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What to do About Cuba; Hot Issues for Summit of the Americas; Drug War Next Door; Small Plane Crashes into Ft. Lauderdale Residential Neighborhood; Vermont Town Awaits Its Hero

Aired April 17, 2009 - 10:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Friday, April 17th. Forty-eight years ago today, the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba.

Here are the top stories for you here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

President Obama leaves Mexico for a summit in the Caribbean.

Venezuela's firebrand leader threatens to embarrass the U.S. over Cuba's absence.

President Obama releases documents outlining the Bush-era policy of harsh interrogation techniques. He promises interrogators won't be prosecuted.

It's true -- everything in Texas is bigger. Take a look. Hail morphs into chunks of ice. My goodness.

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

So, what do we have here? President Barack Obama, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, their paths crossed at the Summit of the Americas getting under way this evening in the Caribbean. President Obama is pushing for new beginning in relations with Latin America. President Chavez is setting the stage for a showdown over Cuba.

What will happen is anybody's guess. The Venezuelan leader once referred to President Bush as the devil. And just last month, he called President Obama ignorant about Latin America.

You might call Cuba the elephant in the room that's not actually in the room. The communist nation barred from the Summit of the Americas. Venezuela's president threatens to veto the summit declaration because of Cuba's exclusion.

President Obama this week lifted travel restrictions on Cuban- Americans. But the U.S. trade embargo remains in place. He says the ball is now in Cuba's court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What we're looking for is some signal that there are going to be changes in how Cuba operates that assures that, you know, political prisoners are released, that people can speak their minds freely, that they can travel, that they can write and attend church and do the things that people throughout the hemisphere can do and take for granted. And if there's some sense of movement on those fronts in Cuba, then I think that we can see a further thawing of relations and further changes. But we took an important first step.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: President Obama likely to get an earful about the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. The issue is expected to be a major topic of discussion at the Summit of the Americas, even though Cuba isn't there.

CNN's Havana bureau chief, Morgan Neill, has the story from Cuba.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MORGAN NEILL, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): When President Barack Obama arrives in Trinidad and Tobago, the one country in the Americas not present may be the one he hears the most about -- Cuba. Latin American leaders overwhelmingly oppose the U.S. trade embargo imposed on the communist island more than four decades ago. Several have said they'll bring it up at the summit, and this time it's not just Washington's usual critics.

Last month, at the White House, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged the U.S. to normalize relations with Cuba. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet visited Havana in February. After meeting with President Raul Castro, she, too, urged the U.S. to stop trying to isolate Cuba.

MICHELLE BACHELET, CHILEAN PRESIDENT (through translator); I'm referring to something very concrete, the U.S. blockade against Cuba, which seriously affects the living conditions of the Cuban people, particularly in this current crisis.

NEILL: But is President Obama listening?

PHIL PETERS, LEXINGTON INSTITUTE: ... that the Obama administration hears it loud and clear -- all the countries of Latin America and all the countries of the Caribbean have called on the United States to change the policy towards Cuba.

NEILL (on camera): Just this week, President Obama eased some restrictions on Cuban-Americans who visit and send money to family here on the island. That may blunt some of the criticism he'll face at the summit, but certainly not all.

(voice-over): Bolivian President Evo Morales, fresh off a hunger strike, seeking support in a conflict at home, has said he'll present a resolution to end the U.S. embargo. And Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez said last month he was already preparing the verbal artillery for the summit.

HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT: Viva Cuba!

NEILL: Morgan Neill, CNN, Havana. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And for his part, Cuban President Raul Castro says he is willing to talk with Washington, just as long as the discussions are on equal terms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAUL CASTRO, CUBAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We told the North American government, in private and in public, that we are prepared, wherever they want, to discuss everything -- human rights, freedom of the press, political prisoners -- everything, everything, everything, that they want to discuss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So, should Washington lift the ban on travel to Cuba, on trade to Cuba?

CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation conducted a poll. Sixty-four percent of you say, yes, lift the ban. About one-third say keep it. Asked, "Do you favor or oppose reestablishing diplomatic relations with Cuba?" more than seven in 10 say yes, 27 percent oppose such a move.

President Obama faces a series of major issues at the summit. All of them directly affect our economy from the price of gasoline, to the cost of groceries.

