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Syrian Army Crackdown Sparks Panic; WikiLeaks Exposes Gitmo Secrets; Giffords to Attend Shuttle Launch; Republicans Heading to Primary States; Royal Wedding Guest List Revealed; Boy's Wish Save the Penguins; Tornado Cleanup in St. Louis

Aired April 25, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. And thanks so much.

It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Carol Costello in for Kyra Phillips.

Finally some good news about gas prices -- relatively good news, anyway. At least one expert thinks they've peaked. The national average has gone up 11 cents in the past two weeks.

Encouraging news for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She will go to Florida to see her husband lead space shuttle Endeavour's final mission. She's come a long way since that devastating day in Tucson.

And here we go, the royal wedding week is upon us. The guest list may surprise you, surprising because of who did not make the cut.

But we begin in Syria and a city under siege. A witness in Daraa says 3,000 soldiers are sweeping across the city and unleashing a reign of terror. Gunfire and screams echo across the city. Witnesses say the troops are attacking civilians randomly and that bodies now litter the streets.

CNN's Zain Verjee is in London.

And Zain, the Syrian government is not letting many Western reporters into Syria. We've asked, we've been denied. So is it worse there than we know?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We don't know what the situation is right now. What's happened is, is that it's now getting increasingly difficult, even to get in touch with anyone there to get an update on the situation.

What we do now is right now there are a lot of bodies, Carol, both in mosques as well as out on the streets. No ambulances are being allowed to come and help the injured or take away the dead as well. There have been random shootings. We're hearing reports, too, of people randomly being detained.

I spoke to Rima Maktabi who was in touch with some of the people there in Daraa and they are very scared. She also pointed out that when you look at this video, the key thing to understand about what's happening right now is that the army is involved. Before, over the last five weeks or so, you've had like the Muhabarat, which is the secret police, as well as rent-a-thug groups that have been running around and firing on protesters. But now you actually have the army. So things are being stepped up. And they are being brutally suppressed. If these pictures and the reports that we are hearing are anywhere near -- are capturing the kind of pictures that we're seeing.

One thing we need to see right now, Carol, is with this level of brutality being employed by the Syrian army, will people say, you know what, we're just staying indoors, we are not going to protest? Or tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, will they still be defiant? And that's going to be the decisive moment.

COSTELLO: Zain Verjee live in London. Many thanks.

And stay with us, at the bottom of the hour, we'll talk to Jamie Rubin, a former assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration. He'll talk more about Syria, why it matters so much to the United States, what's happening in Syria now, and what the United States can do to stop the violence there. That's at 9:35 Eastern.

Now let's turn to Libya and the rebel stronghold of Misrata. We're getting reports of more bloodshed there. Rebel troops have managed to chase Moammar Gadhafi's troops from the city.

A doctor says the retreating forces opened fire on civilians, killed at least 16 people. Libya's government says the soldiers came under attack and fired in self-defense.

And these are new images of heavy bombing damage at Gadhafi's -- one of his compounds, anyway. A state-run TV says the NATO airstrikes flattened a building in one of the heaviest attacks in the last few weeks.

The safety of Libya's civilians and the very future of that country are fueling debate in Washington. One senator says it's time to step up the pressure on Moammar Gadhafi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: My recommendation to NATO and the administration is to cut the head of the snake off. Go to Tripoli, start bombing Gadhafi's inner circle, their compounds, their military headquarters in Tripoli.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A fellow Republican, John McCain, agrees with the call for intensified airstrikes. In fact, he's urging President Obama to step up U.S. involvement in NATO airstrikes.

Also this morning, hundreds of terror suspects are roaming free after a daring prison break in southern Afghanistan. The Taliban says it spent months digging a 1,000-foot long tunnel to the prison. At least 400 prisoners escaped and only a handful have since been recaptured. Less than three years ago, as many as 1,000 prisoners escaped from this same prison.

Also this morning, chilling new insights into Guantanamo Bay and the terror suspects in prison there. Who they are, what they've done, and what they plan to do if they're ever free again. The information comes from classified military documents, now exposed by the online whistleblower WikiLeaks.

Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon.

So Barbara, you've done some digging. Tell us some of the things inside these documents.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Carol, there are about 800 of these new documents being made available by that organization, WikiLeaks. The Pentagon, again, issuing a statement, how concerned it is about this classified information getting out.

