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Libyan Rebels Seize Border Crossing; FAA Fires Two Controllers; Controllers in the Cockpit; President Obama Reaches out to Tinsel Town; iPhones Track Your Location

Aired April 21, 2011 - 11:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

I'd like to get you up to speed for Thursday, April 21st.

Hot, dry winds could make some wildfires in Texas even worse today. Seventeen separate blazes are now burning across the state. Flames have scorched almost 1.5 million acres this fire season alone, and that is an area about the size of Delaware. The fires claimed the life of a second firefighter today.

The FBI wants to talk to this man about a pipe bomb and two propane tanks found at a mall in Littleton, Colorado. Now, those things were found on the 12th anniversary of the attack on Columbine High School. Pipe bombs and propane tanks were part of the arsenal in that 1999 massacre.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKI KELLEY, JEFFERSON COUNTY, COLORADO, SHERIFF'S OFFICE: This was potentially devastating to a very high-populated area, and very difficult to ignore the day that today is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Libyan rebels claim they are in control of a key border crossing with Tunisia today. Rebels say about 100 fighters loyal to Moammar Gadhafi fled into Tunisia after a fierce battle. Thousands of Libyans have used the crossing to flee the civil war.

The bodies of two journalists will be turned over to British and American authorities in Benghazi, Libya, today. Oscar-nominated actor Tim Hetherington, on the left, and Getty photographer Chris Hondros were hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. They were documenting Libya's brutal civil war in Misrata.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG CAMPBELL, CHRIS HONDROS' FRIEND: There are times when 99 percent of the time, you know, you tend to make the right decision, and you're being cautious about it. But there are times, unfortunately, when you just don't know which decision is right or wrong. And unfortunately, that's what Tim and Chris found themselves in. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Starting tomorrow, it will be illegal to enter Japan's nuclear hot zone without a government escort. The government will, however, bus people to their homes to get their belongings. They must wear protective suits and stay no more than two hours.

A man is in court in Toronto today, charged with murder in a webcam attack involving a young woman. Police say he attacked the exchange student while she was on a live webcam feed with a friend in China. The feed ended before the woman was killed.

Major League Baseball has seized financial operational control of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Owner Frank McCourt and wife Jamie are fighting over the ball club in a messy divorce. The Dodgers went deep in debt while the McCourts paid themselves millions to finance a lavish lifestyle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NED COLLETTI, L.A. DODGERS GENERAL MANAGER: We're still in a learning process, and we don't really have a lot of information as to where we really go from here. I'm sure in the next couple days we'll get more information from Major League Baseball.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And your iPhone is tattling on you. Computer experts have discovered the iPhone tracks everywhere you go and stores that information on a secret file. Well, you can turn off the iPhone's GPS, but that doesn't disable the tracking feature. It's not clear whether Apple can or does access your data.

Donald Trump called in to CNN's "American Morning" just a short time ago and spoke about his investigation into the birther issue. Now, he says, "Every day that goes by, I think less and less that he was born in the United States," regarding President Obama. But Trump also says he'd rather talk about things like jobs and the economy.

Which brings us to today's "Talk Back" and our Carol Costello.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And there's a reason.

MALVEAUX: Conspiracy theories.

COSTELLO: There's a reason why Mr. Trump may want to talk more about the economy and debts and stuff like that.

The fight for Independents is on, and it's taking an odd twist, thanks to Donald Trump. There is an effort by some on the right to discredit him for the good of the Republican Party, and it's coming from former senior adviser to President Bush and political consultant Karl Rove.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KARL ROVE, FMR. BUSH ADVISER: His full embrace of the birther issue means that he's off there in the nutty right and is now an inconsequential candidate. He's just now, you know, a joke candidate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And it's not just Donald Trump, but Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin, they are now targets by some conservative voices. Bill O'Reilly called them grenades that could do a lot of damage to Republicans.

You see, those election-deciding Independent voters are turned off by the very issues that turn on both the extreme right and extreme left wing. So, for the GOP to win them over, it means talking less birther and more budget.

