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NATO Strike Allegedly Kills Gadhafi Son & Grandchildren; Alabama Continues to Dig Out from Tornadoes; John Paul II Beatified; Child Bomber Kills 4, Wounds 12; Top Gadgets for Mother's Day; 339 Dead from Tornado Outbreak; Safe Haven for Kids of Disaster; Face to Face with Venus Williams
Aired May 01, 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: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM this Sunday, May 1st. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
The Libyan government says it's a war crime. It says a NATO air strike has killed one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons, 29-year-old Saif al- Arab. It says three of Gadhafi's grandchildren also died. A NATO official says war planes targeted a command-and-control facility, but he says there is no evidence to support the claim that Gadhafi's son or grandchildren were killed. Our Fred Pleitgen has been to the compound that was bombed. He joins us now from Tripoli.
So, Fred, what more can you tell us about this? Any confirmations either way?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this, Fredricka, is not the compound that Gadhafi normally uses. It's a much smaller compound. It's also in downtown Tripoli. It has basically got three houses on them, very small houses. The one that was hit is sort of a two- bedroom, one-story house. It appears to have been hit by four bombs. Only three of those bombs actually exploded.
Now the interesting thing about all this, Fredricka, is, of course, that aside from the Libyan government telling us that Saif al-Arab, Gadhafi's youngest son, was in here, is that they also said that Moammar Gadhafi was on the scene as well as Moammar Gadhafi's wife when this air strike happened.
The Libyan government says that both Moammar Gadhafi and his wife escaped unhurt, but that, of course, Saif al-Arab, who is the second- youngest son of Moammar Gadhafi, was killed in that airstrike.
He is really one of the sons who is very low profile. He doesn't appear very much here in Libya. He actually spent most of his time in Germany in the past couple of years, but certainly the Libyan government is very much trumping this up.
They are saying that this is essentially a war crime, as you said. And what we saw from the air strike is that the building that all of this struck was absolutely flattened. There was one major crater that would seem to have gone down several floors into what seemed to be a basement or bunker complex underneath this house. But certainly the building absolutely flattened, not very much still left over there. It's very hard to tell whether or not this building had any sort of military significance -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Is NATO commenting that this may have been an assassination attempt?
PLEITGEN: NATO is indeed commenting, and they're saying it has absolutely not been an assassination attempt. They say what they were targeting was in fact the command-and-control infrastructure which they say they had evidence is, in fact, inside that building.
They also said that this building had some sort of a hardened roof, they say, which seemed to also indicate that it might actually be a bunker complex or something that was used as command-and-control infrastructure by some sort of military institution.
Being on the ground there, it was very difficult to tell. One of the things that was very interesting was that the roof of this place was, in fact, very thick and also actually had a lot of sort of steel mixed in with the concrete there. So it certainly was a very sturdy building.
And then there was this big crater which was right in the center of the building which seemed to go down several floors. And the interesting thing about all that, Fredricka, is they took us there last night and you could see very deep down into this crater, see that there were rooms underneath this building.
Today, however, when they took us back there, they had hung a carpet over that hole to prevent us from filming down there. So, again, NATO says this is by no means an assassination attempt, however, the Gadhafi government is saying that someone seemed to have leaked intelligence on the whereabouts of Moammar Gadhafi, and that then NATO targeted him directly.
And of course, they're playing this up, saying that this is illegal under the U.N. resolution to enforce the no-fly zone -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much, from Tripoli, appreciate that.
All right. Now to other news. In this country, still major concerns about extreme weather. Let's start along the Missouri-Illinois border where the Army Corps of Engineers is closely monitoring the rain- swollen Mississippi and Ohio rivers.
If the rivers get too high, the Corps may blow up a levee, which would relieve pressure and spare at least one threatened Illinois town. The move would flood, however, farmland in Missouri.
Onto Alabama now. The National Weather Service confirms the tornado that nearly ripped Hackleburg off the map was an EF-5. That means winds of more than 200 miles per hour. CNN's Martin Savidge talked with one woman who was visiting her in-laws when the tornado blew the house apart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEILA HUNDERMAN, INJURED DURING TORNADO: At first it felt like if you just hooked to something and just took off dragging it, the whole house. And then after that, it just felt kind of like being in a drier with lots of sticks and rocks and sand in your face and your eyes. Then everything just stopped.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did you say anything, scream anything?
