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Possible Emergency at International Space Station; Budget Battle Continues on Capitol Hill; Three More Bodies Found Outside NYC; Libyan Defector is Rewarded; Alleged Rape Victim Out of Jail; Towns Reject TEPCO Money; Deadly Weather in South
Aired April 05, 2011 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Folks, there is an urgent situation happening right now in outer space, NASA right now monitoring a piece of space junk, a piece of space junk here that could collide with the International Space Station.
Now, there are three crew members on board. There are plans to get them to safety inside the Soyuz if that needs to happens. We are told the debris is all part of a Chinese satellite that was destroyed back in 2007, so NASA is expecting this junk to close to the station sometime within the next two hours. So we are monitoring this situation. We will take you live to Florida. I will also be speaking with an astronaut.
I was looking around for this just to give you some example. This is about six inches by six inches. This is the size of that debris that is hurtling through space. More on that in a moment.
But first I want to get you to the developing story off of Capitol Hill and that is the fact that we are getting closer and closer to a government shutdown.
Let's let everyone get the picture here. Huge meeting today at the White House, closed-door, last-minute talks involving the president and leaders of Congress.
Now, just a short time ago the president came out surprise appearance at that White House briefing, and the message was clear from Mr. Obama, no deal, at least not yet. Here he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That myself, Joe Biden, my team, we are prepared to meet for as long as possible to get this resolved. My understanding is that there is going to be a meeting between Speaker Boehner and Harry Reid this afternoon at 4:00. The speaker apparently didn't want our team involved in that discussion.
That is fine. If they can sort it out, then we have got more than enough to do. If they can't sort it out, then I want them back here tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Well, minutes later after we saw the president, we then saw House Speaker John Boehner. He came out on Capitol Hill. He confirmed no agreement, no deal. We will play you some of that sound in just a moment here.
But I want to let you know we have two of our folks. We have Brianna Keilar. She's there up on Capitol Hill.
But I want to begin with you, Dan Lothian, at the White House.
And, Dan, given the fact that deadline is Friday, sort of unofficial deadline tonight, is the White House taking the necessary steps in the case they need to manage a federal government shutdown?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, they really are.
The Office of Management and Budget sent out a memo this morning telling the senior leadership throughout all the different agencies to prepare for a shutdown. Of course, the message was hopeful that a deal could be reached, but nonetheless, that all of the steps should be taken, that they should check through what those steps are so that in case a shutdown does happen, then they can immediately activate them.
There is a process that is in place, officials here at the White House not spelling out exactly what the details are, who will be some of those essential workers who may not be able to come into work, but nonetheless, that plan is in place and all of the senior leadership across the agencies of this administration are being told that they should prepare in case there is a shutdown.
I should point out one other thing just in reaction to what -- that piece of sound that you just played from the president, where the president talked about how these meetings, what took place in the meetings today, that there was no deal, and that there are these secondary meetings taking place this afternoon between Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Harry Reid, where the president said that Speaker Boehner didn't want the White House team to be part of that.
I reached out to Speaker Boehner's office. And I was told that at no time did they say that the White House was not allowed to be in that meeting, that in fact it was just a request to have a meeting, a one-on-one meeting between the speaker and the majority leader.
BALDWIN: I see. OK. And I know the president was also asked about the stopgap measure and he said -- I took notes -- the issue of a short-term extension, he said this is not a way to run the government. I don't know if that was a definitive yes or no to that, but, Dan Lothian, quick yes or no, what was your takeaway?
LOTHIAN: Well, clearly the president doesn't have an appetite for another short-term continuing resolution, saying that they have done this before. He wants a long-term deal, although he did leave open that if they do reach some kind of agreement and they need to kind of finalize some of the details -- BALDWIN: Couple of days.
LOTHIAN: Exactly. He would support something just to keep the government flowing until they could sign that deal.
BALDWIN: Yes, I heard that as well. Dan Lothian, my thanks to you.
Let's head to Capitol Hill to my colleague Brianna Keilar.
And, Brianna, let's listen to Speaker Boehner. He spoke just about a half-hour ago. And he said it as well explicitly, no deal yet to prevent a government shutdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We have made clear that we are fighting for the largest spending cuts possible and we are talking about real spending cuts here, no smoke and mirrors. We have also made clear that there was never an agreement of $33 billion, that we are continuing to fight for, again, the largest cuts possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, Brianna, do me a favor and just translate for us, if you will. There was never any deal at that $33 billion mark, so what is Speaker Boehner talking about there?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: OK. So let's talk about the two numbers that are in discussion here. House Republicans want $61 billion in spending cuts, Brooke. That is off what currently spending levels are for this budget year.