Josh Levs joins me now to look at some of those top concerns on the president's agenda -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey there, Tony.

You know, what we want to do, we've kind of gotten together with the international desk here. We've got a really good digest for you of some of the key issues to keep an eye on at the summit. We're going to run some video right here and kind of trace you through the region, talk to you along the way about some of the top issues.

Let's start off right here.

Now, you know Mexico, one of the top issues there, drug violence. We talk about it a lot. Also, our viewers are saying immigration, top of mind for them.

Those are a couple of the big issues in Mexico. But we're going to move over to Cuba. We were just hearing about Cuba.

Now, Tony, some Latin American leaders plan to call on President Obama to lift that embargo. How he handles that will be very interesting to follow and very important in terms of U.S. relations with Cuba.

We're going to go down to South America. I want to show you some key issues right there we're facing. First of all, Venezuela, there's been a back-and-forth about oil, as you know, for a long time. How will that play out? What will be discussed? What will be determined? We'll keep a close eye.

Now we're going to move on to the next one, which -- we're going to move a little bit to the west, because I want you to think about this -- Colombia, the challenges that the United States is facing there with narco-terrorism.

A lot of discussion about that, Tony. Narco-terrorists controlling a portion of the country. Also, the drugs running rampant in too much of it, some of that making its way to America. Big issue for the U.S.

And we're going to end with this. In Brazil, a very large country there, a lot of trade issues between the United States and Brazil. And it's not limited to Brazil.

We're going to zoom back out.

Trade is one of the top concerns in general with Mexico and with South America. You've got the Central American Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Now, keep in mind, President Obama, himself, to some extent, slammed NAFTA during the campaign. How he handles that with countries throughout this region, all major issues, all of which will directly affect our economy -- Tony.

HARRIS: Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: You got it. Thanks.

HARRIS: Boy, that's well done.

President Obama is en route to the Summit of the Americas right now. He arrives in port of Spain, Trinidad, in about 4.5 hours. The president attends the welcome ceremony for the summit at 5:00 p.m. Eastern. And later, he has a meeting with Caribbean community leaders.

So, did President Barack Obama make any progress toward beating back Mexican drug cartels? We will take a closer look, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The deadly drug war next door was a major focus for President Obama during his visit to Mexico. The president pledged support for Mexico's effort to take on the drug cartels.

White House Correspondent Dan Lothian reports from Mexico City. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama says it was a wide-ranging face-to-face meeting with President Calderon, chewing over common challenges and plotting a strategy to tackle the biggest one, the violent drug war.

OBAMA: We are absolutely committed to working in a partnership with Mexico to make sure that we are dealing with this scourge on both sides of the border.

LOTHIAN: An estimated 6,000 Mexicans were killed here last year in the violence and the bloodshed continues, fueled in part by guns and cash flowing from the U.S.

MIKE HAMMER, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: The United States has a responsibility, whether it's on demand side, whether it's on arms, trafficking into Mexico because it shows that the Mexican government and Mexican people that we are willing to do our part.

LOTHIAN: In an opinion piece that ran in several newspapers across the country and Latin America, Mr. Obama again suggested that the U.S. is partly to blame for the problem, writing, "By reducing demand for drugs and curtailing the illegal flow of weapons and bulk cash south across the border, we can advance security in the United States and beyond."

But the administration seems unwilling to step into a political minefield by pushing for stiffer gun laws, even though some Mexican officials say the lifting of a U.S. ban on military assault style weapons has made things worse. Instead, the Obama administration has stepped up efforts to fight against the cartels by appointing a border czar and using an old law to target specific cartels and the cash they might be hiding in the U.S.

OBAMA: The kingpin law allows us to go after the finances, the financial underpinnings of the cartels in a much more aggressive and much more effective way.

LOTHIAN (on camera): While President Obama said he would not push to have the automatic weapons ban reinstated, he said his administration would step up enforcement of existing gun laws to make sure those weapons stop flowing across the border.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: General Electric beats the street. First quarter profits ring in at $2.8 billion. Now, that is down 35 percent from the same period last year. But still, we're talking about a profit here, and it's better than analysts expected.

