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Fires Race Across Texas; Yemeni Women Join Push to Topple Leader; Fight Against Prescription Drug Abuse; Not So Happy These Days; Gold Hits $1,500 An Ounce; The Help Desk; Talk Back Question; Google Doodles Light Up Web Page

Aired April 19, 2011 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed.

Wildfires burning across Texas are spreading today, and nothing in the forecast points to an end to the long, hot dry spell that is fueling the flames. More than 900,000 acres have burned this season alone. Governor Rick Perry's office says 244 homes have been lost.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LONNIE CRISWELL, FIRE VICTIM: I just thank God every day that we're alive. And this can be rebuilt, but we can't be replaced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: More dangerous storms are brewing, this time in the Midwest. Want to turn to meteorologist Chad Myers to give us a sense of just how bad it is.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: The Obama administration says the number of people who have overdosed on prescription drugs now exceeds those who died from crack cocaine during the 1980s. The White House announced a plan of action today. I'll ask president's drug control policy director about it live in just a few minutes.

President Obama traveled to a community college in northern Virginia today to sell his debt and deficit reduction plan. The president is competing against a Republican proposal, one he says cuts too much, too fast. Mr. Obama suggests the Bush administration maxed out the country's credit card and left him with the bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cut taxes for everybody, including millionaires and billionaires. We fought two wars. And we created a new and expensive prescription drug program, and we didn't pay for any of it. And as the saying goes, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: The president heads west tomorrow, taking his pitch, his sales pitch, to Reno.

A somber day in Oklahoma City. Survivors and victims' families paused today to remember the 168 people who died in the attack on the Murrah Federal Building. The bomb exploded 16 years ago today.

Anti-government protesters hold a noisy rally in downtown Homs. That is Syria's third-largest city. Security forces ordered the crowd, go home. An activists tell CNN protesters refused and police opened fire, killing three people.

An ugly scene in Turkey, where police turned tear gas and water cannons on protesters. Authorities say the crowd set a post office on fire and threw rocks at cars. Protesters are angry that 12 Kurdish candidates have been barred from the ballot in this summer's parliamentary elections.

People in Texas say they have never seen anything like it, wildfires almost everywhere where they turn. All but two of the state's 254 counties have now been impacted.

Our CNN's Ed Lavandera and his crew have made it now to Possum Kingdom. That's a popular resort area where there is a big fire that is burning.

Ed, when we last talked to you the last hour, you were watching, and there was a C-130 that was dropping water. What else are we seeing there? Are things getting better, are people evacuating? Just how bad is it on the ground?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're near is just on the outside of a small ranch on the southern edge of Possum Kingdom Lake. And as we were talking earlier, one of those C-130 aircrafts had just done the initial pass, dumping the fire suppressant on the field of this ranch. They came by another four times after we had finished talking to you, and continue to do this. So they're not out of the woods yet in this particular location.

A couple of things they're trying to do is, the fire is very close to a roadway, and just across the road, a lot of heavy brush that is just essentially great gasoline for this kind of fire. So they're trying to keep the fire from jumping the road, and also protect two homes that are inside this ranch property.

And after we spoke with you, there's probably another five or six volunteer firefighter crews that have descended here on this particular scene. And they have brought in water trucks, and they're still fighting in the field. They've also brought in some bulldozer- type of equipment to take away a lot of that dry brush from around the homes.

So that's what we're watching right now, as these crews go to work on this one particular field to try to contain this and not let it get too out of hand.

MALVEAUX: And Ed, who else is helping the Texas firefighters out there?

LAVANDERA: I'm sorry?

MALVEAUX: Who else is helping those Texas firefighters? Do you have volunteers? Are folks coming together?

LAVANDERA: That's actually been, you know, pretty amazing. On this particular fire that we're dealing with -- and this is the one stretching just west of Ft. Worth, around Possum Kingdom Lake -- you see firefighters from all over, Lone Camp, off the trucks that are in front of me, Lone Camp, Briaroaks Fire Department. We've met people who have come from all over the state.

A lot of volunteer firefighters, and also firefighters from major metropolitan areas in the state, as well. So you really see just a wide array of people from very different parts of the state who have come here to help out in battling these fires.

