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Hundreds Still Missing in Joplin; President Obama to Visit Missouri; Butte Larose Ordered to Evacuate; Volcanic Ash Threatens Flight; Netanyahu Firm On Peace Stance; Search Intensifies In Joplin; Casey Anthony Trial Begins; NATO's Heaviest Air Strikes

Aired May 24, 2011 - 13:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: The sun is shining in Joplin, Missouri, and that is a major development those folks will never take for granted again. For the first time since this city was hit by the single deadliest tornado in decades, search and rescue efforts aren't being hindered by driving rain or hail or lightning, which struck two police officers, in fact, last night. One is OK, the other in critical condition.

The confirmed death toll in Sunday's disaster now stands at 118, but authorities say more than ten times that many still are unaccounted for.

Joplin's head of emergency management says people scattered and simply can't get home or maybe no longer have homes and haven't yet called in.

But then there's Will Norton, blown out of his hummer on his way home from high school graduation. His family thinks -- thinks he's in a hospital somewhere. And Skylar Logsdon, a 1-year-old, ripped out of his mother's arms. His great uncle spoke to CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK REYNOLDS, GREAT-UNCLE: The night of the tornado, that evening, and they had him in the hallway in the house, and what the -- they all got in the covers in the hallway in the house and when the tornado hit, they lost track of him and we haven't seen him since.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Was Skylar's mother holding onto him?

REYNOLDS: Yes, she was and she lost him in the aftermath all of this, and it's just terrible. And no one has seen him since, the rest of the family is doing OK, we've just -- we got to find him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And here is why the sunshine is such a big deal. Later today, things could get ugly again. An area just to the west in south mainly, mainly Kansas and Oklahoma stands a wry risk of violent storms. Our Chad Myers will tell us more about that in just a moment.

But first, I want to get to my colleague, T.J. Holmes, he is in Joplin. He has found some amazing stories, and T.J., tell us where exactly you are now.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are just to the west of Joplin, a lot of people know where the hospital is. It's been the focus of so much attention. So, we're just a few blocks to the west of that on the western part of the city, a neighborhood that for the most part been decimated. Certainly, we have seen neighborhoods flattened, but for the most part, a lot of these homes got severe damage.

You mentioned the weather, we're starting to get a little cloud cover here that's starting to come in. Also, they were supposed to test the tornado sirens, wanted to make sure they were working, that was supposed to happen a few hours ago. We didn't hear them in this part of the city. Don't know if they actually went through with that test or they're not working here, but that was a concern given that we could have severe weather later.

This neighborhood is, quite frankly, very busy right now, because everybody is kind of coming out, you see a lot of trailers, a lot of U-Haul trucks, as well.

Look at this behind me, though, Randi. Give you an idea here, a fireplace here that is exposed, nothing else is around it. You can tell, there was a house there. The house is gone, but for whatever reason we still see a fireplace. We went looking for the house, follow across the street now. On the other side of the street, the rubble that's collected there on the corner, that is actually the house that was here.

And would you believe, I talked to the lady a little earlier who was digging through that rubble, and I said, ma'am, would you mind if we came over, you told us your story? She actually said to me, Randi, just wait for me to put my makeup on. We're kind of getting people -- they are taking this in stride, like you wouldn't believe.

And Randi, I believe you can see in the distance there, we're up on a hill here, you can see kind of the neighborhood across the street. You couldn't see that neighborhood before, because the trees were full with leaves and the greenery on it. Well, look at it now, the trees are stripped naked, and that just gives you kind of a wider -- a wider position or wider look and a better idea and perspective of just how widespread the damage is.

But again, the clouds are moving in right now. This is an active search and rescue, they've been through this particular neighborhood. They're going to go through them in stages, they plan on going through them more than one time, more than two times in some cases. But we are up against the clock now, Randi, because we might not have much time before we all might have to seek cover once again.

KAYE: How concerned are the people there? I mean we know that there is possibility of heavy storms or a tornado possibly what between I think 4:00 and midnight tonight?

HOLMES: Yes, 4:00 and midnight, so we've got about four hours here. But like you said, how concerned now? Randi, I just talked to a guy a minute ago who said he will never ignore another tornado siren in his life. Because -- I've heard that story time and time again here from folks that say, yes, we're in the Midwest, we hear tornado sirens, we get tornado warnings and watches all of the time, we go about our business. This changes things, I assure you. Them just seeing cloud cover today freaks them out a little bit.

