S. Navy ships, possibly other coalition ships. The strategy is to make a show of force, to ensure that other pirate ships in the area -- and they are known to be there -- are shadowed by coalition warships, that they are not able to approach the lifeboat, and to make sure that these pirates holding Captain Phillips rapidly begin to understand no help is coming for them from other pirates, from their friends, and that they have no real option, to give up. The idea here is to establish a cordon of warship capability and make sure these other pirate mother ships come nowhere near this situation and get this situation resolved -- Tony.

HARRIS: A lot of interesting developments.

Barbara Starr for us in Bahrain.

Barbara, good to see you. Thank you.

This hostage crisis is a game changer. That's how the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command sees it. He spoke exclusively with CNN's Barbara Starr in Bahrain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICE ADM. WILLIAM GORTNEY, COMMANDER, U.S. NAVY FIFTH FLEET: We've always thought that one of the potential game changes out there is a U.S.-flagged vessel with U.S. citizens on board. And we're there, and that's where we are right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So far, the U.S. warships sent to take charge of the crisis shows no sign of confronting the pirates.

Right now, President Obama is meeting with his money team. We expect to hear from him when that meeting wraps up.

And how about this -- a sweet deal in tough times, recession- proof chocolate? Now, that's what I'm talking about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: The economy still struggling, but showing signs of a possible turnaround. President Obama is meeting with key members of his money team at the White House right now.

For an update on how the economy is doing, we expect remarks from the president at the end of the meeting. And, of course, we will bring you those comments as soon as we get them.

So let's talk about what the president is likely to hear from his economic advisers and what's likely to come out of today's meeting.

For that, we bring in two members of our money team, Christine Romans, Susan Lisovicz, both in New York.

All right, Ladies. For both of you, I want to put you in the room with Larry Summers, Treasury Secretary Geithner, Christina Romer, and all of the rest of Obama's money team.

The president turns to you, Christine, and says, "OK, you're smart. You're there on CNN every day talking about the economy. How are we doing?"

What's your answer?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, I'd say, "Well, thanks for those low mortgage rates." Jeez, I mean, they really are lighting a fire under the refinancings in the mortgage market and causing some activity, finally, in what has been a really critical part of the economy that's just been hammered. But if he asked me how I think he's doing, I'd say, "Wait. I'm here to find out what you say how we're doing."

I mean, I want to know what their progress report is. I want to know what Timothy Geithner is saying about how they're doing getting the small business lending going, how getting lending going to consumers, how they're doing on the toxic assets program, how they're going to make sure not just the big banks are going to be -- you know, the big investors are going to be able to benefit from that, but that many the rest of us can benefit, too.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROMANS: So we've got a lot of questions and we've got a lot of...

HARRIS: And on the president, I come back to you and say, "OK, that's the last question for you, Christine."

Let's turn to Susan.

Susan, you're a hotshot financial correspondent for CNN. We've tried all of these things. We've got TARP going, we've got TALF going, we've got all kinds of programs out there right now. What are you seeing as you cover the markets every day? Is there any indication that some of this is working, some of it not so much? A mixed bag?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: There's no question that we're starting to see, as one economist put it, green shoots of growth. So the earliest stages of growth.

Larry Summers said yesterday that things are looking a little bit better. They're also looking less bad.

I mean, for instance, we got initial jobless claims yesterday. They declined more than expected. Still at a really, really high level. March auto sales not as bad as the previous month.

And then to Christine's point, we actually see signs of life in the housing market -- pending, existing, new home sales. And the stock market has responded to it big time, Tony, in the past five weeks, best five-week gain for the Dow since 1933.

HARRIS: Here we go. Perfect. Thank you. So five weeks of gains for stocks, yesterday's rally led by Wells Fargo.

Have we gotten through -- and Susan, let me start with you on this. Have we gotten through the worst of the crisis in the financial sector? Can banks earn their way out of this mess?

LISOVICZ: Well, I think Wells Fargo certainly lit Wall Street on fire yesterday because this is a bank that said it's going to earn basically double what the street was expecting in its quarterly earnings. But Wells Fargo is not Bank of America or Citigroup, so let's get a reality check here.

ROMANS: Right.

