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Hundreds of Fires Burning in Texas; Tornado Outbreak Leaves 45 Dead; Trump Trashes Candidate Romney; Author Defends "Three Cups of Tea"; Gulf Oil Disaster, Revisited; Royal Wedding Dance Spoof; "Rescuing" Unused Food for the Hungry
Aired April 18, 2011 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Carol Costello, in for Kyra Phillips.
In New York, the search for a possible serial killer turns to the laboratory. Experts will determine if bones found in the water near Long Island are human. If so, the next challenge will be in finding a connection to the eight bodies that have already been found in the area since December.
Today is the deadline to file your tax return with the IRS and Tea Party groups are seizing on voter anger and disgust. The weekend rallies culminate today in cities around the country.
And this morning, Syria's government is accused of unleashing deadly force on its own citizens. Witnesses say that's the sound of government security forces opening fire on protesters. An opposition source tells CNN that at least three people were killed.
Wow. 230 tornadoes reported over three days from Oklahoma to North Carolina. And now hundreds of wildfires are burning in Texas and they aren't just threatening rural areas, they've reached the doorstep of Austin, the state capital.
We're covering both disasters for you this morning. David Mattingly is in a small North Carolina community devastated by those storms, and Ed Lavandera is on his way to the fires in Texas.
So let's start in Texas. Ed, are you there?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm here, Carol, it's going to be another exhausting day for thousands of firefighters across the state of Texas, who have been battling intense fires. It seems like it's been going on all year long, but really, the last week has really intensified and fired up.
Just to give you a sense of how bad this fire season has been in Texas. Since the beginning of the year, more than 7,800 wildfires, 1.5 million acres of charred land across the state. And this has basically affected every corner of the state from far west Texas to, as you mentioned yesterday, a dangerous fire on the outskirts of Austin.
We're on our way out to west of Ft. Worth in Palo Pinto County where two large fires have been threatening to merge. That has kept firefighters busy. They've evacuated several small towns. Really urging people to be careful. More than 250 homes have been lost so far this year.
And really, this is going to be just an utter dangerous day across the state. Low humidity, high winds and warm temperatures and we haven't had a lot of rain throughout most of the year, so it's going to be another devastating and dangerous day across the state.
COSTELLO: OK. We'll let you get on site, Ed. We'll get back to you the next hour. Thank you.
Now on to those tornadoes. Watch this time-lapsed look at one funnel cloud slam into downtown Raleigh. Wow. It's one of the many reasons for the state of emergency in effect right now in North Carolina. Statewide, more than 20 people were killed. Nearly half of them in one small community.
CNN's David Mattingly is in that small community, Bertie County, North Carolina.
David, bring us update.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, Bertie County is a rural county, very sparsely populated. So the fact that you have 11 fatalities from this storm should tell you just how powerful this storm was when it roared through here.
I mean just take a look at the examples all around us. This is a telephone pole right here. It's covered with mud on one side where the wind was coming through, snapped off at the base. And you know how tough those poles are.
Look at this tree right here, completely ripped out of the ground. All the branches are broken. Every single leaf that was on there from the spring has now been ripped off.
And the human toll here, this is a good example. This home right here, completely blown off of its foundation. There's not one single scrap of metal, wood, or personal belongings left at that location. Now that tells you, as this storm was coming in, that the people caught in its path found that there was truly no safe place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZEE LAMB, BERTIE COUNTY, N.C. MANAGER: As you said, it's sparsely populated county. We're 700 square miles, 21,000 people. Very, very rural county. So if it had hit a more populated area, I -- I would suspect that there would have been more deaths. But 11 deaths are a whole lot of deaths. I don't want to minimize that. You know, we've never seen anything like this.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: And a couple of things contributed to the casualties that we see here. One was that this is a rural area. There are no sirens to warn people of a tornado in the immediate area.
Also this area is very low, it's close to sea level. They have problems with a high water table here, so very few people have basements or storm shelters to go into. So, again, if they were caught in the path of this storm, and quite a few people were, then there really was no safe place -- Carol.
COSTELLO: David Mattingly in Bertie County, North Carolina. Thank you.
