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Terror Plot in Colorado?; Suspected Serial Killer Captured in Chicago; Firefighters Getting Some Help From Mother Nature in Texas; Government Sets Up Agency To Monitor Possible Illegal Speculation In Oil And Gas; Weird Al Spoofs Lady Gaga; Britain Prepares For Upcoming Royal Wedding; U.S. To Send Drones To Attack Gadhafi Forces In Libya; President Obama Holding Fundraisers For Reelection Campaign.

Aired April 21, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to you all. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Some major developments today involving gas prices and whether Americans are getting cheated at the pump. Here's the deal. The government, today, announcing this task force officially to look out for price gouging going on in the energy market.

So, in other words, basically looking at fraud that would most definitely affect your wallet. We will break all of that down for you coming up in just a matter of minutes.

But first, I want you to take a good, long look at this man. Here he is. The FBI is looking today for this unidentified man, photographed yesterday at a mall in Colorado. Authorities say it is a case of domestic terrorism, a failed pipe bombing.

But here's what's bizarre. This failed pipe bombing occurred less than two miles from Columbine High School exactly 12 years to the day after that horrible mass killing carried out by two students. Those two students we all remember their names, two seniors, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold.

Now, Harris and Klebold armed to the teeth with weapons that included pipe bombs. They killed 12 students, a teacher, and then they killed themselves, Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold.

What, if anything at all could be the connection to this man? Who is he? And why have authorities zeroed in on him? This is a very, very curious story here.

And before we dig a little deeper, let establish what exactly happened. Let me take you back. Just before noon, Wednesday morning, lunchtime, authorities evacuated this Southwest Plaza mall. A small fire had broken out inside in the food court. Authorities told us just a short time ago that someone had taped two propane tanks together and then lit the tape on fire.

The pipe bomb was then found nearby. Thank goodness nothing went off. Now, the FBI release two photos. There's this guy in the stairwell, cap on his head and a bag in his hand. You see that? Bag in his right hand. So later they released a third photo, the same man, here he is coming up the escalator. FBI, ATF, the locals, they are all on this.

Joining me now by phone from Golden, Colorado, Mark Techmeyer with Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.

And, sir, if you can, just explain what is it about this man? We just showed his picture. Why are you zeroing in on him?

MARK TECHMEYER, JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Well, surveillance video that we pulled from the mall led us to this man basically because of the hallway that he had entered and the time of day he was there. It kind of coincided with the fire we had.

BALDWIN: And from what I also understand, he has this bag, I believe it's from Target shopping store. In one picture, has it, another picture he doesn't. Is that also odd to you?

TECHMEYER: Well, sure. Any time we have this type of situation where they had something, then they didn't in later footage, it always raises suspicions. He's a person of interest at this point. We don't know exactly -- we certainly can't put a label of suspect on him. But he is someone that we are very interested in talking to.

BALDWIN: Mark, I want to take you back to these pictures here again in just a moment. But first just explain to me what explosive devices specifically were involved that were left? And also, lunchtime, a lot of people in the mall. How many people were in the food court at the time these pipe bombs were and propane tanks were discovered?

TECHMEYER: Don't have the exact number of how many were in the food court, but mall officials are telling us an average pedestrian traffic in the mall at that time of day during the week was anywhere from 6,000 to 10,000 people in the mall as a whole.

BALDWIN: And can you be more specific also about what it was you found and how these devices were taped together and smoking, apparently?

TECHMEYER: Can't go into a lot of detail on the devices themselves, due to the ongoing investigation. I can tell you there were two propane tanks that were found that were associated with the fire and then there was a pipe bomb found in the area as well. That's about all we can go into detail with that.

BALDWIN: OK. Other than the date, April 20, are there other connections to the Columbine massacre? For example, the weapons involved here or anything else?

