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Google Announces Launch of Chromebook; Earthquake Hits Spain; Pop Star Becomes President of Haiti; NBA's Lebron James, Dwyane Wade Against MVP Derek Rose; New Comments on Pete Rose, MLB Hall of Fame; Residents Flee Rising Waters; IMF Head Accused of Attempted Rape; Endeavour's Last Launch

Aired May 15, 2011 - 18:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us.

And we begin with developing news in Louisiana where rising water from the flooded Mississippi River is uprooting thousands and thousands of lives.

New video just into CNN: this is from our affiliate WBRZ. Earlier today, two more gates of the Morganza Spillway were opened, doubling the rate of water now pouring into the Atchafalaya Basin. This is the first time the spillway has opened in nearly 40 years and all the people in the path of this water, about 2,000 of them, have been ordered to evacuate. The deadline to leave is right now.

You know, that rising water now is pouring into St. Landry Parish and it's extremely dangerous. Alligator, snakes and other wild animals are being flushed out of their habitats and into residential areas. Officials warn that large gators won't think twice about grabbing a human.

Let's go to right now to CNN's Ed Lavandera now who is in the St. Landry Parish community of Krotz Springs.

Ed, what do you know?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, we are in one of those neighborhoods that got the mandatory evacuation orders a few hours ago. And as you look around here, this is a small subdivision right on the edge of the river, the Atchafalaya River.

And authorities came through here literally going door-to-door, National Guard and sheriff's deputies, are urging people to leave. And in this small subdivision made up of about 20 homes, almost everyone has heeded that warning.

In fact, you can see this little spot behind me here, just a patch of dirt, a few hours ago, there was a trailer home on that spot. A young man by the name of Bret Ensley (ph) literally had the trailer picked up and driven out of this neighborhood taking it to higher ground. We've seen that in a number of places. Other than that, people are bringing in trucks and trailers and loading up what they can and starting to move to higher ground. A little while ago, I spoke with the parish president here in St. Landry's and he told me that they expect the water to start rising by -- and showing up in some of these neighborhoods around midnight tonight. So, that's why they need to put out the evacuation order and felt he needed to do that to get people moving in some of these areas. This is not for everyone, just in certain pockets of the lowest-lying areas. And we've been in many of the communities this afternoon, Don, and we are watching the people start to scramble to get out of here.

And they are anticipating to be gone for quite some time. It will take a while for the waters to rise up. Even though the parish president here in St. Landry's says so far he felt pretty good because the water, according to reports he was getting, wasn't rising as fast or perhaps as much as anticipated. They've been told to expect 10 to 15 feet of water in the area that we're standing in right now.

But he did say that as they open up more and more gates of the Morganza Spillway, that could start to change. So, obviously, it would be a very fluid situation here over the next couple of weeks. And the situation will be very precarious.

But this city that we're in, Krotz Springs, is really one of the most, early significant spots along the river downstream from the Morganza Spillway. And one of the first areas that we'll start to see the major effects of the flooding as it continues to move down to Morgan City -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Ed Lavandera.

We want to go now to some residents. Bridget Robin is one of the people forced to flee from the rushing water rushing into the Atchafalaya Basin. And she joins us now by phone.

Bridgette, we appreciate you joining us.

We know what you guys are dealing with. You've lived in St. Landry Parish for 15 years. When did you evacuate?

BRIDGET ROBIN, ST. LANDRY PARISH RESIDENT (via telephone): We finished moving out at 3:00 today.

LEMON: You got your stuff out at 3:00 today.

ROBIN: Yes, we finished hauling today. So, we finally finished today because they gave us until 5:00 this afternoon to evacuate.

LEMON: Have all of your neighbors evacuated?

ROBIN: Yes, sir.

LEMON: Yes. Explain to our viewer what you're going through, what is like to have to leave and explain what it is like to leave your home and not knowing what you're going to find when come back?

ROBIN: Well, it's very depressing because, you know, that's going to mean (ph) pain. But, you know, when you live there, you have so many memories and everything. And you just don't know if you are ever going to go back.

LEMON: What do you expect to find?

ROBIN: Oh, we are not sure. You know, I mean, you are going to have so much sand, you know, piled up. You don't know if you are going to go back with the snakes and everything else, and, you know, everything else, the alligators, you don't even know if you can ever go back to salvage anything. It is very depressing.