Those storms left behind some surreal pictures. This picture from about 100 miles south of where David Mattingly is now at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps base near Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Take a look at this tree. It looked like it could have been made of rubber. The storm destroyed or badly damaged up to 70 homes on the base. A toddler was critically hurt.
Let's head right over to the Severe Weather Center and Jacqui Jeras. I want to talk first about these fires in Texas. Because they don't have enough personnel to even fight them right now.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. And they're saying it's probably going to take months, even if they're going to be getting help in. So it's just incredible. With so many fires that have been burning, and it's really the -- you know, the, quote/unquote, "perfect storm" so to speak, in terms of getting these fires going and making the difficult in putting them out.
This is on Google Earth. And what this is, is this is basically satellite-derived information showing you the hot spots of fires in the last 48 hours. So all of these areas that you see is where we've seen heat signatures. So those are the fires.
It's very widespread. Here, it's not just Texas, we've got it over there into New Mexico. We've got it up into Oklahoma as well as into parts of Kansas.
We've got extremely dry conditions. We've got very low relative humidity. We've got strong winds, which have been coming in. And you put all of these things together, along with above-normal temperatures, and that brings the high fire danger.
So this map is showing you, basically, the brighter the color here, the greater the fire potential. And this is as we head into this evening tonight and into tomorrow. And drought conditions. Forestry officials are telling us, in parts of the Texas, that this is the driest that things have been in almost 100 years. So that is just amazing.
Exceptional drought into west Texas. And it's going to take a long time to recover from this. And really, no rain in the forecast for western parts of Texas -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And just briefly, on all of those tornados that hit in the southern United States, has that bad weather moved out now? JERAS: Yes. That bad weather has moved out. However, we are expecting more severe weather for tomorrow. But this is going to be in the nation's midsection. We're talking about the middle Mississippi River Valley, a moderate risk for day two. You don't see that that often. So that tells me that, you know, they're expecting a significant outbreak, once again.
I think we're going to see linear storms. So, you know, storms that line up and that can cause a lot of wind damage and some of this is going to come at night. And so that's a concern, because you're not going to be able to see the tornadoes and you'll definitely need your NOAA weather radio, because people are going to be sleeping.
We've still sorting through the numbers. You know we've heard all kinds of things of how many tornadoes there were over the weekend or how many there were just in North Carolina.
Well, you have to go in and you'd have to look at each individual storm reports because lots of times more than one person reports the same tornado. So those numbers are elevated and they're high and we're starting to get some of the survey results.
And I just want to show you, for example, it was one tornado that moved through Sanford, North Carolina, on up through Raleigh and up to the northeast. It was 63 miles long that this thing was on the ground. And at its greatest intensity, it was an EF-3 with winds around 165 miles per hour, three miles wide. When it moved through Sanford, an EF-2 so a little lesser when it moved through Raleigh.
COSTELLO: So scary. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.
Remember when candidates tried to win votes by convincing us that they were just an average Joe, you know, a kind of everyday person? Well, that approach has been trumped.
Flamboyant billionaire Donald Trump says if he decided to run for president, his personal wealth should be considered a selling point. And he dismisses newly announced candidate Mitt Romney. That's because Romney, he's just a millionaire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: And I have thousands and thousands of jobs that I've created over the years. Hundreds of thousands.
CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, CNN'S STATE OF THE UNION: So just a better businessman, you think, that that's a selling point for you over Mitt Romney?
TRUMP: Well, I'm a much bigger businessman and I have a much, much bigger net worth. I mean my net worth is many, many, many times Mitt Romney.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Time to get our money's worth. Paul Steinhauser is our deputy political director. He joins us now from Washington.
He's entertaining.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, more smack talk, I guess you could say, from Donald Trump. And I reached out to the Romney -- people with Mitt Romney and they obviously do not want to comment on that. But --
COSTELLO: There's not even a need to comment.
STEINHAUSER: Yes. They're just like, leave it alone.
In his defense, Romney did -- he has an investment firm, a consulting firm. Remember he ran the 2000 or managed the 2002 Winter Olympics out in Salt Lake. And I guess you could say he ran Massachusetts for four years when he was governor.
Romney, of course, he's announced an exploratory committee. He says he'll maybe make the final announcement later this year. He ran last time around.
As for Trump, Carol, we know he keeps saying he'll have a decision by June if he wants to run for the White House.