HUNDERMAN: Oh, my God, oh, my God. That's about all I could get out and just, you know, hang on, hang on.
SAVIDGE: And were you able to all hang on?
HUNDERMAN: We did all hang on. My son is 2, and he did come out of the huddle, and he landed probably about 10 feet away from us, sitting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Frightening moments, though Hunderman says the children suffered only bumps and bruises after all of that. Her mother-in-law, though, is in the hospital with a broken back.
The tornadoes that tore through six states killed at least 250 people in Alabama alone. As the search goes on for survivors, members of President Obama's cabinet will take a close look at the devastation for themselves. They're in Alabama and Mississippi today to meet with families and local officials to find out exactly what those communities need in order to recover.
Tuscaloosa County was the hardest hit in Alabama. Our Rob Marciano is there.
So, Rob, it has been now four days. How are people coping?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you this. The volunteer effort in this community coming together to supply these people with what they need for everyday survival is extraordinary. We are running into people not just from here, not just from this state, but from all across America who have migrated here with supplies. And it's an incredible thing to watch.
The things they do need, though, they need physical supplies of -- baby food and diapers seem to be the biggest things. They have got plenty of food for adults, and water. But baby food and diapers are the two things.
You've mentioned it's day four. And for this extraordinary event, that means they're not done with search and rescue efforts. And yesterday we went out with a search and rescue crew to get a taste of what they go through every day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've given us a DNA strand that allows us to do what we do to help us to go forward and serve you with it.
MARCIANO (voice-over): A somber prayer at the morning briefing exemplifies the serious nature of search and rescue work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From an unofficial capacity, we can all realize that after three days in rubble that potentially this is the last viable day.
MARCIANO: The crews get their assignments and head out.
MARTIN STANLEY, MOBILE FIRE AND RESCUE: Remember your safety. Watch out for your people. Drink plenty of water. Let's get to work.
MARCIANO: I'm riding with Mobile Fire Search and Rescue, a team trained to pull people from disasters like tornadoes. They know the reality but keep the hope for finding trapped victims still alive.
GREG THOMAS, MOBILE FIRE AND RESCUE: I believe there is a good likelihood, you know, if somebody were in a storm cellular and they had supplies, then I believe it's possible.
MARCIANO: Our assignment is a checklist of addresses not yet completely searched. The first stop requires only a conversation with a neighbor that confirms the residents we're looking for are alive and well.
We get diverted, however, en route to our next address.
(on camera): We just got a call of a strong odor coming from this house where actually the rescuers tell me they pulled a deceased woman from the rubble yesterday. Nonetheless, they've released the cadaver dogs to check it out.
(voice-over): Highly skilled K-9s work the rubble, giving signals to their trainers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's not indicating that there's anything here now.
MARCIANO: They seem to smell something, but it's not human. A German shepherd and her puppies have been trapped since the tornado hit. It appears some of the pups didn't survive. But mama is alive and finally emerges from the wreckage. The rescuers see and hear more animals. They dig deeper and soon pull out a shaking little pup. Two more follow. They're dehydrated but seem healthy.
This one has already been given a special name.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twister. He survived this storm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: She certainly did, and I can't tell you how uplifting that little event was for the team that we were with and the team surrounding that property. It's fuel that these folks need because it has been a long four days now of, for the most part, fruitless search and rescue efforts, now more of a recovery mode.
Behind me, this is a northeast Tuscaloosa neighborhood called Holt. And the devastation continues as far as the eye can see. Structures upon structures demolished. And just in this very spot where we stand in today, just a couple of hours ago there was another search and rescue crew here with K-9s checking it out because the work continues, Fredricka.
Normally after a tornado, maybe, one, two days, maybe, they would be done with the area, but this event is so extraordinary and so immense, and its vast real estate that it tore apart, they're still working to this day to work through all of these structures -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Yes, it is incredible, Rob. You mentioned a lot of the residents are praising the volunteers. And a lot of residents -- survivors of this storm are also praising the federal government, saying the response has been tremendous with the president there in Tuscaloosa a couple of days ago, just 40 hours after these tornadoes swept through. Rob Marciano, we'll check back with you. Thanks so much, from Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.