So, I assure you, everybody's been talking about it. The severe risk, a high risk of an outbreak, to say that to this community just a couple days after history was made here, you're damn right they're taking it seriously -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes, I'm sure they are. T.J. appreciate it, thank you, be safe there.

And before we do move on, I want to show you a very important Web address and phone number, take note here. These have been set up for people who are searching for family members or who want to let their families know that they're OK. You can go to www.safeandwell.org, that is safe and well and that happens to be one word or call 417-659- 5464. And don't worry if you don't have a pencil right now, because we will give you this information again this hour and next.

And if you want to help the folks in Joplin, check out CNN's "Impact Your World" as well. That is at CNN.com/impact.

Our "Sound Effect" is a long distance show of solidarity. President Obama is in Britain, as you may know, but Joplin is on his mind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At my direction, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate, and deputy administrator Rich Serino (ph) have traveled to Missouri to make sure our federal government is working hand-in-hand with state and local officials to give them the help that they need. And on Sunday, I, myself, will travel to Missouri to talk with folks who have been affected, to talk to local officials about our response effort, and hopefully to pray with folks and give them whatever assurance and comfort I can that the entire country is going to be behind them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: We are also keeping a close watch on the historic floods from the Mississippi River snaking through Louisiana. Backwater flooding is now forcing residents in Butte Larose, Louisiana to evacuate. Mandatory evacuations in Butte Larose that were put on hold are being reinstated right now. That order applies to -- included the media, as well. Most of the residents have already evacuated, but still some insist on riding out the flood.

Analysis by a financial research firm estimates the effort to divert the Mississippi River by opening that Morganza Spillway could flood more than 21,000 homes and cost more than $2.2 billion in damage.

Airlines and travelers across Europe are carefully watching an erupting volcano in Iceland that began spewing ash on Saturday. The resulting cloud of volcanic ash has already forced airlines to cancel about 500 flights around the United Kingdom. While the concentration of the ash at London's Heathrow remains low, the cancellations are double the number expected earlier this morning.

The ash cloud will affect the U.K., Denmark, and parts of Scandinavia today and is forecast to cover all of British air space by 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

Well, you just saw the images, historic tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There seems to be a lot of devastating weather that's popped up just within the past few weeks. I want to bring in our Chad Myers. You may have heard his weather radio going off, those little alarms that you might have heard mind me. Chad, it seems like it's been one storm, one disaster after another.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it certainly has. And I was listening to T.J. because he said he didn't know whether the tornado sirens went off or not, because he didn't hear them. In fact, they did sound them. So, if he didn't hear them, that means they're not operational yet because they got knocked down by the other tornado.

This is the sound that you're going to hear maybe later on tonight. It is that sound of that NOAA weather radio. And I hope you have one, if you don't, maybe now is a good time to get it. It goes off even when you're asleep.

What's all this about? Why so many tornadoes? You know, what's going on? Well, let me try to explain something to you here. We've had this trough, it's the jet stream, you can follow these lines right through here. The jet stream for most of the spring has been like this. Kind of a cold in the Rockies and it's even dipped down here a little bit over here, just a little bit, because it's been cool in the northeast as well.

But every time this comes up to here, a little storm will come through. And there's one today, that's the -- that's the wind right there over New Mexico and Texas. It's there right now and it's coming, and it's going to spin a low pressure system along that jet stream. Think of the jet kind of like a road, it's the interstate, it's where all of the storms come. Moisture comes up, storms -- cold air comes down, you get -- you get severe weather.

Well, for most of the spring, we just had rain. There wasn't much severe weather but it was very heavy rain. Now that heavy rain is in the Mississippi River. That cause -- that trough caused all of that flooding. Same story, the trough is also causing the storms to fire again today with cold fronts, warm fronts and that warm air, moist air coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, cold air coming down.

Why is this different than any other year? It looks exactly the same like any other spring. It's colder than it's been, there's a lot of snow pack up across the north still, so that air as it comes down is colder. The humidity coming up from the Gulf of Mexico is higher because the Gulf of Mexico is a little bit warmer, the water a little bit warmer than normal. Global warming? Maybe, sure. That's probably why the water is a little bit warmer than we've been over the past 500 years or whatever it might be, but all of those things combined making storms in the same places. And we will have a significant tornado outbreak today, I'm not going home any time soon.

