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Libyan Woman Claims Rape by Soldiers; Some Japanese Won't Evacuate; Who are the Opposition Fighters in Libya?; Situation Tense In Syria; Sendai's Airport Open Again

Aired March 28, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: We've got some breaking news here into CNN regarding Libya. I just want to give this to you.

Reuters and AP reporting that a French armed forces spokesman says that jets struck a Libyan command center. This is just south of Tripoli. This is something that has just occurred, breaking news.

Obviously, part of the no-fly zone and the international effort to suppress the air capabilities of Moammar Gadhafi. This just in from a French spokesman, that jets struck a Libyan command center just south of Tripoli, 10 kilometers south of Tripoli. We're going to have more details as they become available.

Well, Libyan rebels are also pushing west towards the capital of Tripoli, which they had just mentioned. But first, they have to get through Sirte. That is the hometown of Moammar Gadhafi.

Now, rebels say they expect a bloody battle based on tribal loyalties. Opposition fighters swept out of Benghazi in the west this weekend, reclaimed towns they recently lost to Gadhafi forces.

(SCREAMING)

A Libyan government spokesman says that a woman who said she was raped by Gadhafi's troops has been released to relatives. Well, CNN cannot confirm this.

Eman Al-Obeidy burst into a Tripoli hotel on Saturday to tell international journalists that she had been raped by 15 soldiers. Government handlers rushed to silence her while journalists frantically tried to help.

Our CNN's Nic Robertson was among them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In another brazen display of brutality, much feared by regime opponents and rarely seen by reporters, a bag is put over Al-Obeidy's head as she is led away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK? Are you OK?

EMAN AL-OBEIDY, CLAIMS RAPE BY LIBYAN SOLDIERS: No. AL-OBEIDY: (SPEAKING ARABIC)

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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Al-Obeidy's parents dispute the government claim that she's been released. They tell Al Jazeera that their daughter is now a hostage, as they put it, in Gadhafi's compound.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is urging the Libyan opposition to organize for a transition process. An international conference is going to be held in London tomorrow, and it's designed to outline a political framework for the way ahead in Libya. Cameron also noted that there was some military progress as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The no-fly zone is fully operational and effective. When it has been challenged, Gadhafi's planes have been shot down. He can no longer terrorize the Libyan people from the air.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: President Obama is going to explain the goals, the scope of the Libyan mission, tonight. He's going to speak to the American people from the National Defense University in Washington, and CNN has live coverage of the analysis. That begins at 7:00 Eastern.

(CHANTING)

MALVEAUX: The Syrian government may now bow to protesters' demands and lift the oppressive emergency law that has been in place for almost 50 years now. President Bashar al-Assad is expected to address his nation soon. And dozens of protesters have been killed since demonstrations began nine days ago.

Protesters in Yemen throw their shoes during a TV appearance by President Ali Abdullah Saleh. That is a high insult in Arab culture. Saleh rescinded an offer to step down at the end of the year, saying he is best equipped to deal with al Qaeda.

The president points to militants who seized an ammunition facility in southern Yemen this weekend. The weapons exploded today, reportedly while locals were looting the building. The blast killed at least 40 people and wounded 90.

We have got some new information from Japan. Tokyo Electric tells CNN that highly-radioactive plutonium has seeped into the soil at the Fukushima nuclear complex. Now, this would appear to confirm the containment vessel at reactor number 3 has been damaged. That reactor is the only one that used that chemical.

Some people who live near the Fukushima nuclear plant are refusing to evacuate. That is particularly true among Japan's elderly, who give medical or sentimental reasons for staying there.

Our CNN's Paula Hancocks takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The SDF tells this lady, "We have come to help you go to the evacuation center." She replies, "No, no. We cannot go."

Her husband has Alzheimer's, and a bad leg keeps him from moving. She refuses to leave even when told her daughter is worried about here. The SDF go, but a member of the team tells CNN the couple were convinced to move out two days later.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Want to get right to CNN's Martin Savidge, who's in Tokyo.

Marty, you broke this story, this news in the last hour, that it's plutonium now that has been detected in the soil at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

First of all, can you tell us, do we have any idea where it's coming from? And secondly, what does this mean?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Two excellent questions for which, unfortunately, TEPCO doesn't seem to really give us any real clear answers.

