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Women Workers V. Walmart; Gadhafi Stalls Rebels' Advance; War in Afghanistan; The Power of Green Power; Trump Birth Certificate Controversy

Aired March 29, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: When a group of people feel they've been wronged and they want to seek help from a court, does size matter -- the size of the group, the size of the claim, the size of the defendant? Those are the questions argued before the highest court in the land today in a case that by any standard is big.

It dates back a decade. Six women who worked for Walmart claimed they didn't get the same pay and opportunities that the men did. The issue now is whether other women employees, past and present, can join what would then become the largest class action employment suit in U.S. history.

Walmart, America's largest private employer, says, no, the classes would be too big, the plaintiffs too dissimilar, the issues too many to litigate. The plaintiffs say Walmart wants a big company exception to the civil rights laws.

Two lower courts ruled the class and the case can go forward. And that brings us to the Supreme Court where we now have three women justices, the most ever.

And we want to talk about this with CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. He joins me from now our D.C. studios.

Jeff, you told me yesterday that you didn't think Justices Ginsberg, Sotomayor and Kagan will cut the Walmart women any slack. Do you feel the same way today?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, after listening to the argument this morning, my inclination is to think that Ginsburg, Sotomayor and Kagan may well vote for the women plaintiffs in that case. But it's likely to me, it seems, that they'll be outvoted. I thought it was a very good day in court for Walmart. And I would not be at all surprised if the whole case were thrown out after listening to the justices today.

KAYE: What do you think is at stake for these women who are involved in this case? I know this is just to talk about whether or not the case can go forward as a class action suit. This isn't guilt or innocence yet, but what's at stake?

TOOBIN: Well, the issue is whether this group, which may be as many as 1.5 million women who still work or used to work at Walmart, were discriminated against. A big factor in the argument today was that it is conceded by all sides in the lawsuit that the official policy of Walmart, the written personnel policies, say there shall be no discrimination against women and diversity is an important value.

What the plaintiffs' lawyers were saying was that that policy was so vague that it gave local, individual store managers the opportunity to discriminate against women, which in fact they did. The more conservative justices on the court were saying, well, if that's the case, how can you try them all together, because each store had a different set of circumstances? How can you do a class action when the policy is a fair one, a good one, and it's only the individuals who were possibly discriminated against?

KAYE: So, if this goes forward, I mean, we're looking at tens of millions of dollars at stake here. What might this mean then for Walmart and possibly other corporations?

TOOBIN: Well, I think it's billions, not millions of dollars. When you consider that there are potentially 1.5 million plaintiffs, all of whom could be looking at thousands of dollars of recovery. Even for a company as big as Walmart, that would be a very substantial litigation risk. If this case, if the plaintiffs somehow win and get certified as a class, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Walmart settle this case, just to get that enormous risks off its books.

But after today, I think Walmart is going to be a lot less willing to settle because it looks like much or all of the case may be thrown out by what is an increasingly conservative Supreme Court.

KAYE: Let's listen to some sound. Both sides talked to reporters after the arguments ended today. So, let's hear from one of the lead plaintiffs now and also one of the Walmart executives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

BETTY DUKES, LEAD PLAINTIFF IN WALMART SUIT: I brought this case because I believe that there was a pattern of discrimination at Walmart, not just in my store. But I believe it's across the country. Since we have filed our lawsuit, since 2001, I have heard from numerous women, telling me basically the same story as mine, of disparaging treatment and lack of promotion as well and lack of pay.

GISEL RUIZ, EXEC. V.P. WALMART: What's wrong with this case is that three plaintiffs are trying to represent more than 1.5 million associates. I've had a very positive experience at Walmart, like thousands of other women, and not being able to opt-out of the case is wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

KAYE: Clearly hearing from both sides on this issue. Jeff, if the class of women employees though is certified, as they say, what does that mean?

TOOBIN: That means the case can proceed. That means that, in the next step, there would be a trial. Walmart would be tried for sex discrimination against this very large group of plaintiffs. And the plaintiffs, of course, contend that just because you're big doesn't mean you should be excused from the sex discrimination laws. Walmart contends, just because we're big doesn't mean you get to go on a fishing expedition with just a handful of plaintiffs.

