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Brits Protest Budget Cuts; Libyan Woman Recounts Attack; Libyan Rebels Recapture Key Town; Radiation Levels Up in Water; Hiroshima Survivor's Mission; Asleep in the Control Tower; NBA Players Give $1,000 a Point to Japan Relief; Listening in on Suspected Abusers

Aired March 26, 2011 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We are at the top of the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Live from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, I'm T.J. Holmes.

A big victory for Libyan rebels today with help from NATO air strikes. They now control a key city in oil-rich eastern Libya. We have a live report straight ahead.

Also in Japan, a new concern at a crippled nuclear plant; tests show a big spike in radiation levels in seawater just off shore. We're live in Tokyo as well.

Also NBA players, many of them hoping they have a really good game tonight. Why? Because the money they raise is going to go to the victims in Japan. A thousand dollars for every point they score. One of the people taking part, Al Horford, the Atlanta Hawks star. He'll be here live to talk about those efforts.

But first I want to take you to London where we can show you live pictures right now of a massive protest and march taking place there. The crowd estimated in the tens of thousands protesting billions of dollars in budget cuts. This march was called by trade unions. We have seen some clashes with police there in Britain. Scotland Yard also on the scene; 300,000 public service jobs reportedly will be cut because of these austerity measures.

Civil servants won't be seeing any pay raises. Members of parliament say that cuts are needed to combat Britain's huge debt. But we have been watching these pictures for the past hour or so, for the most part you're seeing, like you're seeing there a peaceful but there are some reports that we have seen here live on our air some clashes taking place. But we are keeping a close eye on what's happening there in London this morning.

Also out of Libya's capital today, a disturbing incident to tell you about. A woman burst into a hotel that's been the base of western journalists there who have been covering the unrest in Libya. She began shouting to a reporter that she had been held against her will by government troops and that she was brutally assaulted.

Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson was there and can pick up the story. Do that for me, Nic. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she sat down at a table in the restaurant in the hotel, while CNN were there as well. She began to explain herself to the journalists. She had drawn attention to herself when journalists began to interview her.

As soon as the journalists started showing a lot of interest in her, then government officials started climbing over tables trying to pull her out of the way, trying to stop journalists from interviewing her, beating the journalists, throwing them on the ground. Our camera was literally not only physically manhandled away from Halil Abdullah, our cameraman here, then he was -- the camera was taken from him into a corner of the room there where it was systematically destroyed, kicked and smashed.

And the reason Halil backed away from the situation was because another government official there pulled out a pistol on the situation. What was happening here, this was the first time journalists had heard somebody coming forward to present an anti- Gadhafi view. And what we saw and what unfolded in view of all the journalists was a massive government effort to stifle this woman, to shut her up and indeed they put a bag over her head, they moved her away from the scene. They took her outside the hotel for a little while to the back garden. Remonstrated with her and then brought her up to the front of the hotel while she was kicking and screaming trying to be free, bundled her into a car.

Officials say that she was being taken to a hospital because she was mentally unstable, when she managed to shout out that she was being taken to prison. But the whole situation just revealed how tough it is to get to the truth of this situation here because as (AUDIO GAP) soon as somebody tries to present something government officials don't want us to see they have brutally slapped down and carted off apparently to prison and journalists and their equipment smashed in the process. The government trying to cover that side (AUDIO GAP) that story up -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, our -- again, our Nic Robertson reporting there for us from Tripoli. Nic, we appreciate you as always.

We want to stay in Libya now where rebel forces are now in control of a strategic eastern city. They managed to recapture Ajdabiya from Gadhafi's forces earlier today after those forces were hammered by coalition airstrikes.

CNN's Arwa Damon is there. She joins me once again. Arwa hello to you. Is it possible the rebels, the opposition would have been able to do what they've done in Ajdabiya without the help from those airstrikes from coalition forces?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No T.J. that would have been highly unlikely. And if in fact, they had been able to recapture Ajdabiya on their own, it probably would have been an incredibly drawn out process. You can see the impact that those airstrikes had both at the northern and western gates of Ajdabiya where Gadhafi's troops have literally dug themselves in. These areas, especially on the northern front as far as the eye can see, is the remains of tanks and many of them appeared to have been damaged. A number of them obviously damaged by air strikes, massive craters next to them. Some of them appear to have been abandoned.

