Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Baby Torn From Mother's Arms; More Violent Storms in Forecast; Hundreds Still Missing in Joplin; In the Storm, on the Air; Volcanic Ash Threatens European Flights; Butte Larose, Louisiana to be Evacuated; Casey Anthony Trial to Start in Florida; California to Cut Inmate Population; Santorum Close to Run

Aired May 24, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: It is clouding up in Joplin, Missouri, after a precious few hours of sunshine. Today for the first time after the city was hit by the single deadliest tornado in decades, search and rescue efforts have been not been hampered by rain or hail and lightning which struck two police officers last night. One is okay and the other is in a critical condition.

The official death toll is 118, but authorities say more than ten times that many are unaccounted for. The Head of the Joplin Emergency and Management say that people scattered and simply can't get home and maybe no longer have homes and have not yet called in. But then there is Will Norton who was blown out of his hummer on his way home from his high school graduation, but the family believes he is in a hospital somewhere in the area. And young Skyular Logsdon, a one-year-old who was ripped right out of his mother's arms. His great uncle spoke to CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANK REYNOLDS, TORNADO SURVIVOR (via telephone): It was the night of the tornado and they had him in the hallway in the house and they all got into the house for cover, and when the tornado hit they lost track of him, and we have not seen him since?

KAYE: Was Skyular's mother holding on to him?

REYNOLDS: Yes, she was. She lost him in all of the aftermath of the mess of all of this and it is terrible. No one has seen him since. The rest of the family is doing okay, but we have to find him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Missouri's top officials wrapped up a helicopter tour of Joplin, and here is some brand new sound from Senator Claire McCaskill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: My job is simple and that is to make sure that Frank (ph) gets all of the information he needs to make sure the Federal systems begin immediately. Very pleased that a disaster declaration came as early as it did which means that the people can get help today and tomorrow and can rebuild. We have to obviously pay attention to this long after the cameras are gone, because this is going to - - if you see it from the air, you will realize this is not going to happen overnight and it will take months, and this community is going to need all of our support for months to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And now, here is why the sunshine was a big deal today. Soon, things could get ugly again. An area just to the West and the South, mainly Kansas City and Oklahoma, stand a high risk of violent storms. Our Chad Myers will bring us up to date on that in just a moment.

First, I want to go to my colleague T.J. Holmes who is in Joplin and he has found amazing stories of survival. Where are you? T.J.?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm in the Western part and this may well be the area of Joplin that was hit first. If you make your way that way, if you will, and that is where the hospital is, and St. John's is getting so much attention.

But today, quite frankly, we have watched this neighborhood become kind of a busy little spot, and I say they because people are starting to get out. We have seen the U-Haul trucks and different trailers and people are active and not sitting around. They are getting it done.

Look down the street as I speak. Here comes another truck. This is constant. You see it on the right of the picture as well. A guy from the Red Cross who is here as well. There is a lot of activity, and people are quite frankly getting their lives back together already, and what choice do you have? To the left, if my photographer can look to the left of the house, you can hear the hammer going, and guys up on the roof, and everybody is working and constant sound of chainsaw and this is a good sign, because the work is under way.

But the other side of the story, Randi, is that work is going on feverishly right now, because they still have an active search and rescue going on. They are not looking one time or two times, but sometimes two, three, four, and you name it because they want to make sure that people are not trapped under that rubble.

And like you said Randi, the other issue, we have been reporting for the most part, all day, under sunny skies and now the clouds are moving in and we are expecting 16:00 to midnight local time, when it should start to be another nasty weather day, and specifically 20:00 to midnight is the highest risk to this area.

And Randi, I talked to a gentleman earlier who said they will never ignore another tornado siren. I am guilty of this, too, and they don't believe it will happen to you, and they have learnt their lesson. Randi, they are trying to get as much done right now before they have to deal with another disaster, and hopefully that is not the case, but everybody is hanging tight to see what will happen tonight and not taking any chances.

KAYE: I'm sure, T.J., I want to keep talking to you, but I just want to show some of our viewers at home some of these brand new aerials we got in of that area. So let me ask you while we look at these, and you can see it is as tragic from the air as it is on the ground. We know that FEMA and Red Cross are there as you said, but are people getting what they need? Because in other disasters that is not always the case?

