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Tornado Slams St. Louis; Financial Planner's Tips to Become a Millionaire; Gadhafi's Forces Pulling out of Misrata

Aired April 23, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. You're in the CNN Newsroom. And here is what we're following at this hour.

Damage and destruction in St. Louis after a tornado hit the city's main airport. These pictures say it all. St. Louis's mayor says they hope to have the airport fully operational sometime next week. And surrounding neighborhoods are also in shambles. Of the homes still standing, 36,000 are without power.

On to Syria where witnesses say security forces reportedly opened fire from rooftops today killing ten demonstrators who turned out to mourn dozens killed on Friday.

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WHITFIELD: In Friday's violence security forces and anti-government activists clashed in several towns. More than 80 people were reportedly killed.

And on to Libya where rebels say they are close to retaking Misrata. The government is pulling back soldiers who turned life in the besieged city into waking nightmare. The two sides are still battling near the western gates. The opposition says 15 people were killed today in fighting.

Back to the news here in United States, more on the tornado. No flights in or out of St. Louis's main airport today after a tornado slammed through the terminals. They hope to have the airport operating at 70 percent of its capacity by tomorrow. At least five people were injured.

Jim Compton joins us now on the phone from Bridgeton, Missouri, which is near St. Louis's badly damaged airport. You live nearby. You felt and experienced some of the bad weather. Tell me what it was like last night for you?

JIM COMPTON, WITNESSED TORNADO (via telephone): Thank you. Bridgton is located adjacent to the airport. And that tornado was able to track from Warrenton out west down basically Highway 70. I myself was in a cinema last night when the call came out from the National Weather Service that tornadoes were possibly in the area. They moved us, shut the theater down and moved us into the hallways. I'm not one to sit in the hallways.

I'm not one to sit in a theater and wait for things to happen. I went out to, and having my camera equipment with me, went out to chase the storm down, and almost drove up onto it with heavy horizontal rain near the St. Charles communities of highway 94 and west of the page extension.

And then I came back around into the Bridgton area, actually got tied up in some of the delays with all the debris that hit highway 70 and highway 270. Extensive delays from two and a half to five hours as they tried to get into the highway. Destruction was widespread throughout the area.

WHITFIELD: Jim, this is extraordinary. You were in a safe place, in a cinema where there were explicit instructions for everyone who was in the cinema about how to keep safe. And you decided to venture out into the weather to roll your tape and see what you could experience?

COMPTON: That's kind of the nature of the beast to mow. I'm ADD. I traveled out and tackled something, maybe not wise.

WHITFIELD: Were you afraid while you were out there in the weather?

COMPTON: I've been around the weather before, been in a couple of other tornadoes. Not that I've been in a tornado in the evening time -- the other tornadoes I've witnessed I saw. Last night's tornado was not witnessed by many people. It was very, very dark. The sky turned green. By the time it got into Bridgton at approximately 8:10, it was dark. So a lot of the damage and devastation was not witnessed by many people until the sunrise this morning at about 6:00.

WHITFIELD: So you were pretty lonely, a lonely soul when you ventured out. Most people were invited in safe places and we're happy to be able to report there have been no reports of deaths from this very damaging, crazy-looking storm we're looking at, the images right now of homes and businesses obliterated.

COMPTON: That's correct. The Bridgton police are being assisted by the highway patrol. Other departments have come in to offer and lend their services. They are still checking some of the subdivisions for possible people that might have been stranded, buried in some of the debris.

But you're correct, there are no incidents of any death at this time. That's the good news story. Once it came out of here and hit the airport and that terminal being designed in a retro style with so much glass in it, people are very lucky that there was not any other casualties.

WHITFIELD: They sure are. Jim Compton, thanks so much for your story. People, do not try that at home, what Jim happened to do, go out into the storm. Most should stay indoors. We're glad you made it out OK.

Let's talk again about this international airport in St. Louis. Lambert-St. Louis international airport and what took place there, lots of damage. Let's check with our affiliate reporter there. Talia Kaplan with KSDK in St. Louis. Already officials are saying this airport not likely to be up and running until maybe as early as tomorrow or next week?