MALVEAUX: All right. Ed Lavandera, please be safe. Thank you, Ed.

The same-sex marriage fight is back in the spotlight. House Republicans have hired a lawyer to protect the Defense of Marriage law which says that marriage is between a man and a woman.

So here's your chance to "Talk Back." Carol Costello joins us for the "Talk Back" question.

A lot of people weighing in on this one, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are. We're going to delve deeper into the marriage issue.

But that's right, Suzanne, congressional Republicans are gearing up for a fight to defend the Defense of Marriage Act which the Obama administration has decided is unconstitutional and, thus, not worth defending. But what exactly is being defended or not defended here?

Is it the legal union of a man and woman, husband and wife, like royals William and Kate? That type of marriage is, if not under siege, at least in decline.

According to a Pew Research Center survey, only about one-fourth of 20-somethings are married. That's down from two-thirds in 1960. And about half of all marriages split up, they end in divorce.

In the meantime, same-sex marriage and civil unions are on the rise. And a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows that, for the first time, a majority of Americans, 51 percent, support same-sex marriage.

It just begs the question, is the current skirmish over the Defense of Marriage Act just another political fight, or do we really need it to help save traditional marriage? Is same-sex marriage really the biggest threat to the institution of marriage like Republicans suggest, or is it time to look in the mirror when it comes to marriage?

So, the "Talk Back" question today: Is the Defense of Marriage Act the best way to save marriage?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your responses later on in the hour.

MALVEAUX: I know President Bush, when I covered him, he used that very issue to bring people out, to bring voters out. People have very strong opinions about it either way.

COSTELLO: And the Republicans today are doing the very same thing to bring out their conservative base, because you can never forget, 2012 is just around the corner.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. They've started already.

COSTELLO: Yes, both sides.

MALVEAUX: Thanks, Carol.

Here's what we have ahead "On the Rundown."

In burqas and baseball caps, women in Yemen take to the streets in defiance of their president.

Also, prescription drug addiction today, it is worse than heroin in the '70s and crack cocaine in the '80s.

Plus, these are critical to the environment, but they are now dying in droves. That mystery on our "Green Solutions in Focus."

And finally, Google Doodles makes the jump from commemorating iconic moments into pop culture phenomenon.

Plus this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARION ROSS, ACTRESS: Somebody came up to me and said "You must be cleaning up on those casinos." I said, "What are you talking about?" And he said, "Yes, if you get five Marions, you hit the jackpot."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: An unhappy legacy 27 years after the final episode of "Happy Days."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: We have three great stories. Only one of them can air this hour. Let us know which one you would like to see by texting 22360.

Your first choice, pirate prison, an exclusive look behind bars of a prison just for people convicted of hijacking ships.

Second choice, Cuba's iconic 1950s cars might be idled. Changes in the communist country's laws could get the classic American cars off the streets.

And your third choice, a 9-year-old boy saves his 2-year-old sister's life. He says he learned how to do CPR watching TV.

Vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Pirate Prison"; 2 for "Cuba's Iconic Cars"; or 3 for "9-Year-Old Boy Saves Sister."

The winning story will air later this hour.

Well, a sea of burqas and baseball caps in Yemen, where women are fighting for the right to protest.

Mohammed Jamjoom has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Women in Yemen, out in the streets of Sanaa, furious at the country's president, demanding he step down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Ali's regime insulted women. In his speech yesterday, he attacked our dignity, and we came out to protest against it because we will not remain silent after what he said. This is an attack on our souls and dignity.

JAMJOOM: The cause of their anger? In a short speech to his supporters on Friday, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said women who were protesting against his regime were violating the Yemeni cultural and religious norms. He suggested they stay at home.

ALI ABDULLAH SALEH, PRESIDENT, YEMEN (through translator): We call on the opposition to judge their conscience and to move towards dialogue so we can reach agreement for the security and stability of this nation. I call on them to prohibit the intermingling of men and women, which is against the laws of Islam. The intermingling of men and women in public is not allowed by Islamic law.

JAMJOOM: By Saturday morning, thousands of women in Sanaa were marching to the attorney general's office demanding legal action against the president. They said Saleh had maligned their morality.