Take Michele Bachmann, who recently said President Obama should answer some questions about his birthplace. But on "GMA," when presented with Mr. Obama's certificate of live birth, she appeared to back off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), MINNESOTA: That's what should settle it. I take the president at his word. That is not the main issue facing the United States right now. The main issue facing the United States is dealing with our debt and our deficit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: One potential Republican presidential candidate trying to turn the corner politically. But will it be enough? Is it too late to win over Independent voters?

So, the "Talk Back" question today: Do you think the birther and conspiracy issues are hurting the GOP?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I'll read your comments later this hour.

MALVEAUX: So far, for Trump it's not hurting him. He's just getting more attention.

COSTELLO: Yes, but he's also kind of trying to -- of course, he has that -- what am I saying? He's not. But Michele Bachmann clearly is.

MALVEAUX: He wants people to tune into "The Apprentice." That's what I think.

COSTELLO: I think so, too.

MALVEAUX: All right, Carol. Thank you.

COSTELLO: Sure.

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

The U.S. sending millions of dollars to rebel fighters in Libya. Details in a live report from Tripoli.

Also, hikers rescue two people stranded in a park in Utah.

Plus, giving air traffic controllers a pilot's-eye view by putting them in the cockpit.

And a rare look inside Japan's nuclear evacuation zone before it was completely sealed off.

And finally, how your iPhone may be tracking your every move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Rebels seize a border crossing in western Libya after fierce fighting with government troops. Plus, the U.S. plans to give millions of your taxpayer dollars to help the rebel forces.

There's a lot of ground to cover here in the conflict. I want to get directly to our Frederik Pleitgen, who's in Tripoli.

Fred, what is the latest on the ground?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly there's many developments here on the ground in the past couple of hours. The one thing that's really the main focus here is those $25 million that the U.S. is thinking about giving to the rebels.

Now, what they're of course trying to do is they're trying to prop up the rebels, they're trying to make them into a more coherent fighting force without, obviously, putting any American boots on the ground. And they call this non-lethal aid.

You're talking about things like bullet-proof vests. You're talking about things like uniforms, boots. Well, at the same time, of course, we have Italy, France and the U.K., who are going to put advisers on the ground there with the rebels to train them, to make sure they know how to use their weapons, and to also just make them into a more coherent fighting force that knows how to move on the battlefield and that knows how to divulge a strategy to be able to stand up against those much better-equipped Gadhafi forces. And that, of course, on top of the air strikes that are going on as well.

MALVEAUX: And Fred, the Obama administration, as you had mentioned, plans to give some $25 million in assistance to these rebels. The European nations are sending the military advisers. Here, people are debating whether or not this is mission creep.

What is their reaction there?

PLEITGEN: Well, I mean, the rebels are saying that they're very much open to this, and they're glad that this is going on. What we've been hearing in the past couple of days is sort of different statements from -- depending which part of the rebels are putting these out.

On the one hand, you have the people in Benghazi, who are saying this is exactly what we need. We need money. We need training. We don't want foreign forces on the ground to help us because we want to solve this thing ourselves.

Now, they're saying this, of course, as Gadhafi forces are pounding them around the town of Ajdabiya. But at the same time, for the first time, you're seeing these rebel forces dig in. They're building sand berms to try to hold up the Gadhafi forces. They're not moving forward in a disorganized way as they were in the past.

And then you have the besieged town of Misrata, where a lot of people there are calling for boots on the ground, are asking for foreign ground troops to help them get away from the Gadhafi forces who, of course, have that town besieged from all sides.

MALVEAUX: And Fred, sadly, two international journalists were killed in Misrata. You are one of the few journalists who has actually reported from that besieged city.

Can you give us your take on the journalists and what they face there?

PLEITGEN: Well, I mean, it's obviously a very dangerous environment for these journalists. And I can tell you from having been there on the ground, that when you move in the area, especially the downtown area of Misrata, you're constantly faced with people firing rocket-propelled grenades at you, bullets at you, and then, of course, there's mortars raining down from the sky pretty much the entire time. So it is a very, very dangerous environment to be in.