Other items, of course, we're following today: it is official. The late pope, John Paul II is one step closer to Catholic sainthood. More than a million people packed the streets of Rome and the Vatican for today's beatification ceremony. We go live to Rome in one minute.
And the Space Shuttle Endeavour will not launch tomorrow. NASA engineers are still working to fix a faulty heating system which delayed Friday's scheduled liftoff. NASA says a new launch date likely won't come before the end of the week.
And President Barack Obama becomes a comedian-in-chief at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington last night. He poked fun at everyone, including his potential Republican challengers. But then it was his turn to take a ribbing from the event's host, "Saturday Night Live's" Seth Meyers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SETH MEYERS, COMEDIAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS DINNER HOST: Now, you, on the other hand, Mr. President, have aged a little.
(LAUGHTER)
MEYERS: What happened to you? When you were sworn in, you looked like the guy from the Old Spice commercials.
(LAUGHTER)
MEYERS: Now you look like Louis Gossett Sr.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So laughing along with the president in the audience, of course, the journalists, politicians, and several Hollywood stars all on the invite list.
So, as we mentioned a bit earlier, Pope John Paul II on the fast track to sainthood. A Chicago family is convinced that he gave them a miracle. Their story next. And we also go live to Rome.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We have pictures right now, you're looking at Vatican City, Rome, where you're seeing people are filing past the casket of Pope John Paul II. The Catholic Church declared him blessed today, one step below sainthood.
And half a world away, a family in Chicago is convinced that he deserves sainthood. They believe the pope performed a miracle just for them.
CNN's Elizabeth Chmurak has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOANNA LUKASIK, BELIEVES JOHN PAUL II SAVED HER SON'S VISION: I was driving to the hospital, I begged him and cried, and begged him to save his vision, and that's what happened.
CHMURAK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joanna Lukasik believes divine intervention from the late Pope John Paul II healed her son, Christopher. In 2007 he suffered a serious eye injury after a freak accident building shelves.
J. LUKASIK: Three days and he was bleeding from the eye so bad, and any specialist cannot tell what happened. They say they cannot see it, if he lost vision or not.
CHMURAK: Dr. Kirk Packo examined Christopher at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. He said, quote: "Christopher was a hair close to being blind in that eye. The boy was hit hard enough to damage his optic fibers but not hard enough to go blind. He got really lucky."
Joanna grew up near John Paul's home town in Poland and says it's her strong cultural connection to the pontiff that gives her faith in his healing powers.
J. LUKASIK: I know that John Paul II did it for him, and that's why I always -- in a difficult time, I'm always going to pray to him because he was the one who gave me a miracle.
CHMURAK: She says the making of this miracle was three years before her son's accident. Christopher met Pope John Paul II during a youth trip to Rome in 2004.
CHRISTOPHER LUKASIK, MET POPE JOHN PAUL II: When I actually touched his hand, I did feel something I never felt around any other human being, which, in all honesty, was probably my first actual spiritual experience.
CHMURAK: Christopher says that experience made him realize Pope John Paul II was in the realm of a higher power. He believes this encounter could be the blessing that helped him overcome his injury.
C. LUKASIK: If one person suffers trauma, another person suffers trauma, one heals better than the other, it might be a physical thing or it might be, you know, something spiritual. Going into it and actually believing in the church, I'm sure it helped me get my mind off of the issues, helped my body heal more.
CHMURAK: Years after his recovery, Christopher reflects on the profound impact the pope made on his life.
C. LUKASIK: I'm very proud that he has been beatified, and it couldn't happen to a better person. And I really hope that the fact of it being such a quicker turnaround by the time he is actually turned into a saint strikes some people. Maybe they'll gain some knowledge as to what he actually did while he was alive and the good that he did for the world.
CHMURAK: Elizabeth Chmurak, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about this beatification and possible sainthood for Pope John Paul II. Let's bring in John Allen. He is a CNN senior Vatican analyst joining us live from Rome We bring in a senior analyst joining us live from Rome today.
All right. Millions have turned out, six years after the death of Pope John Paul II, to walk past his casket, so a great number of Catholics feel like now is the time he should be on the road to sainthood?
JOHN ALLEN, CNN SENIOR VATICAN ANALYST: Well, I think that's absolutely the case, certainly what the Vatican will tell you when you ask them why this happened so fast. And, of course, six years is remarkably fast by historical standards.