These are mainly interrogation assessments, if you will, of the prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay over the years. The alleged terror suspects. There's about 172 of them still there right now, still either classified as high-risk detainees or people they just can't send back to their home countries, and really, they don't know what to do with them at this point.

When you read some of this material, not that it's so new, not that there's huge revelations, but details that we hadn't really heard about before. Things like, for example, the detainees' behavior at Gitmo. Punching guards, tearing shoes apart, shouting across cell blocks. That sort of detail.

One man that we hear about in detail in these documents is a bin Laden -- an Osama bin Laden bodyguard, Sanad al-Kazimi. He makes threats against U.S. personnel and one of them is pretty interesting. He says in one of these reports that, quote, would like to tell his friends in Iraq to find his interrogator, slice him up, and make him into a shwarma -- a type of sandwich -- with the interrogator's head sticking out of the end of the shwarma.

Other interrogation discussions about safe houses in Iran. Thousands of dollars changing hands amongst the operatives in Afghanistan.

And very interesting, details of a December 2001 meeting, of course, some weeks after the 9/11 attacks, in eastern Afghanistan, where al Qaeda operatives were planning yet another attack. That's a meeting we hadn't heard very much about before, but all of this now contained in these new documents -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And there are lots to go through.

Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon. Thank you.

Nearly four months have passed since Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head. Her doctor tells the "Arizona Republic" that she's in the top 5 percent of patients form those kinds of injuries. She has limited use of her right arm and leg, but her left side is perfectly fine and now she's writing left handed.

She usually speaks in single words or short phrases. Longer sentences are still tough. She can stand by herself, she can walk a little. She bowls and pushes a grocery cart as part of her therapy. She does that in hospital. And she and her husband, Mark Kelly, plays scrabble. That helps her with her spelling.

Giffords has made such good progress. She'll be able to watch her husband lead space shuttle Endeavour on its last mission. When it launches Friday in Florida, she will be there.

Let's go to CNN's John Zarrella. He's in Miami.

So, John, what do we know about Giffords' trip? When will she arrive and will we actually get to see her?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, everything we hear, Carol, is that, no, we're not going to get to see her. There are no plans that we know of, even for any still shots to be taken of her. We're not sure where she will be, if she'll be with the families in their section, where the families are taken, which is secluded from the rest of the media.

And we never get to see any of the astronauts' families prior to launch on the day of the liftoff.

We understand that she'll get there either Wednesday or Thursday. She is traveling in a private plane, and that she will be accompanied by a nurse. There won't be any doctors with her. This all from what our medical unit is hearing. But, in fact, you know -- as you know, this -- it's just spectacular that she's able to do this.

And Mark Kelly, her husband, had said a couple of months ago that he absolutely believed that she would be able to make it to the launch. And of course, now, it's coming true -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And it's such a -- such a beautiful story.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

COSTELLO: It's kind of overshadowing the fact that this is Endeavour's last flight, isn't it?

ZARRELLA: Yes, there's no question about it. You know that a couple of weeks ago, Mark Kelly was going to do interviews and his crew was planning an interview, a live interview with us on CNN, as well as other networks, and at the very last minute, those interviews were all canceled because Kelly decided, look, all the questions are going to be about my wife. The mission is getting overshadowed. And basically enough is enough, is what he said at the time.

And you're right. And this is a hugely important mission. It's the second to the last space shuttle flight. It is Endeavour's last flight, and they are taking up an alpha magnetic spectrometer, which I'm sure nobody out there has heard anything about, but it's a $1.5 billion piece of equipment that could answer some of the most basic questions about the universe, if it works, and if it's successful.

And hardly anybody's heard anything about that. So it is a highly complex mission, four space walks involved, and this alpha magnetic spectrometer. So, yes, no question that the Giffords/Kelly story has certainly overshadowed the mission.

COSTELLO: Yes. And I can kind of understand why.

John Zarrella --

ZARRELLA: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Reporting live from Miami. Many thanks.

Several Republicans may not have formally announced their White House bids, but they are heading to the first in the nation primary state this week.

Our senior political editor Mark Preston is here.

So, Mark, sure looks like they're hitting the campaign trail.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes, no question.

Look, Carol, all of this week, we'll see candidates all across the country trying to build up support for the candidacies. New Hampshire is going to be one of the main states where we'll see a lot of candidates. In fact, let's take a look at two candidates who have been in the news as of late.