TECHMEYER: Well, you can probably draw some correlations because Harris and Klebold, they had used -- they had had some pipe bombs, and I believe some propane-based type of explosives that they had made. So you can certainly draw a correlation there. Obviously the time of day and the date of April 20, 12 days to the year of the Columbine massacre. So there certainly -- it's impossible to not acknowledge those, but we certainly can't draw any direct lines to what happened yesterday. We don't know this person's motive. So we cannot definitely tie the two together yet.

BALDWIN: April 20, a day the nation remembers, certainly people in Littleton Colorado. I know Columbine High School is out each and every year on that day.

Also curious if people in your own department who worked this case at Columbine High School 12 years ago were assigned to this case at the mall today.

TECHMEYER: I believe there are. We have a large consortium of investigators on this with cooperation of ourselves, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, FBI, ATF. As of this morning we have between 60 and 80 investigators working this case. Between all of those I'm sure that we had some veterans from the Columbine massacre.

BALDWIN: Any solid leads yet, sir?

TECHMEYER: Not yet. We had some leads come in overnight on our tip line that we manned overnight. And we have teams of investigators following up on that. And we're hoping for something that will lead us to some answers here today.

BALDWIN: And, Mark, let us help you. Guys, let's put this -- here he is. Here's the picture of this person of interest, very specific, not a suspect, person of interest.

Can you just, if you can, narrow in on his height, I don't know, weight, any other features for folks who could be watching? Maybe they recognize this individual, anything you could tell us that might lead to a phone call.

TECHMEYER: A couple of specific things.

He had graying hair and he had a mustache that appears almost silver in color, and a man that we believe to be possibly in his 50s to 60s with some obviously -- some fluctuation there. But that's kind of what we're looking for. He had a gray and white horizontal striped T-shirt that was quite distinctive on yesterday. That's what we have got to go on. And we're hoping for the public's help.

BALDWIN: Does he at all, Mark, remind you of anyone?

TECHMEYER: Not off the top of our head, no. There's no one that comes to our mind immediately that we think this person of interest could be related to or to lead us to someone else. That's why we're reaching out for some help.

BALDWIN: Can you be more specific?

TECHMEYER: There's no one that we know in our system or in our contact with that this person resembles. So we're asking for the public's help.

BALDWIN: OK. Mark Techmeyer, thank you for coming on. And hopefully we're able to help you just a little bit from Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. Thank you so much. Best of luck to you.

Also keeping you in the loop, President Obama right now holding town hall number three. This one -- in three days, I should say. Here he is in Reno, Nevada, one day after his appearance at Facebook headquarters. Obviously we got a lot of eyes on this today here at CNN. And should any news break from the president, we will take you back there live.

Coming up, though, an accused serial killer captured in Chicago. Police believe he killed three girls, but are searching the city for more bodies. That story is ahead. Also this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will be here until they tell us not to, and probably still after that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been out searching a time or two, just whatever I can do.

We know she's out there, and we know she's coming home. So we have hope and we have faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: A community taking matters in their own hands. People in this small Tennessee town, they are combing through thick woods, rough terrain for a missing 20-year-old college student. You know her name by now, Holly Bobo. We will get you the latest on that search next. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: It was a tragedy that shocked and saddened so many. And today, the mother who drove into the Hudson River in her minivan full of her children has been laid to rest.

Family held a funeral this afternoon in New York for Lashanda Armstrong. You know the story. Last week, this mother drove her minivan into the river, killing her youngest three children. One of her children, 10-year-old Lashaun, managed to roll that window down and get out of there before it was too late.

The family had planned to hold funerals for all four victims today, but the children's father decided to hold separate services for 5-year-old Landen, 2-year-old Lance, and 11-month-old Laianna.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GROUP SINGING HAPPY BIRTHDAY)

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Yesterday would have been Laianna's first birthday. Her family gathered at the site of the drowning to sing her -- you heard a piece of it -- happy birthday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Celebrating one year. We was hoping to have a celebration with her, but -- so we had to come down here and let the balloons off. That's all we can do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The children's father, Jean Pierre, seen here with 10- year-old Lashaun, says his three children will not be buried with their mother. Their services will be held Monday.

