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Anti-Gadhafi Forces Claim Victory in Misrata; 200,000 Flee Libya; Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Erupts; The GOP Hopefuls for 2012; Women and the Mid-East Revolts; Be the Ultimate Working Mom; Charlie Sheen Un-Winning

Aired March 06, 2011 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Libya unrest. Gadhafi opposition forces claim major victory in a key city, but the humanitarian crisis is growing as Libyans pour across the border looking for food and shelter.

Women taking to the streets and making their voices heard in the revolt taking place in the Middle East and northern Africa and nations where women have typically taken a back seat to men. What is empowering these women to risk their lives and often lose it for the cause?

Twenty years after enduring one of the worst police beatings ever captured on videotape, Rodney King is pulled over by the cops. What happened and what's his explanation? You're going to hear from him.

And Charlie Sheen -- did you watch his live webcast last night? The latest move in his media blitz against CBS and the creator of "Two and a Half Men" didn't go as well as Charlie had hoped. What's he saying about it tonight?

I'm Don Lemon. That and more for you. Our work will begin this hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, but first, your top stories.

Let me start with this. Anti-Gadhafi rebels in Libya say they now control more of the country. This was a highway checkpoint outside the town of Ras Lanuf, which the rebels say they captured on Saturday. Farther to the west in the city of Misrata, the opposition reports pushing back government forces in a fierce battle in which more than 40 people were killed. We'll take you inside the city just ahead here on CNN.

Yemen has been another Middle Eastern country with unrest, but today a massive pro-government rally was held in support of the country's president. Violence is an ongoing threat and the U.S. State Department says Americans should avoid traveling there. Al Qaeda militants reportedly killed four Yemeni soldiers today.

In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak may be history, but his legacy lives on in the form of the much-feared state security. Many Egyptians on Friday stormed into security headquarters in major cities, including Cairo and Alexandria and got into heated fights with officials inside. Citizens supposedly are seeking secret documents they fear will be destroyed to cover up decades of human rights abuses under Mubarak. Protesters took to the streets of New York today to voice their concerns over congressional hearings this week. The chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Peter King, wants to look into what he's calling the radicalization of American Muslims. The demonstrators say Muslims are being unfairly targeted, and they are worried that Islam is being portrayed as the enemy. A rival, much smaller protest supporting the hearings took place nearby.

Tension today between the leader of Afghanistan and the general in charge of U.S. and NATO troops in that country. Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai says an apology is not enough after the deaths of nine boys from a NATO air strike on Tuesday. General David Petraeus made the apology in a private meeting between the two. According to a NATO official, attack helicopters killed the boys after they were mistaken for insurgents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one person, one vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Filmmaker and liberal activist Michael Moore is the latest celebrity to join the protests against Wisconsin's proposed budget cuts. Governor Scott Walker wants to close a budget gap by forcing state workers to pay more of their pension and health care costs and by restricting their collective bargaining rights.

Here's what the "Wall Street Journal" is reporting tonight, that those Democratic state senators who fled Wisconsin to prevent a vote on the budget are planning to return soon. The paper says the senators have decided to allow the bill to pass because they believe the standoff has caused major political damage to the governor and his fellow Republicans.

CNN will bring you more information on the Wisconsin standoff as we get it.

The U.S. Navy says it prevented the takeover of a Japanese oil tanker in the Arabian Sea, which was under attack by pirates. It happened on Saturday off the coast of Oman.

A special unit from the USS Buckley, seen here in this video, stormed the deck of the vessel after the tanker crews confirmed they were in a secure compartment on board. The four pirates were captured without an exchange of gunfire.

An investigation is underway into what caused an oil rig to catch fire in the Gulf of Mexico. Two men used a life capsule to escape the flames today. They were picked up by a civilian vessel and then plucked to safety by a Coast Guard helicopter. The platform is located about 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana. It shut down two weeks ago and was not in production. The fire reportedly is out.

Misrata, Libya, a scene of a major battle today, about 120 miles east of Tripoli. Pro-Gadhafi forces tried to retake the town from rebels but were driven back. More than 40 people were killed and nearly 90 wounded.

We grab these pictures off the Internet showing the aftermath. CNN cannot verify when or where they were shot but everything we see is consistent with all the news reports coming out of the city.

And after the battle, the opposition raised the tri-color flag. This has become the symbol of the uprising. It was the national flag before Gadhafi came to power and replaced it with an all-green flag.