You know, one of the facts that is a very important fact in favor of the plaintiffs here is that 80 percent of Walmart's hourly employees are women, only about a third of the managers are women. That's a fact that came up in oral arguments today, but it doesn't prove in and of itself that Walmart discriminates. And we'll see whether these women get their day in court. It's not looking too good at the moment.

KAYE: Yes. And apparently we won't know a ruling on this until about June or so. So, we'll watch it and we'll watch it with you. Jeffrey Toobin, thank you.

TOOBIN: OK, Randi.

KAYE: Moving to Japan now -- workers at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant are struggling to keep the reactors cool while preventing a build up radioactive water from leaking into the ocean. Japanese officials have reported plutonium in the soil near the power plant. They say it's not a dangerous level of radioactivity to humans. Workers at the plant have been working grueling schedules of three 12- hour days before getting a day off that site.

Syrians jammed downtown Damascus today, cheering for the country's president. The pro-government rally follows violent clashes between protestors and security forces in the past few days. The Syrian leader's cabinet resigned just a short time ago.

A government official says Syria's President Assad will make a very important speech tomorrow that will reassure the Syrian people. Just last hour, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemned the Syrian government's violence toward protestors.

Our sound effect is a chilling episode from the ongoing horrors in Libya. You may have seen the desperate attempt by a woman named Iman Obeidi to tell the world that she was kidnapped and raped by the forces of Moammar Gadhafi. She burst into a hotel and even battle- scarred foreign correspondents could not believe their eyes.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

KAYE: That was the result of government handlers trying to keep the woman quiet. In the process, of course, making her the face of brutalized civilians. Iman al-Obeidi was hustled away on Saturday. And though officials said Sunday she had been released, no one has seen her since.

And now, this update -- the government of Libya says the men whom the woman accused of rape have now filed charges against her for slander. We're also hearing from the Libyan opposition that one of the accused is a cousin of Moammar Gadhafi. Through it all, Iman's family waits and prays for signs that she is still alive.

Leaders are waging the battle against Gadhafi on two fronts. We get the latest from the military and diplomatic fronts, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: There is the military and diplomatic front. The fight for Libya is intensifying on both fronts right now.

On the diplomatic side, we just heard from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in London a short time ago where leaders from the U.N., NATO, E.U., Arab League and various coalition groups are talking strategy about Libya. The U.S. plans to hand control of the Libya mission to NATO tomorrow.

On the eve of that handoff, Clinton and more than 40 diplomats are formulating their next steps against Gadhafi. And here's what she said just a bit ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: We have not made any decision about arming the rebels or providing any arms transfers. So, there has not been any need to discuss that at this point. We did discuss nonlethal assistance. We discussed ways of trying to enable the Transitional National Council to meet a lot of their financial needs and how we could do that through the international community, given the challenges that sanctions pose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Now, here's the latest on the ground. There are reports the rebels' advance west has pretty much stalled. Some of the most intense fighting is taking place in western Libya as rebels advance into territory loyal to Moammar Gadhafi. Aided by coalition air strikes, anti-Gadhafi forces are now in control of Ras Lanuf and al Brega, which is a key oil town.

But they've apparently been pushed out of Bin Jawad. And rebels failed to getting control of Sirte, the city where Gadhafi was born. The tug of war for Misrata reportedly turned into a bloodbath today.

A witness telling CNN Gadhafi's forces is pushing hard to take over the city. There are reports tanks are even shelling civilians. He described the scene there as absolute and utter carnage.

So, let's go straight to Nic Robertson who joins me now from Tripoli.

Nic, let's talk about exactly what's happening there on the ground. Gadhafi forces again attacking Misrata. Also, Libyan state TV just now saying that military and civilian locations were bombed in Tripoli. Can you bring us up-to-date on the latest there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in the past couple of hours, we heard heavy bombing here, three very loud explosions coming within the space of about a minute. What's made this particular bombing different from the others, this one happened during daylight hours and about 20 minutes before we heard an aircraft fly or couple of aircraft fly overhead twice, quite slowly it seemed. And we haven't heard them quite so clearly. So, it appears bombing runs here.

Of course, the government here has said many times that there have been civilian casualties. They have so far not been able to show us any civilian casualties that they have claimed. It doesn't mean to say they're not happening. It's just that the government here is utterly, utterly unable to substantiate what it's telling its population on state television.

