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American Captain Still a Hostage of Somali Pirates; Tornadoes Cause Death and Destruction in Alabama and Tennessee; Obama Calling on Nations to Ban Together to Battle Global Financial Crisis

Aired April 11, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you all. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. And this is what we have on tap for you on this 11th day of April. A lot of breaking stories today. I'm T.J. Holmes, glad you could be here with us.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen.

Here's a look at what is on tap this hour. He is still a hostage. The captain of the merchant ship Maersk Alabama remains in the hands of Somali pirates. We have a team of reporters on that story.

HOLMES: Also, take a look. That's a woman who realized the damage to her home. So many lives have been touched. So many lives have been affected by storms that have torn through the south.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you don't know him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't. And he's in my house. I'm seeing him walking around my house. He's in my bedroom right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Can you imagine that? Did you hear what the woman said? She is watching live pictures of a burglar going through her house. We have the latest on this story.

But we do want to begin this hour with the relative unchartered waters off the coast of Somalia where a standoff between a U.S. navy and a group of hostage-taking pirates appears more imminent by the moment. And at stake, the safety of Captain Richard Phillips, snatched off the U.S. merchant ship "Maersk Alabama" Wednesday and held by a group of well-armed pirates. The navy says they've stopped pirate reinforcement efforts to the lifeboat where Captain Phillips is being held. As another U.S. naval ship is being dispatched to the scene.

Now, all of this, as the captain's ship, the "Maersk Alabama," steams toward its original destination of Mombasa, Kenya, without him. CNN's Stan Grant is there in Mombasa with reaction to the high-stakes drama going on right now, some 300 miles offshore.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) STAN GRANT, CNN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES CORRESPONDENT: What you're seeing here are traditional fishing boats that operate off the coast of Kenya. They're carved out of wood. The fishermen here sale from this very same coastline that they now share with pirates operating out of Somalia. Just talking to people here in Mombasa, Kenya, the issue of piracy is very much on their minds, especially passengers and tourists who've been aboard some of the big cruise liners. They've pulled into port here after hearing about the pirates hijacking the ships on the high seas.

STEVE BAUER, SHIP PASSENGER: Well, we got the international news stories on television on the ship, and everybody is concerned about the route that we were on because there was always the possibility that we'd be approached by pirates.

GRANT: Now, the ship that everyone is talking about is the "Maersk Alabama." That is the ship that's been at the center of this piracy hijacking crisis. It's making its way here, to Mombasa, in Kenya, carrying food supplies for the world food program. On board, of course, as well, the American crew that have lived through this entire ordeal.

Still, so many questions that need to be answered. What happened on board the ship? How did the pirates take control of the ship? More importantly, how did the crew members themselves regain control? So, those questions still to be answered. And, of course, at the moment, the fate of the ship's captain, Richard Phillips, still in the balance.

Stan Grant, CNN, Mombasa, Kenya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, the world is watching. The U.S. is watching and no where are they watching more closely to see about what happens to Captain Richard Phillips than in his hometown of Underhill, Vermont, and that's where our Stephanie Elam is this morning. Stephanie, good morning to you again. What are we hearing from the family?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: You know, T.J., we haven't actually seen the wife of Captain Phillips since Thursday. At that point she came out and just said that she wanted to wait until there was good news before she came before the cameras. She was completely gracious considering the pressure that she and her family is under at this point.

But we were able to speak to a friend, a neighbor, who's known -- lived near the Phillips family for about 15 years or so, just to get an idea of how the Phillips family and Andrea, in particular is coping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM WALSH, NEIGHBOR: You know, whatever they need, you know, if they need us to help them with anything, that's kind of the way it is in these communities. Just showing that we're concerned and that we want to do whatever she needs to help her, whether it's providing food or support in any way. She has a lot of her family there, which is certainly doing all that for her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: Now, Mrs. Phillips did put out a note through the shipping company yesterday, a statement saying that her husband is very strong and that they've had received an overwhelming amount of support from their friends, neighbors, family and also just the community worldwide. But at this point the family still very much on pins and needles and hoping for a positive resolution to the situation -- T.J.?

HOLMES: Everybody certainly is hoping for that, but you mentioned there saying her husband is strong. And a lot of opinions we're hearing about people who did know him, talk about what a strong- willed guy he is. We know about that escape attempt as well. What are people thinking now that strength will help him make it through this thing and also how will their opinions maybe changed now that we're seeing this thing begin to even escalate. It goes into more days and maybe even get up to a week that we've been watching this?