We edited out some of the more gruesome elements here, but you can see for yourself from the scorched building that it was a horrific and desperate battle for control. Bullet holes are everywhere.

Listen now as an eyewitness describes what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): For the last 50 minutes or so, I'm in the middle of gun fire, a live gun fire between pro-Gadhafi militias and the opposition. People have taken to the street it does seem like the fighting is taking place in the city center, what we describe as the courthouse. I believe that this has been the center of operations for the opposition.

And we had reports this morning, around 10:00, of three military groups, three pro-Gadhafi military security groups, coming to city from three different angles. And I have seen people confirming the report that tanks have been deployed in this attack. Six in particular is the number that has been mentioned frequently by people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: As Libya looks more and more like a civil war, tens of thousands of foreign nationals are escaping any way that they can. Many flee west into Tunisia at great personal risk and expense.

On Sunday, four U.S. military plants transported Egyptian refugees from Tunisia to Cairo. And CNN's Ivan Watson has the latest from the Tunisian border near the city of Djerba.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The people keep streaming across the border from Libya here into Tunisia. More than 100,000 people have fled in the last two weeks and more keep coming. They are met by Tunisian volunteers who hand out food, who hand out water. And this is important because these refugees are hungry and thirsty and frightened. Many of them tell us that they haven't had any access to food and water for days, and they have been charged exorbitant prices for transport to try to flee the fighting in Libya.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm so very hungry.

WATSON: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For days, I never ate anything. WATSON: No food for four days?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No food. No sleeping. You see me like this. I'm so very tired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People are inside and afraid to come out.

WATSON: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to help them to bring them out. They are afraid because of the Libyans.

WATSON: Yes. What are the Libyans doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Attacking.

WATSON: Attacking who?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The foreigners.

WATSON: All foreigners? Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Especially West Africa.

WATSON: Why? Why are they attacking West Africans?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The man, the leader, brought some mercenaries.

WATSON: Mercenaries?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

WATSON: What are you here today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For -- they are human.

WATSON: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should do this.

WATSON: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a student. I should do this. I haven't gone to the faculty to study. I'm here for helping people, just for helping people.

WATSON: This is the first stop for the flood of humanity that's been streaming across the border into Tunisia, a transit center of sorts. Across the road over here is a virtual tent city of thousands of tents. And many of these people are likely to spend days and nights waiting there until their governments or until aid organizations find some way to transport them back home.

Ivan Watson, CNN, near the Tunisian border with Libya.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: All right, Ivan.

The conflict in Libya is having a big impact in the U.S. If you've been to the gas station lately, you know what I'm talking about. Prices have jumped almost 33 cents a gallon in just two weeks. But is there something you can do to ease the shock at the pump? Some answers coming up.

And one of Hawaii's most famous volcanoes is active once again, spewing smoke, ash and lava. Toxic fumes have forced evacuations at a national park. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is keeping a close eye on this and we'll have the very latest after the break.

And you can weigh in on any of the stories that we cover on our blog. Go to cnn.com/don or on Twitter or Facebook or Foursquare at DonLemonCNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Take a look at this. These pictures just in to CNN. One of the world's most active volcanoes is erupting once again. Scientists say a new vent has opened at the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii, sending lava shooting as high as 65 feet into the air. It happened when part of the crater floor collapsed. And our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is here with more on what's happening.

This thing has been erupting for a long time but this is new.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Right. This is a new fissure, basically, a new eruption, a ring of fire that has developed in the area. And geologists are actually seeing a pretty similar thing happened back in 1997, so these are intermittent eruptions that are taking place that are just spectacular to look at on video. But it's part of the ongoing eruption that's been happening on Kilauea since about 1983, so nearly 30 years that we've been dealing with this as well.

Now what happened? Let me show you Google Earth and it will kind of give you a better idea of the area that we're talking about and what happened here. So we'll zoom in and show you. There you can see the Big Island. And as you take a look at all these little dots here, those yellow and orange dots, those are earthquakes, basically, movement that's been taking place under the ground with this lava and this eruption and that collapse of the crater floor.

Now we'll zoom in and we'll take you to what's called the Pu'u O'o Crater. And the floor in this area here, which has been active -- there you see some gas there -- that has collapsed. And as a result of that collapse, further off to the north and west is where we have another crater, the Napau Crater, and this is where that eruption has been taking place.

