Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Continental Flight Diverted; Delta Flight Diverted to New Mexico; Getting Blunt with Pakistan; U.S./Pakistani Tensions Rising; Jihad Likely to Continue after Bin Laden's Death; Relentless River Keeps Rising; Asking and Getting a Pay Raise; Lack of Minority Teachers; Spring Cleaning Your Computer
Aired May 08, 2011 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: He apparently tried to get to an exit door during the flight and had to be restrained. Federal authorities are now questioning him.
And the second plane diverted was Delta Flight 1706. It was forced to land in Albuquerque, New Mexico. According to the TSA, a flight attendant on the San Diego bound flight discovered a suspicious note in the lavatory.
The passengers are being checked out by the FBI while they're in Albuquerque. We'll bring you more details on these two stories involving these two airlines in this country on this day.
In other news now, blunt talk for Pakistan from the president of the United States. Mr. Obama is publicly calling on the Pakistani government to investigate possible ties between that country's intelligence service and al Qaeda terrorists.
CNN's senior political editor Mark Preston joins us now from Washington with more on the president's interview to air tonight on CBS' "60 Minutes." What more can you tell us, Mark?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Fred, last week's lightning round that killed Osama Bin Laden is being described as the single biggest achievement against al Qaeda. But top administration officials acknowledge it's complicated their relationship with Pakistan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRESTON (voice-over): A week after the U.S. killed enemy number one in a daring night-time raid, the White House says it is pressing Pakistan for answers about how Osama Bin Laden was hiding in plain sight, just 30 miles north of that country's capital. In an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes," President Obama says the U.S. has delivered that message to Pakistan.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We think that there had to be some sort of support network for Bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don't know who or what that support network was.
We don't know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government and that's something that we have to investigate and, more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate.
PRESTON: Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S. says an investigation is under way and promises that if need be, heads will roll. But at the same time, he insists his government would he taken action if it had known Bin Laden's whereabouts.
HUSAIN HAQQANI, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: If any member of the Pakistani government, the Pakistani military or the Pakistani intelligence service knew where Osama Bin Laden was, we would have taken action. Osama Bin Laden's presence in Pakistan was not to Pakistan's advantage.
PRESTON: Questions about Pakistan come amid calls by some lawmakers to cut U.S. aid to Pakistan currently about $1.5 billion a year. But President Obama's National Security adviser Tom Donilon tells CNN, remember, Pakistan is a key U.S. ally.
TOM DONILON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The fact is Osama Bin Laden was in Abbottabad, Pakistan, for six years or so. But the fact also is that more terrorists have been captured or killed on Pakistan soil than any other place in the world. They have been a very important partner for the United States in our efforts against terrorism.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PRESTON: Donilon also says he hasn't seen any evidence at least to date that the political, military or intelligence leadership of Pakistan knew about Bin Laden's hideout. Fred --
WHITFIELD: Mark, thanks so much in Washington.
And of course, we're still learning more about the raid on Bin Laden's compound on CNN's "FAREED ZAKARIA: GPS" today. Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said the courier who unwillingly led the U.S. to Bin Laden was first identified during the Bush administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL HAYDEN, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: I think it was about four years ago in 2007, we had built up sufficient lead information on the name of the courier that we thought it was ready for presidential primetime. So we briefed it to the president not as something imminent, but as our most promising lead to track down bin laden.
FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": So this is classic human intelligence. You had people on the ground. They talked to people. They developed relationships. Is that right?
HAYDEN: It is, but it also came out of detainee interrogations. One of the more prominent leads we had at the beginning of this exercise was partial identity information that came out of detainees that we were holding in our so-called black sites.
Then from that point, we used all the tools of intelligence. I can't go into detail, but I can assure you it was signals intelligence and imagery intelligence and human intelligence that allowed us to build this.
Fareed, this wasn't done one brick at a time. This was actually done one pebble at a time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So Hayden also said President Obama's decision to raid Bin Laden's compound was courageous, but he thinks any American president would have made the same choice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD (voice-over): All right, let's talk about the threat of water in a very big way in Memphis, Tennessee. A nervous wait at the swollen Mississippi River keeps rising. It's expected to crest Tuesday at 14 feet above flood stage.
The expected crest, just inches below the record flood in 1937. People living in at least 1,100 homes in the Memphis area have been told to evacuate and more evacuations might be ordered.