The plutonium was found as a result of soil testing that was conducted a week ago. This was on the 21st and 22nd of March. But the results were only released apparently within the last hour or so.

And the information is that three different varieties of plutonium were found in five different locations on the Fukushima site. Beyond that though, we don't know a whole lot other than the company says it's extremely small traces of plutonium and that it poses no threat to human health, and that it has not in any way affected the workload that is going on there. In other words, they haven't stopped work at the facility as a result of this discovery.

And they also say it's possible that the plutonium could have come from one of their reactors. And that's as far as they go. They don't explain how it could have come from any of the reactors or what reactor.

Now, the only one we know of that uses plutonium in any way, as you point out, is reactor number 3. It uses that mixture of plutonium and uranium. But, again, they say the traces are so small, that it doesn't necessarily mean it had to come from their reactor.

But it certainly begs the question of, well, where else could it have come from? Is it some sort of naturally occurring event in the environment? We just simply don't know. So, for every one of these sort of revelations you get, it is compounded by many more questions that you have -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: It is quite confusing. There are a lot of unanswered questions.

I'm assuming from the last report that plutonium is more dangerous than some of the other elements, some of the other things that we have discovered or seen. It seems like this is a more serious matter. Perhaps even the worst-case scenario?

SAVIDGE: Well, again, because it might indicate that you've had a meltdown, a partial meltdown, you've had a breach of a reactor, those are all extremely serious events. It's not proof, it's just an indicator.

The other thing is, of course, the -- just how long plutonium stays in the environment. We're talking about something that doesn't have a half-life now of, say, like iodine, which goes for eight days. We're talking about something that goes on 6,500 years or more. So, if you were to get significant contamination in any way with plutonium, you're going to be dealing with this in the environment for a long, long time.

But, again, the levels that they say they have found by looking at these five places around -- in the ground is very, very minute, although the company says now that they found it, they're going to be doing a lot more testing. So there may be a lot more information to come -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. We'll be looking for any more information about this. Obviously, still a lot of unanswered questions.

Martin Savidge, in Tokyo.

It has been 17 days since the plant was heavily damaged by the devastating earthquake and the tsunami that followed, and energy officials here in the United States say low levels of radioiodine 131 are now being detected here in the United States.

So, Chad, explain to us what this means. We know that even in Massachusetts, this has been discovered. Is this related to what's happened in Japan? And is this dangerous?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: People in Massachusetts believe it is. The officials in Massachusetts believe that this isotope did come from the power plant.

It came out of rainwater. And it came out to a number of 79 PCIs. You can go look up what that means. It doesn't really mean anything other than just the number. It means that when it rained and it went down into a liter, they counted 79 of these little isotopes in this liter in Massachusetts, to give you some perspective, because that sounds like a really big number. The number is so small, that had they not been looking for it, they wouldn't even have had to report the number because it's below the level that requires reporting in the iodine came from a local source.

So, the number, yes, of course they're looking for it. And now we are seeing -- it's almost like, why do we have more tornadoes now than we did 50 years ago? Because we have more people looking for the tornadoes. We have more chasers out there, so it appears that we have more tornado is. The number is higher because more people are seeing them.

The numbers are higher. Everybody out there looking for all of this -- and it's important that we look for it.

This came from rainwater. There's nothing in the air. But the rainwater kind of gets mixed up here in the atmosphere, picks up some of this radiation, and it fell into that bucket.

Now, if you want to go yourself, if you want to take a look at some of the numbers yourself, the EPA has a phenomenal Web site. It is on my Twitter page, ChadMyersCNN. And then you can do it.

Let's click on any dot. There you go. We're going to click on Las Vegas.

There's spikes. This is the earthquake. There are spikes before the earthquake, after the earthquake.

The sun makes more radiation than what you had there in Massachusetts. A plane ride from California to L.A. -- from California to New York would give you more radiation than that.

Yes, they're finding it. The numbers are not significant for us to go out and say, oh, my gosh, we need to go buy all the bottled water you can find. By the time that it gets into a lake and a river, it's an insignificant number, but it's there.

MALVEAUX: So, Chad, just to understand, it's normal to actually have some level, some small level of radiation already in the rainwater? Is that right?