Donald Trump on Wednesday is going to be up there. He's going to be meeting with party leaders. Perhaps attending some events.

On Thursday, Donald Trump, though, will head out to Nevada, out to Las Vegas. Another very critical, early voting state. But while he's in Nevada, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is going to be up, giving a speech in New Hampshire on Thursday to a local Republican group.

Now, if his father, Ron Paul, doesn't run for president, Rand Paul has expressed interest in himself running for president. So be interesting to see what Rand Paul has to say in that speech on Thursday.

On Friday, we will see five candidates up in New Hampshire, speaking to a group that promotes limited government and less taxes. We're going to see Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum, all up there talking about the economy on Friday.

So while New Hampshire, Carol, is going to be really a big place this week for the 2012 Republican presidential primary, for two candidates, it will be a big day. We'll find out this week whether John Huntsman will be taking steps to run for president. He's the U.S. ambassador to China. He leaves his post at the end of the week.

And Haley Barbour, the Mississippi governor, has said in the past that he will make his decision about running for president by the end of this month -- Carol.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: That's a whole lot of potential Republican candidates for president.

PRESTON: No doubt.

COSTELLO: Mark Preston, live from Washington.

We'll have your next political update in one hour, and a reminder, for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

Something you don't ever see when you're waiting for a flight, and thank goodness. The St. Louis Airport in the target sites for a tornado.

This is airport surveillance video, the very moment that tornado hit. We'll take you live to the city for the latest on the cleanup.

And the royal wedding is nearly here. Which A-listers will be there in person on Friday and which will be staying at home, watching it on TV like the rest of us?

Cat Deeley will join us next with who's in and who's pout.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Jacqui Jeras is here.

We're waiting for Cat Deeley, who's in London. She's, like, keeping track of the goings on of the pre-wedding stuff and --

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: So exciting!

COSTELLO: She must be talking to someone really important.

JERAS: More important than us, anyway. I love her, by the way.

COSTELLO: I know. She's adorable. But there are bad storms today and we should talk about that.

JERAS: There are, yes, and a really serious situation, too, Carol. You know, it's been so active for April. It's literally been off the charts, we think. That's what the final numbers are probably going to be.

And, unfortunately, tornadoes in the forecast are not just today, but tomorrow and Wednesday. And this could be another really significant outbreak of severe weather.

We've been seeing some severe thunderstorms this morning already, really focused here into parts of Arkansas right now. These storms have a history of producing baseball-sized hail. Yes, baseball. So, that's really extreme.

All this stuff that you see up here in the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys, this is just heavy rain, same old story -- exactly what you folks, unfortunately, have been seeing as of late.

All right. Let's talk about the severe weather threat for today, then, and we're expecting the worst of the conditions to be -- OK, we're really focusing in here on the ArkLaTex region. Moderate risk for severe thunderstorms, including tornadoes, strong ones that could stay on the ground for a period of time.

St. Louis, take note -- you guys are kind of on the fence here. And I think either way you slice it, you're going to get some really heavy rain today, unfortunately, which is really sad news on top of all the devastation that you already had because when things get wet, it really makes it that much harder to clean up.

Now, tomorrow, take a look at this. Moderate risk issued for tomorrow, into this purply area, including Memphis, down towards Little Rock, and watch as the severe threat starts to spread a little farther off to the east. So, we'll even be watching the Appalachians for severe weather tomorrow.

And then, Wednesday, a moderate risk. Apparently, this has only happened maybe 10 times in the last 10 years. I don't -- I can't recall, this starts at the top of my head, the last time I saw a moderate risk on day three. So, that's a huge indication of how significant this outbreak could be as we head into that day.

Here's some of those numbers I was talking about. Over the last six decades, the month of April alone, the most tornadoes we've ever seen was back in '74 of 267. Numbers are preliminary, we still don't have them out so far for this year, but we think it's going to be between 200 and 275, Carol. That's going to rival it, maybe beat it.

COSTELLO: So, everyone be careful out there. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.

Checking stories making news cross country now.

Texas needs a big help -- actually, Texas needs a big help on a rain to put out those wildfires that have burned more than a million acres now. The red flag warnings are out again today. Spokesman for the state's forest service says this is the driest spring in nearly a century.