LEMON: Your children are 11 and 14. How are they being how -- are they handling being forced out of -- out of their home?

ROBIN: Well, Chastity and Blase (ph), they are holding up. We are trying to be there for them. You know, we are trying to, how they say keep your chin up out of the water, to support them. We are doing the best we can. They are holding up as much as they can.

LEMON: Hey, Robin -- Bridget, are you going to stay?

ROBIN: Stay where?

LEMON: Are you going to continue to live there when this is over?

ROBIN: Well, if we can go back, we may. You know, we're not sure yet. It just depends on how bad it gets. You know, you don't know if it's going to be 15 feet of water or if it's going to be 30, we'll go back.

LEMON: Yes. Bridget Robin, we appreciate it. Thank you. Best of luck to you and to Chastity and Blase. You tell them that we're thinking about them as well, OK?

ROBIN: And also Johnny, my husband.

LEMON: Johnny as well. And all the people down in Louisiana. You know, this natural disaster involves miles of river towns and it means weeks more of watching the Mississippi grow and grow and spread. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is tracking it all in the CNN severe weather center.

It just breaks your heart, doesn't it?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It does. And, you know, they are going through a lot of misery in the upcoming weeks, too. And sometimes not knowing is one of the hardest parts. And it's going to be weeks that those spill gates are going to be open, you know, not to mention, after all the gates close back up and that water finally begins to recede.

We put this together on Google Earth for you to give you a better idea of where St. Landry parish is. There you can see -- this is the Morganza floodgates right here and this is St. Landry. So, that moves right along the Atchafalaya River right there and that's where the water is spilling into. So, they opened the gates here. It spills down this way and heads on towards the south and towards the west. A couple of these communities, by the way, didn't have to heed the evacuations. They have these little circle levees as they call them. So, that includes the town of Melville. So, if people live within the levee walls, they are being told that they don't have to evacuate at this time.

Now, it takes a while for this water to make its way down towards the South and eventually towards the Gulf of Mexico. You know, it just doesn't rush out at once and come at you and make its way to the Gulf of Mexico like that. So, it's going to be a couple of days.

Today, the water was supposed to reach right along the I-10 corridor and people south of I-10 were also told to evacuate today. And that's where some of the water could reach its deepest levels up to that 25 feet.

As we head into Monday, Grand Lake, over towards Baldwin, that's where the water is supposed to reach for timing there. And then, Morgan City, we're really concerned about Morgan City because the people in the west side of the river here, especially, could see water pushing into that area, maybe as much as five feet.

So, we're going to be dealing with this water coming down the way in the upcoming days. Now, as we take a look at the Mississippi River as a whole, we just want to mention -- this is where the river is cresting today. This is up here into Arkansas City. Vicksburg hit the record level today, but they are still not expected to crest until Thursday.

Notice May 2nd for Red River Landing. But the last thing I want to show you is take a look at New Orleans. It says that it's cresting now. Well, what does that mean? Well, that all has to do with maintaining the current flow. So, for Morganza on southward, the river levels are supposed to stay flat where they are right now. So, it's at 17 feet now and staying at 17 feet probably for another seven to 10 days.

So, as long as they need to, they're going to continue to open up these gates -- you know, all those little gates along the spillway, to keep the flow consistent and hopefully spare some of these bigger cities.

LEMON: Yes, they don't do it at once because then it will be just a human surge of water.

JERAS: Right. The crest is still coming. So, they're going to need to open more in the upcoming days and coming weeks.

LEMON: What else can they deal with down there?

All right. Jacqui, we'll check back. Thank you very much, Jacqui Jeras.

You know, we're going to check out the situation up river from Louisiana in just a few minutes. Redwood, Mississippi, is one town along the Mighty Mississippi keeping a close eye on the water level. There's a levee there that has folks there very concerned. We'll take you there live.

And a global business bigwig charged with forcing himself on a hotel made maid while naked. He's responsible for billions of dollars in the world's money and his arrest could make a pretty good movie.

And many of you have been asking for information on social media -- well, you can reach us on Twitter, on Facebook, at CNN.com/Don, and on Foursquare.com/DonLemonCNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A shocking arrest. A man in charge of hundreds of billions of the world's money is sitting in a New York City jail cell right now. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is accused of attempting to rape a maid in a luxury hotel where he was staying near Times Square. Strauss-Kahn is the head of the International Monetary Fund, an organization that oversees the world economy.