On the western gate as well, at least a handful of tanks appear to have been damaged by air strikes there too. Piled on top of this destruction is the opposition chanting their victory, chanting their gratitude to the international community because they keep telling us that they acknowledge the fact that without this help, they would not have been able to take the battle this far.

We've been seeing a slow trickle of residents coming back to Ajdabiya surveying the damage done to their homes. The damage not quite as extensive in the city, itself, as one would have imagined. We did see a home that was burned. A number of buildings with bullet holes, what looked like tank rounds through them. We were in one neighborhood where residents who had come back told us of how Gadhafi troops have fired through their front doors. And then asked them to come out promising them they would be safe.

They did end up having to leave their homes. They say that they were forced out of Ajdabiya, but they also tell the story of some of their other neighbors whose whereabouts are still unknown. Many people saying that now the opposition is going to continue in its march westward, just as determined and now even more upbeat in the fact that they do firmly believe that they will succeed in taking this all the way to Tripoli -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right and on the way to Tripoli, Misrata, we we're showing the -- the pictures there, on the map, giving our viewers an idea of how this is kind of moving west. We're hearing some reports of some fighting in Misrata as well. Did you have any updates on that?

DAMON: Misrata is one of those areas where Gadhafi forces have trapped the population inside and we repeatedly hearing horrific eyewitness reports from there. Today according to doctor at the main hospital, at least 20 people were wounded. Those ones he was saying sustained by sniper fire and earlier we were also hearing reports of shelling by Gadhafi forces in the city. Air strikes happening on the outskirts of the city.

But this is also one of those areas that present a great challenge. These air strikes can only do so much to disrupt Gadhafi's forces supply lines to damage the heavy armor that he has on the outskirts of the city. But they cannot target Gadhafi's troops inside the city because of the concern of causing civilian casualties.

Everyone who we talked to here in Benghazi at this National Council that is the de facto opposition government repeatedly expressing their concern for areas like Misrata even as the opposition continues to move west, Misrata is still a very, very long way off for them -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Arwa Damon reporting for us this morning. Arwa, thank you, as always.

Meanwhile, NATO is getting ready to take over control of the no- fly zone over Libya. The alliance is preparing to take over administration of that zone, but the U.S. will still have an important role as a NATO member nation. That means you can still expect American planes to be flying over Libya. Commanders emphasize the aim is to protect citizens from forces loyal to Gadhafi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. CARTER HAM, U.S. AFRICA COMMAND: We expect that NATO will take over the -- the no-fly zone this weekend and then the next piece, the third and final piece is that mission to protect civilians. NATO -- it is my understanding that NATO has agreed to that in principle and will this weekend decide on the procedures and the timing of accepting that mission.

But I -- I think that will probably occur in the very near future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And meanwhile, the White House says, President Obama will update the American people on U.S. strategy in Libya during a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, I'm told now we were just telling you about some of the fighting taking place in Misrata in Libya. Tough to get a lot of reporting out there sometimes. We do have our reporters on the scene, but oftentimes we have to depend on other people who are on the line with us. And we do have a doctor on the line with us coming to us from Misrata.

We're not identifying him because of security reasons. But what can you tell us about what you're seeing. We're hearing reports of some shelling going on in that city. Is that taking place?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): Hello? What we can speak about, my side, (INAUDIBLE) and still receiving a lot of -- and for today around a portion cases and (AUDIO GAP) well, yesterday we had 75 patients. Three of them was children and from one family. This is between the people of the revolution and the security forces in the main street -- (AUDIO GAP) and the main street.

HOLMES: We apologize there. We're having a tough time with that connection there. We'll try to reconnect with that doctor. Again, reports out of Misrata of some battles going on there in Libya.

We are telling you about what's happening in Benghazi and now the opposition taking the all-important city of Ajdabiya. We remember reporting about that but trying to get a report out of Misrata from that doctor. We'll try to re-establish to get a better connection with that doctor and get him back on the line here in a moment.

Also we'll be telling you and talking to a reporter who has done their covering some of the some of those massive -- that massive march we've been keeping an eye on in London; tens of thousands of people in the streets proposing some of the big budget cuts being proposed by the government there.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 13 minutes past the hour.

We can show you more pictures here of what we've been watching in the streets of London this morning. We're expecting or some were expecting tens of thousands to collect in the streets for protests today. These people are protesting the austerity measures that are taking place. It was billed as a march for an alternative, if you will.