But the fury was not contained to the country's capital. Huge crowds of women had mass gathering in at least 10 of Yemen's provinces, an extraordinary development in an extremely conservative country where women have never been this vocal.

(on camera): The government tried to play it down, saying the opposition had taken Saleh's comments out of context to promote their own agenda, a response that only added fuel to the fire.

(voice-over): On Sunday, women were out in force once more. In Taiz, male anti-government protesters even formed a protective ring around some of the female protesters, clear defiance.

Yemeni state television started broadcasting these images -- crowds of women at pro-Saleh rallies. And the president attempted damage control, meeting with female leaders in Sanaa, telling them he had only made those remarks because he was worried about protecting women from "mob and anarchists" in the crowds, saying women had demonstrated rare courage in all parts of the country during this current crisis.

The growing number of female protesters say they already know the kind of courage it takes to do what they are doing, pointing to recent clashes between security forces and anti-government demonstrators, highlighting once more how volatile the situation in Yemen really is. But these women say they are not going home anytime soon.

Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Michael Holmes joins us to go beyond the headlines.

And Michael, when you see that piece, I mean, it really is extraordinary. You see these women in burqas, in baseball caps, defying the leader of their country.

What is going on in Yemen right now?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, you know, we didn't see this a couple of months ago, as recently as a couple months ago.

Yemen has often had women in the streets as part of the protests that we have seen in that country, but it's been really in the last month and less that we have seen numbers of them coming out like this. And, you know, you've heard the president there trying to get them off the streets with that speech, which was really a speech that was probably designed to get support for his side from the more conservative people in the country, the Islamists, who would agree with some of the things he was saying religiously.

It actually had the opposite effect. And you had more and more of these women out in the streets. You know --

MALVEAUX: Are we seeing a battle of the sexes take place here in Yemen?

HOLMES: No, it's not so much a battle of the sexes, as I think a battle of generations. A lot of the women that you see out there are young, they're students. It's not like the old guard.

It's also, in the same way, a battle of rural versus the city, as well. These are people with different attitudes, and they're not going to be shut up.

And it's very interesting what Mohammed was pointing out, too, a ring of men surrounding some of these women in the streets as they marched to protect them from any negative response. And even -- you have had even conservative tribes speaking out in support of these women, as well.

MALVEAUX: And Michael, one thing that really struck me here is that they're in full wear, burqas. They cannot be identified. In some ways, does that empower them because they're out there protesting their government, they can't really be identified? Nobody knows who they are. When all is said and done, they go home.

HOLMES: Well, that is true. I remember being in Afghanistan -- that was back in '03 -- and women telling me they felt more comfortable in the burqa because they were anonymous and were less likely to be bothered. In this situation, it's not about being anonymous in the protest in that that context.

It's a cultural thing. These women would be wearing this if they were going down to the store, as well. It's not about hiding.

There is another -- one interesting thing to say, too. There's also a Shiite/Sunni element in this. In Shiite countries, it's more likely that this would be tolerated. In more Sunni countries, more conservative leaderships, it wouldn't be.

MALVEAUX: All right. Fascinating, what is taking place in Yemen on the ground right now.

Michael, thanks for your perspective, as always.

HOLMES: Good to see you.

MALVEAUX: Thanks.

Well, members of the cast of "Happy Days" not so happy after all after being cut out from the merchandising bonanza that the show has enjoyed since it went off the air 27 years ago. Now they have been reunited for a big showdown with CBS.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Want to go straight to Ed Lavandera. He is in Possum Kingdom, Texas, where there are raging wildfires that are taking place.

And Ed, I understand you're with a group of guys who are trying to hold this fire at bay. What are we seeing?

LAVANDERA: Well, Suzanne, you know, we have been talking to you here within the last hour. This is the field we have been watching.

You can see all that scorched wildfire ground back there in the background, and you see that one truck putting it out. The wind is blowing from left to right on your screen, and the concern here is that these homes were going to get burned up.

And these guys with the Lone Camp Fire Department were -- they're now getting called out to another location. We were going to talk to them, but they need to start rushing out. But I'll tell you what they've been through here in the last hour or so.

You see these trucks out here. The wind, as I mentioned, was blowing left to right, and the concern was this, right over here, Suzanne, as these guys are starting to take off.