ELAM: That's so true, T.J. and actually, in this case, you're seeing that the tension is getting a little bit higher because there's sort of an idea that it probably would have been resolved before we got to the weekend and that obviously has not happened, but one thing I have definitely heard several times is that when Captain Phillips is here, he is very much devoted to his family.

He's very much a part of the community. And that sort of behavior translates to the way he treats his crew when he's at sea. So, they're not surprised that he's taken these steps to put his crew before him, making sure that they were safe and able to get out of harms way. But at this point, they think that his ability to stay cool under pressure will help carry him through this and get him back home here to Vermont.

HOLMES: All right, Stephanie Elam for us there in Underhill, Vermont. Thank you so much this morning, Stephanie.

NGUYEN: And also staying on this topic for just a second because CNN i-Reporters have been weighing in. I want you to listen to Robin Savage of California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBIN SAVAGE: I feel like the kidnapping of the American cargo ship off the coast of Somalia is a huge wake-up call for all of us throughout the world. Because I really feel that they're not going to stop there. I honestly can't believe we've reached this point where it's so easy for pirates to, you know, take control of a cargo ship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: And in just a few minutes, we are going to take you live to Zurich, Switzerland, where we're going to talk with an investigative journalist, John Burnett, who is the author of "Dangerous Waters Modern Piracy and Terror on the High Seas." He's quite familiar with the piracy problem off the Somalia coast and joins us in about seven minutes right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And also tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern, a CNN "SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Somali Pirates, Can they be Stopped?" Who are the Somali pirates hijacking ships and capturing Americans and how can they be stopped? CNN takes you inside a story that has captured the world's attention that is tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

HOLMES: Let's turn to weather now, the most violent storms that hit across the south and claims more victims. Last night a mother and her baby killed, rescuers in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, say the mother was apparently trying to get her baby girl into a car when the tornado hit. The 9-week-old was found in her car seat. The mother was found under debris by the driveway. The father also suffered broken ribs and a broken back. Police believe there were at least three tornado touchdowns in that city. Hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed. Dozens of people injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By the time we got here, it was over. It was on the top of this building here. And we just ran in, and they let us in the back and it hit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then I finally got out. And then my friend, Laura, she was like in it, like, we had to lift everything up and get her out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was very hard. I'm just screaming making sure, I want to know if my baby is OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The governor of Tennessee visiting the hardest-hit areas this morning. The same storm system killed three people in western Arkansas on Thursday.

Well, no serious injuries to report, but a lot of damage in South Carolina, tens of thousands of people without power after a night of storms. Several possible tornadoes also reported in north Georgia, where heavy rain, hail, and fierce winds brought down power lines, also more trees. And we also -- always say these possible tornadoes, because we do have to wait for the investigators to get out there to survey that damage and then they make it official.

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: Speaking of natural disasters, in Italy, signs of life under the wreckage five days after an earthquake. Rescuers are digging urgently but carefully today, they think someone may be alive in the rubble of a building that collapsed in Monday's earthquake. Search dogs did pick up a strong human scent. Nine people have been found alive in this same pile of debris. The earthquake death toll has risen to 291 today.

HOLMES: Well, take a look at this now at the trouble in Thailand. And the trouble here is that the protesters crashed a summit of 16 Southeast Asian leaders and then forced the group to cancel or at least delay their summit at the Thai beach resort. Protesters calling themselves red shirts, they're wearing red shirts say that the prime minister was not democratically elected. They do want him out.

NGUYEN: And on this subject, talking to the pirates, the navy and the FBI, well, they are working very closely now trying to get an American ship captain released. But who has the upper hand? The pirates, or the pursuers?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, so trying to negotiate an end to the hostage crisis off the coast of Somalia. The FBI was called in earlier this week in an effort to secure the release of that American cargo ship captain.

HOLMES: But as of right now, there has been no movement. John Burnett is the author of "Dangerous Waters, Modern Piracy and Terror on the High Seas." He joins us now live via Skype from Zurich, Switzerland. Sir, we appreciate you being here with us. We know you know a thing or two about these pirates. So many people thinking now and talking about how to combat these pirates. We got the military involved, but you really can't do anything until you tackle the problem of the hopelessness in Somalia that feeds this industry.