One week after 20-year-old nursing student Holly Bobo was taken right out of her home, her community is now turning to prayer. Friends, family, those who even never knew her held this candlelight vigil for her last night in Parsons, Tennessee. Bobo last seen April 13 by her brother, who says he saw a large man wearing camouflage lead her into the woods right out of her home.

Crews have now widened the search for Bobo. They are using all- terrain vehicles, canine teams, helicopters to try to scour this very rugged, very wooded landscape. In fact, several hundred community volunteers have also pitched in to try to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I will be here until they tell us not to, and probably still after that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been out searching a time or two, just whatever I can do.

We know she's out there, and we know she's coming home. So we have hope and we have faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So far, in terms of the search, investigators have found several of Bobo's personal items, including her cell phone, her purse, lunch box as well, which was found in a wooded area just about eight miles from her home. A $75,000 reward, they tripled it now, $75,000 being offered for information in the case.

And Chicago police today, they're asking for your help in what they believe is a bizarre serial killer case -- 27-year-old Sonny Pierce is charged with killing three teenagers that he allegedly met through these telephone chat lines. So police say cell phone records and DNA evidence link him two of the victims. A video allegedly ties him to the third.

Pierce has been in a jail cell since August for an entirely separate crime. He's accused of assaulting a 15-year-old girl. Prosecutors handling the murder case say Pierce had sex with at least two of his victims before strangling them and dumping their bodies in alleys.

In fact, in a short phone call from jail, Pierce denies the charges.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SONNY PIERCE, DEFENDANT: No, I have not murdered anyone or did anything dirty to anyone. I'm innocent and I'm going to stay innocent. The only thing I'm guilty of is having consensual sex with too many women. That's the only thing I'm guilty of.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Pierce allegedly made a video of himself having sex with the lifeless corpse of a third victim. Police accuse him of raping the young girl in front of his friends. He and his friends allegedly beat her to death. Her body has not been found.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

PIERCE: I have recorded lots of women on my computer having intimate sex. No one died, got killed, got strangled, nothing.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, a judge denied bail for Pierce yesterday. Prosecutors fear there could be more victims. They're asking for people to call them if anyone knows anything about this in the Chicago area, if anyone is missing specifically.

The government announcing that a group is monitoring the energy markets as gas prices soar. It's of course forcing many Americans to change the way we all drive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gas prices that are going up, and I don't know how I'm going to manage. I have a lot of bills.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I walk to work.

QUESTION: You walk to work?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. If it's raining, I have a second vehicle. I will use my wife's car. With this price, I think I'm buying me a bicycle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, he's buying that bike because gas prices are going up. Guess what else is going up? Gas-related crimes. That is ahead.

Plus, the wildfires in Texas continue to burn. More than a million acres scorched and now another firefighter battling the fire has died. We will take you front lines there to Texas next.

And I am just getting some breaking news here out of Libya. We're gathering the facts. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A second firefighter battling those massive wildfires in Texas has died.

Gusting winds, a statewide drought have really just added to the tinderbox conditions out there. More than one million acres have burned -- iReporter Jim Malone sent in this video. This was taken downriver from Possum Kingdom Lake. He and a group of friends were out on a canoe trip on the Brazos when he captured the billowing smoke there from the camera.

Fire crews from 36 different states are all out there trying to help these guys fight the flames. And they are seeing, what we're hearing, is a bit of a break today.

Patrick Oppmann is in Brad, Texas. That is just outside of Fort Worth.

And, Patrick, I know the cold, rainy weather finally has to be some sort of welcome change, welcome respite for some of those firefighters.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely is, Brooke.

And it's just a question of how long will it last, because for the first time yesterday, and really today, firefighters were able to get in close, put out some of these fires. They haven't been able to do that. It's really been very, very difficult.