You see how close the burned grass is up against this roadway here, and they were afraid that the fire was going to jump over the roadway. And look at all of these trees over here. That acts as major gasoline for these fires.

They were worried that this wildfire was going to jump the road, get into all of that, and just spark a much bigger wildfire. So they've had to control it here.

You can see the aerial footage that we took a little while ago with these C-130 aircraft that were flying over this, and did about five runs, dumping that fire suppressant right over us here as we were watching this. And now most of this has really settled down, but just a few moments ago, the smoke was really firing up.

This isn't totally in the clear yet, but one of the concerns was -- look at this ranch property here. You see these homes and these structures there in the background. And if you look over here to the left, you'll see a bulldozer clearing out a lot of that dry grass. They've got two bulldozers in there doing passes and circles around the homes there to clear away all that dry brush and try to protect those homes.

But for now, they've been able to get this under control, and they feel pretty confident that they at least have won themselves a couple of hours. That's why you saw these guys -- actually, I think they just went down the road. You can watch them now, and what they're doing is spraying water there on the road, trying to keep that fire and those hot spots from jumping across -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And those guys were in an awful hurry there, Ed. I mean, I'm assuming that there is a real sense of urgency to try to contain this as quickly as possible, because it seems like there is a lot working against them -- the wind.

LAVANDERA: Well, that's what they were telling us, is that as we start getting in here, into the late afternoon hours, or the later afternoon hours, the humidity is dropping, the winds are picking up. And they were telling me just before we were going on camera they had to rush off. They said, we're really expected to start jumping around quite a bit.

So that's what they do. They're in these teams of two or three guys, they're in these trucks, and they just move from spot to spot, wherever they're radioed to go to. Like right now, you see these two teams out here in this field on this ranch land. And they continue to hit those hot spots. But as soon as they pass to one side, if you look over here on the other edge, it doesn't take long for that smoke to start --

MALVEAUX: Sure. LAVANDERA: -- kind of billowing up again. And it doesn't take long for some of that to fire up into flames.

This has really settled down tremendously here in the last couple of minutes since right before we went on camera. But if you look in the background there, that's toward Possum Kingdom Lake. All of that dark, scorched grass is what they have been battling here, and we continue to see these aircraft flying overhead, looking for those spots that need to be hit with the fire suppressant, as well.

MALVEAUX: And Ed, you have been talking to these guys throughout the day. Do they feel like they have got enough people on the ground there? I mean, it seems like they are scurrying really to try to just keep up with this thing.

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, here it's really a problem of logistics. It's just not an easy place to navigate.

I mean, if you go from one fire spot to the next hot spot, you know, this is a lot of ground and a lot of territory to cover, a lot of, you know, back country roads like this that they have to navigate. So it's -- you know, there's obviously a need for resources.

There's so many huge fires across the state, that resources are definitely spread out far and wide. But it also is just a matter of it takes time to get from one place to the next.

This isn't like, you know, driving around in the corner in a major urban area. A lot of these spots are far and wide.

And just look -- like, for example, if you look at these hills and these little mountaintops here, you know, these kind of create canyons through all of this, and you've got to navigate around those. And there might be a fire on the other side they have to get to. So it takes some time to drive around and get to the spots where they need to get to.

MALVEAUX: Sure. Ed, thank you so much. Excellent reporting.

And obviously, a big, big job ahead for all of those workers there. We certainly hope they can contain that. But it looks like it is really a devastating situation there in Texas.

Thank you, Ed. Appreciate it. Be safe.

The White House says that prescription drug abuse is now worse than ever, especially among teenagers and the elderly. I'm going to talk with the head of the White House Drug Control Policy about what he is doing to stop it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Last hour, the White House announced a national action plan to fight prescription drug abuse. The National Drug Policy director calls it a serious and growing public health problem worse -- if you can believe this -- than crack cocaine in the '80s and heroin in the '70s. The government says one out of every five Americans from teenagers on up have abused prescription drugs at some point in their lives.

Joining me now is Gil Kerlikowske, the director of White House National Drug Control Policy.

Thank you so much for joining us here.

Clearly, there is a big problem with prescription drug abuse. Why is it so much worse than, say, it was just 10 years ago?