MYERS: The number that we found for normal would be about 3. And we found 79. So it's a big number.

But it's still a thousand times less than what it would take for us to get very excited and say, wait, the red flags are out, we need to really stop this, we need to be careful with this. It's not a red flag situation, even close.

MALVEAUX: OK. Good. Good news. Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome. MALVEAUX: As Libyan rebels push west towards Tripoli, U.S. officials, they're choosing their words very carefully, which brings us to today's "Talk Back." Carol Costello joining us here.

Because a lot of people don't know what to call this exactly.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don't call it a war.

MALVEAUX: Don't call it a war.

COSTELLO: At least that's what President Obama appears to be saying.

U.S. Tomahawk missiles, pounding Libyan military targets. F-15s, screeching overhead. The sights and sounds of war, right?

If they are, President Obama isn't saying so. When it comes to Libya, Mr. Obama prefers the term "operation" or "action." Other administration officials are following suit, carefully choosing their words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The military mission --

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: The military mission --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An operation like this --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An accomplishable task.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's my favorite.

Why words like "task," "operation," "mission?" Maybe it's because we're already involved in two other wars with nearly 150,000 troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. That may be why earlier this month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates issued this warning --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GATES: A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses. It also requires more airplanes than you would find on a single aircraft carrier. So it is a big operation in a big country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: An attack, a big operation. But is it a war? Webster's defines war as "an opened and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations."

And that brings us to our "Talk Back" question today. Is Libya a war?

Write to me at Facebook/CarolCNN, and I will read your responses later this hour.

MALVEAUX: It's one of those things, Carol, that a lot of people are Facebooking and saying, we want the president to address that. We want to know tonight when he says this is what we're doing. They want to know, are we at war?

COSTELLO: There are so many other questions as well. So it will be interesting to listen to President Obama's speech tonight.

MALVEAUX: Yes. I'll be watching. We all will.

COSTELLO: Yes, we will.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sure.

MALVEAUX: Here's a look at what's ahead "On the Rundown."

First, Libya's rebels -- ragtag fighters, professional warriors, or both? We're going to explore that.

And the anniversary of America's worst nuclear accident. I'm going to talk to a woman who lives just miles from Three Mile Island.

Plus, the Supreme Court hears arguments in a major discrimination case against Wal-Mart.

And finally, measuring the Japan tsunami damage in human suffering.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYUNG LAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This son won't leave the wreckage of his home until he can find his parents' bodies; the hometown boy who pledges to rebuild despite that nearly every part of his town is leveled; and the newborn babies, Yuma and Yukiya (ph), just days old. Small signs, say their homeless mothers, that the next chapter in the rebirth of a region can be written.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It's a comeback that seemed almost inconceivable just a week ago. With the help of allied air strikes, Libya's opposition fighters have managed to wrestle back control of some crucial cities from Moammar Gadhafi's forces. The turnaround gives the rebels most of the eastern half of the country, including some of Libya's biggest oil-producing towns.

And today they are marching even deeper into the west with a key target in their sights. That is Sirte, Gadhafi's birthplace.

So we know their goal is to drive out Gadhafi. But what else do we know about the opposition?

Here to break that down for us, our CNN's Carl Azuz.

And Carl, this is a question that we have been asking day after day, who are these rebels? Who is this opposition? Do we even trust or know that these are people that the international community could even work with?

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: It's a very good question, and it's very hard to answer, Suzanne, because they come from such a diverse array of backgrounds.

You're not looking at one specific group that is sort of leading the charge against Gadhafi. You're looking at people from all over the country, both civilians and former members of Gadhafi's military.

And by civilians, I mean folks like this. We're talking about teachers. We're talking about lawyers, oil workers, people who have had enough of Gadhafi's 42-year rule and are taking up arms against him.

You also have literally civilians with megaphones, people who are near the site of the conflict who are picking up megaphones and directing the rebels where to go. Maybe, in some cases, telling them where Gadhafi's forces are moving.

And then as I mentioned a moment ago, you have former members of Libya's military. And in the initial days of this -- and of course we're still sort of in the initial days of this -- but especially early on, there was a little bit of mistrust here because of the fact that if they've switched sides once before from the Libyan military to the rebels, what's to say they're not going to switch sides again?