LISOVICZ: I think, Christine, right, that I think we're still going to see some trouble for the financial sector. And that's why Treasury only recently said it was going to buy up to $1 trillion to purge in this private/public auction that it's trying to do, to purge these toxic assets off of bank balance sheets.

We may have seen the worst of it. Let's hope so, because we've seen definite improvement in the credit markets. But I think that, you know, this recovery is clearly going to be a slow one.

HARRIS: OK.

LISOVICZ: But if it's moving in one direction, that in itself is huge.

HARRIS: Well, and Christine, a different question to you now. You're invited back into the conversation.

In this rally that we're seeing now, we've seen gains and we've seen pullbacks. Is that a sign of a healthy market, as opposed to investors simply following the trend at the moment, whether it's up or down?

ROMANS: I have two big concerns that I keep hearing again and again from people. They say we see these little green shoots, but we're worried about credit card defaults and worried about commercial real estate, the next two things that have to be hit.

When I talk to business owners, small business owners, who are saying, look, I can last another two weeks, maybe, but unless something improves immediately, I'm not going to make it, so you have this other level of people who have held on until now, and might not make it, you know, and that's going to mean more job losses and businesses closed. So, you know, I don't know.

I mean, a lot of people are telling me about the stock market, that it feels like a really great bear market rally, but that's what -- you know, it can turn back around and go south again if credit card defaults rise, if there's some big problem in one of the financial institutions. Or it will turn out -- we'll look back at this and say, wow, that was pretty clear that there was something turning around there. And you don't know until it's over.

HARRIS: Susan, let me get your last thought on that.

LISOVICZ: And Tony, I mean, a healthy market really does not move in one direction, either up or down. Yes, we had a huge, huge gain over the past five weeks. And, of course, we were at, you know, 6,500 for the Dow, which was -- it lost more than 50 percent of its all-time high reached in late of '07.

So we had had come down quite a bit. But we're going to be in a tricky period over the next few weeks as corporate America starts to tell us just how tough the first three months of the year were, and what it expects in terms of prices, consumer demand, inventory levels, exporting. You know, all of these things is a discovery period, and that translates into volatility, so keep your seat belts fastened.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

ROMANS: Tony...

HARRIS: Yes, go ahead.

ROMANS: ... the best comment I heard this week, the best comment was the economy is not detonating anymore. Don't mistake that for some new recovery.

HARRIS: Nice.

LISOVICZ: I would agree with that, too.

HARRIS: Hey, look, you're not in the room yet, but you ought to be with the president, Christine, Susan.

LISOVICZ: We're in your room, Tony, and that's what counts.

HARRIS: Love it. All right. Thank you both. Have a great weekend.

LISOVICZ: Bye-bye.

HARRIS: Credit cards -- what do you do if your account is suddenly closed or the card terms change and you don't agree? Our financial editor Gerri Willis tackles those questions and more, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Retirement, credit cards and debt. You've got questions this Friday for CNN Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis.

Gerri, good to see you. Good Friday to you.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: You want to get started?

WILLIS: Let's do it.

HARRIS: Irma in Texas has the first question for you.

"My husband is 62 and retired. I am 59 and working. Our mortgage payment is going to go up by $125 a month. We can barely afford it now."

"My husband thinks we should take out money from our retirement accounts" -- uh-oh -- "and pay off the house, but we would only have $40,000 left in our retirement account. What do you think we should do?"

WILLIS: Well, you know, Tony, you got it right there. Uh-oh is right. Wiping out your retirement money when you're in or near retirement just isn't the best move.

First, try to see if you can modify that mortgage. Otherwise, you may consider doing a reverse mortgage, if you intend on staying in that home.

A reverse mortgage is a type of loan where your equity in the house is converted into cash, and you receive this cash either in a lump sum, on a monthly payment, or a line of credit that you can tap into. There are a lot of nuances you should consider before buying a reverse mortgage. In fact, you're required to get counseling before buying.

Contact the Housing Counseling Clearinghouse at 800-569-4287 to find the lender in your area. AARP.org also has a lot of info on these.

And remember, there is an age limit on these. You have to be a certain age before you can do a reverse mortgage, so you have to hit that, but not the retirement account.