Even the finance division, GE Capital, turned a profit. GE has a hand in practically every sector of the economy -- mortgages, to TVs, to jet engines. (STOCK MARKET REPORT)

HARRIS: You know, each year, millions of acres of tropical rain forest disappear as farmers make room to grow crops. This week's CNN Hero began a one-woman crusade to rescue rain forests and feed the hungry with a plant that is native to the very land she is trying to save, the Maya nut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER (voice-over): This is "CNN Heroes."

ERIKA VOHMAN, CNN HERO: People throughout Central America were living in extreme poverty. They often don't have enough food. There's days when people will just have one meal if they're lucky.

When I first came to Guatemala, it was just incredible, seeing where people were cutting down rain forests to plant food. It was devastating, so I decided to go back to school so I could help people produce enough food without destroying the environment.

I came across the Maya nut tree. It provided the staple food for the Maya civilization. For some reason, people have stopped eating this food, which is one of the most nutritious foods you can get. And it's free. You just collect it off the ground. And they don't eat it, because they don't know.

I'm Erika Vohman, and I teach people about the lost indigenous Maya nut for food and for reinforced conservation.

Our workshops are just for women so they can acquire the skills and knowledge to feed their families and better their lives. It's fun.

We're having an impact on the environment, we're having an economic impact. And also motivating reforestation. It's really amazing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: If you would like to help Erika Vohman, or if you know someone who is doing something so extraordinary that they deserve to be a CNN Hero, just tell us about them. Remember, all of our CNN Heroes are chosen from people you nominate at CNN.com/heroes.

And still ahead, a warning about mortgage companies that offer to negotiate on your behalf for a fee. Our Gerri Willis will explain why this might be a con.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: It is Friday, time to open your e-mails about money. Many questions this week focused on mortgages and taxes.

Let's nail down some answers for you with Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis. Gerri, good to see you. Good Friday to you.

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

HARRIS: You know, I'm barely able to contain myself. It's Friday, the weekend is here. But let's get to the first question.

You ready?

WILLIS: Yes. We've got to answer those questions.

HARRIS: Yes. From "Worried" in Florida, and she writes, "My husband went to a company who claims they work with mortgage companies and negotiate on your behalf for a fee. They claim we as homeowners cannot do this on our own."

I know where you're going to go on this, already, Gerri, because we've talked about this so many times.

"Now," Worried writes, "I am beginning to think we made a very big mistake."

Help, Gerri.

WILLIS: Well, unfortunately, Worried in Florida, it sounds like you may have been conned.

First of all, if you need to modify your mortgage, or you're having trouble making your monthly payments, your first call should be to your lender. These days, lenders are instituting their own modification programs for troubled borrowers.

You don't have to use somebody else. You should not pay a fee to any company that says it can negotiate with your mortgage company.

The government also has its own mortgage modification program that lenders are signing on to. For more info on that, go to makinghomeaffordable.gov.

And in the meantime, report the company that you've been using to your local Better Business Bureau. Give a call to your state attorney general. Let's tell on these people. You know, the government needs to know about this.

HARRIS: Yes, good point.

All right, Gerri, question number two comes from Marlene. She writes, "Can you give me, Gerri, the pros and cons of a reverse mortgage? I am 62 years old and wondering if this is good to do."

WILLIS: A common question, Marlene. A reverse mortgage -- let's define it -- a loan where your home equity converted into cash that you receive either as a lump sum, a monthly payment, even a line of credit. Now, the loan doesn't have to be repaid as long as you continue to live in the home. But if you move, the debt has to be repaid with interest.

Now, when you die, your heirs can elect to sell the house to repay the loan. Reverse mortgages are most beneficial if you own the house or have a small amount left to pay on the original mortgage. Reverse mortgages are also best for folks who want to stay in the house, as we said, for the long term.

If you're looking to move in two or three years, this is not going to work for you. Watch out for the fees. That's a big down side.

And also, you're going to have to get counseling if you get one of these. Contact the Housing Counseling Clearinghouse: 800-569-4287. Go to AARP's Web site, AARP.org. They've got lots of info on these products.

They're pretty complicated.

HARRIS: Yes.

OK, Marlene. We hope that helps.

Final question comes from Brian in New Jersey, who writes, "Gerri, I filed my 2008 taxes in February, and I was told I was not eligible for the first-time homebuyer's tax credit because the program began on April 10, 2008. Now, I closed on my home in mid-March. Is there any way that I can still receive the tax credit?"

Gerri, a little good news for Brian in New Jersey on Friday, please.