HOLMES: What I'm getting a sense of is that people aren't waiting on anybody to bring them the help, if you will. Out here, I have not seen a lot of official people, if you will. I have seen a lot of folks who are dealing with issues on their own. Sure, many people in this area, they have friends they are going to and they have own their hotel rooms and insurance adjusters out here. I have seen trees and limbs removal out there, and seeing people removing them and neighbor are taking care of neighbor, and sure Federal assistance will be needed and sure help from the White House and the Administration and the President, who will be coming here next week, but at this point, they are not depending on anybody, and taking care of themselves quite frankly. So I get a sense they get what they need, and provided by the neighbors and not necessarily by the Government.

KAYE: All right. T.J., great reporting from Joplin. Appreciate it. Thank you.

HOLMES: No problem.

KAYE: Before we move on, I want to give you this important web address and phone number. This is set up for people who are searching for family members or who want to let their families know they are okay. You can go to www.safeandwell.org. That is safe and well, one word. You can also call, 417-659-5464. And if you want to help the folk in Joplin then check out CNN's Impact your World. That's at CNN.com/impact.

CNN affiliate KNOD stayed on the air while Joplin was being ravaged on Sunday evening, and I want you to listen to this with me. You are about to hear two of the meteorologists talking over life pictures from the stations tower cam as the tornado chewed through their community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAITLIN MCARDLE, KODE-TV METEOROLOGIST: Right now it does look like there is a tornado on the ground in the Southern portions of Joplin just to the South of our station here taking out those power lines. You can see those flashes on them there. If you live in Southern Casper or Northern Newton take cover. Right now, I'm telling you to take cover. We do have a tornado on the ground.

Looks like this is a powerful tornado. You can see that it is taking out the trees and it continues to push off to the East in Joplin. Very dangerous situation. Once again, very dangerous lightning, and very large hail in store, also. So, continue to take cover from this storm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And the woman whose voice there Caitlin McCardal, she joins me now by telephone.

Caitlin, I don't know how you held it together, because I give you credit for it as you saw it coming through. And was your station hit?

MCCARDLE (via telephone): No, the station was seven blocks North from the tornado, and it cut very close, but it did not actually hit us.

KAYE: And seven blocks North, how did you find it within you to keep warning the viewers and not take cover?

MCCARDLE: A lot of people thought I was hysterical at the moment at that time, but what you don't know is I am walking through the station and talking to the staff members who didn't know that there is a tornado on the ground, so you are hearing me actually telling the people in my station, and Jeremiah and I did stay in the studio longer to keep track of the storm, and everyone else headed to the conference room to take cover.

It is my job. I mean, I just basically knew I had to warn people and freaking out myself, wouldn't have helped, but that storm was moving to the South and to the East and so at that time it did not seem like it was moving to the station. We seemed safe so I had to make sure that everybody knew the severity of the situation.

KAYE: And with such dedication, have you heard from the viewers?

MCCARDLE: Well, some of those video's had been posted on YouTube is really the only record that we have of it happening right on our tower cam. I have been told by many people that they heard it in the voice, and when they saw it on the tower cam that we were the only ones to catch that and only ones live on the air talking about that tornado warning as it hit the ground, and many people did tell me that they knew that this is when to take cover and not to ignore this tornado warning.

KAYE: And what about your home and family, and is everything okay or did you lose your home?

MCCARDLE: Well, I live on the North side of Joplin and it was not touched and I am thankful for that, but many people here without utilities and cable out and telephones out, so people will not get the additional tornado warnings if we have that this evening, so that is a scary situation.

KAYE: And what does it feel like to see your community ripped apart like this.

MCCARDLE: It is something that I never ever want to see again. As a Meteorologist people want to go out to storm chase, and track them, but we want to see them out in the fields and not doing damage. So having this massive tornado and they say it was an EF-4 that touched down in my own community is devastating. It will never be the same to live here, all of my businesses I go to and the restaurants and the countless homes and the streets I drive on everyday are completely gone. I can't even recognize what streets they are on when I see the footage.

KAYE: I imagine it changed your outlook on life a little bit?