GIL KERLIKOWSKE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY: Well, first of all, it's a prescription. And people don't recognize that as a prescription, that it can be dangerous, that it can be addictive, it isn't something sold in a piece of tin foil from behind a gas station. And that's one of our big educational efforts.

MALVEAUX: Why has it increased, the drug abuse increased, so dramatically?

KERLIKOWSKE: There are a couple reasons why. One is, about 12 or so years ago, it was widely understood that physicians were undertreating pain, and we have seen a significant increase in these prescriptions. Remember, in the right circumstances, and used appropriately, these can be very important drugs for people that have chronic pain.

The other is that young people are becoming more exposed to drugs through the medicine cabinet than they are through, for instance, smoking marijuana.

MALVEUAX: What types of drugs are we talking about here that are being abused the most?

KERLIKOWSKE: Well, certainly, in the area that I've been discussing, it's around the pain killers, the opioid pain killers. Oxycontin is one that comes to mind. Vicodin is another.

MALVEUAX: Can you tell us what the department is doing about it, this national plan of action?

KERLIKOWSKE: Well, the important part of this is that all the agencies came together. I mean, this is what the American taxpayer expects. That regardless of bureaucracy, et cetera, that we all work together, and then we try and solve a problem. So the Food and Drug Administration, Health and Human Services, we worked at it from prescribing information for physicians to how to get rid of these drugs in a safe way to enforcement. Cracking down on the so-called pill mills, which I think you've reported on in South Florida.

MALVEUAX: How do you deal with the access here? Because that is a big problem. You know, you have teenagers who can go into their parents' medicine cabinets, as you know, or the grandparents who have medications. I mean, how do you deal with that part of the problem?

KERLIKOWSKE: There are two ways that I think really have made a difference. And the first is, getting people to be knowledgeable about this, and getting the exposure about what's in your medicine cabinet.

The second is the Drug Enforcement Administration, with all of their state and local law enforcement partners, will be sponsoring a drug takeback day on April 30. They did this about six months ago. They collected 121 tons of pills. We actually think that April 30, they'll be collecting more of these.

MALVEUAX: Mr. Kerlikowske, thank you so much for being here with us in the NEWSROOM. And clearly, a big, big problem that we have on our hands. We're looking for some solutions. I know the government is involved, as well as people just on the ground who want to make a difference.

So, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

KERLIKOWSKE: Thank you.

Well, saving bees. Watch as our CNN photojournalist captures one group's way of protecting this critical link in the health of the environment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: One of the first signs of spring is bees buzzing around our gardens, yes? But they have been struggling in recent years. Their hives mysteriously are now disappearing. One group is trying to save the bees with an all-natural effort. In today's "Green Solutions In Focus," photojournalist John Torgo brings us this story from Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTA KATO, BACKWARD BEEKEEPERS: I'm Roberta Kato. I work with the Backwards Beekeeper.

RUSSELL BATES, BACKWARDS BEEKEEPERS: Which is a group of chemical-free, treatment-free, organic beekeepers, and we have grown from about five members three years ago to about 550 today.

KIRK ANDERSON, BACKWARDS BEEKEEPERS: We basically have a rescue hot line. We must get 3,000 or 4,000 calls a year on it. We go and catch and rescue swarms. We remove them from people's houses and give them to new beekeepers to start bee keeping. So, it's a sustainable resource, because nature provides the bees.

KATO: It looks like we have a swarm of bees that came in a few days ago.

LISA NGHE, CALLED RESCUE HOTLINE: When I first saw them, like, I have to be honest, it kind of freaked me out, because it was just a cloud of buzzing bees up in the air.

KATO: OK. If they start coming, walk away, okay? NGHE: We came upon the Backwards Beekeepers, because I called the city. The city referred me to an exterminator. My dad got really angry, because he did not want to exterminate the bees.

KATO: Well, I think what we're going to do is have a three-day run with them, just to see how they work.

ANDERSON: If the honey be hadn't been doing what it's been doing the last 70 million years, we would all be eating rice and wheat. Let's say a cucumber, I think, has to be visited by a pollinator six times to set fruit. So, they are probably the most important insects in the world.