JOHN BURNETT, AUTHOR, "DANGEROUS WATERS": T.J., that's absolutely right. Somalia has been rent with anarchy since 1991, it hasn't had an official viable functioning government for 18 years. And piracy will never be put away until there is a government that controls its population.

NGUYEN: Give us an understanding if you would, John, of who these pirates are? We've been talking a lot about the situation with the hostage and the U.S. captain, but who are these guys?

BURNETT: Well, they are unemployed fishermen, unemployed militiamen, ex-coast guardsmen, and they've turned pirates. Now, over the last six months or so, they've become so militarily organized that they're basically waging a war at sea. These guys used to earn less than $50 a month and now they're raking in hundreds of thousands.

NGUYEN: And they have a mentality of, look, we've got nothing to lose here. So, how do you negotiate with someone like that, especially when you have an American hostage?

BURNETT: Well, I've lived and worked among the Somalis after the soldiers have disappeared, and I know that you -- that these are very strong-willed people. And when you live in a country without the rule of law, there's absolutely nothing that can be done to really negotiate. You pay them, and it's negotiation, negotiation, negotiation is the only way this is going to be solved. NGUYEN: But is payment truly a guarantee, John that you're going to get the American captain back?

BURNETT: There are no guarantees we're going to get Richard Phillips back. But I think by -- I hate to say this, but in a more passive way of dealing with the situation instead of going in with guns blazing, Captain Phillips has a better chance of survival than any other way.

NGUYEN: And he's already made one escape attempt. We understand that he has been tied up, at least that's the information that we have, once they captured him, he tried to swim and get away, but they recaptured him, and we understand he's tied up at this point. Is this just a wait-and-see game? I mean, how long can this play out?

BURNETT: Well, that's the big question. The pirates aboard the lifeboat are going to get hungry and they're getting thirsty, as is Richard Phillips. And I think that the game here is to wait them out. They've stopped pirates from reinforcing their mates in lifeboats. So, I think this is going to play out until exhaustion. And then I think the pirates in the lifeboat holding Captain Phillips will give up. Unless -- unless, of course.

NGUYEN: Go ahead.

BURNETT: We decide to go in.

NGUYEN: And I want to ask you one last question. With all this international attention on this incident, we've been reporting this is the first time that a U.S. ship has been attacked in, what, some 200 years. Does this embolden the pirates? Are we going to see more incidents like this, or with all the navy presence there, is it going to make them maybe back off?

BURNETT: No, the navy presence, they've got the largest and most powerful armada ever assembled right there off of Somalia trying to stop piracy, and piracy is still a crime that's out of control. The military option is not working.

NGUYEN: All right. John Burnett, author of "Dangerous Waters, Modern Piracy and Terror on the High Seas," joining us by skype via Zurich, Switzerland. Thanks so much for your time and your insight today. We really appreciate it.

BURNETT: Thank you, Betty.

NGUYEN: Well, the president in his weekly and radio internet address today, called on nations to ban together to battle the global financial crisis. There's no going it alone, that's what he said.

HOLMES: We all have to be in this thing together right now the president said, seems maybe seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Here now, our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After weeks of facing allegations he was talking the economy down, President Obama is now offering his most optimistic assessment yet.

OBAMA: What you're starting to see is glimmers of hope across the economy. Now, we have always been very cautious about prognosticating, and that's not going to change just because it's Easter. The economy is still under severe stress, and obviously during these holidays, we have to keep in mind that whatever we do ultimately has to translate into economic growth and jobs and rising incomes for the American people.

HENRY: A striking change in tone from even just a week ago in London, at the G-20 summit, when the president was still emphasizing the negative.

OBAMA: The global economy is contracting. Trade is shrinking. Unemployment is rising. The international finance system is nearly frozen.

HENRY: Since then, the stock market has shown modest gains, and then Friday "The Wall Street Journal's" latest forecasting survey came out. Revealing economists now expect the recession to end in September.

OBAMA: We're starting to see progress, and if we stick with it, if we don't flinch in the face of some difficulties, then I feel absolutely convinced that we are going to get this economy back on track.

HENRY: The president cited a boost from infrastructure projects in his stimulus plan. And touted a 20 percent increase last month alone in the Small Business Administration's largest loan program.