So, significant development, certainly not unheard of. Spectacular video and something we'll continue to watch. And if you want to watch this at home, by the way, if you just go to Google and you Google the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, you'll find these web pages and take a look at some of the images that they have just taken in the last 24 hours.

They also have webcams here, and this is a live webcam that you're looking at the Napau Crater. And they just were able to put this up today to get that there. You look right in the middle, you can you see a little bit of the flame, but it's a very cloudy, foggy, wet day in Hawaii, so it's hard to be able to see anything.

LEMON: And we want to take a look, another look, Jacqui, at these new pictures that are just in to CNN. Look at that.

JERAS: Wow.

LEMON: 65 feet into the air. We're told about 150 small earthquakes were recorded within Kilauea in the past 24 hours.

JERAS: Right.

LEMON: No homes...

JERAS: They are small earthquakes.

LEMON: Yes.

JERAS: So, you know, most people probably wouldn't feel very much from something like that. No homes are in the way. This is kind of a remote area. They did shut down the chain of craters road in the area and some of the trails to keep people away.

Volcanoes typically in all this lava, you know, they emit gases. And so there's a gas, sulfur dioxide, and it's lethal if the concentrations are high enough. So you need to stay about a kilometer, maybe half a mile or so away from that. Otherwise, you're going to have problems.

LEMON: And Hawaii's National Volcano Park closed?

JERAS: No. I believe the park is open. Parts of it are open.

LEMON: Parts of it are closed?

JERAS: Yes.

LEMON: All right. Amazing video. Jacqui Jeras, thank you very much.

JERAS: Sure.

LEMON: Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Donald Trump. They are all names that have been thrown around as would-be presidential candidates. Coming up, CNN's senior political editor Mark Preston joins us for a look ahead at what may be in store for 2012.

And his beating ignited six days of race riots and unrest in Los Angeles and beyond. Next, Rodney King tells me why he got slapped with a traffic violation nearly 20 years to the date.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Twenty years ago this week, Los Angeles police pulled over Rodney King, leading to the beating that forever impacted race relations in this nation. And just Tuesday, police pulled King over again. His fiancee tells CNN police thought King ran a red light and they eventually gave him a ticket for not having his driver's license. Rodney King spoke to me tonight explaining that a mix-up over a previous ticket in Pennsylvania was the reason he didn't have a current driver's license.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODNEY KING, VICTIM OF POLICE BEATING: California issued me a license and then I guess once they ran it through the computer they had to take them back and so now I'm waiting until April, May, until May, to be able to get a license back.

LEMON: From our viewers -- people are tweeting me now and the number one question is Rodney King, are you OK, are you clean, are you sober? What do you say to these people who are asking that online?

KING: Yes. I'm -- I'm -- I'm clean and I'm healthy and I'm -- I'm OK these days, and, you know, I'm taking my -- my max light (ph) and my oatmeal every morning, you know, staying healthy as a real healthy American should.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: In tonight's viral videos, a sight we thought that we'd never see. A tractor-trailer lost control on a snowy road in central Pennsylvania. Look at that. Luckily, it was in the middle of Amish Country and four draft horses pulled the truck out of the ditch without breaking a sweat. That's what you call real horsepower right there.

All right. So, think that was cutting edge? I want you to check this one out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taking power from the drive shaft, a spare tire swings the rear end into the clear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Back in the 1950s, a backyard inventor was pitching the fifth wheel as a solution to parallel parking. We don't understand why this idea never caught on. The inventor even demonstrated how he could turn around a behemoth Cadillac in a tight driveway. Somebody should probably remind Detroit of this.

Another must-see viral video just ahead right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Have you heard about the latest dance craze in Turkey?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MAN DANCING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. So take note. This grandpa shows how it's done. The dance is called the Apaci. It's traditional Turkish dance. It moves with techno music.

A few more viral videos still ahead tonight. Coming up in about 25 minutes. We save the best for last.

Guys named Newt, Mitt and Donald, as in Donald Trump, are among the potential Republican challengers to President Obama next year, and all three men are in the political spotlight right now.

Let's bring in our senior political editor Mark Preston.

So, Mark, let's start with the former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He's been holding news conferences, attracting attention, but he's not really announcing anything. What's he doing? Is he running or is he not?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, he is running. And there's a lot of confusion late last week about whether he was forming an exploratory committee or if he was heading into an exploratory phase. Bottom line, he is exploring a run.