HARRIS: Yes. You've said that so many times here.

This second question, I bet you're getting this one a lot, because we get this question, so I know you're getting it.

It comes from Sheila, who writes, "I had two credit cards, but last month the issuer closed both of them. Now I received a change in terms notification from another credit card I've had for almost 15 years. If I do not agree to the terms, I can opt out and the account will then be closed. What is going to happen to my credit score?"

Gerri?

WILLIS: You know, Sheila, that is the question. Look, credit card issuers are more frequently closing accounts proactively if they haven't been used in a while. And unfortunately, your credit score has probably already taken the hit.

You should be wary of closing the account if you've held it for 15 years or more. That will just add to the damage, especially if it's an older card.

You can always try calling the credit card issuer to see if you can get your old terms back. Highlight your long history, your good record with the company. And hey, in the future try, to spread out your balances over a few credit cards so they're not inactive.

I know it sounds crazy. I'm actually telling people to usier credit cards, only if you can pay it off.

HARRIS: Yes.

Our third, boy, this one is tough, our third e-mail question for you, Gerri.

"I was left with several credit accounts that an ex-boyfriend promised" -- loser, loser -- "he would pay for things he bought." That was the promise, "He would pay for things he bought. He just walked away and said, 'Too bad.' It was $8,000."

"My credit is shot. I have been slowly paying back on the accounts, but I have one that the company would not work with me on. What are my rights for reworking this loan?"

WILLIS: I can just say, first of all, I'm glad he's ex?

HARRIS: Yes.

WILLIS: You know, you just can't live with somebody like this who is going to run up debt in your name. It's just not workable.

HARRIS: Right.

WILLIS: All right. So here are your rights.

Unfortunately, they're limited to the terms of the agreements since the lender isn't doing anything other than attempting to collect, which is their right. You can choose to work -- they can choose, that is, to work with you on lowering your interest rate, your balance, or giving you longer terms to pay up.

Look, if your ex-boyfriend promised to pay for the charges via e- mail, for example, then you might be able to recover that money through a civil lawsuit, but hey, that's going to take you forever. It's going to cost you a lot in legal fees.

I'm sorry this happened. It's heartbreaking. You've just got to be careful who you give your cards to.

Of course, if you have any questions, you can send them to me at gerri@cnn.com.

HARRIS: Have we talked about "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" this week? You got a fresh show?

WILLIS: We've got a fresh show. You know what, Tony?

HARRIS: Yes?

WILLIS: YBL, 9:30, a.m. Saturday morning. Watch us here.

HARRIS: Awesome.

WILLIS: All about taxes. We've got to help you get those last- minute taxes together.

I know you're worried about them, it's like nagging you in the back. Did I get it done? Did the husband do it, did the wife do it?

HARRIS: That's right.

WILLIS: We'll help you. We'll get you through it.

HARRIS: Thank you, Gerri. Have a great weekend.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

HARRIS: And check out our special report, "America's Money Crisis." Again, that's at CNNMoney.com. We update this page constantly. The address one more time for you is CNNMoney.com.

According to the Defense Department, more than 33,000 American troops have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. Former Navy Captain Ed Nicholson came across veterans struggling to recover from the physical and emotional scars of war. What he did next transformed his retirement and makes him this week's CNN Hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is "CNN Heroes."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in Afghanistan. I broke a vertebrae.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got hit by the blast. It blew me up about 25 feet in the air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My feet were just shredded up. I lost my right eye. My mouth was blasted out.

ED NICHOLSON, CRUSADER: The demons of war, you just don't set them aside. But once you get out on the river, the serenity is incredibly healing.

My name's Ed Nicholson, and I founded a program that helps wounded servicemen and veterans through fly fishing.

I spent 30 years in the Navy. More recently, I was down at Walter Reed. It was impossible not to see the servicemen and women missing limbs and serious wounds. And I thought many of them probably would love to get out of the hospital and go fishing.

Instead of cranking it in, you strip, strip.

You become more independent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My injuries are to my right arm. It really helped me to start using that right hand and adapt to skills of everyday living.

NICHOLSON: I've heard from other participants that, "When I'm out there fishing, I don't think about the pain."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The doctors, they can't heal the heart and soul. Being out in nature does that. What it shows you is that life's not over. It's only beginning.