COSTELLO: Yes. I'm holding breath.
Let's talk about these Tea Party rallies going on all over the country today.
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Let's talk about them. A big one today is in South Carolina. Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota, who's a darling of the Tea Party movement. She'll be a big headliner at this one.
Remember today is the tax deadline day for Americans. Today you have to file you taxes. And ever since Friday, the traditional tax deadline day, you've seen Tea Party rallies across the country.
Carol, if you're running for the presidency on the Republican side, or thinking about it, where else would you rather be than one of these rallies, one of these anti-tax rallies, Tea Party groups, because of course the Tea Party has all the excitement, the energy on the right, it seems, and they were very influential in last year's Republican primaries. And I bet they will be in the race for the White House.
COSTELLO: OK. So let's talk about the left, because there doesn't seem to be much exciting news coming from that end of the political spectrum.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, but something new today. And this is interesting. You know, Senate Democrats say that they think they can grab that -- that open Senate seat in Texas and maybe win it. But you know what, they haven't had candidate.
Now, today, sources on the Democratic side tell me they think that a retired general, a guy called Ricardo Sanchez, who's from Texas, obviously, a Mexican American, that he may run for the Senate as a Democrat in Texas.
There are a lot of big names on the Republican side. Sanchez is interesting, Carol. If you remember, he was the commanding general at the time at the Abu Ghraib prison when there was that controversy over the torture of Iraqi prisoners. So stay tuned to this one. We'll see if he actually jumps in. It should be interesting if he does.
COSTELLO: Definitely so. Paul Steinhauser, thank you.
We'll have your next political update in one hour. And as a reminder for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.
Coming up, imagine finding out that the pilot flying your plane is not a pilot. Fake credentials at the center of a big corruption scandal.
And there's no doubt his book and the charities that thrived because of it have helped thousands of children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but now the facts in Greg Mortenson's best-selling book "Three Cups of Tea" are being called false.
We'll talk about it after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A huge corruption scandal in India has airline passengers flying scared. It turns out some people in the cockpit are not properly qualified. More than a dozen government officials, middlemen, and pilots have been arrested so far in connection with a licensing scam. Now authorities are combing through thousands of certificates, looking for more fake pilots on the flight deck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHOK CHAND, DISTRICT POLICE COMMISSIONER: We found that there are around seven pilots who had obtained this ATP license on the basis of false documents.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This all started coming to light after a botched landing in January. Authorities found the pilot had repeatedly failed parts of her licensing test, but submitted passing marks instead.
In the meantime, we've got our own airport problems that the government is scrambling to sort out. The heads of the FAA and the air traffic controllers union kicked off a cross-country tour today, where they will chat one-on-one with tower staff. This follows several cases of controllers falling asleep on the job. The latest one happened Saturday in Miami.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says rules are being changed to make sure controllers have enough downtime between shifts, but ultimately, he says, the responsibility is on them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RAY LAHOOD, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION: The bottom line for me is this: controllers need to take personal responsibility for the very important job that they have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Secretary Ray LaHood will talk to CNN's Suzanne Malveaux in the 11:00 Eastern Hour of NEWSROOM.
Now for the latest on the disaster in Japan. The death toll from last month's quake and tsunami has risen to 13,843, with another 14,000 still missing. In the meantime, some concern over high radiation levels recorded in and around reactor buildings at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Robot-mounted probes came back with new numbers.
Officials are not sure what's causing the spikes. This comes just as the plant's owner announces a six to nine-month plan to store normal cooling systems there and shut down those damaged reactors.
The royal family refined, polite, and frankly, a little stiff. Coming up: how you've never seen the royals before dancing to hip hop.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Now to the controversy over "Three Cups of Tea," you know, the book. The author, Greg Mortenson of that best-selling book is defending the book against claims by CBS' "60 Minutes" that key stories in his book are false or exaggerated. In an e-mail to supporters, Mortenson writes, "The '60 Minutes' interview paints a distorted picture using inaccurate information and innuendo."
Mortenson sold millions of books about his adventures in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. He used these stories to raise tens of millions of dollars for charity, most notably, efforts to improve girls' education in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. Now, some are wondering if the whole thing is too good to be true or completely false.