There are some pretty stiff measures that the government there is proposing the conservative government there -- or party is proposing to try to get the budget under control there.

A lot of these people upset about the unemployment, the high unemployment there. But the government putting in some new reforms trying to get the budget under control and a lot of the people are upset. You see a lot of signs being held. You see police making their way through the crowd. That is a live picture we are showing you right now.

For the most part it's been like this in the pictures we've seen. Peaceful as people walk down the street but also we have seen clashes at times as well. We want to go down to the streets with Nima Elbagir who is one of our reporters. She is near those protests. Please tell us what you are seeing down there.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., there have been isolated incidents, skirmishes between the metropolitan police force and protesters. The most worrying was one in front of Top Shop in the center of Oxford Circus where police had light bulbs injected with ammonia thrown at them, which showed a worrying degree of pre-preparedness for these skirmishes.

But as a whole, there had been several incidents but it has largely been peaceful and has outstripped even the organizer's expectations. The Trade Union Congress was hoping for about 100,000 people; over half a million people took to the streets.

And that's because this issue is a hugely emotive one, T.J. You know, one of the main concerns is that the government has set a four- year deadline by which they want to get these austerity measures through, by which time they want to get the deficit down. Many skeptics here are saying they'll take the government right up until the next election, giving them a year to make nice with the electorate before the electorate goes back to the polls. The huge concern here is that these cuts don't have to be so deep or so fast, T.J.

HOLMES: How long are we expecting this to possibly go along? They called it a march. We did see some people down there marching peacefully. Looked like we also saw a band down there. So besides some of these, you know, skirmishes that broke out here and there, for the most part are people staying peaceful? And even festive in some cases it appears.

ELBAGIR: Well, I mean, the march organizers said that they wanted it to be a family day out. They wanted to show the government that this wasn't some left-leaning liberal trade union issue, that this is an issue that really affects every single aspect of British society.

You know, we've seen clowns, we've seen a band, we've seen kids with loudspeakers talking about how this is their preschool program, their libraries, that this is something that's going to affect all of British society. And we don't know how long it's going to carry on.

You know, we're in Hyde Park where the march is ending up. There's a stage, people are really celebrating. They want to show that this is something that the entirety of British society is unified behind, T.J.

HOLMES: We'll let you go there, looks like some people are collecting behind you trying to get their message out seeing you on television reporting right now. We appreciate you, Nima, thank you so much.

It's 17 minutes past the hour. Coming up next, another hot spot we're keeping an eye on today, Japan, developments there. There's good news and there's bad news. We're live in Tokyo coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Twenty minutes fast hour.

We turn to Japan now with the latest concerns over rising radiation levels in the water, not the air. Tests show levels of radioactive iodine are now a thousand times higher than normal in the ocean near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Not clear where that's coming from.

An official with Tokyo Electric meanwhile, which owns the plant, speculates it could be runoff from all the water being pumped into the reactors. Others worry one of the reactor cores could have cracked during the explosion 15 days ago. What you see in yellow is the reactor core. Already the cost of the damage from the quake and the resulting tsunami estimated at $309 billion. More than 10,000 people now confirmed dead. Some 17,000 still missing.

We do want to turn now to our Paula Hancocks who is up for us in Tokyo after midnight there. Paula, hello to you once again.

They don't know where this is coming from. It's not saying that this water in the ocean is necessarily a danger to someone, but they need to know where it's coming from.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: absolutely, T.J. I mean, it does sound alarming when you think there's radioactive iodine in the seawater. But what we've heard from officials is that it could dissipate fairly quickly and it could dilute fairly quickly the further you get out to sea. There's not going to be much danger to aquatic life.

But the fact is they don't know how it got there. They don't know whether it has been washed away with the seawater. Remember, they've been dousing these reactors with a tremendous amount of seawater since the emergency happened to try and cool the reactors. Otherwise it could have maybe gone into the atmosphere and then falling down as rain, although they think that's less likely.

But the fact is they just don't know. As they don't know why there was contaminated water in the ground on the -- where those three workers were injured. They understand another reactor had exactly the same thing happen on the ground in a turbine building there as well.

So there's many questions that haven't been answered at this point and they can't let the workers back in to these area to try and find out the source of the leak, if it is a leak, because it's too dangerous for them to be there.

HOLMES: And Paula, the company that runs the plant is now apologizing. Who are they apologizing to and why?

