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Somali Pirates Holding American Captain Hostage; French Hostages Freed With Deadly Consequences; Violent Storms Cause Damage and Death; Arizona State University Bucking Tradition
Aired April 11, 2009 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks T.J. and Betty. I am Melissa Long in today for Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin with the latest on the piracy off the coast of Somalia. The status of Captain Richard Phillips, who was snatched off his U.S. ship, Maersk Alabama, four days ago, he is still being held hostage by well-armed pirates.
Now, the U.S. Navy they have stopped pirate reinforcement efforts to the lifeboat where Captain Phillips is being held and there's another warship being dispatched to the scene. All of this as the captain's ship, again, the Maersk Alabama, is steaming toward its original destination of Mombasa, Kenya and steaming there without him.
CNN's Stan Grant is there with the very latest -- Stan.
STAN GRANT, CNN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Melissa, I'm actually at the dock, here. This is the port in Mombasa, Kenya, where the Maersk Alabama will be coming in to berth. We don't know when it will happen. We are told in the coming hours, sometime this evening, here in Mombasa.
Of course, this has been an extraordinary story and we've all followed every step of the way and these crew members have lived it. These are the American crew members who were onboard when the pirates hijacked the ship. Then we had the drama of the crew members taking back control of the ship once again, but losing their captain who as you just reported there, is still being held by the pirates on the lifeboat.
Now, when the crew members arrived on the Maersk Alabama -- we are being told that they'll be whisked away from here very, very quickly. Now, just standing here we've seen the police coming in and security here from Kenya, setting up barricades and cargo containers to stop us getting access to the crew members when they finally do arrive. We are told, as I say, they should be arriving here in the coming hour -- Melissa.
LONG: What when do we know if the crew members will be able to get back home and see their family and friends?
GRANT: Perhaps immediately. We've been hearing varying reports about this, but it seems that security is determined that the media does not get access to them tonight. They will obviously be debriefed by security officials and perhaps the FBI, as well, as to what exactly happened out on the high seas and then they'll be whisked as quickly as possible back home.
We're even hearing that they may be taken directly from the port to the airport, here in Mombasa, and from there flown back to the United States. So, it certainly won't take long. It seems that security want to get the crew members home as soon as possible -- Melissa.
LONG: Stan Grant, live for us from Mombasa, Kenya. He is waiting for the Maersk Alabama to pull into port. Thank you.
Now, underscoring just how dangerous these pirates can be, the French Defense Ministry is talking about their rescue effort from yesterday. They were able to free four hostages who were captured a week ago, but it did come with deadly consequences.
With this story, here's CNN's David Mattingly.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the French military took these pictures of the well-armed Somali pirates, they saw men desperate enough to execute five hostages, one of them a child.
Fearing the pirates would take the hostages ashore, French officials say they had no choice but to attack.
HERVE MORIN, FRENCH DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): They were talking more intensively about executing the hostages and destroying the boat with explosives. And they really wanted to get to the coast.
MATTINGLY: Experts say similar rules of when to use force are on the table for the U.S. contemplating the rescue of a captured American captain. There is always a risk such armed responses could escalate violence at sea, but the French are willing to take it.
TIM CROCKETT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AKE SECURITY: Yes, very much so. They -- again, there's an international stance in dealing with pirates or/and terrorists, and it's very much not to negotiate and when threats to their citizens are made, they tend to go in.
MATTINGLY (on camera): This was not the first time the French resorted to extreme measures with pirates. Last year, in a similar hijacking, a vessel called the Ponant, they mobilized 60 troops and airdropped commandos into shark-infested waters. The goal was to negotiate the safe release of the hostages and capture the pirates alive, and it worked, thanks in part to a reported $2 million ransom paid by an insurance company.
GEN. JEAN-LOUIS GEORGELIN, FRENCH MILITARY CHIEF OF STAFF: We have a plan, when we know that anywhere in the world, that a French ship is hijacked and this allow us to prepare. From the generic plan, we had a specific plan, specially aimed at this Ponant affair.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): But French officials say this time was different, because the pirates wouldn't make a deal. Experts say this latest rescue is still being evaluated, but it could have been a page straight from an international playbook.
TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIR.: The tactical officers from around the world actually train together. I know extensive training is done at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia and at academies throughout the world.
MATTINGLY: So, while the pirates' standoff continues with the captured American captain, could the French solution to piracy come into play again? Experts say, it is an option, and not the only one, at least not yet.
David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: And a little later this afternoon, we're going to bring you today's scheduled news conference on Maersk shipping headquarters. We'll bring it to you live here, it is scheduled for 3:30 in the afternoon, Eastern.
Tonight at 8:00, a CNN "SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Somali Pirates: Can They Be Stopped?" Who are the Somali pirates hijacking ships and capturing Americans? And again, can they be stopped? CNN takes you inside a story that certainly captured the world's attention, that's tonight at 8:00 Eastern.
