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Man Sacrifices Life to Help Libyan Rebels; Reactor Core May be Leaking in Japan; Large Protests in Jordan; U.S. Handing Over No-Fly Command; NATO to Command No-Fly Zone; Household Net Worth Drops; Life Returns in Tsunami Zone; The Help Desk; Talk Back Question; Too Young For Facebook

Aired March 25, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. Let's get you up to speed. We now have breaking news.

(CHANTING)

MALVEAUX: Syrian security forces gunned down 15 anti-government protesters today as they marched to join a rally in the city of Daraa. A witness tells CNN there are many casualties inside the city as well. He says snipers suddenly appeared on rooftops and fired on protesters after they burned pictures of President Bashar al-Assad.

Activists say 100,000 people were on the streets of Daraa today. CNN is gathering information from witnesses on the ground, but is unable to independently confirm the details.

Well, a carnival atmosphere took an ugly turn today in Jordan. Witnesses say supporters of King Abdullah used sticks and stones against protesters at Central Square in Amman. Police reportedly have unleashed water cannons, and dozens are said to be wounded. All of this happened just as Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Amman for talks with Abdullah.

In Libya, coalition planes bombed military bases near Tripoli again today. They also hit Moammar Gadhafi's troops just outside Ajdabiya. Officials say Gadhafi's fighters were targeting civilians inside the city.

The battle for Benghazi last month illustrates the desperation in Libya. A man blew himself up in his car to open a path so that rebel fighters could advance.

Our CNN's Reza Sayah explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To many here, Al Mehdi Zeyo was the hero of that fight, a 49-year-old oil company worker, husband, father of two. The best way to help the opposition, he decided, was to sacrifice his life.

(on camera): This is where Al Mehdi Zeyo gave his life. It's the old military barracks here in Benghazi. It's pretty much demolished today. But on February 19th, rebel fighters had surrounded it, and they were facing heavy firepower.

They were trying to get inside these military barracks. They couldn't. They needed something to shift their momentum.

What Al Mehdi did was pack his car full of plastic car fuel containers in cooking gas cylinders, and witnesses say he parked his car right over there, where that SUV is, and prayed and read the Koran for about 30 minutes. And then he sped towards the main gate, where he blew himself and his car up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: NATO will take over command of the no-fly zone over Libya, perhaps as early as this weekend. But NATO has not agreed to target Libyan military hardware or Libyan troops to protect the citizens. NATO's secretary-general says a decision on that expanded role will be made soon.

Japan's nuclear agency says the protective shell that is housing the nuclear core at reactor number 3 is probably cracked. There, evidence, water that leaked from the reactor, was 10,000 times more radioactive than normal. Three workers who stood in that water for 40 to 50 minutes are in the hospital today.

A U.S. military ship is towing a barge filled with tons of fresh water to Fukushima today. Crews will use it to cool the nuclear fuel. They've been dousing the reactors with seawater because the plant is located on the shore, but now they're worried that the salt buildup will corrode sensitive parts.

Top Tokyo political figures drank tap water in front of the cameras today. They say that radiation levels in the city's water system have fallen now to safe levels. But a region just halfway between Tokyo and Fukushima reports that water there is not safe for babies.

An air traffic controller at Reagan National Airport has been suspended. Federal investigators say that he fell asleep on the job early Wednesday morning, forcing two commercial jetliners to land on their own. The controller, a 20-year veteran, was the only one on duty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB RICHARDS, FMR. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Something can happen at any moment. Things go wrong in a second and you have to be able to react to it. And having one person there to do that is not what you want, ideally, to be efficiently in working that situation. I've seen it way too many -- hundreds of times in my 20 years, something happens at the last second, and having just one person there is not the way to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: The transportation secretary says that two controllers must be on duty at Reagan National from now on. Well, there are new fears today that the reactor core being breached at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant -- it is raising the possibility of more radiation being released into the air or penetrating in the ground.

Our CNN's Paula Hancocks, she is in Tokyo to explain what all of this means.

Give us a sense, first of all, what is the status of these reactors, particularly reactor number 3?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, at this point, TEPCO officials, the team in charge of this plant, don't actually know whether or not there is a break, a crack, or a rupture in unit 3. This is the containment vessel they're worried about, which is basically the casing around the reactor core.