HANCOCKS: Well, there's been some confusion with this T.J. TEPCO has given us a couple of different reports. Originally they apologized because the three workers that were injured on Thursday because they were standing in that contaminated water which was 10,000 times more contaminated than it was expected to be. They said that they actually realized in another reactor six days earlier that had been flooded with the same contaminated with the same water as well.

So they apologized publicly. And then just a few hours later publicly they said they hadn't tested the other water until they realized the three workers were injured. So we're getting some conflicting reports from TEPCO itself.

Now, one official from Japan's nuclear safety agency says that the situation at the nuclear plant is not getting worse which is significant. He didn't say it was getting better. He did say vigilance is needed, but it's not getting worse -- T.J.

HOLMES: Paula Hancocks, we appreciate you this morning. As always, thank so much.

Meanwhile a Hiroshima survivor now using radiation to help save lives. Her story straight ahead.

It's 24 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 26 minutes past the hour now.

Survivors of the World War II atomic bombings in Japan have a unique perspective on the current nuclear crisis. One woman who lived through Hiroshima now uses radiation to help save lives as a cancer doctor. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has her story in today's "Human Factor".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Ritsuko Komaki was two years old when the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima more than 65 years ago. Her family lost six relatives. Her grandmother had radiation sickness.

DR. RITSUKO KOMAKI, HIROSHIMA SURVIVOR: Her hair fell out, and she had the nose bleeding and the diarrhea.

GUPTA: At that time no one in Hiroshima understood how dangerous radiation could be. Little Ritsuko grew up playing among the radioactive ruins.

KOMAKI: I was just too small to know how much radioactive material is staying on the ground.

GUPTA: When she was 11, Komaki lost a friend to leukemia, and she began to suspect that the bomb had long lasting, invisible effects on her city. She wanted to learn more about what killed her friend and how to stop it. Eventually, she went to medical school. And that's when she learned about radiation.

KOMAKI: I volunteered during summertime to check all those people who were exposed to the atomic bomb.

GUPTA: Later in her medical training, Dr. Komaki learned that radiation could actually save lives, not just ruin them.

KOMAKI: When I saw this patient who was cured by radiation treatment, you know, I saw the light. And I thought, oh, my goodness, this is incredible.

GUPTA: As a cancer specialist she uses radiation to treat patients and educates people about how radiation can be a force for good both in the United States and in her native Japan where most cancer patients forgo this type of treatment because they fear radiation so much. For nearly a decade, Komaki has made it her mission to change that.

KOMAKI: I really, truly hope, you know, that people, they don't get any wrong idea, you know, this accident of the nuclear plant, it's not like regular radiation treatment.

GUPTA: For now, she's back in the United States treating patients but hopes to head to Japan again soon to help her homeland and also to continue to spread her message that radiation doesn't always have to be a dirty word.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Well, when you think of flying, you probably think of fees, unfortunately now. Baggage fees, fees for food and beverage, headphone fees. Would you believe more fees could possibly be on the way? Could they come up with anything else? The web site airfarewatch.com has a list -- airfarewatchdog.com has a list of fees that may go into effect this year.

This first one is a doozy. Your baby is going to cost you; infant fees. That's just to carry your baby in your lap. One European airline charges an additional $26 each way. So what other fees could airlines start charging travelers this year? We'll tell you more in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Now, before the break, we told you about new possible airline fees. Besides carry-on charges, here's one more we can tell you -- an in-person check-in fee.

Of course, you know the convenience now of being able to print your boarding pass at home, but if you actually need to talk to someone, to have interaction with, you know, a human being that could help you out, there could be a fee for that. So you hold on.

I want to give you a look now at some of the stories that are making headlines.

We have been keeping a close eye on Libya today. Rebel forces there have captured a key city. Moammar Gadhafi's tanks were at the gates of Ajdabiya, but they were stopped by NATO air strikes. The city is the gateway to oil-rich eastern Syria.

Also, there's some new concerns at the crippled nuclear plant in Japan. Radiation has spiked in seawater near the plant. That level is some 1,200 times higher than normal. On a positive note, radiation levels in the air around the plant seem to have dropped.

Also, an alleged cop killer surrendered on live TV in Georgia last night after releasing eight hostages. The video, as you're seeing there, is of them coming out, the hostages. But Jamie Hood is the suspect. He negotiated the deal for his own safety, afraid that he'd be shot by the police, so he wanted authorities there.

