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Rebels Target Gadhafi's Birthplace; NATO Taking over Entire Mission; What President Obama Needs to Say; Inside Look at the Libyan Rebels; Japan Can Expect More Aftershocks; New Radiation Concerns at Fukushima Plant; More Banks Cut Debit Card Rewards; Jimmy Carter Headed to Cuba; The Royal Wedding Cakes

Aired March 28, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 in the West. I'm Carol Costello in for Kyra Phillips this morning.

A second win for Libya's rebels. They are marching toward Gadhafi's hometown after a weekend of victories. President Obama getting ready to tell the American people what the U.S. role is in this mission. Plenty of confusion right now on that front.

And in Japan, water with radiation levels 100,000 times the norm. And fears that some of it might be in the Pacific Ocean.

In Libya, rebel forces are marching toward the capital. And after a weekend of key victories, the most pivotal -- pivotal fight may now be under way.

CNN's Reza Sayah is in eastern Libya where rebels seem to have seized the momentum.

So, Reza, first off, why the turnaround?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm sorry, Carol, I couldn't hear you.

COSTELLO: I just asked you why the turnaround for the Libyan rebels?

SAYAH: Well, I think it had a lot to do with the air strikes. The coalition air strikes that started Saturday. And there's no question that the momentum has shifted.

I don't think too many people could have predicted that in a matter of three days, these opposition forces would gain about 200 miles in territory and capture about five key cities. But that's exactly what has happened.

The latest town to go into the hands of opposition forces, the town of Bin Jawad which is right in the middle of the coastline in northern Libya. And I think this surge, this shift in momentum started on Saturday with the capturing of Ajdabiya. Coalition air strikes playing a key role in softening up the Gadhafi targets, enabling the rebel fighters to move into Ajdabiya.

After Ajdabiya, it was Brega that fell, Ras Lanuf. And now Bin Jawad. Opposition forces now eyeing Gadhafi's hometowns, his birthplace of Sirte. Overnight there were some reports that Sirte had fallen into the hands of opposition fighters. We couldn't get much sleep here in Benghazi, the opposition capital, last night because of all the celebratory gunfire and the explosion.

But, Carol, that celebration appears to be premature. Opposition officials telling us that there's still fighting over Sirte. Another key town which is about 200 miles east of Tripoli, which is the final destination for these rebel fighters -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Reza Sayah, in eastern Libya, many thanks.

Sometime today, NATO completes its takeover of the no-fly zone and more importantly the interest toward taking control of the entire mission.

Chris Lawrence is now at the Pentagon.

So, Chris, what exactly does the transition mean to those U.S. forces taking part in this campaign?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, for a lot of the pilots, the actual ground level pilots who are flying these missions, not much. They'll still get their same rules of engagement. They'll still get their same situation reps so to speak before they head out.

But at the higher levels, the coalition military commanders are talking and transitioning with their NATO counterparts, giving them a brief on what's going on. What is still going on up to date.

And what you'll see for the U.S. now is more of a focus on a few areas. Surveillance. Flying that Global Hawk very high in the air to get eyes on the ground. You'll see a lot more when you think about some of the strikes. The strikes on Gadhafi's forces.

That's primarily where the U.S. is going to be concentrated. You know, surveillance, jamming electronics and going after these individual strikes. They've already moved out of the area of just patrolling the no-fly zone. All of that right now already being handled by the coalition partners.

COSTELLO: Chris Lawrence, live at the Pentagon. Many thanks.

The White House is defending its military action in Libya, but admits that the North African country posed no threat to Americans.

Here's what Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said about the administration's decision to launch air strikes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GREGORY, "MEET THE PRESS": Secretary Gates, is Libya in our vital interest as a country?

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: No, I don't think it's a vital interest for the United States, but we clearly have interests there, and it's a part of the region which is of vital interest for the United States.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So if Secretaries Gates and --Secretary of State Clinton were supposed to provide damage control before the president's big speech tonight, some might say they didn't exactly do the president any favors by answering questions in that way.

The Libyan affair seems more muddled than ever. So let's go to the White House and CNN's Dan Lothian.

