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Libya's Road to Civil War; Source: Syria's Cabinet to Resign; Japan Radiation Report Revised; Tough Choice in Japanese Town; Congress Returns to Work

Aired March 27, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: People in a devastated Japanese town struggling with a heart wrenching dilemma, pick up and leave or try to rebuild.

And plans for a mosque in the bible belt spark outrage and protest exploring religious freedom and tolerance.

And a California town takes drastic action to close its budget gap. Half of its workers are given their walking papers. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more straight ahead in this hour of the NEWSROOM.

We begin in Libya, six large explosions and tracer fire could be seen and heard in Tripoli a short time ago. We'll go live to CNN's Nic Robertson in a moment. First NATO members just agreed to take over the full scope of the military mission in Libya.

CNN's Paula Newton is in Brussels. Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this is a significant step for NATO and the reason is that although we're already doing the arms embargo and they started to take over on the no-fly zone, this is the crucial stuff, the stuff that can actually get confusing and murky on the ground about how best to protect civilians. There was a very contentious and heated week here in NATO. Finally some agreement. I want you to listen to NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERS FOGH RASMUSSEN, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: This is a very significant state which proves NATO's capability to take decisive action. In the past week we have put together a complete package of operations in support of the United Nations resolution. By sea and by air, we already enforcing the arms embargo and no-fly zone. And with today's decision we're going beyond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: (INAUDIBLE) Fred is that the United States will now be able to pull back, as President Obama had envisioned. And that means a lot of the planes in the next few days that the United States have in the air, the kind of leadership role that they took in this coalition, all that will end in a matter of days and NATO will be taking over. Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Paula Newton, thanks so much in Brussels. Appreciate that.

Meantime, tomorrow night, President Barack Obama will be addressing this nation about Libya. CNN's live coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern time.

The Syrian government is taking new steps to respond to violent anti- government protests. A source close to the government says the country's 48-year-old state of emergency will be lifted. That law gave the government power to override the constitution. The cabinet is expected to resign next week and President Bashar Al-Assad is expected to address his nation in the next few days. Despite reports of security forces opening fire on demonstrators, the U.S. draws no parallel to Libya.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: What's been happening there in the last few weeks is deeply concerning. But there is a difference between calling out aircraft and indiscriminately strafing and bombing your own cities than police actions which frankly have exceeded the use of force that any of us would want to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Turning to Europe now, tens of thousands of mostly peaceful protesters protested budget cuts in Britain. But according to reports there, a group of anarchists went on a rampage in London last night, according to "The Daily Mirror" newspaper, in particular. It smashed windows, clashed with police and threw paint at Britain's 2012 Olympic countdown clock. More than 80 people were injured.

Operators of Japan's crippled nuclear plant say the spike in radiation level they reported earlier was a mistake. The radiation level is still high but not as high as first feared. The original report put the reading at 10 million times higher than normal. The new test reduces the reading to 100,000 times higher than normal.

High radiation readings are impacting how workers handle the crisis in Japan. At least 19 workers at the Fukushima plant received dangerous doses of radiation. Three workers were hospitalized last week after stepping into a contaminated puddle. They are expected to be released tomorrow.

And former U.S. president Jimmy Carter is heading to Cuba at the invitation of the Cuban government. It's his first visit in nine years. He will meet with President Raul Castro to discuss bilateral ties.

All right. We'll check in with our Jacqui Jeras here in the weather center. Because we are talking about some incredibly nasty weather that has swept a good part of the nation. California, mudslides, heavy rain. In the south there was even hail. Look at all those images right there.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, let's start with the mudslides in California because this has really been a big deal, Fredricka. San Pablo, California, there are several homes that have been at risk. This is an area that's been seen some sliding in the past and real worried that a couple of homes certainly could go in the next couple of days. People have been evacuated there.

Also in Big Sur, you know, the big highway one that goes through there, in California, mud and rock slides there has closed down part of that highway. They are letting a few people in at various times throughout the day as that risk remains high. And then let's talk about that snow you see there in St. Louis. Hello, six inches, it's the end of March. What you want to hear?