OBAMA: What that means is that small businesses are starting to get money that allows them to keep their doors open, make payroll, and that is going to contribute to overall economic growth as well as help make sure the people are able to keep their jobs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So, let's talk about this with Frank Ahrens, he is a business reporter for "The Washington Post." He also writes a blog on the economic crisis for the paper. And, Frank, you know, we just saw in Ed Henry's report that economists for "The Wall Street Journal" say that we should see some recession relief by September. Really? I mean think about it for just a second, we didn't even get the official word that we were in a recession until about a year after we were already in it. Can we really predict September?

FRANK AHRENS, WASHINGTON POST: You can also point out that last week a survey of CEOs in the United States actually showed more pessimism among them than several months ago. I wouldn't put too much stock in the stark difference between what Obama said to the G-20 versus what he said yesterday. He's trying to get two different things. When he's talking to the G-20, he wants more cooperation in international regulation. He's trying to get things from them. When he's talking to us, he's trying to stoke the market. He wants more optimism, because the market really grows and builds on confidence.

NGUYEN: Well, let's grow on that for a second, shall we? What are some of the signs that point to a recession ending sooner rather than later?

AHRENS: Well, let's look at the facts, since the market hit its most recent bottom, I'm not going to call a bottom, the most recent bottom on March 9th, the markets, the NASDAQ, the Dow, the Standard & Poor's 500 are all up more than 20 percent. Now some people consider that a bull market, that's fine. But much like a recession, you don't know you're in a bull market until a long time into the bull market.

NGUYEN: And some people argue there's not a lot of volume, you know, you see it go up, but not all those investors on the sideline are digging in.

AHRENS: There's a lot of -- the public money is coming into the system. There's a lot of private money still on the sidelines, waiting to see what happens.

NGUYEN: Yeah. And, you know, the unemployment rate, we got to factor that into all of this. That's not expected to decrease anytime soon.

AHRENS: Oh no, it's probably going to most likely continue rising through the year. A report that came out this past week, it's at 8.5 percent now, popped up the week before last. A recent report I saw said it's going to top out next year at about 9.8, nearly 10 percent.

Now to put that in context, unemployment peaked in the U.S. in 1933 at 25 percent, 1 in 4 people was out of work. No one's saying it's going to hit that, but double digits are double digits and that's going to continue to rise. And please remember this, the labor department statistics don't count as unemployed people who have given up looking for work. So the number is actually a little bit higher probably.

NGUYEN: Oh, gotcha. All right, well let's keeping moving on the optimism, because we like the sound of that especially in this economy. The president is talking about over the next several weeks that he's going to put additional measures on the table to help stimulate this economy. Do you know what those might be?

AHRENS: Yeah, it's unclear. But one guess could be the auto industry. It's clear now that General Motors, you've got General Motors and Chrysler, who are the two most in trouble. Chrysler is moving toward a merger with Fiat, which it thinks will help keep it in business. GM -- and they've said over the past week or two, they're moving the -- they're working on plans for a government-backed bankruptcy.

And that could be what the White House is talking about. Because it would be a very active -- it would be a government-backed bankruptcy that would in theory try to keep the company in shape, keep it going, keep it producing cars as much as possible, but it's going to be a broad and very messy bankruptcy, because the auto industry has been in this country and its tentacles have gone out for more than 100 years, suppliers, distributors, dealers, that's not going to be a simple bankruptcy.

NGUYEN: Not at all.

AHRENS: If it happens.

NGUYEN: If it happens, we'll be watching very closely. Thanks so much for your time and your insight today. We do appreciate it.

AHRENS: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right, we're not done with this topic just yet. We'll be taking it up again next hour. And also at 4:00 Eastern Time, that's when we dedicate the hour to the theme, "Spend it, the Economy Needs You." We're going to be taking a look at ways the viewer can stimulate the economy. A panel of experts will join us. Also Josh Levs will get answers to your questions about spending in the recession. You can send those questions to Josh there at cnn.com or the Facebook page as you see right there, Josh's Facebook page, we'll share some of your comments today, 4:00 Eastern Time.