And we will show you here why that is. Some of these fires burned so intense over here. You had a general store that was built in 1936 burned down to the ground, burned to the foundation, completely toast. Burned a cactus field behind me, burned all the way up into the hills.

And take, Brooke, you get over here, a gentleman who runs a lumber business decided to stay here in his home, fight the fire. You can't think of a worse place to be than in a lumberyard to make your last stand against the fire, but that's what he did. He made it, but he knows the danger isn't over yet.

This fire could come back, Brooke. We're getting that brief break, but the weather could turn any second and we could see fire right back here again really at any moment. People are still very guarded and still very much on edge here, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yes. I think a lot of people out there, from what you have been saying, they realize this is far from over. I talked to a volunteer firefighter from Palo Pinto yesterday, a longtime homeowner there, and he's so fearful over losing his own home.

And so you're also reporting there's this war room that's been set up as a result of that fear. Explain that for me, Patrick.

OPPMANN: Well, you know, what do you do? So many people in the area have been told to evacuate, it's just not safe for them to be in these homes. So a lot of people decided they don't want to just sit around and wait for the news. They're getting the news themselves.

And I went and visited these women who were holed up in a room in a Holiday Inn. And they're really amazing. They're blogging, they're talking to firefighters, talking to volunteer firefighters, posting information, getting really some of the best information that we have seen there about this because they know the area so well.

So it's just one example of evacuees taking the initiative, getting information out, and really educating themselves. They're amazing women. And they're keeping at it. And I have been in touch with them and they're really getting news out, even to some of the firefighters about everything that's taking place because there are so many moving parts in this operation to get these fires out, Brooke.

BALDWIN: People want to know, when can I go home? Patrick Oppmann, thank you so much for that.

And as promised, want to get you to this breaking news here. Here's what we're learning at CNN. The U.S. military is confirming they will use armed unmanned drones over Libya. This is according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He is calling the drones a -- quote -- "modest contribution to international coalition efforts in Libya." Here are live pictures from the briefing. Mr. Gates speaking there. We will go live to Libya. We will get the facts and how this could impact the effort on the ground. That is ahead.

Also, a secret file buried inside iPhones and iPads. It is tracking owners, maybe you, everywhere they go. So why did Apple do this? And what can you do about it? We will get you some answers next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The murder of a Chinese exchange student in Canada is getting all kinds of attention because the victim was last seen alive in a struggled captured on a Webcam.

A Canadian man has now been arrested, charged with first-degree murder. Friends of the victim's were alerted that something was wrong by her boyfriend in Beijing, who watched this whole thing play out on a Webcam as she struggled with her attacker.

Want to update you on the story of baby Joseph Maraachli. He is the Canadian baby at the heart of this end of life debate. So the 15- month-old left a Saint Louis hospital today headed home to Canada after receiving a tracheotomy. He's suffering from a progressive neurological disease. A Canadian court had permitted doctors to remove his breathing tube, but his parents wanted him to be able to die at home.

So they asked for help. They asked American hospitals for help. The tracheotomy makes it possible for baby Joseph to breathe on his own without the assistance of machines.

Do you love your iPhone? Can't live without our iPad? Well, how would you feel if you found out that Apple was keeping a secret file on you, documenting your every move, complete with location, time stamps, keeping it stored for up to a year? Folks, this is not science fiction. It is reality.

Ted Rowlands explains how this works to CNN's T.J. Holmes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You have your iPhone. It has an internal device here, or an internal application that basically tracks everything you do. And then when you transfer, you synch your iPhone to your computer, which most people do through iTunes, you can run a little application, very easy to do, and it will show where you have gone. This shows where I have been over the past year or so since June.

Now, is that a problem? Well, for some people, it might be. The guys that found this do believe it is a problem for some people, and they do believe that iPhone users should have known about it. Take a listen.