This boat tour of a flooded neighborhood near Memphis shows just how serious this flooding is. Water is up to the roof of some of the homes as you see right there. In Memphis, tourists are among those keeping an eye on the water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are very concerned because we realize it's all unpredictable and we do not want to be stuck here in Memphis. And we don't want to have to flee in a hurry. We want to return home safely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Downstream from Memphis, the flooded river won't make it to the Gulf of Mexico for a couple of weeks now, but no one is waiting around. Right now they are shoring up the levees around New Orleans.
And tomorrow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to open a spillway north of New Orleans to divert floodwaters away from the city. Upstream now from Memphis, they're still dealing with the impact of that high water. Cairo, Illinois, was spared the worst of the flooding when levees were intentionally blown up. But across the river in Missouri, there are a lot of angry farmers. Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cairo, Illinois, sits between the Mississippi and the Ohio Rivers. Many believe the entire city would be under water if not for the controversial decision to blow open this levee.
The explosion opened a two-mile hole, flooding more than 130,000 acres of farmland in neighboring Missouri. (on camera): When you look at that, what do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very sad. I look at that and I -- I don't have a home.
ROWLANDS: Marilyn's farm has been in her family for three generations. It would still be dry if the federal government hadn't blown up the levee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like that we're having to suffer for somebody else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The doors are pushed out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Farmers Ray and Roy Preston have 2,000 acres under water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've always lived with the idea that some day they might have to blow up. The waters kept rising. We knew they would blow it. We don't like it, but, you know, we have to accept it.
ROWLANDS: The plan since 1928 has always been that if Cairo, a city of about 15,000 at the time, was in danger of flooding, the levee would be opened to save the city.
(on camera): But back then things were much different. Cairo was a vibrant river community. This is what it looks like now. Most of the businesses downtown here are gone. Most of the people have left as well. In fact, less than 3,000 people remain. Many believe this, in fact, is not a town that was worth saving.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you rather have Missouri farmland flooded or Cairo under water?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cairo. I've been there. Cairo. Have you been to Cairo? You know what I'm saying, then?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you've been to Cairo lately? Yes, you know what I mean. What do you mean? I mean, I want to know what you mean about it.
ROWLANDS: Cairo is predominantly African-American. People on both sides say there is a racial component to the debate over whether the city or the farms should have been saved.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's nothing but blacks here, you know. This town here is built -- was built on racists a long time ago back in the years, years ago. Ain't nothing changed.
ROWLANDS: Cairo's history of racial tension dates back to the 1909 public lynching of Will James, who was suspected of raping a white woman.
In the 1960s, the city closed the public pool rather than allow blacks to swim. On the Missouri side, many people feel the federal government may have been overly sensitive to the race issue and pulled the trigger too soon to blow up the levee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do believe that the government was worried about some of that. I don't think that should have played any role in it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: That's Ted Rowlands reporting there. Jacqui Jeras is also keeping track of the flooding and where it may be heading next. We'll check in with her in about a half an hour from now.
On to New Jersey now, a frightening end to a commuter train ride. Officials say the underground train overshot its stop in Hoboken and collided with a bumper block designed to absorb impact of collisions. Thirty eight people suffered minor injuries.
And a woman who says Libyan soldiers raped her has fled to another country. Where is she and why she fled? Next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM. Overseas now, first, Syria where military vehicles were on the move before dawn in one of Syria's largest cities. A 12-year-old boy was killed in clashes there later on in the day.
That's according to a human rights group. The Syrian government says several troops and security forces were killed as well. We have no way to independently verify that information. CNN is not allowed to actually operate or do reporting inside Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: On to Egypt where crowds of Christians and Muslims clashed in Cairo overnight, throwing rocks and at one point shooting at one another. Officials said the clashes started when rumors spread that a woman, a Muslim convert, was being held in a church against her will. At least 12 people were reported killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And now an update on a CNN exclusive, the Libyan woman who accuses Moammar Gadhafi's soldiers of locking her up, beating her and raping her, fearing for her own safety, she has actually fled Libya.
Our crews spoke to her from that safe location. Fionnuala Sweeney is here from CNN International now to tell us exactly where this woman is and how she had the courage to leave.