TALIA KAPLAN, REPORTER: That's right, Fredricka. Our photographer actually took a tour of Lambert International Airport, Terminal One, Concourse C, take a look at this video. It is unbelievable, compelling stuff. You can tell this concourse is completely destroyed. St. Louis mayor Francis Lay says it will take months to fix.

They're hoping to move American, Air-Tran, Frontier and Cape airlines to different concourses. Officials say the goal is to have 70 percent of the airport up and running tomorrow. But that depends on two things -- restoring power here which they're currently working on, and talking to airlines, making sure they have resources available. Terminal two had limited damage, but no flights were departing here today.

Our mayor says it's a miracle that no one lost their lives and five people were taken to a nearby hospital from Lambert International Airport with minor injuries. They were treated and released. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Talia Kaplan, appreciate that.

Meantime let's take you overseas now and the U.S. carrying out its first predator drone strike in Libya. We'll go live to Tripoli next for the latest.

And Philippe Cousteau wants you to know how you can help in the gulf. His special report is right after this.

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WHITFIELD: Let's take a look at stories making headlines around the world. Buckingham Palace released an edited guest list today for next Friday's royal wedding. President Barack Obama didn't make the cut, but such celebrities as David Beckham and singer Elton John did along with royalty from Bahrain to Morocco.

Egypt's ousted president faces two more weeks of grilling by prosecutors who extended his detention Friday. They're investigating Hosni Mubarak's role in the recent crackdown that left hundreds of activists dead.

Two American soldiers were killed in southern Iraq yesterday, but the Pentagon released few details about their deaths.

We're also learning Yemen's president could lose power this year after Egypt's president and that of Tunisia as well. A senior Yemeni official says president Ali Abdullah Saleh has accepted a deal in principle which would see him step down in the next 30 days. Yemen's neighboring Persian Gulf nations brokered the agreement, but President Saleh still must sign. It's gives him and his allies complete immunity from prosecution.

Libyan troops are pulling out of Misrata, leaving the besieged city to the rebels. Moammar Gadhafi's government claims the fight will be taken up by tribes loyal to the Libyan leader. CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins me now with more on this.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. There's differing accounts as to what is going on the ground there in Misrata. As you said, forces loyal to Gadhafi say they are pulling out, they want to negotiate with the rebels and fight the rebels if they don't come to some agreement with them.

The rebels themselves are telling us that they've effectively ousted Gadhafi's forces from the center of town of Misrata. They say they cleared out a lot of buildings occupied by snipers and now people are free to walk inside the town again.

That doesn't mean, however, Fredricka, that the siege is effectively over. They say there are still Gadhafi troops outside the city and on the western fringe of the city and they're still shelling the city with artillery and mortars. And today 22 people were killed in that shelling and artillery fire. So we'll have to see what happens. Politically the rebels are saying they have won a major military victory over Gadhafi's forces in a very important strategic town.

WHITFIELD: Fred, tell me more if you can about this U.S. predator drone strike. Just one, and if so what were the circumstances and what did it do?

PLEITGEN: We're learning more about the circumstances of that drone strike. It seems to be very important. It happened in the town of Misrata. What we're hearing from NATO is this happened in the early afternoon hours here, local Libyan time and the target of this predator drone strike was a rocket launcher that was on the outside of Misrata. It happened there as well.

That's really one of the things that these predators are very good at is picking off targets in densely populated areas. And Gadhafi forces are trying to hide there. The storm strike is one that's very important. I was able to speak to a resident of Misrata who said they heard a buzzing in the air and all of a sudden a rocket was fired and this rocket launcher was hit.

So this is certainly was something that could make a difference on the battlefield if there are more drone strikes. That's what the administration is hinting out.

WHITFIELD: Fred, thanks so much.

All right, environmentalist Philippe Cousteau has an invitation for you. One year after the BP oil spill Cousteau He's reminding people that there's still a lot of uncertainty in the Gulf. He's asking for your involvement in this "Impact your World" report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILIPPE COUSTEAU, ENVIRONMENTALIST: Hi, I'm Philippe Cousteau. We can make an impact on the environment and the people affected by the gulf oil spill. I've spent countless hours and days in the gulf working to remind people of the tremendous crisis that that oil spill caused. We really don't know what the long-term consequences of this oil spill will be.