Some violent storms across the South claiming more victims. Last night, a mother and her baby. Rescuers in Tennessee say the mother was apparently trying to get her baby girl into the car when the tornado hit. The nine-week-old was found in her car seat, the mother under debris by the driveway. The father suffered broken ribs and a broken back. Police believe there were numerous tornado touchdowns in the city. Hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed and dozens of people injured, as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By the time we got here it was over. It was on the top of the building here, and we just ran in and they let us in the back and it hit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And 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, I wanted to make sure my baby is OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: We had that deadly weather in Tennessee. We had some really nasty weather roll through Atlanta, Georgia, yesterday as well. Let's bring in meteorologist Reynolds Wolf.
Reynolds, we had a lot of rain and it's that rain they actually needed in Oklahoma.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, they are going to be getting the rainfall if parts of Oklahoma, but the problem is remember, you've had widespread fires in parts of Texas and Oklahoma and you had the very, very hard surface that dirt out there, they refer to it as kalichi (ph) and when you have the rain that's falling, it doesn't tend to get absorbed in the soil, it's runoff, you have runoff with that, you have the possibility of some flash flooding.
Let's take a look at some video that we had from just last night, let's enlarge this for you, showing you again a scene that was pretty much set up all across in parts of the southeast, including Alabama, back into Tennessee, even Kentucky and the Carolinas, even this morning, we had reports of large hail.
One thing we're going to be seeing today would be better conditions, certainly not quite as bad as what we've seen over the last couple of days. Take a look at this. This is an iReport that was sent in. This one also in Mena, Arkansas. You see a little bit of everything, here, some building damage, you see some debris from these trees. At the same time, what you've been saying, of course, those forbidding gray skies and that is going to be something that we are going to see developing later on in parts of Texas.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LONG: What's going on in the weather pattern that we're getting these tornadoes and this rough weather?
WOLF: Well, that's a great question. The thing is, it is this time of year that we tend to see this kind of weather and during the springtime it's not unusual that what happens from time to time, I'm going to pull this back a little bit. Let's enlarge, in fact, let's move this a little back over here.
Let me clear this and show you that what happens, Melissa, quite often at this time of year, you have a lot of moisture that feeds into the Gulf of Mexico. You also, at the same time, have a lot of storm systems. The typical track that you have will be mainly just going right through parts of the central plains and then back into the southeastern United States through parts of Tornado Alley and then moving into the Deep South.
When you have that interaction, that cool air coming in from the north and the area of low pressure moving across that moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, that's a combination that often gives us some rough weather. Back in the '90s, for example, in parts of Alabama, you have the Palm Sunday tornadoes that occurred back in 1993. Not uncommon to see and it certainly could happen again and may happen again as we get into Monday and Tuesday. Certainly something to watch out for.
LONG: Reynolds Wolf, meteorologist, thanks for the explainer, appreciate it.
WOLF: You bet.
LONG: We are also continuing to follow developments out of New Orleans for you. Two children and a teenager found shot to death in their home. Police say two men kicked down the door of the victim's apartment and opened fire. Two boys, one six years old, the other 23 months were found in their beds shot in the head.
A 19-year-old woman shot in the back died later at the hospital. There is a fourth victim, an 11-year-old girl. She is in critical condition. So far, no arrests and no known motive.
From Tracy, California, Sunday school teacher arrested for the kidnapping and murder of an 8-year-old girl. This is the picture of Melissa Huckaby. Police say her daughter was good friends with Sandra Cantu who disappeared March 27. Cantu's body was found a week earlier stuffed in a suitcase and dumped in a pond.
President Obama changing his tone on the economy, now more optimistic tone. We're going to compare the talk and the reality.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Candidate Obama was all about hope, but President Obama seemed a bit gloom oat economy. Well, now that optimistic outlook is back.
Here's senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's spring in Washington, and for a man who spent the winter issuing dire warnings and grim predictions, the president is downright chipper.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What you're starting to see is glimmers of hope across the economy.
CROWLEY: It's not the audacity of hope, but it's the most upbeat the president has been about the economy. Even his faintly, dour White House economic adviser is on board, in his own way.
LAWRENCE SUMMERS, DIR., WHITE HOUSE NAT'L ECONOMIC COUNCIL: So, I think the sense of a ball falling off a table, which is what the economy has felt like since the middle of last -- since the middle of last fall, I think that is going to -- I think we can be reasonably confident that that's going to end within the next few months.
CROWLEY: Michael Santoli, senior editor of "Barron's," the Dow Jones business and financial weekly, says the economy is declining at a slower pace, and puts the cautious into cautious optimism.