MCCARDLE: I feel very lucky and I know that I'm doing the right thing in my profession, and this is why I do what I do is to warn people, and it is nice to hear that even though some people thought I was a little bit over the top in the video, it is nice to know that others took it to heart and knew that it was a serious situation and they really do take cover.

KAYE: Well, maybe a little over the top, but an important warning from you and such dedication. That is certainly, as I said very impressive. Caitlin McCardle, appreciate your time, and certainly the viewers there appreciate what you did for them.

MCCARDLE: Thank you very much.

KAYE: Thank you.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My direction, FEMA Administrator, Craig Fugate, and Deputy Administrator, Rich Sereno 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. On Sunday, I, myself will travel to Missouri to talk to folks who are affected and those who are needing help and hopefully to pray with folks and give them assurance and comfort that I can that that the entire country is behind them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: In other news, ash spewing from a volcano in Iceland is spreading towards Europe, and becoming a concern for travelers. The ash cloud has forced airlines to cancel 500 flights around the United Kingdom today. It will affect Denmark and parts of Scandinavia and it is expected to go to Berlin and cover all of British airspace by 1:00am Wednesday and with that the possibility of more flight cancellations.

As the water rises, we have more ghost towns. That report is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: A mandatory evacuation order went into effect a little over an hour ago in Butte Larose, Louisiana, and the tiny community is threatened by back water flooding after Mississippi floodwaters were diverted to spare Baton Rouge and New Orleans. CNN's Martin Savidge reports from just outside of Butte Larose.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A mandatory evacuation order went into effect at noon. And that means that if some people who are going to stay, and if they come out beyond that police checkpoint, they will not be allowed back into Butte Larose, and meanwhile, if you stay, there is a 24-hour curfew that goes into effect which means you are confined to your home or property, and you are not supposed to be going out and about.

There is some good news though, and that is the fact that the flood crest here which is expected Friday is not thought to be anywhere as high as originally projected and in fact, down 4.5 feet. There is going to still be problems but not as bad as they feared.

As for the holdouts? There are still some of them. We ran into George Bruno who has water rising in the front yard, and he has the Apafalaya in his back yard. Still he is concerned but is not leaving and he believes his house actually will be all right.

GEORGE BRUNO, WON'T EVACUATE: If these predictions come up, I'm no fool, I'll get out of here too. But what I'm looking at here, I think, me and my family should be all right.

SAVIDGE: So George Bruno plans to stay with his wife and their three dogs. Further down we are looking at Morgan City where the water is not expected until Sunday. They have been preparing for weeks. The water has been slower as it's been making it's way. Down in Morgan City just about everybody is sandbagged and simply waiting and waiting.

And one of the reasons for the slowness of the water is the fact that Mississippi and Louisiana have both been extremely dry. And down here in Louisiana as a Apafalaya has been coming down, and so because it is slower than expected, it is a good thing for those who are worried about flooding.

I'm Martin Savidge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Up next, her death captured the attention of the nation. And after three years of turns and twists, her mother goes on trial in Florida. Casey Anthony is accused of killing her two-year-old daughter in 2008. The latest from the dramatic trial after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Twenty minutes past the hour, and the trial of Casey Anthony is starting in Florida. She is accused of killing her 2-year- old daughter in Florida. If convicted she could face the death penalty. In session, legal contributor, Sunny Hostin has been following the case, in joins us now in New York. Sunny, get us caught up on what is happening, because I understand you are paying close attention and I hear that Casey Anthony is saying that her father had sexually abused her since the age of eight, and what else is being said?

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, TRUTV: Well, it is bombshell after bombshell after the defense opening, and they bring it up to explain why she behaved the way she behaved for 31 years. Jose Baez, her defense attorney said that sexual abuse changes us. She was groomed to keep secrets and then she pretended that she was not living in the situation she was living in. That is why they brought up the sexual abuse, and he says that the sexual abuse happened through age eight and he took us through age 13 in graphic detail.

I will say that I was surprised to hear this defense opening, because I feel like I'm watching a Johnny Cochran opening quite frankly and he said that little Caylee drowned in her family pool on June 16th, 2008, and what is interesting about that, this is a Florida jury, and we know that in Florida, drowning is a leading cause of death for children ages one through four, so this is a theory that may resonate with the jury.

KAYE: And speaking of the jury, Sunny, this is a tough trial for them, and do we expect they will be shown graphic images of what was left of Caylee?