Dan, the president's job tonight just got a little tougher. What can the president say to make Americans feel better about this?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You're so right. Because you know that does add a little bit more confusion to a mission that really is confusing for many people. And what the president will point out in this speech tonight is what we've been hearing over the last few days is that it was important for the U.S. to go into Libya for no other reason than to protect the innocent people of Libya.

He'll point out that had U.S. forces not been involved, not been engaged that hundreds of thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of people, maybe even hundreds of thousands of people would have been massacred.

COSTELLO: Yes. But he can't really backtrack on what he said before this no -- this no-fly zone was implemented that Gadhafi must go. Do you think he'll back away from that now or will that sentiment still be in his speech tonight?

LOTHIAN: Listen, I think that sentiment will remain. And how the White House has been playing this is that there were two things that were going on here. First of all, there was the mission with the coalition forces to establish this no-fly zone in order to protect the innocent people of Libya.

But in addition to that, that the United States very much wants to see Gadhafi go. How will they be able to push that? Well, they believe that through the economic sanctions, perhaps even through those around Gadhafi will apply pressure to him and eventually force him out.

But that, you know, the timing as to when that will happen and how exactly it will happen remains up in the air.

COSTELLO: Talking on the subject of timing, why didn't the president come out and speak last week? What was he waiting for? And is it too late now?

LOTHIAN: Well, listen. You know one senior administration official told me that the transition whereby NATO is now going to be assuming command and control over Libya, that because of this timing it presented a good opportunity for the president to sort of lay out the case as to the U.S. involvement in Libya and what happens going forward. So that's exactly why the president decided to make that speech tonight. As to whether or not he should have made the speech a lot sooner, well, we heard the criticism coming from not only the pundits but also from up on Capitol Hill that the president should have done this a long time ago. That perhaps before even committing U.S. forces to Libya that he should have laid out in a very clear fashion what this mission was about and what the exit strategy would be.

COSTELLO: Dan Lothian, live at the White House. Be sure to tune in to CNN for the president's speech and insights from the best political team on television. Our special coverage begins at 7:00 Eastern, 4:00 Pacific Time.

Libya is just one Middle East country experiencing unrest. Jordan is another. King Abdullah said, quote, "We are proceeding in earnest with the political reform process, and we have nothing to fear."

His comments come two days after government protesters clashed with government loyalists and security forces. Dozens of people were injured.

Bordering Jordan to the north, Syria, where we could see some changes this week. Sources say President Bashar al-Assad will lift a 50-year- old state of emergency very soon. They add that he will change the law making his Baath Party, the nation's dominant political party. President Assad is expected to address his nation in the next couple of days.

And in Yemen today, at least 40 people are dead and nearly 100 injured in an explosion at an ammunition factory. Security officials say the dead and injured were ransacking the factory after it was taken over by militants.

Protesters threw shoes at a screen showing the President Ali Abdullah Saleh's speech to the country on Saturday. Saleh says he will not offer any more concessions. Yemen's parliament has extended emergency powers allowing the government more leeway in arrests, detention and censorship.

So who are the Libyan rebels? They are students, they're professionals, sons and fathers who are now soldiers with one goal -- to bring down Gadhafi.

And new video shows how the March 11th tsunami destroyed a city. Plus, new fears about how to dispose of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.

And a snake has slithered away at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Officials are very concerned because it's not just any snake. It happens to be a poisonous Egyptian cobra that can kill. We'll talk to an animal expert, Jack Hanna, at 9:40 Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: So who are these rebels in Libya anyway? The fighters benefiting from U.S. military power. CNN's Reza Sayah asked them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAYAH (voice-over): Just last month, they were civilians, all ages, all walks of life.

Twenty-year-old Wisam was in college. Ahmed is 32, a husband, father and engineer. Eighteen-year-old Adrise was a student studying business.

Today they are amateur soldiers in the rickety rebel army of Libya's opposition. United, they say, by one mission, to topple the regime of Moammar Gadhafi.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I come to here in Benghazi after I saw Gadhafi dictator. He kill my people here. He kill Libyan people without any reason.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want my country to be free. I want freedom for my country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Reza says the opposition's leadership is just as much a hodgepodge as the fighters. Thirty-one people made up of politicians and military leaders who've defected along with those lawyers, doctors and academics. So we want to talk more about the rebels with General Wesley Clark.