The snow (INAUDIBLE) yesterday, but it's still going to remain bitterly cold. It should be around 40 this time of the year. We got freeze warnings in effect for you tomorrow morning. We saw that flooding up in Minnesota in Hastings, that's a suburb of St. Paul. They have been sandbagging. More than 1,000 people came out and filled up about 20,000 sandbags. If the Mississippi River rises there, it should be cresting on Thursday. Already above flood stage so it's just going to get worse, unfortunately, in the upcoming days.

Let's talk about the severe weather threat. Because this has been a big deal across the southeast this weekend. We had a little bit of rotation yesterday with some minor damage. About four tornadoes touched down in Alabama and Georgia. Today our primary threat is hail. That's why you see the yellow box instead of the red box. That means severe thunderstorms are expected in this area. But don't be surprised if you get an isolated tornado warning or two. And this is the line that we're real concerned about here.

And any time I see some of these little purples in the returns, that's indicative that we got high reflectivity, as we call it or some hail probably coming down. Ice reflects higher than liquid raindrops as they continue to come down. And what a difference in the temperatures. You don't have to be a meteorologist today, Fredricka, to figure out where the cold front is. Look at this, 59 degrees in Atlanta. 88 in Jacksonville. So you know that something in this area is going to be giving and popping.

There's also a lot of lightning associated with this. So even if your sirens aren't going off, you really need to stay indoors today. Because lightning, of course, very, very dangerous. Let's go and talk a little bit about that split in those temperatures. Our jet stream patters is kind of what we call a zonal flow. That means it travels from west to east. So the storms travel within this track. And everything on the northern tier very, very cool. Everything on the south very warm. Unfortunately this is just a little sliver. Not very many people getting in on the warm. We're going to stay cool the next couple of days across parts of the north.

Travel hasn't been too terrible. Worst delay right now Philadelphia, 45 minutes. And note, all the Florida delays, these are volume delays, Fredricka. I'm thinking to myself, why would that be?

WHITFIELD: Because the weather is so lovely and everyone wants to get there. I Don't know. JERAS: Spring break, that's got to be it. I know there's some races going on this weekend as well. That could have a little something to do with it.

WHITFIELD: And of course, some tennis action in south Florida as well.

JERAS: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: So there you go. We've answered it. We wondered and we just brain stormed and there it will be. All right, thanks, Jacqui.

JERAS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, feeling the sting of the economy, one city sends out pink slips to half of the workers. That is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Move over, Wisconsin. There's a new battleground pitting unions against communities trying to balance a budget. It's Costa Mesa, California. Last week nearly half the city's workers got layoff notices, pink slips. The move stunned union leaders and workers.

One city employee apparently jumped to his death just hours after those notices went out. Wendy Leese joins us right now. She's a member of the Costa Mesa City Council and the only one, we understand, to vote against the layoffs. So Wendy, you know, you have said that you think the city council acted recklessly. What makes you say that and how did it come to this?

WENDY LEESE, COSTA MESA CITY COUNCIL: Well, it came to this because the rest of the council believes that pension reform can begin in Costa Mesa. And yes, we do have a pension problem all over the country and in California and cities and counties. But to not have a plan and to just arbitrarily issue pink slips to 200 of our employees is reckless and irresponsible.

As an elected official, I believe that we are to do our homework on the front end. And outsourcing isn't necessarily always a good way to save money. If you don't have the economy of scale, you may end up spending a lot more money because you have to manage all of those people that you're charging to do the job that our city workers did.

WHITFIELD: So you're saying some of the city council members said outsourcing is going to be the solution here to save some money. And we're also going to lay off these 200 or so people. What were the jobs - what do you know about these employees, these 200 employees, who they are and what they represent in terms of what they brought to the table as employees of this city?

LEESE: Well, that's a good question. It's 18 departments. The majority - at the top of the list, unfortunately are our firefighters. So about 80 firefighters, and the rest are tree trimmers and secretaries and public works maintenance people, mechanics, graffiti department, a lot of just general employees plus the firefighters. And for two years that I've been a little bit more on the city council, we have been working with a very, very good relationship with our employee groups. They have begun to pay a portion of their retirement and their benefits. And so to just have this wholesale transformation of our workforce is causing great instability in our city right now. And especially when you talk about fire and safety with police officers.