MICHAEL SANTOLI, SR. EDITOR, BARRON'S: And this is what happens kind of as an economy bumps along the bottom, certain things look better, other things don't. Maybe you have kind of a false thaw. CROWLEY: The glimmers cited by the president, a surge in home loan refinancing, putting money in people's wallets, and maybe helping to stabilize the housing market.
A 20 percent increase in the loan program at the Small Business Administration, it could help small businesses stay open or new ones to create jobs. Not to mention Wall Street has been on a tear.
Other figures are not so glimmery. Record unemployment is still rising, though looking at the glass half full, it did not rise as much last week as the week before. And at the core of the meltdown, there is housing.
SANTOLI: House prices keep going down at a relatively quick pace. That's been the underpinning for many of the problems we've been seeing, obviously, it makes the bank's balance sheets worse. It kind of prevents the banks from really healing themselves very quickly and maybe requires more aid down the road.
CROWLEY: It's a rhetorical challenge for the president. He has to show his plans are working, especially if he has to go back to Congress for more money, but over-promising puts him in political peril. Fortunately, President Obama is rhetorically blessed and by nature, more careful than chipper.
OBAMA: Now, we have always been very cautious about prognosticating and that kind of a change just because it's Easter. The economy is still under severe stress.
CROWLEY: You can't get too far out there, glimmers can fade.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Did you happen to than water can get stimulus money? How about volcanoes? Both are creating jobs for the economy in a roundabout way. The Interior Department will be spending $14 million stimulus dollars to upgrade stream gauges. The devices predict flood levels and apparently they were helpful in the recent North Dakota floods.
Interior will also upgrade volcano warning systems and that price tag is $15 million. Better data means smoother evacuations and it could help the airlines to dodge ash clouds that often foul up the engines.
We pick up the stimulus topic again during the 4:00 Eastern hour, the theme for the hour: "Spend It: The Economy Needs You." We're going to look at ways you can stimulate the economy. We're going to have a panel of experts join us and my colleague Josh Levs is going to get answers to your questions about spending in this recession.
You can send in your questions and stories, as well, to weekends@CNN.com or you can also logon to Josh's Facebook page. We're going to share some of your comments, again, coming up in the 4:00 p.m. Eastern hour today, that's CNN NEWSROOM.
Now, this golfer goes by the name "Woods," but it's not Tiger, because she is a rising star named Woods in her own right, related to Tiger, yes, and she's gaining attention of her own on the green.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): The recession may be tightening your company's travel budge, but there are ways to keep moving for less money.
SARAH KANTROWITZ, TRAVEL+ LEISURE: Many hotels offer cooperate rates, but often they're not advertised, so always ask.
Another great idea is to tell (INAUDIBLE) that you're considering another nearby hotel. Sometimes hotels will drop their rates.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Keep expenses low.
KANTROWITZ: There are many things this watch out for at hotels. In particular look for surcharges and bring your own wireless system. Another great way to save is to join a loyalty program. Many airlines and hotels already have that and it's a great way to earn points for future flights and hotel stays.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Traveling less could mean more.
KANTROWITZ: As always, you should pack light. Not only will you save on baggage fees, but you will also be able to use public transportation which can help save you money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can also cut costs on business class flights by bargain shopping sites on the Web.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: No honor for President Barack Obama. Arizona State University is bucking tradition. Officials there saying they will not be handing the president an honorary degree when he speaks at next month's commencement.
CNN's Kate Bolduan takes a look at the controversy and the university's honorary history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sandra Day O'Connor received one after serving on the Supreme Court for just three years of her nearly quarter-century on the bench, so did Barry Goldwater in 1961, before running for president. And even a former owner of the Phoenix Suns and the Chinese vice minister of education received honorary degrees from Arizona State University, but not so for President Obama. ASU has reportedly decided against awarding the degree to the president when he speaks to its graduating class of more than 8,000 next month -- a spokeswoman telling the "Associated Press": "It's our practice to recognize an individual for his body of work, somebody who's been in their position for a long time." She goes on to say: "His body of work is yet to come. That's why we're not recognizing him with a degree at the beginning of his presidency."
(APPLAUSE)
BOLDUAN: It's tradition for presidents to choose a select few graduation ceremonies to speak at. And, in turn, colleges and universities often honor them with honorary degrees, leaving many, including presidential historian, Bob Dallek, scratching their heads.
ROBERT DALLEK, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Does it add more to the stature of Arizona State University or to Barack Obama's stature? I would think it adds more to the stature of Arizona State University having given this African-American president, the first in our history, an honorary degree.
BOLDUAN (on camera): And in a late development, Friday, the ASU president told "Politico," the school is reconsidering its position, saying, "There was no intended slight. We had not yet talked about what honors we might give him as our commencement speaker, and we still have a month to work all of that out."
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: As the Masters tees off this week in Augusta, a lovely young lady is also making headlines of her own on the green and it's a lady named Woods. CNN's Larry Smith joins us live from Augusta, Georgia, with more of her story.