WILLIS: Well, not so much.

HARRIS: I totally set you up. Didn't I?

WILLIS: I'm sorry. You know, sadly, Brian, you can't get the tax credit. You can claim this credit only if you bought your home through April 8 of last year through January of 2010. There are other caveats, too.

For example, to claim it, you have to be a first-time home buyer, meaning you can't have owned a principal home in three years leading up to the purchase. And there are income limitations, too, you may or may not need, $75,000 for single tax filers, $250,000 for married couples filing jointly.

Look, to look a the details here, federalhousingtaxcredit.com. But, yes, sorry, you missed it by about two weeks.

Send us your e-mails to gerri@cnn.com. We answer them right here every Friday. We love to hear from you and share your Friday.

HARRIS: Awesome. Thank you, Gerri. Good to see you. Have a great weekend.

WILLIS: You too.

HARRIS: And of course, we always remind you to check out our specialty report, "America's Money Crisis." That's at CNNMoney.com. We update this page all the time, CNNMoney.com.

Incredible pictures out of Texas. Take a look at this -- cars trapped in two feet of hail. Our Rob Marciano with the story, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In the days after 9/11, America was on the hunt for terrorists. Now we're learning just how far some investigators went in trying to prevent terrorist attacks. Yesterday, a Bush-era memo on interrogation techniques was made public.

Our Kate Bolduan has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sleep deprivation, slapping, forced nudity, and simulated drowning known as waterboarding. The Bush administration saying these interrogation techniques were OK and legal in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to prevent another attack like it. Now the Obama administration is releasing four Bush-era memos about what happened behind closed doors and in back rooms as the war on terror raged.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: I have to say, these were some of the most shocking legal documents I've ever seen.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "AC 360": Really?

TOOBIN: To see the United States government and assistant attorney general say that waterboard was not torture, a position that is totally without legal support...

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: These are legal authorizations for specific actions to be undertaken. The CIA did what they were told based on the authorization that they had been given. The president believes it would be unfair to punish those.

BOLDUAN: The Justice Department under President Bush issued opinions on the case of high-value al Qaeda detainee Abu Zubaydah, who was said to be deathly afraid of stinging insects. The Justice Department ruled it was OK to put him in a confined space and tell him there was such an insect in the cell with him, as long as he was told the sting would not kill him or severely hurt him.

A memo also noted that some detainees subject to forced nudity and sleep deprivation may be kept in diapers for, quote, "sanitary purposes", not as another way to get them to talk. Waterboarding and other techniques were said to be used on Zubaydah (ph) and Khalid Sheikh Muhammad (ph), the admitted 9/11 mastermind, but these memos stress that American troops have endured these techniques in training and do not constitute torture.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This government does not torture people.

BOLDUAN: Former POW John McCain disagreed.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Clearly, waterboarding is torture and it's a big issue with me.

BOLDUAN: And the Obama administration has since banned waterboarding and other so-called enhanced interrogation tactics but groups like the ACLU who fought for these documents to be released want something more.

AMRIT SINGH, ACLU: Torture is illegal, it is immoral and it is essential that individuals who conducted torture be held accountable.

BOLDUAN (on camera): But that isn't likely. The Obama administration has informed CIA officials they will not be prosecuted for past waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, since they were following orders that were considered legal at the time.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: I have breaking news to bring to you now.

We're getting pictures from our affiliate in Miami, WSVN. And we don't have a lot of details, but you can see here what's going on. There is a house on fire and the reason just may be - this house may be on fire as a result of a small plane crash. And I'm not seeing any -- maybe you are at home -- but I'm not seeing any plane parts that are obviously evident.

That was a burst of flames there, you certainly saw that. Boy, this looks like -- at least one, maybe two homes in involved here. We will get a wider shot, I'm sure in just a moment.

Firefighters are on the scene, rescue operations going on right now. Have no idea at this point. So maybe two, maybe three homes involved in this at this point.

And the reporting from, again, our affiliate in Miami, WSVN, is that a small plane has crashed into this residential neighborhood.

We're going to continue to monitor the pictures and get all of the latest information. We're working on it right now and we'll have a better handle on the story in just minutes for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Parts of Texas are sweeping up this morning, after a stormy day. Reports of tornadoes plus hail, like you would not believe. Rob Marciano is in the Severe Weather Center.