He went on Fox News on Friday, the company that he worked for for 10 years. He went on and, of course, was suspended because he was looking at running for president. He went on. He told them that he'll have a decision in six or seven weeks, and he fully expects that he's going to run.

If Newt runs, Don, expect him to be the ideas man, the ideas candidate and expect him to be a little less bombastic than what most people are used to.

LEMON: All right. Let's talk about Romney now. The health care reforms that he approved as Massachusetts governor really coming back to haunt him with conservatives, you might say. So, I want you to listen to Mitt this weekend speaking to New Hampshire Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), FMR. MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR: We were one of the laboratories of democracy. Our experiment wasn't perfect. Some things worked, some things didn't, some things I'd changed. But one thing I would never do is usurp the constitutional power of states with a one-size-fits-all federal takeover.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So the problem here is that they've been saying, hey, you know, the Obama health care plan is really the same as his, so what's he trying to say? Is health care going to be a problem for him? PRESTON: Well, Don, it is going to be a problem for him. Two things. It's no surprise that Mitt Romney made that speech in New Hampshire last night. New Hampshire is a state that most people think that Mitt Romney needs to win if he is going to win the Republican nomination.

As for the issue of health care, it is his Achilles' heel. The Obama administration looked at the Massachusetts model to base their national model. What Mitt Romney is saying right now is that the states are laboratories. He tried to do something. He wishes he had some things to change, but right now he's trying to get out in front of it and saying, look, there were some good things, there were some bad things, but I don't think the Massachusetts model should be used all across the country.

LEMON: Hey, Mark, I have about 15 seconds left here and I just want to say Lamar Alexander spoke and talked about Donald Trump running. He's saying, hey, Donald Trump is famous but he can't win.

PRESTON: And I actually -- I agree with Lamar Alexander. Unless we see more from Donald Trump, Don, that he's serious about running, then I think that this is just a lot about nothing, about Donald Trump talking about Donald Trump. And let's not forget "The Celebrity Apprentice" premieres tonight. So Donald trump likes the spotlight. He certainly has some ideas, Don, but I think that right now Donald Trump is not as serious as some of these other candidates we've talked about tonight.

LEMON: CNN's Mark Preston.

The uprisings across the nation in the Middle East and North Africa are changing the role of women and their rights. Ahead, a live report from Cairo on the huge gathering of women expected to turn out there for a special anniversary.

But first, a look at what's ahead in this week's "Getting Down to Business." CNN's Alison Kosik wraps it all up for us.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The line for unemployment benefits is getting shorter. Twenty thousand fewer people filed new claims this week. The total 368,000 is near a three-year low.

A sharp rise in oil prices is likely to hit airline's bottom line. Industry forecasters say profits could drop by half a billion dollars this year and expect airlines to pass the fuel bill on to passengers. Many major carriers have raised fares or added fuel surcharges six times already this year.

And if you are one of the 1.1 million taxpayers who failed to file their 2007 taxes, you could be missing out on a nice refund. The IRS says about half of the non-filers are owed a refund of $640 or more. But you need to file by April 18th to get your check. After that, Uncle Sam gets to keep it.

That's this week's "Getting Down to Business." I'm Alison Kosik, CNN, New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tonight's "What Matters" begins with a warning of disturbing images. This video from the Ivory Coast shows women massacred by government security forces while protesting against a recent presidential election. Women had been peacefully protesting against the president who refused to step down.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: As many as six women were reportedly killed in this incident. And the recent unrest in African and Arab nations are putting the role of women in the spotlight. And let's not forget this. It happened just two years ago during the Iran uprising.

(VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The death of Neda, a 26-year-old caught on tape, shot in the heart. Her death made her the face of that movement. And this Tuesday on 100th anniversary of the International Women's Day, there will be a worldwide show of solidarity held in 53 countries and across 33 states here in the U.S.

Zainab Salbi is the CEO and founder of Women for Women International, and is helping to organize an event called "Join Me at the Bridge." It's part of Women's Day events. She joins us tonight from New York.

And Nima Elbagir is a CNN correspondent. She is joining us tonight from Cairo.