This group of four photojournalists who were sort of in the front line area in western Tripoli, apparently what happened is they went there with a group of rebels, and then someone fired a rocket- propelled grenade at the group, killing two of them, of course, and wounding the other two. Now, the big problem, of course, that they had -- and this is something that we also were very aware of and very afraid of, quite frankly -- is that when you get wounded there, there's basically no way out.

There's very few hospitals. The hospitals that are there are not equipped to deal with that kind of trauma. They don't have enough surgeons, they don't have enough medical equipment to deal with those kind of traumas. And then getting out is all but impossible, because the only way that you can get out is over the sea with a boat. And the shortest trip that you can take is at least 20 hours.

MALVEAUX: It's so tragic for those journalists.

Fred, please be safe, and thank you for your brave reporting. Thanks, Fred.

Time to head "X Country" for stories CNN affiliates are covering. First up, Zion National Park in Utah, where a group climbed down from a narrow cliff Tuesday, rescued two people who had been stranded for four days. Melting snow made a river too difficult for them to cross. Park rangers say they try to inform people about potentially dangerous conditions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY O'NEIL, PARK RANGER: The challenge -- and it is certainly a challenge in the springtime for us -- is the conditions change, if not daily -- if not hourly, certainly daily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: In east Texas, authorities seized 78 snakes, some 12 feet long, that were crammed into a cargo trailer. This followed the arrest of a man who failed to appear in Louisiana on 22 animal cruelty charges. Now, deputies say he reportedly adopted pets on Craigslist and fed them to the snakes.

And in Miami Beach, Krispy Kreme is sending doughnuts to U.S. troops. Lots of them. Six thousand are headed for a military hospital in Germany.

Oh, you've got to love that. The shop owner says he wants to bring a smile to the troops. Love those Krispy Kremes.

And it happens like clockwork this time of year, flooding along the Red River Valley in the Upper Midwest. We've got some before and some after pictures to actually show you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It usually happens this time of year, floodwaters on the rise along the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota. The spring floods are brought on by rain and melting snow. And right now the Red River at Fargo is falling slowly from its crest of almost 39 feet, but it is still at major flood stage.

It is the fourth highest crest on record there. And the crest at Grand Forks was almost 50 feet. That's the third highest crest on record in that city.

I want to bring in our Jacqui Jeras to explain how all of this is happening.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: We have three stories. Only one can air next hour. Tell us which one you would like to see by texting 22360.

Your first choice, Facebook and privacy. What you or even your friends type on your wall can and will be shared with people who want to get your attention.

Second choice, Arab and Muslim women's rights. Three women at the center of the struggle for independence talk about what current uprisings could mean for them.

And your third choice, the Donald "Trumpathon," as he teases America about whether or not he's going to run or not run for president. Our Jeanne Moos brings together his feistiest moments.

Vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "Facebook and Your Ads"; 2 for "Arab Women's Rights"; or 3 for "Trumpathon." The winning story will air in the next hour.

Air traffic controllers in the cockpit instead of the tower. We're going to tell you about a program to give controllers a pilot's perspective.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Checking what's ahead "On the Rundown."

Air traffic controllers sleeping on the job. We're going to take a look at your safety.

And in Japan, a rare look inside the no-go zone around the crippled nuclear power plant.

And your iPhone secretly tracking your every move. We're going to tell you how.

Well, it's a story that's getting a lot of attention lately, but the problem air traffic controllers sleeping on the job is actually not new, according to a former inspector general for the Department of Transportation. Mary Schiavo held that post from 1990 to 1996. She's also an aviation attorney and a licensed pilot, and she is with us. She joins us from Charleston, South Carolina.

Thank you very much for being here in CNN NEWSROOM.

The FAA has finally done something here, taken a harder line. They've fired two controllers for sleeping on the job. Clearly, they're trying to send a strong message here that it's not acceptable.

Do you think that this is enough?

MARY SCHIAVO, FMR. DOT INSPECTOR GENERAL: Well, no, it's not enough. But it is a good start.

This kind of problem has been going on for so many years. When I was inspector general, we had instances of air traffic controllers sleeping on the job, and some were quite organized about it.

One would stand in the tower, and the others would go out in the parking lot and sleep. And they had all sorts of schemes and plans. And the FAA would sweep it under the rug.