General, welcome.

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

COSTELLO: General, you saw a few of these rebels. They are sort of a motley bunch. Who's to say some of them aren't as brutal as Gadhafi's forces. Is that just a risk we take?

CLARK: I think that is a risk we take. We know there are a lot of good people in there. We know there are people who have educated in the West. Some who professed a desire to put in western-style democracy. We know there are some who are strong believers in a religious role in government. And religious values in government. Some who believe in secular values.

We also know that from eastern Libya, a large number of young men went during the years 2003 to 2007, 2008, they went to Iraq and they fought Americans in Iraq for al Qaeda. A lot of these people were killed. Maybe some of them came back. Maybe they are fighting against Gadhafi. We're not sure.

COSTELLO: OK so -- so that's disturbing what you just said.

CLARK: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: Secretary Clinton, she says no decision has been made on whether we should arm these Libyan rebels. With all of what you said in mind, should the United States or the coalition arm these rebels?

CLARK: Well, I think the most important thing right now is that we put in the assistance that's required to help them form a government. We have U.S. and international organizations that help with this, like the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute --

COSTELLO: But is that one step ahead? Don't you have to arm the rebels and like stop the civil war before you do that?

CLARK: No, actually, I think the most important thing is to figure out who is in charge there and help them set out a political platform because there is momentum against Gadhafi now. And Gadhafi's forces are going back, and this momentum will continue. So, rather than pouring arms in, which would take several days to make any difference anyway, to get to the rebels, and having to put trainers in to explain the use of the arms, that momentum is going.

As the rebels move to the west against Gadhafi, I believe they will pick up momentum. And, therefore, if I were advising behind the scenes, I'd be suggesting that this is a time to really work with the government.

I understand Qatar has just recognized this opposition movement as the legitimate government of Libya. So I would think we need to be working with the government at the political level before we start pouring our arms in.

COSTELLO: General Wesley Clark, thanks for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.

CLARK: Thank you.

COSTELLO: There are new --

CLARK: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: There are new mind-boggling numbers surrounding the Japanese nuclear disaster, like radioactive water inside a reactor that's 100,000 times normal levels. We'll explain exactly what that means next.

And we're going to find out why this ice is blue. A big winter storm forced the ice in Lake Michigan to heave and surge onto shore. Our Reynolds Wolf is the man with all the answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck northeast Japan today. It prompted a tsunami warning, canceled after about 90 minutes. But residents were told to expect more aftershocks from the March 11th earthquake that could trigger more tsunamis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MAN SPEAKING IN JAPANESE) (WATER RUSHING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Speaking of that, this new video came in to us. It shows how that tsunami nearly three weeks ago engulfed and destroyed the city of Kesennuma. You can see a wall of water pushing cars, boats, even buildings out of its path.

The nuclear crisis in Japan, of course is far from over. Let's check what's new this morning at the Fukushima -- at the Fukushima plant. Water found in a tunnel at the number two reactor is reported to be at least 100,000 times the normal levels for coolants inside a nuclear reactor. Earlier, Tokyo Electric had said the level was 10 million times normal before the company corrected the number.

There is concern about how to get rid of that radioactive water. Officials say an apparatus to pump it all out is almost full, as are several nearby storage tanks. And the temperature inside the number one reactor, that could signal -- that could be a sign nuclear fuel rods are overheating. To deal with the temperature spike, officials plan to adjust the flow of fresh water into the reactor core.

Got all that? CNN contributor Jim Walsh has been helping us make sense of the situation at the damaged plant. So, Jim, thanks for joining us.

JIM WALSH, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to see you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good to see you, too. First of all, explain to us this 10,000 (sic) times normal number for radioactive water. What does that mean?

WALSH: Well, I know it's dizzying because you hear all these numbers, and they also have different words for different types of measurements. And it's all very confusing.

The thing that I would keep focused on today about the -- what you're reporting about that water in reactor two is what it means. The government suggested today at a press conference that it may mean that water is leaking out of the reactor itself. That's the first time the government has suggested that that was the case.