So, Nima, I'm going to start with you. I understand women were demonstrating today and that there is a huge gathering planned for Tuesday.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Earlier this evening here in Cairo, women were part of the protest in front of Egypt's interior minister. And on Tuesday, there is a 2 million woman march I think to celebrate International Women's Day, but also to bring the focus back to women's presence. The huge role that women play in the Egyptian uprising and the huge role they play in showing that the uprising was a peaceful one.

That they manage to make their voices heard alongside men, but their presence ensured that a lot of the violence that was feared in the weeks and days leading up to Mubarak's stand down didn't actually come about because of the presence of so many women in that crowd -- Don.

LEMON: And so Zainab, my next question is for you. This devastating video from the Ivory Coast that I showed at the beginning of this, is this something you haven't seen before, governments going after women.

ZAINAB SALBI, CEO, WOMEN FOR WOMEN INTERNATIONAL: That is something that is recently happening. The women usually have demonstrated in the public actually and they -- their demonstration in the public sphere is always been a turning point from the '50s to the '60s, and this is particularly in the Middle East and in Africa. The last decade particularly witness a new trend which is where women are actually being targeted. It started with Iraqi women, then in the Iranian women as you mentioned earlier and now with the Ivory Coast death. A new trend where women are no longer immune from violence and their peaceful demonstrations, and that is very, very dangerous. A new trend that we have to pay attention to.

LEMON: And Zainab, we also talked about Nida. You saw -- you say that Nida was -- do you believe that Nida was the first woman to become a symbol when it comes to the uprisings in the Middle East and in northern Africa?

SALBI: Nida is not the first woman, but she definitely was a woman that brought the issue into the surface. There have been more women before her actually, unfortunately, but she brought up the issue into the surface. So -- and that's with her story this is what we see, the change in trends. And here's my argument is that rather than seeing these things as just happening to women, we really need to see that this violence that is happening against women in public as an indicator for a larger national story that is telling us.

Women are indicators for the directions of societies. Violence often starts with women and so is progress. And we need to pay very close attention to that.

LEMON: Yes.

SALBI: Now we are living in a very historical moment right now. And the intention is political, economic and of course societal attention that we need to pay for women.

LEMON: So the event that you're having on Tuesday is in conjunction with what's going to happen in Cairo, Egypt, that's being called there "A Million Woman March."

So, Nima, tell me about that, but I also want to know are women -- are women fielding more emboldened now before they felt held back? It takes a lot of courage for these women to come out and actually protest.

ELBAGIR: Well, I think Zainab made a really good point, which is that this is new in the Arab world. Women were very much part of the waves of policization (ph) in the '50s and '60s.

What is interesting now with this Million Woman March is that women appreciate it. Historically, they were there at the vanguard. They were very much involved with the movement for change, but when it came for time to distribute political positions, when it came for time to represent in the political bodies, women were then sidelined almost as if, well, you know, there's no longer a place for you now. And this Million Woman March is really to say, we were instrumental in bringing about this change. We deserve to have a place at the table -- Don.

LEMON: OK. And Zainab, as you said, and Nima, both of you have said that women have taken part in revelations before in the Arab world, but they still remain oppressed though. So you say that first and foremost that women have to take advantage of the new leadership ahead, and they must go after family law and economic laws to make women equal to men. Explain this, Zainab.

ELBAGIR: Well, usually women are told go back home after the accomplishment of any political change. This time, as you see, women are saying no, we're not going back home and we really need to stay in. In the Middle East particularly, you also have few things. According to the World Bank and even Goldman Sachs, we have now -- we live in an era where women's economic participation is vital for the economic growth of a country.

You have an educated population in the Middle East where 60 percent of university students are women, but there are only about 5 percent or so in the work force. So you have a real disparity between educated women and women in the work force. And you see this change right now is saying, guess, we want our political participation to preserve our rights in the constitution, but we also want preservation of economic laws to make sure that we have equal rise in participating equally from micro to micro to small and medium businesses in any economic sectors. So the debate is far more complex right now than simply get more women in the parliament. It's really actually economic and political, as well as social.

How do we increase women in education, women in the economy and women in politics? And that's the reflection of a new sophistication and new manifestation of a woman's movement, if you may.

LEMON: And, Nima, if you will, quickly, I'm going to give you the last word here. Do you see, with Zainab saying, do you see that as a possibility since you're there on the ground witnessing this?