Fire investigators return to a home in Vancouver, Washington, today. They found six bodies there yesterday, but it's unclear if more victims could be in the rubble. KOIN reports neighbors heard a loud explosion before the home was engulfed in flames.

The FBI says this man, 65-year-old Earl Albert Moore, is believed to have planted a pipe bomb in a Littleton, Colorado, mall last week. Moore is the man believed to be seen on that video -- you know, the video from the mall Tuesday night. That pipe bomb was found on Wednesday, which was the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings.

Internet star Antoine Dodson has some explaining to do. He was arrested in Madison County, Alabama, over the weekend for possession of marijuana. Dodson shot to fame on YouTube after speaking with a local news station about a break-in at his sister's apartment.

As you know, the royal wedding is nearly here. The guest list came out and we have it. Who made it? Who was snubbed?

Cat Deeley will join us next with who's in and who's out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Every time I hear that music, it makes me feel like royalty. Not really.

But on Friday, the world will tune in to see real royalty. Prince William and Kate Middleton will marry after a decade-long courtship.

Cat Deeley is in London to see it all firsthand.

Hi, Cat. I want to know what the mood is like. Are Londoners getting excited?

CAT DEELEY, CNN ROYALS CONTRIBUTOR: It's reaching fever pitch here. I mean, we're still a few days off, but it's bank holiday Monday here. We're all celebrating Easter.

It's so warm. It's a glorious day here in London. It hasn't been this warm since 1949.

Everyone's out in the streets, and there's actually loads of Londoners and English people around Buckingham Palace. Normally, this is kind of reserved for tourists, but I think everyone's just in a general mood of celebration. And we've still got days to go. So, it's going to get even more exciting.

COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about the guest list. We know that Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan, and you will be there. But what other A-listers on the royal guest list?

DEELEY: Well, thank you very much for lumping us in with everybody else. And, yes, it's obviously going to be me, Piers, and Anderson. We are going to be just over there.

What we'll be doing is we'll be waiting here for when the couple make it back to Buckingham Palace. And, hopefully, what they'll do is they'll come out on that balcony over there and kiss.

We're still waiting to see what kind of kiss it's going to be. It might be a kiss on the hand. I'm hoping not the cheek. I think that's very cold. We want a full-on romantic smacker.

But the people at the church, I know that Victoria Beckham and David Beckham are going to be there. Elton John is going to be there. Joss Stone is going to be there. There's lots and lots of A-listers that are going to be there.

So, it'll definitely be worth tuning in and spotting the people as they go into the abbey.

COSTELLO: And there is a report flying around out there that Beyonce and Jay-Z are going to perform at the wedding. Have you heard that?

DEELEY: I don't know about that. But I think Kate Middleton could shake her booty if she needed to, I'm sure. You know what? I haven't heard anything about that.

But that would be -- listen, they are a thoroughly modern couple for a brand new generation. You know, I think they breathe new life into the monarchy.

And if I could have Beyonce and Jay-Z at my wedding, I'd get them there.

COSTELLO: I would definitely shake my booty to that. Cat Deeley, many thanks.

DEELEY: Why not? It's bootylicious.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Exactly.

It has been 30 years since we've had a royal wedding like this and you don't want to be the only one who missed it, do you? You know CNN handles international stories better than any other network. So, join us at 4:00 a.m. Eastern this Friday, I know it's early, but that's what the DVR is for, right?

Be part of our global viewing party with Anderson Cooper, Piers Morgan, Kiran Chetry, Richard Quest, and Cat Deeley. Watch, DVR, participate.

CNN's coverage starts Friday, 4:00 a.m. Eastern.

The rising cost of gas is taking another big bite out of American wallets this morning. Will the run-up continue through the summer driving season? We'll fill you in, next.

In and out of the hospital for months, suffering through chemo, but his main concern was the penguins. We'll meet the 6-year-old cancer survivor determined to save endangered birds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I know you're headed back to work this morning after the long holiday weekend, and once again, you're probably paying a little bit more to fill up your tank.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with where gas prices stand today and where they're heading.

Good morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

You can call it sticker shock, call it pain at the pump, any cliche will do. But you know what? It's getting to be kind of a drag to fill up your car at the gas station.