ALASDAIR ALLAN, RESEARCHER: It really depends on their circumstances. Some people are in abusive relationships, some people are getting divorced, some people, they're having things where people knowing their exact location at a certain point in time is a bad thing.

I mean, personally I'm not particularly concerned myself. I don't think people should panic. But I don't think that it's necessary to keep data in the phone and people should be aware of it.

ROWLANDS: And, T.J., we should -- people should keep in mind for somebody to get this information, they physically have to get your device and/or that computer and have access to it. So they would need to know your password, so it would have to be somebody that knows you well or that actually steals your device and then the question is, who cares if they know where you have been? For some people, it makes a difference. For others, they don't care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: All right, Ted Rowlands, thank you very much.

Still to come here, is there a new feud perhaps brewing in Hollywood between of all people Lady Gaga and Weird Al ? Don't miss this one. We will explain it for you. Brooke Anderson will. That is ahead.

But, first, take a look at this, $3.84. That's the average, according to AAA. That's the average national gas price today. But why are prices so high? I know some of you are seeing $5 and upwards. Could this spike also cause a spike in crime? We have some more answers next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now to something that's certainly been puzzling us, and I'm guessing you as well, what's really fueling what seems like a never ending increase in the prices of oil and gas. The Obama administration wants answer as well. So today the Justice Department announced the formation of a financial fraud task force to watch for illegal maneuvering of oil and gas prices.

Today, the average cost of your gallon of gas $3.84 a gallon, a whopping 30-cent jump since last month. And it's not at all your all- time high of $4.11 that was the record that was set back in 2008. Many people it will go way, way beyond.

So let's talk more about this. We wanted to bring Rick Newman back, chief business correspondent for U.S. news and world report. I want to talk about the group formed by the DOJ. In the first paragraph they say "The Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group, the group assembled, will monitor oil and gas marks for potential violations of criminal or civil laws to safeguard against consumer harm." What are they looking for specifically?

RICK NEWMAN, "U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT": It beats me, Brooke, to tell you the truth. I think they're looking for a bit of happy publicity so say, yes, we understand this is a problem for a lot of Americans we're paying attention. It also says we have no reason to believe there is any illegal activity but we're going to form this group to keep our eye on it just in case.

There was a lot of speculation about speculation, if you will, back in 2000 when people thought this doesn't make sense that oil's gotten this high. And in a way it didn't. This financial reform law that passed last year includes some measures that will require the government to look out for financial speculators and see if they're driving the price up. The government is already doing this. I would be surprised if the new task force lowered the price by a single penny.

BALDWIN: So this is the DOJ saying they're looking at it.

Let me show you a graph. This got us talking in our editorial meeting. Take a look at this. Oil today that's and the left-hand side. Oil today, it's down 24 percent from the all-time high set back in 2008. You see that in the blue bar graph. But if you look to the right in the green that is gas right now, it is almost at its all-time high set back in 2008. When you look at the blue and look at the green and think if there's a greater discrepancy in terms of oil, why isn't there a greater discrepancy when it comes to gas?

NEWMAN: It is a good question. Oil and gas are not the same thing. Oil has to be processed to be turned into gasoline and there has been some reduced capacity in the refineries in the United States. So there's been a bit of a bottleneck, I think, for the oil getting into the refineries. That is mostly going to be resolved by the summer. If normal supply and demand holes, that factor alone would suggest that there will be more gasoline on the market prices may come down in the gap that you're pointing to.

Of course a lot of other factors that play here, too that could push gasoline back up. People drive more during summer so demand for gasoline goes up and that pushes the price back up.

BALDWIN: People are driving more. You and I were talking, as a result, people are waiting till the last second fuel up, as a result people strand on the highway pap reports of people stealing gas. There are how-to videos -- don't look at it but I'm saying, how-to videos from people out there saying, hey, here's the ABCs of how to siphon gas. Obviously it's illegal. Is this something if you're looking ahead, is this something, as prices go up, that we're going to see more of?