In Misrata, the claims by rebels that the government forces are going door to door in some cases, making people flee their homes and heavy tanks shelling, we are not able to independently confirm that. It is consistent with video that has -- that the rebels have sent out from Misrata over the past few weeks.

What we saw when we were on the outskirts of Misrata yesterday was a large presence of Gadhafi's forces, a lot of very heavy damage and clear signs that Gadhafi's army are hiding their tanks under trees to keep them out of the sight of coalition aircraft. Heavy artillery weapons, we saw there as well. So, it's very clearly a fight where Gadhafi's forces have at their disposal the heavy weapons, the damage and video of which we're seeing being inflicted upon the rebels in the center of the city -- Randi.

KAYE: And in his address last night, I want to talk about President Obama, because he said that regime change by force is a mistake, that Gadhafi won't actually be taken out by military power. How do the rebels feel about this? Because they need and want more military assistance, don't they?

ROBERTSON: They do. If they're going to sweep across the country as they've said they want to and remove Gadhafi by force, then they're going to need time, weapons, organization, training, and the support of coalition aircraft. Where they have their front line roughly right now between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad, that's sort of where the desert territory, the easy to gain territory, runs out and becomes more agricultural farmland closer to Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte where there's greater support for Gadhafi, where he's armed the civilians. The tribes there we've been told are loyal to him, and that's what rebels seem to be finding.

So, it's a long way for them to sort of push their force -- military force all the way to Tripoli. And this is what we saw driving to Misrata yesterday -- rolling countryside, heavy green fields, heavy with agriculture, heavy with farms, and a population that may well stand up against the rebels. That's not clear at this stage.

So, the rebels, if they are going to do what they want to do, are going to need a lot more help than they're getting at the moment. And that's much more of a long-term proposition. But it does seem to be emerging, and behind this military move a greater effort to put pressure on Gadhafi to leave the political playing field, not to let his country be destroyed and let others take over the leadership through negotiation -- Randi.

KAYE: And, Nic, just very quickly, I want to ask you about this woman Iman al-Obeidi, who desperately, we know, tried to tell her story to you and other journalists. She was taken away. Her family hasn't seen her since. The government there says that she's safe.

What is your take on what's happening with her?

ROBERTSON: It's very hard for us to tell. It's very hard to take what the government tells us at face value because so often it proves not to be true. They say that she was released. Her family, her mother who's just been interviewed by CNN's Reza Sayah in Tobruk, in the far east of the country, saying the last time the family spoke with her was by telephone on Sunday. And they haven't heard from her since.

They believe she is being kept under house arrest in Tripoli by the regime. She's believed to be at a sister's house, under house arrest. But it seems all her communications are cut off.

We have no idea. We can't independently go to that house. Certainly, we've heard that there are security officials outside of there who turned people away from trying to go to the house. So, really, her situation is still very, very uncertain and it's very hard to take what the government says here at face value. They just repeatedly show that their words prove to be hollow, Randi.

KAYE: Yes. It's just so disturbing and now to see that she may actually face slander charges if she is alive and well anywhere. It's just remarkable what's happening there. Nic Robertson, thank you. Appreciate that.

Meanwhile, a potential Republican presidential candidate says he would not appoint a Muslim to his cabinet or as a federal judge. Herman Cain was at a Conservative Principles Conference in Iowa last weekend when a "Think Progress" blog reporter asked if he would appoint Muslims to the cabinet or even to federal judgeships. And this is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERMAN CAIN (R), POSSIBLE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No, I will not. And here's why: there is this creeping attempt, there is this attempt, to gradually ease Sharia law and the Muslim faith into our government. It does not belong in our government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And we've just learned in the last hour that Cain is slated as a probable GOP presidential candidate who will head to New Orleans in June to speak at the 2011 Republican leadership conference.

So, we want to know what you think about this. We want to hear from you on this topic. What do you think about Herman Cain's comments? You can join the discussion by going to our blog, CNN.com/Ali, and share your thoughts. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Twenty-two minutes past the hour. Now, let's take a look at our top stories of the day.

This is the scene in London today as demonstrators show their support for the opposition forces in Libya. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with envoys from over 40 countries in London today to discuss the coalition's military action and the need for political solution in Libya.

In Libya, heavy fight between government forces and the rebels continues.