Hi, Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. How are you? Speaking of the name Woods, how about Tiger Woods tees off in less than an hour, here. He currently is two under par as the round three is underway. Seven shots behind the leaders Kenny Perry and Chad Campbell, both of them at nine under par.
But as for the other Woods, well, she's the one who knew Mr. Tiger Woods long before anyone -- the rest of us have.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (voice-over): Cheyenne Woods isn't just another collegiate golfer. There's that name, "Woods." That cool demeanor that seems familiar, and she can get in touch with the world's best golfer.
CHEYENNE WOODS, GOLFER: I just call him Tiger. I guess Uncle Tiger. Yeah. I don't know about Uncle Eldrick doesn't sound right. SMITH: You see, Cheyenne's dad is Tiger's older half brother. She won't shake her famous relative any time soon, but she's trying to make a name for herself as a freshman on the Wake Forest University golf team.
NANNETTE HILL, CHEYENNE'S TEAMMATE: She definitely isn't the type that wants more attention or special privileges because she's Tiger Woods' niece or, you know, she never even, like, says it. Sometimes we'll be in an airport and, you know, we might want to throw it out, you know, name drop, but you know, she's not like that.
WOODS: That's the hardest thing, growing up with the name of Woods is having that expectation and having that -- or like, growing up in that shadow of Tiger Woods', but I've kind of learned to kind of play my own game.
SMITH: Cheyenne dreams of join her famous uncle one day as a professional golfer. Her late grandfather, Earl Woods, started her in the game the same way he launched Tiger's career.
WOODS: The first club I ever picked up was one of Tiger's old cut down clubs.
When I was about three-years-old, I think, my grandpa, like, had a net in his garage, and I just started hitting balls and when I was six I got my first set of clubs and started hitting and played my first tournament when I was eight and I've just been playing ever since then.
SMITH: Cheyenne's teammates and coach have noticed at least one similarity between her and Tiger.
HILL: She's playing bad, she's playing good, like you'll never know. Like, she's very, just -- she doesn't get too up, too down.
DIANNE DAILEY, WAKE FOREST'S GOLF COACH: I think she's very, very competitive. She wants to win. I don't think she, at this point, has the extreme competitiveness that he has, but I think she's getting there.
SMITH: And for the 18-year-old Woods, playing before the cameras brings out her best.
WOODS: Ever since I started playing like really big tournaments, I've had had cameras following me, so I've gotten used to it, but I guess I kind of like it sometimes. I feel like I play better under pressure and with cameras there it kind of brings the pressure of having the, I don't know, like show off. I don't know.
SMITH: It would seem like uncle, like niece.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: We certainly know what Earl Woods did for his son Tiger's career and if he did anything similar to that for his granddaughter's career, the LBGA tour should look out. Once again, round three here at the Masters is underway, here in Augusta.
Let's go back to you.
LONG: What a terrific young lady, and I'm sure the comparisons can be tough to live up to, but she's obviously making a name for herself in her own right.
I'm curious about the weather there, Larry, because of course, we had wicked storms move through Georgia yesterday and we had snow earlier in the week. So, what was the weather like and how soggy is the grass today?
SMITH: It looks great. We've got some rain overnight. A tornado did touchdown in Augusta, not near the course at all, but it was a wild evening, you could say that for the most part. But it's a beautiful day, clear skies, just a couple of clouds in the air. Temperature is 75, a slight breeze and perfect day for golf, we'll see if the overnight rain softened the course and maybe lengthens it, but I talked to one caddy last night that said that he didn't think that would be the case.
LONG: It does look like a perfect there now. Thank you, Larry.
SMITH: OK.
LONG: And air of invincibility. Brazen pirates use Somalia as a shield to carry out hundreds of attacks and that's raising questions about whether they ever be brought to justice. We're going to ask the legal guys.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Here's a quick check of some of the stories happening right now. Tears and anguish in Tennessee after a line of devastating tornadoes ripped through south of Nashville. Tennessee's governor is getting a look at the destruction along Murfreesboro, today. As many as five tornadoes may have swarmed state. A mother and her baby were killed. At least 41 people were injured, dozens of homes were damaged or destroyed.
The American cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, is bound for Kenya right now, expected to make port later today. The captain, American Richard Phillips was left behind still held captive by four pirates in a lifeboat. U.S. Navy warships are watching the situation as negotiators try to end the standoff. We get more now on the American ship captain being held hostage.
CNN's Susan Candiotti is live at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, which is in Buzzards Bay and she has been spending some time with Captain Thomas Bushy, he's a friend and fellow skipper at Captain Phillips' alma mater -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This, in fact is where Richard Phillips train at the Massachusetts maritime academy and that was back in 1979. So, he still has a lot of connections to this academy, a lot of friends here and former classmates, but someone who also knows him as Captain Tom Bushy -- as the alarm sounds on the ship.