This here is a frame that is full of beautiful, cured, feral honey. Clean, chemical-free, treatment-free. And this is going to go on the cheese plate at a local bar in Los Vilas called Bar Kovelle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On every cheese plate, we put some of this local honey and people love that, and we say it comes from right here in the neighborhood.

AMY SEIDENWURM, BACKWARDS BEEKEEPERS: Oh, look at that. We're all about fully natural, organic, chemical-free bee keeping, which is quite different from how commercial beekeepers run their operation. We find that taking that approach helps the bees thrive in urban settings.

NGHE: My dad is a little bit iffy right now with keeping so many bees.

KATO: So they're going to be able to watch their bees from their window.

NGHE: After the three days, my dad is happy with it. We'll probably keep them.

KATO: I think that's the most exciting part. Because I try to aim to have a new beekeeper every week.

KATO: Thank you.

ANDERSON: We're backward beekeepers. We figure backwards is the new forwards.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Tune in this Saturday for more of our "Green Solutions In Focus" series. Tom Foreman hosts this special Eatocracy edition at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEUAX: Well, they were happy back in the day, but today some cast members of one of America's most beloved sitcoms, "Happy Days" - you remember the sitcom -- they are now livid and filing a lawsuit against CBS. Poppy Harlow has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: This is the "Happy Days" today. The show's cast on slot machines. Potsy, Ralph, Joannie, even the Cunninghams.

MARION ROSS, "HAPPY DAYS" CASTMEMBER: Somebody came up to me and said, "You must be cleaning up on those casinos." And I said what are you talking about? And he said, "Yes, if you get five Marians, you hit the jackpot."

(LAUGHTER)

HARLOW: The slots represent what the actors say is a merchandising bonanza that began 37 years ago when the show first hit the airwaves. But those same actors also say they haven't been paid for the continued use of their images, as their contracts require. And now they're preparing to sue CBS, which owns the show.

ANSON WILLIAMS, "HAPPY DAYS" CASTMEMBER: It represents to the public the best of what America has to offer. You know? The opportunities, the friendships, the warmth. Unfortunately, "Happy Days" now also represents the worst of America. Of what major companies are trying to get from it.

HARLOW: In exclusive interviews, we spoke with four members of the cast. Anson Williams, Don Most, Marion Ross, and Erin Moran at a 1950s-style cafe in Los Angeles. The estate of Tom Bosley, who died last October, is also part of the lawsuit. And for these actors, who are like family --

DON MOST, "HAPPY DAYS" CASTMEMBER: You look great!

HARLOW: -- it was a very emotional reunion.

ROSS: This is the best part! This is the best part.

HARLOW: The issue, they argue, is simple. They want to be paid for the use of their images.

MOST: There's something kind of skewed, in that the people who really had nothing to do with making this show, they're exploiting and making money on it by using our face, our pictures, and all that.

HARLOW: After hearing about the "Happy Days" slots, they began asking questions about where all the money went.

JOHN PFEIFFER, ACTORS' ATTORNEY: "Happy Days" has turned into unhappy days.

HARLOW: John Pfeiffer is the actors' attorney in a suit against CBS.

PFEIFFER: They made a promise to pay, they broke their promise. That's a breach of contract. Number two, they made a promise to pay, they purposely didn't pay. They broke their promise. Fraud.

HARLOW: Under their contracts, the actors were to be paid five percent from the net proceeds of merchandising if their sole image were used, and 2.5 percent if they were in a group. The studio has the right to deduct 50 percent off the top as a handling fee.

PFEIFFER: We have here iconic actors that -- I mean, I grew up watching these people. And yet, they got stiffed.

ROSS: You haven't seen a dime from this.

HARLOW: The actors argue, the studio knew it owed them money. Because in 1999, after Moran asked, the studio which was then Paramount, paid her $692 for merchandising. This document also shows she was previously paid more than $8,000, which she claims she never received.

ERIN MORAN, "HAPPY DAYS" CASTMEMBER: Bull. No, I didn't. No, I did not.

HARLOW: The merchandising proceeds are especially personal for Moran, who lost her California home to foreclosure last year.

In documents provided to the actors, CBS says it only owes them between $8,500 and $9,000 each. And most of that's from the slot machines. But the actors argue, they're owed millions.

CBS sent us a statement, saying, "We agree that funds are owed to the actors, and have been working with them for quite some time to resolve the issue."