And Rob, talk to us, show these pictures. Amazing pictures of the hail that turned into chunks of ice.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, chunks of ice. We have talked a lot about ice jams and the flooding it's caused across parts of the northern plains. Well, a similar situation happening across parts of Texas yesterday, with the exception of the fact that it happened all in one day. These people aren't buried in snow or ice. This, this is piles of accumulated hail that was combined with torrential downpours. And in low-lying areas like this one, cars are literally just stuck and jammed up in all the hail and water.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Hey, Rob, stay with me on this. Add to whatever you can to our coverage of this story.

We've got these pictures out of WSVN in Miami, our affiliate there on the ground. And we've got pictures of a couple of homes in this residential neighborhood on fire.

And WSVN is reporting that a small plane has crashed into this residential neighborhood. I believe we can take the audio from the chopper pilot from WSVN. His name is Ralph Rayburn, let's listen in.

OK, at the moment that we attempt to toss to a sound, he is not offering any remarks or commentary on what he's seeing.

But again, as you can see the firefighters are working the scene right now. Rescue operations are on the way.

And there he is; let's listen in.

RALPH RAYBURN, PHOTOJOURNALIST, WSVN-TV, 7-SKYFORCE: ... pretty much it was obliterated when it hit the ground here. We're looking for anything that we can make out that's discernible as part of an aircraft.

I'm going to ask our pilot, Joe Mancino to truck forward a little bit.

Joe, if you can, we want to take a look down through the center of the centerline of the house we're.

We also have to comply with the FAA's request and the tower's request. So on occasion, our angles may not be exactly the way we'd like to be to show you the pictures.

But you can see right now, we'll bring the camera in a little tighter. Hang on one second here. Going to bump it up a little bit. There you're looking really tight now inside that house. This is where we believe the plane ended up here. And you can see it just cut a swath, a "V" right through the center of the house there, Richard.

And firefighters here on the scene still putting water and another chemicals here on the fire to knock it down. But not a whole lot left of the house. And as we said earlier, not too much left of the airplane itself. HARRIS: All right, just want to listen in a little more, if -- I'll stop if we hear any more from the pilot there, Ralph Rayburn.

At this point, can't make out the shell of an aircraft at all. But you can see the damage this downed plane has caused. At least two, maybe three homes involved. A lot of flames just moments ago. Big burst of flames and smoke.

And again, the pictures from the helicopter pilot, WSVN's helicopter pilot, Ralph Rayburn, the reporter with that pilot.

A small plane crash in Ft. Lauderdale. The pictures are back, pretty devastating pictures. We have no idea, obviously, at this point, if anyone on the ground in those homes has been injured. We don't at this point have the ability to make out, to discern the shape of the aircraft, what remains of the aircraft at all. We have no idea the size of the aircraft or how many people may be on board.

But it is something we're going to continue to follow, obviously. And we'll get you the latest information as soon as we can on this developing story from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Back with the latest in just a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Breaking news we're following for you here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You see all the smoke. Just moments ago, we had explosions and fire. Firefighters trying their best to get the upper hand on this situation. We're talking about a small plane crash. And it looks like this plane clearly has crashed into this residential neighborhood, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, right now.

We have no idea at this point. And we are really working hard to try to get you any additional information on this story. We have no idea if anyone is injured on the ground, we have no idea at this point how many people might have been on the aircraft. But it went down in this residential neighborhood. We can't even discern pieces of the aircraft, of the fuselage, nothing at this point.

We've been listening as the chopper pilot for WSVN and the reporter have provided us with the story as they know it so far. His name is Ralph Rayburn. We will continue to dip in from time to time.

But right now, firefighters are trying to, as best they can, to throw water on the situation and effect some kind of a rescue. Again, we have no idea of how many people might be in the home, but we will continue to work our sources to get as much information as we can to you as soon as we can.

The small town of Underhill, Vermont is all decked out today for a hero's homecoming. Captain Richard Phillips returns after five days as a high-seas hostage.

CNN's Jason Carroll reports. JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I spoke to some of the folks at the Phillips' home and they're counting down the hours, waiting for their captain to come home. And that's basically the feeling among so many people here in this community. And when you come to place like Underhill, Vermont, you can understand the reason why.