HOSTIN: Yes. We do. In fact, they have already been shown in the prosecution's opening statement a photograph of little Caylee's skull. Interestingly enough, each juror has his or her own little television screen, and the prosecution has already shown a live picture of the smiling Caylee and a picture of Caylee's skull next to it. So they will see a lot of graphic photographs and it started today.

KAYE: And what about the demeanor of Casey Anthony in court today? Was she emotional?

HOSTIN: Extremely emotional. In the prosecution's case, she was shaking her head "no" during most of the opening statement. She was also very, very red-faced when her defense attorney started to talk about this sexual abuse and Caylee drowning and sobbing, and a very emotional Casey Anthony today.

KAYE: And we have 30 seconds left, but how much will the prosecutors play up the fact that she lied and didn't go looking for her daughter after she had gone missing and blamed it on the babysitter?

HOSTIN: Well, there is no question that they are going to do that, Randi, and they laid out a mountain of lies in the opening statements, and the defense may have neutralized that with the allegations of sexual abuse.

KAYE: All right. Sunny Hostin, we will let you get back to watching it, and definitely keep us-to-date on the latest.

And stay tuned to CNN on the Casey Anthony trial, and for more in depth coverage, check out our sister networks HLN and IN SESSION on TRUE TV.

Time for top stories we are following. The death toll in Joplin, has risen to 118. And there is a chance of another tornado outbreak there in Joplin, Missouri. There is a 45 percent chance of another outbreak with a piece time from 4:00 p.m. to midnight today.

And air traffic control says that 500 flights in and out of Britain are being cancelled today after a cloud of volcanic ash sweeps over from Iceland. It may also temporarily shut down some German airports. And the volcano started to spew ash Saturday.

Chrysler says it plans to pay back $7.6 billion of high-interest bailout loans to the U.S. and the Canadian Governments which includes the $5.9 billion that the carmaker owes the U.S. taxpayers. This does not mean they are debt-free, because they took out additional loans to pay off older debt, but they say they could pay that debt off through refinancing.

And important news on the developing storms including a tornado watch. Our weather expert Chad Meyers will be here next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Well, we continue to watch what is happening in Joplin, Missouri, and severe weather expert Chad Meyers is joining us. Is it true that more bad weather may be coming there?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you can't tell one storm from another, and that tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, happened to be a big tornado that hit one big town, and most of the time, they hit a pivot irrigation system, and don't show up on CNN for sure, but today, the threat is in a shape like this all of the way down to Dallas, because this storm is a low pressure out to the West. Ask the people in Phoenix what was the wind was like yesterday and in New Mexico what the wind is like today, and that is the storm ejecting out of the Southwest, and it will fire up thunderstorms along this line. By the time we get to Joplin, it is 3:00, 4:00, 5:00, 6:00 or 7:00 or so before you see that.

KAYE: That is Joplin right there?

MYERS: Yes, on I-44. The problem with Joplin today is that you have all of the destruction, and all of the wood material, and all of the shingles and the insulation already broken up, and a 40-mile-an- hour wind can pick it up and blow it into the emergency workers and into the crews and the people who are trying to pick up their stuff. So you can see that if is a regular thunderstorm, we will sound out the alarm to the crews to say get out of that destruction zone, because the destruction zone is eight or nine blocks wise and go North or South ten or 20 blocks and find someplace safe until the storm blows out.

KAYE: But with all of the power out, will people get the warnings?

MYERS: Yes, they tested the siren, and T.J. said he did not hear it.

Yes, and that is not unusual because not every siren will work. And I think they did that test just to make sure that they knew exactly what siren was actually going to work or not.

So, we already have tornado watches in effect. Things are already starting to pop. There's one cell right there southwest of Dodge City in Kansas, but it is a day where big tornadoes can be on the ground for a very long time. If you are living in a mobile home and you know that you're in this zone here, maybe it's would be a really good idea to -- go see grandma today in the big house or whatever it might be. Get away from that stuff. Because those are the things that get blown over in 60- to 80-mile-an-hour winds.

KAYE: Help us understand, if you can, how the tornadoes form. Take us "Off The Radar." I know it's a big, big assignment for you. It's important.