If you can move in just a little bit closer, Captain, we have had reports -- CNN is now reporting that a German flag vessel that had been seized by pirates earlier that had apparently been making its way toward the lifeboat, apparently to assist the pirates who are holding him captive, has now moved back away. What do you make of this development?
CAPTAIN THOMAS BUSHY, FRIEND OF CAPT. PHILLIPS: Well, I think that that's the threat that the United States Navy presents to them. You know, the pirates are alone, so anything they can do to get some help, they're going to try for, but the Navy's there and they're -- not allow that to happen.
CANDIOTTI: In your view, if they were able to keep other pirates from getting into that region, how do you think that would help?
BUSHY: In this particular instance?
CANDIOTTI: Yes.
BUSHY: Oh, it's going to help a lot, I think, as far as keeping the pirates isolated. The pirates, all they have is Captain Phillips. That's all they got. If they can get with their friends or get back towards Somalia, then they're back in that safe haven again and we don't want that to happen.
CANDIOTTI: What do you think Captain Phillips is going through right now?
BUSHY: Well, certainly, I hope he's well. I know he's not particularly happy with the circumstance, but I know he's probably very stoic about it like most ship captains are. Sadly, the lifeboat's not designed for comfort. It's just designed to provide, you know, protection from -- and for a very temporary means of survival. So, being on board that for three days is cruel and unusual punishment from a perspective of comfort.
CANDIOTTI: And in fact, it is said to be running low on fuel if it's not already out of fuel. Provisions -- they do have some food and water, correct?
BUSHY: Yes, I'm sure. They only provide enough fuel to run it for 24 hours and with that fuel, that's how they get their lights and stuff, so if they weren't wise with their fuel consumption, they're certainly out by now. They have plenty of food -- the boat probably holds -- is capable of supporting 40 men or so, 40 people or so for maybe three or four days, so there's plenty of food. It doesn't taste very good, but it's food. High-nutrition, protein bars.
CANDIOTTI: But No. 1, I know, everyone here at the academy and you included wants a safe return for Captain Rich Phillips. Of course, the crew is said to be getting back to Mombasa this afternoon. We'll be talking about that later and we hope, of course -- everyone here hopes that Captain Rich Phillips won't be far behind.
Back to you, Melissa.
LONG: Susan Candiotti, live for us from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Susan, thank you.
I want to make sure our viewers are aware tonight at 8:00, a CNN "SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Somali Pirates, Can They Be Stopped?" Who are these Somali pirates hijacking ships and capturing Americans and again, how can they be stopped? CNN takes you inside a story that took -- they captured the world's attention. That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern.
Now, one of the more important questions here, who is in charge of prosecuting the pirates? We turn over this question to our legal guys. Avery Friedman is a civil rights attorney and law professor. Hi, Avery, nice to see you.
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Nice to see you, Melissa.
LONG: And Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor. Nice to see you as well.
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hi, Melissa.
LONG: Thanks for your time on this weekend, on this Saturday.
HERMAN: Sure.
LONG: First and foremost, let's talk about who would handle this case, what prosecution challenges could come up and all about the jurisdiction and let me start with you, Avery.
FRIEDMAN: Well, actually, I hate to take the seam out of this evening's 8:00 show, but there really is no authority to prosecute. There are violations of local national laws, but believe it or not, there is no international law that can be utilized for purposes of prosecuting the Somali pirates.
The difficulty is you need an international treaty. Somalia and most other countries do not subscribe to the International Court of Justice. Bottom line, there's no international way of getting these guys.
HERMAN: Yes.
LONG: Very complicated. I mean, this has happened hundreds of miles off the coastline as well. You were going to say something. I'm sorry, Richard.
HERMAN: Yes, there was 115 pirate attacks in 2008. There is no international criminal court with jurisdiction ...
FRIEDMAN: Right.
HERMAN: ...to prosecute these pirates. So, each country goes on their own if they're going to prosecute them. These are extremely expensive. There's issues of due process. I mean, no country really wants to get involved in prosecuting them. They'd rather focus on deterrents and that's been the emphasis of the U.S. Navy. Usually, the Navy doesn't get involved in these things. The companies are the ones that make the resolutions with these pirates. This is more the ...
FRIEDMAN: Yes, they're private settlements. It's exactly right.
HERMAN: Yes, yes, it is.
LONG: So, it's very complicated. What legal options are there right now, then? We have to -- somebody has to prosecute, right?
FRIEDMAN: Well, yes. If -- frankly, if there were a will by the Somali government, by the Indian government, something could be done, but think about this, Melissa, you have one million square miles that have to be patrolled to watch over what's going on. The fact is it's uncontrollable right now and Richard is right. The private companies are settling these ransoms to keep the cargo and protect the personnel. Bottom line, no legal answers.