SALBI: Well, what's been really interesting for me here on the ground, Don, is how inclusive this women's participation is. I think in the past it's been very much something that's been tied up with -- with liberalism, but here we've seen women with the full face there. We've seen women with hijab when we were at that protest earlier.

The demonstrators, you'd clash with police that we are speaking to. There was a young women right in the center of all this man, when we were asking them for their witness testimony, and she was the one who was leading the debate. He was speaking over the man and that's what's really inspiring to me right now. It doesn't fit into what we perceive modern Arab women are. I think it's across the divide, and that's what gives you hope that this time it might actually have a lasting consequence.

LEMON: Nima Elbagir and Zainab Salbi, thanks to both of you.

SALBI: Pleasure. Thank you.

LEMON: It's been a tough weekend weather-wise. Flooding in Indiana. Tornadoes in Louisiana. Straight ahead, we'll check back in with our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras to see what we can expect during your commute tomorrow morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Now to our correspondents from the nation's capital to Hollywood with their preview of the big stories ahead. We begin at the White House.

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry at the White House. A big week for the president as he tries to stay on top of all these crises in the Mideast. Also on Monday, he's got a visit from the Australian prime minister. But even amid of all this talk about foreign policies, he trying to stay focused on his domestic agenda, that winning the future campaign. Tuesday, it takes him to a school in Boston to talk about education and the economy.

DAN BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash on Capitol Hill, where the fight over cutting federal spending willing spill onto the Senate floor this week. Congressional leaders in both parties have decided the best way to try to find compromise is to hold votes on the two competing ideas, a Democratic proposal to cut $6 billion in federal spending, and the Republican House bill, which slashes $61 billion, a very big difference. But leaders in both parties have decided that the rank and file, who are pushing them not to compromise, need to see that neither of these proposals is likely to actually pass. The measure currently keeping the government running expires in just two weeks.

POPPY HARLOW, HOST, CNN MONEY: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. The health of the American consumer will be key this coming week. Wall street will get reports that show just how much individuals are borrowing, how much we're spending, and really, overall, how we feel about the economic recovery.

What we'll also get is earnings from a number of key retailers, including JCrew. We'll also get the latest overall retail sales report. And investors, of course, are going to keep a very close eye on oil prices as crude remains above 100 bucks a barrel. We'll track it all for you all week on "CNN Money."

BROOKE ANDERSON, HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" Brooke Anderson. Here's what we're watching this week. More Charlie Sheen custody drama as Charlie battles his ex over their twin boys.

And on Monday, a "Showbiz" newsmaker interview with Michael Jackson's sister, Latoya. She is speaking out about the trial of Michael's doctor, Conrad Murray.

"Showbiz Tonight" is live at 5:00 p.m. eastern on HLN, and still TV's most provocative entertainment news show at 11:00 p.m.

LEMON: Thank you, guys.

It is a waiting game for parts of water-weary Indiana where more rain is in the forecast for some regions. And residents are watching to see just how well the rivers can handle it. Rising water completely. Completely submerged some roads and extensive flooding is expected for at least another week. And that's just one part of the country.

Jacqui Jeras joins us now with tomorrow's commute tonight.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You're going to have to watch out on that commute for those water-covered roadways because they are out there and out there everywhere, and that was evidenced by our iReporter in this video. And Indiana is one of the hardest hit states.

In fact, we're getting word of some evacuations that have taken place today. Two, that's what's on Shelbyville, Indiana, along the Brandywine Creek. At least a dozen people being evacuated there.

Many of these rivers and creeks are out of their banks and should be cresting the next couple of days so expect high water and at least through your Wednesday.

Now the heavy rain today has been up and down the eastern seaboard, and really focusing in now on the mid-Atlantic and the northeastern state where we could still get maybe another inch on top of what you're already have in the overnight and early morning hours. Now this has been causing some big time problems at the airport. We still have ground stops that's in effect right now at JFK. And unfortunately, you know, when you get these late at night, sometimes they do kind of snowball into the next day. So we expect travel delays over an hour in New York City. You'll have winds and you'll have fogs in the morning.

Boston and Philadelphia, still some rain in Boston. Winds in Philly. So 30 to 60-minute delays expected there. Dallas windy conditions as well. 15 to 30 minutes. And out west, that's going to be a big focus tomorrow. San Francisco, clouds and showers with 30 to 60-minute delays. So as we take a look at the big picture then, our storm in the northeast begins to pull out, but here comes the one in the west, and we're going to see snow in places like Salt Lake City, over towards Denver and that system makes its way across parts of the Midwest. So some tough travel and some spots, even things that you don't see like that wind which will be an issue in a couple of days, too. Don?