MYERS: Well, OK, here is the set-up. The set up that we had here is you have a cold front, you have low pressure, you have enough things going on in the jet stream. And this has been system and a series of systems that have rolled out of the Southwest right up into the same spot.

So, you had the flooding across that area. It rained for months on end across this area. That is why all of the water is now getting into Louisiana. Well, now you've got the cold air and you have the warm air. Cold air this way and warm air this way. As they clash along this line, the storms will begin to go up. Let me see if I have anything here, Dave. Put it wherever you want to.

Many kinds of things -- as the storms begin to go up, you will begin to see - here's like, kind of the clouds that begin to go up. The streamline starts to spiral up, and you see these puffy clouds which are cumulus clouds. And then all of a sudden, because they are buoyant, they're warm, all of these particles continue to go up all of the moisture, and all of the humidity continues to go up. As it goes up, it wants to spin, a lot like the water in your drain, in your tub wants to spin as it goes down. Right? So that whole spin, and the whole storm begins to spin.

Now, not necessarily every spinning storm will put down a tornado, but as it spins aloft, it takes that energy and it brings it down to the ground. And that's the energy -- think about Nancy Kerrigan, an ice skater, right? One foot on the ice, arms out, legs out, things go very slowly. As soon as that ice skater brings the arm in, you get that momentum going, and then the ice skater goes very, very fast. And that very, very fast is that angular momentum being brought into one spot, and that one spot is the tornado where it speeds up. The one that hit Joplin, Missouri was 200 miles per hour. 198, but we're not --

KAYE: Wow. Was than an F-4?

MYERS: It was. Very close to --

KAYE: Which is one down from the top of the biggest one?

MYERS: Yes.

KAYE: All right. That was really interesting.

MYERS: That's a good map, huh?

KAYE: Yes, good map. Good animation, as we say. Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

KAYE: Well, if you are at a baseball game and a foul ball is flying toward your face, what do you do? Drop the peanuts, right, and catch the ball? Or maybe save the peanut and forget the foul ball?

Up next, we'll show you what one former president decided to do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It is half past the hour, and let's check the headlines and other news you may have missed.

The death toll now 118 after a tornado ravaged Joplin, Missouri, Sunday. And many more still missing or unaccounted for. And more dangerous weather could be coming. Forecasters say more tornadoes are possible in the region this afternoon and tonight. President Obama says he fully stands with the Joplin community and will visit Missouri on Sunday.

DNA taken from former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn reportedly matches what was found on the uniform of a hotel maid he allegedly raped. "The Wall Street Journal" reports semen found on the maid's shirt 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 this DNA match.

Ash spewing from a volcano Iceland is spreading toward central Europe and is becoming a major concern for travelers. The ash cloud has already forced airlines to cancel about 500 flights around the United Kingdom today. The ash will also affect Denmark and parts of Scandinavia. And it's expected to reach Berlin and cover all British air space by 1 a.m. Wednesday. And with that, the possibility of many more flight cancellations.

President Obama is in London today and took some time out for a little fun. Take a look at this video. This is the president and the British prime minister, David Cameron, playing a little Ping-Pong. They stopped at a school in London to talk to the kids and take a look around. But in the end, the boys will be boys. The two world leaders were actually playing against some of the school kids. The president there, well, he got a little aggressive, if you haven't noticed. But the press was kicked out before the final point, so of course, we don't know who won. But boy, Mr. Obama there really giving the kids some heat. And while we are on the subject of the president, we wanted to show you this from last night's Texas Rangers' game. Normally we would not care about a foul ball, but when it almost hits a former president in the head, well, that certainly piques our interest.

Take a look. It's coming up right here. Former president Bush enjoying his peanuts in the front row there. The ball - oh, yeah -- it comes pretty darn close. Not sure why he didn't really try to catch it or at least try to protect his wife, Laura Bush, sitting right next to him. But as soon as the play was done, you know what he did. He just got right back to munching those peanuts. There he goes, another mouthful.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. NATO has carried out its heaviest air strikes so far in a campaign to force Moammar Gadhafi to step down. Michael Holmes joining us a little bit more to talk about this.

France is talk about deploying helicopters as well. What is going on?

MICAHEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Britain was initially, too. They have backed off that at the moment. France will send in the helicopters.