His attorneys say he'll plead not guilty when he is arraigned this evening. And police pulled him off a plane headed for his native France on Saturday. Strauss-Kahn is often mentioned as a possible candidate for president in France.

This case has a lot of thorny legal angles to consider. So, I want to bring in our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.

Jeff, thanks for joining us.

Strauss-Kahn is French and he is an IMF official. Can he get any kind of immunity here?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): That seems very unlikely. In the first place, as I understand it, the treaty that covers diplomatic immunity between France and the United States does not cover IMF officials. So, I don't think he is a relevant party as far as diplomatic immunity is concerned.

And, second, when you look at what diplomatic immunity usually covers, a crime of violence like this generally is not covered. So, I really think diplomatic immunity is unlikely to be an issue in this case.

LEMON: OK. And I have to ask you, you know, when you see in the movies, when you see the crime dramas and there's some sort of diplomat and they've run to the consulate and then the U.S. can't touch them. Is that so? What if he had done that instead of getting on an airplane, would he have been protected then?

TOOBIN: Very unlikely.

LEMON: OK.

TOOBIN: I think his best bet would have been to get on that airplane and have it take off. Extradition is a very complicated and lengthy process. It is possible that he would have been pulled back to the United States for a case like this, but that is a time-consuming and difficult legal process. So, the fact that he never got off the ground is a terrific win for the New York Police Department.

LEMON: So, again, had he gotten on that plane and gotten away, chances are he'd never come back here to the U.S.? It would be a lengthy process, right?

TOOBIN: I don't know about "never." But it certainly would have been a very different legal story and we would be talking about months instead of days at a minimum.

LEMON: So, that was his best bet -- getting on the plane but that didn't happen. What kind of bail will the court set for him do you think? And if he pays it, is he a flight risk then?

TOOBIN: Well, see, that will be the issue. Obviously, he is a very prominent person. He is not the kind of person who usually flees the jurisdiction, but he is not an American citizen. So, he has a strong incentive to leave.

And I suspect that he is granted bail and he probably will be granted bail, we will have to post an enormous amount of money and he will also probably have to wear an ankle bracelet and be confined to an apartment or a hotel room or some very narrow area to guarantee that he shows up. And he probably will get bail, but it will be very restrictive bail conditions.

LEMON: Jeffrey Toobin, appreciate it.

TOOBIN: OK, Don.

LEMON: It is the last flight for the space shuttle Endeavour and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is there to see her husband off. We'll preview Monday's launch. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The next to last space shuttle mission is scheduled to blast off a little more than 12 hours from now. And once again, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona will be there. And, as you know, her husband is the mission commander, Mark Kelly.

Our John Zarrella is standing by at the Kennedy Space Center.

John, good to see you. How do things look for the launch? The last one had to be delayed, and that's why we are talking about it now.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's exactly right, Don.

Everything is looking pretty good. The weather is terrific here today. More of the same expected tomorrow. Endeavour is in good shape. NASA is not working any technical issues, unlike two-and-a- half weeks ago when the launch had to be scrubbed.

Some critical heating elements failed in what's called the orbital maneuvering system and forced that launch to be scrubbed. And NASA went back.

And when you look at the video and see this box that they had to pull out, a control box, it's filled with hundreds of wires and connectors. And they literally found what's called an open circuit in one of those. And that's where they traced the problem to.

Talk about complex and complicated the shuttle vehicle is, there's a good example -- that one little box with all the connections. But that's fixed. And NASA says they are good to go.

And as you mentioned, Gabrielle Giffords, the wife of Mark Kelly, the commander, is here. She arrived here at the Kennedy Space Center today from Houston where she's undergoing rehabilitation for the gunshot wound she suffered back in January. And she'll be, actually -- oh, a few hundred yards from us, up on top of the launch control center with other family members of the other astronauts watching the launch tomorrow.

And, Don, you know, everybody is hoping they can get this one off the ground. As you mentioned, one more left to go. And on Tuesday morning, Atlantis, which will fly, we're told now, some time in mid- July, is actually going to roll over from the orbiter processing facility, to the vehicle assembly building on Tuesday morning. The last step before it rolls on out to the launch pad for that final launch of the space shuttle program.