LEMON: The bearer of bad news, most of the time, Jacqui Jeras.

JERAS: Spring is coming. Daylight Saving Time, next weekend, too, by the way.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Jacqui.

Even though his show has been cancelled for the rest of the season, Charlie Sheen continues to make his own spotlight, but his latest stunt didn't go as well as planned. Find out what he's saying about it tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

In tonight's edition of "Mastering Your Money," how you can be the ultimate working mom. Our Christine Romans says you can, in fact, have the best of both worlds.

And Christine, I understand that you've got a little surprise for me.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don, nice to see you. A special surprise for you this weekend.

I wanted to bring along a special guest. Samantha Bee from "The Daily Show."

I know you love "The Daily Show." We thought we give you a little advice about working. Outworking moms.

So for our weekend viewers and for the fabulous Don Lemon, how does Samantha Bee from "The Daily Show," how do you balance writing a book, having three little kids and working, you know, kind of a boring office job for Jon Stewart?

SAMANTHA BEE, AUTHOR, "I KNOW I AM, BUT WHAT ARE YOU": So boring. Oh, my God. I think that I just embrace imbalance. You know what I mean.

I think I try to embrace what it's like to live in the tornado.

You know, I used to like things neat and tidy, and now I don't need that so much anymore. It's just like a whirlwind everywhere, and also I make a lot of spaghetti sauce. You know what I mean?

When you think you just need one portion of tomato sauce, make like six times that and you're good for a whole week.

ROMANS: You can now cook for a camp now.

BEE: Exactly.

ROMANS: And the point is, I think also that when you go to work, that's actually your free time. That's actually your spare time.

BEE: It is. Actually, sometimes, I'm so excited to go. I'm so excited in the morning to go. By the end of the weekend, I'm so tired. I'm like, oh, can I please just go to work and do some work.

ROMANS: What's it like working at "The Daily Show?" Is it fun working for Jon Stewart?

BEE: It's really fun working -- yes, of course, it's really fun working for him because he's great, but you know the whole staff is so amazing and competent and funny and wonderful. So it is a great place to work.

ROMANS: And clever.

And is your job, Samantha Bee, is it to entertain people? Or is it to educate people? Are you there to make them laugh or you make them think?

BEE: I couldn't educate people. I'm only there -- I'm only there for your service and your field of pleasure. Oh that sounds terrible. Oh my god. That's a different segment all together. ROMANS: That's all right. It's late on Sunday night. We appreciate it.

BEE: All right.

ROMANS: All right, Don, back to you. See, surprise.

LEMON: Thanks, Christine, and Samantha Bee, appreciate it.

Oil is up, gasoline is up, and if it feels like deja vu, it's because we went through the same thing just a few years ago.

I spoke with John Davis. He's a creator and executive producer of "Motor Week" on PBS and he said, even though we've been through this before, we may be a bit better prepared this time around.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN DAVIS, HOST & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, PBS MOTORWEEK: The public actually is responding. The newer cars, like Chevrolet Cruise, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra -- these are five-passenger family cars, they're not the biggest, but they're not tiny and they're getting 40 miles per gallon.

Forty-miles-per gallon is the new black for the auto industry. If you don't have that in a car, you can't really boast. And I think we're seeing the SUVs go along the same road. You know, in a couple years your average SUV is going to get 30 miles per gallon and that's double what it was ten years ago.

LEMON: OK, so listen, I'm just playing devil's advocate here, OK.

DAVIS: Yes.

LEMON: Because many people say -- I know you work for Motor Week. And the auto industry is not going to like this. Many people say cars -- that's really the problem. It should be mass transportation, we should have way less cars, way fewer highways and it should be mass transit.

DAVIS: Well, I think that's absolutely true, when you're talking about the urban situation, you know, people that's clustered around a city center. But a lot of our folks in this country, including myself, live 20, 30 miles from downtown and mass transit is not very practical. Also, people --

LEMON: Hang on. Hang on. Let's stop there. Let's do it one point at a time.

DAVIS: Sure.

LEMON: So you live far from downtown and mass transit is not practical. But isn't that the price you pay for not living -- for not living close to a city center?