One of the difficulties we have seen is Libya, of course, is isolating his little units that are bombing places like Misrata because they're hiding and they're tucked in between buildings. It is very hard for an F-16 to hit. But if you send in an Apache or something, they will be able to better target some of those ground forces. Also, though, they are slower and lower, so they become targets themselves.

KAYE: Yes, but they really seem to be stepping up the air strikes.

HOLMES: Yes, overnight there were, I think, 18 rockets fired into one place in Tripoli. The NATO forces were saying there was a vehicle storage area. The Libyans are saying well, it was and it was a meeting place for Gadhafi, volunteer supporters. There were 18 rockets, at least three people were killed. The Libyans say 150 were wounded.

And all of this happening while those arrest warrants we talked about with the International Criminal Court -- they have now been issued.

KAYE: And what's this about the rebels being invited to D.C.?

HOLMES: Oh, yes. Well, while all of this bombing was happening, there was a U.N. - U.S. envoy down in Benghazi. And what he was doing was offering them the chance to open up an office in D.C. It just gives a little big more legitimacy. It's not like saying open an embassy. But that is the game, legitimacy.

KAYE: Yes, certainly! Let's move to Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak now facing charges for firing on protestors along with his sons?

HOLMES: That's right. It's - well along with -

KAYE: Or ordering the firing on.

HOLMES: Yes, that's right. That has now happened to him and his two sons. The key charges of that one, of ordering the firing of live ammunition into the crowd of protesters at Tahrir Square. The list of allegations is long. I mean, he's accused of everything from accepting villas in Sharm el Shaikh under false names for arms deals and the like.

But with this one of ordering the firing of live ammunition, it could be the death penalty.

KAYE: Wow.

HOLMES: Potentially. Yes.

KAYE: For all of them, possible.

HOLMES: Mm-hmm.

KAYE: And let's move to Yemen, if we could. New anti-government protests there as well.

HOLMES: Yes, this was involving one the tribes that's opposing the president and wants him out. And there were clashes between security forces and this tribal leader, this shaikh of the Al Hashib (ph) tribe. They clashed just outside his residence, actually.

And all of this coming as - three dozen people wounded by the way. There were reports of a few deaths as well, but we have not confirmed those. All of this happening, of course, is the latest attempt at a peace deal founded again, because it looks like Saleh wasn't serious about signing it. Again.

KAYE: And is it the same issue there as it is elsewhere throughout the region?

HOLMES: In terms of -

KAYE: Just the disappointment among the people and all of the opposition. I mean, is it the same? They are unhappy, they're not making money, they're poor?

HOLMES: Well, yes. Right through the region -- every country has its own set of political issues, but there are underlying commonalities. And that is young populations, disenfranchised, unable to find work and not being heard by the governments. They are the common threads, and then there are different things in each country to make them special. And in the case of Saleh, he just won't go. And you know, in a way, a lot of the people say that the U.S. should be saying step down. They have not said this, and that is being seen by a lot of people as a signal to the president to stay put. And so he's just going to wait it out. But in the meantime, you are getting scenes like we are seeing. Yes.

KAYE: How about this news of the Air France crash, which was obviously from two years ago. But the news coming out that the pilot was not in the cockpit at the time when obviously they started to run into trouble.

HOLMES: Yes. Well, they found the black boxes -- they're yellow boxes, actually. Everyone calls them black boxes, the data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.

Now, we don't know yet exactly what's on that. "Dushspeigel," the German newspaper has - they've published some details. They say that the captain was not in the cockpit when the problems began. He came rushing back in, and they say could be heard of shouting instructions to the co-pilot.

Not unusual for the captain to be out of the cockpit during a long flight.

(CROSSTALK)

HOLMES: Yes, exactly.

KAYE: In the rest area or whatever they call it.

HOLMES: We understand so. And there were two co-pilots in the seats.

But the cause of the crash remains unknown. We do know that flying through the storm, the speed sensors are thought to have frozen. When that happens, it is difficult, obviously, to know how fast you are going. But if you mess up the speed and you are going through a ice storm like that, it is very critical to maintain the right speed. If you don't, nose up, nose down, you can crash in this case, four minutes, from the beginning of the incident to hitting the deck.