Population here, about 3,000. So when something of this magnitude happens to one of their own, everyone here really, really feels it. And that's the case with Captain Phillips. When you look around town, the yellow ribbons are up.

The signs are up too. People showing up at the general store to write a special message to Captain Phillips.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that everybody is very happy he's coming home safely. And just praise God, he's here.

UNIDENTIFIED PRIEST: Can't wait to welcome him back home, back to his hometown and to his family. And the town is just thrilled beyond belief, as you can imagine, that he was rescued. And we're delighted that he's on his way home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: You can see the sign there, across the street. The message is there, some of which you cannot see. But I'm going to read some of them to you now.

One from the Sorink (ph) family. It simply says, "We are proud of you."

Another one coming from the Delia (ph) family, it says, "Captain Phillips, you rock."

And then this one from Diane Skinner (ph), it simply says, "Captain Phillips, you are our hero."

That is certainly the feelings of so many here in this community. Captain Phillips expected back in Burlington, Vermont, at about 4:30. He's expected to arrive by private jet. His family will be waiting for him. No one wanting to see him more than his wife and two children.

Jason Carroll, CNN, Underhill, Vermont.

HARRIS: And pictures from Underhill, Vermont, where the town is preparing to welcome home Captain Richard Phillips. The U.S. cargo ship was held hostage, as we told you, by pirates off the Somali coast for four days, it is returning to the United States today.

Do you have a message or a tribute for Phillips? Fire up your camera and upload your video comments below. Your iReports could be used on CNN. The captured Somali pirate who survived Captain Phillips rescue will be tried in New York, according to the "Associated Press." Crew members of the American tanker told CNN he was the pirate leader and appeared to be only about 18 years old. No charges have been publicly filed.

Once again, let's take a look at the pictures out of Ft. Lauderdale. Man, not much left of that one particular home. Again, we are monitoring this situation in Ft. Lauderdale. Apparently a small plane has crashed into this residential neighborhood. Maybe two, maybe three homes involved there. A lot of fire, just minutes ago. Firefighters seemingly have controlled that situation. There were even explosions just minutes ago. Again, no idea how many people may be injured on the ground; how many people may have been in that aircraft.

We are continuing to monitor these pictures and monitor the comments from the reporter and the chopper pilot from WSVN. His name is Ralph Rayburn. We will give you the latest information in an update in just a couple of minutes.

Once again, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Well, it's a little frustrating, because you can't, in a case like this, get the information fast enough. But you certainly want it to be accurate.

But your heart sinks as you look at these pictures.

We're talking about a small plane crash. That's - this plane gone down in this residential neighborhood in Ft. Lauderdale. Firefighters getting the upper hand at least on the fire, the explosions we saw just minutes ago coming from the scene.

Want to let you listen to a bit of the comments, a few of the comments from WSVN's chopper pilot, Ralph Rayburn, here he is, describing the situation.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

RAYBURN: No, they have taken the upper hand here, as far as the firefight goes in putting the fire out.

We're receiving word that this aircraft may have been, it's possible that it was a Cessna, which would be a single-engine airplane that might have come down here. It took off, as we said, earlier, from Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport now some - let me check my timer here - about 20, 22 minutes ago.

The fire department was very quick to respond out here. We heard the fire department saying that they could see the smoke from the interstate as they were coming from all areas here, being dispatched here. By the way, as our camera - as we have to move now, because the tower is asking us to move two miles away because of the operation. They are saying that they can't - firefighters on the ground can't hear because of the helicopter. So we're backing away a little bit.

But as we said before, we're trying to get confirmation that the aircraft that went down was a Cessna. But a small plane crash is coming from west to east as it crosses I-95 going eastbound. And comes down about a quarter of a mile east of the I here in this community, right north of Andrews (ph) Avenue, just north of Commercial Boulevard.

And we've made a determination there that they went inside the house immediately and did not find anyone inside the house. We have not seen any medical transports at this time. There was a woman in the neighborhood, either to the left or to the right of your screen, in an adjacent house who was, who needed assistance from the fire department to get out. She was an elderly woman, she's in good condition.

And the firefighters now are on both the east and the west sides of the building there, that structure, putting water on it. Though you can see the building was pretty much cleaved in half by the plane as it crashed through the roof there and quickly burned. There was some concern about the fuel and they put down some chemical agents there to neutralize the fuel that was on board the airplane now and are just trying to keep the flames -- the fire from spreading any farther.