But this time, well, it appears the First Amendment worked. With the public attention on the problem, the secretary of Transportation stepped in, Ray LaHood, and is acting.

So, it's a start. It's not nearly what needs to be done, but it's a good start.

MALVEAUX: And why does this problem still exist?

SCHIAVO: Well, the problem exists because, you know, after the PATCO strike, which was the former Air Traffic Controllers Union -- and that was way back in 1981 and 1982 -- President Reagan fired all the controllers that went on strike. And then we rehired about 12,000 controllers.

And so we've been rebuilding the system, got the system in place. All those controllers went through, and then they started retiring about 2007.

And so a lot of people just didn't rock the boat with the FAA. The FAA would always say we have it under control, and they swept problems under the rug. So, this time, because it happened in Washington, D.C., and it happened to the first lady's plane, the second incident there, I think it's getting the attention it deserves.

MALVEAUX: Now, the FAA, they fired these two air traffic controllers. Can they actually afford to do that though? Because you mentioned that there could be very much a shortage of these very specialized, trained workers. Are there enough people actually being trained to replace those who are even retiring soon, as you had mentioned?

SCHIAVO: Well, the FAA says that they have the retirement issue under control, and they do have people in the pipeline. I think they need to put more people into training.

And remember, about 25 percent wash out of training because it is intense, and you want only the best people in those jobs. But unless they get rid of the bad apples -- and from my work when I was inspector general and through now, there are 15,000 controllers, and it's a small minority that cause the problem.

Often you find the people who fall asleep have fallen asleep before. I think you will find that the people who were fired are repeat offenders. And if you clear out the problems, it's much easier to manage the organization. So, yes, cleaning out the problems, that's exactly what they have to do.

MALVEAUX: And I just want to talk real quickly about this issue of scheduling. If the controllers are allowed to work a couple of dayshifts, followed by a swing shift, and then an overnight shift, doesn't that contribute to the fatigue, the sleep deprivation that they're experiencing?

SCHIAVO: Yes. And studies have shown that almost all these instances of falling asleep were on the nightshift and were after working a series of shifts. Many times, the controllers did that to themselves.

They compress a five-day workweek into a four-day workweek so they can have three days off. And they have fixed that now by requiring a nine-hour break between two schedules. You can't work eight hours, have eight hours off, and then work an eight-hour schedule. The nine hours, as opposed to eight hours, will break that up and should cut down on the problem of sleeping on the job, because now you just work one shift in one day.

MALVEAUX: All right.

Ms. Schiavo, thank you so much for joining us.

SCHIAVO: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: We certainly hope that a lot of these problems get addressed. Thank you.

Well, one way to help air traffic controllers perform better is to show them what it's like to be a pilot. So the government is reviving -- it's an old program that puts controllers in the cockpit.

Details from Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Countless times a day, air traffic controllers and pilots converse. But do they really understand what one another is saying?

DEREK BITTMAN, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Sometimes, you know, we have been told by pilots, "Hey, I can't do that." And, you know, we may or may not understand why they can't.

MESERVE: In hopes of cultivating better understanding, starting in the coming weeks air traffic controllers will be able to fly in a cockpit to see exactly how their communications impact a working flight crew, particularly during takeoffs and landings.

PAUL RINALDI, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION: It really is so valuable for air traffic controllers to see at that critical point of flight that teamwork that's happening and why we really shouldn't give them a different instruction that they're not expecting.

MESERVE: Rinaldi did the cockpit familiarization training before 9/11. After the terror attacks, the program was suspended because cockpit security became of paramount concern. As a result, about one- third of the nation's 15,000 controllers have never had the cockpit experience.

The Transportation Security Administration has now given the green light to its revival, and the head of the Federal Aviation Administration is embracing it.

RANDY BABBITT, FAA ADMINISTRATOR: I was a professional airline pilot myself and had controllers on board. It gave a great understanding. It's a two-way dialogue, and it helps both parties understand some of the work environment that the other is operating in. MESERVE (on camera): The program is voluntary and doesn't cost a thing. Because the cockpit jump seat wouldn't ordinarily generate revenue, controllers can sit in it for free. But the payoff, former participants say, is significant.

Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Here are the three stories you can choose from today's "Choose the News" segment. You vote by texting 22360.

Text one for Facebook and your ads" how information you and your friends post on your own wall is being shared with people you don't know.

Text two for Arab women's rights, women fighting for more independence share their hopes about uprisings in Muslim countries.

And three for Trump-a-thon. Jeanne Moos has her unique take on billionaire Donald Trump's media blitz.

The winning story will air next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: President Obama reaches out to Tinsel town. Paul Steinhauser, part of the Best Political Team on Television, live from the political desk in Washington.

Good to see you, Paul. I know we've been on many of those trips, headed out there with President Obama out there in Hollywood, celebrities' houses. I know it's a big ticket for dinner with the president and all that fund-raising, yes?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, you've covered a lot of those, and you know what? That's exactly what the president is doing again today.

He's got a bunch of fundraisers in California. In fact, he starts this morning with a fundraiser in the San Francisco area. Then he's going to Reno, Nevada, for a town hall talking about the plan to reduce the deficit. Then back to California, Los Angeles, three fundraisers later today for his re-election campaign and for the Democratic National Committee. One of those is at the Sony Studios and the other two are also with the movie industry.

And, you know, listen. California's a pretty safe state for Democrats. But it's also a cash cow, I guess you could say, a pretty good place to raise money. Suzanne, you covered it the last time around. The President at that time Senator Obama raised $750 million, shattered all records. Maybe up to $1 billion this time around.

MALVEAUX: Wow, we'll see if he can do that.

And the political battle over Medicare obviously heating up. What is the latest on that?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, this is interesting. Earlier this week we talked about how the Democratic -- House Democrats and an independent Democratic group were going up with ads attacking House Republicans for voting for the Ryan budget proposal, of course, Congressman Ryan from Wisconsin, head of the budget committee, and it was his plan.

Now on the other side you've got a group called -- and the group's name is 60 Plus. It's a conservative group that represents retirees and they're going up with ads in 39 house districts, they say, all Republicans and they're thanking House Republicans and Ryan for passing that budget, which they say, it saves Medicare.

MALVEAUX: What are most parents thinking about these proposed cuts to Medicare, Paul?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, this is interesting, because it is such a hot topic, and it's only going to get hotter.

Take a look at this new poll out this week by ABC News and "The Washington Post," and you can see here a vast majority say that if it comes down to cutting from Medicare, cutting spending to Medicare to help bring down the deficit, seven out of ten -- almost eight out of ten say no, do not do that.

Suzanne, such a hot topic. Why? Seniors. They're always an important voting group. And they went big time for the Republicans in 2010, partially because they were worried about Medicare and the health care changes. Democrats want to see if they can get some of those voters back in the next election.

MALVEAUX: All right. Paul, thanks. Good to see you.

For the latest political news, you know where to go -- CNNpolitics.com.

Here's a reminder about your choices for Choose the News. Vote by texting 22360.

Text one for Facebook and your ads. How information you and your friends share will be used to target you.

And two for Arab women's rights. Three women fighting for more independence now speaking out.

Or three, for Trump-a-thon. Jeanne Moos has a unique take on billionaire Donald Trump's media blitz as he holds out the prospect of a presidential run.

The winning story will air in the next hour.

Crackdown inside Japan's evacuation zone. Officials are getting much stricter when it comes to allowing people near that crippled nuclear power plant.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) MALVEAUX: Starting Friday, Japanese officials will begin strictly enforcing the evacuation order around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Now, the country's chief cabinet secretary says no one will be allowed within three kilometers or close to two miles from the plant. Entry within 20 kilometers, about 12 1/2 miles, will be high lie regulated. Now, in recent weeks, people have been returning home to check on their farms and their businesses. You can imagine they're very worried.

Our CNN's Stan Grant went into the hot zone and shows us a neighborhood essentially frozen in time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The flashing red lights, the warning signs, faces covered with masks. We are entering a no-go zone. One by one, cars are checked. Only a select few residents' official vehicles are allowed in. Beyond this point, the Japanese government says it is not safe for people to live. Radiation levels from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have spiked dangerously high.