KAYE: It is just amazing that they were able to recover those and that we are getting more information. So, I guess we will see where it goes, and if we actually ever get a definitive answer.

HOLMES: Yes. And I was talking to Richard Quest earlier. He is a bit of an expert on flight stuff, and he was saying there is a good chance we'll find out what actually went wrong. But "Dushspeigel" throwing in those little details. They say they've got a source inside of the investigation.

KAYE: Hmm. OK. Well, you are our source into the investigation, so we will put it on you.

HOLMES: OK. Yes. Blame me. KAYE: Thanks, Michael.

Well, would you want criminals to go free before they did their time? That is a big possibility in California as the Supreme Court orders the state to reduce overcrowding in its jails. We break down the ruling, its impact, the plan, and how it might affect you at home, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

The Supreme Court has ruled that California must cut tens of thousands of inmates from its overcrowded prisons within the next two years. Monday's 5-4 ruling comes with disturbing details of inhumane conditions, and as Justice Anthony Kennedy put it, quote, "Needless suffering and deaths."

So, in today's "Big Breakdown," we wanted to give you perspective on this complicated and controversial issue. California has the nation's largest prison system. The state prisons were built to hold 80,000 inmates, but the prison population has increased by 70 percent in the past two decades. So, according to the numbers from the state's Department of Corrections, more than 152,000 inmates are in state prisons.

Officials say this is pretty typical. Open spaces meant to be gymnasiums and clinics were transformed into crowded encampments stacked high with bunks like you see there. But prisoners are stacked three deep in six by nine-foot cells designed to hold one. That's the situation.

"The L.A. Times" reports that Justice Kennedy, in explaining his decision, spoke of prisoners being held in, quote, "telephone booth-sized cages without toilets."

The state has a two-year window to shrink the population by more than 33,000 inmates. State officials have two weeks to submit a schedule to do exactly that.

So, how does California go from here to minus 33,000? Well, officials have not fully explained how their ongoing inmate reduction plan will need to be modified to meet the federal order. But with the state facing a massive budget deficit, building new prisons certainly seems unlikely.

However, the governor signed a measure in April that essentially shifts and redistributes some inmates from state prisons to county jails and other facilities, but only non-violent, low level prisoners with less than three years left to serve.

There you have it. A full explainer on the prison system in California.

Black boxes for your car soon to be mandatory for all new vehicles. But should they be? And who should be able to see exactly how you're driving? That is a question for our "Stream Team," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: It has worked for airplanes. And now, the National Transportation Safety Board wants the same technology in your car. They are called event data recorders, you know, those black boxes for your car. And it will soon be mandatory it turns out in all new cars.

But the question is: who has access to the information? Police? Insurance companies? Automakers?

That's where the controversy comes in. Could someone go back and check how fast you were driving?

To be fair, this type of device has been in cars since the early 1990s and if you have airbags, you probably got one of this.

So, we wanted to put it to our Stream Team, though, today: should cars be equipped with black boxes? Should it be mandatory?

And on the team today: Andy Hill, retired with the Phoenix Police Department; and Jay Stanley, spokesman for the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.

Thank you guys both for coming on.

Andy, let me start with you. When do the police have access to these event data recorders exactly?

ANDY HILL, RETIRED SERGEANT, PHOENIX POLICE DEPT.: Well, Randi, as for general information right now and for the many years that they have had those boxes, when traffic investigations unit, investigators, have a serious collision that they look into, generally speaking, they will go ahead and access the data that's on the event recorder.

And those recorders have minimal information. And it's just a tool to assist the overall investigation, and they don't depend on it. What they do is they look at the overall scene, the outside, the vehicle itself, the occupants. They take all the evidence and information. And if available, they make go ahead and go ahead and get the data and retrieve information from that recorder.

KAYE: So, Jay, tell me -- what is the concern here? What's the fear?

JAY STANLEY, ACLU SPEECH, PRIVACY AND TECH. PROJECT: Well, a couple of concerns. One, most people don't know that these are in their cars. And I think people should have a right to know that their car is recording this information about them.

Number two, the information that's on that computer, which is a computer in your car and really you own it, shouldn't be accessible to other people except with a warrant, just like a laptop that might be sitting on the seat next to you.