And you -- if you live in a mobile home anywhere from Kansas to Oklahoma and Texas, you need to make plans to be out of that thing and somewhere safe for the rest of the night, because this is a big event.

I'll just draw it for you here, so you can see it. Right through , into Oklahoma, down into Texas, all the way to Arkansas, and yes, that right there is Joplin, Missouri, in the big zone. Now, around it, there will still be more storms, no question. Even 100 miles around it or so, but the middle, that's the big thing.

KAYE: All right, Chad. We will continue to keep an eye on it, as you will, as well I'm sure.

MYERS: Of course.

KAYE: I'll check back in with you.

Well, after butting heads with President Obama, Israel's prime minister spoke to Congress this morning, laying out his vision for a Mideast peace agreement. What he said, and what it all means, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a warm reception today when he spoke to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAELI: Israel has no better friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel. We stand together to defend democracy. We stand together to advance peace. We stand together to fight terrorism. Congratulations, America, congratulations Mr. President, you got Bin Laden. Good riddance!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Netanyahu laid out his vision for a Mideast peace settlement but he once again rejected any return to Israel's 1967 borders. Martin Indyk is vice president and director of foreign policy at the Brookings Institution and a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, he joins us now from Washington.

Thanks for coming on the show, Mr. ambassador. First off, any surprises in the speech by Netanyahu today?

MARTIN INDYK, VICE PRESIDENT AND DIRECTOR OF FOREIGN POLICY, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: No, nothing was surprising from the resounding, prolonged applause to the words that he had to say. I think they're all fairly predictable. KAYE: There has been a lot of discussion about President Obama's statement last week, that peace negotiations should be based on Israel's borders before the 1967 war. Last week, Prime Minister Netanyahu said those borders are indefensible. He talked about Israel's borders again today. So, I want to play just a part of what he said, and get your reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This compromise must reflect the dramatic demographic changes that have occurred since 1967. The vast majority of the 650,000 Israelis who live beyond the 1967 lines reside in neighborhoods and suburbs of Jerusalem and greater Tel Aviv. Now, these areas are densely populated, but they're geographically quite small. And under any realistic peace agreement, these areas, as well as other places of critical, strategic and national importance, would be incorporated into the final borders of Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Ambassador, does this represent any change at all, do you think, in Mr. Netanyahu's position on the borders?

INDYK: No, it doesn't. But it's important to pause what he has to say. President Obama said that the basis for the negotiation should be the '67 lines with agreed swaps. The agreed swaps refers to the settlement blocks that the prime minister was talking about in that clip that you just played. And, indeed, 70 percent of the sepler (ph) population is concentrated in settlement blocks that take up about 3 percent to 5 percent of the West Bank, just on the other side of that '67 line.

So in that sense, the distance between what Obama said and what Netanyahu said is not that great. When he adds adjectives like "traumatic" and talks about other things like areas of strategic and national importance, that raises a big question mark. Not clear what he means by that. That's a new formulation. But in terms of the talk of absorbing settlement blocks, that's precisely what President Obama has in mind and what has been on the table since 2000 -- the end of 2000 when President Clinton brought up this idea.

KAYE: Right. Well, let me ask you, as the former ambassador to Israel, I mean, what role should the U.S. play in this peace deal at this point?

INDYK: Well, the critical thing that I think President Obama is trying to do, and I believe he's right in that regard, is to try to lay the basis for getting back to the negotiating table. To do that now, there's so much mistrust between the two sides that there needs to be some terms of reference for the negotiations so that both sides don't feel that they're going into a negotiation and cannot meet their minimum requirements.

So he laid out, in his speech on Thursday, two terms of reference. One on borders and one on security. And the reconciliation of Palestinian need -- desire for a sovereign, contiguous state in all of the West Bank, and Israeli need for security is the essence of the negotiation that President Obama is trying to get started. So that's what all of this is about. It's how do we get back to the negotiating table and away from that effort by the Palestinians to launch a unilateral declaration of independence via the U.N. General Assembly.

KAYE: Ambassador, thank you. Appreciate your insight and your time.