That $33 billion, what he is saying is there was never a deal and why President Obama is saying, but, hey, House Republicans said $33 billion was fine. House Republicans initially came out and made a proposal to cut about $32 billion in spending. But then they got a ton of pushback from the right side of their conference, particularly Tea Party, Tea Party-backed freshmen, who said, no, we campaigned on spending cuts. This is not enough. We need more.
And then House Republicans came up with their formal proposal, $61 billion in cuts. That's what they put on the House floor. That is what they voted on. And that is what Senate Democrats say, oh, no, we don't, we are not going to sign onto that.
BALDWIN: OK. So, now that that is established, help me understand. The president made news saying Reid and Boehner will be meeting next hour somewhere in Washington to hammer out more on these budget discussions. Do we know anything more about the meeting? Do we know where it will happen?
KEILAR: We know according to a senior GOP aide that this will take place in Speaker Boehner's office. One of the things that was also interesting and we heard in the sound from President Obama, he said it appeared the speaker didn't want the White House to be a part of those discussions.
We checked in with the speaker's office and they insist that they were not trying to shut the White House out of that. So we are still trying to figure out exactly -- really get to the bottom of that, Brooke.
BALDWIN: Yes, because it was the president saying Boehner doesn't want the Obama team involved in that discussion.
Let us know what you find there.
We also read today that the House GOP has circulated this pamphlet to members on the logistics if need be of some sort of government shutdown. What is sense up there? What's the feel along the hallways there on Capitol Hill, Brianna? Are we headed for a shutdown?
KEILAR: So, if you listen today to Democratic and Republican leaders -- and we have being up and down, back and forth with this over the last few weeks, right, just for weeks now. Both of them today saying it appears increasingly likely that there is going to be a shutdown.
They are not saying there definitely is. They are both saying they don't want for there to be a shutdown, of course, but you listen to them and they are trying to cast blame on the other side, that if there is going to be a shutdown, well, it is their fault, well, it's their fault, and that is really the battle of the message that we are witnessing today.
BALDWIN: Well, we will look to you to see if news is made in that meeting next hour in Speaker Boehner's office.
Brianna Keilar, my thanks to you. We will see you next hour.
Also, we are watching a potentially frightening situation in space right now. We have also just gotten a breaking update from NASA. Don't miss that. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: So a small piece of space -- they call it junk -- had been causing a big headache for NASA scientists. We have been talking about this six-inch square piece of this old Chinese satellite not too far from the International Space Station.
So here is the update, breaking news from NASA. NASA has determined it is not serious enough in terms of a threat to force those three station crew members to seek shelter in that Soyuz. They are watching it still very, very closely.
We have John Zarrella joining me live from Miami. And in just a couple of moments here, we will also speak to a former astronaut, Norm Thagard.
But, John, I just first want to go to you. And I know we got the e-mail from Kim Segal, monitoring NASA, essentially saying the crew gets the all-clear, so sigh of relief for the crew of three.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, no question about it.
Now, they are used to this. They have gone through these, you know, fire drills, I guess you could call it, many times before. But the bottom line is that this little piece of debris is not getting close enough to the space station where they would have to put them in the Soyuz, which as you know, Brooke, is permanently docked to the space station for this very reason, just in case there is an emergency, the crew has to get inside and leave and abandon the space station.
But they don't have to do this at this point for this piece of debris. I found it interesting. We were looking at some statistics.
BALDWIN: Yes.
ZARRELLA: You know that there are half a million, half a million pieces of space debris larger than the size of a marble that are being tracked and there are millions of pieces smaller than that. But even these small pieces traveling at 17,500 miles an hour, if one of them were to hit the space station could really cause a bad day.
BALDWIN: Could do a little damage.
ZARRELLA: Oh, absolutely.
BALDWIN: Do a little damage. Do we know the last time something like this happened where a crew was potentially on standby to hop in the lifeboats, hop in the Soyuz?
ZARRELLA: There have been several times that I recall within this past year alone where I have been on the air on shows talking about, hey, we're waiting for NASA to figure out what they have to do.
And what happened is, usually, what they can do is, they can maneuver the space station away from the debris, but in this case, they didn't have time to do it. They didn't that piece of debris until it was too late to give the commands. They needed more time to maneuver the station than they would have had, but fortunately in this case, this piece of debris is not going to get close where they have to enough -- Brooke.
BALDWIN: OK, John Zarrella, thank you.