Meanwhile, look at this! This home does not belong to those two. The homeowner had -- whoa, those are the cops. It's not the video I thought it was. But a homeowner's sixth sense about her own home robbery, it's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: A story that has been breaking all morning, two children and a teenager shot to death in their home just outside of New Orleans. Police say two men kicked down the door of the victim's apartment and opened fire. Two boys, one 6 years old, the other 23 months old, were found in their beds, shot in the head. A 19-year-old woman shot in the back died later at the hospital. And a fourth victim, an 11-year-old girl, is in critical condition at this hour. So far, no arrests, no motive.

HOLMES: And another breaking story we had this morning. A California Sunday school teacher, under arrest for the kidnapping and murder of an 8-year-old girl. Police not revealing what led them to Melissa Huckaby in connection with the death of Sandra Cantu. Both lived in the same mobile home park and apparently the victim and Huckaby's daughter were friends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Almost 15 days ago, Sandra Cantu was reported missing from her north Tracy home here at the orchard mobile estates park. This past Monday, her body was found in a suitcase in an agricultural collection pond two miles north from where we stand. Over the course of the investigation, agents and investigators from numerous agencies have been instrumental in identifying Melissa Huckaby as being responsible for Sandra's death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, police say the suitcase that the girl's body was found in belonged to Huckaby.

NGUYEN: Well, an autopsy is scheduled today for the victim of a tragic car accident outside of a Pittsburgh-area church. Police say an 89-year-old woman lost her leg and later died after being hit by a car, driven by a retired priest. That lady and other parishioners were gathered outside St. Maurice Church in Forest Hills right after Good Friday services. Five others were injured when the priest allegedly lost control of his car and crashed into them.

So, imagine this, watching robbers taking your cherished possessions via a web camera set up inside your home?

HOLMES: Yes, this happened to a Florida woman. Richard Lemus with our affiliate WSVN brings us her frantic 911 call.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where are you calling from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm calling from my office and I have a live video monitor and I just ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What city are you calling from ma'am?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm in Ft. Lauderdale at my work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you don't know him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't. And he's in my house, I'm seeing him walking around my house. He's in my bedroom right now.

RICHARD LEMUS, WSVN REPORTER (voice-over): After a burglary in October, the Thomas family installed video cameras. This day Jeanne Thomas says she just had a feeling.

JEANNE THOMAS, HOMEOWNER: I had a strange sixth sense that something was going on at my house that shouldn't be.

LEMUS: Her feeling was right on.

THOMAS: Please get somebody there quickly. Oh God, I can't believe this. OK, where is he, oh, he's still in there.

LEMUS: Two men breaking into the home through a doggie door, Thomas watches as they wander around her home taking everything they can.

THOMAS: He's walking next to my stereo, he's looking at my son's video games. He's rummaging through the house. He's picked up something in his hand. Oh, he's picked up a Wii video game. LEMUS: At one point, one of the men even grabs a bag of shredded cheese from the refrigerator and digs in. All the while, they never notice a small camera and never realize someone is watching. Within minutes, 18 officers surrounded the home and arrest the two men.

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma'am, it's OK, officers are surrounding your house. They're not going to get away with anything. Ma'am?

THOMAS: Yes, I'm still trying to connect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, the officers have already apprehended two people.

THOMAS: Yes, I'm glad that they were caught and they can't break into any more homes and steal more cherished items from people anymore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Isn't that amazing? A lot of people have those webcams that keep an eye on their kids sometimes, the babysitters.

NGUYEN: The nanny cams.

HOLMES: Yes, all that stuff and this worked out. Now the two men, the two suspects who are actually in the video, well, they were caught. And, you know, they started singing like songbirds when they were arrested.

NGUYEN: It wasn't us.

HOLMES: And they went and actually put the -- pointed the finger at two of their friends, so now we got four people who have been arrested and all of them confessed, so they told on their boys. They're all in jail today charged with burglary and attempted grand theft.

NGUYEN: My, oh, my.

All right, we are also tracking the pirates. CNN.com is making it easier to follow the story with interactive maps and video of other pirate attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're coming up on 11:35 on the East Coast. Happening right now -- Tennessee's governor getting a look at the tornado devastation south of Nashville today. Particularly we're talking about the city of Murfreesboro. Police say as many as five tornadoes may have swarmed that city. A mother and her baby were killed. Police also say 250 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Also, U.S. warships keeping other pirates from reaching those adrift in a lifeboat off the coast of Africa. Four pirates are holding American Richard Phillips captive in that lifeboat. This is the third straight day of this standoff now. He is the captain of the Maersk Alabama, which is expected to be reaching its port in Kenya a little later today.