So, a lot of excitement is building here today. They expect a crowd of a half million people to line up for that launch tomorrow morning at 8:56 a.m. -- Don.

LEMON: And a lot more will be watching on television. The world will be watching these last two for two different reasons.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

LEMON: Thank you very much. We appreciate that, John Zarrella.

You know, we're following a number of developing stories this hour here on CNN:

Ready for the flood -- more spillway gates have been opened along the Mississippi River. Well, that should save cities like New Orleans. It's going to bury smaller towns in water.

We're going to show you some live pictures now. There we go. Up river, big worries in Mississippi and the step engineers have taken that they hope will save a questionable levee from collapse. Again, a live look.

But, first, retail sales are up. China is getting more of your money and our money. And you may want to keep that old car just one more year.

Alison Kosik has details in this week's "Getting Down to Business."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Retail sales continue to climb, but the pace is a bit slower than expected. Sales rose half a percent in April, slowly from the March increase that was almost double that. One reason for the penny pinching could be the soaring price of gasoline. AAA says the average price for a gallon of gas is at almost $4.

Also growing -- the trade gap between the U.S. and China. China's overall trade surplus cupped $11 billion in April. That's almost $10 billion higher than the surplus recorded a year ago.

Finally, your old car may now be worth more than you think. Conventional wisdom says cars are worth less and less every year. But used car values actually increased by 16 percent from last year according to the RVI Group's used car price index. It says one reason for the higher value is limited supply. Fewer cars were traded in for new ones during the recession.

That's this week's "Getting Down to Business."

Alison Kosik, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's get you caught up on your top stories here on CNN.

New video just in to CNN of the Morganza Spillway north of Baton Rouge. Earlier today, two more gates were opened, doubling the rate of water now pouring into the Atchafalaya Basin. So, it's already too late for some residents in St. Francisville, which is across the Mississippi River, from the spillway. Now, even though many homes are on stilts, the water was much higher than anyone had seen before.

A man in charge of hundreds of billions of the world's money is sitting in a New York City jail cell on attempted rape charges. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is accused of sexually assaulting a maid at a luxury hotel where he was staying near Times Square. Strauss-Kahn is the head of the International Monetary Fund, an organization that oversees the world economy. His attorneys say he'll plead not guilty when he's arraigned this evening.

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LEMON: Now to the Middle East, where Israeli troops fired tear gas at crowds of Palestinian protesters. This is in Golan Heights, on the Syrian border. Similar clashes erupted on all of the -- of Israel's border today. At least 12 people who are reported killed, many more hurt.

This is a day set aside every year when Palestinians angrily protest the creation of Israel.

Evangelist Billy Graham is now home in North Carolina after five days in the hospital. The 92-year-old evangelist is recovering from pneumonia. Doctors say while he responded well to treatment, his recovery will be slow. Graham has inspired millions over his 60 years of preaching and is now working on a book on aging.

The flood along the Mississippi River includes a lot of major tributaries such as the Yazoo River in Mississippi. All of that water is putting an enormous strain on local levees.

CNN's Martin Savidge is in Redwood, Mississippi, just north of Vicksburg.

And, Marty, just one more foot of water could be disastrous for the people there.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Don.

This may look like just, you know, a dirt road in the middle of nowhere in Mississippi, but this is actually a levee. And all of the 700 miles of levee right now in the state of Mississippi that are struggling to hold back this historic flood, none is perhaps in greater jeopardy that this particular levee at this particular time.

As you point out, this is the Yazoo back water levee. It is holding back all of this water from the Yazoo River and from the Mississippi River. That water over there by the way is about 16 feet deep. That normally wouldn't have any water whatsoever.

And then, you have the levee in between. And on this side, over here, you have pretty much dry land.

This is everything that's being protected by this levee. But as you point out, the water level here is about one foot away from going over the top of this levee.

If it goes over the top, that's not the end of the world. In fact, levees are designed for what they call overtopping. It's part of the control of the release of water. However, what you don't want to happen is as the water goes over, it starts eroding the levee, that it would cause some sort of catastrophic collapse.

If, in fact, you did have that collapse, then all the water that's over here -- well, it's going to go rushing over in the opposite direction. It's actually going to go against the tide, so to speak, flowing north. And it would go for at least 35 miles.