HERMAN: And Melissa, these guys are heroes in Somalia. They come home with their riches and they're revered by the people there. The government's out of control in Somalia.
FRIEDMAN: Ridiculous.
HERMAN: It's horrible.
LONG: So, there's great motivation for this to continue, then.
HERMAN: Yes, yes.
LONG: OK, let's talk about one of the other big legal stories of the week. It was last fall that we found Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska convicted. Then this week, we learned from a judge, a federal judge that he wanted to set aside the conviction of the former senator, therefore clearing Senator Stevens of any wrongdoing. I should say former senator because we know ...
FRIEDMAN: Right.
LONG: ...just days after the conviction, he lost his re-election bid. I know this is something that you're both very passionate about, so I started with Avery with the first question. Let me talk to you, Richard, about this. What are your thoughts on what this says about the Department of Justice?
HERMAN: Well, it wasn't just the judge. The -- you know, Mr. Holder, Attorney General Holder directed the judge to withdraw the conviction on the longest-running senator in the United States and it obviously cost him the election. This was outrageous and egregious, unethical and misconduct by the prosecution in this case. They withheld evidence. They withheld witnesses. They put in evidence that they knew was not accurate. It's outrageous. We saw it at Duke.
FRIEDMAN: All right, all right. HERMAN: We saw it with corrupt prosecutors in the middle (ph) district of Florida. It's outrageous, Melissa.
FRIEDMAN: Take it easy. All right, look ...
HERMAN: Look, it's really -- you know what, the federal sentencing guidelines, Avery, to ...
FRIEDMAN: Come on.
HERMAN: ...treat people like this, it's outrageous. It's like ...
FRIEDMAN: Hey, listen, bottom line ...
LONG: OK, you feel it's outrageous. Avery?
FRIEDMAN: Look, I think -- I think Richard is a little upset about this. The fact is that there is a system that cleanses itself. We have an office of professional responsibility. It's been dormant for -- at least during the Bush years. We now have an attorney general that will get it involved. Those prosecutors are going to be in trouble.
Look, when the government cheats, this is the kind of thing that happens, and I think, you know what? No one said that Ted Stevens is innocent. Basically, he's not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That's vacated, but let's give cheating, dirty prosecutors. Now, we're going to open up the office of professional responsibility. We're going to see cleanliness and honesty in the Department of Justice. I have great faith we're not going to see a recurrence of this.
LONG: Avery, you're saying the system cleanses itself, but again, this conviction ...
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
LONG: ...came about just days before the election ...
HERMAN: Right.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
LONG: ...and obviously, many would say influenced what voters did on November 4th.
HERMAN: Melissa, you're ...
FRIEDMAN: Well, but there's not even a question about it. You got six assistant U.S. attorneys that are now being investigated by a special appointment by the federal district judge. What I mean by cleansing itself is if the office of professional responsibility would have be doing what it should have been doing, Melissa, we would have never have seen this.
HERMAN: Oh please.
FRIEDMAN: That's what I mean.
HERMAN: Listen ...
FRIEDMAN: The system cleanses itself.
LONG: OK, Richard and Avery, I got to stop on this topic. There's one more we want to get in. It's an important story. Did a retired autoworker serve as a Nazi death camp guard. Well, this week, we have learned that he can be deported back to Germany.
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
LONG: What do you think about this and I know, Avery, you're very close to this?
FRIEDMAN: Yes. Actually, I was involved with the federal district judge that originally found him in violation of federal law. Twenty-six hearings for Ivan Demjanjuk, he was tried in criminal charges in Israel. But the issue is whether or not he lied on his passport to become an American citizen. No question he did. Bottom line, Melissa, good-bye Ivan.
LONG: Richard, same bottom line?
HERMAN: 29,000 counts of murder charged Germany against him. He's going home. He's going to get prosecuted, he's going to have due process that he didn't provide to people that he watched over, and I hope this guy gets his just due.
LONG: He is 89 years of age.
FRIEDMAN: I absolutely agree -- Richard and I actually agree on that.
LONG: Wrapping up with an agreement, but again, 89 years of age, denies involvement, family planning to appeal ...
FRIEDMAN: Yes.
LONG: ...with the U.S. Court of Appeal.
Gentlemen, thanks so much. Richard Herman, criminal defense attorney, Avery Friedman, civil rights attorney. Nice to see you as always.
FRIEDMAN: Good to see you. Take care.
LONG: Always a pleasure. Thank you.
FRIEDMAN: All the best.
LONG: Now, help for wounded warriors, a former Navy man is now setting aside his retirement so he can take some fishers -- some soldiers fishing and that makes him a CNN hero. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: It's beautiful now, Reynolds, if you look across so many communities in the southeast, but boy, it was pretty wicked last night.