NEWMAN: I guess maybe we better start looking into how to put a lock on our gas tank, Brooke, I don't know. If you look back to the recession, there were predictions that crime would go up and basic burglary would go up, and that didn't happen. I'd like to think that we are a fairly sensible nation.

BALDWIN: Are you telling me I have to put a lock on my gas cap? Do you have one?

NEWMAN: I don't, but I'm thinking about. Rising gas prices make people crazy. More than anything else in the consumer economy, this makes people upset, freaked out about the economy and think the sky is falling. So we do see rather extreme behavior around gasoline.

BALDWIN: The Energy Department is saying the average U.S. household has to pay $825 more for gas just this year. That is a lot of money compared to one year ago. Got to leave it there. We can keep talking about this. I have a feeling we'll be having you back as prices go up.

BALDWIN: Attention, all "Gleeks," spoiler alert, a simple tweet cost a "Glee" extra her job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So it's kind of funny. It's trending today. Brooke Anderson, it's funny. Brooke, it's kind of clever. Right?

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: He's clever.

BALDWIN: He's clever.

ANDERSON: I liked it.

BALDWIN: But has Gaga changed her mind? I mean she said no before. It sounded like Weird Al had to go through hoops for this one.

ANDERSON: Well apparently so. But Gaga wasn't even involved initially so there was a little bit of confusion because in the end, Brooke, it seems that Gaga may have liked the song all along. Weird al wrote on his blog that Gaga's manager actually admitted to him that he never forwarded the parody for Gaga to approve. So he made the decision himself, not to endorse the song.

After Weird Al's video was released online, Gaga apparently saw it, loved it, signed off. And this is really grade because Weird Al plans to give proceeds from the single to the human rights campaign. I want to say that this happens regularly. People make decisions unilaterally on behalf of celebrities without the celebrity ever really knowing about it. So sometimes there can be misconceptions about how they truly feel. But stars do hire people to make decisions for them because they're pretty busy. So it's common.

BALDWIN: Think of all of the requests. You have to have someone intercepting and filtering. Weird Al has the song. But Lady Gaga got herself in another PR flap. What's the story there?

ANDERSON: It's over the very offensive and insulting "R" word. I was surprised that she did this. Gaga dropped that offensive slang term. She used the r-word when she was responding to critics who say she ripped off Madonna with her song "Born this Way" and we heard Weird Al's version but talking about the original version "Born this Way."

But Gaga is sorry she used the r of word and told "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" this. Take a look, "My apologies for not speaking thoughtfully. To anyone that was hurt, please know that it was furiously unintentionally." And, Brooke, I believe her because she's always prided herself on being sensitive to those who may feel different.

BALDWIN: Not a word any of us should be using.

One more, don't be giving this away, Brooke, because I watch "Glee" but saw the story, a tweet, what was she, an extra on "Glee," her job?

ANDERSON: An extra, a young actress. And sadly, this is a case of you got to think before you tweet.

BALDWIN: You tweet.

ANDERSON: An extra working on the set of "Glee" officially lost her job working on "Glee" because she kind of leaked some top-secret info, season spoilers about the hit show. And look at this. It's pretty harsh. A producer retaliated in a tweet that reads "Who are you to spoil something talented people have spent months to create? Hope you're qualified to do something besides work in entertainment."

BALDWIN: Ouch.

ANDERSON: That hurts. Writers and creators, plots, story lines, are their livelihood so they take it seriously.

BALDWIN: I would be furious. Think before you tweet. Very good.

ANDERSON: I won't spoil what the tweet was about.

BALDWIN: Please don't. Steering clear of any article, great to have you on, great to see you. Thank you.

ANDERSON: Good to see you.

BALDWIN: Whether you are a romantic or not. Buzz over the wedding is reaching a fevered pitch. Ten seconds, someone just posted, tweeted, commented about this. What are they talking about? Kate's wedding dress, the guest list, gifts, those are the top three items. Prince William's choice not to wear a wedding band fueling the buzz.