You're seeing his picture now. Police accuse Hood of shooting two officers in Athens, Georgia, killing one. He's been on the run since Tuesday.

Some other news here now.

The Federal Aviation Administration is hoping to contain the fallout from an incident earlier this week that's raising some new doubts about the safety of flying.

A veteran air traffic controller at Reagan National Airport admitted that he was snoozing on the job early Wednesday morning. That's when two pilots were unable to get a response from the tower he was supposed to be manning, and both planes were forced to land without clearance. The flights did land safely, however, but the FAA is now conducting a review of the nation's air traffic control system, and new backup procedures are in place.

And earlier, I spoke to Mary Schiavo. She's a former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. I started by asking her whether it's ever OK to have just one air traffic controller in that tower. And if the answer is no, then why is it done?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SCHIAVO, FMR. INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION: Money. The bottom line is it comes down to money.

We have about 13,000 air traffic controllers, and the FAA saves money by, on these graveyard shifts, just having one controller on duty. And apparently, as here, there always has to be a supervisor, but the FAA just makes the controller the supervisor. So, therefore, you don't have a second set of eyes.

And we do have an air traffic controller shortage that's coming up. Everybody remembers when the air traffic controllers got fired by Reagan for striking. All those 12,000 air traffic controllers are now just about ready for retirement.

HOLMES: OK. Is this going to be enough to change the process now and to get the money that's necessary? Everything costs money, but we have this well-publicized incident here. Will this be enough and give us enough of the will to get the money to make sure there's not just one controller in a tower?

SCHIAVO: No. I can tell you what probably will happen is they will look at the staffing at the major airports, what they call the major international airports. Now, Reagan is not one, but obviously it's right next to our nation's capital.

And what will probably happen is, for the key strategic airport and Reagan National -- it's not a category X, what the big ones are -- they probably will not have just one person staffing that tower. But what they will say is that for most of the rest of the airports, one person will remain because they usually only have three or four or five flights in that midnight to 3:00 or 4:0 a.m. hour.

So, we will get the staffing at the major airports. The rest, probably not.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, we have some severe weather going on right now on the West Coast. They don't need any more rain, but it looks like they might get it.

They have seen mudslides. It's been a serious problem in California. One of those mudslides covered roads and a commuter rail line in San Jose. Another caused property damage behind half a dozen homes in San Pablo. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could hear the earth dropping. Right now, this earth is probably six feet from my home. And we don't know if we should evacuate or what.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, our Bonnie Schneider, keeping an eye on things.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, coming up, we all know NBA superstars, they make a lot of money. Well, how do they do that? Well, they're good at what they do. Some of the better ones score a lot of points and they get paid a little more. But this time, a handful of them are going to donate $1,000 for every point they score tonight.

It's going to go to relief efforts in Japan. One of those players, here in studio with me, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Thirty-nine minutes past the hour now.

Got to give you a little update about your brackets. We're down to eight. Do you have any of them still in your brackets?

The lead eight will get down to four by Sunday night, but last night, Ohio State, a lot of you had them winning the national championship. Well, they're headed to the house right now. They're the overall number one seed, beat by Kentucky last night.

It went down to the last shot. You see this young fellow here. He's just coming into his own. This is a freshman doing this last night, and he was 0-fer up to this point, to the end of the game.

Ohio State had a chance. You see him run down here in a second. Three doesn't (ph) go at the buzzer. The overall number one seed is going home. Kentucky is moving on.

Now, the other game last night, the last, the sole remaining number one seed, look at this. It got a little nasty before the game.

This is in the tunnel before the teams come out. Kansas is taking on Richmond here. Richmond, a Cinderella story. Let's go ahead and get that over with.

Kansas didn't even let them in the game, for the most part. This is a blowout from the beginning. Kansas moves on, playing Virginia Commonwealth, which had (ph) to go to the Final Four.

So, in the NBA this weekend, a two-point basket could be worth a lot of money. Two grand. Several players will donate $1,000 for every point they score. In fact, in games last night, Derrick Rose scored 24 points; Marc Gasol, 14; Pau Gasol, 26; JaVale McGee, 13. That's a total of $77,000 so far.

The group also includes Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks. He's here in studio with me this morning.

Young fellow, good to have you in here, man.