Here's another best-selling author, Jon Krakauer, on "60 Minutes" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON KRAKAUER, AUTHOR: It's a beautiful story and it's a lie. If you go back and read the first few chapters of that book, you realize, I'm being taken for a ride here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Strong stuff.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh on the ground in Pakistan.
And, Nick, one of the key claims in this book is that Mortenson was kidnapped and held captive by the Taliban. You actually talked with one of those alleged kidnappers this morning.
What did he tell you?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Mansur Khan Mahsud is simply an academic researcher here in Islamabad. But he says he was identified by one of Mr. Mortenson's book as being one of the kidnappers. He held him for eight days in 1996 in South Waziristan.
Now, he says he knows Mr. Mortenson. That Mr. Mortenson came to their village to stay with his family as a guest, as a friend, and the episode portrayed in the book of a kidnapping is a lie. He says Mr. Mortenson perhaps said it to make his book sell better and that he's going to sue the author for the damage that's done to his image and that of his family and tribe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH: Greg Mortenson says that you kidnapped him. Did you?
MANSUR KHAN MAHSUD, ACADEMIC RESEARCHER: No, he's lying. He's lying. We didn't kidnap him. He was our guest and we treated him as a guest. Not someone -- we have not -- we have not kidnapped him.
He used to move around with us, to different places, in Waziristan. He was a chief guest in a football tournament.
WALSH: What do you think he said this about you?
MAHSUD: Just to sell his book, because people in 2005 or 2006 wanted to know about Waziristan and the Taliban. So, he thought that it's good to make this story.
WALSH: If you saw Greg Mortenson now, what would you say to him?
MAHSUD: I would just say that why you have defamed me, my family, and my tribe? We treated you well. We housed you in our homes. So, why the hell you have made all these lies about us?
I intend to sue him, because he has defamed me, my family, my tribe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH: Well, Mr. Mortenson has -- since the "60 Minutes" report was broadcasted -- released a statement that he stands by the story that he was kidnapped by the Taliban for eight days in 1996 in South Waziristan. It was possible money was taken from him, and he was not allowed to leave. He also says when he was moved around the area by vehicle, a blanket was placed over his head. So, he's very categoric about the events depicted in the book.
COSTELLO: And, Nick, another question for you, because this author used this story to raise money here in the United States and around the world to build schools for girls in Afghanistan. And it turns out he built -- well, his charity built far less schools than previously thought. Can you tell us about that?
WALSH: Well, some of the allegations in the "60 Minutes" report suggest that not as many schools were built by the Central Asia Institute that Mr. Mortenson is involved in as what previously claimed. Now, that is -- that's refuted by the Central Asia Institute.
But, certainly, I think it's important to put this in context. Mr. Mortenson has been very much a symbol of hope, often held up by the U.S. military for American intervention and cooperation here, and claims against him don't do anything to help America's image in this part of the world -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Nick Paton Walsh -- many thanks, live from Afghanistan -- or live from Pakistan, rather, this morning.
Taking a look at stories making news cross-country now:
Match.com says it will begin screening users against the national sex offender database. This comes after a California woman identified as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against the company, saying she'd been raped by someone she met on the site.
Near Long Island in New York, divers are back in the water today, searching for more bodies as the investigation into possible serial killings continues. So far, investigators have found the remains of at least eight women nearby. Four have been identified.
In Idaho, rescue workers are digging through rocky soil, trying to reach a miner trapped about a mile underground. There's been ongoing communication with the trapped miner, caught underground in the inappropriately named Lucky Friday Mine.
How much would you pay for a fabulous pair of shoes? What if they were solid gold? We'll show you the extravagant shoes and tell you how much they'll cost.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: On Wednesday, millions of people along the Gulf Coast will remember the day their lives changed. That would be the anniversary of the BP oil rig exploding and the beginning of the worst environmental disaster in our nation' history.
This week, CNN is focusing on the problems that still haunt the region and the tales of success that have emerged from the catastrophe. It's part of our coverage, "CNN in Depth: The Gulf, a Year Later."
Today, emotions are sure to run high when federal officials face the public over the cleanup and the compensation for their losses. The extent of the damage is still being measured and some say it could take decades for the disaster to fully reveal itself. That's because much of the oil clings to remote marshes or lurks far beneath the water's surface.