And turning now to Florida. After nearly three years of legal twists, turns and delays, the trial of Casey Anthony started today in that state. Anthony is accused of killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee back in 2008. We break down what's gone on so far in this dramatic trial, right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We want to take you back to Joplin, Missouri, where our Anderson Cooper is joining us by telephone.

Anderson, I know that you've been there since yesterday. You had a really powerful show last night on "360." I wonder, can you tell us where you are today and what you've seen so far?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, well, you know, we've just been driving around neighborhoods, just talking to people who are literally picking up the pieces of their lives. You know, there's a number of search and rescue operations which are underway right now at the Home Depot. They are -- I was there up until about half an hour ago. There's a search and rescue crew from elsewhere in Missouri that's come.

They're using a lot of heavy equipment, moving these huge concrete slabs which are basically the front walls of the Home Depot that collapsed. They believe there were some people sheltering by those walls. So they brought in dogs. Dogs which are trained to try to find anyone who may be alive in the wreckage. Yesterday, according to authorities, they found one person alive. They have not found anyone today up until about half an hour ago but they are still looking.

And it's -- you know, it is very difficult work. I mean the size of this wreckage, the scale of it, as you know, just goes on for miles. So they've divided, you know, the city into grids and they're doing multiple searches. Kind of -- they're going to give multiple passes over the course of this day. But as you know, Randi, it's really -- it's a race against the clock. It's a race not only for the survivor ability of somebody under the rubble, but just against the weather. The weather has been cooperating so far. It's overcast now. We expect rain, heavy rain that maybe tornado activity tonight. So everyone is kind of preparing themselves for that and trying to get as much work done right now, Randi, as possible.

KAYE: Yes, and, Anderson, I know you were at the Home Depot and we're continuing to look at these aerials from that very Home Depot as you're telling us that story. I know you've spoken to many families who have been touched by this and many survivors, in fact. Is there one story, Anderson, that you would say that really stands out to you? COOPER: You know, any place you turn here, there's somebody just going through, you know, the worst thing that has hit them. I was just at the house of a woman named Sally Smith, who we just literally ran into on the street as we were driving along. And she's at her mom's house -- or I should say what remains at her mom's house. It's just completely destroyed. You know there's -- oddly there's still, you know, eggs in the refrigerator and somehow her plate ended up in the oven.

So you see all these strange things. They're literally picking up the pieces, trying to find stuff to salvage. Luckily her mom, who is 80 years old, was at her sister's house. They hid in the bathroom together. They both survived the storm without a scratch, which they're really, you know, counting their blessings at this point. And they've been able to find some family photographs and some of her documents and things which were important to her. So, you know, at this point, people are trying to stay optimistic. And I mean they're literally -- you know, I asked a stupid question to Sally, which was, you know, how do you -- how do you rebuild your life? And she said, you know, you start picking up the pieces. And that's what so many people here are doing right now.

KAYE: I mean you've covered so many disasters. Does this feel like just one of many others or is there this greater sense of determination for this -- these people as a community to pull through and move forward from this, even as more tornadoes could be heading their way this evening?

COOPER: Well, you know, you can see as many disasters, you know, as people see on TV. But when it actually happens to you, it's a completely different thing. And so, I mean, this is -- this is the worst thing to hit this community in a long, long time. And, you know, it affects a huge swath of the population here in Joplin. A lot of people injured. Not just the dead, but the injured, as well, and people whose homes are destroyed. And their livelihood. One woman I was talking to, you know, she works in the hospital and she's worried about what comes next. The hospital's been badly damaged.

So, you know, there's a lot of concern, but there really is a lot of spirit here and a lot -- I mean I don't want to sound cliche, but, you know, people really are counting their blessings. And over and over you hear people say, well, look, you know, in the end, this is just stuff and, you know, I was lucky to survive. My mom was lucky to survive. My loved one was lucky to survive. So people are, you know, resilient here and they're just trying to make the most of this break in the weather and just pick up what they can.

KAYE: All right, Anderson, we're going to let you go because I know you have your show from Joplin tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. "Anderson Cooper 360." Appreciate you calling in, bringing us the latest developments there. Once again, you can join Anderson tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern for "Anderson Cooper 360," a special edition from Joplin, Missouri.