And we will take a quick break. Right after that, I will actually speak with an astronaut who has been through something like this, had to hop in the Soyuz once before. Dr. Norm Thagard will join me next.
Also, more trouble for Southwest Airlines today. We have new details on the emergency landing that happened just a short time ago. Be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: I want to take you back now to the now no longer frightening situation, thank goodness, that NASA had been monitoring for the past I think nine or so hours. NASA scientists have been watching this six-inch piece of space debris or space junk as they call it that had been hurtling in around the International Space Station approaching its closest distance to it within the next hour.
Joining me now with a little perspective as to what is going on and what will not happen now, former NASA astronaut Norm Thagard.
And, Dr. Thagard, I know you were the first American ever to ride in the Soyuz, which maybe came in handy the time you had to hop in the Soyuz when there was some sort of potential emergency back then. Walk me through what these three crew members might have been thinking when they got this red alert from NASA thinking this space junk might have hit the ISS?
NORM THAGARD, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: Brooke, probably the first thing they were thinking is there is not going to be anything to worry about, because you do get these calls from time to time any time the estimation is it will pass within a certain distance.
Only once on my almost four-month flight did we actually have to get in the capsule. And in the case of the Mir space station, it had no capability to change its orbit, unlike apparently we just heard the International Space Station can do, so if it is coming close enough, you have no choice but to use the Soyuz, because ultimately it is your lifeboat.
BALDWIN: And help me understand. I guess I'm just -- I'm really impressed with how NASA -- and I don't know if it will be out of Moscow or Houston -- how they somehow I guess managed the trajectory of this piece of debris, this teeny-tiny piece of debris. How do they do that? They just do that from the ground with satellites?
THAGARD: They do it from the ground. And it is the Air Force I believe that does the actual tracking.
BALDWIN: Ah.
THAGARD: And it also tells you that because there is some atmosphere even up at those altitudes, that is the reason they can't tell you precisely where the thing is going to go.
As it gets closer to the rendezvous time, then their estimation gets better, but since there is a little atmosphere and since this thing could be tumbling and have different drag, it makes it a little hard to predict with greater accuracy.
BALDWIN: So bring me back just since we have for -- brought you in this afternoon. Just explain to me what that was like when there could have been an emergency you were up in space on your mission for a couple of months and you did have to get into the Soyuz. What was that like?
THAGARD: I think we still thought nothing was going to happen.
(CROSSTALK)
BALDWIN: Cool as a cucumber, you astronauts.
(LAUGHTER)
THAGARD: Well, you are going to ride a rocket, which is a pretty dangerous thing, to get up there, so you sort of take these things in stride.
But your last call-in was correct, in that it doesn't take much to cause a lot of damage. On my first flight in 1983, we had actually a ding in one of our windows of the pilot's side of the shuttle. And when we got back, it was determined that that was caused by a paint fragment from an old satellite. So, that should give you an idea.
BALDWIN: What? Goodness. So, I guess you were the -- it's amazing. It is just a different perspective that you have from the rest of us who stay here down on Earth.
But, Dr. Norm Thagard, I appreciate you coming in. And I guess the coast is clear. Everyone is OK up in space. Dr. Thagard, thank you.
And to another situation though a little closer to home that was most indeed frightening. A Southwest plane was forced to make an emergency landing. We will tell you why this happened. That's coming up.
Plus, Congressman Paul Ryan and Republicans making a big move. And they are going where many politicians won't dare to go. Jessica Yellin is standing by. She is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Quick reminder. We are watching the story unfolding on Capitol Hill today. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, they are supposed to be meeting at the top of the hour. More emergency talks to prevent the government shutdown that is looming come this Saturday.
No deal was reached in that high-level meeting that happened this morning at the White House. And as I said, we are watching that meeting. But if you did not know the name before today, chances are you do now. Who am I talking about? Republican Paul Ryan. He is the guy also today in Washington in the spotlight.
Today, he unveiled his deficit-slashing deficit proposal. And look at this picture. Look at the media presence in that room. Here he was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: For starters, we propose to cut $6.2 trillion in spending over the next 10 years from the president's budget. We will reduce the debt as a percent of the economy. We put the nation on the path to actually pay off our national debt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: So, by Ryan's accounting, he would cut $6 trillion, trillion with a T., in federal spending, 10 years, $6 trillion.
But here is what is different. Take a look at this pie chart with me that we have created. So you see the red part there on the right? You see the word entitlements? Those are the entitlement programs, things like mandated government spending. You have Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid.