How did you get on board? Who's idea was this in the first place?

AL HORFORD, ATLANTA HAWKS: Well, this came from my agent, Arn Tellem, and the Wasserman Group. And they thought that it would be a good idea for a lot of us players to get involved and help with the Japan relief fund.

HOLMES: Any hesitation on your part when you first heard the idea?

HORFORD: Oh, not at all. You know, I mean, I was excited about it. I told them to count me in. And we were able to get more guys to jump in as well.

HOLMES: In some way are you -- I mean, every game is important, you want to play a good game. In some way are you nervous about having a bad game? Because you actually, I would imagine, want to have a career night so that you can donate that money.

HORFORD: No question, I'm excited about it. I might be passing a little less and doing more shooting. But yes, just looking forward to it.

HOLMES: Now, how has that struck you? It's so far away from us right now, but the pictures have been incredible. How has it actually struck you as you sit back and watch it? A guy certainly blessed as you are, but certainly a distance away, you want to be able to help.

How have you been struck by what you have seen?

HORFORD: It's hard to believe. It really is. It's really disturbing to me.

You know, I've been saying it's kind of like a movie that you watch, one of those end of the world type movies. It's very sad what's going on over there, and I can imagine it's much worse actually being there having to deal with everything.

HOLMES: It's unfortunate. Any professional sports, I mean, sometimes the stores that make the headlines aren't always positive stories about what professional athletes are doing. Are these the kind of stories you think we need and this is what I should be talking to professional athletes about, efforts like this? Do we need more stories like this?

HORFORD: No question. I think it's important. And I know a lot of professional athletes do things every day to impact their community and help. It probably doesn't get as much play, but guys really make the effort and try to make a difference.

HOLMES: How many ended up getting on board all together? You kind of gave me a number there a second ago, but how many actually got on board for this effort this weekend?

HORFORD: I think it's 13 of us that are doing it, as far as I know.

HOLMES: All right. And we just showed a total of a few of the guys, $75,000. What kind of game are you hoping to have tonight?

HORFORD: Well, I'm definitely going to be more aggressive. I'm trying to do the best I can. And we're doing it for the weekend, so I'm going to try to do it tonight and Sunday as well.

HOLMES: Did you explain that to your teammates, that you might be ball-hogging a little bit tonight?

HORFORD: Yes. Yes, they're aware of it and they're OK with that.

HOLMES: They don't mind it?

HORFORD: They don't.

HOLMES: All right. I have to ask you before you get out of here two basketball-related questions. One, your Florida Gators going up against Butler.

HORFORD: Yes, Butler's a tough team. They really play tough defensively. But I think that we have a chance.

HOLMES: The last thing, I was there on Tuesday night for that dismantling at the hands of Chicago. Derek Rose, any doubt in your mind that young man is the MVP of the league?

HORFORD: He is the MVP of the league. He's really playing outstanding. And the Bulls are as well. He's very deserving of that award.

HOLMES: All right. Al Horford, a great effort. Good to talk to you. A great effort.

A lot of people might not even know this is going on this weekend, but every time they see you score, no matter what team they cheer for, they have reason to cheer when they see you score a bucket. Thanks for coming in.

HORFORD: All right. Thanks. Thank you.

HOLMES: Thanks so much. And good luck tonight. All right?

HORFORD: Thanks. HOLMES: Well, several of you out there, you don't need to be a basketball star to help out with these relief efforts. You can help out the victims of the Japan quake and tsunami. You can go to our Web site, CNN.com/impact, for a list of ways you can make a difference.

Also, coming up, you need to hear this. You won't believe it. Accused wife-beaters using jailhouse phone calls to threaten and manipulate their victims? We will tell you how prosecutors are using the suspects' own words against them.

It's a quarter until the top of the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, domestic violent abusers need to think twice now about the calls they make from jail. Somebody's listening. And for prosecutors, those calls are making a huge difference when it comes to protecting victims.

A warning here though before we show you this story. Some of the following images are not for children. All right?

CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti though with an important story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ishaq Rahaman is about to be sentenced to two years in prison for beating up his girlfriend, but she never had to testify because Rahaman's own words from jail helped put him away.

ISHAQ RAHAMAN, ACCUSED OF BEATING UP HIS GIRLFRIEND: Whatever you do, do not tell the district attorney that we've been talking.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know, baby.