NICHOLSON: OK, here we go.

I'm not a psychologist. I'm just an old naval officer. But I can tell you this, that the individuals that work with our program, they get a great deal out of it. That's what keeps me going.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Wow. If you would like to get involved or you know someone else doing something extraordinary, nominate them at CNN.com/heroes.

Severe weather in the South. A deadly tornado rips through one town. More twisters could be on the way.

Rob Marciano with the latest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: We just received some word from our Pentagon correspondent, Chris Lawrence, that I want to share with you.

Let me grab the e-mail.

He has been doing all kinds of reporting as you know on the efforts right now to rescue Captain Phillips from the hands of these pirates, the four pirates on this lifeboat. And the latest information from Chris, I'll just read it to you here.

There have been reports that the Bainbridge is within a few hundred yards of the lifeboat. Chris Lawrence confirming that that is, in fact, accurate, according to a Defense Department official.

Chris is also confirming that the pirates have a larger mothership - plural here, motherships nearby also in the area and that the Navy is aware of their location and is able to keep surveillance on those ships.

The USS Halyburton is in the area, we understand, maybe a couple of hundred yards away. So clearly more fire power being brought to bear on this situation. We will keep you informed, of course, on the latest developments.

This reporting from our Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. The American ship captain held by the Somali pirates, makes a break for it, one of the developments on this day. Captain Richard Phillips jumped out of the lifeboat where he is being held. He tried to swim to a nearby U.S. warship off of the coast of Somalia, but the kidnapers recaptured him and returned him to the boat. It all happened in a matter of minutes.

Meantime two more U.S. warships, we told you about the Halyburton, and the Boxer are headed to the area.

Much of the south on alert today for a possible tornado outbreak. Police in Mena, Arkansas, are going door to door this morning checking on residents there. A tornado chilled at least three people and ripped through at least 100 homes; downtown Mena took a direct hit. One emergency worker says it looked like a war zone. Several businesses and churches were destroyed. The Polk County Courthouse and other town buildings were also wrecked.

Wildfires scorching Texas and Oklahoma have killed two people. The police chief in Midwest, Oklahoma describes this town as looking like a war zone. On the phone with us right now from Midwest is the city's fire marshal, Jerry Lojka.

And Jerry, thank you so much for your time. We were listening to our Ed Lavandera describe the scene in your city yesterday and what a fierce fight your firefighters were up against.

This is a situation where the toll is what, at least a dozen, maybe as many as 17 homes destroyed and a number of businesses as well?

JERRY LOJKA, MIDWEST CITY FIRE MARSHAL (via telephone): Yes, it was a pretty remarkable experience. The winds were gusting to 40 miles an hour. And it would get into wooded areas and carry a fireball over the tops of the firefighters and deposit it sometimes as much as a quarter of a mile away from them. And then, start two or three houses in a row on fire and then skip four or five and then start three or four. In one subdivision, there were 17 homes that burned to the ground and then it moved on to another subdivision and burned another 17. All told, in my jurisdiction, there were 34 homes that were burned and then once you moved on, then it was - then there were 17 burned.

HARRIS: Boy.

LOJKA: So, it was a pretty remarkable deal.

The wind turned in our favor about 2:00 this morning. It laid down a little bit. We were able to get containment and by 7:00 this morning we were sending a lot of the helpers that we've had from other jurisdictions back home.

HARRIS: Boy, that is something. But what is the risk of flare- ups today? Some of those hot spots may be rekindling?

LOJKA: Yes, that's it right now. The 17 homes that were in the one subdivision keep flaring up because we were never given an opportunity to properly fight those fires. And so, we are back there, we have stationed, we have pre-stationed a couple of engines and brush pumpers in that subdivision. And that's all they will do is monitor the flare-ups for the rest of the day.

HARRIS: And Jerry, no loss of life?

LOJKA: No, very remarkable.

HARRIS: That's something.

LOJKA: We didn't have injury. We had a little bit of smoke inhalation, but in my jurisdiction, not a single injury.

HARRIS: Boy.

Jerry Lojka is the fire marshal of Midwest City in Oklahoma. And Jerry, we appreciate it. Thanks for your time this morning.