Remember, we've had water reactor one, water reactor two, water reactor three. But if this water is coming from -- at reactor two today is coming from directly inside the reactor, then that means the containment vessel is cracked or broken.

COSTELLO: Right.

WALSH: And that's the big news of the day. If that's true, that is major news, because that represents a significant problem that they're going to now have to address.

COSTELLO: Very -- OK. So, how are they addressing even the disposal of this radioactive water? Do they have anywhere to put it? WALSH: Well, the short answer is no. And so, they've been keeping it in these large containers. And they've run out of space.

Obviously, they can't just go and dump the water, you know in a waste lot somewhere, because then it will contaminate those areas, and the public, naturally, is very sensitive about it. I suspect they're going to think about carting it off out to sea and dumping it at sea, but there may be rules and regulations about that, too.

So, they have a problem. They have to get the water out of those three reactors, one, two and three. They have to get the water out before they put workers in to continue working on setting up the cooling system.

But again, I underline this new development today in reactor number two, the big challenge will be if there's a leak, if there's a crack in the containment vessel, then that water's going to keep on coming out. So that's the big thing as we look at the week ahead.

COSTELLO: OK. So, I hesitate to bring this up, but I'm going to, because over the weekend, trace amounts of radiation linked to the Japanese plant were found in Massachusetts rainwater. I --

WALSH: Yes.

COSTELLO: I wouldn't think it could travel that far, but should anybody be worried about this?

WALSH: Carol, I'm glad you're asking this question, and I live in Massachusetts, and the question is a flat 100 percent no. People should not be worrying about this.

These are trace amounts. They have no -- will have no impact on human health in the US. We get radiation every day anyway from other sources. So -- and not all radiation is created equal. It depends on the type of radiation it is. It depends on how long you're exposed to it. A lot of different factors.

So, just because you read radiation in the newspaper or you hear it on TV, does not mean you should freak out. People in the US under current circumstances have nothing to worry about what's coming out of Japan.

COSTELLO: OK, so, you're going to go outside and take a big deep breath of fresh air.

WALSH: If I had a glass right now, I'd drink the water.

COSTELLO: OK. Jim Walsh, thank you so much for clearing things up for us. We appreciate it.

WALSH: Thank you.

COSTELLO: The southeast is in for more storms today, and travel delays in many parts of the country. Reynolds Wolf is here with all the details. The thunder in Atlanta this morning, it was majestic. REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We had a few windows rattling, didn't we?

COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness!

WOLF: It was kind of loud.

COSTELLO: Didn't your parents used to tell you God was bowling and that was the reason for the thunder? Because if God was bowling, he threw a lot of strikes this morning.

WOLF: I think he did. I think, yes, it was 10-pin alley for him. It was crazy last night. Hey, no question about that. Not only heavy rainfall, we've also had some heavy snow.

And then, speaking of snow, that's where we're going to start out with some of today's video. Carol, I know you're aware of this thing we call Christmas and Christmas -- these things we call -- that are called Christmas trees.

COSTELLO: Yes.

WOLF: Well, take a look at this video from Massachusetts. Let's go right to it right now. Now, right after Christmas, a lot of people took their Christmas trees and put them outside. Then, we had some heavy snow. Well, guess what? The heavy snow is now gone, and now you've got trees everywhere.

Now, the city is having to scramble to pick all of these up. This happens to be in Agawam, Massachusetts. So, it's now a little bit of a problem.

Hey, speaking of a blue Christmas, take a look at this blue ice that we have for you in parts of Lake Michigan. The blue ice is pretty amazing to see. Now, the question might be why, oh, why is it a bluish color?

Well, the reason why is because if you have ice that happens to be about three meters or wider and the light goes through, the ice actually absorbs some of the reddish light in the spectrum, allows the blue color to come through and, hence, you have your bluish color.

Something we've been seeing out towards the west, not blue at all, but very muddy. In fact, mudslides across parts of the Golden State of California. This video, we'll show you some of the troubles people have been dealing with.

It's a big cleanup out there. The problem is, we could see a little bit more rain out towards the west. Bigger problem, some heavy snow, not just in the Sierra Nevadas, but into the Rocky Mountains.