(on camera): Is he worried about the levels? Is he concerned about being exposed to them?

(voice-over): Even this policeman guarding the check point admits he's worried he may be putting his life at risk by doing his job.

But today radiation is reading relatively low. We're even waved through, given rare access to what has been called a hot zone.

(on camera): Now, I am inside the 20-kilometer zone, so I need to take precautions. As you can see, I'm wearing some face covering here and down at my feet, my shoes are also protected. This is to stop me from coming into contact with any potentially contaminated material on the ground or breathing in any contamination.

(voice-over): All around me is desolation. What the tsunami spared, radiation has left contaminated. Houses have been abandoned, possessions scattered. There are pools of water where the flooding has not yet receded. Everywhere there is debris. Many buildings beyond repair. Farm animals are left to fend for themselves, growing gaunt.

To call it a ghost town is a cliche. But here, no exaggeration. Amidst the silence, a lone resident returning briefly to check on his home. He doesn't want to be identified but tells me that he is scared and doesn't trust the government when it tells him he is at low health risk.

So much information has been flying around, he says, even if it is correct information. How can I know what to pick and trust? His family has lived and farmed this land for 150 years. But the tradition may end here. This man is in his 30s. He wants to one day have children of his own and he questions right now ever coming back.

I might have to face a moment when I must choose by age, he says. such as my father staying here while I live far away to be able to have a family.

Just on the edge of the exclusion zone, Buddhist monk Shinko Ishikawa is giving comfort to those whose lives have been turned upside down. Inside his temple he chants near the cremated remains of those killed in the earthquake and tsunami. People here have been devastated, he says. Now they live in fear of radiation. But he can offer them faith.

SHINKOH ISHKIAWA, BUDDHIST MONK: Religion is not something distant, it stays next to you, he says. It would be good if they understood that death is not the vanishing of one's life, but a resolving step where lives meet again.

GRANT: But the spirit of these people is being tested. These are lives of uncertainty and fear, of wondering when or if they will go home again.

Stan Grant, CNN, inside the Fukushima exclusion zone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: The fight for democracy can be a dangerous business. We are watching the Arab world implode over the world so that people's demands for greater freedom and representation.

In the Ivory Coast, we saw a disputed election turn into a deadly standoff. But right now, Nigeria, an African nation bitterly divided by politics and religion. It is now on the brink. Our Carl Azuz is here to go beyond the headlines.

Carl, I travelled to Nigeria covering President Bush. This is a critical ally for the United States. I mean, it cannot be overstated. This is a place where it's like one of the top five suppliers of oil to the United States. They say it's now on the brink, potentially, of a civil war.

Tell us what is taking place.

CARL AZUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Once again, it is a very dangerous situation there. The president Goodluck Jonathan is comparing what's happened in the past few days to the civil war that almost split the country back in the 1990s.

Basically here's what's going on. Nigeria, as you said, is a nation divided. You've got Muslims in the north, Christians in the south. And it's also Africa's largest oil producer. It's got the continent's largest population -- 150 million people, half the population of the United States, lives in Nigeria.

The trouble started earlier this week when Goodluck Jonathan, he's the president, a southerner and a Christian, he came out on top of the presidential poll, and that's according to official results. International observers said the election was largely fair. But politicians from the north say it was rigged and that's when things got violent and the rioting began.

Now, people in the north are afraid of retaliation from those in the south. The Red Cross says more than 40,000 people have fled their homes. And while Jonathan says enough is enough when it comes to the violence, it's not clear yet how he plans to stop it.

MALVEAUX: And there seems to be violence from both sides. It's unclear how you would actually resolve this issue, this problem. What are some of the other critical issues that are facing Nigerians?

AZUZ: It's a great question because there are so many of them. Nigeria is very unstable at this point. And they're dealing with corruption. There's ethnic and religious violence. There are armed gangs in the oil-rich Niger delta. You have the rise of Islamic sects in the north, overdependency on oil nationwide. Oil accounts for 80 percent of Nigeria's federal revenue. And you have a fast-growing population of young people there. So with everything we're looking at in terms of a disputed election and all of the other issues Nigeria is facing, it's a very dangerous condition they have in terms of stability, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: We're going to be following it very closely.