MALVEAUX: Sure. And Carl, you say there are people that are just picking up megaphones. Who's leading? I mean, who is leading this group that we call the opposition?

AZUZ: You know, in uprisings, a lot of times we see a face of a movement. We see one person who sort of emerges as the leader. It's not so in this case.

There are several people who are emerging as rebel leaders. One of them is Omar Hariri. Omar Hariri is a former rebel for Libya. He led an up rising in 1975 against Gadhafi, was unsuccessful, obviously. But he's back leading people.

You have Kalifa Heftir (ph). He's an opposition leader revered as sort of a hero. And he returned recently from exile to assist with efforts here.

There's Abdel Fatah Younis (ph), a former member of Gadhafi's cabinet. He's a former interior minister.

And then somebody who's really gaining prominence through all of this is Moustafa Abdel Jalil (ph). And he is Gadhafi's former justice minister. So, you see two cabinet ministers who have joined the rebels. It's not just civilians, it's people who used to work directly with Gadhafi. And in the case of Jalil, as recently as a month ago, who have now turned against him.

MALVEAUX: And Carl, I know this might be difficult to answer, but do we know what would they -- what kind of status would they be in if these didn't have these air strikes, these coalition air strikes? Where would they be, do you think?

AZUZ: Not very far. The air strikes have really helped the rebels in two main ways.

One, it stopped Gadhafi's forces for moving against them in many cases. It saved the rebels' lives in many cases because Gadhafi's forces were making advancements.

And another thing the air strikes were able to do is turn back the Libyan military in some cases. And that allowed these rebels who are not as well trained and not as well armed to get some of the military equipment and the weapons the army left behind.

So the air strikes have been effective. They're being credited with really turning this around for the rebels.

MALVEAUX: Carl, thank you. Always learn something valuable from you. Thanks. Appreciate it.

AZUZ: Thank you very much, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Well, President Obama is going to go before the nation this evening to make the case for this military operation in Libya.

For a preview of what we expect the president to say, I want to bring in our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian.

Dan, great to see you.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too.

MALVEAUX: What do we think President Obama is prepared to outline before the American people, and specifically to the question about whether or not he will address this as some sort of war?

LOTHIAN: Right. Well, you know, first of all, I'll tell you, I just got out of a gaggle with White House spokesman Jay Carney, and also Denis McDonough, who's the deputy national security adviser. And they did not want to spell out in great detail what the president would be laying out tonight because they want the president to do that. But they said, in general, the president will be answering some of the questions that Americans have. And lawmakers on Capitol Hill I have been asking now for some time.

Earlier this morning I was talking with a senior administration official who told me, "Listen, the president will be making that case to the American people as to why he believes it was important for the U.S. to get engaged, to take this leadership role inside Libya." First of all, he will talk about how it was important to protect the innocent civilians there, protecting tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, of civilians who this administration believes would have been slaughtered by Colonel Gadhafi.

In addition to that, this administration also believes that it was important to maintain stability in the region. So you'll hear the president talk about that as well.

Those will be some of the key points, but, ultimately, what the president wants to do tonight is make that case that the U.S. going in, participating in a leadership role, and now in a more secondary role in Libya was important in protecting the innocent civilians there.

MALVEAUX: And Dan, we asked folks on Facebook, "What does the president need to say tonight?" This from Daniel -- he says, "What happened to the war on poverty here in the United States? We need jobs here in Michigan."

You've been talking to senior administration officials. Is there a sense of frustration that the president has not been able to put forward his domestic agenda? Or are people not paying attention to his domestic agenda?

LOTHIAN: Look. I mean, given the option, this administration would like to have a single focus on the economy here, which is such a major issue today, still, even though things have stabilized. But when you ask this president of senior aides, they'll tell you this is a president who has to be able to juggle a lot of balls, to deal with domestic issues, with international issues, to deal with Congress, to deal with a host of issues at the same time.

And they believe that he has been able to do that well. But make no mistake, this is an issue in Libya, and before that in Egypt, that has really captivated a large focus of this administration. If they had a choice, I'm sure they would want to focus solely on the economy, because that is what is important to a lot of people, and certainly important to people who will be running in 2012.

MALVEAUX: OK. All right, Dan. Thanks. Good to see you.

LOTHIAN: OK.