LOJKA: Thank you.

HARRIS: And thanks for the update.

You're going to love this next story. It is about a homeowner who helps capture a gang of would-be thieves with a Web cam. Nicole Lapin is here with this story.

NICOLE LAPIN, CNN.COM CORRESPONDENT: You'll love this lady. She's a feisty lady and we like that.

HARRIS: But here's - yes, we love the way it turned out, but this is a scary occurrence. It happens all over the country.

LAPIN: Absolutely.

HARRIS: We're talking about a home invasion that, in this case at least, worked out for the best. LAPIN: Absolutely, and she took matters into her own hands.

Tony, this is a woman in Ft. Lauderdale. She was at work. She was monitoring her house from work. And typically, Tony, all she sees - the three cats, the dogs over there.

But the person that started crawling through the doggy door? That's what caught her attention.

You have to see this video. It's amazing.

Immediately, she called 911 when she sees these jokesters there...

HARRIS: Right, right.

LAPIN: ... because she had the live Web cam at work. She got on the horn with police. She basically gave them a play-by-play of exactly what was going on. She's like...

HARRIS: Oh, this is amazing. Yes.

LAPIN: ... they're in the living room, they're in the bedroom. They're picking up my son's video game.

Here's a portion actually, Tony, we have some of that 911 tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE: This is crazy, they've got things in their hands.

911: It's OK. Officers are surrounding your house. They're not going to get away with anything.

JEANNE (crying): Oh, my cat's scared.

911: Ma'am, I need you to calm down, OK?

JEANNE: I'm sorry. I've just been robbed of everything.

911: No, you haven't because your items are still going to be in that house.

JEANNE: No, but they robbed me before, that's why I have the video camera.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: Oh, I see. I see.

LAPIN: They didn't get any of her stuff this time, Tony. The Boynton Police went into the house.

These were the cops now.

She's still watching at work. She told the dispatcher exactly where they were so police could get in through a safe route.

HARRIS: I see.

LAPIN: Then, they arrested these four guys. They allegedly were trying to take a 37-inch plasma...

HARRIS: Oh, boy.

LAPIN: ... a safe, a video game console, some games, but no dice.

HARRIS: Right.

LAPIN: These four guys now face burglary and grand theft charges.

As you heard on that tape, she had been robbed before, that was in October. Her alarm system wasn't in yet so she invested 250 bucks in those live Web cams.

HARRIS: Way to go. Way to go.

LAPIN: Yes, way to go, her money well-spent. Jeanne is going to pay...

HARRIS: Glad she wasn't there.

LAPIN: No doubt, absolutely, or the kids, the dogs, the cats.

HARRIS: Yes.

LAPIN: They were just fine. You know, that's a lot of to spend on this type of system, Tony. I went online, I found one for about 70 bucks. So you can get it at the electronics store. You can get your hands on one of these.

HARRIS: Mug shots, huh?

LAPIN: These are the four guys. Yes.

HARRIS: Well, they're going to end up right where they belong: not in her house, but in a jail somewhere.

LAPIN: Absolutely. It's a nasty side effect of this recession, but you got to be aware and you have to - you know, like this woman is doing. Just do whatever you can to save yourself.

HARRIS: Absolutely. Good stuff, Nicole. Good stuff. Good story.

LAPIN: You're welcome.

HARRIS: Happy the way it ended.

LAPIN: Absolutely. HARRIS: Speaking of nasty a second ago, how about this? Nasty weather we are tracking in the southeast, you know, it could actually impact the Masters Golf Tournament. We're live at a Augusta. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: As you know, the pirate crisis is now in its third day. We want to go live to CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence.

And Chris, we're just trying to get as much information to folks as we can, as soon as we get it, on developments on the story. And I know you have some information for us.

LAWRENCE: Yes, Tony, we knew that two Navy ships were on the way. I'm now told by a Defense official that the USS Halyburton has arrived in the area, and that the USS Boxer still may be a day or two away.

I take that to mean that the Halyburton is not right on top of the Bainbridge, but is close now. Is nearby in the area. And the Halyburton has some assets that the Bainbridge does not. Most notably, at least two helicopters that have rescue hoists, you know, which obviously could come into play.