NGUYEN: Well, after one failed escape attempt, a foursome of pirates is keeping guard over Captain Phillips who we're now told is tied up by his abductors and held inside a lifeboat, with a U.S. missile frigate and destroyer closely watching.

CNN's Randi Kaye reports on some of the options considered to safely extract Captain Phillips from the clutches of his captors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It all happened in seconds. Captain Richard Phillips jumps overboard just after midnight. In the darkness he tries to swim to safety to the USS Bainbridge, an American warship a few hundred yards away. But before the navy could even make a move, the pirates fired shots from their AK-47 rifles, then jumped in the water and grabbed him.

CAPT. JAMES STAPLES, FRIEND OF CAPTAIN PHILLIPS: That just shows you Richie's character. He's not going to give up. He's going to be thinking all the time of what he can do to get out of this situation safely. He's not going to lay down.

KAYE: Captain Phillips is unharmed. He was later seen moving inside the lifeboat, after his escape attempt. Yet now with the captain back in enemy hands, an almost unbelievable chain of events is unfolding 300 miles out at sea. A potential showdown. Another navy warship, the "USS Halliburton," with helicopters and missiles, is now on the scene, and the "USS Boxer," with a medical facility on board, could be there within 24 hours.

(On camera): But the pirates aren't backing down. Now, steaming toward the lifeboat, at least four ships previously hijacked by the pirates. The pirates aren't taking any chances, launching smaller skiffs they typically use for hijackings.

(Voice-over): The U.S. military says audio intercepts indicate the pirates on those ships are communicating with each other and trying to track down the lifeboat where the captain is a hostage.

CHRIS VOSS, FMR. FBI NEGOTIATOR: You could refer to it as bold. You could also refer to it as possibly ill-advised. A lot more of them are exposing themselves to a risk that they wouldn't otherwise be exposed to. If I was a pirate, I wouldn't get in the middle of this. I'd want to stay in business safely.

KAYE: And the pirates say they're bringing with them at least 50 hostages. Human shields, to stop the navy from firing as they try to maneuver the American captain off the lifeboat, onto one of the pirate ships, and then to Somalia.

VOSS: I don't think the navy's going to let the pirates take this American out of there and take him back to shore once they've got him isolated. I think that this is a really risky move on the pirates' behalf, and it could end up with a lot of pirates in jail and a lot more hostages free.

KAYE: That's just what Captain Phillips' wife is hoping for. In a written statement, she says her husband is a strong man. Strong enough to survive a showdown, brewing in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: And CNN is following every twist and turn in this standoff. We're also showing you the bigger picture.

HOLMES: Yeah. That being an interactive map that shows the piracy incidents that have been happening around the horn of Africa. Josh Levs showing us that interactive map.

Hey there, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, hey there to you guys. It's really incredible when you look at how many, let's zoom right in because I want everyone to see what we're talking about. Everywhere that you see a red mark on this map, every place is an incident this year of piracy.

Now let me talk to you a little bit about the geography. You've got Somalia over in this section up here, that's Yemen, Saudi Arabia, this is the Gulf of Aden where a lot of incidents happen. You can see them all clustered. You could also see them happening here along the east coast off the coast of Somalia over here.

I'm going to step out of the way because I want to do a couple things here. First of all, anywhere you see a red mark, you can click on it and learn a little bit about what happened. What kind of attack it was, some of the background and the date. And again, look at these, all this year. But this map also has another feature here, you can continually zoom into any area that you want to and you can move the map around a little bit once you're in. So it's worth checking out which area you're most interested in, see what kinds of things have been going on why they are clustered in that area and the background.

Now, because we're showing you all this, we also have some video I want to show you. Let's go to the first piece right now. This is one piece of video that we got back in February from the Gulf of Aden. This is one of the many times that we're getting video from these piracy incidents in that area. This is from the U.S. navy boats they approached some suspected pirates that were in that section in the Gulf.

One more video I want to show you now because I want to emphasize that it's not just 2009 we're talking about. This here comes from 2008 when Somali forces rescued a hijacked ship. There were seven suspected pirates on board from Dubai. They were all arrested off the coast of Somalia. And guys as you know, we keep getting video like this, incredibly frequently, and you can tell why when you see that map behind me.

NGUYEN: OK. So, if people want to post messages for the captain and his family, want to reach out in that way, how can they do that?