It's supposed to prevent any radioactive substances from escaping and from getting into the atmosphere. They basically don't know if there is a problem with that, if there is a crack.

The reason they're worried is because, remember, on Thursday, just yesterday, those three workers were standing in that water contamination, about five inches of water which was 10,000 times the level it should have been, and they're trying to figure out how that became contaminated. And the one explanation could be that it came out of that particular area.

But, inevitably, the workers have been evacuated. No one has been in there since those three workers were injured, so it's very difficult for them to even find out exactly what the problem is -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: It's amazing just to see those pictures there. They're walking just with plastic and tape around the plastic there. I guess that is their protection against some of this water.

But what are they doing about this leak?

HANCOCKS: Well, at this point, they can't actually get into the area where they can decide whether or not it is a leak. What they've been doing in that particular unit today, that reactor, is they have been trying to pump real water, like pure water, into the area.

They had been putting seawater into the area before, which, as you can imagine, is quite corrosive, so this could actually be causing more problems for them in the long term. So they've been trying to put fresh water in.

The U.S. military has been helping by providing that pure water. And they've also been doing that with one of the other reactors. But at this point, even though more than 500 workers are on the plant, they can't get back inside that engine room to see exactly what the problem is.

MALVEAUX: Big, big problems there. Paula Hancocks, thank you very much.

Want to take a closer look at how the engineers suspect that this breach, this leak, could have even happened. Our Chad Myers is here to break it down for us.

Chad, I want to start off first with the guys who are now hospitalized who were in that water.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right.

MALVEAUX: Where did that happen? Where do we think that took place?

MYERS: The water was in the turbine generation room, in the basement where they're trying to hook the power back up, where the power would have been generated had this thing been running in the first place. That's a little bit confusing to me and to some other experts that I've talked to. But water came out of what we believe -- with numbers like this, either came out of the core, somehow, or came out of the water that was surrounding those spent fuel rods.

The problem that we're seeing now, and the number and the word that I'm hearing that we have not heard from any agency is cobalt. Go look up radioactive cobalt.

How does it get there? How does it get into the water? And beta rays -- we talk about all the gamma rays that might be coming over the ocean -- beta rays and how these workers were burnt, the water at some point in time was in contact with the radiated rocks, with the core at some point in time.

The core, according to TEPCO and the IAEA and all the men over there, all the women who are working on this, may have a breach. Is the breach in the core itself? Is the breach surrounding the core? Or is it the possibility that the weak link may have been these steam lines that turned the generators that turned the turbines in the first place because they were in the turbine building? They were not under the reactor core at all, clearly, when they stepped in this water.

What you need to know about this is that this is serious. This is big-time. That water, with this much radiation and cobalt in it, is in contact and outside the vessel itself, either outside the turbine, outside the core, out -- this is a much now bigger deal than we had three days ago.

MALVEAUX: And you wonder if that's going to create a meltdown or if that's just, in and of itself, a very, very dangerous situation.

MYERS: If you're pouring water in and it's just leaking out, it's going somewhere else. They have also found this cobalt in the ocean water surrounding the plant.

So, this doesn't just float around in the atmosphere. This appears to be -- have washed somehow with water into the ocean, and then the men were standing in this. And they were literally burned because the shoes that they were wearing couldn't keep it out.

MALVEAUX: All right. Chad, thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

MALVEAUX: Obviously, a very serious situation that is happening there.

MYERS: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Want to take a look ahead on what is "On the Rundown" as well.

We're going to get a live report from Libya as the U.S. is preparing to hand off leadership to NATO.

Also, what is the change of command mean for the U.S. role in that operation?

Plus, our "Talk Back" question for you. Who should pick up the tab for Libya?

And later, Guatemala's first lady giving up love for love of country.

And finally, new life brings new hope in Japan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you need a sign that life can return to Japan's devastated tsunami zone, here's a small one. His name is Yuma; and hers, Yukia. Her still- weary mother went into labor in the car, fleeing the tsunami. She barely made it to a hospital on high ground.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We have breaking news that is out of Amman, Jordan. I want to break in our -- the foreign minister of Jordan, Naser Judeh, who joins us on the phone.