From what we know, the situation is now, the Bainbridge sits within a few hundred yards of this lifeboat. And again, the Navy is also now aware that the pirates have other motherships that are also in this area. These are larger ships that they've been using to launch these small skiffs.

You know, in this area, January and February, there were only two reported pirate attacks. All of the sudden that sky-rocketed to 15 last month. And that activity extended into the first week of April. So we knew there were a lot more pirate ships in this area recently than there had been before. And now we know that some of those motherships are in the general area of where the Bainbridge is.

HARRIS: Great update. All right, Chris Lawrence for us. Chris, appreciate it. Thank you.

It is April. The azaleas are in bloom, the greens are lush, and for golfers that means one thing: the Masters Tournament. Round two this morning at Augusta National Golf Club here in Georgia. Our Larry Smith is there.

And Larry, good to talk to you again. What I'd like to do is bring Rob Marciano in, because we've been following a pretty severe line of storms, and the possibility for pretty severe tornado outbreak. I know you have some concerns about the weather there at Augusta.

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: We do. And it's surprising because, right now, it is an absolutely perfect day, Tony. I mean, it is in the high 60s, very little breeze. Kind of windy on the course, but it is this afternoon that system that Rob has been talking about and that chance -- 50 percent chance of storms. And actually, I guess, could have some hail in there, right? That's what we're understanding here.

HARRIS: And Rob, if you would, maybe you could give a bit of the forecast for the Masters.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, I think he's right about that. Probably the chances of seeing some rain, Larry, better than 50 percent. But I think it's a good chance that that rain and thunder, and even potentially hail and damaging winds, doesn't come until after 6:00. So when a great majority of the golfers are finished with their second round.

Just to give you a sneak peek what tomorrow should entail: clouds, a little moisture in the morning, but I think it will be pretty nice both tomorrow and Sunday. So the only question mark is what happens - when does that rain get there? Today, I think more than likely it will get there after 6:00. So, get most of the round in. But how much - how strong are the storms? I mean, some of the storms could potentially bring some damage to the northern half of Georgia and that, of course, would include Augusta. So, hopefully, they'll get through it damage-free.

HARRIS: OK, Rob, great update.

And Larry, let's turn to golf for a second here with the remaining time that we have.

Tiger out on the course early; he was late yesterday, early today. How is he looking so far?

SMITH: So far he is even through his first two holes. He is still two under par.

He was really, really disappointed with the way he finished his opening round. Lipped out the putt on 17, struggled to the bogey on 18. Could have shot a 69, it would have been his best ever Thursday round. Instead, he settles for a 70 that equals his best Thursday round at the Masters.

And Tony, keep this in mind when he shoots 70 at the Masters on Thursday, he wins on Sunday. He's been three for three doing that. We'll see if he can make it a fourth time and win that fifth green jacket.

HARRIS: You know, Greg Norman, also always a great story, but a particularly interesting story at Augusta National, because of his history there. One of the demons kind of reared its head yesterday?

SMITH: It sure did. You know, you feel sorry for this guy. He's 54 years old, he's never won a major on U.S. soil, all of this. You mentioned the many demons and the close calls and the failures here at Augusta.

1987, Larry Mize chips in to beat Norman. And what happens yesterday? Norman shoots a two under. Here comes Larry Mize, at age 50, and shoots five under par. So once again, Greg Norman is now shadowed by Larry Mize. It's almost like he can't win.

But at the same time, he was happy with his round and tried to get in a good round today before the storms hit.

HARRIS: Awesome, Larry. Great to see you. See you this weekend, my friend.

SMITH: All right, we'll see you then. Take care.

HARRIS: Larry Smith at Augusta National.

While the world's best golfers are teeing off at Augusta National, Martha Burk - remember Martha Burk? Well, she is still teed off that women can't join the private club. Martha is next.

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HARRIS: While the world's best golfers are teeing off at Augusta National, Martha Burk is still not happy that women can't join the private club. You might remember that Burk led a protest at the 2003 Masters. She is a director at the National Council of Women's Organizations. And she joins us live from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Martha, good to see you.

MARTHA BURK, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN'S ORGANIZATIONS: Good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: Well, let's dive into this. Let's take it on here.