HARLOW (on camera): Is it possible that CBS/Paramount may have just made a mistake?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That -- I'd like to answer that question.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's funny.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to answer that question. Let's see, made a mistake for 37 years?

HARLOW (voice-over): A generation after the show ended, these actors all say this case is bigger than "Happy Days" and will set a precedent for the industry.

HARLOW (on camera): People watching may be asking, you know, "Happy Days" started 37 years ago. Why are they just bringing this suit now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, because when we started the show, we were just kid actors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, we were over (ph) consumed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we weren't business people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we signed -- we used to say, oh, well they send you the checks and that's it. Didn't think about it.

HARLOW: Are you fighting for more than money?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think fairness and --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Principle. It's principle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we think of all the different shows that must be having the same --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Argument about this? Maybe it's for the future that we're doing this.

HARLOW: The actors will be asking for a specific breakdown of how much each licensee that deals with "Happy Days" earned from sales and how much CBS took in. And those sales continue. CBS recently announced licensing deals with clothing manufacturers in Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. And there's even plans in the works for a lottery game with "Happy Days" characters.

And you may be wondering about Henry Winkler, who, of course, played "The Fonz," and Ron Howard, the Academy Award winning director who played Richie Cunningham. Neither is part of this case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Gold has just hit a record high. Our Felicia Taylor is live in New York with this information. This breaking news.

Hey, what do we have? What does this mean?

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, what it means is -- I mean additionally gold is considered a safe haven investment, so there's still a little bit of fear in the marketplace after we came off of that announcement yesterday from the S&P that downgraded the outlook for the United States' debt rating. So there's just -- basically investors are looking for a safe haven investment. And that's exactly what gold is.

It flirted with $1,500. It's now backed off a little bit. Now at about $1,496. But as you probably remember, they had been expecting gold to hit this level, it just may have done so a little bit sooner than we were talking about because there were some indications that it would happen closer to the end of this year and certainly this is only the month of April. So, again, gold hitting a record high of $1,500.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, Felicia Taylor in New York. We'll be right back after this break. CARMEN WONG ULRICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Time now for "The Help Desk," where we get answers to your financial questions. Joining me this hour, Donna Rosato is a senior editor at "Money" magazine, and John Ulzheimer is president of consumer education at smartcredit.com.

Let's start with Fred in California. Fred asks, "I own my home free and clear, but I want to move into a different city now that prices are low. Should I try to sell now or get a mortgage and rent my house until the market is better? I have a credit rating in the 800s, but not much money for a down payment." This is an interesting conundrum.

John.

JOHN ULZHEIMER, PRES. OF CONSUMER ED., SMARTCREDIT.COM: I can -- look, I can tell you that there are a lot of people in California who would like to have zero mortgages, not two mortgages. I think the first thing he should do is sell the house. Play it safe, especially in this mortgage environment. Sell the house -- look, it's a buyers' market right now -- and then go out and find a new home. Especially with a credit score of 800, he's not going to have much of a problem because he is in the elite credit risk level right now. The problem he may run into is, if he takes the rent it out and buy a new house strategy, what happens if the renter bales on him or stops making payments? Then instead of having five bedrooms and four baths, now he has 10 bedrooms and eight baths in California he may not want half of.

ULRICH: Yes, being short on cash is not good in that situation.

All right, our next question is from Chuck in California. He says, "my son had five good offers to short sale a condo, but his bank refused each one and he's now foreclosing on the property. Now, why would they not take the short sale over the foreclosure?"

Donna, a lot of folks find themselves in this situation.

DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY": Right, it seems counterintuitive. You would think that a bank would prefer a short sale than a foreclosure. Of course a short sale is when you have a mortgage that's -- the value of your home is worth less than the mortgage. But really, short sales are not a slam dunk for banks. And sometimes a bank prefers a foreclosure because if the bank has insurance on the home, they can actually make out better. They foreclose on it and then the insurance will cover up the shortfall.

Now, remember, with a short sale, the bank gets the mortgage, but there's a portion of it that they will never recover. So it doesn't always make sense. And this person also needs to prove that they have a hardship. That they -- he either needs -- he's lost his job and can't pay or is moving a good distance away from the home. In the end, it's up to the bank whether they approve or not.