They'd always make two points. One is that although Pope Benedict waived the normal five-year waiting period after someone's death to begin a clause (ph). Other than that, the normal process is followed.
And, two, they say they're responding to popular demand. That this is one of those cases in which the push for sainthood really came from the grassroots. You'll recall those chants of "sancto subito," or, "sainthood now," in St. Peter's Square during John Paul's funeral Mass.
And most of the evidence, both anecdotal and empirical, around the Catholic world suggests that there is a solid block of opinion out there that wants to see John Paul made a saint and they want to see it fast. WHITFIELD: Well, you mentioned popular demand, yet there was popular criticism that Pope John Paul II didn't do enough involving the priest abuse scandal. So it's interesting that this movement would proceed despite a lot of criticism along the way.
ALLEN: Yes, that's right. And, of course, the sex abuse crisis would perhaps be the most acute source of criticism, but it's not the only one. I mean, there are some Catholics who believe that John Paul's record on women's issues, for example, wasn't exemplary.
On the other side of the street, on the far Catholic right, there are some traditionalists that think he went way too far in inter-religious dialogue and embracing religious freedom and so on. So there certainly is a healthy debate about John Paul's record.
Having said that, my sense is that most people around the Catholic world, if you ask them, are there things John Paul did with which you would disagree, they would say yes. If you asked him despite that, did you think he was a holy man? Most of them would say yes to that, too.
WHITFIELD: Yet sainthood is really predicated mostly on miracles, right, at least two, performing at least two miracles, and that's the contention that Pope John Paul II should be credited with at least two.
ALLEN: Yes. I mean, it begins with a kind of popular conviction that someone lived a holy life, and the church investigates it to be sure. And if they agree, then it ends with something called a decree of heroic virtue, basically meaning (INAUDIBLE) saintly person. Then you need one miracle for beatification and one for canonization.
Of course, the miracle for John Paul's beatification was the healing of a 49-year-old French nun from Parkinson's disease, the same disease that John Paul himself suffered.
WHITFIELD: John Allen, thanks so much for joining us from Rome.
All right. Back in this country now, desperate measures are being played out to make sure a levee does not break.
First, tornadoes in the South, now flooding is a major concern in the nation's midsection.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Heavy rain has pushed river levels in Missouri and Illinois dangerously high. Let's check in now with Alexandra Steele where already rescues are under way as a result.
ALEXANDRA STEELE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and evacuations of towns, 3,000 people. In southwest Illinois, the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi, what we've seen in Cairo, Illinois, 28 people being forced to evacuate by the mayor by tonight.
So really these pictures just really kind of illuminating the danger and the incredible amount of rain we've seen. You know, we've seen three to four times the amount of rain for the month, so many places in Arkansas, in Illinois, especially southern Illinois, western Tennessee, all impacted.
And, you know, the problem is we've got more rain on the way. So high rivers dangerously high. Evacuations being forced to take place. Here's a look at the radar. And you can see what's happening is kind of called training. Right over the same areas this rain is running, kind of along the I-40 corridor.
But what we have is a stationary front, thus it's not moving. So all the rain on the saturated ground, more rain continues to come, another one to three, even locally four to seven inches, perhaps.
So also in addition to that, that's a severe thunderstorm watch, a tornado watch posted, just meaning that conditions could be favorable to (INAUDIBLE) until about 9:00 tonight. But, again, places like Cairo, in southwest Illinois, such an inundation of rain. Just a little perspective on the rain, Arkansas, Kentucky, just take a look, kind of the bone to get from this, on average about three and four inches of rain for the month.
Look at these numbers, over 12 inches, 14 inches. So to give you a little perspective of the inundation of rain, flood watches, flood warnings there, illuminated in green and red. And this is the problem, another potentially up to seven-eight inches locally over this same area of concern.
So really big problems in terms of the saturation, the flooding, and now even the evacuations.
WHITFIELD: It's unbelievable. All right. Thanks so much, Alexandra, appreciate that.
All right. Let's talk a little sports and legal action. The two colliding. The NFL lockout has been one big legal rollercoaster ride all week long. One minute there's a ruling in favor of the pro football players, the next, it's in favor of the owners. It's enough to get our legal guys all fired up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think we're 30-second time out right now, Fred. I think that on Monday this temporary restraint is going to be lifted and then all of the training facilities will be opened up again on Monday, and then in about a week or so, there will be another determination that they're not going to decide the appeal, so everything is going to stay the way it is.