Moving on. The trail of Casey Anthony just started in Florida, as we told you, and the defense is already making news. Anthony is accused of killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee in 2008. If convicted, she could face the death penalty. It may not be easy for jurors. There's going to be a lot of graphic information being presented. So take a listen, though, to this from the prosecution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA DRANE-BURDICK, PROSECUTOR: Duct tape covered the nose and mouth area of that tiny human skull. The cotton and polyester backing of that duct tape was disintegrating in the harsh environment in which she lay. You will learn that three pieces of overlapping duct tape covered the nose and mouth of Caylee Anthony. You will learn that the duct tape was placed on her prior to decomposition as it held the mandible, or the jaw, to the head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: "In Session" legal contributor Sunny Hostin has been following the case and joins us from New York.

Sunny, this is a really tough case to know the details of and certainly to watch on our sister network, HLN. But get us caught up on what's gone on this morning.

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV : Well, it has been a really intense morning. The prosecution gave a two-hour and fifteen-minute opening statement, Randi. A very long opening statement that was extremely linear. She went over in painstaking detail each day that Caylee Anthony was missing. And after she went over each day, she would say "where is Caylee Anthony"? It was very powerful the way she did that.

She also went over all of the lies that Caylee told, day by day by day. And then, finally, she started going over the evidence. A lot of the scientific evidence. And as we just heard, the fact that the body, the remains, were found with duct tape around the head, not one, not two, but three pieces attached to hair. And she also talked about the smell of death coming and emanating from Casey Anthony's car that was found. So --

KAYE: And how will -- Sunny, how will all of that play with the jury that has to listen to this evidence?

HOSTIN: Well, I can tell you, the jury had notebooks, they had pens, they put them aside in the courtroom, Randi. They did not take any notes. They were riveted by this prosecutor's opening statement. And at the end, she said she was going to ask them to find Casey Anthony guilty.

However, what was so fascinating is, all along the defense has said, Jose Baez, the lead defense attorney said, in one minute in the opening minute of his opening statements we would know what really happened. And true to his word, he said in his opening statement, Caylee Anthony died by drowning in a pool on June 16th. We have never heard that was the defense. And so, you know, it really has been just a block blusterier morning in the courtroom. KAYE: But, you know, as you mentioned, I'm just curious what you think the greatest challenge is for the defense. Because, as you mentioned, I mean, Casey Anthony's behavior following the days and weeks that her daughter had gone missing was just flat out bizarre. I mean she had been at nightclubs.

HOSTIN: That's right.

KAYE: I mean how are they going to explain all of this away?

HOSTIN: And that is the question. I mean, I'm a mother myself, Randi, as you know, and I kept on thinking, if my child was missing for 31 seconds, I would report it. Thirty-one days, how do you make sense of that?

Well, I think we know now. We've got a little bit of an indication that Casey Anthony has indicated that she was the victim of childhood sexual abuse, that she suffers perhaps from post-traumatic stress disorder. Her attorneys have said that -- had asked some of the jurors during jury selection, what would you do if the worst thing possible happened to you? How would you react?

So, again, I am only guessing, but it sounds to me like they are going to say that when Caylee Anthony drowned in this pool, she just -- Casey suffered just such trauma that she just sort of acted so oddly, acted in a way that no mother would act.

KAYE: And do you have any indication if Casey will take the stand?

HOSTIN: Well, I -- we don't have an indication from Jose Baez during his opening statements yet, but I have to tell you, I think she has to take the stand. She has to explain this alternate theory. She was the one that was there, obviously, when little Caylee allegedly drowned. She's got to explain that to the jury. I think in this case, Randi, we are going to see Casey Anthony on the witness stand.

KAYE: I'm sure that will be a very dramatic day.

Sunny, I know you want to get back to watching it, and we will continue to watch it as well. We will also check back in with you in our next hour and see what you can tell us.

Thank you.

HOSTIN: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: And stay tuned to CNN throughout the day for updates on the Casey Anthony trial. And for more in depth coverage, check our sister networks, HLN and In Session on TruTV.

Well, hanging with the queen. A monarchy pulling out all of the stops for President Obama. All of the action, plus a rare look around the palace. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: It's been a day full of pomp and circumstance for President Obama, continuing his European trip with a full day of events around London. That includes a very lavish evening at Buckingham Palace.

CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is traveling with the president and got a hair look at the palace grounds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Randi, this trip just gets better and better. We're now on the grounds of Buckingham Palace. How cool is that? In the business, we call it a walk and talk when you give people a tour. I guess around here, we should call it a walky.

So let me walk around the grounds a little bit to give you an idea. It's extremely rare for a U.S. president to have a state visit and get all of this pomp and circumstance. Only three in the last 100 years or so. Woodrow Wilson, George W. Bush and now President Obama. Interesting, as well, that they did all of this on the back side of the palace, something we don't normally see.

So you get all 40 acres here. There's a lake that the queen has at her disposal. There is also, we're told, a tennis court just beyond the lake, just beyond those trees. There's also a helicopter landing pad. You hear the one hovering above. That's because of the security.

The beginning of the state visit with all of the pomp and circumstance was really a remarkable day, no doubt. I mean, you can see some of these dramatic pictures. There was an honor guard, pipes and drums. The first lady and the president greeted by the Queen and Prince Phillip, Prince Charles, Camilla.

Now, in private, what we didn't see for the TV cameras was the president and first lady got to meet William and Kate just back from their honeymoon, now known officially as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

There was a 41-gun salute here nearby, then a 62-gun salute over at the Tower of London. And it just went on and on and on. You can see the media gathered here even before they arrived. There's all kinds of still cameras, TV cameras, U.S. correspondents, British correspondents all ready for this.

And then it was on to 10 Downing where they met the president and first lady met with Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, prime minister, of course. And there was some serious business that needs to be done beyond the sort of pomp and circumstance. The president and prime minister saying that while a lot of people have noted on the world stage that they have not really developed kind of an easy friendship the way we saw Tony Blair bonding, for example, with both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, presidents from different parties, these two leaders seem distant in terms of the so-called special relationship between the U.S. and U.K. But they wrote a joint op-ed today in the "Times of London" saying that they actually want to elevate this beyond a special relationship and call it an essential relationship on issues like Afghanistan, Libya, but also coming together on economic issues and both trying to cut their budget deficits to try and pump some confidence into the world markets. After all that business at 10 Downing, it was right back here for a lavish state dinner hosted by her majesty the Queen.

I talked about the attention to detail. Do you know there is actually an official with a tape measure here at Buckingham Palace who measures how far apart the wine glasses are, just so they get that just right? You want to talk about pressure when you're having dinner. Make sure, you know, you use the right butter plate. This time you've got to make sure that the wine glasses are just so.

And then the president and first lady are going to be sleeping here at the palace. There's over 700 rooms here, including over 50 bedrooms. And it's interesting, because the president and first lady actually left Ireland a little early, got here sooner than expected to avoid the volcanic ash which is grounding some of the planes in Europe.

And the bottom line is, this is not like the Motel 6 where they leave the light on for you and you can just drop in a night early. So instead, president and first lady slept over at the U.S. ambassador's residence on the other side of London. Tonight, Buckingham Palace. Pretty sweet digs -- Randi.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Thank you, Ed henry.

Well, mark your calendar, because we have five months now before the world ends. Again, that is if a California preacher has his way. A new date is set. That's in about 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Forty-one minutes past the hour. Let's get an update on stories you may have missed.

The death toll in Joplin, Missouri is now up to 118, and the governor says the number of casualties is likely to rise with so many still missing. The monster tornado that ripped a four-mile swath through the heart of Joplin is now the deadliest single U.S. tornado since officials began keeping records more than 60 years ago.

Meantime, hundreds of firefighters, police officers, emergency workers and national guard troops are desperately searching for more survivors. They found 17 people alive yesterday. But Joplin is not clear from severe weather yet with a chance of another tornado outbreak across the region later today, and into late tonight.

DNA taken from former IMF chief Dominic Strauss-Kahn reportedly matches what was found on the uniform of a hotel maid he allegedly raped. The "Wall Street Journal" reports semen found matched a DNA sample taken from Strauss-Kahn after his arrest last Sunday. Strauss- Kahn has repeatedly denied the allegations. His attorneys declined to comment about that DNA match.

New important changes to keep in mind when you cook your next pork chop. The USDA is lowering the temperature it recommends you cook by 15 degrees. Apparently a little bit of pinch pink is OK. The USDA now recommends cutting all whole cuts of meat, including pork at 145 degrees Fahrenheit and allowing it to rest for three minutes. But the lower temps don't apply to ground meats or poultry.