Mr. Judeh, can you hear us?

NASER JUDEH, FOREIGN MINISTER OF JORDAN: I can hear you, ma'am.

MALVEAUX: I appreciate your joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM.

We've been getting reports, even our own CNN producer on the ground out of Amman, that there are violent protests that have happened. And these are supporters of the government that are turning on demonstrators there.

Is that correct? Is that your understanding of what's taking place?

JUDEH: There was a bit of a violent entanglement. There were demonstrators who were trying to camp at an unusual location. I mean, they've been demonstrating for three or four months in different places. They decided to go to a critical juncture in the city, in the eastern part of the city, and decided to camp there last night.

And another group of demonstrators came and tried to remove them. And unfortunately, the police got caught in the middle, trying to protect both sets of demonstrators.

MALVEAUX: Our CNN producer on the ground -- I'm sorry to interrupt, but our producer on the ground, Jomana Karadsheh, she says that these are supporters of the government that were attacking the protesters, the demonstrators. Is that your understanding?

JUDEH: Well, like I said, there were two groups of demonstrators. There were opposition members who camped out there last night, and there were another set of demonstrators on the other side of the equation who had decided to come and try and take things into their own hands.

The police got caught in the middle. They are trying to bring the situation under control here.

But I would like to add here that we've had peaceful protests in Jordan for many, many years, and most recently, in the last three or four months, where no major incident has happened and where people expressed themselves (ph) very, very freely. Unfortunately, today has slipped through the net, but hopefully the situation will be under control soon.

MALVEAUX: Do you have a message for those who are supporting the government, your own government, who have now turned violent?

JUDEH: Well, supporters or opposers, I think order is the -- is what is required from everybody, and respect for the law. And I think here in Jordan, again, I would like to express that we have had peaceful demonstrations for many, many years, issue-oriented.

We have economic hardships. We have calls for reform. His Majesty, the King, the government is responding. And, in fact, His Majesty always initiates reform.

We have a political, economic and social reform process that's well on track. There's a national dialogue committee that is tackling every issue and every topic.

Things getting out of hand is not a usual occurrence in Jordan. Today, as I said, was one such exception, but as I said, hopefully it will be under control soon.

MALVEAUX: So, Mr. Judeh, how will you keep the peace? How will --

JUDEH: And demonstrators will continue to have the right to freely express their opinions and to freely demonstrate in Jordan. That is exactly what we do here, so -- MALVEAUX: How can you assure that to be the case? I mean, what are the police doing to separate these two groups or to protect innocent people?

JUDEH: Unfortunately, the police, like I said, got caught in the middle, and many of the injured were policemen who were attacked with rocks and whatnot. And like I said, every demonstration that has taken place in Jordan in the last three or four months has been protected by the police. So, today, we had a group of protesters who decided to come and attack other protesters and, again, the police got caught in the middle, and they are trying to bring the situation back to control.

MALVEAUX: OK. Finally, if you can tell us, is there any other concessions that the government is willing to make? Is the regime itself saying -- obviously, the protesters are out there asking for more.

JUDEH: Yes. It's not a question of concessions, it's a question of an initiative that has been taken place for many, many years.

We have a national dialogue committee that's going to discuss and delve into great detail of political parties law, elections law. We've just sent the government a law to parliament that allows public assembly without prior approval.

Everything's on the table. Unfortunately, one Islamic group decided not to take part in the dialogue for reasons unknown to me, but the idea is to continue forth with the political and economic and social reform program, and also to have everything on the table to be discussed. Like I said, in Jordan, violence is not the order of the day. The reform process is initiated always by the leadership, by the government, and I think we will see that today.

MALVEAUX: All right. Mr. Judeh, the foreign minister of Jordan, we appreciate your time and for joining us here. Thank you.

It takes a lot of money to wage a war. Not surprising. It sparked debate over who's going to pick up this tab for enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya.

Our Carol Costello has more in the "Talk Back."

I imagine a lot of people weighing in on this, because this is a very -- it's a humanitarian mission, but it's also -- it's an expensive mission as well. It's possibly long term.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. An expensive mission for the United States, in particular. But maybe it will all work out.