LEVS: Yeah, that's something else that's taking off online. Actually, quickly let's zoom back in I want to show you two major places you can leave messages for the captain and his family right now, you've got the Facebook pages right here, a whole bunch of them have sprouted up. If you're on Facebook, it's easy to get in, just search Captain Richard Phillips. This is an official page right here but there are five or six others that have been growing up, kind of sprouting ever since this happened.

Also, if you would like to you can post right here at ireport.com. Send us a message through i-Report, what your thoughts are on this situation, we'll post that there. And guys, I will take everything I just showed you, all of it, and I'll post on it my Facebook page right now, Josh Levs, CNN. So if any of you want shortcuts to get to the stuff we showed you, you'll have it right there.

NGUYEN: All right, thank you Josh.

LEVS: Thanks a lot.

HOLMES: Coming up a little later this afternoon we'll bring you today's scheduled news conference from the Maersk shipping headquarters live. We'll have it right here on CNN, set for 3:30 eastern time, so be sure to tune in for that.

Also tonight at 8:00, a CNN "SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Somali Pirates, Can they be Stopped?" That is a special you don't want to miss. How do you combat these pirates? Again, you can see that right here tonight, 8:00 Eastern time.

NGUYEN: So, getting real at the movies, real serious, that is. Why the feds want a part of your good times.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: As bank foreclosures mount, so do the number of scam artists out there trying to feed off a lot of people's desperation.

NGUYEN: Yeah, and now the government is fighting back using Hollywood as a partner. CNN's Kara Finnstrom has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eye-popping, jaw-dropping, trailers for this summer's blockbusters promise escape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did we go back in time and space.

FINNSTROM: This weekend some moviegoers will also get a shot of reality.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you facing foreclosure?

FINNSTROM: Ouch. For the first time ever the Federal Reserve has created movie trailers warning Americans about mortgage scams.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shouldn't hurt to get help.

FINNSTROM: They're showing in seven states, hit hard by foreclosures, and now facing a new scam. Companies charging big bucks for false promises to help people keep their homes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I made one decision to spend this money to try and help us out that turned out to be such a bad decision.

FINNSTROM: Lisa Robert has been laid off. She and her husband have two kids and their mortgage payment is about to go up. They paid a company nearly $5,000 to get their loan modified. But four months later, she says she's gotten nothing for her money.

LISA ROBERT: I'm so angry, because I feel like I'm an educated person. I think, actually, the PSAs should be broadened in terms of not just being placed in movie theaters.

BILL MITCHELL, BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU: For the most part, the public is pretty ignorant of the way this stuff works.

FINNSTROM: Bill Mitchell with the Better Business Bureau, says several hundred loan modification companies have popped up just in the Los Angeles area during the past eight months, and many practice unethically. People who need a loan modification, should they be going to companies like this?

MITCHELL: Absolutely not.

FINNSTROM (on camera): So, what should struggling homeowners do? Well, the point of the fed's ads is to inform the public they should work directly with their lender or a nonprofit, HUD-approved counselor, and in most cases that's going to be completely free.

Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, a stronger worm may now be taking aim at your computer. Yes, we're talking about a computer worm. Yes, the virus has infected millions so far.

NGUYEN: And now the hackers want to make you pay to keep it away? Wow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Apple set to pass a milestone and it's coming soon as you see there. One billion applications downloaded. Let's wait together. I'm just kidding, we're not going to -- I'm sorry. We're talking about apps, you know for the iPhone, the iPods. iPhone sales hit the 17 million mark last month. So to pump up some momentum, the computing giant says consumers can win some cool stuff out there if they download applications before the counter tips over the 1 billion mark and it's on its way.

NGUYEN: All right, do you remember that dreaded conficker worm everyone was so worried about, what was that April Fool's Day?

HOLMES: It was supposed to hit on April 1st, yes.

NGUYEN: Computer security experts say it's being updated to make it harder to fight.

HOLMES: So far it has infected about 12 million computers we're told and now the worm's authors are selling anti-virus software that doesn't even work.

CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve explains this scam.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Computer users beware, if this ad pops up on your screen, it is a scam for $49.95 it promises to cleanse the conficker worm off your computer, in fact, it spreads it and steals your money, too.