Doomsday? What doomsday? May 21st came and went and yes, we are all still here. But Harold Camping is back at it again. The California preacher now predicting the world will end October 21st. In his first radio broadcast since his doomsday prediction failed, Camping insists his error was of interpretation, not fact. But he's been wrong before, inaccurately predicting the world would end in 1994, also. Well, this time his miscalculation was a little harder to swallow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAROLD CAMPING, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTER: When May 21 came and went, it was a very difficult time for me. A very difficult time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And Camping claims May 21st came and went because god was merciful and decided not to punish us with five months of destruction. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: NATO warplanes pounded the compound of Moammar Gadhafi today in the heaviest airstrikes yet in the conflict. And in the eastern part of the country, rebel forces are getting a major boost in firepower with France and Britain deploying attack helicopters.

Nima Elbagir joins us from Tripoli.

And, Nima, tell us about these latest airstrikes.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, we have been talking a lot about the intensification of the NATO strikes on Tripoli. But they definitely felt like they were being pushed up into a different league. It started about 1:00 a.m. local time, and within half an hour, we counted over a dozen explosions in a very short space of time. They say their target was a compound very close to the Bab al- Aziziyah Gadhafi compound, which was used -- which was being used, they said, to provide vehicles, attacks on civilians.

The Libyan authorities told us it was a Libyan army auxiliary force center that they were aware would be targeted, and so had emptied. But in spite of that, the casualty toll, they said, is 3 dead and 150 injured. But very much a sense that this conflict is now being put into a different gear here, Randi.

KAYE: And just quickly, what about this move to deploy attack helicopters by the French and the British? What can you tell us about that? ELBAGIR: Well, there's been a little bit of confusion over that. It was the French who announced that on Monday they said that they and the British were on the same page and they would both be deploying attack helicopters, the hard to hit areas. But the British have since rode back from that, saying not only they don't make a habit, as you can appreciate of announcing changes in tactics to the enemy, but they hadn't actually agreed to it in the first place.

The French are standing by their announcement, saying that a French ship with helicopters on it now is ready and waiting to be deployed. But the British are saying that they are not part of that effort. It's interesting, because, of course, they would take this conflict into a completely different arena yet again, Randi.

KAYE: Nima Elbagir reporting for us from Tripoli, Nima, thank you.

In other international news, the man who once ruled Egypt with an iron fist will be tried over the killing of anti-government protesters. Egypt's prosecutor general says that Hosni Mubarak and his two sons also faced charges of abusing power to gain wealth and enrich associates. A trial date has not been set. Mubarak stepped down, you may recall, in February after an 18-day popular uprising.

Next, think you have some of the coolest apps out there for your cell phone? Well, can any of them save your life? In two minutes, we'll give you apps and gadgets that you need in case of an emergency. So keep it here.

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MITCH RANDLES, JOPLIN FIRE CHIEF: We are still finding individuals. We did rescue seven individuals from underneath the rubble yesterday. And, of course, we are also finding, you know, several deceased folks as well. You know, it's just really incredible, the fact that we are still finding people. We are hoping to find more folks, and that's why we are doing these searches

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KAYE: That was Mitch Randles, the Joplin fire chief, talking about the search and rescue efforts after the powerful tornado ripped through Joplin, Missouri, on Sunday. Unfortunately, we've seen a lot of disasters this year and we may not be done yet.

So, we wanted to use today's "Big I" to break down "PC Magazine's" article on technology that could help you survive a disaster.

Lance Ulanoff, editor-in-chief of "PC Magazine" joins us.

Lance, thanks so much for coming on the show. This is such an important information. Two interesting things on your list are Facebook and Twitter.

How is it that these social media sites can help us to save our own life in a disaster?

LANCE ULANOFF, PC MAGAZINE: You know, by definition they are social networks and they connect you to millions of people around the world. They also connect you to local people, great networks for finding out information, finding out if there's trouble coming, learning, for example, through Facebook that friends and family are OK.

You can follow -- on Twitter, you can follow FEMA so you can get up- to-date information about what's happening. You can always get up-to- date information as the disaster is coming down.

So, it keeps you connected. You know, if everything is shutdown in your home, all of your electricity is gone, your cell phone might still be working and you've got Twitter and Facebook on that device.