In Iraq, at least 45 people were killed when militants stormed a government building and took several people hostage. It happened in the northern city of Tikrit. Security forces battled the attackers for several hours before finally regaining control of the building. Tikrit is the hometown of Saddam Hussein and has been a hotbed of the insurgency.

In Michigan, Governor Rick Snyder has signed into law a bill cutting unemployment benefits. The measure slashes extended benefits to 20 weeks from 26 weeks. The move makes Michigan the first state in the country to reduce the number of weeks jobless workers can get state benefits.

And it's time now to check in with Chad Myers.

I see you have Japan on the map here, Chad. You must be talking about radiation.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, it always -- it depends on which way the wind blows, so to speak, which way some of this radiation dust and some of the humidity can go. What we don't want is a wind out of the northeast that blows wind, blows radiation, blows dust and all that back toward Tokyo, back toward the most populated places.

And what we've seen so far -- now, this is going to be the next 45 hours, watch that wind barb right there because there's the plant, that wind barb kind of slips around a little bit, back and forth a little bit, but mainly offshore. Light and variable winds for the rest of the week, I would say less than five miles per hour.

Now, they would like maybe a little bit higher than that to blow the radiation farther away, and not have it linger around the plant. But you get what you get and at least it isn't coming in.

The way you get a big problem for Tokyo, we're going to plant a low right there, call it a nor'easter, a lot like what we'd have running up the East Coast as a nor'easter, low pressure center. If you get winds out of the northeast from that low, that would be the worst-case scenario for the population in Tokyo. That happened for a couple of days, a week and a half ago, and the radiation spiked in the Tokyo tap water. Not to a point where they were really concerned, but that's where the spike totally came from.

KAYE: Can we talk about the Catlin Ice Base?

MYERS: Sure.

KAYE: That's where our friend Philippe Cousteau is hanging around. He actually got there. We've been sort of watching his travels and his trek. He's having delays due to weather.

What is he facing there right now? What are his conditions? I know he's so bundled up

Oh, boy.

MYERS: There, I've got one for you.

KAYE: That's not good.

MYERS: Actually, it warmed up today. It warmed up to zero. And they said they could really feel the warmth. Wow! You know, when you lower your standards to minus 30, I guess zero is OK.

KAYE: Yes, look at this.

MYERS: But they did get off the ground, the wind stopped. There was almost a ground blizzard for a while. You couldn't even see the ground -- you couldn't see where the ground started and the land began in the sky. So, it's better today. They're on their way. We'll have the story coming up in a little bit.

KAYE: Yes, we certainly are going to have that. And as you said, it's really, what, one of the coldest places I guess on Earth, on the planet?

MYERS: It's the reason they call -- this is the word, they call ice base for a reason.

KAYE: There's a reason why.

MYERS: Yes. And Santa Claus is right there.

KAYE: All right. Chad, thanks.

MYERS: All right. Sure.

KAYE: You just heard about the weather up there. Next, we're going to one of the coldest places on the planet. CNN special correspondent and environmental Philippe Cousteau, he's going to gives us an update on his journey to the Arctic.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We've been following CNN's special correspondent Philippe Cousteau for about a week now. He's finally arrived -- yes, good news -- at the Catlin Ice Base inside the Arctic Circle.

Ali Velshi may not be here right now but he is still working very hard in fact. This morning, he spoke with Cousteau about his journey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: This is truly extreme science. Philippe Cousteau and the CNN team have finally arrived at the Catlin Ice Base. That is inside the Arctic Circle.

The site is dubbed the ground zero for climate change. Scientists will deal with brutal storms, well below freezing temperatures, and isolation. And our crew is there to capture it all.

Philippe joins me now from the Catlin Ice Base. It's a CNN first. We have never broadcast from this close to the North Pole before.

Philippe, good morning to you. Tell us about the circumstances under which you are there and what it's like this morning.

PHILIPPE COUSTEAU, CORRESPONDENT SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT & ENVIRONMENTALIST: Well, good morning, Ali. We're delighted to join you.

It's, to say the least, very cold outdoors. We arrived yesterday here on the Catlin Ice Base, and, you know, the conditions are pretty clear, but we're surrounded by an arctic desert and actually standing on an ocean essentially with about five feet of ice beneath us.

VELSHI: Philippe, what are you doing there? What are you looking for? And what are you going to do to find out what you're out there to find?