Many, many residents are very concerned that the quality of life they have enjoyed for many years - I've been a resident nearly 40 years - is at stake and in jeopardy. Our public safety services are in jeopardy by this reckless move.

WHITFIELD: And so included here you said firefighters, tree trimmers, secretaries, mechanics, many of whom live right there in the city of Costa Mesa. So if they lose their jobs. They are not able to pay their rent, not able to take advantage of all the services that Costa Mesa has. Can't pay their mortgages. So it has that argument that been made to a lot of other city council members who were on board with this, that this will be another type of deterioration of the city?

LEESE: Right. Not only in the quality of our services. But the real argument, as you see what is happening in Wisconsin, there's an ideology at work here that believes that one city can be the Petri dish or the point of the spear whatever for local pension reform. I oppose that. That is irresponsible governance. And it's wrong to think that one city can take on this assignment of outsourcing and getting rid of workers who have pensions and not have some kind of suffering and destabilizing of their community.

And then we have a great economic base in Costa Mesa. One of the largest shopping centers, South Coast Plaza. We have a vibrant community. We're coming back very slowly. We're in budget discussions right now. This is just bad planning and poor forethought.

WHITFIELD: I wonder, Wendy, real quick, because I'm running out of time. Many people got their pink slips last week. It means their jobs are dissolved, or go away come the fall. Is there any other recourse. Might something happen between now and the fall that maybe these people can think "maybe I 'm not really losing my job. I might be able to hold onto it in some way."

LEESE: Well, actually, I just talked to our city manager this morning and asked him to put out a notice that for those who would be outsourced, that they would have the option of being hired by that company that's doing the outsourcing at the state level in our legislature, there could be some pension reform. And we're working with other cities on principles where we can all take the step of reforming pensions at the same time.

WHITFIELD: All right. Wendy Leese, thanks so much. Good luck to the folks, because nobody wants anybody to lose their jobs.

LEESE: That's right. Thank you. WHITFIELD: And certainly a lot at stake in Costa Mesa. Appreciate that, appreciate your time.

LEESE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Now, I want to take you back overseas now to Tripoli. Because another night of explosions taking place right now shaking the city. We also understand there's the sound of gunfire in lots of ways.

Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson back with us now. Can we still hear the gunfire or even these anti-aircraft missiles?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, just as you were speaking there we heard some more anti- aircraft gunfire spark up there. It just seemed to be quite a short burst. It's been fairly quiet in the last two hours since those six heavy, heavy explosions that all came within about a minute of each other, heavy anti-aircraft gunfire after that.

We haven't heard six loud explosions come so close together before. That was something new for the city. That little burst of anti- aircraft gunfire not clear why that was. But certainly the city is bracing for the potential of more strikes tonight, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. And how about general citizens in Tripoli? What have people been saying to you over maybe the past 24-hour period? And is anyone even responding to NATO now being in control of this coalition force, this military operation?

ROBERTSON: We just heard in the last couple of minutes there will be a government press conference here. So perhaps we're going to hear a little more about the government's response to this new decision by NATO. We may hear more about what the government has to say because they have been silent for 24 hours now about this rapid rebel advance across the country.

We were out on the streets here in the capital just a few hours ago. There are huge lines of people lining up for gas here half a mile long, tail (INAUDIBLE) cars waiting to get on the court and fill up the pumps there. Gas station owners telling us they are running out of gas. The government blames this on the embargo starting to impact the country. Everyone thinks of Libya as having its own oil reserves but in fact this country imports a lot of its fuel oil. That is now beginning to run out. People telling us they are worried about what's coming in the coming days. We've also heard from Gadhafi's hometown on the coast, the next big targets for the rebels, people and army are now fleeing away from their back towards the capital here, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. Thanks so much, Nic Robertson joining us from Tripoli. Appreciate that. We'll have much more from the NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. If you're out of work or looking for a job, guess what, you may have to update your resume. Here to help us along right now is career coach Paula Caligiuri joining us from New York. People sometimes become very married to their resume thinking if it worked for me 10 years ago, it's going to work for me now. You say it's time to number one, make it computer friendly. In what way?