AAA is saying drivers today are paying an average of $3.86 a gallon. That's up 0.3 of a cent. It is a small rise, but, you know, those pennies, they keep adding up. In fact, today is marking the 34th straight day of these climbing prices.

And over the course of that streak, Carol, gas has been soaring by nearly 32 cents a gallon. Now, a separate survey by Lundberg has Chicago drivers paying the most in the continental U.S. at $4.27 a gallon. And if you're a driver in Tucson, you're paying just -- just $3.54 a gallon. Ouch! Carol?

COSTELLO: What a bargain. Yes, right.

So, some economists are coming out this morning and saying, oh, gas prices have peaked and they're going to start to go down. What are you hearing?

COSTELLO: Well, I'll tell you this. The price is just shy -- is just 25 cents shy of the all-time high of $4.11 per gallon. That's what we hit back in July of 2008. And we are hearing some rumbling that $5 a gallon is a good possibility.

But listen to this. Trilby Lundberg, he's the analyst who compiles the Lundberg Survey, he's a bit more optimistic. He says that prices may wind up peaking before the summer driving season. They may even be at their peak right now. That's because the rise of crude oil prices may have slowed a bit and the recent rise in gas has mostly been a catch-up from the earlier rises in oil.

So, what we may be seeing at the gas pump is just a game of catch-up, sure.

All right. We've got the opening bell right now. We are getting into the heart of earnings season this week, Carol. We are expecting some home sales figures coming out in about a half hour. We are expecting a higher open as the numbers start rolling at the opening bell -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, we'll check back. Thank you, Alison.

Checking our top stories now. There are new reports this morning of a violent government crackdown in Syria. Witnesses tell CNN, the Syrian army has launched a major military operation in the southern city of Daraa. CNN has been unable to independently verify the accounts. Anti-government protests began in Daraa last month.

NATO and Afghan army forces are stepping up security of Afghan's prisons after a jailbreak in the southern province of Kandahar. More than 400 prisoners escaped. The Taliban says it was behind that operation.

And the Wii could soon go the way of pong. Nintendo says it plans to replace Wii with a new gaming system next year. The company will preview the new video game at the E3 Expo in June.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A classic NBA rivalry was kind of a post-season dud. Jeff Fischel of HLN Sports is here to explain.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: That's right, Carol. You know, the New York Knicks, they went into their post-season series. They knew they were the underdogs facing the Boston Celtics then the Knicks got nicked up with injuries.

Boston has looked fantastic. You add it all up and it is a Celtics sweep. The Celtics led the Knicks by as much as 23 points in game 4.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FISCHEL (voice-over): The Knicks chipped away, but couldn't quite chip enough. Kevin Garnett put the dagger with this jumper, two minutes to go. Rondo, 21 points, 12 assists.

The Celtics win 101-89, becoming the first NBA team to move into the second round of the playoffs. We'll have more NBA highlights in 20 minutes.

Plus, a shout-out, Carol, to a starting pitcher who is near and dear to your heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I'm loving that. I can't wait. You're going to make my whole morning. Thank you, Jeff.

A witness at one Syrian city says 3,000 soldiers are unleashing a reign of terror, firing on people at random.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): And that bodies now litter the streets. How does the revolt and the response in Syria compare with Libya? Will the United States get involved? And how? We'll take a closer look, next.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Also, chemotherapy is brutal on the body and the mind. One little boy's escape, reading about endangered penguins and figuring out how to help. He's out of the hospital now and he's raising money for his favorite birds. We will talk to him in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Let's dig deeper on what's happening in Syria right now, as the military cracks down on government protesters, you can sense the chaos in this amateur video. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): You're not seeing the half of it. These are tanks rolling into the city of Daraa. Witnesses say soldiers are actually going door to door, and when people open up the door, the soldiers are opening fire.

They're killing people indiscriminately, that's what we're hearing, and that's why we want to talk to James Rubin. He's the former assistant secretary of state in the Clinton administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Jamie, thanks for being with us. If this is true, that Syrian soldiers are killing civilians indiscriminately and bodies are lying in the streets, will that force the United States to get involved in Syria? Because it sounds like what's happening in Syria is worse than what happened in Libya pre-NATO?

JAMES RUBIN, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I don't think it's yet worse of what happened in Libya by any stretch, but I do think you're right, that this is ratcheting up the level of chaos, the level of destruction.