MALVEAUX: We'll all be listening to the speech later today at 7:00 Eastern.

Still want to hear from you. What do you think President Obama should say to the nation tonight when he discusses Libya?

I want you to go to my Facebook page at Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN. Let us know.

Remember, our coverage of the president's speech starts at 7:00 Eastern. You're going to want to see this. A cobra -- yes, a cobra -- escapes from its enclosure at the New York Zoo. Hear what wildlife guru Jack Hanna has to say about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We're going "X Country" to stories our affiliates are covering.

We're going to start in Spring City, Utah. That is where seven men had to be rescued after an avalanche this weekend. Three got swept into a thousand-foot deep bowl while skiing on Horseshoe Mountain. One man was completely buried by the snow, but he did survive. Three others were trapped trying to rescue their friends.

Now to New York, where zoo employees are scrambling to find -- that's right -- an escaped cobra. The poisonous snake went missing from an exhibit at the Bronx Zoo's reptile house, which is now indefinitely closed.

Now, zoo officials say they are sure that the 20-inch creature is confined to an enclosed non-public area of the building. We certainly hope so. They say that cobras seek closed spaces and are not comfortable out in the open.

Wildlife expert Jack Hanna says cobras are not interested in going after people, but if you're bit, this is what the toxin does.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK HANNA, WILDLIFE EXPERT: My understanding is you get blurry eyes, your heart starts to slow down, just like kind of a numbing effect, nausea -- a little bit of nausea, that type of thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Let's hope they find that cobra. Huh? Yes.

It is 32 years now today since the nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island. We're going to hear from a woman who lived near the plant.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEUAX: As Japan struggles with its nuclear crisis, Americans are remembering the worst nuclear disaster in this country. Three Mile Island. It was 32 years ago today that the world learned of a partial nuclear meltdown at that plant. Well, part of that plant is still operating in central Pennsylvania. CNN's Mary Snow talks to some of the people who still choose to live there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These stacks at Three Mile Island rarely faze many of the residents here in Central Pennsylvania. But they evoke memories of a national nightmare -- the site of the worst nuclear accident in America's history back in March of 1979. Americans tuned in to the Nightly News to hear this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good evening. The world has never known a day quite like today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: It turns out, there were no deaths from the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island. Studies done since the accident report no long lasting injuries. Life has carried on.

(on camera): There are two units here at Three Mile Island. Unit Two, you can see behind me, is where the accident happened. More than three decades later, Unit One is still open. And the company operating it says it provides electricity to 800,000 homes.

(voice-over): Deb Fulmer, a professional nurse, tells us she was comfortable raising her children in the shadows of Three Mile Island's nuclear reactor.

SNOW: And the company operating it says it provides electricity to 800,000 homes.

(voice-over): Deb Fulmer, a professional nurse, tells us she was comfortable raising her children in the shadows of Three Mile Island's nuclear reactor.

DEB FULMER, NURSE: I look out my window and see the reactors every morning. It's just -- it's just something we live with. It's just a way of life. I still hear the jokes from people, but this is where we live.

SNOW: Fulmer was among tens of thousands of people in the immediate area who evacuated after then-Pennsylvania Governor Richard Thornburgh ordered an evacuation of pregnant women and preschool children. Thornburgh says at the time he was getting faulty information that added to the panic.

RICHARD THORNBURGH, FMR. PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR: That becomes very frustrating because you have to rely on the experts to tell you precisely what's going on, and oftentimes those experts don't know themselves.

SNOW: Five days after the nuclear accident, Thornburgh toured the power plant with then-President Jimmy Carter to try to instill confidence. But 32 years later, longtime resident Eric Epstein is still a skeptic, and now serves as an independent nuclear energy watchdog.

ERIC EPSTEIN, TMI ALERTS: There's a form of psychological terrorism that occurs during a nuclear accident because you don't know how it's going to turn out and you really don't know how it's going to be affected. And to be frank, neither do the experts.

SNOW: Much has changed inside the plants at Three Mile Island in terms of safety procedures. And while many here are not afraid to live near the plants, some fear still exists.

(on camera): Do you still get nervous?

FULMER: Sometimes when we hear the sirens going off. I mean, they test the sirens sometimes. But after 30 years of having listened to sirens being tested, when one goes off I stop in my tracks for a few seconds.

SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, Middletown, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And joining us from Middletown, Joyce Corradi. She lives just a little more than three miles from Three Mile Island. And Joyce, we should mention that you were treated for cancer some six years ago. You're now cancer free. Your daughter is now dealing with another form of cancer. And we understand that neither can be directly linked to the Three Mile accident.

But I want to get your impressions when you watch and see what is taking place in Japan.

JOYCE CORRADI, THREE MILE ISLAND RESIDENT (via Skype): It is frightening. And to hear about this plutonium on the ground, it only makes me believe that plant will absolutely positively never open. And the people around the plant need to start asking some questions and demanding some answers.

And who is in charge? Is it TEPCO? is it the government? And if that plant isn't functioning anymore, will the company just walk away? And who takes care of the plant?

MALVEAUX: Are the those the kinds of things, the kinds of questions that you would recommend that those Japanese residents ask? What do you think they should be doing now?

CORRADI: Absolutely. Getting organized and asking questions and finding some independent experts to give them honest answers about what's going on. Because certainly TEPCO found out about if plutonium a week ago. And we're just finding the information now. That leads me to believe honesty is not a top priority there.

MALVEAUX: Is there anything in your experience when you look back on Three Mile Island, anything you would have done differently leading up to the moments immediately after that accident?

CORRADI: I'm grateful that I left when the evacuation was recommended. And I'm sorry I didn't get organized sooner.

MALVEAUX: Sure. Very quickly, why did you return?

CORRADI: Where else am I to go? If you pull up a map of the United States in nuclear power plants and weapons plants, where do you go? And at least with this power plant hopefully being watched it will run a little bit safer.

MALVEUAX; All right. Joyce Corradi, thank you very much for your time and your perspective. We appreciate it.

CORRADI: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Well, paying for college can be the most challenging part, really, of getting an education. But there is help out there if you know how and where to look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Lawyers for a group of female Wal-Mart employees claiming gender bias are being heard before the Supreme Court right now. Our senior -- legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins us from outside the Supreme Court. And Jeff, I guess the court has to decide whether or not to allow this class action lawsuit. If it does, what does this mean?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this is really a legal epic, Suzanne. This is a case that's already ten years old, and it began with six Wal-Mart employees. But it now, at least in theory, involves millions of women who have worked at Wal-Mart over the past ten years or even going back further who claim that Wal-Mart systematically discriminates against women in pay and promotions.

The case started based on the fact that about 80 percent of the hourly employees at Wal-Mart are women, but only about a third are in management. The plaintiffs here claim that's a result of discrimination by the management.

MALVEAUX: So, what does it mean to allow the female employees to take on a company, this huge company like Wal-Mart that had more than $400 billion in sales, 2009. What, 1.4 million people that it actually employs in the United States?

TOOBIN: Well, what this means is this is a grave financial risk even to a company of Wal-Mart size, because when you add up the potential damages of millions of plaintiffs, you could really look at damages in this case in the billions of dollars. Plus, one reason this case has attracted so much interest and so much worry from big corporations is that other corporations could be the target of lawsuits involving class actions of this size. And that again could expose these companies to billions of dollars in damages.

MALVEAUX: Does it empower the regular workers? Does it make them less afraid to come forward, say you're working for a big company and you think you have been discriminated against? Will it make it easier for those folks to come forward?

TOOBIN: That's one of the arguments in favor of class action. The expense, the inconvenience, the difficulty of bringing a lawsuit is limited if you can group a group of plaintiffs together.

Wal-Mart's main argument in defense of this case is that you can't have a real lawsuit with a million plaintiffs. That the situations of each plaintiff are all too different, that the situations of each Wal-Mart store, that the management is so different, the styles, the policies as they are put in place is so difficult in each of these places that one lawsuit is just a meaningless way to resolve the case.

So, that's the real attention here and the stakes are very, very high. For Wal-Mart and all for corporate America and for potentially women plaintiffs.

MALVEAUX: All right. Very high indeed. Thank you, Jeff.

Well, money can be major obstacle when deciding on a college. You know that. But author of "Smart Is The New Rich," CNN's Christine Romans she's this message. Don't limit yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OLIVIA POGLIANICH, COLLEGE STUDENT-IN-WAITING: I am in the process of waiting. Waiting. That's all I can say.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 18- year- old Olivia Poglianich is waiting to find out if she's been accepted or not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got the letter that stated everything they need and they're reviewing the package.