We're talking about Eman Al Obeidy. We know that she had a lot of attention when she stormed a hotel telling reporters that she had just been raped by a loyalist to Moammar Gadhafi then she went missing for a period of time. She reappeared and now she's made this courageous move. FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, essentially CNN's Nic Robertson had managed to speak to her in Tripoli after she's been released from jail. You'll remember those pictures of her screaming at the hotel. She was led away by security forces.
When Nic spoke to her she talked about how upset she was and the loyalists, Gadhafi loyalists had raped her several times. She feared for her life. She was being harassed on the streets. People recognized her.
And so she eventually decided to take the decision to leave the country, to flee Tunisia, but she was afraid she would be stopped at a check point on the way to neighboring Tunisia. So what she did was she managed to get the help of a military officer who was planning to defect with his family.
WHITFIELD: A Libyan military officer.
SWEENEY: A Libyan military officer was going to defect with his family and she was able to get across the border disguised in a traditional garb that really only showed one eye. So when the CNN producer caught up with her in Tunisia, he asked her, what were her plans now?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you like to go see your family in the east or what are you planning next in the future?
EMAN AL-OBEIDY, ALLEGES BEATING AND RAPE BY GADHAFI FORCES (through translator): I still don't know what I'm going to do. Of course, I'd like to see my family. I have called some relatives of mine in Egypt, but still did not hear back from them. No, I did not rush.
I walked to my cousin's house and we all met then rode in the same car. We left very normally, of course. I was wearing -- bring me that. It's a traditional tribal head ware, which was given to me by my friend's mother. I was wearing it. Indeed, you can't see anything apart from my one eye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SWEENEY: So she says she's going to think now about what the future holds for her. Her father saying he was delighted to hear she was out of Tripoli and in a safe place.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, people can't forget there is still activity going on in a militaristic fighting way in Libya. Particularly Misrata there were some new developments.
SWEENEY: Misrata is a very key town. It's towards the west, heading towards Tripoli. The rebels have been fighting this on/off, making advances, one step forward, one step back with the Libyan army.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SWEENEY (voice-over): You're looking now at pictures of an oil depot that was set alight. Mirick Holden of the "Sunday Times" spoke to me about an hour ago, and this oil depot was set alight by Gadhafi's forces -
But the real fear now, half a million people hold up in Misrata, the real fear is that they are not -- they are now going to find that the wind changes and these fires that you're looking at cold spread into Misrata itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, Fionnuala Sweeney. Thanks so much for that update on those developments. Appreciate it.
Straight ahead, an interesting look into -- before we want to give you an update on this breaking story we continue to follow, actually. Two planes forced to divert in different cities today state side. We're following those two stories. We'll bring you any developments.
Also straight ahead, a very interesting look into the life of a tennis great, Venus Williams. She gives candid answers to your e-mail questions face to face, including this one.
Barry York is, of course, going to get personal here. He wants to know about your love interest.
Her answers, Venus Williams, face to face after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom's number one because she likes -- my mommy and I play fashion dolls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She lets me eat whatever food I want.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mommy likes to go to the park!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mommy is best because she loves me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Aw! Happy Mother's day to everyone out there. Happy Mother's day, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Happy Mother's Day to you.
WHITFIELD: We're leaving the NEWSROOM for a little bit entering now Chatroom on this lovely Mother's Day. We've got some fun things to talk about. It's kind of mother's day nonrelated right now, but interesting nonetheless.
Let's begin with a Florida gator in -- deputy says he's coming to the rescue in a neighborhood in Gainesville, Florida because there was a sighting of a pretty monstrosity-sized gator.
JERAS: Yes, as big as the car from what I understand.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
JERAS: So he gets the call. He comes out there, finds this huge gator and apparently whenever something comes towards a gator, it will chomp down on it. At least that's the theory.
He actually might have been a hero. The cruise vehicle comes up to the gator and the gator chomps down on the bumper. Take a look at that. It caused some damage.
WHITFIELD: New meaning to the words "bite out of crime."
JERAS: So trappers came and took care of it and everything.
WHITFIELD: OK. That's some interesting stuff. From the gator to the geysers at the Yellowstone National Park, you know what? There's a cone at that geyser. They're supposed to stay off the cone.
JERAS: Have you been there?
WHITFIELD: I know no rules about Yellowstone. I haven't been there yet. It's on my list of places to go.
JERAS: It's a thermal vent. It erupts multiple times a day, right? You don't want to be standing over that thing when it goes off, first of all. What's funny about this story is, sometimes people break the rules.