Up in Twin Forks (ph), which is 35 miles away, if this water got let loose, it would flood up there to four feet in that town. It would have disastrous consequences for over a million acres of land, thousands of people and thousands of homes. They are hoping right now the levee is going to hold, but nobody can say for certain -- Don.

LEMON: Martin, did you say 35 miles and four feet deep?

SAVIDGE: Yes. Yes, that's incredible because it shows you how flat this delta land is down here in this part of the state of Mississippi. There's no real level that is going to prevent it from rolling north. And it would go for a tremendous distance. And it's a huge volume of water. You can't overstate here the potential for catastrophe.

And that's why all the officials -- in fact, the secretary of state of Mississippi just drove by. They are all carefully watching this. The Army Corps of Engineers constantly has boats patrolling up and down the water side of the levee, looking for the first sign of any weakness. They actually have rapid deploy plugs, a very sophisticated system they could quickly put in if there's some kind of breach.

Of all the levees they are watching and all the levees they worry about, it's this 26-mile stretch that keeps them up at night in this state.

LEMON: Martin Savidge in Redwood, Mississippi -- Marty, thank you very much for that.

So, you want a laptop, but don't have 800 bucks to drop on one? What if you could rent one for as low as 20 bucks a month? It's the new deal from Google and the price isn't the only cool thing about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: As if I needed more tech stuff, then comes this, a laptop without all the stuff you hate about laptops. Google announces it is coming out with the new Chromebook in June. It boots in seconds. It doesn't need any anti-virus software and it runs on a completely differently way than any laptop before it.

We'll bring in our tech reporter, our guru.

(LAUGHTER)

Let's get geeky now, as she says.

Katie Linendoll.

Break down the specs on this Chromebook for us, will you?

KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: I know and I hear your pain, Don. We have Netbooks, we have tablets, we have notebooks, MACs and P.C.s. Now we are talking about Chromebooks. Google announced, starting in June, they have partnered with Samsung and Acer to create what is going to be rented by students as a $20 -- it could be considered a Netbook. But also for businesses as well it will start at around $28 a month. You can purchase it for $350, but this is a whole different way of thinking with these Chromebooks, Don.

LEMON: OK. But here's the thing. It is not the price. It said students, $20 a month for students. That's good for students. It is not the price that everybody is buzzing about, but the fact that these laptops run off, quote, a "cloud." This is the word we have heard a lot lately.

LINENDOLL: Yes.

LEMON: Explain to us what the cloud is and how the laptops run off it. LINENDOLL: Absolutely. Here's the big news in all of this. It is not the price, but it is that the Chromebooks run completely off the cloud. A lot of people are, like, I hear that on commercials and we talk about the cloud all the time. It is a big buzz word in the tech industry. What does that mean? Well, these little Netbooks don't have a hard drive. So you are typically used to going to your "My Documents," you can download photos to your computer and using Microsoft Office, PowerPoint and Excel. Well, forget that. When you're running off of a cloud, you are doing everything online. So you can really only access your documents any time you are in a Wi-Fi hot spot or in a 3G area. So for a lot of people, this is incredibly confusing. Cloud only. We are only accessing our data if we are online.

LEMON: OK. Can we see that graphic again? Look at that cloud. It is kind of funny. Who drew that? Did you draw that?

(LAUGHTER)

LINENDOLL: No, I didn't draw that.

(LAUGHTER)

Do I use Microsoft cave. Cut me some slack.

LEMON: Aah.

(LAUGHTER)

Listen, all right, nothing is on a hard drive. It is on some server somewhere off in the ethos, in the clouds. Is that safe?

LINENDOLL: You cannot talk about cloud when we've not talked about security. It is like hand in hand. A lot of people are saying, listen, 77 million people on Sony's Playstation network got hacked. Amazon's cloud just went down. We already give enough information to Google. Why would I want to put all my documents and all my photos, everything I have online? Is it trustworthy? And I think these are things to think about.

I think for me, too, I'm online all day. I'm only about 50 percent there. I don't want everything I own online. I'm only halfway to making that step. I think it is future-forward thinking, but we have to look at everything that's happened with these big tech companies in getting hacked.