Thank you, Carl, for going beyond the headlines.

AZUZ: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.

Today's "Talk Back" question: Do you think the birther and conspiracy issues are hurting the Republicans, the GOP?

Paul says, "Absolutely they do. These topics are sideshows at best and transparent efforts for media attention, Nothing more."

More of your responses ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Still have time to pick one of the three stories you'd like to choose in "Choose the News" today. Vote by texting 22360.

Text 1 for Facebook and your ads. How information you post on your wall is being shared with advertisers. Text 2 for Arab women's rights. Women fighting for more independence talk about how uprisings around the world will affect them. Or 3 for "Trumpathon," Jeanne Moos looks at some of the funniest moments from billionaire Donald Trump's media blitz.

The winning story will air in the next hour.

Well, it is not Big Brother watching you, it's your phone. Yep. Secret location logs in iPhones and iPads tracking everywhere the devices and their owners go. A couple researchers stumbled on these secret files, our CNN's Stephanie Elam joins us with some of the details.

Steph, you know, I don't know if we should be surprised or not surprised, but tell us about the feature. What does it record, and can you turn this off?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think it's surprising to a lot of people, Suzanne. And the short answer is no, you can't turn it off. You could encrypt the data on there.

But what happens is, your phone, I happen to have an iPhone, it's holding all of this data. It's pointing out where you've been, and not just where, longitude and latitude, those are in there along with the time stamp, so it knows exactly where you've been and it's keeping that information. And then when you sync your computer with your phone, then it's going into iNews and it's a little.

So these researchers, they developed a little program, you can just go download it, and it will show you a map and show you all the places that the phone has been.

So if someone gets a hold of your phone or computer, if they have access to it, they could easily find this out.

Now a lot of apps that a lot of people already have on their iPhones, they already do a lot of this tracking, right? You know, it will say "don't allow" or "do allow" access to say where you are, say if you're going to use a map or any sort of -- maybe even Groupon, I think, does that because they want to forward you offers based on where you are. So a lot of people have seen things like this.

The difference is the end user usually couldn't see this information, and that's what has people so upset about it. But unless you're doing something really shady, it's probably not that big of a deal to you, it's just something you should have a right to know about it. And Apple hasn't addressed why it's there. Because if you get a new phone and you sync that phone, the data information is still there.

So obviously it is there for a reason. Apple hasn't told us why.

MALVEAUX: I'm not doing anything sneaky here. I got an iPhone. But why would Apple do this? Why is this a big deal?

ELAM: That's what people think. They're thinking maybe there's something coming down the pipeline that Apple is working on or developing that they may want to use this sort of information for.

Keep in mind, cell phone companies, they know this information, too. Normally the only people they would give it out to are law enforcement if there was some reason they need to know it. So it's there already.

They haven't actually spoken up about this, but I think the more people are talking about it, the more Apple's going to have to say something and why they're keeping this data.

And it's not going out anywhere, it's not being sent anywhere, by the way. It is just on your phone.

And Android phones as well. Android phones as well, they aren't sure whether or not they do it. They do know they hold on to some data for several weeks, but they're not sure if there is the same sort of keeping of longitude, latitude, time stamp, which is pretty specific.

MALVEAUX: Could this be especially very interesting for folks who have given up their land lines?

ELAM: It could be in the sense that if you're trying to keep this bit of privacy and that's part of the reason why you don't have a landline, it could be very different if you do have an iPhone.

Also because we were taking a look, look at this, over 26 percent of American households only are going wireless these days. They've given it up. That's up from 13.6 percent in 2007.

So the percentage of families that are just moving to cell phones in their homes has gone up in every single state. It shows that people are changing.

But I for one, Suzanne, am old school, I like a landline. And during the blackout, I was the only person who had a phone. So it was pretty cool. I could call everybody.

MALVEAUX: The rest of are just out of luck, we'll be out of luck.

All right, Steph. Thanks.