PAULA CALIGIURI, CAREER COACH: Right. About 80 percent of organizations both large and small are now using applicant tracking systems. So this means that you don't want to have any kind of overstylized formatting, no water marks, no logos, nothing that's too funky. Actually, what you could do if you have those on there you might actually choke. And they actually call it choking the ATS, the Applicant Tracking System. You don't want to do that. The other thing that's most important is that you want to be sure that all of those key words, most those most important key words that you see in the job description are embedded in your resume. That's so, so critical. Make sure you have a real good -

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That will be the interpretation?

CALIGIURI: You do. You want to customize it, make sure those key words are there, so become part of that applicant pool. The ATS can actually read your resume.

WHITFIELD: OK. Does that kind of bring us to how your resume becomes very human friendly? Those folks who are going to be reading it want to see that those common denominators are there, that you all are on the same page about the kind of job you're seeking?

CALIGIURI: So those recruiters, those hiring managers, they have a stack of resumes in front of them. They are going to be spending seconds, not minutes, but seconds trying to determine whether you're a great candidate. So you want to make it really easy for them. You want them to be able to read very quickly that you are a great match. Your capabilities, your competencies, your skills and abilities, you want those to just pop right out of your resume.

The other thing, also so very important, is you don't want to just list what you've done. You want to list the accomplishments you've achieved in either your current job or your past job. So you're a great match plus you're going to bring a lot to this organization. Both of those are so important.

WHITFIELD: And then you say before you even send it out, you want to somehow interact with that recruiter. What sort of things are you going to be asking about, if you're lucky enough to have that sort of face time or talk time with them?

CALIGIURI: And even before you get that face time, you want to be sure that your recruiter is reading your resume in a way that makes them want to bring you in. So do some real basic things. Take out your resume and call your phone number. Call your phone number. Listen to that outgoing message and make sure it sounds very professional. The other thing you're going to want to do is read your e-mail address, so lots of people have cute and funny and witty and clever e- mail addresses but they are not very professional. So very critical. Make sure your e-mail address is just your first name, last name or just last name. Keep it simple.

WHITFIELD: I misinterpreted that.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Sorry, I misinterpreted that. So really you're kind of posing as a recruiter, you're quizzing yourself to see how prepared or how you are going to convey yourself to that perspective employer.

CALIGIURI: Right. Just interact with your resume like they will be interacting with it. All of that is so important now.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Everybody can use all the help they can get. A scary time for so many people. Paula Caligiuri, thanks so much. Good to see you.

CALIGIURI: Always a pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right. People in this Japanese town have more than jobs to worry about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through translator): I lost everything, she says. Her grandparents and her home. There's nothing left in her hometown and no one to lead the rebuilding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Some plan to go back to their town even though it is not livable. That's straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Libya military mission is now a NATO mission. All 28 member nations of the alliance agreed today to support the U.N. Security Council resolution to protect Libyan civilians. The U.S. has been leading coalition air strikes for the past week. The first flight under NATO command could happen as soon as tomorrow.

On the ground in Libya, the decent into civil war began with an uprising similar to what happened in Egypt and Tunisia. Here is CNN's Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): February 15th, hundreds of Libyans take to the streets following in the footsteps of their neighbors, Tunisia and Egypt, to protest Moammar Gadhafi's record on human rights. Pro-Gadhafi demonstrators meet these protesters with violence. By week's end, medical sources tell CNN well over 20 people have been killed. Over the next few weeks, calls for the U.S. to take action.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I think that a no-fly zone and other actions could be taken that hopefully would prevent further massacre of innocent Libyan civilians.

LAWRENCE: The Obama administration and western countries freeze billions of Libyan assets. They imposed sanctions. But President Obama wants international agreement on military action.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to have to continue to apply pressure. And that's why I say we have not taken any options off the table at this point.