LEMON: Yes, I feel the same way. I'm starting to do it more because the paper -- you start to collect it and collect it. I'm slightly a little weird when it comes to that. I don't like clutter and so I've been throwing away a lot of the stuff.

LINENDOLL: Right.

LEMON: So I can see why people want to do it, but you're right, there may be something with safely there.

Katie, your app of the week, I love this. What is your app of the week?

LINENDOLL: Oh, yes. We are doing an app of the week. A practical yet fun app every week to keep you informed because we know Don and I love our iPads.

LEMON: Can we get a drum roll?

LINENDOLL: So here's the deal.

(LAUGHTER)

Drum roll, please.

(CROSSTALK)

LINENDOLL: A lot of people have allergies and are looking for doctors and specialists. My app of the week is ZocDoc.

LEMON: Huh?

LINENDOLL: People are saying, well, what is that. I have never seen my mom so excited about an app. Here's the deal. You go to schedule a doctor's appointment and it takes three weeks. By the time it comes, you have to cancel it anyway. You go to ZocDoc -- and it's actually a web site too. It allows you to find any doctor in your area. You can choose by your insurance, by location, and you can find an appointment within 24 hours. Kind of awesome. I'm feeling a little geriatric myself so I am on board.

LEMON: I'm getting old. I'm going to ZocDoc right now.

(LAUGHTER)

Thanks, Katie. Always good to see you.

LINENDOLL: Thank you.

All right.

Ahead, one reporter is, no doubt, thankful for a lot of luck.

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LEMON: Look at that. In Spain this week, it felt like the sky was falling. We'll show you how one town is picking up the pieces.

But first, more than 2,800 bags are lost by the airlines every single day. 2,800 of them. Most travelers are eventually reunited with their lost baggage, but some bags are stolen. CNN's Joe Carter takes a look at how to keep your bag safe when you are "On the Go."

(ON THE GO) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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LEMON: An earthquake, a town in pieces, people living in tents. This is not Haiti but Spain. That's coming up.

But first, to the big national stories grabbing the headlines this week from the White House to Wall Street. And we begin tonight with the president's plans for the week.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry at the White House, where this week, the president turns his attention to the Mideast. The big speech Thursday trying to explaining U.S. policy in the wake of all the tumult in the region. Tuesday, he meets with the king of Jordan, Friday, the Israeli prime minister, all aimed at restarting the stalled peace process. But that will be difficult, especially after his envoy, George Mitchell, resigned. KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill. Members of the House are back in their home districts next week as the House is in recess. Meanwhile, highlighting the Senate's week ahead is the gas price debate, including a vote on a Democratic-backed measure to repeal tax breaks for big oil companies whose executives face some pretty tough questioning up here on Capitol Hill this week. The measure has little chance of passing since Republicans and some Democrats from oil-producing states oppose the measure. But that's almost beside the point as Democrats see advantage in forcing Republicans to vote on this issue and then being able to paint them as protecting big oil afterwards.

POPPY HARLOW, HOST, CNN MONEY: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. The housing market will be a big focus. We will get the latest report on new home construction. These housing starts have been sitting at extremely low levels for months and there is not much hope for immediate improvement. The same goes for the sale of existing homes, which make up about 90 percent of the entire U.S. housing market. Home sales rebounded in March but remain at depressed levels. We'll get the April existing housing report coming out on Thursday. Meantime, Dow Components, Wal-Mart and Home Depot, set to report earnings this week. Hewlett-Packard and Dell also set to report their quarterly numbers. We'll follow it all for you on "CNN Money."

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": And I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer and here's what we're watching this week. It's a big week for TV. This is when the networks announce which shows made the cut for next season and which shows are canceled. And it is a huge week for Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" opens. "Showbiz Tonight" is TV's most provocative TV entertainment news show exclusively at 11:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on HLN.

LEMON: All right, thanks very much, guys. Our international desk editor, Azadeh Ansari, is here to tell us what's happening internationally.

You know, Haiti has a new president, a former pop star.

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN NEWS INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: That's right. He was known as Sweet Mickey, but now Michel Martelly is Haiti's 56th president. He'll spend his first week in office coming week this following week. In his inaugural speech, he said this is a new Haiti, a new Haiti which is open for business now. He has these great challenges ahead of him. And the big question still remains, what is he going to do for this country where over 7,000 people are still homeless after the quake. So that's what we are going to be watching for into next week.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Absolutely. You know what? It seems like, a pop star, Wyclef Jean might have had a chance.