COUSTEAU: Well, we're here for a week, Ali, with the Catlin Arctic Survey which is a group of scientists that are looking at various different issues to understand how the arctic system works, how the ecosystem and the environment works here, what's happening with the trend of getting icecaps, with the uptake of carbon in the environment with ocean identification, with when to change it (ph), really to try and get a bigger picture and a more complete picture of what's happening with respect to the health of this environment that is so important to everybody on the entire planet.

I think a lot of people forget that the Arctic really, in a sense, is the air-conditioning unit of the planet and it matters to every single one of us. So understanding what is happening here and in science of what is happening here is very critical.

VELSHI: Philippe, I spoke to you before you left. We were together in Austin. It was a lot warmer. We will see on CNN the fruits of you and the scientists' labor out there because it's a special on CNN. Who are you with and how did you prepare for this?

COUSTEAU: Well, we are with a whole team of scientists up here that have been here certainly a lot longer than we have and will continue on for several weeks after we leave, so they are really the heroes in this situation. They are the ones braving the subzero temperatures. Temperatures get down to about minus 40 degrees Celsius, mine 40 degrees Fahrenheit where Celsius and Fahrenheit intersect.

Last night, it was in the minus 30s. There's no heat in the tents. We are sleeping on the ice itself. A few heated communications in mass tents but other than that, tents are not heated and it's on the edge of science and exploration here. These scientists are the ones at the forefront of understanding these complex systems of how the arctic works.

VELSHI: Philippe, for you to say you're on the edge of exploration means it really must be something because you've taken a lot of risks and you've done a lot of things. I know you went through some pretty good training for this, even training to keep those polar bears off. You stay safe. Glad to hear from you. You said you'd call us when you got there. Stay safe and we will stay in touch with you. Philippe Cousteau at the Catland ice base inside the Arctic Circle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: To read Cousteau's daily expedition blogs and see videos, including a really cool one about how to survive an encounter with a polar bear, in case you ever come across a polar bear, well, you can head to our blog at CNN.com/ali.

American-Muslims were again on the agenda for Congress today. A Senate Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing to consider measures to protest the rights of American Muslims. Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat it from Illinois, says the hearing was held to focus on anti- Muslim bigotry in this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: Terrorism is not the subject of today's hearing. We should all agree that it's wrong to blame an entire community for the wrongdoing of a few. Guilt by association is not the American way. And American-Muslims are entitled to the same constitutional protections as every other American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: An unrelated hearing was held earlier this month on American Muslims by the House Homeland Security Committee. The focus of that hearing was the radicalization of Muslim-Americans. The chairman of the committee, Republican representative Peter King, defended the hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: Let me make it clear today that I remain convinced that these hearings must go forward and they will. To back down would be a craven surrender to political correctnesses and an abdication of what I believe to be the main responsibility of this committee, to protect America from a terrorist attack.

Despite what passes for conventional wisdom in certain circles, there is nothing radical or un-American in holding these hearings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The first American-Muslim elected to Congress, Democrat Keith Ellison, spoke against the hearings saying it was misguided. He broke down as he told the story of a Muslim-American who tried to save lives during the September 11 tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: He bravely sacrificed his life to try to help others on 9/11. After the tragedy, some people tried to smear his character, solely because of his Islamic faith. Some people spread false rumors and speculated that he was in league with the attackers because he was a Muslim. But it was only when his remains were identified that these lies were exposed.

He was a fellow American who gave his life for other Americans. His life should not be identified as just a member of an ethnic group or just a member of a religion, but as an American who gave everything for his fellow Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Moving moment there for Congressman Keith Ellison.

Also earlier in the show, we told you about potential presidential candidate and Republican Herman Cain. He made remarks to a conservative blogger about choosing not appointing Muslims to his cabinet or as a federal judge if he is elected president. We also asked for your comments on our blog and we got many of them we'd like to share.

Carolyn says, "I thought discrimination based on religion was illegal."

And Jerry weighs in saying, "Herman Cain is right on target. Muslims are guided by the Sharia law, so if a Muslim were to gain a position, he must support the Sharia law and not the constitutional of the United States."

Another post on our blog says, "Potential Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is just another Republican who does not respect the law or the Constitution. On another note, why a black man who comes out of a history of discrimination would openly and ignorantly endorse the practice of discrimination is beyond shameful. Martin Luther King must surely be turning over in his grave."