Cat Deeley will be helping us cover their big day. She was on the Ellen DeGeneres show today. She had an interesting confession.

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

CAT DEELEY, CNN ROYAL WEDDING CONTRIBUTOR: 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 --

ELLEN DEGENERES, HOST, NBC "THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW": 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So you can join Cat, join Anderson Cooper, Piers Morgan, Friday, April 29th. Set your alarms 4:00 a.m. for CNN's royal wedding experience. But before all of that Soledad will make sure you're caught up in her documentary, she's calling it "Women who would be Queen" this Sunday, 8:00 p.m. eastern. Watch, DVR, participate, the royal wedding.

And 12 years to the day after the columbine shooting, someone put a pipe bomb inside of a mall less than two miles from Columbine high school.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, we had to lock down some schools yesterday and I'm sure that caused additional trauma because of the anniversary of Columbine. We're concerned about the date, the times and things of that nature.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now, a massive manhunt is under way for whoever did this. We'll get to the latest on the investigation.

First, more breaking news here out of Libya. The U.S. says it will use predator drones against Gadhafi forces. Reaction live from Libya next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to take you to Libya now, a couple items making news this afternoon, including a rare victory for the rebels. They seized a key border crossing into Tunisia, where thousands of these refugees have been pour nothing camps all along the border. Some say this is a game changer. We will tell you why that is here in just a moment.

Also, a third chartered ship with rescued civilians from Misrata due to arrive any moment now in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. We just checked, it is less than a mile from docking there. Also on board that ship, the bodies of two acclaimed photojournalists, they were killed yesterday, Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros.

Meantime, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expressing her condolences to the families of those journalists today, saying Moammar Gadhafi must step aside. She is also asking for patience in the conflict, something many rebels are beginning to lose.

Just moments ago, the secretary of defense was speaking, Robert gates, confirming that the U.S. military will be sending armed drones over Libya. Let's get you more on that, some other items here. Fred Pleitgen live in Tripoli. Let's get to the breaking news here, just learned the U.S. plans to use the armed drones over Libya. According to the White House this would allow for some precision capability against Moammar Gadhafi's forces. My question to you is how big a difference would that make?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It could potentially make a very big difference, Brooke, one of the things the rebels have been saying is they feel that NATO has not been doing enough air strikes in places like Misrata where of course, precision is key in those places, because what you're trying to hit there are targets that are entrenched in urban areas it is very densely populated. Gadhafi is hiding his military equipment, hardware under things like trees, hiding them in schools, also using civilian vehicles out there so you have to strike those targets as precisely as possible.

Of course, we know from both Iraq and especially Afghanistan that that's exactly what the predators are there for. They are very slow- flying aircraft, they can stay in the air for a very long time, monitor the airspace there monitor also the ground, what's going on the ground there and then hit targets very precisely.

So this is certainly something that could make a he very big difference, especially in the battle over Misrata and that has been the key place where the rebels have been saying NATO is not doing enough in the way of air strikes. That's what they tell me every day when I speak to spokes people from the rebels, they say they want more air strikes against Gadhafi's targets, especially to try to silence those artillery shells and those tanks that are hitting the port area as well as the center of the city. Brooke?

BALDWIN: I know you have been in Misrata, those two journalists killed yesterday, killed in Misrata. Let ask you about them and their bodies. How soon can they be returned home to their families? And also, Fred, how does the Gadhafi government at all acknowledge their killings?

PLEITGEN: The Gadhafi government has acknowledged their killings. They say that was terrible accident that happened on the battlefield, simply journalists who came in between the frontlines. They did express hair condolences here in typically. The spokesperson for the government, a gentleman named Moussa Ibrahim says he regret he is the loss of life but also says that not responsible for the journalists walking around with the rebels, on the journalists here in Tripoli is the one the government can take care of.