The United States seems steps away from turning over the Libya problem to NATO and our allies, but the U.S. is a big part of NATO. And when I say U.S., I mean us, as in taxpayers.

Want an itemized list? As of yesterday, the Navy has launched 168 Tomahawk missiles at $1.4 million each. That adds up to $235.2 million.

U.S. warplanes have flown 449 sorties. The cost, $10,000 per hour. And there are 26 American ships supporting the no-fly zone.

Add it all up, and the U.S. is on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars. NATO's not going to pick up the tab. But why should the United States be forced to pay for all or most of it?

What about those oil-rich Arab states who wanted us to enforce a no-fly zone so they didn't have to? And what about Moammar Gadhafi's frozen assets? That's $30 billion. Why not make him pay double for killing his own people?

So, the "Talk Back" question today, who should pick up the tab for enforcing Libya's no-fly zone?

Join the conversation at Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I'll read some of your comments later on in our show.

MALVEAUX: OK. Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sure.

MALVEAUX: Well, it is a political love triangle between a first lady, her president, and a passion for their country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Well, she says she's leaving the man that she loves to serve her country.

Rafael Romo has a fascinating story, Guatemala's first lady.

We've all been talking about this story, so you've got to fill in the viewers.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's definitely a lot of talk. It's just unbelievable what is going on in Guatemala.

It all started earlier this month, when Guatemalan first lady Sandra Torres de Colom announced her intention to run for president. Everything is good up to there. There's only one problem though. Close relatives of the president are constitutionally barred in Guatemala from seeking the high office.

Her solution, getting a divorce from her husband, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom. The president has repeatedly said his wife has every right to run for the presidency. The couple has already filed for divorce, which may become final as soon as next week.

Sandra Torres de Colom, who is 51 years old, has said that she's doing this for -- listen to this, Suzanne -- for her country, and that she is divorcing her husband, but "getting married to the people." She also says she's doing it for all of the Guatemalans who want her to lead the next administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANDRA TORRES DE COLOM, GUATEMALAN FIRST LADY (through translator): I have the legitimate right to participate. I have the constitutional right, human right, political right. And also, the people who have asked me to participate have the right to be represented by me as a presidential candidate, and also in the next administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Of course -- of course the opposition is crying foul, with many questioning the first couple's motives. Constitutional attorney Carlos Molina Mencos told the Guatemalan daily "Prensa Libre" that, as public figures, the first couple should set an example. The worst part, he said, is that they are taking these actions only for the possibility of a candidacy. He went on saying, "This means that if they win, they can reunite, or if not, they can also reunite." And ended calling it "a mockery."

MALVEAUX: It's hard to believe this story, really. I thought I was married to my job, but, really, this takes it to a whole other level here.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Do most people -- are they behind them, or do they think it's crazy?

ROMO: Well, there's a poll that's being released on Monday that is going to basically say what are the true, the real chances, of her winning the presidency. They need to file for candidacy by May 2nd, and the elections are actually in September.

So once that poll is released, we'll see exactly what the chances are. And then I can also think of a similar case in Argentina, where the president allowed the wife to run, and then unfortunately he died. So --

MALVEAUX: Oh, OK.

ROMO: -- a different story, a little bit.

MALVEAUX: All right. Rafael, thank you. We're going to follow that story. We're going to be talking about that story all weekend, guaranteed.

Thanks. Appreciate it.

Well, Americans are mobilizing to help the victims of Japan's disaster. Jeff Smith from our affiliate WSOC in Charlotte, North Carolina, has the story in this week's "What Matters."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF SMITH, REPORTER, WSOC (voice-over): There's a few thousand pounds of baby formula in all of these boxes, but mostly they're bringing non-food items such as toilet paper, hygiene kits, and blankets.

BARRY HALL, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: But we're sending a total of about 15,000 blankets.

SMITH: With tens of thousands of people without homes, the Japanese government asked Samaritans first to bring plastic sheeting to help make warm, makeshift tents.

HALL: So hopefully within 24 hours of things arriving and clearing Customs, they'll already begin getting them into people's hands that need the relief supplies.