It appears, and the reports are still sketchy now, but it does appear that Bashar Al Assad, the leader of Syria, despite occasionally making suggestions that he wants to make reforms in his government, has concluded that the only way to stop the growing process, the growing democratic movement in his country is to engage in a massive crackdown across the board.

Apparently, the border with Jordan has been shut suggesting that they are trying to hem in all sorts of people in these cities and conduct one large security operation they hope will break the back of the protests.

COSTELLO: OK. So, I understand that the U.S. government is now considering sanctions against Syria, but, frankly, there's not much we can do sanction wise because we don't have many business dealings in Syria, right?

RUBIN: Well, that's absolutely right. I think all exports and imports were cut off during the Bush years between the United States and Syria. So the sanctions, the travel sanctions or others the U.S. has put on are essentially meaningless.

What might have some meaning is if the United States were to galvanize Europeans and other countries to make these multi-national sanctions. The leaders of Syria, the leading elites there, do not want to be, you know, prevented from travelling.

And so if we got a broader group of countries together, it's possible that Syria's travel sanctions and banking sanctions from the rest of the world along with the United States might emphasize the word might have an impact.

COSTELLO: So let me ask you this tough question, should the United States get involved with what's happening in Syria?

RUBIN: Well, I think it would be a grave mistake for us to ignore what's going on in Syria the way we originally ignored what was going on in Libya. There are things we can do. This larger travel sanction issue, but essentially, the United States has to make a decision.

You know, today in "The New Yorker" magazine, an article came out suggesting that the Obama doctrine is -- and this is a quote from the magazine, as I understand it, lead from behind. I don't think that's going to work. If we want to have an impact in the Middle East, we're going to have to lead from the front, the way America has done in so many other cases for so long.

It doesn't mean sending in troops. It doesn't necessarily mean military involvement, but it does mean serious leadership. What's going on in the Middle East does matter to Americans and will matter to us for a long time to come.

COSTELLO: Jamie Rubin, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it. You can read more about what's happening in Syria and check out the latest amateur video coming out of Daraa on cnn.com.

It's easy to feel sorry for yourself, especially when you're really sick, but not this kid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Instead of worrying about his cancer, he was upset about the penguins and their problems. And now that he's healthy, he's helping the birds in a big, big way. We'll hear from him live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: To help her little boy get through months and months of chemotherapy, a New York mom asked her little boy if there was anything he really, really wanted, anything he wished for.

She was thinking maybe he'd suggest a PlayStation instead, her 6-year- old said he wanted to save the penguins. He'd been reading about them and the threats they faced from his hospital bed.

Well, that wish is days from becoming reality. Aghelos Kouvaras is going to lead a team of nearly 90 people in next weekend's run for the wild at the Bronx Zoo. The Wildlife Conservation Society will use the money from this year's race to protect the penguins.

So Aggie, his mom, Elizabeth, and John Callveli from WCS are joining us live from the Bronx Zoo.

Welcome to all of you. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. So, Elizabeth, when you asked your son what he really wished for and he said, I want to save the penguins, when went through your mind?

ELIZABETH KOUVARAS, AGHELO'S MOM: Gosh, knowing my son, he's just incredible. So I thought about maybe, I will donate $100, and that would be what he wanted, but that's not what he wanted. He wanted more. He wanted to save a lot of penguins.

COSTELLO: And this is -- I mean, he was recovering from lymphoma and he had a two-pound tumor in his abdomen. So quickly, can you tell us how is he doing now?

KOUVARAS: Fantastic as you could see. His hair is coming back. We finished treatment about a month ago and we had beautiful, clean scans. We weren't to take the (inaudible) and now we're trying to enjoy life with the penguins and all of this is amazing.

COSTELLO: It is. So aggie, behind you are all those penguins so when you see those penguins, what goes through your mind?

AGHELOS KOUVARAS, CANCER SURVIVOR: Happy.

COSTELLO: What do you love so much about penguins?

AGHELOS: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you love so much about penguins?

AGHELOS: They're cute.

COSTELLO: Have they been nice to you when you were petting them?

AGHELOS: Yes.

COSTELLO: We're glad to hear that. I love that. So, John, the race is on Saturday and they're going to raise money, so where exactly will that money go?

JOHN CALVELLI, WILDLIFE CONSERVATION SOCIETY: Well, the money goes to help save the penguins, but really, it's really about our work around the world. We work in 65 countries and we're headquartered here at the Bronx Zoo.