DAVID PERRY, TREND MICRO: It's good evidence that what we're dealing with here are professional criminals. This is not your mother's bot net. This is not something with a kid sitting in his grandmother's basement making this up.

MESERVE: David Perry calls conficker the Swiss army knife of malware, it could instruct the millions of computers it has infected to send spam, steal valuable data or hijack other systems. In a disturbing new development it is communicating from one computer to another rather than from a central source, making it harder to trace.

TOM KELLERMANN, CORE SECURITY: It's not only reaching out to more machines, it's reaching out in certain ways to bypass the security mechanisms that have been put in place by organizations.

MESERVE: Conficker appears to be programmed to turn off on May 3rd, but its effects will linger. Experts say it is replanting an older worm called walladeck in infected computers.

PERRY: We have everybody looking for conficker and walladeck is throwing another curveball. There's an awful lot of what's going on here is done exactly to throw us off of their trail.

MESERVE (on camera): Because conficker is evolving, morphing, it is hard to eradicate. Experts recommend installing patches weekly and running antivirus software twice a week.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: The CNN NEWSROOM does continue at the top of the hour with Melissa Long today.

MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: I'm in today for Fredricka Whitfield, hopefully enjoying some time off.

HOLMES: Yes, she deserves it.

NGUYEN: Don't we all?

LONG: Absolutely. So do you. You're getting ready to wind down your Saturday.

HOLMES: I'm sure some managers would argue whether or not I deserve some time off.

NGUYEN: Oh please.

LONG: Coming up at noon, we're going to continue talking about the American captain held hostage by the pirates. We're going to talk to our legal experts about who has jurisdiction over this case. How will they prosecute the case and who will prosecute the case? We're going to get to talk about jurisdiction. And then we all know there's a tremendous golfer named Woods, he's playing, of course.

HOLMES: Yes, this weekend, Tiger.

LONG: The Masters in Augusta. But we're not going to talk about Tiger Woods. We're going to talk about a different Woods. You know the story.

NGUYEN: Great story.

HOLMES: It's a great story.

LONG: Fantastic story, yes.

HOLMES: And she looks like him, has his demeanor in a lot of ways.

LONG: And she's charming. I really like her.

HOLMES: Yes.

LONG: So we'll introduce you to her coming up at noon as well.

NGUYEN: She likes to play under pressure which he is very good at, so we'll see how well she does.

HOLMES: Uncle Tiger she calls him.

NGUYEN: Can you imagine?

HOLMES: All right Melissa, we will see you in just a few minutes. LONG: OK, looking forward to it.

NGUYEN: In the meantime, though, a former bishop accused of violating a sacred trust. Why authorities are calling him the Mormon Madoff.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Rembrandt paintings, motor homes, classic cars, just some of the pricey items being seized from a trusted former bishop of the Mormon Church.

NGUYEN: Yeah, Sean Merriman is accused of ripping off investors the same way Bernie Madoff did. Our Susan Roesgen is following this investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One by one, the prized possessions of a Denver-area investment banker hauled away by U.S. marshals. They even drove off with a motor home as big as a bus.

JEFF REED, INVESTIGATOR: These items are being seized under court order. They do have value to them and it has to go through the court system.

ROESGEN: Federal investigators say what you see here, plus art work including paintings by Rembrandt are part of the good life enjoyed by a man who spent investors' money entirely on himself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had all our money invested in him and we took a monthly draw to live on and we have nothing left.

ROESGEN: When the news hit "The Denver Post" this week people couldn't believe that Sean Merriman, a trusted Mormon bishop had allegedly been fleecing investors for 15 years.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, Merriman admitted that in reality he never made any investments, instead he used new investors' money to pay quote, unquote, returns to earlier investors, a classic Ponzi scheme. The Securities and Exchange Commission accuses Merriman of swindling as much as $20 million from nearly 40 investors. Now some of those who trusted him are too devastated to say who they are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's got to be total greed. It's got to be total greed. Total evil. It's just evil.

ROESGEN: The U.S. attorney's office is conducting an investigation, but no criminal charges have been filed. No one knows yet how much any of the investors might ever get back.

(On camera): Sean Merriman's lawyer says that his client actually confessed to the U.S. attorney's office before they had even started an investigation. The lawyer also says that Merriman called each of his investors to personally apologize. Susan Roesgen, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: The CNN NEWSROOM with Melissa Long starts right now. Hi, Melissa.