WHITFIELD: Yes, people are a little curious.
JERAS: They go inside the little fenced area or maybe they're not paying attention. There's a bunch of web cams where you can watch this go off via internet all day long.
Apparently some people in Wisconsin happened to see a tour group of people, like 30 people standing on top of the cone. So the ranger came out and gave them all a big fine because they made the call all the way from Wisconsin.
We didn't get to do that when we were there. Those good mid- westerners. You've got rules to follow.
WHITFIELD: I know, Jacqui, we're going to have a lot more to talk about later on. While this is all fun and games, back in the NEWSROOM, we're going to be talking about some very serious situations involving the midsection of the country and flooding.
JERAS: Yes, the record flooding continues. You know, Memphis is getting close to that record peak right now. They're going to take some measures coming up now to save New Orleans, hopefully, by hoping up some flood spillway.
We'll kind of detail that for you and let you know what you can expect and how that's supposed to help. Unfortunately, it's also going to put some other people in harm's way when they do that.
WHITFIELD: Fantastic. We'll be looking for those details on that. Of course, you know, I've been talking to Venus Williams face to face all day long in our profile of face to face.
We've been talking about this tennis great right here, Venus Williams. She's out on injury right now, Jacqui. She's nursing the injury, hoping to get back out on the pro circuit.
But, you know, we had to reach out to a lot of viewers fascinated by her on a regular basis to say, wait a minute, what would you ask Venus Williams if you had an opportunity? We got some great questions. She loved them, too. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: I like to ask a lot of our viewers what kind of questions they may have for someone face to face.
VENUS WILLIAMS, TENNIS CHAMPION: Yes, I love questions.
WHITFIELD: You know I have some. They really are some great questions. Some are amusing. Tanner's dad says --
WILLIAMS: Tanner's dad.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Tanner's dad says, Venus, what is your real spark, drive and passion? What makes you tick and what tickles your funny bone?
WILLIAMS: My spark, drive and passion, I think anything that I can work really, really hard at, almost kill myself with hard work. That sounds insane. And what tickles my funny bone? Well, I'm willing to laugh at anything, including myself at all times.
And I'm not a very serious person, actually. I'm not very grown up and it may seem like it, but when you really get to know me, you realize that, gosh, she needs another 20 years before she gets to be a real adult.
So it's an interesting combination, but I laugh at a lot of things. Whatever sparks my funny bone, big karaoke enthusiast.
WHITFIELD: Are you?
WILLIAMS: Huge.
WHITFIELD: You love karaoke?
WILLIAMS: Love karaoke.
WHITFIELD: Where do you karaoke?
WILLIAMS: I karaoke'd all over the world. I've karaoke'd in Asia. I've karaoke's in the U.S. I karaoke at home on a daily basis. WHITFIELD: When in Asia, you go to the big -- it's like an apartment building. You go to sign up for a room. When people see you coming, are they like, is that really Venus Williams getting ready to karaoke here?
WILLIAMS: Once they hear my voice, they fall in love.
WHITFIELD: Really?
WILLIAMS: No! It's about having fun. It's not about sounding great.
WHITFIELD: Right, right. That's true. You don't have to be a great singer.
WILLIAMS: We're a karaoking family.
WHITFIELD: Are you?
WILLIAMS: We are. We all karaoke and some of us have routines.
WHITFIELD: So at home, microphones? Sometimes someone just improvises and suddenly a karaoke night -
WILLIAMS: Any time of day, night, morning. Just singing. After you sing, you feel good.
WHITFIELD: That is certainly something that probably no one knew about. OK, Barry York is, of course, he's going to get personal here. He wants to know about your love interest.
WILLIAMS: Well, right now I'm single and I like that because when you're single, you don't have to call anybody. You don't have to care about their issues.
WHITFIELD: It's not complicated, is it?
WILLIAMS: It's great. So, you know, right now it's a great life. I live in a house where everyone's single. We're all bachelorettes. It's fun. One day, I'll grow up maybe.
WHITFIELD: My goodness. OK, and then Asolomon 15 wants to know what kinds of junk food you like to eat.
WILLIAMS: I love junk food.
WHITFIELD: You do?
WILLIAMS: Yes, I do. I love junk food.
WHITFIELD: How can you be a great athlete and still enjoy junk food?