LAWRENCE: March 17th, the U.N. Security Council votes to stop the Gadhafi regime from attacking civilians by establishing a no-fly zone over Libya. In Benghazi Libyan rebels celebrate with fireworks and gunfire. Gadhafi calls them traitors. The fighting continues. Street by street, block by block. President Obama makes it clear America's involvement comes with limits.

OBAMA: The United States is not going to deploy ground troops into Libya. And we are not going to use force to go beyond a well-defined goal.

LAWRENCE: Hours later the coalition attack begins. French warplanes strike Gadhafi's forces near Benghazi in eastern Libya. From the Mediterranean Sea, U.S. and British Navy's unleash more than 100 Tomahawk cruise missiles, destroying more than 20 air defense stations along Libya's northern coast.

VICE ADM. BILL GORTNEY, U.S. JOINT STAFF DIRECTOR: I want to stress however this is just the first phase of what will likely be a multi- phase military operation.

LAWRENCE: Other targets are hit. Reinforced air force hangers and military installations, Gadhafi's troops advancing on Benghazi and then in Tripoli, a building in Gadhafi's own compound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of anger that this building has been hit inside a compound that the Pentagon had earlier said wasn't a target.

LAWRENCE: Then midweek, a frightening event for the coalition.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This here is the wreckage of the American F-15 fighter jet that crashed after experiencing a mechanical failure. We're around an hour's drive east of Benghazi.

LAWRENCE: Both crewmen ejected safely from the F-15, but it took more than nine aircraft, a platoon of marines and a group of friendly Libyan rebels to get them back into U.S. hands. By week's end, the U.S. role in air patrols had been handed off to allies.

GORTNEY: Some 75 percent of the combat air patrol missions in support of the no-fly zone are now executed by our coalition partners. On Sunday, that figure was less than 10 percent. LAWRENCE: But it continues to perform refueling and surveillance and still conducts the majority of targeted strikes at Gadhafi's ammo, tanks and troops.

At least 12 nations are now in the fight. Gadhafi's air force all but destroyed. But the fighting on the ground continues and Gadhafi himself still defiant. Chris Lawrence, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A look at our top stories right now. Syria is taking new steps to respond to violent anti-government protests. A source close to the government says the country's 48- year-old state of emergency will be lifted.

That law gave the government power to override the constitution. The cabinet is expected to resign next week and President Bashar Al-Assad is expected to address his nation in the next few days.

Operators of Japan's crippled nuclear plant say the spike in radiation levels they reported earlier was wrong. The radiation level is still extremely high. An incorrect report put the reading at 10 million times higher than normal, but a new test reduced it to 100,000 times higher than normal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): More than two weeks after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, we're still getting fright think new images. These pictures very similar to pictures you've seen slamming into coastal fishing village towns taking away everything in its path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: One Japanese town was reduced to rubble then the rubble burned. People are deciding whether to leave the pain and loss behind them or to stay and rebuild and fight. Here is CNN's Kyung Lah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The view of the town of Otsochi stops you in your tracks. Everywhere you look, the improbable, the unsalvageable. Much of the town of 16,000 reduced to this.

First the earthquake and tsunami then a gas explosion followed, which burned through what was left. In the path of destruction, the city hall.

(on camera): After the earthquake, the mayor rushed out of the building and set up a command post right in front of city hall. As the tsunami was approaching though, then he and members of this government evacuated to the second floor. The tsunami, though, came as high as that clock. It killed the mayor and more than half of this town's leaders are missing. (voice-over): Even as they grieve for their own city workers do what they can to help victims, the living bearing the burden of picking up what's left. Half the city's residents are either dead, missing or homeless. All of the town's history washed away except for sparse mementos collected from the wreckage.

The government they rely on barely there moving more slowly than anywhere in the tsunami zone. Victims left to plead for help from national leaders visiting this small town.

SHOZO AZUMA, VICE MINISTER, CABINET OFFICE: I believe that the people who are living in this prefecture based on this miserable situation, but they will recover.

LAH (on camera): You believe it in your heart?

AZUMA: I believe it.

LAH (voice-over): Easier than done says Ayano Okuba. I lost everything, she says, her grandparents and her home. There's nothing left in her hometown and no one to lead the rebuilding.