CNN's David Mattingly boarded a boat to see for himself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Louisiana officials are watching their worst predictions come true. BP oil spill damage to some sensitive marshes may be permanent.
(on camera): Are these marshes done for?
GARRET GRAVES, COASTAL PROTECTION AND RESTORATION: This area is likely going to be open water in a few areas.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): This is what this 40-acre section of marsh looked like when the oil hit last May. The syrupy crude I saw floating on the water then was just the beginning of the problem.
GRAVES: It's wiped out the birds that used to be here. It's wiped out the fish, the shellfish, everything in this area.
MATTINGLY: Returning 10 months later, the Louisiana governor's office gave me an exclusive and disturbing look inside this damaged ecosystem. I could still see oil everywhere, sticking to the plants.
(on camera): It's like tar. So sticky. Look at that.
(voice-over): It's also saturated the fragile soil. You can find it a foot below the surface.
(on camera): Right down here. Yes, it's down into the roots. Look at that. It's like a paste.
(voice-over): And Louisiana officials still look at all this oily black and see red.
BILLY NUNGESSER, PARISH PRESIDENT: That is bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED), OK? Because don't piss me off, because that is bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MATTINGLY: This confrontation was in December as parish president, Billy Nungesser, accused the Coast Guard of not doing enough to speed the clean up.
After months of study, the Coast Guard now tells me digging out the oil in some areas will do more harm than good.
CAPT. JAMES HANZALIK, U.S. COAST GUARD: You can actually go in, you can trample oil into the marsh, where it would make it even worse than what it would have been if you would have just left it alone.
MATTINGLY: But letting nature take its course could mean watching more of these vanishing marshes wash away.
GRAVES: We're losing and trying to prevent the loss of --
MATTINGLY (on camera): Wait a minute. The wind just shifted. You know what I smell? It smells like freshly poured asphalt.
GRAVES: It does.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): And there's fear that the oil we see in the marshes is only a fraction of what's here. There's oil underwater, too. (on camera): This is how most people find submerged oil out here. It looks clean right now, but not for long. Hit it.
(voice-over): Watch what happens as a couple of quick spins from our airboat churns up the sediment below and releases the hidden oil.
(on camera): That's not mud we're looking at, is it?
(voice-over): Within seconds, a telltale sheen begins to form, a reminder that the losses suffered in this spill are far from over.
(on camera): So as long as this oil is here, it's just going to keep killing anything that tries to live here.
GRAVES: It's going to keep killing and you're going to have the birds who are going to come back and get re-oiled and they'll go fly somewhere else, and so, yes, the impacts are going to continue.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): And that, officials say, could go on for decades.
David Mattingly, CNN, Pass a L'Outre Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The opening bell ringing right now, but before we get to the stock market in general, let's talk about gas prices, because gas prices continue to climb with apparently no end in sight. Today, the 27th straight increase.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: If you're one of those people who just can't have too many shoes, this could be your ultimate purchase. This pair of shoes being billed as the world's most expensive shoes. I know they don't like much, but they cost $230,000. That's because they're made out of solid gold and they're covered with more than 2,000 diamonds. The designer said he wanted to create a unique form of jewelry that you can wear on your feet, but you'd be afraid to walk anywhere in those shoes, at least I would.
Some surprises in the NBA playoffs. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here with a preview of today's big play.
I didn't think you'd want to talk about shoes.
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: A shoe fetish anywhere, here, no?
COSTELLO: I thought they were beautiful but I'd be afraid to wear them, because I couldn't afford them.
FISCHEL: $230,000. Come on.
COSTELLO: That's more than I make, man.
FISCHEL: I thought you made the big bucks. Anyway, NBA, the Lakers going for a third straight championship had better wake up and fast. The New Orleans Hornets, they're the better team yesterday. Kobe Bryant wasn't even the best player on the court. Chris Paul was in a word, awesome. Thirty-three points, 14 assists, 7 rebounds. Steals. Wouldn't be surprised if he was out selling hot dogs at halftime. The guy was busy all over the court despite that huge shot by the Lakers.
I'll have highlights from several NBA playoff games, including the L.A. loss.