WILLIAMS: Well, the keyword is balance.
WHITFIELD: I guess you do burn a lot of calories all the time.
WILLIAMS: Yes. Normally I don't diet. I just try to be balanced with eating good foods and then sometimes you have more foods that aren't as good.
WHITFIELD: What would be your favorite junk food?
WILLIAMS: Not too much.
WHITFIELD: Do you have a favorite?
WILLIAMS: It changes -- one thing that I love are Oreo Cakesters, the vanilla cakesters. They don't last long.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: That's right, Oreo cakesters.
JERAS: Never had them.
WHITFIELD: Me either!
JERAS: Have to try that.
WHITFIELD: Something tells me now Venus is going to get, like, truckloads of Oreo cakesters because now everyone knows the tennis great Venus Williams loves junk food.
JERAS: And karaoke.
WHITFIELD: In the form of Oreo cakesters. Well, if you didn't know before, she loves to laugh. So refreshing, right, about Venus Williams? More face to face with Venus.
And you know, she will be getting serious again with us because I ask her, what are the key ingredients to reaching greatness? These things might take you aback.
Also, President Obama going public with some tough words now for Pakistan, what he says needs to happen, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: President Obama is calling on Pakistan to investigate possible ties between its intelligence agency and al Qaeda terrorists. The comment came in an interview that airs tonight on CBS's "60 Minutes."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE KROFT, CBS'S 60 MINUTES: Do you believe people in the Pakistani government, Pakistani intelligence agencies, knew that bin Laden was living there?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don't know who or what that support network was. We don't know whether there might have been some people inside of government, people outside of government.
And that's something that we have to investigate and, more importantly, the Pakistani government has to investigate.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The death of Osama bin Laden has many terror experts concerned now about revenge attacks.
CNN's senior correspondent Allan Chernoff reports the Internet is buzzing with promises of retaliation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anti-American hatred online is as fierce as ever after the killing of Osama bin Laden. And the celebrations in response. They are celebrating their own end. "Osama is in the heart of every Muslim," reads one posting on a pro-jihadi online forum. "The jihad will continue," says another.
AARON ZELIN, JIHADOLOGY.NET: Many of the activists online were disgusted by all the celebrations. It was sort of spitting in jihadist face in some respects.
CHERNOFF: But intelligence analysts say they see no sign any group on the terror watch list has specific plans for retaliation. A far more likely scenario, they say, is that individuals may now try to strike back.
SETH JONES, RAND CORPORATION: With some individuals this may now be an added incentive to conduct attacks whether it's at U.S. military bases or at key public transportation sites.
CHERNOFF: Disenfranchised people in the U.S. have previously attempted terror strikes. Najibullah Zazi last year pled guilty to planning a bomb attack on the New York subway. Faisal Shahzad tried by failed to detonate a bomb in Times Square last year.
JONES: They tend to be much less sophisticated in general.
CHERNOFF: Such lone wolves tend to lack advanced bomb-making capabilities. Analysts say they're more of a threat to engage in shooting attacks. Five men were convicted in 2008 of planning such an attack on soldiers at Ft. Dix, New Jersey. The following year it happened at Fort Hood, Texas. Army psychiatrist Nidal Malik Hasan shot and killed 13 people on the military base.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And a remarkable rescue in Nevada. This Canadian couple disappeared seven weeks ago while traveling in a van on a remote road in northern Nevada. They were last seen in surveillance video from a convenience store in Baker City, Oregon.
That was nearly two months ago. On Friday hunters found the woman, but not her husband. Rita Chretian told her rescuers that she survived by eating tiny amounts of trail mix and snow.
Earlier today I talked with reporter Michelle Costa who was just outside the Twin Falls, Idaho, hospital where Chretian was taken.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE COSTA, REPORTER, KMVT: Really important she's had a small meal. That's consisting of mainly Jell-O. She's on a liquid diet. Remember I mean she's been out there for seven weeks so she's lost a lot of weight. You have to slowly start doing that liquid diet to get her back on that.
But doctors are really optimistic. They said they're going to be monitoring her for the next 24 hours. They'll re-evaluate how she's doing and then decide if she'll be transferred closer to home.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Unbelievable. Hospital officials say Chretian is in fair condition. A search is still under way for her husband.