ANSARI: He did. At the time, everyone laughed, right?

LEMON: Yes. OK, so let's go to Spain now. This is devastating, 5.3 quake that damages four or five homes in Lorca?

ANSARI: It was a dual quake, back to back, but we didn't see the devastation we saw, say, in Haiti, for example, and most recently in Japan. Don, this is a city, a town of 90,000 people. And a lot of these structures are older. A lot of the damage we saw is in the medieval city. And there's a 17th century parish of San Diego, which was -- the bell towers completely crumbled to the floor, as a Spanish state TV reporter was reporting live. Did you see this? This is crazy.

LEMON: Yes, we're looking at it right there.

ANSARI: Yes.

LEMON: Hey, we'll be watching that. I know you guys will be watching that. Let's go quickly to the World Beard and Mustache Championship.

ANSARI: That's right. You and I can't compete in that.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: No. I'm going to start competing in the afro championship, though.

(LAUGHTER)

Oh, my gosh. Look at that.

ANSARI: These guys are mustache mavericks here.

(LAUGHTER) The award actually went to a German guy. Germans are known for their elaborate designs. And these guys spend a lot of time and they take this seriously. They had over 15 countries participating in this, 160 participants in 17 categories. The categories I should read to you. This is really interesting. They have the Dali (ph) stache, the --

LEMON: Salvador Dali, OK.

ANSARI: Yes. They the imperial partial beard. And the winner was for the freestyle full beard.

LEMON: Oh, OK.

(LAUGHTER)

All right. Very cool stuff. Very cool stuff.

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you, Azadeh. We appreciate it.

You know, there's a matchup fans have been waiting, Lebron and Dwyane Wade against league MVP Derek Rose. Who is going to win? We'll ask "Sports Illustrated's" Jon Wertheim.

Plus, Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, he has new comments about Pete Rose and the Hall of Fame.

But first, the city of Charlotte won a hard-fought battle to host the 2012 Democratic National Convention. And with the economy down, it has turned out to be a shrewd move. In today's "Building Up America," our Tom Foreman looks at how the city is cashing in.

(BUILDING UP AMERICA)

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LEMON: Major League Baseball held its annual civil rights game today in Atlanta, home of civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr. It was a highlight of the day's celebration, including honors for Hall of Famer Ernie Banks and Actor Morgan Freeman. The league also honored musician, Carlos Santana, who took the opportunity to speak out against laws targeting illegal immigrants in Arizona and Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLOS SANTANA, MUSIC: I'd like to say very clearly, I'm here to represent the immigrants. And to the people in Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia, in Atlanta, you should be ashamed of yourselves. peace. We love you. God bless you.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We will have more in the newsroom at 10:00 p.m. eastern on Carlos Santana's remarks and the immigration debate.

The NBA playoffs are down to the final four. Miami is going against to-seat Chicago and Dallas facing Oklahoma City, which polished off Memphis this afternoon.

Here to give us a little preview of it is Jon Wertheim, of "Sports Illustrated."

There's the cover of this week's issue.

And, Jon, most of the attention is on Miami and Chicago. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade versus league MVP Derek Rose. Who's the favorite?

JON WERTHEIM, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: I think Miami is probably the favorite. But you are right, it is a great contrast. You have the glamour team, Miami, with the two stars and everything that happened last summer, against the Bulls, which have the MVP, Derek Rose. More of a working class, sort of "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts" type team. Pretty easy to find metaphors. I think, given the scoring options, the extra stars, they make a big deal in the playoffs. I'd probably pick Miami but this ought to be a lot of fun. Good contrast.

LEMON: Some people see it as a morality play, Jon, with Lebron in the role of the villain. Does he need a title to regain his credibility or restore his image, or will that even do it?

WERTHEIM: You know, he took a big step beating Boston, but, no, I think you're right. Miami already had the sort of defacto championship parade when he signed. You have one of those over the summer, you pretty much need to be the title. This was a very polarizing move. Miami is still, you're right, sort of tasked as the black hat, as sort of evil, especially against Chicago, which is a sort of a sympathetic team. Yes, I think anything short of a championship, and people are -- I think a lot of fans will be happy if Miami doesn't win. But I think it is all or nothing for the Heat, yes.