Ultimately an 89-page, carefully drafted decision is not going to be overturned line-by-line. It's just not going to happen. There is going to be football this fall, absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. So, Avery, this in the middle of the draft right now. Coaches, players allowed to talk to one another or not? AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, if you read this decision that came down late Friday night, some are arguing no. But, you know, what are you going to do? You've got new draftees, you've got camps open. Are 32 owners really going to shut down camp for this small window? The fact is that Judge Nelson, who is the trial judge in Minnesota, wrote actually two opinions, about 110 pages, brilliantly written.
This two-to-one opinion, this emergency procedure, Fredricka, is used like if they're going to put somebody to death. It is so perverse, so wrong, that it will be very short-lived. And the bottom line is it forces everybody to get to the bargaining table. Bargaining table, they have got to get this thing resolved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. They want their football, I know you do too. You can catch our legal guys right here every Saturday beginning at noon Eastern time.
All right, warm weather, well, it brings a return of Taliban fighting overseas in Afghanistan. Now we're getting a report today of now child suicide bombers. Here's a question. Just how long has the U.S. military been in Afghanistan? The answer right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: So before the break, I asked, how long the U.S. military has been in Afghanistan. Since October of 2001, that's when Operation Enduring Freedom began, just after 9/11.
So today now we are getting reports out of Afghanistan that a 12-year- old boy carried out a suicide attack. It comes on the first day of a Taliban spring offensive. Let's bring our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, in Washington.
So, Barbara, the Taliban had warned that there would be big attacks, and certainly it looks as though they've already delivered.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've already gotten started, haven't they, Fred? You know, this warning by the Taliban of a major new spring offensive, not a surprise really to the troops that are there. They have seen it in the past.
The weather has warmed up. The poppy harvest is under way. This is sort of what happens, but NATO took steps this week to ramp up its own security and try and beef up security with Afghan forces, with Afghan civilians in anticipation of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: What they expect are the Taliban mainly in eastern Afghanistan to go after civilians, to go after those so-called soft targets that we've talked about. Places in Afghanistan where the people are unable to protect themselves. So expect to see NATO troops watching very carefully for all of this and expect them to try and continue to work with the Afghan forces even though we've seen a number of attacks in recent days where U.S. troops have died at the hands of those at least in Afghan military uniforms if they're not with the Afghan corps themselves. Fred --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So how is the U.S. military, I wonder, or maybe the coalition forces as a whole preparing themselves for the kind of tactics that the Taliban may be capable of?
Just give an example with the child bomber being used. Is there anything more they know about the kind of strategy that would be used in this spring offensive?
STARR: Well, you know, in announcing this spring offensive, the Taliban did what the U.S. always does, but perhaps with a lot more senescesism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: They issued a warning telling people, Afghan civilians to stay away from areas where troops gather, stay away from areas that might be subject to attack.
But it's these targets like marketplaces, meetings between Afghan government officials, buildings where people may try and gather that the Taliban are clearly going to go after and using these tactics of suicide child bombers that people might not immediately be suspicious about.
It's going to be suicide bombers, small arms attacks, the kinds of things that are so difficult to really protect yourself against.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Barbara Starr in Washington. Thank you so much.
All right, time to look at other top stories we continue to follow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): Libya vows death to invaders following reports that Moammar Gadhafi's son was killed in a NATO air strike.
Empty western embassies have been vandalized and Libyan forces are shelling rebel-held cities. NATO says it has no evidence to confirm any of Gadhafi's relatives died.
Back here in the U.S. look at this enormous slice the country cut by tornadoes a few days ago. All those spot markings where the tornadoes touched down.
The storms are now blamed for the deaths of 339 people, most of them in Alabama. It is the second deadliest tornado outbreak in this nation's history.
This Alabama family has a terrifying story to tell. The Gilberts and their five children ran to the only place they felt safe as a tornado approached. They dove into a nearby creek.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got right here on this creek bank. I put my six-month-old son, five-year-old daughter under me and my wife was on top of my two-year-old son, five-year-old son and seven-year-old son. Before we hit the ground, trees were already snapping. It was already here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Incredible. Scott, his wife and five kids, guess what, they're all fine, but like the neighbors, they did lose everything material.