Very quickly, to the weather maps we go so you can see your forecast for the day. We've got, of course, the snow out towards the west and the southeast. It's all been the rain, the heavier showers, stronger storms that Carol was talking about, now drifting into the Carolinas. But then, you get down to Florida and, look, it just keeps on coming like a giant assembly line, some heavy storms. Not only that, but we have a severe thunderstorm watch that's in effect until noontime. Flash flooding is definitely going to be a possibility across parts of Florida and into the southeast. More on that coming up throughout the rest of the morning. Carol, let's send it back to you.

COSTELLO: I understand everything now. Thank you Reynolds.

WOLF: Yes, you do. It's clear, isn't it?

COSTELLO: It's so clear.

WOLF: There you go.

COSTELLO: Thank you.

Here some are stories making news Cross Country. A man in Northern California was seriously injured when a pipe bomb hidden inside his morning newspaper exploded. The force of the blast dug a crater a foot deep in his neighbor's front yard. Federal authorities are now involved in that investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stella! Stella!

(CROWD CHEERS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stella!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, it's so fun. The 25th annual Tennessee Williams Festival in New Orleans ended with a shouting match, as you see. Contestants are yelling "Stella!" and "Stanley!" at the top of their lungs, inspired by the author's famous novel "A Streetcar Named Desire." Awesome.

And a five-year-old girl in Ohio got the surprise of her life when her father showed up at her school last Friday. Jillian Sharp was expecting to see her dad later in the night, but Master Sergeant Philip Sharp arrived home from Iraq hours earlier -- aw -- than everyone expected. That's precious.

This morning a second win for Libya's rebels. They're marching toward Gadhafi's hometown after a weekend of victories. We'll take you inside Libya for a look at their progress.

And a cobra has gone missing at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Yes, that's right, a cobra. A poisonous cobra. We'll talk to Jack Hanna at 9:40 Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: New changes to your debit card before we get to the opening bell. The days when you could swipe your debit card and earn airline miles or reward points, well they're ending. Another big bank is banning rewards.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories now. More confusion and contamination at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant. Today's worry, highly radioactive water found in a tunnel near reactor number two. The radiation is at least 100,000 times what it should be. Officials don't know how the water escaped a turbine building and they don't know if it's been seeping into the Pacific Ocean.

After criticism from both sides of the aisle, President Obama will try to clarify his stance and defend his actions on Libya. He's due to address the nation tonight at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Of course, CNN will bring you live coverage.

NATO should officially take over the no-fly zone mission today. But logistically commanders say it could take until Thursday or Friday to have things fully in hand.

And rebel forces are marching toward Moammar Gadhafi's hometown. They took two important oil hubs over the weekend. As they march west to Tripoli, momentum seems to be going their way right now thanks to the coalition air strikes.

Let's talk more about their changing fortunes with CNN's Arwa Damon. She's in eastern Libya.

Arwa, why are the rebels gaining now?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're in this area that's called (INAUDIBLE) and it's only around 60 miles to the east of Sirte, Sirte being Gadhafi's hometown.

The opposition now controls much more territory than it ever has since this uprising began. And that is credited, as you just mentioned there, to those intense air strikes that have literally driven Gadhafi's army back from Benghazi, all the way further to the west. We're not exactly how far Gadhafi's military is to the west.

We've heard a number of different reports from the opposition fighters you see gathered here. But all of them very upbeat, very optimistic that they're going to be able to move in on his hometown tonight. They've been waving the victory flags, we've been seeing them chanting victory, chanting warnings to Gadhafi, saying they will be coming all the way to Tripoli.

And everyone acknowledges, Carol, that none of this would have been possible without the international intervention, without the air strikes. And those air strikes have not just helped the opposition come this far but many people will tell you that they have literally saved so many lives because without this international intervention, most people we're talking to firmly believe that a massacre at the hands of Gadhafi's forces was imminent, Carol. COSTELLO: Arwa, I'm just curious about the trucks behind you and what kinds of weapons that those opposition -- those rebels behind you are using.