OLIVIA POGLIANICH: Yes, so now they're ready. ROMANS: A straight- A student, this senior at a Long Island High School has applied to 15 schools, but Olivia, like millions of others, faces another challenge, how to pay for her education. Money matters as much as grade point average.

POGLIANICH: Affordability is a major part of my decision for the next four years. Well, the financial aid from the nation, will continue throughout the four years.

ROMANS: Olivia has filled out the FAFSA form, which stands for the Free Application for Federal Student aid. It helps decide billions of dollars of student financial aid. Olivia is also a Quest Bridge scholar, which helps students apply for various college scholarships but many don't know about their options. "Princeton Review" publisher Robert Franek says do as much research as possible and start early.

ROBERT FRANEK, PUBLISHER "PRINCETON REVIEW": Lots of students and families were making a mistake early on in their college research. This mistake was crossing an expensive school off of their list of consideration early on without following through and finding out how much financial aid that school is actually giving out.

ROMANS: Olivia's mother was involved from the start.

CLAUDIA POGLIANICH, OLIVIA'S MOTHER: Everything is very time sensitive. The sooner the paperwork gets in, the money is kind of divvied out on a first come, first serve basis so you really have to be on top of your paperwork and your taxes and have everything in on time.

OLIVIA POGLIANICH: You just ask every college specifically because even after asking the general questions, the specific requirements of one particular school differ greatly from another school.

ROMANS: As April 1st draws closer, Olivia and her mother are nervous and hopeful.

CLAUDIA POGLIANICH: Reach for the sky. Reach for the sky.

OLIVIA POGLIANICH: I'm excited to be going to college. No matter where I go, I'm actually pretty happy about my future.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: We are tracking the unrest spreading across the Arab world and taking you to the latest flash points of violence in Syria. That's where a government official say there is will be a major concession.

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MALVEAUX: Want to take you to some live pictures here. Libyan state TV saying that they are airing what they claim is live images out of Misurata. They also are claiming that these are pro-Gadhafi rallies that are taking place there. Supporters of Moammar Gadhafi.

Just taking a look at some of these pictures. You don't see a large crowd that's gathered there. It's a rather modest sized crowd that is there on the ground. This is a place that specifically Gadhafi, Libyan state television says, that these are supporters of the regime. And these are clearly meant to show that Gadhafi is still in control, at least in some of the areas, some of the regions inside of that country as things boil over, tensions rise. This, at least, being put out by Libyan state television purportedly of those in support of the regime.

Well, it is happening with such speed that it could be hard sometimes to keep track of all of these moving parts, but we know that the Arab world is changing. CNN is tracking every uprising, every resolution on cnn.com, where you can trace the flow of change in the region for yourself. It's a new interactive tool.

One nation where instability is taking its toll now is Yemen, where at least 121 people are dead, 45 injured after an explosion today at an ammunition factory that fell to militant control over the weekend. That blast comes after months of protests against Yemen's president, Ali Abdullah Saleh. And violent clashes between protesters and security forces.

Meanwhile, here in Jordan, more violence when a brawl broke out between pro and anti-government activists leaving dozens injured on Friday. Protesters there want King Abdullah II to hold to the demands for free elections and constitutional reforms.

Now, here, Syria. And eyewitness tells CNN that huge numbers of security forces are flooding into Daraa. That is an agriculture city in the south where protests and violence have been rampant just the last couple of days.

Our Mohammed Jamjoom, he is in Abu Dhabi with the very latest.

You know, Mohammed, it's just unbelievable when you see what is taking place in the Middle East. But the protesters there have been demanding that this emergency law, which has ruled Syria for almost, what, 50 years, be lifted. And the Syrian government says they're now willing to do that. Is that enough to satisfy the folks that are there on the ground? The protesters?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, that's a key question. And, you know, we've talked a lot about how extraordinary it is that there are demonstrators brave enough to go out into the streets day after day in several cities in Syria, in a country with a government as authoritarian, a regime as authoritarian as there is in that one, with this emergency law that's been in effect for 48 years. But, you know, it's even remarkable that the government considered lifting that law, let alone the fact that they're now saying they will. They're not saying exactly when that will happen. First they said they were studying trying to lift it. Now they're saying they're going to lift it. But it really does seem to shows a real level of concern on the part of the Syrian government. They just don't know quite how to deal with this. This has really taken them by surprise. And we just need to know -- we're going to try to see in the next few days when they plan to lift this, what other measures they may take and if they are now going to allow people to demonstrate freely.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Mohammed Jamjoom taking a look and a careful close look at what is taking place in Syria. Keeping his eye on that situation there.