And many years ago, we thought, let's figure out a way to celebrate earth month and let's also try to theme it. So this year, there was a vote and people voted that they wanted to save penguins, and we work in Punta Tambo (ph) in Argentina. And of the 17 penguin species, 12 of them are endangered because of habitat loss, because of habitat lost, because of climate change, overfishing. So what we're really trying to do here is help to educate people. But frankly, that all gets washed away when you meet someone like Aggie, because he's really an inspiration for all of us. He came to us and said, his mom and he, now that I've had a chance to spend some time with him, he said, you know what, I want to save penguins. And he's gotten how many people? 80 people?

KOUVARAS: Eighty people.

CALVELLI: Eighty people are running on Saturday with Aggie to help tell the story. And that's really something that's very special for all of us here at the Wildlife Conservation Society.

COSTELLO: Oh that's terrific. Well, that's terrific I'm going to let Aggie get back to the penguins because I'd want to be in that cage petting them myself.

So thank you all for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And thank you for South Salem Elementary for helping us help fund-raise everything because that's how the teachers at South Salem and Port Washington and our friends. Thank you all for supporting this for Aghelos because it really means a lot to us.

KOUVARAS: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for South Salem (ph) Elementary for helping us how the teachers in South Salem in Washington and our friends thank you all for supporting this. For Aghelos because it really means a lot to us.

COSTELLO: Well, thank you for the shout-out.

CALVELLI: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok.

COSTELLO: Go enjoy the penguins now. Thank you so much.

CALVELLI: Want to say good-bye?

COSTELLO: Bye, Aggie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say good-bye.

KOUVARAS: Bye.

COSTELLO: Awesome, thank you.

Taking a look at stories making news later today: the annual White House Easter egg roll is going on this morning on the South Lawn. Children age 12 and younger were invited to take part with the President and the First Lady.

The issue of pilot fatigue is the subject of an NTSB roundtable discussion at 11:00 Eastern. Participants will discuss whether pilots get enough sleep and what can be done to improve conditions. And former President George W. Bush is back in the saddle, so to speak. Today through Wednesday, he's hosting a 62-mile bike ride in the Texas Big Bend area with 14 service members who were seriously wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan.

And Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of the vice president, kick off the eight-month process for electing the nation's first Aspen Prize. The $1 million prize will go to one of 120 community colleges.

We'll be right back.

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COSTELLO: Checking some stories making news cross-country now.

New Mexico state police respond to reports of a plane down in a lake; floating among the debris, huge bundles of cocaine. No survivors found. Police divers are searching for the pilot, possible passengers, and more plane parts.

At least three people have died in an early morning fire in the Bronx. It took about 100 New York firefighters to battle this fire. No word yet on what sparked the blaze.

Free gas made for long lines in Knoxville, Tennessee. A church there gave away $10,000 worth of gas for Easter. Church members saved the money over the course of the year to try to help the community.

We're following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Brianna Keilar at the White House.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the Obama administration is strongly condemning the latest document dump by WikiLeaks; years' worth of documents about detainees at Guantanamo Bay. I'll have the latest from the White House at the top of the hour.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm Zain Verjee in London. I've been taking a look at the newspapers in the Arab world, and I'll tell you what they're saying about the situation in Syria today.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Nick Paton Walsh in Kabul; in the next hour we'll be talking about a seemingly remarkable prison escape in which over 400 Taliban have fled a jail in the south of Afghanistan.

COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you.

And while Congress and the White House continue to battle over budget cuts one group has added its voice to the fray. An Evangelical Christian group now asks, what would Jesus cut? Is that clever? Is it crass? Our political buzz panel will hash it out in the next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Well, Mother Nature isn't being so nice these days. She was throwing around softball-sized hail in north central Texas. Take a look.

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(HAIL STORM IN TEXAS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's some video. We can control Mother Nature on this video. Thunderstorms, even a couple of tornadoes, swept across the region around Abilene, Texas as well. Several tornadoes did touch down but no injuries and no substantial damage reported.

And of course, as you know, St. Louis is in major cleanup mode today after a tornado raced across that region. Check out these pictures from the city's main airport terminal.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And the tornado that hit Lambert-St. Louis airport was the most powerful in 44 years. Flights over the Easter weekend were disrupted but the airport is expected to be operating at 85 percent today. Missouri's governor says 750 homes were destroyed or damaged.