CANDIOTTI: He repeatedly called her from jail despite a court order forbidding any contact. He wanted her to clam up.

RAHAMAN: Basically, just tell him it was just a misunderstanding, I love him, we want to get married and we want to have children together. Say something nice like that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will. I will.

SCOTT KESSLER, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BUREAU CHIEF: They realize that the reason they're in jail is because of this victim.

CANDIOTTI: Queens, New York, prosecutor Scott Kessler is believed to be the first in the country using jailhouse calls to prove abusers are making victims too scared to testify.

KESSLER: And they think that the only way to get out of it is to make sure that she doesn't help us. And they're trying to do it every way they can to pressure her.

CANDIOTTI: The crimes are horrific. But until last year, Kessler says he had to dismiss about 70 percent of his domestic violence cases, mainly because of intimidation.

Now that New York jails are hitting the record button, dismissals are down to about 15 percent. Prosecutors are mining calls feverishly for evidence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He hit her in the face with some kind of metal object. And she has a puncture wound in her face.

KESSLER: OK. And what do we -- jailhouse recordings we're listening to?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, these are recordings from Rikers.

CANDIOTTI: This man, Eric Persaud, pleaded guilty to felony assault for burning his girlfriend with an iron. He even told his child to lie to prosecutors.

ERIC PERSAUD, ACCUSED OF FELONY ASSAULT: If she asks you about your daddy fight your mommy say, "No, I don't remember." OK? When you tell -- because if you tell her stuff, she's going to use it against me to go to jail.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): How many calls has, for example, one person made?

KESSLER: We've had defendants make in excess of 400, 500 phone calls straight to the victim while they're in jail. Every day, three, four, five times a day.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): There are exceptions, including calls to attorneys. But here's the head-scratcher. Defendants know they're being recorded.

Check out the warning signs. And they hear a message on every call.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This call may be recorded as monitored.

CANDIOTTI: This young woman is Ishaq Rahaman's victim. CNN usually doesn't identify abuse victims, but she agreed to publicly describe her terror.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The worst thing that he ever did to me was punch me in the mouth and in the back, and I started throwing up and I started bleeding.

CANDIOTTI: Yet, she says she still has feelings for him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I don't only think about the bad things. I also think about the good things.

CANDIOTTI: Her reaction, not uncommon for abuse victims. Prosecutors hope using jailhouse calls will offer some protection.

(on camera): What's your message to the inmates?

KESSLER: Just keep talking. I mean, and, you know, your words will be used against you. I can guarantee you.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now, the prosecutor there, Scott Kessler, is now going around the country to share his technique with other law enforcement officials.

For more, you can go to CNN.com.

A quick break, and I'll be back with Fredricka.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. I've been gone for two months for my weekend show, looking forward to being able to get back on the air with Fredricka.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, we've missed you.

HOLMES: And they tell us we've got a minute and a half. So go.

WHITFIELD: I know. We have to talk fast.

Hi. How you doing? Good to see you.

HOLMES: Yes. It's good to be back.

WHITFIELD: It's been a while.

HOLMES: It has been a while. Good to be back. I was keeping an eye on things while I was gone away, but it's good to be back.

WHITFIELD: Oh, good. Good. All right. Well, folks have been holding down the fort, sort of, kind of, while you've been gone.

HOLMES: Sort of, kind of?

WHITFIELD: No, they've been really -- I don't want you to feel like we really missed you.

HOLMES: Yes. That's all right. OK. That's all right. My ego is big enough.

WHITFIELD: OK. Good. All right. Good.

All right. We've got a lot straight ahead.

HOLMES: Coming up in a few minutes.

WHITFIELD: Of course, our legal guys. I know you've missed them.

HOLMES: Missed those guys.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Richard and Avery will be along. And they're going to talk about this very interesting case of the couple that used to be engaged.

I guess the bachelor got a little out of hand. He went to Vegas for a bachelor party, and the bride to be said, oh, really? OK. I'm suing you now for $60,000, the amount of money I've invested in this marriage.

HOLMES: Oh, I remember this story.

WHITFIELD: Yes. They're not going to of course walk down the aisle.

HOLMES: But does she have a case to -- what is she trying to recover for, a dress? What's the $60,000?

WHITFIELD: All of it, all the stuff that comes with -- the location, the venue, the caterers.

HOLMES: It was all paid for?

WHITFIELD: Sixty thousand bucks.