So we're getting another look at the tornado damage in Alabama from our I-Reporters as well. These pictures are Demetris Derek Tournas. He lives in Birmingham, but he took these photos yesterday of the devastation that he witnessed in and around the Alberta city area right there in Tuscaloosa County.
And then across the border in Mississippi is the town of Smithville. At least 14 people were killed in the tornado there and today survivors came to say a final farewell to some of the victims.
Our Martin Savidge is in Smithville. A very difficulty day for people, we see them behind you looking at the rubble, and at the same time people already starting to say goodbye to loved ones and friends.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fred. You know, what you're looking at here, it may be Sunday, but there's no day of rest for many. These are volunteers that have come in. You find this everywhere where tornadoes have touched.
And these are people that have come from all parts, all walks of life. No real connection to the house they're working in other than the fact there is a human need. So they're clearing up the debris as best they can, and then on top of that, anything precious, anything they think of value that is found, they lay and put it on the side.
I also mentioned it's Sunday, because of course, the first worship services were held. The first Baptist Church of Smithville obliterated as a result of the tornado that came through on Wednesday. The pastor of that church, Wes White, was among several people who took refuge in the basement of that church.
Even people who weren't parishioners came running because they knew there was shelter there. In his service today, there were about 400 to 500 people that showed up in a tent outside in the parking lot.
He began preaching, but he also began talking about what it was like when they emerged from the basement and saw the world that had been changed around them in this small town. Here's how he described it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WES WILLIAMS, PASTOR SMITHVILLE CHURCH: I remember stumbling out, being dazed and shocked, and standing out here and seeing Bobby Harper come running out of Phil's, bad time to get a cup of coffee.
Seeing Miss Marcell come out from over here in the Methodist Church, and we stumbled together, confused, wondering what's happening, and the horror of realizing so many we loved were moments away and were suffering and were dying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE: Well, it wasn't long that they stood there. They immediately went to work. They began helping with the triage of caring for those who had been gravely injured and administering last rites to those who were on death's door.
The death toll in this community now 15 perhaps not as significant compared to other death tolls in other places, but remember, this is a very small town, only 900 people. Everybody knows everyone who died, everyone who was injured, and everyone who now is still suffering.
And to that end, I had a conversation with Liza Morgan. Her and her father run the cemetery, the only one, Smithville cemetery. Every tombstone in that cemetery knocked over but four. They have spent the last two days righting every stone, father and daughter, with the help of volunteers, clearing all the debris.
And as you mentioned, Fred, the first funerals will take place this afternoon, a husband and wife who died together in their home right around in this area. Liza and her father know them very well. For them, preparing those graves is not a job, it's an act of love. Fred --
WHITFIELD: All right, Martin Savidge, thanks so much in Smithville, Mississippi. I appreciate that.
All right, the road to recovery for all the tornado-ravaged states is likely to be a very long one, but one they're cleaning up. What do the kids do? Coming up in about 10 minutes, we'll hear from a woman who actually travels to disaster areas specifically looking for kids to help out.
And in entertainment news, singer Mariah Carey and husband, Nick Cannon are now proud parents. Carey gave birth to the couple's twins, a little girl and a little boy, yesterday in Los Angeles.
The date was especially significant for the couple. It was also their third wedding anniversary. Cannon tweeted that the kids were, quote, "the most incredible anniversary gift ever."
And it is one week until mother's day and we have some great high-tech gift ideas for mom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mommy is the best because she buys me toys.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mommy is the best mommy because she lets me eat whatever food I want.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mommy is a nice lady. She lets me eat stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Thank goodness, these kids get to eat stuff. What do moms do, right? So that little girl was very trained, very, very well. The preschoolers getting an early jump on Mother's Day saying what they appreciate most about their moms so it's your turn.
One week away from Mother's Day, so what are going to do? Before buying that regular candy and flowers kind of thing, how about going high tech all the way?
Marc Saltzman back with us this weekend. We know you've already hooked up your wife because she's the best mom, right, ever, but don't tell, because I know she's watching. So don't tell what you hooked her up with.
So let's talk about other things to give folks some ideas. Maybe she doesn't have a digital camera or maybe she needs an update. What's this one all about?