SMITH: The continued threat of radiation is on their minds.

HALL: We are actually sending some meters that each of the individual staff will wear, just to track the actual radiation that they might be encountering. And if things get too dangerous for the staff, we'll pull them out, but right now we're committed to stay there and help the people of Japan.

SMITH: All of the supplies are packed up and ready to go, and workers hope to make an immediate impact to a nation in crisis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: The fight for Libya -- what if no one blinks? Is the United States stuck in another war with no easy way out? The military and political perspectives, up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The U.S. gets ready to hand over command of the no-fly zone in Libya now to NATO, and the alliance promises a seamless transition of leadership. That's what they say.

Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson, he's joining us live from Tripoli.

Nic, tell us, first of all, the reaction to NATO taking over. What does this mean for the U.S. role in this operation?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's (AUDIO GAP) the U.S. won't have to be so politically exposed, that it won't perhaps leech away support in this region if things don't go well with this operation in Libya. So it certainly gives the United States more diplomatic cover and will ease back on the exposure of American servicemen and women in this sort of dangerous end of the fight here, which is in the air over this country -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Nic, are the Libyan people happy about this?

ROBERTSON: They are worried. They're really worried about what's going to happen in the coming days and weeks. The assessment of politicians that I talked to here is that this military -- this campaign, if you will, is still in its military phase. There aren't any diplomatic avenues at the moment, and therefore, things have to be fought through some ways longer yet, and that seems to be a view shared by the population here.

MALVEAUX: Nic Robertson, thank you so much for your --

ROBERTSON: Whether they support Gadhafi or not, the tribes in the country --

MALVEAUX: Nic, thank you for your perspective.

We want to dig a little bit deeper on this. We're going to bring in two guests, Ambassador Nicholas Burns who's former U.S. undersecretary for Political Affairs and retired Army Lieutenant General Russel Honore.

I want to start off with you, Ambassador Burns, first of all, the role will change, NATO will take over the no-fly zones, what does that mean in terms of a U.S. exit strategy? Is it easier to determine how the United States gets out of this mission and if there's an end game?

NICHOLAS BURNS, FORMER UNDERSECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS: Well, on the one hand, you know, the NATO alliance is really dominated by the United States politically and militarily. And the military leadership of the NATO alliance is run by Americans including the Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral Jim Stravini.

So Americans will remain involved if NATO takes over from the United States. I don't think the United States can just wash its hands of this, however. We are so implicated, integrated into the NATO command structure.

We are so much a part of the alliance, we've been the natural political, military leader for so long, we may provide unique capacities. The Europeans may step up and become the major force prosecuting the tactical air and naval operations.

But I wonder, and this is a gamble, if the European leaders can shoulder the responsibility in the military operations and see them forward in the brilliant way that the U.S. military has done over the last week.

It's a gamble for the U.S. to essentially hand off the lead to the European allies. A gamble for the Europeans because they may not have the financial wherewithal as well as the experience that the United States military has because of the wars over the last 10 or 15 years.

MALVEAUX: So, Nic, if this is a gamble that the U.S. loses, what happens? Are we there for the long term?

BURNS: The danger here is this. I think the United States and the European allies have done a lot over the last week to blunt Gadhafi's military offensive and to push him back and to relieve the siege at Benghazi. But Gadhafi has survived. He continues to conduct ground operations in places like Misrata and Ajdabiya and it may be we're looking at a protracted civil war. The no-fly zone cannot completely protect the civilians of Libya.

You're going to need to see a continuation of military operation, and the gamble is you might not have the same intimidating effect on Gadhafi that the U.S. with Europe in charge that the U.S. clearly has supplied over the last week.

MALVEAUX: I want to bring in General Russel Honore to talk a little bit about this.

And Nick Burns had said that this is really quite a gamble, that essentially we are taking the lead no matter what we say about it, that we are the major power in the NATO alliance. Is it true essentially that this is our war?

LT. GEN. RUSSELL HONORE (RET.), CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Suzanne, I'll say this, NATO, we've invested years and years -- I, myself, served about six years under NATO command while in Europe. We have long established procedures with our land, air, and sea forces working with NATO.