WOLF: It really is and certainly yesterday afternoon. It was just mind boggling is less than 24 hours ago, there were people in Murfreesboro, Tennessee that were planning their weekend, they were getting things ready, maybe finishing up a long week of work. The last thing they ever expected was to deal with the devastation that they're dealing with today.
Take a look at this video. We're going to put this in motion for you. The scene that has been played out, not just in parts of Tennessee, but also into the Carolinas, back into Alabama, even portions of Georgia. You see the water lines here, all broken. Some of these homes wiped nearly clean off their foundation.
Today, the National Weather Service is going to be going out, people are going to be rebuilding, beginning the rebuilding process. But they're also going to be taking a look at these areas, not just from the ground, but also from up above, aerial observation and give them a better idea of the direction of this tornado that came through.
Again, it's not official as of yet, but I'm telling you just from some of the video that we've seen and with some trained storm spotters, I'm telling you, this was definitely some damage caused by a tornado, at least in my humble opinion.
Well, we're going to be seeing today better conditions. Take a look at this storm system that we have right here moving off the Eastern seaboard. That is the storm system that caused all the problems yesterday. What we have to focus on is going to be this storm system that we have that is moving in to parts of west Texas. Now, as this low tracks its way off towards the east, what it's going to be dealing with is some moisture feeding in from the Gulf of Mexico.
So, when you have the moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, this frontal boundary making its way off towards the east, (INAUDIBLE) daytime heating is going to destabilize the atmosphere, which means, Melissa, we could see more damage today, possibly some rough storms in west and central Texas.
Let's send it back to you.
LONG: OK, all right, thanks a bunch, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
LONG: 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 and what he did next transformed his retirement and his efforts make him this week's CNN hero.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NARRATOR: This is CNN heroes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in Afghanistan. I broke a vertebrae.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got hit by the blast. Blew me up about 20 feet in the air. My feet were just shredded up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lost my right eye. My mouth was blasted out.
ED NICHOLSON, CNN HERO: 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 learn 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 with 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,, 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 every day living.
NICHOLSON: I've heard from other participants 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)
LONG: If you would like to get involved or know someone else who is doing something extraordinary and needs to be honored for it, nominate him or her at CNN.com/heroes.
Now, what happens when you mix "American Idol" with YouTube and classical music? Our Josh Levs looks at a pretty amazing concert at Carnegie Hall.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LONG: YouTube is now giving a new twist to the old joke about how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Some two -- actually, 100 people are about to embark on an experience of a lifetime thanks to, of course, a lot of practice and thanks to YouTube itself.
Josh Levs explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, I am Fletcher (ph), and I play the classical instrument (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I started playing the violin when I was five-years-old.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, I am Petras (ph) from Romania and I play violin.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They're coming from all over the world to live out a dream.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come to Carnegie Hall all the way from Bermuda.
LEVS: 3,000 people submitted audition videos on YouTube. Music professionals chose 200 finalists, then YouTube users voted. Ninety- six people from 30 countries will get to fill these seats.
JENNIFER LINDSAY, YOUTUBE SYMPHONY: I'm 28-years-old. I work as a systems engineer for a government contractor out in Los Angeles. There's no other way that someone like me who's not even a professional musician would have ever made it to Carnegie Hall.
LEVS: Bass player Kurt Hinterbichler is working on a Ph.D in physics. He pulled his bass out of the closet.
KURT HINTERBICHLER, YOUTUBE SYMPHONY: There was a lot of rust there, but you know, I had practiced many years in college and high school before that. Carnegie Hall is still sort of the unofficial pinnacle of achievement for the classical music world. You know, once you've made it to Carnegie Hall, you've really made it.
LEVS: It's YouTube's idea mixing classical music with the power of the Internet and a little bit of "American Idol."
ED SANDERS, PRODUCT MARKETING MGR., YOUTUBE: The classical music world was always something that, you know, strives for perfection and it was probably saying something that was traditional and even outdated and somewhat elitist, but I think this project has gone to show that that's not actually the case. We hope this is game changing in the sense that it redefines the audition space, it brings people closer together and let's them collaborate, transcending geographical and linguistic boundaries.
LEVS: Google, which owns YouTube is covering the cost of travel for the winning musicians to come to New York. Now is their moment to shine. They know they better be ready.
LINDSAY: Yes, yes. For the past few weeks, my schedule has been work, eat, practice and sleep pretty much around the clock.
LEVS (on camera): People fly from all over the world, only have a couple of days to become a fantastic orchestra together. Do you think that'll be done?
LINDSAY: Oh, absolutely. Do not underestimate the motivational power of playing at Carnegie Hall.
LEVS (voice-over): They also have another incentive: the chance to be led by one of the world's most respected conductors, Michael Tilson Thomas, who had final say on whether they made the cut.
MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS, CONDUCTOR, YOUTUBE SYMPHONY: Get those notes under your fingers, get those rhythms inside of your body and any minute, we'll be together and have -- I know it's going to be a really good time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Josh Levs joins us now to talk more about the fantastic opportunity for so many people.
LEVS: Yes, so happy for them. Many (ph) of those people gave up on the dream, that's what's so beautiful about it. A lot of these people, not professional musicians. They thought, you know what, never going to happen. They went another direction -- boom, YouTube, now they get to perform at Carnegie Hall. That's incredible.
LONG: Amazing. So many people from around the world will be performing ...
LEVS: Yes.
LONG: ...so I imagine millions of people voted for this one.
LEVS: Yes, well, apparently they got 14 million page views on the site where you could vote. They won't say who got how many votes, how many votes there were, but they will say the number of page views is incredible.
LONG: The concert is on Wednesday?
LEVS: Wednesday night, Carnegie Hall. You can get tickets, Carnegiehall.org.
LONG: All right, very cool. Thank you.
LEVS: Thank you.
LONG: Well, you could call it the recession's healthy silver lining. Why seeds and earth could mean pay dirt for people digging deep to try to make ends meet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Today, we are taking a special look at how you can help to stimulate the economy. For many homeowners, that means the resurgence of backyard gardens. More people are exercising their green thumbs, or trying to have green thumbs, growing veggies at home to stretch their budgets.
And Fredricka Whitfield now explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Planting seeds of change because of money and market moments like these ...
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: U.S. stocks ended the day lower ...
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Americans are cutting back on their use of credit cards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's now looking really quite similar to the first year or so of the Great Depression.
WHITFIELD: And perhaps this moment, too.
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: This garden can not only feed my family, but it's going to feed all the staff at the White House.
WHITFIELD: A boom in vegetable and herb gardens sprouting in backyards across the country, much like what America cultivated in the Great Depression and then during World War II, so-called victory gardens are back in a big way.
KATE GUNDERSON (ph), HASTINGS MANAGER: Back in World War II, people were pressured to build victory gardens to help, you know, with food shortages and food rations. And now, the term victory has kind of come into a new meaning for people whereas they can overcome the recession now.
WHITFIELD: Kelly Williams, her daughters Emma and Kate are anxious to get their hands dirty, even though they need lots of help getting started.
KELLY WILLIAMS, STARTING A VEGGIE GARDEN: What would you recommend? I don't really know how to do this.
WHITFIELD: Williams has tried this once before.
WILLIAMS: I tried to plant tomatoes a year ago and they never -- they never bloomed.
WHITFIELD: Inspired by a few things, including her wallet, she's determined to try it again.
WILLIAMS: We love to eat salads, so -- and to save a little bit of money and for the -- to teach them about being outdoors and, you know, trying something new, we thought we would do it. And I saw an idea, we're going to take an old -- a children's sandbox and turn it into our little vegetable garden.
WHITFIELD: The Williams will spend about $60 buying everything they need, including starter plants and a combination of soils and fertilizers. All the ingredients for a fun, family project with frugal roots.
WILLIAMS: Tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers -- she has a watermelon plant that they grew in preschool, we're going to try that and some green beans.
WHITFIELD: It's a trend bursting in benefits. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, for every $100 spent on vegetable gardening, the potential yield is $1,000 to $1,700 worth of produce. This in a year when food prices are expected to jump another five percent.
For nursery businesses like Hastings in Atlanta, sales of items supporting vegetable and herb gardens are up nearly 20 percent over last year. Because demand, especially from novice growers has been so high, Hastings offers lots of free advice, including free handout garden design.
GUNDERSON: It's been a really wonderful thing for us. We're one of the industries that's really seeing an enjoyable aspect to this crunch.
WHITFIELD: And as Hastings' manager Kate Gunderson tells me, the customers vary.
GUNDERSON: We're seeing people -- a lot of people from their mid-20s up until their 30s that have never done any gardening before. The other group that's really interesting are the people kind of mid- 50s into mid-60s who grew up with family gardens in the back, but then maybe for the last 20 years have done nothing more than perhaps grow a tomato and they're really interested in getting back in and growing several different things.
WHITFIELD: A project helping households save money, eat healthier and help boost the economy of at least one blooming industry.
Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Saving money and getting back to old traditions. We're going to pick up this topic again at 2:00 and then at the 4:00 p.m. Eastern hour.
At 4:00, I want to highlight that we're going to dedicate the entire hour to the theme "Spend it, the economy needs you." We're going to look at ways you can stimulate the economy and we're going to have a panel of experts join us and Josh Levs is going to get answers to your questions about spending in this recession. So, send those questions and your stories to us at weekends@CNN.com. You can also get them our way by going to Josh's Facebook page. We're going to share some of your comments, again, today in the 4:00 p.m. Eastern hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.
And do stay with CNN throughout the day, of course for the latest breaking news. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.