The economy here along the gulf has not recovered, the tourism, the fishing industries. This is as much a human disaster as it is an environmental disaster. When we destroy the environment, we're ultimately destroying ourselves. Join the movement at "Impact your World," CNN.com/impact.

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WHITFIELD: CNN's "Impact your World" is challenging you to pledge at least 11 volunteer hours in 2011. So this is how you do it. Go to CNN.com/impact or text "Impact" and then the number 11 to 22360. Make your pledge today. When you complete your hours, go back to the web page to submit your photos or video, your volunteer story could be featured by our "Impact your World."

So we all dream of it. Now make your dreams come true. Learn how to become a real millionaire, next.

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WHITFIELD: OK, I know the answer to this. You want to be a millionaire, right? Who doesn't? You might think the lottery is the best way to reach the goal or just be lucky and get a high-paying salary. Most millionaires, by the way, earned their money through hard work but especially saving.

Financial planner Karen Lee joins me with four incredible traits of millionaires. It's not as opulent as you might think. It's down to simplify case beginning with not living within your means, but living beneath your means.

KAREN LEE, FINANCIAL PLANNER: What I love about the studies is it shows anyone can achieve millionaire status. You don't have to be a reality TV star. You don't have to be with an IPO new company. Everybody can do this. Number one, you have to live beneath your means. They found that millionaires are not really big spenders.

WHITFIELD: Does it mean being cheap?

LEE: No, but it does mean spending less than you earn. What do they do with what they don't spend? They put it towards investments and help stockpile more wealth.

WHITFIELD: Wow, so smart saving. One of the things, when they're saving, if they do have a little money they want to spend, they're not doing it by credit card. LEE: They're tending to save it anyway. You'll find that the most millionaires in this country, the ones you don't know about, they're living in the same house for 20, 30 years -- Warren Buffett, 40 years in the same house. Driving the same car because they don't have that desire -- they'd rather save the money.

WHITFIELD: They drive their car until it's dead. I was telling T.J. that that was going to be one of the items. He was like what? No way.

LEE: No one wants to hear that. That's the way millionaires are built in this country, most.

WHITFIELD: And then they spend their money by way of cash.

LEE: Right. And let's clarify that. It doesn't mean they walk around with some huge wad of cash when they do need to buy a new car or TV. They use credit cards like the rest of us. But they never put more on a card, they know they can pay it all at the end of the month.

For safety, they make sure they always have access to cash. They always have lines of credit available. They rarely use them, but it's there if they need them.

WHITFIELD: I also like when I learn of somebody having a whole lot of money, I love it that they don't look like it.

LEE: That's what this is all about, this whole segment is about that.

WHITFIELD: Then you say plan, plan, plan. Plan for what?

LEE: The fact is they plan at all. So millionaires tend to have financial plans, estate plans. But they even plan about their purchases. So these people who have more money, say, than the next person, they research every purchase --

WHITFIELD: Working toward it, trying to figure out --

LEE: Making sure it's a good idea, making sure they're getting a good deal, they really need it. They do the same thing with their investments. They do research. If they do work with the adviser, they don't just let the adviser tell them what to do. They want to be involved in it. They usually have financial plans, estate plans and they monitor them and update them very regularly.

WHITFIELD: So when it comes down to the investment, that portfolio, diversifying is something we hear. We've heard you say it time and time again. So they do it to the nth degree.

LEE: They do. That's the point we wanted to talk about. When it comes to investments, they diversify and they're patient. When we talk about diversify, that means they mix assets that are not correlated to each other, but the patience is the most important part of that tip because they're in it for the long haul.

WHITFIELD: Not looking for instant returns, nothing right away? LEE: Exactly. No get-rich-quick scheme. They diversify, they're patient. They let their investments do what they should do. Another thing the studies showed about millionaires, they tend to take their family into the conversation.

WHITFIELD: So the kids know about what's going on.

LEE: They at least talk about money versus it being such a taboo subject.

WHITFIELD: Hasn't it been for so long?

LEE: It is, yes.

WHITFIELD: It seems children are now being introduced to the notion of saving, investing, appreciating the dollar.

LEE: It's very important to open up the conversation. I hope what you viewers take away from this is that the key to wealth is not necessarily how much you earn, but it's your behaviors and your traits, how you view money. That's going to make the difference.

WHITFIELD: Your appreciation of it.