We support about four star headquarters and by last count that are part of NATO and the Supreme Allied commanders of NATO. I think as far as the concern that some people have had in coordination, that won't be an issue.

What will be the issue is the -- the mission to provide close air support for the mission that the opposition forces have taken to go against Gadhafi forces. That will be a continuing challenge.

MALVEAUX: So, if the rebels essentially hang on and Gadhafi hangs on and you've got this stalemate, does that look like it's going to be a U.S. involvement in a long, protracted civil war in Libya?

HONORE: I don't -- I don't think so, because the coalition has the authority to prevent Colonel Gadhafi from movement by sea and air. He can only hold on so long. He has no way to trade. He has no way to fly in and out of his country.

We can cut his telecommunications off. Things are going to start getting very painful on him real soon. So, I think we, while there's some ambiguity and who's doing what, the American people and all should be rested at ease.

That the U.S. and NATO is the well-oiled machine when it comes to controlling fires going into Libya, number one. And, number two, that the onus is on Gadhafi and how many hours or days he can hold on, not how long we can go the course to force him to a political decision or diplomatic decision.

MALVEAUX: General, which one is the more important strategy here, the military strategy or the political one? The one that protects the people or the one that essentially, the political strategy, moves Gadhafi in some way out of the way?

HONORE: At this time, the one that gets the best effect is the military leading to force him to impose our will on him so he will choose a political or diplomatic. Most people pay more attention to the political side, one that checks boxes, wanted all kind of assurance.

Again, in a crisis response situation, this has been a textbook example of crisis planning at NATO with the coalition and crisis planning with the most powerful and best military you have and well- trained military with 10 years of continuous warfare.

And what we see executed on the ground is precision, a precision that's been practiced and paid for by all. And I think at this point in time, time is on our side, not on Gadhafi's side.

MALVEAUX: All right, General Russell Honore and Nick Burns, thank you for your perspectives. We're going to have more following the breaking news out of Libya as well as throughout the Arab world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: So, if you're working harder to make ends meet, you are not alone. A new survey shows a big drop in the average American family's household net worth, and the recession, not surprisingly, is to blame.

Our Alison Kosik, she's here at the New York Stock Exchange. Alison break this down for us. How big of a hit have we actually taken here?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Do you know what? It's no question that Americans' finances took a huge hit during the recession. The Federal Reserve did a survey looking at household net worth. I'm talking about the value of entire households.

It took into account your income, how much your house is worth, your car, your investments, your debt, and in 2007 before the recession began, Suzanne, the median net worth for Americans were sitting at $125,000.

In 2009 the fed went back to talk to some of the same people, and they found out that the net worth for Americans fell to $96,000. Now, more people now are working longer to rebuild their retirement savings and prepare for the future, which, of course, is uncertain at this point, Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: I think so many people are feeling that. What do we see at the markets today?

KOSIK: We are in the green right now. The Dow up 72. The Nasdaq better by 22. We're seeing a rally for the fifth session in a row here. We've seen overall growth in the economy. We got a report today on GDP showing that the economy grew in the last of last year at a 3.1 percent pace. Also that is what is keeping the markets in the green today, Suzanne -- MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Alison, good news.

Well, picking up the pieces in Japan. How people are trying to move on by looking to the next generation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: There are new figures out now for the victims of the Japan earthquake and tsunami. The National Police Agency reports the death toll has surpassed now 10,000. The number of missing is also up more than 17,000 are still unaccounted for.

In terms of monetary damage, the figure is staggering, $309 billion, by comparison, the estimated loss from Hurricane Katrina $125 billion. Japan is trying to recover from the most costly natural disaster in recorded history.

Well, the devastation in Japan is very hard to understand, but our Kyung Lah shows us the resilience of life equally remarkable.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you need a sign that life can return to Japan's devastated tsunami zone, here's a small one. His name is Uma and her's Yukia, her still-weary mother went into labor in the car fleeing the tsunami. She barely made it to a hospital on high ground.

"After I gave birth to my babies," says this first time mom, I wasn't filled with joy, because I heard the news about so many victims." Koniko Suzuki, Uma's mother lost an aunt and her home in the tsunami, but gained a son.