DAVIS: That's correct. And I think over time, especially if fuel prices go up, you will see people migrate back towards the city. We're already seeing it. But that's talking about a generation. And I don't think we can wait that long to do something about fuel economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And we're going to stay -- make sure you stay with us because we're going to bring you the latest useful information each week on how to cope with rising energy prices.

And just ahead, an update on the stories you need for your week ahead, including some developing news on the budget standoff in Wisconsin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

We wanted to update your top stories right now. Anti-Gadhafi rebels in Libya say they now control more of the country. This was a highway check point outside the town of Ras Lanuf which the rebels say they captured on Saturday.

Farther to the west, in the city of Misrata, the opposition report pushing back government forces on Sunday in a fierce battle in which more than 40 people were killed.

One of the world's most active volcanoes is erupting again and spewing ash up to 65 feet high. Scientists say a new vent has opened at the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii. It happened when part of the crater floor collapsed. Toxic fumes have forced evacuations at the National Park. Kilauea has been in a constant state of eruption for nearly 30 years now.

Now an update on the Wisconsin story. One of the Wisconsin senators who fled the state to prevent a vote on proposed budget cuts says he and his 13 fellow Democrats will come home, but only when Republicans drop their attempt to restrict their collective bargaining rights of public employees. This is updating "The Wall Street Journal" report we told you about earlier.

As the protests continued all weekend, Senator Chris Larson, well, he says, he and his fellow Democrats won't return until workers' rights are preserved. Republicans are trying to close a budget gap by forcing state workers to pay more of their pension and health care costs and by restricting collective bargaining rights.

If you thought Charlie Sheen was running off the rails before, you should have seen him last night. His live epic Web cast wasn't simply bad, it was unwatchable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: He's just better than you. And all -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was a small part of it. After peaking at 116,000 viewers, fans started bailing out after just a few minutes. The show had no structure and no humor. Nothing made it remotely interesting. Sheen real could have used some comedy writers and a producer like Chuck Lorre.

Even Sheen tweeted an apology afterwards. The host of HLN's "Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell" spoke with me about Charlie Sheen's recent streak of unwinning ways.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So, Jane, here we go, another week, we're talking about Charlie Sheen and just in a sad moment, his kids taken away. Let's look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHEEN: Are you going to share that apple with your brother? Are you going to share that apple with your brother? Give me some of that.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Bye.

SHEEN: Bye, buddy.

UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Bye.

(CROSSTALK)

SHEEN: I will see you soon, buddy. We'll see you soon, absolutely. We'll see you soon. You have my word. Pop don't lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So Jane, it's tough to watch. And you know, you talked about his addiction. Is it right for them to take his kids away?

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, HLN'S ISSUES: Well, this is the incomprehensible demoralization of addiction. This is what happens. He calls himself a winner. Is that really what happens to a winner? I think not.

But I've got to ask the question, Don, are either of these parents fit to take care of these kids? It was two Christmases ago that the mother of the children, Brooke Mueller, accused Charlie Sheen of attacking her. He ultimately pleaded guilty to simple assault. And yet recently, she was with him in the Bahamas, partying, along with his two goddesses/girlfriends, and the reports are she has only been sober a short period of time and is reportedly in outpatient rehab. So does she really have what it takes to be a parent?

They're going to court, they're going to battle it out, but I've got to wonder, does water find its own level.

LEMON: Yes. And you know what, let's keep our fingers crossed and our prayers with those kids, because they are the ones that really need looking out for. They're two adults. They can be responsible for themselves. I want to talk more about Charlie Sheen. You know, he's been all over the place saying, hey, I'm the one who is being harmed here. I'm going to sue CBS. Does he stand a chance?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: He actually does. He says, pay me for the eight episodes. He gets almost $2 million so that's roughly $16 million he wants from the network, or he's going to sue. He has one of the best lawyers in Hollywood. And there have been many published reports he has no morality clause in his contract, so he may have a good case.

And I will say this. The network knew who they were getting in bed with. His problems go back at least two decades, when he shot his then-fiance, Kelly Preston, in the arm. That's when he first went into rehab. Then there were the Heidi Fleisch girls. They knew who they were dealing with. So I think this idea that, oh, now, they're suddenly shocked at his behavior, I don't buy it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Catch Jane's show every day, 7:00 p.m. on HLN.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Thanks for watching. Good night. Have a great week.