LEE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Karen Lee, always making us smarter, appreciate that, and potentially wealthier, too.

LEE: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it.

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Starting a restaurant? That's really expensive and uses a whole lot of resources. In today's "Green Solutions in Focus" CNN photojournalist Bethany Swain shows us a new experiment in Washington -- two restaurants in the same place but at different times.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We leased out an ice cream shop and started selling tacos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a space that isn't used during the winter. It's closed for about four to five months a year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were fortunate this wasn't just an ice cream shop. They sold Philadelphia cheese steak. That's why there was cooking equipment in here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple hundred bucks to buy ingredients, and then we just went day by day after that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We only offer three things, tacos and vegetarian tacos with beans and cheese.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as we made enough money to buy ingredients every day, we could stay open.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We try to run it right on the edge and make sure we were using everything we had. Like anything else, you get a better deal in volume, so it's tempting to go out and buy cases of everything. But definitely nothing goes to waste. That's for sure. If you don't use it, you're going to throw it away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came in here and figured out what needs to change, what doesn't. We've been tiptoeing around ice cream machines this whole time. They didn't need to go anywhere. Is it ideal to look in the window and see ice cream machines with red and right walls? Not really.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We threw a sign up. It worked. We didn't have to tear anything bad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's good. The people at 2:00 in the morning are definitely going to be sad to see them go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just planning our last few orders and making sure we didn't have a lot of food that was going to go to waste. Pretty much everything here can go and be used someplace else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will be sad to see them go tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All we have to do is clean and take the five things we brought in, and the ice cream will be available tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. It's a lot of work, but a lot of fun.

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WHITFIELD: This program note today, 3:00 eastern time, just a few minutes away, Tom Foreman host as special "Green Solutions in focus," eatocracy edition.

Back to one of our leading stories we're following today, the devastation caused by the tornado in St. Louis. Bonnie Schneider in the weather center with more on that.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We have new information on the tornado in St. Louis. It was confirmed to be a tornado. Now the surveying teams are on the team giving us preliminary data. The latest information says this tornado was at least an EF-3. How strong is that? The winds 136 to 165, incredible gusts there that could be even higher than that.

And that's the beginning. There's four survey teams on the scene now. It will take a while to get all the data together, but this was a destructive and strong tornado. When you're talking about EF-2 or EF- 3, strong tornadoes, only about 30 percent of the tornadoes are that intense. Oftentimes we see ef-0 caused some damage. This one demolished homes and impacted the airport where it was completely shut down.

Going forward, there is a threat for more rain. We're seeing it move through the region. The reason is look at the forecast over the next five days? Ten inches of rain in some parts of the area of southern Missouri including into Illinois, well into Indiana as well. This is going to be a big mess, even a foot of rain in some parts of Kentucky. A lot of moisture coming in.

With that said, we have multiple flood watches and warnings across much of the region. Notice the warnings are across parts of central Illinois and into Kentucky. A lot of these will go until Sunday. When we look at what's happening now, we are seeing heavy rain coming up from the southwest across the St. Louis area.

This is the last thing folks there need as they go through the debris in the region hit by the tornado where homes were demolished. It's a lot of cleanup happening. Plus the survey teams on the ground. The rain is working its way to southern Indiana at this hour. It will continue to be a problem throughout the day. More of it is coming up from areas of Arkansas.

This is going to be a stormy, messy day the day before Easter, for travel especially, a lot of airports impacted. Fredricka, we are also seeing a lot of wet weather through the northeast. That's been a problem for those traveling in New England. It's a messy Saturday.

WHITFIELD: Speak of traveling, that means no getting in and out of the St. Louis main airport as a result of all the nasty weather. In fact, they were hoping sometime next week they might be able to reopen it. Fingers are crossed on that, lots of damage.

That tornado slammed through the terminals last night sending passengers running for cover as you saw there through those images. Five people were actually hurt. None of the injuries is life threatening now. Damage is evident in nearby communities as well where homes and businesses were damaged, in some cases just simply flattened.

Thanks for being with me this last 30 minutes. I'm Fredricka Whitefield. I'll be back at 4:00 eastern time with the latest on the storm damage. But in two minutes, Richard Quest is back with the royal wedding, the countdown to the big day, six days away.

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