So Ryan is saying he's taking the lead, saying, folks, we have got to start cutting from the red slice there, because even if the cuts are painful, that is where we are running up the debt.
Jessica Yellin, in Washington, that idea with the entitlements, is this an act of political courage here?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is definitely bold. Any time you talk about changing benefits, even for future retirees, a politician is playing with fire.
And you could see next election Democrats try to say that Republicans attempted to slash benefits. Even today, Representative Ryan himself said this is a cause, not a budget. But whether you think that the budget itself is courageous or not, that is really in the eye of the beholder; it is very controversial.
BALDWIN: What about Medicare savings? That has been quite the headline. Would Ryan's plan abolish Medicare altogether, Jess?
YELLIN: Well, that -- no, that is what the Democrats or some of the fiercest critics are saying.
But, look, this is what it does. It revamps the way Medicare would be paid for and the way users pick their insurance. Instead of paying doctors directly, Medicare would give block grants to the states and they would pay the insurance providers and then seniors would have a list of insurance providers to choose from.
Now, Republicans are arguing, all of this will rein in costs, but critics, they are very upset. They say this plan will slash benefits, especially to the lowest income. They say states will be left with a set amount of money for a growing number of beneficiaries.
And critics see this as the first step in gutting the program. So there is a fight ahead.
BALDWIN: You go to the hospital, anyone knows, when you need medical, it care is not cheap. The cost is rising, perhaps one of the issues driving the deficit here. Is there anything in this Ryan plan to contain medical costs? And if not, who pays the difference? Is it the government or is it seniors?
YELLIN: Not -- so you asked if there is anything to contain health care costs. Not directly. The plan assumes that when the states -- they say the states manage their Medicare better, more efficiently than the federal government does. And so by giving states control, that in itself will contain costs.
They also believe that insurance providers will compete for the fewer Medicare dollars that are out there. But fundamentally, if there is less money, if there is less Medicare money available, states right now don't have the funds to make up that difference. States are going broke, so it is will be up to the individual.
And just keep in mind one last thing, Brooke. This is the first play in a negotiation. It's not an end point. It's a starting point. So next turn goes to the Democrats.
BALDWIN: OK. Starting point, it is a good point to make. Jessica Yellin, my thanks to you.
And two stories now. A couple of stories we are watching for you. A man lost his son in the 9/11 terror attacks, says it is about time to see some justice get served. David Beamer talked about it on Capitol Hill today. His son, Todd Beamer, he was one of those passengers who tried to take control of hijacked Flight 93. He's the one who uttered the words "Let's roll."
Well, that plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. David Beamer says victims' families have been waiting way too long for action, so he is glad the attorney general has now said that the suspects will be tried by a military commission down at Guantanamo. Beamer says, with the 10th anniversary of the attacks coming up, this time for action is now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BEAMER, FATHER OF 9/11 VICTIM: The eyes of the world will once again be focused on Ground Zero. What is the world going to say? What will the world think, where America has not demonstrated the political will or the moral courage to have already brought confessed perpetrators of this act to justice? It's shameful. It is disappointing. It hurts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: A national memorial honoring the Flight 93 victims is set to be dedicated this September 11.
Two Americans gunned down execution-style at the border crossing at California, and it happened as the men were sitting in their trucks just yesterday waiting to enter the United States. The American citizens worked at a beverage company in San Diego, but lived in Mexico because it's cheaper. Police say someone walked up, shot the guys in the head, chest and arms. Detectives are investigating any possible link to drug cartels.
And another scare in the skies today, after a Southwest Airlines plane made an emergency landing at Oakland International Airport. An official tells CNN this happened this morning after the pilot detected a problem with the plane's wing flap indicator just after takeoff. The plane turned around. It did land safely, but keep in mind this story today comes on the heels of this incident, this scare, from Friday when a hole opened up on a Southwest Boeing 737.
Since then, Southwest has discovered new cracks in four other jets. Today, the FAA is demanding closer inspections of older 737s in this emergency directive, saying routine inspections alone are no longer adequate.
Now this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a tough area. It's very easy to miss something, but that is why we are doing it again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: That is the Suffolk County police commissioner. He is talking about scouring this beach in Long Island for more bodies or possibly clues. Three more bodies have been found, which brings it the total of eight now having been recovered along the same stretch of desolate roadway. Police say they are still looking for a possible serial killer, could be killers.
Also, she was whisked away right after she burst into that Libyan hotel claiming Gadhafi forces had raped her. Well, now for the very first time since then, she is talking about what happened to her and why she now fears for her life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Who would have thought that after December's grisly discovery of the remains of four women who were later identified as prostitutes, who would have thought that three months later police on Long Island would find four more sets of remains in just about the same place, right along the roadway there around Gilgo Beach, New York.