"I'm trying not to be depressed," she says, "because I have to move forward for my baby." Across the region people are beginning to move forward, digging out their homes, finding precious possessions. A picture, he tells me. A part of his family's history, saved.

Food is getting to the victims. Many having their first hot meal since the tsunami left them homeless. And the most resilient, the young. Laughter filling this muddy evacuation center. A moment to play and be children.

(on camera): When entire cities up and down the northern Japan coastline looks like this, the natural question is, how do you begin to rebuild? City leaders say the answer is actually quite simple. You have to start somewhere.

(voice-over): Not that it's easy, says Kamaichi city spokesman. The tsunami flattened more than half of his city.

"I don't want to lose my hometown. I want it to come back. We won't give up," he says.

A fighting spirit among the survivors, who pledge to begin the next chapter in the rebirth of a region. Kung Lah, CNN, Morioka, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: We've been getting quite a few responses on our "Talk Back" question, who should pick up the tab for enforcing Libya's no- fly zone? Orlando says, "we should take control over Libya and Iraq's oil and other assets as payment for freedom. I understand we are the super power, but soon we'll be known as the broke super power."

More of your responses straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. With me right now, Donna Rosato. She's a senior editor at "Money." And Lynette Khalfani-Cox is a writer for walletpop.com.

Ladies, thank you for being with us. We have a couple of questions for you today.

Our first one comes from Lynn in Florida who writes, "I was divorced in 2008 and inherited all the credit card debt. I have since spent time working and paying down the debt. My credit score has improved. What score would indicate that I can purchase a home? -- Donna.

DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY": Well, you know, there's no one magic number that says you can now purchase a home, but generally you need a score of at least 620 or higher. Most lenders use the FICO score, which ranges from 350 to 850. The best rates go to folks who have a 780 or higher. But if she's got a 740 or higher or can work toward that, that's when you're going to get really good terms or decent terms and a good rate. So that's really what she should be aiming for.

ELAM: Right. Yes, just keep your eyes on it, but it should work out.

All right, the next one is from William in Georgia who writes, "what are the tax advantages of my 83-year-old parents selling their house to me for just a buck? I have heard of people doing this, but I don't really understand why."

Lynette, make it clear.

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, WRITER, WALLETPOP.COM: Well, they're trying to minimize estate taxes or potentially provide Medicaid benefits to the elderly parents. I don't know which might be the case in this particular situation, but I can tell you that this is fraught with a lot of danger. This is not something you want to do without getting an estate tax attorney in to give you some good advice without having a CPA. There could be potential gift taxes triggered, estate taxes, income taxes. If you do do that dollar sale, the IRS might come back and say, this was essentially a gift. Medicaid has a five-year look back period. If your parents later need to go into a nursing home, they might say, what was transferred or what did you do within the last five years. So that strategy doesn't always work. So I say do -- you know, do use extreme amount of caution when it comes to transferring or potentially gifting essentially a $1 house assets of that kind.

ELAM: Yes, you hear stuff about rich people doing stuff like this, but they have a whole team of people helping them out. So consider that before you make those move.

KHALFANI-COX: You need to get (INAUDIBLE) advice on that one.

ELAM: All right. Well, Donna and Lynette, thanks so much for helping us out. Of course, if you have a question that you'd like to get these lovely ladies to help you out on, we'd love to have it answered for you right here. So send us an e-mail anytime to CNNhelpdesk@CNN.com.

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MALVEAUX: Getting information in now about who will actually lead the NATO command in the effort in Libya. We're just getting this from the Canadian defense minister, Peter MacKay, who says it, in fact, will be the Canadians. We expect NATO to announce Canadian Lieutenant General Charlie Bouchard to lead the NATO military campaign. He said, I know Charlie is a formidable leader and I have faith in his experience and abilities. So we know that NATO looking for the effort, no-fly zone, to enforce that, and it will be the Canadians who will be leading, taking the charge.

Well, the cost of war is adding up. As we know, the price tag quite significant. But to fully establish Libya's no-fly zone, it could reach up to $800 million. So we are asking the question today, who should pay the bill?