ULRICH: Difficult situation.

Thank you, Donna. Thank you, John.

Do you have a question you want answered? Well, send us an e-mail any time to the cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: House Republicans have hired a lawyer to protect the Federal Defense of Marriage Act. The Obama administration announced last month it believes the act, which defines marriage between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional. Which brings us to today's "Talk Back."

Carol, a lot of people weighing in on this one.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Actually, a lot of people weighing in, and most of them had pretty much the same thing to say, but I'll share that with you in a bit. "Talk Back" question today, is the Defense of Marriage Act the best way to save marriage?

This from Janice. "Taking this fight any farther is like beating a dead horse. It is a waste of time and taxpayer money. In this day and age, when fiscal responsibility and the economy are such issues, why not put that energy and money to better use someplace else."

This from James. "Gay people getting married will not stop single motherhood, it will not stop heterosexual divorce. The idea that it compromises marriage is based in ignorance and hate mongering."

And this from Dave. "Best way to save marriage? Expiration dates on marriage licenses."

Facebook.com/carolcnn. Keep the conversation going.

MALVEAUX: You know, some people have a sense of humor about this.

COSTELLO: You have to or you'd cry.

MALVEAUX: Yes, that's true.

Carol, thank you.

COSTELLO: Sure.

MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.

Well, the Google doodle making history. We're going to explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Since Google started displaying doodles on its webpage, the designs have improved steadily in creativity. Our Silicon Valley correspondent Dan Simon takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN LENNON (singing): You may say I'm a dreamer.

DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is what Google dreamed up on what would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday.

LENNON: But I'm not the only one.

SIMON: Paying homage to a Lennon classic. The company often uses its home screen to celebrate musicians, scientists, holidays, events, artists and actors. Most notably, unveiling this short last week honoring Charlie Chaplain. The company calls them "Google Doodles."

RYAN GERMICK, GOOGLE DOODLE CREATIVE LEAD: It's definitely something we try to mix up and keep surprising.

SIMON: Ryan Germick is the creative lead behind the changing logs. Something that dates back to when the company was founded in 1998.

GERMICK: Doodles started with really humble beginnings. In a way to like humanize -- you know, humanize the website. Just kind of show, hey we're out there, we're people, and then, you know, we got into some more elaborate artwork.

SIMON: Work that has included a take on Artist Robert Indiana's (ph) famous love sculpture for Valentine's Day. For Thomas Edison's birthday, an animated doodle featuring a number of his inventions, including the light bulb, the phonograph and the motion picture camera. For Jewel Bird's (ph) birthday, Google came up with an interactive as a way to celebrate his classics. There was this in honor of the 119th anniversary of the ice cream sundae. And several doodles popped up during last year's winter Olympics. But one particularly stands out. A recreation of Pac-Man to celebrate the game's 30th anniversary, believed to be the first playable logo. Google engineer Marcin Wichary designed it.

MARCIN WICHARY, GOOGLE ENGINEER: We went all the way to make it look and feel and play as the original, because we felt that the only way to honor it properly.

SIMON: The company now hasn't always pleased everyone. In 2007, it faced criticism for not having enough Patriotic doodles. That year it came out with a logo for Veterans Day. Germick says the company scans the web for feedback.

GERMICK: We check blogs, we skim on Twitter and try to find out what people are saying about this stuff (ph).

SIMON: He says most of the comments have been overwhelmingly positive. The logos have certainly been diverse from Martin Luther King, to Dr. Seuss, to Houdini.

GERMICK: You come to the Google home page and we're really thankful for that and, you know, we want to give something back and have something fun.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: And the company has an annual competition for kids to see who can come up with the most clever doodle. They get tens of thousands of entries. The winner will be announced next month. And, guess what, they get their doodle on the Google home page and a $15,000 scholarship for college.

Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Wow, pretty cool. Pretty cool. Thanks, Dan.

Normally we bring you our "Choose The News" winner right now. However, breaking news coverage of the Texas fires used up our time for that. So you get to see all three pieces online. I'll have links to them on my page at facebook.com/suzannecnn so you get a chance to see those.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Randi Kaye, who's in for Ali Velshi.

Hey, Randi.