Four sets of remains in December, now four more, what is going on there? Joining me live from NYPD, Detective Gil Alba. Gil, OK, we are now up to eight sets of remains now. I'm going to ask a question I've asked you before now we have additional bodies. Do you think this one person or possibly two people?
GIL ALBA, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: Well, that is why the police are not making a statement. You know, it could be one person that's doing this. Because it's really not that hard to take somebody and throw them off of the side of the road.
And, you know, that is a common practice for somebody to do something like that especially randomly. So it could be one person at this time, but police aren't sure so that's why they're not really saying.
BALDWIN: I was hearing one time from a police officer earlier saying, you know, it's possible since some of these women were, you know, former prostitutes, one person could be interested in the sex, having sex with them, and the other one doing the killing that is possible.
ALBA: Yes. You know, that is a possibility, and if you have two people involved then, you know, it's sometimes easier to do make an arrest or to get information. So, hopefully that is a possibility, but I mean, that's really not that easy to do.
BALDWIN: What about this name, does the name Joseph Brewer mean anything to you?
ALBA: No, now, what is that, Joseph Brewer?
BALDWIN: Joseph Brewer is apparently this guy who might have been with one of the young women who her body was found, Shannon Gilbert and apparently some of these local reports are indicating that police are back on his property today searching, searching for what I don't know. What do you think that they might be looking for?
ALBA: Yes, now, this Brewer case, you know, with Shannon Gilbert, you see, he was the one that called her and he was with her. One of the persons last person with her.
Definitely I think that they gave him a lie detector test or polygraph test, but anyway, obviously he's one of the last persons and they should definitely search.
Ground search everything around him and not get off of him until they are 100 percent satisfied that he had nothing to do with it. That is the direction of the police.
BALDWIN: What are they looking for?
ALBA: Well, any -- and he is the last one to see her, so any kind of DNA or anything unusual with him, and where was he, and the cell phone and where was he those weekends. You know, obviously, these last three or four were on either a Saturday or Sunday or a holiday, Memorial Day.
So, you know, what was he doing those days? Where was he, and search around where he lives including his garage, his basement, and any grounds and even get permission from him to dig it up.
BALDWIN: So, one body found last week, and then three found just yesterday, and what does that tell you about this killer involved? Would this individual, I mean, pretty brazen, in the fact that he keeps back, a, he or she, and we don't know, and b, knows the area.
ALBA: Yes, you know what is -- yes, he definitely know the area, and what is brazen about that is when Shannon Gilbert went missing that was on May 1st, a month later he abducted somebody else, and they were found right then.
And the month after that, in 2010, you know, they were found after that, and right after Shannon Gilbert and she was calling up, you know, asking for help and everything else. So it would bring attention to that, but he didn't care at this point so he is definitely brazen.
BALDWIN: Definitely brazen indeed. Now, he has eight bodies, eight sets of remains found right along Gilgo Beach. Gil Alba, love having you on and explaining here what could be the latest and we'll continue to follow this. We'll bring you back, Gil. Thank you as always.
ALBA: OK, thanks a lot for having me.
BALDWIN: And now I want to go to Libya and to the woman who says that Moammar Gadhafi's men raped her, tortured her, she is now speaking out. And she's speaking out to CNN. Coming up, find out why she now fears for her life?
Plus will Gadhafi hand over power to his son, Saif? The rebels are now responding to that possibility. We're live in Libya, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: He was one of Moammar Gadhafi's closest confidants, his foreign minister, his intelligence chief, but today he is in London. The highest level Libyan official to quit the government and to defect, but there is more today.
The U.S. government has now decided to drop financial sanctions against this man, and he is Moussa Koussa, and unfreezing his assets.
I want to go to senior international correspondent Nic Robertson there for me in Tripoli. Nic, what are you leading into the developments here about Moussa Koussa, the foreign minister? Is this a carrot and stick situation?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think this is very much a carrot and stick, Brooke. I mean, you have a situation where the first thing the British foreign minister said when Moussa Koussa showed up in London was that the government there wouldn't give him any kind of amnesty.
And a lot of people here I told to said one of the government officials would want to turn themselves in if they would hear and they wouldn't get any amnesty. Moussa Koussa, of course, has got a lot of skeletons in his closet, the head of security so by unfreezing his assets here, it now sends another message.