Let's check in with Jacqui Jeras because, oh unfortunately, more bad weather on the way.

JERAS: I know. But hopefully this time around that, you know, nobody will be injured again. That's what's -- that's what's amazing to me about the St. Louis situation, is that we had no fatalities. And all the injuries were not life-threatening, at least.

Severe weather today, tomorrow, and Wednesday, it's going to be a big three days. Unfortunately the greatest threat say, from Dallas through Little Rock over toward the Memphis area, and things will really get kicking late this afternoon, and into the evening hours, and it's even possible, kind of stretching into the middle of the Mississippi River Valley or the Ohio River Valley.

We also have a flood threat on top of that. This area is so saturated from the series of storms. We've seen as much as ten inches in the last week. So flooding rains will be expected, and the fire danger is really increasing, too, Carol, tomorrow extremely critical. We'll talk more about that in the next hour.

COSTELLO: Will do. Thank you, Jacqui.

NBA fans have some doubts about LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here. And you know there was that lingering question. Can they get it done under pressure and I think we have a hit now.

FISCHEL: Yes, you know, they finally had a chance to wrap up the series against the Sixers. They won the first three games but now the pressure is on when you can really wrap up the series, put the team away.

And of course we saw the Heat struggle again. The final ten seconds, Phillies' Lou Williams for three. That put the Sixers up, LeBron had a chance to win it for the Heat. He could not make the shot. They've struggled all season long, in instances like that. The Sixers beat the Heat, so the Sixers keep the series going. Miami still leads that series 3-1.

The two-time defending champs the Lakers are in a fight just to get into the second round of the playoffs. With ten seconds left, New Orleans Jared Jack hits this shot. The Hornets win. That series is tied two games apiece.

It's not easy being the favorite. Just ask the Orlando Magic. Hawk super sub, Jamal Crawford has been money in this series, hits the three. He led Atlanta with 25. The Magic miss at the buzzer, Hawks win 88-85. Atlanta leads that series three games to one.

NHL playoffs, Vancouver trying to put away the defending champion Chicago Black Hawks. Chicago's Michael Frolik blasting the general direction of the goalie Cory Schneider in the third period penalty shot. Schneider adding injury to insult, hurt on the play. He had to leave the game and then there's overtime, Chicago's Ben Smith scores. Black Hawks once down 3-0 in this series forced a decisive game seven in Vancouver. Hey, look at Vince Vaughn even loving it, he's a Chicago guy.

Baseball: one of the most exciting plays in the game, the inside the park home run. That's Philadelphia's Shane Victorino at the right center. San Diego's can't make the play. Here comes Victorino. It's kind of like Nascar, go fast, turn left around the bases. Victorino scores.

Meanwhile the ace on the mound for the Phillies, Roy Halladay, tied a career high with 14 strikeouts. When you have that combo of power, speed and ace on the mound, they're unstoppable. Phillies get to win; they're off to a hot start. Their first in their division.

Carol, I think we have one more game.

COSTELLO: I hope so.

FISCHEL: Did you change the stories in my rundown? Because I think we're about to show Detroit Tigers highlights.

COSTELLO: I'm going to have to go -- I'm going to have to go talk to the producer.

Oh, there it is.

FISCHEL: She's kidnapped my sports segment and forced me to put Tigers on. I'm kidding. (INAUDIBLE) it was great yesterday for Detroit, struck out 7 Chicago White Sox. It's now 4-0 on the season for Tigers 3-0 win. Of course, you know Carol, a great weekend for the Tigers. They swept the Sox. Of course, everyone wonders, maybe it's more about the Sox than the tiger, right?

I think Chicago's southsiders have lost about ten of eleven I think. The team, Tigers look solid. I would say probably need another bat, don't you think? A little more power in the line up?

COSTELLO: Well Magli (ph) Ordonez is back and hopefully he'll begin hitting and we'll be ok. But the Tigers are above 500 and the weird thing is Kansas City and Cleveland are great this year.

FISCHEL: I know. I just keep telling myself when these kind of strange things happen, it's only April. It's a long season. But you're right. You're right. That's an interesting division.

COSTELLO: I know and I'm reveling in Matt Sherzer. Thank you. I appreciate that, Jeff.