And a nervous wait in Memphis, Tennessee. The swollen Mississippi River is expected to crest Tuesday just inches below the record flood level in 1937. People living in at least 1100 homes in the Memphis area have been told to evacuate.
Tourists are among those keeping an eye on the river.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It reminds us of '93 when I was back home and what we had with the Mississippi River there. But we as a group will be leaving here tomorrow. But we did have one of our tours canceled tomorrow morning. The mud island is where that we were going to take the group. And they called us yesterday and said they wouldn't be allowed -- be able to have us.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Jacqui Jeras with us now with more on this river and the cresting.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. This is going to continue to push downstream. We've got a long way to go for that high water to continue to push hundreds of miles down.
Now we're talking about the lower Mississippi River basin at this time. And the river has basically crested right here into the boot heel of Missouri. So the height of the water still has this entire way to get down towards the Gulf of Mexico.
Now we heard about this levee that was exploded at Burns Point to help relieve and save the town of Cairo. Well, similar measures may be taken now, it looks like, to help New Orleans.
We want to tell you about the spillways. The first one is called the Bonnet Carre Spillway. And they've already decided that yes, tomorrow morning 8:00 a.m. they're going to start opening this area. And what it is, as we zoom in, you'll see this is the Mississippi River here. This is Lake Pontchartrain. And this is that spillway. So they're going to open it up, allow it to flood this area.
You know this is all good news. Nobody lives here. It was designed to do this. This will help relieve a little pressure on the entire levee system. And it will also keep the crest a little bit lower in New Orleans.
At this time we do expect that New Orleans crest to be at about 19.5 feet in about a week and a half from now. And that is just shy -- about a half a foot shy -- of what the levees were designed to do. They are to protect the city at 20 feet. So we'll watch. And that does take into account opening up that spillway.
Now this was done before a couple of times in the past, about nine times. Most recently in 2008. And this Google Earth image along with NASA will show you that spillway as it got flooded and moved that water.
Now the second question that we have is what happens beyond that? There's another spillway that's designed to provide some of this relief that we've been talking about. And this one is upstream yet, north of Baton Rouge. And it's called the Morganza Spillway.
Now this thing was designed to do the same thing, help alleviate some pressure, help to save some of the bigger cities down the line. But the area that it's going to be flooding here is going to be much more extensive. It's going to impact lots of people.
In fact, we're talking about 5 to 25 feet of water could be pushing in an area from Atchafalaya River and stretching towards the Mississippi. So this is a large area.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
JERAS: Places like Morgan City, places like Houma, could see as much as five feet of water. So it's kind of a trade-off. What we're looking at is a possibility, it's not a sure thing, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has said, yes, we'd like to do it. They haven't had the approval to do it just yet. So we'll keep you up to date.
WHITFIELD: What an incredibly frightening time for so many people. First the tornadoes. And then now this flooding. And the threat seems unending.
JERAS: It really is. You know it's going to last for weeks, really, Fredricka. And we could talk -- be talking about July before the river is completely back within its banks to where it's supposed to be.
WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Jacqui, thanks so much.
JERAS: Sure. WHITFIELD: And you know you deserve a raise, right? That's what a lot of people are thinking about as it pertains to getting ready for the new workweek. Well, can you convince your boss of that? We have three ways to justify that pay raise that you want and advice on what to do if your boss still says no.
Plus, my "Face-to-Face" with Venus Williams, tennis star.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: If there were three things -- I like to ask all my "Face to Face" interviews, if there were three things that were like the key ingredients to greatness, what would they be?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Her answers next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The price for a gallon of gas may have topped out, at least for now. Crude prices fell sharply over the past few days and lower gas prices usually follow when that happens. Oil dropped below $100 a barrel Thursday for the first time since the middle of March.
And one way, perhaps, to boost your cash flow to buy that pricey gasoline, how about asking for a pay raise?
Earlier today I talked with career expert Paula Caligiuri. And she's the author of "Get a Life, Not a Job." She gave out key tips to help convince your boss that you deserve more money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PROF. PAULA CALIGIURI, HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT, RUTGERS UNIVERSITY: In the past few years of downsizing, we've seen a lot of people have their responsibilities increase but their salaries not increase.
So the first thing, take stock of the types of responsibilities that you have. And you might want to -- believe it or not, you might want to ask for an elevated job title. And I know there's that old joke, when you can't get a raise, get a -- you know, ask for a title. But really that one's going to be very important because that will indicate what your salary range. We want to get you to a higher salary range.