That is, if you are a senior official, and you are on an assets frozen list or wanted list of any kind, and here we are talking about some of the Gadhafi sons themselves who have had all of their assets frozen in the United States, billions of dollars in total.
If you want to get your assets back then you might want to defect because it might work for you. So I think very much this is a carrot approach, of course, we don't know where the stick is yet.
BALDWIN: So that could though work effectively maybe for some other sons as a way to lure them out, but what does Moussa Koussa defection and reward, what might mean to other officials, other members of the Gadhafi government?
ROBERTSON: There have to be others who are looking at him. He is a long-time stalwart of the regime, a close ally of Gadhafi, and they have to be look at him and thinking, OK, should we make this same calculation.
Of course, the Libyans here have been, you know, the regime have been saying, well, he left because of ill health. But there will be other people, deputies under him, other senior people in other departments who will perhaps think that the time is right to cash in whatever they can.
Whatever information they have got to give away on the government, whatever can buy them some freedom, some immunity ultimately against prosecution, and can take care of them into their retirement, if you will.
That this is maybe the time to go so it does seem with a stalemate on the battlefield with these offers of negotiations, which are going nowhere at the moment, incentives to regime figureheads and leaders, department chiefs, et cetera to quit and leave Gadhafi.
That's perhaps the best way to international community can bring down this regime, because there is nothing else, and no other options on the table at the moment, Brooke.
BALDWIN: But what if Gadhafi remain, and what I mean by that, there is word today out of the Libyan government that maybe they are proposing Saif Gadhafi who I know you've interviewed.
Saif Gadhifi taking over, I know you're not in Benghazi and can't speak specifically to how rebels might feel. But, you know, in terms of our reporting, in terms of other, you know, government officials, how's that proposal going over?
ROBERTSON: Well, there are some people here who look at people like Saif Gadhafi and say, you know, he was in government or he was sort of in a leadership position, a political position and then when it was too tiresome too many people go in his way, he just kind of punk up and left it all behind him and then came back when his father sorted things out for him.
They say that is not professional. He's not the kind of politician. He's not the kind of strong leader you want running this country. People look at this country and say, tribal country, you need a strong leader like Moammar Gadhafi to keep the tribes together, stop them from fighting between each other for their vested interest.
And they look and say Gadhafi, and they don't think he is strong enough. One things I've learned here is that Moammar Gadhafi needs to be able to sell his son, Saif Gadhafi or whoever takes over from it to the tribes.
The tribes that support the father, Moammar Gadhafi right now, not necessarily will they support the son and he can't pass it off to the son unless he gets them board. So that's an important consideration. So you have regime loyalists who don't necessarily support the son.
You've got tribes who don't necessarily support the son, but clearly the father wants to keep it a family affair. Keep the country run by this sort of what many people see as sort of a mafia type cartel sucking up the oil money and getting the best deal for themselves, Brooke.
BALDWIN: I see, so not only that they need to sell it to some of the rebels, but they need to sell it to the tribe as well. Nic Robertson, thank you so much as always.
Staying in Libya here, we want to give you an update now on the woman who claimed she was beaten and raped by Moammar Gadhafi's troops. She's Eman Al-Obeidy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
She says she is no longer in jail. She though also says she's not allowed to leave her house, not allowed to see her family, and last night, she spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper by phone from Tripoli.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: You knew you were taking a great risk, why important was it so important for you to go into the hotel to try to talk to reporters?
EMAN AL-OBEIDY (through translation) (via telephone): After all I went through, there is nothing else that constitutes a danger to my life. Our life was destroyed and our dignity tarnished. Our humanity has been taken from us. There is nothing else that has not been taken from us.
BALDWIN: Eman Al-Obeidy was dragged from that Tripoli hotel last month while begging the international journalists who were sitting right around to hear her story. She claims she was taken from a checkpoint, held for two days, and repeatedly raped.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Coming up, as fears grow over radiation in Japan, the company that owns the troubled nuclear plant is offering to pay people who had to leave their homes. But wait until you hear what one town says, thanks, but no thanks.
Plus, a big celebrity takes a big time dive on live television in the fall. Well, some people just kind of can't stop watching it. That is next in trending.
But first, here is free money advice from the CNN money help desk.
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, CNN MONEY AND AUTHOR, "GENERATION DEBT": It is time now for the Help Desk where we get answers to you financial questions. And joining me this hour is Donna Rosato, senior editor at "Money" magazine and John Ulzheimer, president of Consumer Education at smartcredit.com.
Let's get into it, guys. Jill in Massachusetts asked, I have about $10,000 in savings and I'd like to start investing. Is now a good time to put my money in stocks? Donna, what do you think?
DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR EDITOR, MONEY: Well, of course, it is never wise to time the stock market even the best money managers can't do that. We've seen that the low -- want to buy at the low and sell at the high.
But we saw in March of 2009, a real bottoming in the market and we've been in a bull market since then. Will it continue, we don't know. The real question that this woman should ask is what is the time frame and what do you need the money for?
If you have a short term say five or less, better not - better off not investing in the stock market, keep it liquid. If you have a longer time frame, 5, 10 years or longer, say you're saving for a retirement or home, then by all means, you know, develop a diversified portfolio and put it in the market, and then you will see it pay off.
ULRICH: Right and hopefully in a tax-friendly type of account, too. That is good advice, Donna.
Next up, we have Basimah in Wisconsin asked, I have a home loan that is 12.44 percent interest and I want to know how I can lower it. Now the loan company told me they do not lower interest rates. John, what to do because that is really high?
JOHN ULZHEIMER, PRESIDENT, CONSUMER EDUCATION, SMARTCREDIT.COM: Well, 12 percent on a credit card is really good, but 12 percent on a mortgage is brutal. Look, you don't get 12 percent on a mortgage unless you have really bad credit.
So step one, she's got to improve her credit because without great credit scores, it doesn't matter, anything else doesn't matter. But in today's environment where more people are upside down and mortgages in anywhere else. There are some programs I can help her.
The HARP Program under the President Obama's making home affordable is actually a program designed for people with high LTB loans, which means they owe either as much or you know, a little bit more than the home is worth.
Be aware these have credit downsides so if you're able to refinance naturally by going to another lenders and putting 20 percent down and refinancing that is the best way to do it, but you have to have good credit.
ULRICH: That's right. Thanks, John and Donna. Do you have a question that you want answers, send us an e-mail anytime at the CNN Help Desk at cnn.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: The company that owns the Fukushima Daiichi plant in Japan calls it a payment for their troubles, but the people they are giving this money to are none too pleased about that. Why?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN (voice-over): Well, here's the deal, TEPCO decided to give the money to the towns where residents had to evacuate because of all those radiation fears. It sounds like a decent gesture.
But one town says if you breakdown the payment, it comes to only about $12 U.S. per person, 12 bucks for having to leave your home for weeks at least.
The town has already said no thanks. TEPCO however insists this is just an initial payment and plans to offer more compensation in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Now, I don't know where you live. I definitely went to bed with a lot of crazy wind, awful weather across the south. At least eight people are dead in three states.
Georgia felt the brunt of it. Six people were killed. A lot of debris scattered after about Chad Myers walk me through this. I mean, I had to -- midnight last night. I'm pulling it inside.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Lucky you got a hold of it. It goes flying off in some of the places. A lot of people still without power, almost a hundred thousands of people still in Georgia without power and not one tornado. Six dead in Georgia, not one tornado.
BALDWIN: What happened?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MYERS: Trees fell down. Trees fell down on everything, power lines, homes, mobile homes, cars. It was a crazy night. We talk about how devastating a tornado can be. There's your indication of what just wind can do.
BALDWIN: OK, so that's Georgia. Let's look at some video from Kentucky. Some mobile home park in Greenville totally -- look at that. Look at the trailer.
MYERS: Completely gone. Yes.
BALDWIN: Cars. MYERS: You see a child lives there or did. It was the grandma, grandpa's house.
BALDWIN: So there was a tornado that hit in western Kentucky?
MYERS: There was a couple of tornadoes. There were a couple of tornadoes in Kentucky, a couple in Tennessee and then Mississippi and Alabama, and even parts of almost north western pan handle of Florida. But most of this was 270 reports of wind damage, only just a dozen or so tornadoes.
BALDWIN: It is amazing what one can do. One man died in Mississippi when a falling tree crushed him. Massive damage there, 20 different counties. Finally, Tennessee, a man died when he came into contact with a downed power line in his yard.
MYERS: You don't know whether the power line is live or not. You have to keep the kids away and clearly you have to keep yourself away, too.
BALDWIN: Did you see that roof? Gone.
MYERS: Completely gone, Nashville got hit with wind. When the storm came through, I was watching it live on the national tower camp, cars literally had to stop in their tracks. On the interstate, they had to stop. They could not see in front of them. The rain was completely obliterated their vision.
BALDWIN: Amazing, Chad Myers. Thank you. Video tells the story. I want to take you back -- I know you have been watching this story. The situation in space, a piece of debris was a huge concern to NASA and the international space station for the crew members that are up there. More on that ahead.