HOLMES: OK. I'll watch that.

WHITFIELD: So we'll see if Richard and Avery agree if she has a case.

HOLMES: We're going to watch it just so my wife and I can argue about some of it.

WHITFIELD: I know. It's going to be good stuff.

And, of course, a lot of folks thought that there may be a rebound in real estate. And we -- you know, foreclosures, we were out of the woods. No.

Our Karen Lee, financial expert, will be along to say, you know what? The season of foreclosures is back.

And then, always controversial in many school districts, whether there should be that kind of state testing, classroom testing. Well, some parents are opting out.

HOLMES: Finding a way out, yes.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And we're going to discuss a little bit further the ramifications of such.

All that straight ahead.

HOLMES: OK. Parents need to see that one. That is a story getting a lot of attention, a lot of interest right now.

WHITFIELD: It is.

HOLMES: We will definitely watch the legal guys, that segment.

WHITFIELD: Of course.

HOLMES: And we'll watch some more.

WHITFIELD: Glad to have you back, T.J.

HOLMES: Basketball doesn't start until 4:00, so --

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. Right, right, right. You'll be watching all the pre-game stuff. I know.

HOLMES: Fredricka, see you in just a second.

WHITFIELD: I saw your segment.

HOLMES: Good to be back. Good to be back with you.

WHITFIELD: All right.

HOLMES: All right. Well, it's just a few minutes until the top of the hour. A major nuclear power plant in this country inviting the media on a tour to prove that, hey, we're safe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, television cameras rarely get to see inside a nuclear power plant. But after the crisis in Japan, experts who operate those plants here in the U.S. are anxious to relieve public fears.

CNN's David Mattingly takes us on a tour of one of them.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., operators of the country's largest public utility are in full damage control right now. They took us inside for a tour of a nuclear plant to drive one point home. They want to avert a crisis in public confidence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: This is a rare look at the inner workings of a nuclear plant, this one owned by the TVA, the Tennessee Valley Authority at Browns Ferry. They're opening up this tour today because they want to reassure the public that what happened in Japan could not happen here.

(voice-over): This nuclear plant was built to generate electricity the same way as the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant. But operators here say redundant layers of generators and batteries would keep the critical systems running after a catastrophe.

(on camera): This is a very interesting place right here. Just step through right here, and right below my feet is 1,000 pounds of pressurized steam. I'm standing right on top of one of the reactors.

(voice-over): Shutting it down in an emergency is easy. Keeping the nuclear fuel from overheating, though, was a problem in Japan.

This is the pool where spent fuel rods are kept cool, just like the one that malfunctioned in the Japanese plant. Fire hoses are strung nearby to pump water into the pool manually if all systems fail.

PRESTON SWAFFORD, TVA CHIEF NUCLEAR OFFICER: You can never in our business say ever positively, because I think the Japanese may have said the same thing. But I'll tell you, I don't believe we're going to have a 43-foot-high wall of water that's going to hit this interior plant inside in the state of Alabama.

MATTINGLY (on camera): This big red area is a huge reservoir of water that sits underneath the reactor. The water in here is then pumped into the reactor in emergency situations.

What I want to show you is right here, that piece of metal right there that looks like a shock absorber for your car. That's a shock absorber for this reactor. It's called a snubber, and it goes into operation in case there's an earthquake.

(voice-over): This plant is designed to withstand a 6.0 earthquake and a million-year flood on the Tennessee River. We asked local residents, is that enough?

LUTHER MCKINNEY, ATHENS, ALABAMA, RESIDENT: If an earthquake or a million-year flood came around here, I mean, there's probably nothing too much we could do but try to run. So, I mean, I feel safe that they have everything in order.

JESSICA MARTINEZ, ATHENS, ALABAMA, RESIDENT: Considering I live right down the road from it, and the things we've seen go down up here, probably not. With four kids in my house, and never knowing what's going on -- because with the river flooding, you don't know where you're going to wind up at. Look what happened to Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: One big change after watching what happened to that plant in Japan, operators here will be going back to the drawing board to look at their worst-case scenario to see if that is indeed the worst thing that could possibly happen. They're going to be playing a very long game of "What if?" to determine if they've got it right -- T.J.

HOLMES: Our thanks to our Dave Mattingly.

For you, your concerns of where you may live, if you live near a nuclear power plant, you can go to CNN.com to find out more about that.