DAMON: Well, the truck that you see right there, that's got an anti- aircraft machine gun mounted on to the back of it, as does the one next to it. In fact, most of those around here have the anti-aircraft machine guns mounted on them. This is the heaviest machine gun that the opposition has at its disposal.

We also do see them with other lighter machine guns. They're carrying AK-47s. We've also seen them carrying some very old, old weapons, that's basically all that they've been able to find. And this is partly why they've been struggling because they've been saying they don't have the weapons and the equipment that they need to go up against Gadhafi's armor, to go up against the artillery, to go up against the tanks.

And Carol, if you'll notice, as well, none of these fighters is wearing body armor or any sort of protective gear.

COSTELLO: Very courageous people. Arwa Damon reporting live from eastern Libya. And, of course, we're hearing their call for weapons all the way here to the United States.

Arwa Damon, many thanks.

A lot of unbelievably disturbing things are going on in Libya. Maybe you heard about this. But watch as a Libyan woman storms into a hotel and tells journalists and the world that government troops had raped her, a brazen move on her part. This is the first time a Libyan opposed to Gadhafi has tried something like this in Tripoli.

CNN's Nic Robertson described what happened right before his eyes.

(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 Libyans, 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 is Iman Al-Obeidi.

Look at what Gadhafi's brigades did to me, she screamed. My honor was violated by them.

It's the first time anyone here has dared challenge Gadhafi's regime on camera. CNN's cameraman Halil Abdullah (ph) was there, and so was journalist Jonathan Miller.

JONATHAN MILLER, CNN 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 (ph), 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. But they came -- I think over the table or around and wrestled me and some others to the ground throwing punches, being quite violent.

ROBERTSON: In another brazen display of brutality, much feared by regime opponents and rarely seen by reporters, a bag is put over her Al-Obeidi's head, as she is led away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?

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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where you going with her? Where are you going with her?

ROBERTSON: But to no avail. Bundled into a car against her will, she was sped away. Her last words, she was being taken to jail.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Unbelievable. The Libyan government tells us the woman has been released and that investigators are looking into her claims. But as Nic says, no one can prove that the government actually let her go. We'll continue to follow this story to try to find out what happened to this woman and if she's OK, if anyone is still in custody for what happened to her, what she says happened to her. Just an unbelievably sad story.

He is the only American president to visit Cuba since the revolution. Now Jimmy Carter is heading back to Havana. Details ahead in our Morning Passport.

COSTELLO: And a cobra similar to this one has gone missing at the Bronx Zoo in New York. Officials there believe they know where it's hiding. We'll talk to an animal expert Jack Hanna next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: OK. This is a seriously scary story. A cobra has escaped from the Bronx Zoo and is on the loose in New York City. We're talking Egyptian cobra, one that looks a lot like this guy. Went missing last Saturday.

And who better to talk about all of this than animal expert Jack Hanna.

Hi, Jack.

JACK HANNA, ANIMAL EXPERT: Hello. How are you doing?

COSTELLO: Good. So tell us about this snake because it is poisonous. What if it bites someone?

HANNA: Well, this cobra is obviously an Egyptian cobra, from my understanding. This one is about 20 inches long, and, of course, they're venomous when born. They get maybe eight feet -- I think it's the largest cobra in Africa. But the Bronx Zoo is one of the finest zoos in the country and my understanding is the cobra escaped behind the scenes.

I must say every once in a while snakes escape behind the scenes in zoos throughout the country. Not very often, obviously. It likes warm things, by the way. This animal is neurotoxic which means it's not like a rattlesnake. It affects the nervous system. But again they're -- it's not a snake --

COSTELLO: OK. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. What? It affects the nervous system, how?

HANNA: It's neurotoxic. For example, if you're bitten, I've never been bitten by one, I've been bitten by other snakes, but not a poisonous snake like this. My understanding is you get blurry eyes, your heart starts to slow down, just kind of like a numbing effect. Nausea, a little bit of nausea, that type of thing. That's neurotoxic.

And a hemotoxic snake is like a rattlesnake. But again, the cobra -- this type of snake is not an aggressive snake so to speak, like a green mamba. When I film those in Africa, I leave for Africa, as a matter of fact, in about eight hours to go to South Africa and we'll probably see some cobras.