What is going to happen is the ship is going to dock there be unloaded and you believe there would be something like a chartered plane to take these bodies back to the U.K., the United States for their families. Brooke?

BALDWIN: I'm just getting word the ship has now officially docked in Benghazi. It is now there. Aid is arriving, the people that want to get out of Benghazi. Also today, Fred, the U.S. announced it is sending $25 million in aid to the rebels, aid, not weapons. What is it? Do we know what kind of aid will they be sending and will it be of any help?

PLEITGEN: They call it "nonlethal aid," something the rebels will use to get things like uniforms. They will get things like body armor, for instance, to protect them from the bullets obviously shot by the Gadhafi forces, things like boots, other things like that.

And it's part of a concerted effort. We have to take into account the broader picture in all of this at the same time, of course, we with know that Italy, France and the U.K. are going to be sending trainers down there as well. Essentially what the coalition is trying to do, they are trying to make the rebels into a more capable fighting force without actually putting any more boots on the ground. So they are trying to prop them up, strengthen them and make them more coherent on the battlefield, Brooke?

BALDWIN: Fred Pleitgen live for me in Tripoli.

PLEITGEN: Brand new information out of Colorado. We've been telling the story here. Investigators, they are hunting for the person, maybe persons, who left that bomb inside the mall two miles from columbine high school. Our producer is on the ground, we are getting some new information. That is coming up. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Happening right now, President Obama is in Reno, Nevada, speaking at a town hall. This is his third in three days. Let me bring in our political produce producer, Shannon Travis. Shannon this is number three here. You have been listening to the president. What today is he pushing for?

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: He is pushing today the same thing he has been pushing the last two days, Brooke, which is his plan on how to cut the deficit, cut the debt, reduce spending and raise revenues. It is a theme he has been sounding off lately since he gave that speech recently basically contrasting his plan to do those things with Republican plan.

As you mentioned, this is his third speech in three day there is in Reno, Nevada. He just finished up a Q&A session with some of the participants. He spoke in Virginia on Tuesday. Yesterday, you remember at the Facebook headquarters thought in California can, and today in Reno, now, although he is trying to get his message out, pay attention to the places where he's speaking, Virginia on Tuesday.

He obviously won Virginia in 2008, certainly like to hang onto that state. Facebook, a lot of young people use Facebook and a lot of them helped him win and certainly Nevada, a state that's reeling with a lot of job loss and foreclosures but he won in 2008 and certainly like to hold onto that state again. Brooke?

BALDWIN: Will these town halls, Shannon, help him keep some disappointed supporters?

TRAVIS: It could. I mean, president Obama is very good at these kinds of Q&A exchanges, mixing and mingling with a lot of his supporters, a lot of voters. At the same time though, there's some in his base, the Democratic Party, maybe the liberal wing, that are not so happy with maybe say the way the budget negotiations went or some of the wars or battle over health care, what have you, felt he didn't push enough, felt there wasn't enough change.

So he is good at these kinds of formats but obviously the president running for reelection and he wants to shore up his base as he goes into it. BALDWIN: He also has some celebrities backing him as well, hopping on another plane heading to a fundraiser.

TRAVIS: That's right.

BALDWIN: Do we know which celebrities? I think I read, Shannon, MC Hammer, of all percentage was at Facebook yesterday. Who, dare I ask, would be there today?

TRAVIS: I would love to see MC Hammer at a presidential fundraiser, but I don't have $25 to get there. Three sold-out fundraisers in Los Angeles tonight. People paid up to $2,500 a person for this rally. There was a -- there's another one, a dinner, a more small, intimate dinner, about 35,000, and yet another dinner, because the second -- the first dinner sold out -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: What, CNN can't get you in there? Come on now. That would be kind of fun. I'm sure we can, actually, but --

TRAVIS: Don't have that kind of pull.

BALDWIN: Yes. That is some change.

Shannon Travis, thank you so much.

And we will get you another political update here in about half- an-hour.