And the next thing, use that new title or the title that you have to go on to some of those sites like Payscale.com or Glassdoor.com to try to figure out what that range is. Then hopefully in combination you'll do a good job at making the equity case for yourself.
WHITFIELD: OK. And then merit. You need to discuss -- you need to come equipped to say, on merit I deserve this raise. You need to come up with maybe some real hard core examples of what you've done, what makes you deserving, right? CALIGIURI: Absolutely. Most organizations will link performance review with your salary increase. So don't assume that your boss remembers all of the great things you've been doing. You want to make the case for yourself. Accomplishments, achievements, any evidence of commitment or engagement. You want to make sure you make the best possible case for yourself going into that meeting.
WHITFIELD: And you want to show the competitive advantage. That's the third marker that you talked about at the very top. You need to explain, what's the competitive advantage. Know what kind of role you've played and how you have an advantage over anybody else who plays that similar role?
CALIGIURI: And in this climate, Fred, in this climate, this one's particularly important because unemployment is so high. You want to make sure that you are in a role that's absolutely critical to the organization. They need you in order to compete.
And in addition to that, you want to make sure the role that you do and the job skills that you have are unique. So very difficult to replace either internal in the organization or on the open job market.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. "Reclaiming Your Career" every weekend, Sundays, beginning at 4:00 Eastern Time.
OK. So who doesn't fantasize about being a great athlete? "Face to Face," tennis champ Venus Williams reveals what she believes are the keys to achieving greatness.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So if there were three things -- I like to ask all my "Face to Face" interviews, if there were three things that were, like, the key ingredients to greatness, what would they be?
VENUS WILLIAMS, TENNIS CHAMPION: Oh, my gosh. I think first you can never undermine hard work. That has to be the first. And because you're willing to work hard, you're going to get the confidence that you need to be able to achieve things. And that would be the second one, confidence and self-belief.
And what would be the third? The third one, I would say definitely the third, I would kind of describe it as heart. And that could be the first, too. Or it could be the third because you might not have a heart, but it's something you can learn. And in terms of heart, I mean, just being able to give that extra, pull it out of yourself, whatever that is, to get the job done. Whether it's -- it's that heart. And you can learn -- I think heart is something you can learn.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So if you missed any of my talk with Venus Williams "Face to Face," go to my blog at CNN.com/fredricka. And of course, I want to hear from you so tweet me @FWhitfield. A potential presidential candidate who is particularly outspoken heads for New Hampshire this week. Who is it? Find out after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Health care and presidential politics will make the headlines this week. CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has this look ahead.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: A new fight in the battle of health care reform. Tuesday the first of those lawsuits against the new measure makes its way to the Federal Appeals Court level.
The case will be heard in Richmond, Virginia. The legal war of the controversial law is expected to eventually end up in the Supreme Court.
The same day President Obama heads to El Paso, Texas, to speak out on how to fix what the White House calls the nation's broken immigration system.
Illegal immigration is a hot topic and Hispanics and Latinos are a important and growing voting group.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: And I'm doing great in New Hampshire.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: And that's where Donald Trump will be on Wednesday. The billionaire real estate mogul and reality TV star makes his second trip in the past couple of weeks to the state that holds the first primary in the race for the White House. Trump says he'll decide by June if he'll make a bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
And except Newt Gingrich to make some news this week. A spokesperson for the former House speaker said by the time Gingrich speaks at Georgian GOP convention on Friday, he'll be a candidate for president -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Paul.
So from health care to education now. Finding qualified teachers to reflect the diversity in this nation. It's no easy task.
CNN education contributor Steve Perry talks to Education Secretary Arne Duncan about efforts to recruit more minorities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUTHER SEWELL, TEACHER: Which one?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: D.
SEWELL: D.
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Teachers like Luther Sewell III are rarely found in classrooms around the country.
ARNE DUNCAN, EDUCATION SECRETARY: Less than 2 percent -- less than 1 in 50 of our teachers around the country today are African-American men.
PERRY: So I sat down with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to find out how he plans to get more minority teachers in the classroom.
DUNCAN: I'm traveling around the country, just trying to appeal for this next generation of great leaders to come to our nation's classroom to make a difference.