Plus, you have to see the end of yesterday's NASCAR race. I'll prove to you that NASCAR has never had a better finish.
And of course, some baseball too. I'm getting a visual image and it's painful. Let's just say you better bring a helmet. We'll have that in 25 minutes.
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Jeff.
FISCHEL: OK.
COSTELLO: In Libya, rebel fighters hold on. The government troops bear down. We'll show you where the fighting is worse today as Moammar Gadhafi lays siege to one rebel city.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Taking a look at stories making news later today. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is giving President Obama and Vice President Biden a rundown on her trip to Japan. Japan is dealing with the aftermath of that March earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear crisis.
A group of clergy holding an 11:00 a.m. Eastern news conference in Dearborn, Michigan. They're encouraging freedom of religion ahead of a protest at the Islamic center of America. That will happen later this week.
And at Columbia University in New York, this year's Pulitzer Prize winners and nominated finalists will be announced this afternoon at 3:00 Eastern. The prizes will be awarded on May 42th.
In Libya, the fighting grows worse. The casualties, more heartbreaking. We'll take a look at a city under siege and the children caught in the cross fire.
And a semi takes a turn and goes out of control. More details on this coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We're following new developments this morning in the battle for Libya. Moammar Gadhafi's troops have intensified their shelling of Misrata as they try to recapture the rebel city. An opposition source tells CNN that at least 21 people were killed, just yesterday. And the bullets and mortar make no concession for age. The humanitarian group UNICEF says dozens of children have died there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF JAMES ELDER, UNICEF SPOKESMAN: This is a densely populated area. There are very large numbers of children. While the heavy shelling, the mortars, the sniper fire, whilst any form of conflicts continues in Misrata, children are going to continue to die. It's overused to say it's unacceptable, but we've reiterated the cause made by the United Nations secretary general for all parties for the immediate establishment of a cease-fire. There really is a necessity now for this siege to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, let's get more on this. Fred Pleitgen is in Tripoli. He joins us now by phone.
Fred, we've also heard that children are being targeted by government forces. Have you heard that?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well (AUDIO GAP) going on is inside, children are actually caught up between the front lines, especially in the town of Misrata. And I can tell you, from the time that I was there, there were a lot of children who has been hit, who were in compounds that had been hit by mortars, who had shrapnel wounds. And it's not clear whether or not these are targeted attacks. But, if it is, of course, the case, there are many children who are caught between the front lines.
And it's very difficult to get any sort of medical attention to them, especially in places like Misrata, where it's almost impossible to evacuate anyone after they've been injured, because as you say, Misrata is still under attack. It's under heavy artillery fire and a lot of the ships that have been trying to get people out of this place are not actually able to dock in Misrata, because there's so much shelling going on in the port area that it's impossible for them to come in, Carol.
COSTELLO: We also hear there are terrible sand storms and NATO is patrolling the skies right now and the rebel forces are pretty angry about that?
PLEITGEN: Well, it seems as though NATO is still patrolling the skies, but they're not conducting air strikes. It's hard to ascertain whether or not that's due to sand storms. That's certainly what the rebels have been saying. They say that NATO told them that because of the air strikes, they weren't able to target accurately. They were afraid that there could be civilian casualties. That's not been confirmed by NATO just yet but it's very hard to ascertain.
But, yes there have been sand storms going on, especially in the Ajdabiya area, not so much in the Misrata area, simply because there's such an urban area. There haven't been as many sand storms going on there. There, the big problem is that the Gadhafi forces are obviously deeply entrenched in urban areas. It's a very, very dense urban area. The Gadhafi forces have their tanks and other weapons hidden under trees, hidden in urban areas, and of course, they're also using civilian casualties.
So the main issue that NATO has is that they don't want to hit any human (ph), because that would be a huge blow to the coalition that is trying to conduct these (INAUDIBLE) so they're taking it safe and obviously, that is leading to a lot of criticism from the rebels who have pulled out (INAUDIBLE) who's to take more risks and bomb more targets, especially in Misrata, Carol.
COSTELLO: Fred Pleitgen reporting live from Tripoli. Thank you.