Thank you, Mohammed.

And we've been getting quite a few responses on our "Talk Back" question. Is Libya a war? Well, Tony says, "I am a National Guard soldier. War must be declared by Congress. This is not a war. It is an operation." More of those responses, you're responses, up ahead.

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MALVEAUX: We've heard the words operation, action, task when it comes to Libya, but there's one word that we really have not heard, which brings us to today's "Talk Back."

Carol, what's the word? We know the word.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The word. It starts with a "w" and ends with an "r" and it has three letters. That war word. We haven't heard that all from the president. So the "Talk Back" question today, is Libya a war?

This from Nick. "To them it's a war. To us, not so much. We're used to war on a much larger scale. Our involvement is more like practice bombing runs." This from Travis. "Does America ever learn? We arm and support these rebels and then they bite the hand that fed them. This is going to turn ugly for America in the end."

This from Jamar. "No country has declared war on Libya. Congress, nor any other governing body has officially declared war with Libya. The U.N. has imposed strict rules in regards to their no-fly zone and that is all.

And this from Kathy. "I believe it has to do with your definition of war -- kind of like, I did not have sex with that woman."

Thanks for your "Talk Back" today. Continue the conversation, facebook.com/carolcnn, facebook.com/carolcnn.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sure.

MALVEAUX: Japan airport hit hard by the tsunami is now reopening. We're going to take you there.

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MALVEAUX: A sign of progress in Sendai, the town hardest hit by Japan's tsunami. The airport is now open for business. Planes are flying in humanitarian relief. Our CNN's Martin Savidge is there and filed this report.

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MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you remember some of the most amazing images that came out in the first hours after the tsunami, one of them would have to be the airport in Sendai. It was just so amazing to see this massive airport overrun with water and debris. Now we're going back to see how it looks today.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): But, first, we have to avoid Japan's ongoing nuclear disaster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Fukushima reactor, the 25 mile restricted area. This is our airplane here.

SAVIDGE: Colonel Rob Tofe (ph) was aboard the first plane to land at Sendai after the tsunami.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think anything that you see on TV, well, Hollywood with their greatest special effects can't put into perspective the amount of destruction that was down there on the airfield the day that we arrived.

SAVIDGE: Sweeping in for landing ourselves, we see none of that.

SAVIDGE (on camera): You can probably see that, for the most part, behind us it looks great. It really does. SAVIDGE (voice-over): The transition is amazing given what happened here the day of the disaster. But get away from the runway and you see the reminders, which a literal army of 240 U.S. airmen, soldiers and Marines, alongside Japanese civilians, frantically worked to clear. By just dumb luck, there were no large passenger planes here when the wave hit, but hundreds of smaller, mostly private aircraft weren't so lucky. They look as though they fell from the sky. Even ones in the hangers weren't spared.

SAVIDGE (on camera): This is the main entrance here at Sendai. It's like any normal American airport, only it's not so normal now.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Sendai's an international hub. Think Logan Airport or Dulles. Japanese officials had written the place off.

SAVIDGE (on camera): Did you think it would be able to be reopened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be honest, the answer is no.

SAVIDGE (voice-over): Bt it is open. It now serves as a center for humanitarian aid distribution. And guiding those planes for the same roofs on which so many sought shelter, now stand American Air Force air traffic controllers, who saw a tragedy and were able to help.

MASTER SGT. MICHAEL CHARVAT, U.S. AIR FORCE COMBAT CONTROLLER: You feel kind of sad. Then you know you're here for a job and hopefully you can bring some relief to the Japanese people.

SAVIDGE: Once an iconic image of a disaster, Sendai Airport has now been transformed into an early sign of hope.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Sendai, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye, in for Ali Velshi.

Hey, Randi.