PERRY (on camera): But there are a lot of men and women of color who want to go back, they want to become teachers. What are some of the bold efforts you anticipate pushing to ensure that it's possible for them to do it in a reasonable way?
DUNCAN: We're trying to make it much easier. We've launched a Web site actually called teach.gov that folks can go on and find out about programs in their communities. We're funding and putting significant resource behind what we call Alternative Certification Teacher Program. So I'm a big fan of mid-career changers.
PERRY (voice-over): Sewell was in the mortgage industry for about eight years before becoming a teacher.
SEWELL: I like it.
He gave him two 20-pound sledgehammers.
PERRY (on camera): What the benefit of having more African-Americans in the classroom?
SEWELL: Because we get to talk about our experiences and we get to talk about the way things used to be, the way things can be, we give them hope. Mostly kids don't have fathers so I have to have that role.
In our community being smart is not cool, you know. Being a teacher is not cool. Hopefully when I come into the classroom I expose them to what a black man can be, they're excellent. You all make me feel like I taught something this year.
PERRY (voice-over): Steve Perry, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. So just like your house, you office, it can get so cluttered. Same goes for your computer, old files, resumes, bills, all of it. Time to clean them out. We'll tell you how.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mommy (INAUDIBLE) because I love her. She likes to cuddle with me. And she likes to kiss me. And I like to hug her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mommy tickles me when I'm sad. My mommy!
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So sweet. Happy Mom's Day.
OK. So a lot of us are spring cleaning, right? Don't just consider your house, but you need to tidy up your computer as well.
Earlier I spoke with our gaming and gadget expert Marc Saltzman about what you need to do.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Whatever you're not using anymore, uninstall them properly. Don't just delete the icon on your desktop, go to the Control Panel if you're using Windows and properly uninstall programs you've never used, many of which were preinstalled on your PC.
Or if you've got old files, maybe you went through a Goth music phase in the early 2000s, and you don't listen to the music anymore, just clear it all out. And if you have so many icons on your desktop that you can't see the photo behind it anymore, it's time to do some desktop management and make it a little easier on the eyes.
WHITFIELD: All right. And then you scan and fix.
SALTZMAN. Yes. So there's a free tool built into operating systems often called a disk defrager. It's a techie term but basically -- what this tool does is it combs through your hard drive and it fixes all those little zeros and ones by reorganizing them and just basically optimizing the performance of your hard drive.
So things will be able to be accessed faster in a more reliable way and free up some extra real estate as well for more files. So just go to -- if you're using Windows, go to Start and then All Programs or Program Files and then under Accessories you'll see System Tools. So definitely use that.
WHITFIELD: OK. And then update your software and then you say you want to protect yourself beyond just the thumb drives?
SALTZMAN. That's right. So definitely you want to always update software whenever there's new releases. Sometimes your PC will automatically tell you or automatically download an update, whether it's too your operating system or to your Web browser. If not, you want to go to the Help or the About section of your favorite programs, and click on "Check for Updates."
Because not only does that fix common issues and bugs, software bugs, and maybe even security vulnerabilities, but also you'll download new updates that add more functionality.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Great little tips that we all need to know for our computers at home.
Hala Gorani in for Don Lemon this evening.
HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: So what's straight ahead.
GORANI: Nice to be here.
We have reactions to the celebrations after Osama bin Laden's death. We have one guest who says they were not necessarily the right thing to do. Perhaps they're sending the wrong message to countries abroad as they watch these celebrations. And here we see Times Square.
So, you know, it's another viewpoint. It goes against the grain of what we've heard over the last few days in the U.S. So it's an interesting angle.
WHITFIELD: That's just for starters. You've got a lot straight ahead.
GORANI: We've got a lot. Mother's Day as well. More mothers over 40 than ever before. It's the only age group where the pregnancy rate is jumping.
WHITFIELD: That is fascinating.
GORANI: It is. And what does it mean for the mothers, but importantly, what does it mean for the kids 20 to 30 years down the line.
WHITFIELD: Interesting.
(LAUGHTER)
GORANI: Happy Mother's Day, by the way.
WHITFIELD: That's right. Happy Mother's Day.
All right. Hala Gorani, thank you so much. Appreciate that. Look forward to all that.
All right. That's going to do it for me. Thanks for being with me this afternoon. I'm Fredericka Whitfield. More of the NEWSROOM coming up next with Hala.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