Let's just step away from war for a minute and talk about the royal family. They're refined, they're polite, and frankly, they're a little stiff. Coming up, how you've never seen the royals before -- dancing to hip hop.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Taking a look at stories making cross-country, a small Tennessee community is offering $25,000 for the tip that leads police to a 20-year-old nursing student. Authorities believe someone kidnapped Holly Bobo from her home last week. Her brother says he saw a man wearing camouflage leading her into the woods. Church members in the area had a special service yesterday and prayed for Bobo's safe return.
A church in Bertie County, North Carolina, was forced to hold services outside on Sunday. This is the community that tornadoes devastated over the weekend; 11 were killed.
And former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan is weighing in on the budget debate. He says the Bush era tax cuts should be allowed to expire.
Time to look at your top international stories.
British royalty is often portrayed as stiff and refined and not usually the sort that would bust out and, you know, shake their whatever. We'll show you that in a moment.
But first, we've all wondered how those big semi-trucks can take corners so fast and not flip over. And Zain, now we know that sometimes they actually do flip over.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: They do, Carol. Hi, how are you and happy Monday.
Take a look at this incredible video coming out of China. You see the semi, it's just there, and it -- what it does is it tries to take a left turn, just before the light goes red. And look at it go. You can see a pedestrian just on the top right. There's a circle around him and the truck flips, like that, and the guy actually survives.
Now, his bike doesn't. But look at that. It's absolutely incredible. He was so lucky, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're not kidding. How frightening and why was the truck driver taking the turn so fast in the middle of a city? VERJEE: Yes. It was just dumb.
COSTELLO: Yes, I like you, Zain. You just say it like it is. I love that.
Let's head to Westminster Abbey, not really the real Westminster Abbey, but it sure is funny.
VERJEE: It sure is, I mean, who ever said the royals were boring; absolutely not. Take a look at the wedding rehearsal; yes, actually it's not, but it is very cool. This is an ad by T-Mobile. And look at them go and shake that thing.
You got -- we've got Camilla and Charles; Charles bumping buttons, going down onto the altar. You know, a little bit of spinning and dancing. And there's the Queen clapping away. And Prince Philip right behind her. And in comes Harry, pelvis thrusting, dancing around and rocking his way to the altar.
Look at these look-alikes; they're pretty uncanny, though. A little bit later on William comes in. And leapfrogs over Harry.
COSTELLO: Oh yes.
VERJEE: It's so funny.
COSTELLO: I have to see Kate. What's she doing?
VERJEE: And then, oh there she is -- here she comes. Here she is darling, here she comes, there we go, the bride boogies away. And off they go, off they pump their fists. They make their way to the altar. You see, they're not boring, are they?
COSTELLO: No, not at all. You know, if the real wedding were like this, I would watch it. I'm not sure I'm going to, but if it was like this, I'd be glued to the set.
VERJEE: Well, that's what everyone's saying, if only it was like this. But you know what, Carol, this is actually pretty amazing, this -- this ad by T-Mobile got something like 3.5 million hits in a couple of days. So people love this stuff. This guy looks totally like Harry, right? He's hot.
COSTELLO: Yes, he's hot. I think it's time to go now.
Thank you, Zain. Thanks for making us laugh. We needed that on a Monday.
VERJEE: All right.
COSTELLO: We're following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Jacqui Jeras. She's in the Severe Weather Center.
JERAS: Hey, Carol. Yes after a weekend of deadly tornadoes, the worst outbreak in the U.S. so far, more severe weather is expected for tomorrow across the nation's midsection. We're talking the Mississippi Valley and the Ohio River Valley. The latest on that, and the science of these tornadoes, coming up.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam in New York, where we are tracking gas prices. Six states are now paying gas -- paying for gas above $4 a gallon. I'll tell you which six those are. Four states not far behind. I'll tell you what's going on. That's coming up in the next hour -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thanks to both of you.
Also ahead, a best-selling author on a mission to help educate girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan now defending his best-selling book. The author of "Three Cups of Tea" accused of making it all up. Still, some say, a lot of good came out of it. We'll talk with an ethicist about the controversy, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Leading up to Earth Day, April 22nd, we're taking a look at the problems facing our planet and the people trying to make a difference. In New York a group of volunteers goes to stores and restaurants and takes their leftovers and then they give those leftovers to those in need.