But they're a snake that usually runs away. They flare their head, obviously, when they're alarmed. Some people, for example, when a snake escapes at home or some people have snakes, they put talcum powder down the floor and then track the snake where it wiggles. I'm sure the guys at the Bronx Zoo know this, he'll go for the warmest place.

COSTELLO: But Jack, you said it's not an aggressive snake, but I just read an article in a New York newspaper and they quoted a dad and his son who went to the Bronx Zoo and they're actually looking for this snake, poking into bushes and stuff.

That's not so smart is it?

HANNA: No, no. That's the worst thing you can do. Obviously if someone comes poking at your door at home, you're going to be aggressive to that person poking at your door. So experts need to do this. They have snake hooks. These guys at Bronx know what to do. They have antivenin there. We have the antivenin in Columbus. Not all zoos have poisonous snakes but we have the antivenin and we can treat that if something does happen.

And again, a cobra is a very fascinating snake so zoological parks like Bronx and Columbus, we exhibit these animals. We have a king cobra. I just got through working with a cobra in Malaysia that was almost 16 feet long. And that was a big one. Of course --

COSTELLO: But that would be easier to keep in some kind of enclosure than this 20-inch long cobra. I mean, how could it get out? And, you know, snakes hide. They're not easy to find.

HANNA: Right. This -- about -- in 1984, I had a boa constrictor about this long and get loose in my office. This is a little square office and I went everywhere, I tore the place apart. And the boa constrictor went up in the air conditioning unit up the coals. And I was having a meeting two weeks later he flopped out there on the floor.

I was trying to get a donor for the zoo that blew the whole thing. Obviously, the snake flopped out there at the floor. But he was fine. He just set up there and they can go a long time without ever eating so it's not like it's -- you know, they'll -- they'll find this snake. Trust me. They'll find him.

COSTELLO: But it -- it could take them some time, though, right? I mean, is it safe for people to go to the Bronx Zoo with this Egyptian cobra like slithering around?

(CROSS TALK)

HANNA: Oh yes. This is my opinion. I think you're just as safe to do that. I'm in the city right now. I'm in the Columbus, New York City. I mean you've got to walk across streets. You are just as safe to go to the Bronx Zoo as anywhere right now.

You know this snake is hiding right now. It's not going to be out there looking for people like that movie, what the snake on TV, or in the airplane or something.

COSTELLO: "Snakes on a Plane," right? Ok, so just don't poke around the bushes. We'll take that advice.

Jack Hanna, thank you so much for being with us.

HANNA: It was a pleasure.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

HANNA: All right. COSTELLO: Oh, he sings for their supper. It's the golden voice that lures China's golden monkeys from the treetops. Oh, the monkeys are coming. We've got more details in our "Morning Passport."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Former President Jimmy Carter starting a three-day visit to Cuba. He made history with his first trip back in 2002, becoming the only American leader to set foot on Cuban soil since the 1959 revolution. A different Castro greets him this time, though.

Zain Verjee in London to kick off our "Morning Passport"; good morning, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, ANCHOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Good morning, to you Carol. How are you? Let's start right there and President Jimmy Carter's trip to Cuba. He's going to be there three days. Officially he is going to listen and learn about Cuba's new economic policy.

But unofficially, it's believed that he's going to try and intervene in this case with a contractor that has been sentenced to 15 years in a Cuban jail. His name is Alan Gross. And he's been accused by the Cubans of subversive work. Basically that they said that he gave illegal Internet access to dissident group. So it remains to be seen whether Jimmy Carter will come back with him or make some kind of a deal with the Cubans.

On to the royal wedding beat, Carol that you know I love so much. Well, the big news today is that there is not going to be one cake. There are going to be two cakes. Why? Because Prince William has decided that he wants a groom's cake.

Now that's breaking tradition with the great British tradition. And so he has asked for his favorite cake which is biscuits and a particular kind of chocolate that he likes. Only Buckingham palace makes though, they have given the recipe specifically to someone to make that cake for them but they are not leaking any details about n why it's so good or what's in the recipe.