KAYE: And what about other applications that might be helpful? I mean, I noticed, one of them is a first aid app?

ULANOFF: Right. Well, you got -- so, you got a first aid app which can tell you actually -- it kept someone alive in Haiti for like 65 days because -- 65 hours, I should say, because they were able to look at it and find out medical information, care information for themselves. But they can also put on that their own medical history. So, if someone finds it and finds them, they can quickly figure out what to do with them.

Other apps that we really like: the weather app. You know, Weather.com, this weather app is so great for learning about whether that's coming. You can even pay a little subscription fee and have it call your phone call if really bad weather is on the way.

Another interesting app that people might also consider, slightly entertaining, is radio scanner app. So, you can listen to police scans, FEMA information, all these different networks about what's coming, what's happening in your area, or really outside your area on your phone.

KAYE: Wow.

ULANOFF: So, I think some people might actually find that useful.

KAYE: So, if you don't have a smartphone or maybe services down, you recommend these hand-cranked or solar radios? How do those work?

ULANOFF: That's right. You know, you got to get it done, right? So, you got Kaito Electronics, they have a device that's called the Voyager Solar/Dynamo Emergency Radio. It's $50 on Amazon.

And, again, you can put it in the sun. You can charge it up. If you need to, you can crank it up. It's got regular radio. It's got shortwave radio. It's got a flashlight. It's got a light, because sometimes the power is out and you are in darkness, great, great to have.

Again, another charger is $30 from the Amazon. The XTG Technology's premium solar charger, sunlight out there usually. You can charge up, you can charge your gadget. If you can keep your phone charge for a little while, that's going to help.

KAYE: Yes.

ULANOFF: If there's no place, no sun, no plugs, try this device. The nPower PEG, you actually move it. And the kinetic energy stores the power, plug it into your phone, get another hour of charge.

KAYE: All right. In 30 seconds, Lance, food and water, you need that to survive. So, you may be just tell me the water. What do you do in that case?

ULANOFF: OK. So, there's a micro filter basically from Katadyn Combi, $160. Two different filters to clean your water. They also have a bottle sized one for $40 that can clean it in smaller amounts.

Also, if you want to cook, a solar-powered oven from Global Sun Oven, $300, but if you can cook.

KAYE: Yes, I don't cook at home. I'm not sure one could cook in a middle of a disaster with the solar-powered oven.

ULANOFF: Sustenance is important.

KAYE: You're right. Lance, appreciate it. That really is great information, especially when we see so many of these disasters coming our way. Thank you so much.

ULANOFF: Absolutely. My pleasure.

KAYE: A local race with national implications, not just on the power of balance in Congress, but this one could shape the debate in the presidential race. Your political update is next.

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KAYE: Time now for the CNN political update.

And there is a special election under way today in New York that could impact one of the biggest issues on Capitol Hill right now.

CNN senior political editor Mark Preston joins me now from Washington to tell us all about it.

Mark, what do we need to know about this race?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Randi, you know, the whole discussion here in Washington, D.C. is how they do fare on the federal budget. There's a fight between Republicans on Capitol Hill and Democrats on Capitol Hill. One of the proposals is to reform Medicare.

Now, as you say, up in New York, in a special election today, Democrats have been attacking the Republican candidates, saying in fact that the Republican candidates' plan or support of the Republican plan would really scuttle Medicare. Republicans say, in fact, that's not the case. And if, in fact, the Democrat is to win what has been a Republican seat, the Republicans say that the only reason why that person would win is because it's a three-way race right now.

So, of course, there are going to be implications after today about what happens to Medicare, and Democrats will point to a victory up there to the fact that voters do not like the Republican plan.

But let's quickly talk about the presidential politics. We have one more person who is officially going to get in, Randi, Rick Santorum. He's a former Pennsylvania senator. Our own Paul Steinhauser is reporting that Rick Santorum, during the week of June 5th, will officially get into the race. Now, it's no surprise. Rick Santorum for the past year has been visiting these early and (INAUDIBLE) voting states. But, Rick Santorum appears to be throwing his hat in the ring -- Randi.

KAYE: I love how they all announce that they're going to announce. Very interesting.

All right, Mark. Thanks for the quick update. Appreciate it.