Here's the story from photojournalist Deb Brunswick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CRUZ QUILAN, TRUCK DRIVER: Right now I'm picking up a food donation that we give out to the people that is hungry.
My name is Cruz, Cruz Quilan. I work as a truck driver for City Harvest.
LESLIE GORDON, DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS, CITY HARVEST: City Harvest is the world's first food rescue organization. We'll rescue food from all segments of the food industry. So restaurants, corporate cafeterias, farmers, manufacturers and we'll deliver it to New York's hungry men, women, and children.
This year we'll rescue more than 28 million pounds of fresh fruit. And our expertise is in rescuing highly perishable foods more than 60 percent of which will be produce.
QUILAN: Thanks a lot.
BEN POLLINGER, EXECUTIVE CHEF, OCEANA: The fact that we cook here for pleasure. You know, we cook here for people to enjoy food for food's sake. And while we're doing this, there's people out there who don't have enough food for their basic necessity of life. So it's really important. Anything that we have that's fit to serve goes to some good use somewhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not eating crappy food. We're not. We're eating quality food. You know? It's a blessing when I come here. QUILAN: Before I worked for City Harvest I was having financial problems. I had no choice but to go to soup kitchens and stuff like that. Now I have the privilege of taking the food to those soup kitchens.
One, two, three.
I feel very good going to work. Not like other jobs that I had before. At least now I feel I'm doing something for the community. And I'm helping out.
I speak for the other drivers when I say that it's like an honor to do this. It's like an honor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: A shocking way to start the NBA playoffs. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here. Jeff, two of the favorites to win the NBA title both lost.
FISCHEL: Yes, not a great way to start. You're the Lakers and Spurs; you've won nine of the last twelve NBA champions. You're thinking, "Ok, we're going to roll again." It did not happen.
This year they looked beatable. In fact they looked slow, old; they looked like they're not the teams to beat. Let's go out to L.A. yesterday. The defending champs have won the last two titles. The Lakers facing the New Orleans Hornets.
Remember Kobe Bryant got a big fine for using the gay slur last week on the court? Before yesterday's game, he said in high school he would beat up kids who teased his gay friends. Well, he had 34 points. It wasn't enough.
Chris Paul was fantastic; 33 points, 14 assists. The Hornets shocked the Lakers in game 1 of their series.
The Spurs had the best record in their conference but they couldn't stop Shane Battier and the Grizzlies in game 1 of their series. Battier called it the craziest day of his life. Under 30 seconds to go. The big three-pointer to win it for Memphis. And then a few hours later after the game he announced his wife gave birth to their second child. Great day for Battier.
The Celtics looked like they were in trouble, too. Under 20 seconds, down one to the Knicks. But when you have the greatest three-point shooter in NBA history you're never in trouble. Ray Allen buries it to put Boston up two.
One last chance for New York. Carmelo Anthony trying to be a hero in his first game for the Knicks -- for his playoff game for the Knicks. He can't hit. The Celtics escape. More playoffs of course tonight.
One of the best finishes ever in yesterday's Nascar race at Talladega. Final lap, eight drivers within a second of each other at the finish line. Jimmie Johnson. No. Clint Bower (ph). I don't know. Johnson's celebrating but is he right?
There's the freeze frame, Johnson the 48 car on top beats the 33 car by two-thousandths of a seconds. That ties the Nascar record for closest finish ever.
And let's finish with some baseball, shall we? Sometimes things don't go right when (INAUDIBLE) and other times they do. Matt Kemp wins it for the Dodgers. The big hero yesterday for L.A. Just three outs to go before it looked like they were going to lose their sixth in a row but he wins it with a two-run shot, beating the St. Louis Cardinals.
All right. And for you guys, you know I mean, you know this is going to hurt oh, Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Miguel Montero. Right in the man region.
COSTELLO: The man region?
FISCHEL: He was able to continue. But later in the game, in the 11th inning, the Giants' Pablo Sandoval --
COSTELLO: Oh.
FISCHEL: Just a rough day all around (INAUDIBLE). Yes. Really? Twice in a game.
COSTELLO: That makes me wince and I don't even have a man region.
FISCHEL: I appreciate your sympathy for us all.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Jeff. I hope they're OK. They are.