Martha, if I said two years ago you were more likely to have a black president of the United States than a woman member at Augusta, folks would have had me carted off this set. And today America has the first black president, Augusta still doesn't have a woman member.

Why didn't you get a better result from your efforts - what? - six years ago now?

BURK: I think we, just as a country, don't accept that sex discrimination is as bad as race discrimination.

Think about it, Tony. What if Hillary Clinton had been elected president of the United States? She still couldn't walk through that front gate as an equal? It's pretty bad in the 21st Century, but we seem to accept that about sex discrimination where we would never now accept it about race.

HARRIS: Let me - let me riff on that a bit with you here, Martha.

A strong woman, as you mention, running a strong race for president in this last cycle. Strong women from Shelia Bair to Christina Romer to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Elizabeth Warren trying to right the financial ship in this country. How does Augusta National get away with this?

BURK: Well, they're just Neanderthals. They're like dinosaurs out of the last century.

You know, they're becoming more irrelevant and more ridiculous every year. They don't get out there and publicly defend it anymore like they did in 2003. They're just sort of sneaking around about it, I guess.

Now, I'd love to see you guys in the media go down there and see how many of these bailout bank CEOs are down there spending money.

HARRIS: Oh, stop, stop, stop, stop. That's perfect.

BURK: That's taxpayer dollars.

HARRIS: Perfect. Perfect. Because, I was just thinking of this, this morning. And I crafted a question. Let me read it to you, because I want to be precise about this.

Are there companies, to your knowledge, because I know you're working in this area, reimbursing workers and other membership fees from clubs that limit membership because of race or gender? Are you aware of this activity going on?

BURK: Well, what they do is the shuck and jive. They say, no, we don't reimburse. But then, at the end of the year they get a little bonus, you know, for extracurricular activities and that covers it.

But more fundamentally, let's look at some company like Bank of America that has put a lot of money into Augusta National in the past and they've gotten a lot of bailout funds this year. Are they down there spending client entertainment money, for example?

You know, these companies have been known to spend up to a million bucks down there in a week.

HARRIS: Well, you know, I thought maybe you had done some work on it. But we can certainly do our own work on that question.

Martha, does this club - and here's the tricky question - reflect long held attitudes in the South about race and gender?

BURK: Hey, it's not just the South. You've got CEOs of American Express out of New York, Citigroup, Prudential. All of these big companies, at one time or another, have had their CEOs and boards of directors as members.

Now, when you're a CEO of a company like American Express, and you stand up and say sex discrimination is no big deal, I'm willing to be a part of this, it's a problem that goes far beyond the South.

HARRIS: Which CEO are you referring to? You're not talking about Ken Chenault are you?

BURK: I'm talking about Ken Chenault...

HARRIS: You are? BURK: ... one of the few African-American members of the club. He never has stood up and said this is wrong and I want to do something about it or resign on principle.

HARRIS: Well, you have had some pretty tough comments about Tiger Woods. And do you believe that Tiger has the stature in the game, in society at this point, to change this policy if he wanted to almost singlehandedly?

BURK: I don't know about singlehandedly. He has very high stature, we know that.

But he should call some of these other guys. You know, Mickelson has daughters, Woods has daughters now. Are they willing to say it's OK with me if my daughters grow up with me making millions of dollars in a sport that doesn't treat them as equals? I don't think he should be willing to do that. And let's say the five, six top golfers stood together, absolutely they could change it. But they've never been willing to do that.

HARRIS: This is such an interesting area of conversation and I know you're still working on it. Martha Burk, I've got a daughter so this touches me home right here.

Martha, good to see you. Thank you. Have a great weekend.

BURK: Good to see you, Tony. Thanks.

HARRIS: Thank you.

Looking ahead to next hour, we've got a high-speed car chase you won't want to miss. A California woman doing at least 100 miles per hour with police in hot pursuit.

Plus, I'll take you to a college job fair, then follow it up with a career counselor so you can learn important dos and don'ts in your search for work.

And ground zero of the Virginia Tech massacre reopens. It honors those killed and wounded. I will talk to the head of the Engineering, Science and Mechanics Department in the NEWSROOM.