LEMON: Yes. I was at the Bulls and Hawks game on Thursday and that didn't go so well for the Hawks. Any way, good luck to the Bulls.

(LAUGHTER)

Let's turn now to golf and talk about Tiger Woods. He was forced to pull out of a tournament this week after only nine holes. I want you to listen to this, Jon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: It would be sore. I mean, both the Achilles would be sore, but nothing what icing and treatment wouldn't do at night. Felt good this morning. Felt fine during warm up. And then, as I played, it progressively got worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: The U.S. Open is a month away. Do you think Tiger's continued knee problems will kill his chances of overtaking Jack Nicholas's record for most majors?

WERTHEIM: If we were talking about this two years ago, people would have thought we were crazy. Tiger Woods had this amazing trajectory. It looked like that was going to be giving -- look, if Tiger Woods was a stock, imagine what it would look like over the last 18 months, not just the personal fiasco, but his body really does seem to be breaking down. I have colleagues that cover him and say this isn't about golf anymore. You look at the guy walking around and you can see the pain he's in. I think is a really time for concern. He's in his mid 30s when athletes, golfers slow down. If he is coming in fourth, like he did in the Masters, that is one thing, but when he is pulling out because of these injuries, it is problematic.

LEMON: Jon, I want you to listen to baseball commissioner, Bud Selig. He's in town for the civil rights game this weekend. He spoke to our Fredricka Whitfield. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUD SELIG, MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL COMISSIONER: Pete broke an existing rule of 70 years. And my office was created by Kennis Mountain Landis (ph) and the Black Sox scandal. And that is a matter still under review.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So you might change your mind on that?

SELIG: I didn't say I might change my mind. But it is under review. And I understand the pros and cons of the Rose situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So Pete Rose banned from baseball, from the Hall of Fame. Is this a new position?

WERTHEIM: It's not -- we can sort of parse it. It is puzzling why baseball still leaves this door open. There is still -- this is the all-time hits leader we're talking about. And I think, especially after the steroid scandal, some of what Pete Rose did has been thrown into a little bit different relief, and there are still people who say awards and all, this is someone who deserves induction, and it crops up from time to time. It is surprising baseball doesn't take a more definitive stance. For a regrettable choice of words, I would not bet on Pete Rose getting enshrined, but it seems like that door is open a crack.

LEMON: All right, we'll see.

Jon Wertheim, thank you, sir.

WERTHEIM: Thank you.

LEMON: We are following a number of developing stories this hour right here on CNN. They're readying for the flood. More spillway gates have been open along the Mississippi River. While that should save cities, like New Orleans, it will bury smaller towns in water.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Checking on the top stories on CNN. New video just in to CNN or the Morganza Spillway north of Baton Rouge. Earlier today, two gates were opened, doubling the rate of water pouring in to the Achapalian (ph) basin. It is already too late for some residents in St. Francisville, which is across the Mississippi River from the spillway. Even though many homes are on stilts, the water was higher than anyone had seen before.

A man in charge of hundreds of billions of the world's money is in a New York City jail cell on attempted rape charges. Dominique Strauss- Kahn is accused of sexually assaulting a maid at a luxury hotel where he was staying near Times Square. Strauss-Kahn is the head of the International Monetary Fund, an organization that oversees the world economy. His attorneys say he'll plead not guilty when he's arraigned this evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: In the Middle East, Israeli troops fired tear gas at crowds of Palestinian protesters. This is the Golan Heights on the Syrian border. Similar clashes erupted on all of Israel's borders today. At least 12 people were killed and many more hurt. This is a day set aside every year when Palestinians angrily protest the creation of Israel.

Evangelist Billy Graham is now home in North Carolina after five days in the hospital. The 92-year-old evangelist is recovering from pneumonia. Doctors say while he responded well to treatment, his recovery will be slow. Graham has inspired millions over his 60 years of preaching and is now working on a book on aging.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Thank you so much for joining us. We need to cut short a little bit here because -- and we will see you back at 10:00 Eastern, I have to tell you. We will leave you now with live pictures of the shuttle where our John Zarrella joins us from just a little bit earlier. And we are going to go to "CNN PRESENTS, "INSIDE THE MISSION: GETTING BIN LADEN" as you look at these live pictures. We'll see you at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.