Even though I like Otsochi, she says, I can't come back here. You can see the survivors making the choice. Leave or like Akita Sasaki stay. He lost his parents, his house, his job, and most of the city.

AKITA SASAKI, TSUNAMI VICTIM (through translation): I have a lot of friends afraid to stay in Otsochi, but I won't leave.

LAH: A city trying to mend. The tools to get it done as broken as the terrain. Kyung Lah, CNN, Otsochi, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The music group, the Black Eyed Peas, are dedicating their latest video "Just Can't Get Enough" to the people of Japan. They were in Tokyo a week before the deadly earthquake and tsunami hit and they are asking fans to help in this "Impact Your World."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just blown away, because we were just there. We were just with friends there in Japan walking around filming our video in the beautiful streets of Tokyo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In 1999, we first went there we fell in love with Japan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to encourage everybody to help out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's take care of those who lost family members, those children who are out there stranded and have lost their parents. This video is now dedicated to Japan and all of its beauty and its people.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: For more ways to help, CNN is launching a new high-tech way for Smartphone users around the world to take immediate action. Scan this image to load our impact your world web site. There you will find links to charities helping disaster victims in Japan.

No Smartphone? Well, you can also get to our impact your world website the old-fashioned way, of course. Go to your computer and type cnn.com/impact.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Time for a CNN Equals Politics update. We're keeping an eye on headlines at the CNNPolitics.com desk. Here is what's crossing right now.

Members of Congress returned to Capitol Hill this week after taking a week off in their home states. Topping their agenda, hammering out a budget to keep the government running. Current federal funding runs out in less than two weeks.

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann is dropping more hints about running for president. The Minnesota Republican is in the process of forming a presidential exploratory committee.

And at a conservative conference in Iowa this weekend she definitely sounded like a candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, (R) MINNESOTA: America has decided they are in for 2012. That's my question to you today here in Iowa. Are you in? Are you in for 2012? Are you in? Are you going to make it happen? Are we going to take our country back? I agree with you. I say we do. I'm in. You're in. We will take this back in 2012.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama outlines his strategy in Libya tomorrow night at the National Defense University in Washington and you can watch it live. CNN coverage begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. And of course, for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, cnnpolitics.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, maybe you've already begun your commute to work, back to work already. Jacque Jeras in the "Weather Center." You want to know what you're going to encounter weather wise.

JACQUE JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: absolutely. Some people are going to have airport delays they are going to have to deal with and also you've got that big morning commute where you might have to leave early especially if you live in the Pacific Northwest or you live in the Southeast.

Those are going to be the two big areas that we're focusing on for that commute tomorrow where we expect to have some trouble. All right, we have current delays right now. Just to keep in mind not bad 15-minute departure delays out of Atlanta. West Palm Beach looking at departure delays around 30 minutes and those delays mostly because of these low clouds in Atlanta.

This is going to stick around through tomorrow along with a thread of showers and thundershowers returning. This is the busiest airport in the world so do expect delays here. That morning commute will go a little bit slower. So get up early tomorrow morning. It's going to be cloudy. It's going to be foggy and those roadways are going to be on the slick side.

Here is where the thunderstorms are at this hour. A new watch in effect right along I-10 corridor. We think I-10 will be a problem area tomorrow as well with these showers and thundershowers triggering. So keep that in mind for the morning and afternoon drive.

This is the big picture, the weather map showing that focus in the southeast, Nashville, Charlotte, Atlanta, as we mentioned. The Florida areas will have problems tomorrow. The wet weather across the Pacific Northwest, you're drying out in Southern California. This is good news, but remember part of highway 1 is closed down for you around Bigsur because of that rock slide and that mudslide.

Great weather around the southwest. We're going to be heating up, pushing 90 a week from now in Arizona. That's a little bit of good news for you. Overall not terrible in the northeast. One other note, though, it's going to be windy. So a lot of times we'll get delays at LaGuardia and Newark when those winds get too strong.

WHITFIELD: That always seems to be on a Sunday.

JERAS: It will be sunny out, though.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, that's good. All right, I like it. Thanks so much, Jacque.