So that's the information we have for you at this time. And I'm getting another page here as we're talking. Let me just read what my page says. That's the same one that says it's a possibility that the plane that went down was a Cessna. So that's what I've for you at this time.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: OK, that's WSVN's Ralph Rayburn describing the situation from just a few minutes ago.

Jim Leljedal is with us. He is with the Broward County Sheriff's Department.

Jim, hey, thanks for your time.

If you can, we're still really trying to piece together as much information as we can on this situation. What we've learned from the WSVN chopper pilot and reporter is that this looks to be a small craft that took off from the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. Maybe you can help orient us in the process.

Tell us what you know what looks to be a pretty horrible scene with possibly some tragic, tragic results.

JIM LELJEDAL, BROWARD COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT (via telephone): Well, Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport is a general purpose airport that's located just northwest of Ft. Lauderdale. It's probably five miles from Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. It's an airport that has a large runway. They're able to accommodate all sorts of general purpose aviation and small jets even.

All that we know at this point is that at about 11:16 a.m., this small plane crashed in the area of 5280 Northwest First Avenue. Right now the Broward Sheriff's Office has law enforcement and fire duties. We have our fire crews there assisted by Ft. Lauderdale and other local departments obviously fighting the fire trying to get that under control.

We have concerns. There are some people that have to be evacuated from the area. There was some concern about power lines that were knocked down in the crash. We want to make sure that nobody is harmed by any downed power lines.

So at this point as you can see on your live pictures, we're still trying to get that fire under control and then we have to go in and find out what casualties we have.

HARRIS: What the toll is inside.

Hey, Jim, and I guess that's the critical question here. We always want to know the end at the beginning of these things and that's tough to know. Before I ask the next question, just let me reset here.

Jim Leljedal is with the Broward County's Sheriff Department.

And Jim, at this point, do you have any idea as to what kind of an aircraft we're talking about? Size, scope, scale of the aircraft? There is at least some early speculation that we may be talking about a single engine Cessna. Can you help us with that in any way?

LELJEDAL: I'm afraid that I can't. The only information I have is that it is a small plane. I don't know whether it's a Cessna or some other make or exactly how large it was or what the capacity is.

HARRIS: Yes. Jim, how long does it take you to get the information? Because I'm assuming we won't get it until you have it, as to how many people might have been first of all on board the plane and whether or not there were any people who were injured in the homes?

And do you have any idea -- my guess is two to three homes that appear to have been impacted by this.

LELJEDAL: It looks like there are two or three homes that were impacted directly. Of course, the entire neighborhood is impacted indirectly.

As far as the people on board, you know, obviously when we get it under control and we go inside, then we'll see what we have precisely. And we'll be talking to the FAA and NTSB and all of them to try to determine whether they can help us in terms of the aircraft.

HARRIS: OK. Jim Leljedal is with us from the Broward County Sheriff's Department.

And Jim, what were the reports you were getting? The initial reports that reached your ear, what were you hearing about the size and scope of this and the fireball? Because apparently, there are some reports that explosions could be seen and fire could be seen from a nearby freeway.

LELJEDAL: Well, the highway is fairly close. But the initial traffic that I was hearing on the radio was that there was a plane crash and that there was fire. And that there was concern about downed power lines, people needing evacuation. The, you know, it looks like a textbook response.

HARRIS: Yes, it really does.

LELJEDAL: It looks like everybody that needed to respond did. It looks like we're doing everything we can.

HARRIS: Jim, appreciate it. Thanks for your help.

Jim Leljedal is with the Broward County Sheriff's Department.

As we spin it a little on Google Earth here to help us orientate you to the neighborhood that we're talking about here. Such a short distance from the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. And as Jim just mentioned, a short distance -- as the calls were coming in they were getting all kinds of reports of fire that was visible from the freeway you saw just a moment ago in that map. Very close to where the small be plane went down in this residential neighborhood in Ft. Lauderdale.

The firefighters apparently, seemingly -- you can judge this for yourself by the pictures here -- trying to douse whatever remaining hot spots are there. Two, maybe three homes involved. Not sure of how many people may have been injured on the ground, how many people aboard the plane. We will get that information for you and when we do, we'll pass it along.

A quick break here in the CNN NEWSROOM.