COSTELLO: Wow.

VERJEE: The other cake, I don't know if you like fruit cake --

(CROSS TALK)

COSTELLO: No.

VERJEE: -- but it's a three-tiered fruit cake.

COSTELLO: No.

VERJEE: No me neither.

COSTELLO: I'm wondering what the groom --

(CROSSTALK) Costello: Would you want to eat fruit cake on your wedding?

VERJEE: No, no unless it's drenched in something else. I don't know but you know. It has a floral theme, ok. So there will be flowers from -- you know, the edible ones from like, England and Scotland and Ireland and Wales.

The other story that we love today is there's a monkey-pied piper over in China. Would you believe that? So let me show you some pictures.

Listen to that, Carol. That is the sound of I don't know what. But you know it's getting the monkeys to come over to the guy. He is a keeper at a monkey area at a base. And basically, they try to like sing these Chinese arias. And they try to sing all these songs to get the monkeys to come and eat. But when this guy suddenly bursts out in that song, the monkeys came. So they're calling the monkey pied- piper.

COSTELLO: We need that guy -- we need that guy Zain, to come to the Bronx Zoo and sing something so they can find that snake.

VERJEE: Yes, maybe -- maybe he can -- he can either do that for the cobra or he can come to Atlanta and sing that song to get anchors on the set on time.

COSTELLO: Impossible. Zain Verjee, always fun talking to you. Zain Verjee live in London.

VERJEE: You too Carol.

COSTELLO: We are down to the final four in college basketball. Two Cinderella teams making it? Highlights just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We are following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN newsroom.

Let's check in first with Martin Savidge in Tokyo.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: New concerns over highly radioactive water found outside of the nuclear reactor at that Fukushima site. The question is where is the water coming from? And then later, Sendai Airport -- you may remember the images of that tsunami overflowing. We go back to see how it looks now.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta. A deadly drug-resistant bacteria is hitting nursing homes and hospitals. Most antibiotics are not working against it. I'll have more on that later this hour.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Stephanie Elam in New York. The Supreme Court is set to decide whether it's going to proceed with the largest U.S. class action employment lawsuit in history. It involves the largest retailer worldwide, Wal-Mart. We'll discuss that coming up in the next hour -- Carol. COSTELLO: Everyone thanks so much. Also next hour, drug violence is taking a toll on Acapulco tourism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's not a violence against tourism. Any tourist will come here, they'll never see light.

COSTELLO: The beaches of the Mexican Beach resort would normally be packed with American tourists this time of year for spring break. This year, they are not. We will explain next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here. And Jeff, a lot of college basketball fans don't even know what VCU stands for.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: I'll give you a hint, it is Virginia Commonwealth University. They have shocked everyone by being in the final four. They took down Kansas yesterday. I mean of all the teams that were left. You figure Kansas is the best shot to make it to the final four. But even they could not do it.

An early 20-4 run by the Rams. They took down the Jayhawks -- just completely dominated. The final score 71-61. VCU heads to the final four as a surprising, unbelievable number one seed. They've won five games to get there. And this was the scene on campus in Richmond, after the win. Students going nuts. Next stop, Houston, for the Final Four.

They're still playing basketball in the Blue Grass, too. Kentucky knocked out North Carolina to also win a spot in the Final Four. Deandre Liggins, the clutch three-pointer right here in the final minutes to wrap it up. Coach John Calpari has now taken three different schools to the Final Four -- UMass, Memphis, and now Kentucky.

And this is what it looks like. Everyone picked this bracket, right? No. The most improbable Final Four ever. I'm not kidding. A third and a forth seat, OK, those are two super powers -- Connecticut and Kentucky. But then, Butler versus VCU, unbelievable. It is incredible that these two teams both made the Final Four and they will be squaring off for a spot in the championship game next Monday night.

COSTELLO: Boy, we like when the underdog --

FISCHEL: Got to route for the underdog.

COSTELLO: That's right.

FISCHEL: Absolutely. This time, do we want to see a Cinderella do it, don't we?

COSTELLO: We do.

FISCHEL: This could be the time. COSTELLO: Thanks, Jeff.

FISCHEL: OK.