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Yes, that's great. So you're absolutely right. A digital camera is a great gift for mom. Not only do they take gorgeous shots these days, but they also shoot high definition video.
This model in particular. I got two to show you. This one is from Sony. It's called the Cybershot H70 and although it's small enough to fit in the purse. Check this out. You can zoom 10 times optical zoom with this thing.
So really, you can see how far the lens goes out so that means you can capture a lot of details at a distance. Most digital cameras of this size, this point and shoot cameras can only capture three times or maybe five times optical zoom, so this is 10.
And it has a bunch of other bells and whistles like a cool panorama mode and lots of image stabilization. So the shots won't look blurry. This is on sale for $190 with a four-gigabyte memory card and a matching case.
WHITFIELD: That's pretty impressive. I mean, camera prices are really coming down. That's pretty impressive. OK, and then what else do you have there?
SALTZMAN: This one here is from Fuji film. It's the Fine Pics XP-30 and it's what's called an adventure proof camera. So if you want to bring it to the beach or to the pool, you can take it under water more than 16 feet without it being damaged. No special case is needed. It can be dropped from up to five feet. It can be used outdoors in the winter, maybe you're skiing, so minus 10 degrees Celsius and it's dust proof. So if you get, for example, sand on it at the beach, just wash it.
WHITFIELD: I'm sorry I'm rushing you because we're already running out of time soon. Now, if mom likes music, she likes to work out. You have something for her that is perfect.
SALTZMAN: Yes. This is what my wife is getting, by the way, but that's all right. This is the sixth generation iPod Nano, which of course, it's tiny. It's got a little touch screen. It's got a radio, a pedometer. It can store 2,000 songs for $149.
So that's a great gift for mom especially if she likes to exercise and if she wants to do it hands free, this looks a wristwatch because I've got it snap into a product called the iWatch Q collection.
It's a $25 colorful silicone wrist band that turns the iPod Nano into a watch. So it's a very clever, come to eight different colors. So this is what it looks like in pink and in the case here in blue. You just snap the iPod Nano in the middle.
WHITFIELD: Unbelievable, very get smart like. All right, so now let's talk about dressing up an iPad, Notebook, Smart phone all that stuff with that little jelly stuff.
SALTZMAN: Right, so these are called skins. These ones are from a company called Jell-o Skins and so if mom has a Smart phone or a laptop or an e-book reader, these are an inexpensive way to decorate them giving you some personality and customization.
This is for the iPhone IV. It's a beautiful picture, by the way, of a girl in Africa drinking water. A 100 percent of the profits from this collection goes to charity so that's for iPhone IV.
This is a nice one for mom for e-book readers, and depending on your laptop size, there are all kinds of these high quality skins or stickers to affix on the back of your laptop.
And then finally, a case might be a good idea if mom has a tablet, these are from Hard Candy. These are beautiful cases that you just put your iPad or iPad II or other tablet inside.
They range in price from $17 to 50. I love this bubble one here, this pink one. Inside is where you put your iPad. It protects it and gives it some fashion.
WHITFIELD: I'm sorry about that so much to choose from. We love that, and moms are going to love all of these ideas, too. Marc Saltzman, thanks so much and happy mother's day to your wife, a week early.
SALTZMAN: Thank you. Take care.
WHITFIELD: All right, so for more high-tech ideas and reviews just go to cnn.com/tech.
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WHITFIELD: The images are remarkable, so many scenes of devastation like these across Alabama and five other states right now in the southern portion of this country.
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WHITFIELD (voice-over): At least 339 people were killed in last week's tornado outbreak. It is the second deadliest in the nation's history among tornadoes, and it's going to be a long time before survivors can cleanup, rebuild their homes and get back to their normal lives.
It's so difficult particularly for families when they've lost everything and they've got small children. It's difficult to help the kids get through these tough times. Well, that is exactly the kind of question that came to mind for one woman that we're about to talk to.
What do the kids do when their entire towns, their homes are devastated by tornadoes? It was about six years ago when this woman's son was killed by a tornado in Indiana. And so they came up with an idea, calling it "C.J.'s Bus," a mobile recreational unit that travels to disaster areas.
Kathryn Martin joins us now from Tuscaloosa, Alabama where she has set up that bus. You hail from Indiana, right, and then you got that bus ready to go, made your way to Tuscaloosa as soon as these storms hit last Wednesday. So good to see you. What have you found? How great has the need been for you to arrive there in Tuscaloosa?