Plus, Wolf Blitzer will join me with a little bit of information in the world of politics. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: It was a shocker on live television last night. It's what a lot of you seemed to be talking about today. At forwards, "Dancing with the Stars," take a look at what happened when Kirstie Alley and her partner hit the dance floor. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN (voice-over): OK, so seconds into a Rhumba, they took a bit of a spill. You can see Max appeared to be -- thanks for the rewind guys. He seemed to be in serious pain. Stop laughing. He told ABC's "Good Morning America," he got a Charlie horse in his thigh. His muscle just gave out.
But the duo was not deterred. They regrouped, finished the routine and it paid off as well. Judges gave Kirstie and Max 21 points out of 30, landing them in the middle of the pack.
The judges said they were impressed with the couple's perseverance. Kirstie tells CNN she is impressed with Max.
KIRSTIE ALLEY: It was him. I didn't know what to do and he just said, let's dance. So I sort of feel like, yes, let's keep dancing. I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Kirstie Alley is a huge tweeter. She woke up and she tweeted this, woke up to all of your support tweets, humble, it's good to know that you are in this game with us come rain or come shine. Elimination round is tonight.
And now Wolf Blitzer with the latest news from the CNN --
WOLF BLITZER, THE SITUATION ROOM: Did you see them the week before on "Dancing with the Stars?"
BALDWIN: No. Wolf Blitzer, are you a regular DWTS viewer?
BLITZER: You've got to get the tape. You've got to get the tape because they did a fabulous dance to Celo Green. You know Celo Green?
BALDWIN: I do know Celo Green.
BLITZER: Do you know who Celo Green in? His song f you. We don't want to say what those words are.
BALDWIN: Wolf Blitzer -
BLITZER: They did a fabulous dance to Celo Green on "Dancing with the Stars" the week before. Nobody fell down and they really rocked that house, I've got to tell you. If you're interested in that kind of stuff.
BALDWIN: I'm ready for you to go on "Dancing with the Stars."
BLITZER: You can do it. I'm sure you could do it.
BALDWIN: Let's talk politics, shall we? What do you have?
BLITZER: You know, I think what happened yesterday when the president formally announced his re-election campaign, started raising money and you know, he's going to raise a lot of money, maybe a billion dollars in this election cycle.
Even though he doesn't have any Democratic challenges for the nomination, even though he's the incumbent and he's got a lot of strength in the incumbency. It's putting enormous pressure on the a lot of these Republicans who are on the fence right now to accelerate, to speed up their decision because they've got to move quickly if they are going to compete financially if they're going to get into this race.
A lot of them want to wait until the summer or whatever, but I think automatically once the president starts his re-election campaign, a lot of these Republicans are going to feel the heat. One Republican that I'm watching closely is Mitch Daniels, the governor of Indiana.
And, you know, he sort of hinted that he maybe would run, maybe he wouldn't run. He's on the fence right now. He's going to be coming here to Washington on May 4th to deliver a speech that a lot of folks are going to listening to carefully to see if there's a hint there.
Whether Mitch Daniels will actually go ahead and run for the presidency, run for the Republican presidential nomination. We're going to deal with all of these issues obviously in THE SITUATION ROOM.
But we're also taking a really close look at Yemen right now as much, Brooke, as the issues in Libya are enormous. In Syria, Yemen is clearly significant because al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula already has a significant presence there.
And if there's a change, if there's some sort of change in government or whatever al Qaeda could really emerge as a big winner. We're taking a much closer look at Yemen among other subjects, I'm sure you will be watching THE SITUATION ROOM at 5:00 Eastern.
BALDWIN: Of course, I will. Since I have and I'm now discovered you're "Dancing with the Stars" fan, I'm going to put you on the spot. If you had to put one member of Congress who you would like to see dance, who would it be?
BLITZER: Not Tom Delay. He's a former member. He was already on. One member of Congress on "Dancing with the Stars"? Let's just think about that. Scott Brown, the Republican senator from Massachusetts. I think he would be excellent on "Dancing with the Stars."
BALDWIN: Good answer.
BLITZER: Yes.
BALDWIN: I think people would enjoy watching him dance as well.
BLITZER: I think I would enjoy watching him dance.
BALDWIN: I think a lot of people would.
BLITZER: Yes.
BALDWIN: Wolf, thank you. Love talking to you on TV. Thank you so much. We'll get another political update in half an hour. You can get updates online, go to cnnpolitics.com. They're also on Twitter, go to @politicalticker.