And Rich also wrote us. He says, "Muslims do not belong in our government nor do they belong in our judicial system. We do not want their decisions to be influenced by their goals or religious beliefs."

To join the discussion, you can go to our blog, CNN.com/ali, and share your thoughts. We'd like to read them.

Our Soledad O'Brien reports on what happened when they decided to build a Muslim mosque in the Bible Belt. "UNWELCOME: THE MUSLIMS NEXT DOOR" airs Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

What one pilot found on the outside of his plane. This one's got the FBI involved. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. We have some breaking news for you.

To talk about new concussion protocols, they've just been established by the Major League Baseball and Major League Baseball Players Association. We want to tell you what they are. They are, the key components of the policy would include a mandatory baseline neuropsychological testing requirement. That's the first one. That would be for players and umpires during spring training or whenever a player joins a club during the season.

There's also protocols now for evaluating players and umpires for a possible concussion as well as the establishment of a seven-day disabled list now for concussions. That would aim to allow concussions to clear, prevent players from coming back to the field too quickly.

And one more protocol for clearing a player or an umpire with a concussion to return to activity. They'd actually have to submit a form and make sure that they are cleared from the disabled list. So, some new protocols related to concussions for Major League Baseball, announced by the league as well as the players association just a short time ago.

In other news you might have missed, in Libya, government tanks and artillery today pounded Misrata in a bid to regain control. Witnesses says Moammar Gadhafi's forces are killing civilians and terrorizing the city. CNN is unable to confirm the report, but a CNN crew was in Misrata yesterday and says rebel forces are retreating from the city.

Radiation levels outside Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant are down today, but there's a new problem. Where to store that contaminated water. Workers have been pumping water into the damaged reactors to keep them from overheating. Now, all the storage units apparently are filling up. Sandbags and concrete panels are now being used to prevent water from leaking into the ocean.

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in a major sex discrimination case against Wal-Mart. The court will decide whether the case can go forward as a class action lawsuit potentially involving 1.5 million female workers. If so, Wal-Mart could be liable for billions in damages and backpay.

FBI investigators are working to discover the cause of a small hole found in the body of a US Airways jet. Airport officials think it could have come from a bullet. A pilot discovered the hole on the plane's left side before scheduled takeoff. It had recently arrived from Philadelphia without incident. The plane was immediately taken out of service.

Tens of thousands protest in Syria's capital as the entire cabinet there resigns. What does it mean for Syria? Should the Obama administration be worried? Some answers right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Michael Holmes is here to talk about all kinds of things, as you take us "Globe Trekking."

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's so much going on.

KAYE: So much going on around the world. It really is hard to keep up with it. So, we're glad you're here.

Let's start with Syria. Damascus, we just saw that huge pro- government rally there, the cabinet is resigning. What does all of this mean?

HOLMES: Couple of things. The rally for start, tens of thousands of people turned out, some say couple hundred thousand. Now, there is support for Assad, for president Assad in Syria. That's not a surprising thing.

It's also worth remembering this was a government-organized protest. People were given days off to go there for it as well. With the cabinet resigning, don't read too much into that. Like a lot of countries in the region, the cabinet doesn't run the country. The country is run by the regime, that is president Bashar al Assad and the regime.

It's not a one-man show there. That's important to remember. He's been seen as a bit of reformer in many ways, not getting a lot the reforms done in the past. Why? Because there's hard-liners in the regime who don't want anything to change.

KAYE: Does he have any options at this point? He's already said he would go.

HOLMES: Bashar al Assad, he's offering more concessions. He's not going anywhere at the moment. He's offering more concessions. There's talk he may in his speech in the next 24 hours actually announce the removal of the emergency laws that have been in place since 1963. That would be significant were that to happen.

But in terms of where it goes from here, very difficult to tell. There's a lot of regional implications.

KAYE: That's what I was going to say, because Syria is aligned with, what, Lebanon, Iran, a close ally.

HOLMES: And important to remember that Hezbollah, its patron is Syria, Hezbollah is enormously powerful in Lebanon. There's rumbling from the Sunni side of things in Lebanon. Nobody wants it to bleed over into a country that's already wracked by civil war in the past.

Iran? Yes, best friends there, too --