JERAS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, on the international front now. A woman is becoming the face of the civil war in Libya. She claims she was raped by Gadhafi forces and taken away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Rebel fighters are continuing their push westward and appear to have taken control of two key oil cities in Libya, Ras Lanuf and Brega.

Also today, six loud explosions have been reported in Libya's capital of Tripoli. We still don't know the location or condition of that frantic woman who begged reporters in Libya in Tripoli in particular, to hear her story of brutality and sexual assault. It was all captured on camera, her account to journalists. Here now is senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She came to tell her story to the only people she thought would listen, international journalists in a city hotel.

We're all Libyan she calls out. Why don't you treat us the same? She claims to have been picked up at a government checkpoint, tied, beaten, and raped. Her name was Emam Ala Behdi. Look at what Gadhafi brigades did to me she screams. My honor was violated by them.

It's the first time anyone here has dared challenge Gadhafi's region camera. CNN's camera man was there and so was journalist Jonathan Miller.

JONATHAN MILLER, CH4 NEWS: She was -- she had clearly been injured. There were marks on her face. She showed us marks on her leg as well. She said her wrists were bound to her ankles and that she had been raped.

ROBERTSON: But barely had reporters begun asking her questions then government officials known as minders started grabbing her, pulling her away. One minder pulled a handgun. Journalists were beaten. CNN's camera was violently snatched away and systematically smashed. Our footage taken.

MILLER: We took the woman to one side of the table and closed the table off again to try to intervene between the minders and her. They came over the table and around and wrestled me and others to the ground throwing punches, being quite violent.

ROBERTSON: In another brazen display of brutality much feared by regime opponents and seen by reporters a bag is put over her head as she is taken away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No.

ROBERTSON: A little later she was manhandled out of the hotel. Screaming it seemed for her life. If you don't see me tomorrow, then that's it, she was shouting. Journalists protesting her treatment all the way, but to no avail. Bundled into a car against her will, she was sped away. Her last words, she was being taken to jail.

(on camera): Officials said she was insane, that she was taken to a hospital. We asked to see her to make sure she was OK. Then we were told she was, in fact, sane. She was being held at a police facility. That she was safe and well, that we might see her in a few days. We've heard that before. Nic Robertson, CNN, Tripoli, Libya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Libya, Tunisia, Egypt plus numerous other countries in turmoil. How it all started. Watch "Uprising, Region in Revolt" tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

Also tonight on CNN, how some people in a Tennessee town react when an Islamic mosque is being built. We'll have a preview next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Muslims in Murfreesboro, Tennessee say their neighbors used to be friendly. That changed after plans to build a new Islamic center were unveiled. CNN's Soledad O'Brien explains in her documentary "Unwelcome, the Muslims Next Door." Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Construction was barely under way when members of the congregation received disturbing news. A fire in the middle of the night had damaged equipment at the construction site.

SALEH SBENATY, BOARD MEMBER, ISLAMIC CENTER OF MURFREESBORO: I looked at the site and you know, tears started to come down. You know, it's why, what did we do?

O'BRIEN: A day later, leaders of the congregation came to assess the damage.

ESSAM FATHY, BOARD MEMBER, ISLAMIC CENTER OF MURFREESBORO: It's a natural growth to our community. I mean, we are growing.

O'BRIEN: Our interview was interrupted by a gunfire.

FATHY: Yes. Yes. Do you hear that?

SBENATY: Murfreesboro, Tennessee police department.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not understanding.

FATHY: That's what they are trying, a terrorist act.

SBENATY: I heard a very loud shot from this way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Want me to go up there and check for you.

SBENATY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could very well be hunters but we're going to check it out. We've got plenty of guys in the area. We'll make sure we document your concerns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. We're grateful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, appreciate it.

IMAM OSAMA BAHLOUL, ISLAMIC CENTER OF MURFREESBORO: This whole issue set.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Two worlds, two truths, does freedom of religion mean freedom from suspicions? CNN's Soledad O'Brien chronicles the dramatic fight over building a mosque in the heart of the Bible belt. "Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door" airs tonight at 8:00 Eastern Time.