KATHRYN MARTIN, FOUNDER, C.J.'S BUS: Thank you for having me. The devastation is just - there are no words. The families, we've already heard from the kids that we've been working with. A lot of them have lost everything, so it's very widespread.
WHITFIELD: So this has to be very difficult for you, too, in so many different ways, because you lost your two-year-old son, C.J. to a tornado, and here you are going to a tornado-ravaged area.
I imagine that all of those memories are coming back to life in a very big, real way, yet you are trying to help others cope and get through a very similar experience.
MARTIN: It is hard. I just try to keep focusing on the reason that we're here. It's not about me and it's not about C.J., it's about C.J.'s bus and the kids that have just went through probably the most horrific thing in their lives.
WHITFIELD: So we're looking at some still images right now, some of the activities that you have and how this bus is put to use. It really is a big recreational fun house on wheels. Describe for me the activities you're able to bring to these kids who so desperately need it right now. MARTIN: We do things as simple as coloring. We have a bounce house right behind the bus. We play kickball, sidewalk chalk, just the simple things in life that kids love and that make them so innocent, you know, to go out and kick a ball. It's the greatest thing for them.
WHITFIELD: And you kind of see a real transformation with these kids, don't you? I'm sure they come with really long faces. Some children are despondent for a very long time after tragedies like this happen, and you're getting a chance to see them smile for the first time in many, many hours, and in this case, at least four days.
MARTIN: We do, and we hear a lot from the parents that the kids, you know, haven't smiled or they've been real quiet and not really talking, and then they'll talk a lot to us. So, you know, sometimes it's good to just sit and listen and let kids be kids, and that's what we try to do.
WHITFIELD: Kathryn Martin in Tuscaloosa, Alabama there. Thanks so much, founder of C.J.'s Bus and a lot of people there I know wish they had a way to express their gratitude for what you're doing.
MARTIN: Well, thank you for having me.
WHITFIELD: So to find out how you at home might be able to make a difference to tornadoes in the south just like Kathryn is able to do. Visit our impact to world page, that's cnn.com/impact.
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WHITFIELD: Next week we hope you'll join us because it's face to face with Venus Williams. We met this week and talked about tennis, of course, and whether she feels ready to play again. You know, she's been out on the injury list.
But we also talked about not only how she's feeling on the court again, but what it's been like to be that child prodigy. She's been playing professionally for 17 years.
And I asked her to reflect on whether it would be her recommendation that parents start their kids so early in tennis.
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VENUS WILLIAMS, TENNIS PLAYER: What works with one kid won't work with another, so -- I was a tough kid and very oblivious, almost, so I could deal with a lot.
WHITFIELD: What do you mean you were a tough kid?
WILLIAMS: Nothing bothered me. You know, my dad was, you know, making us hit shots over and over and over again. It wouldn't faze me, and even if it upset me --
WHITFIELD: You wouldn't yell at your dad and say, enough already?
WILLIAMS: No, I wouldn't yell, and I got over it. Two days later, it was behind me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: We talked about tennis courts, her goals and what she does off the court. She's got a couple businesses on the side pretty significant. Join me on "Face to Face with Venus Williams" next weekend.
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WHITFIELD: Recapping our top stories right now, the Libyan government says a NATO air strike has killed one of Moammar Gadhafi's sons, 29- year-old Saif al Arab.
It says three of his grandchildren also died. A NATO official says war planes targeted a command and control facility, but he says there is no evidence to support the claim that Gadhafi's son or grandchildren were killed.
Here in the U.S., the Army Corps of engineers is closely monitoring the rain-swollen Mississippi and Ohio rivers along the Missouri and Illinois border.
If the rivers get to high, the corps may blow up a levee, which would relieve pressure and spare at least one threatened Illinois town. The move would, however, flood Missouri farmland.
And the space shuttle "Endeavour" will not launch after all tomorrow. NASA engineers are still working to fix a faulty heating system, which delayed Friday's liftoff. NASA says a new launch date likely won't come before the end of the week.
I'll be back in one hour. Did you know that there are ways to have a tax-deductible wedding? Details beginning at 4:00 Eastern Time. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" starts right now.