And, Carol, you've been getting a lot of people weighing in on this one.

COSTELLO: A lot of clever comments. I'm loving it.

The "Talk Back" question today, who should pick up the tab for enforcing Libya's no-fly zone.

This from Michael. "Wow, Carol, $10,000 an hour for sorties? Several hundred million for the entire operation? Would love to see you get this worked up over the $8 billion in bales of cash that was lost in transit in Iraq on the way to the $1 trillion war."

This from Christopher. The U.S. is effectively being used as a mercenary force in this conflict, then we should be smart enough to get paid like them as well."

This from Daisy. "Is having a little extra in our pockets worth it if we can insure someone else's freedom with it instead?"

This from Richard. "The U.S. can pick up the tab. We can pay for it with the same credit card that has trillions in debt."

And this from Michael. "How about Goldman Sachs pay for it."

Continue the conversation, Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. And, as always, thank you for your comments.

MALVEAUX: And, Carol, we're going to be following a lot of other places where there are some hot spots that are generating in the Arab world.

COSTELLO: Jordan's heating up. Syria's heating up.

MALVEAUX: It's hard to keep track.

COSTELLO: I know.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sure.

MALVEAUX: Arab world erupting. We're focusing on what these conflicts mean for American security and own interests. Today we're zeroing in on three countries, Syria, Yemen and the fallout for Israel.

First to Syria, where we're hearing reports of gunfire just hours ago in the southern city of Daraa. Eyewitnesses say as many as 15 may be dead. A protest march there attracted thousands. Syria is Iran's chief Arab ally. The State Department lists it as a state sponsor of terror and financial backer to Hezbollah. If the anti-American government were to fall, however, no promise that a pro-western democracy would spring up in its place.

Syria has been under emergency rule for almost half a century. Now the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has promised to make some concessions to the people, announcing a 30 percent pay increase, more freedom for the media, but the violence today shows just how desperate the situation still is.

Next, we want to go to Yemen, where violent clashes are rocking the capital. Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world. The ancestral home of Osama bin Laden and a hotbed of al Qaeda activity. Instability in Yemen could create a failed state where al Qaeda could flourish. And the White House is watching this conflict very closely. President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has lead the country for three decades, say he is ready to make concessions in order to avoid more bloodshed. And he says he is willing to hand over authority next year if he knows who will take his place.

But the opposition is not satisfied. Today in Yemen, there are two rival protests. One pro government, the other anti-government. And with dozens dead in the last week, there is a real threat of more violence. And finally on to Israel, deep rooted ally to the United States, that finds itself sitting in the middle of all of this unrest. On Wednesday, a bomb exploded in Jerusalem. A 59-year-old British woman was killed, more than 50 other people wounded. No group right now is claiming responsibility.

Meanwhile, Israel has been fighting against these targets in Gaza in response to rocket fire from Palestine. Today, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates stood alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he told reporters that Israeli forces are willing to act with great force and great determination against terror attacks.

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MALVEAUX: You texted it, we're airing it. Karen Kafa (ph) has the winning selection.

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KAREN KAFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You must be this old to access this site. With 600 million users and counting, it seems like everyone is on Facebook. And just like other things their older counterparts do, tweens age eight to 12 are eager to get on, too, despite the site's minimum age of 13. Reports say Facebook is booting about 20,000 underage users every day. A percentage that might seem small, but the implications for those youngsters could be big.

HEMANSHU NIGAM, INTERNET SAFETY CONSULTANT: And the conduct that they have online and offline affects their future, it affects their reputation, it affects what jobs they might get in the future.

KAFA: Like anything else, experts say parents should decide when their child is ready to have a social networking presence and the level of involvement they'll have in their kids' social life, whether it's sharing a password or friending mom and dad. While parents worry about the potential perils, it could be equally detrimental to cut kids off.

NIGAM: And the reality is, at some point they're going to want to go in, so you might as well give them the tools that they need, the education they need, the awareness.

KAFA: So to get them familiar with social networking, there are junior sites like Togetherville, Scuttlepad and Everlu (ph) that require younger kids to connect with teens so when they are ready to go to the older sites, they'll be prepared.

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MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues with Randi Kaye.