We're going to have more on the iPhone tracking your movements. Ahead in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, we're going to talk with the New York bureau chief of Wired.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Well, her aide is suddenly complaining that the media is not paying enough attention to Sarah Palin. Problem solved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, TBS "CONAN")

CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, TBS "CONAN": Sarah Palin's in the news. Sarah Palin has a 61 percent unfavorable rating in Alaska.

(APPLAUSE)

O'BRIEN: Yes, that's crazy, yes.

That number jumps to 100 percent if you only ask the animals.

Moose. That's my impression of a moose being asked a question in a poll.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: Then there's Donald Trump, he's gotten quite a bit of attention lately. Today Trump said he'll reveal what he's calling interesting things about President Obama.

He defends his belief that President Obama was not born in the United States, but Trump says he'd rather talk about other things, which brings us to our "Talk Back" question -- Carol.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: I know, some very prominent Republicans wish she would talk about other things as well.

The "Talk Back" question today: Do you think the birther and conspiracy theories hurt the GOP?

This from Jeremy, "I am an independent. The GOP and Dems are both in a lot of trouble with people like us. As it stands, I can't believe anything any government official says."

This from Wally, "The reasons liberals and 'Grandfathered' Republicans are terrified of Palin and Trump is that they are not scared to speak their minds and they threaten 'actual' change for the good of the country and not the good of their wallet or agenda."

This from Joel, "Donald Trump has single-handedly taken any Democrat who might have been on the fence about going to the GOP and then insulted their intelligence and pushed them right back. I used to be proud to be a Republican leaning 'Independent.' Now I'm ashamed that I once thought of myself as Republican."

This from Arthur, "It's the first time I've ever agreed with Karl Rove. I would like to see a resurgence of the true Grand Old Party. And I'm a Democrat."

Keep the conversation going, Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I'll be back with you in ten minutes.

MALVEAUX: The Democrats now rooting for Karl Rove.

COSTELLO: It's a weird world we're living in.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Carol.

We're counting down the days until the royal wedding. It's one week from tomorrow before Kate Middleton and Prince William tie the knot. Hundreds of millions of people around the world are expected to watch.

Our CNN royal wedding contributor Cat Deeley talked to Ellen DeGeneres about getting some butterflies in her stomach before the big day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, NBC "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW")

ELLEN DEGENERES, HOST, NBC "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW": This is very exciting. You are covering the royal wedding for CNN.

CAT DEELEY, CNN ROYAL WEDDING CONTRIBUTOR: I absolutely am.

DEGENERES: That's huge.

DEELEY: It's kind of exciting. There's a bit of me that absolutely terrified cause I think something like over 750 million people watch. I mean, it literally makes me want to vomit slightly into my own mouth.

(LAUGHTER)

DEELEY: And I'm very nervous about it.

But I think it is going to be good. I'm doing it with Piers Morgan and Anderson Cooper so I've got to keep those two --

DEGENERES: Where will you be?

DEELEY: We'll be right by Buckingham Palace. They've built us kind of this structure, and so when Kate Middleton and --

DEGENERES: My cousin.

DEELEY: Sorry?

DEGENERES: She's my cousin.

(LAUGHTER)

DEGENERES: I'm her 15th cousin.

DEELEY: That can't be true.

DEGENERES: It is true. I'm her 15th cousin. Someone let me know that and I'm not invited.

Anyway, go ahead.

DEELEY: But you're not bitter about it at all.

DEGENERES: Not at all.

DEELEY: No, you don't really care. Do you?

DEGENERES: Some people don't care about family.

Go ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Well, you've got a wedding invitation. On Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, CNN takes you behind the scenes with "CNN PRESENTS: THE WOMEN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN." We'll take a look at comparisons between Princess Di and Kate Middleton and the obvious differences as well. Plus, set the alarm, Friday April 29th at 4:00 a.m. Eastern, CNN begins its coverage of William and Kate's wedding day as millions, even billions, watch at home. Watch, DVR, participate, be a part of the global viewing party. CNN's royal wedding experience hosted by Anderson Cooper, Piers Morgan, Richard Quest and Cat Deeley.