This sets an important precedent in a lot of ways, because, you know, we have a lot of technologies in our lives that have the ability to snitch on us to the government or to companies, and we don't want our cell phones doing that or other technologies in our life.

And it's important, fourthly, that more than anything else, perhaps, that the technology be accurate. I mean, you don't want be driving along and have some crazy guy crashed into you and then the police come along and read the device and tell you you're going 97 miles an hour because of some software bug.

KAYE: Right. But all states don't have the same rules when it comes to accessing these devices. So, the majority have no rules at all governing who has access.

So, Jay, just want to follow with you. Would that change the argument if there was a standard for all states about who has access?

STANLEY: That would certainly help. I think that, you know, all the issues I'm talking about should be, you know, addressed ideally. But that would be a very important one to be had.

KAYE: Yes.

STANLEY: I mean, one thing is, right now, they only record a couple of seconds of data before you had the crash, but there's nothing to prevent the technology from, you know, improving or changing over time so that it could, you know, record your entire drive.

KAYE: Right.

And, Andy, who do you think should actually be able to have access to the recorders?

HILL: Well, you know, as a technology gets better and better and if those data recorders and cars approach the type of information that's on aircraft, for example, I think those issues that Jay brings up have to be a concern. And for law enforcement now, what they do is if they do need to go ahead and go in there, a search warrant is often used, but, again, that information right now is minimal.

But I think, like any other issue as we develop the technology, we have to address the privacy issues. But for serious collisions, you can -- you can imagine how important it is to be able to piece every possible bit of information together to figure out what happened, because in many case, there may not be any witnesses, or somehow may not have survived that crash to tell investigators. So, it's an important tool.

KAYE: And, certainly, an interesting tool as well.

Andy, Jay, appreciate you both coming on and talk about it. Thank you.

We are still setting the Republican field of contenders for 2012. Now, another hopeful may be ready to jump in.

CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser joining me now from Washington.

Paul, who is getting in the race?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, the person we are talking about is Rick Santorum. And the source close to the former Pennsylvania senator says that he is going to make an announcement very soon regarding his political future, probably the first full week of June, and that he is preparations to formally declare his candidacy, Randi. So, interesting stuff that we learned this morning.

Also, a source telling me that Santorum is fully committed to participating in our debate, yes, our debate in New Hampshire, which will be the first in that important primary state. That is Monday, June 13th.

So, keep your eyes on Rick Santorum. He is low in the national polls, but, you know what? He's got a lot of support among social conservatives, and we know they play a very important role in choosing the next Republican presidential nominee.

Another thing on our spotlight today, and that is the 26 congressional district of New York. It's Election Day up there. And it's a special election to fill a vacant House seat.

And, you know, this seat has been dominated by Republicans for a long, long, time. But the new polls suggest that the Democrats are very competitive up there and may be because this is a proxy battle over Republicans' plans to alter the Medicare plan. That's what Democrats are saying. Republicans are saying, wait a minute, the reason it's so close is because there is a third-party candidate in there.

So, again, keep your eyes on that race as well in that race.

Randi, back to you.

KAYE: All right. Paul, thank you for the update.

Well, millions of Americans do it everyday in public, but New York City just put an end to it. And I say it is about time. My '"XYZ" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Time now for my "XYZ."

And I have some good news: New York City's parks and plazas and nearby beaches are now officially smoke-free. Yes, say what you want about Mayor Bloomberg's smoking ban on, oh, about, 1,700 parks and 1,400 miles of beaches around New York City, but I think it is a great idea, I think. Why? Because I'm a New Yorker and when I go for a run in Central Park, I like to smell the fresh flowers and the full foliage and the leaves there, not people's secondhand smoke.

Central Park is a park. It is not the city's ashtray. For years, walking through Times Square and other plaza areas around Manhattan, I have battled second-hand smoke. I actually crossed the street to avoid people walking and smoking in front of me.

Why didn't you include sidewalks in this ban, Mayor? Well, now, officers can write $50 ticket to anyone who lights up in areas that are no off-limit.

Sure, smokers argue they pay taxes, too, and should be able to light up wherever they want. But are you also going to pay our medical bills when we get sick from your secondhand smoke? It's time to stop flicking your ashes on city streets.

If you want to smoke, smoke in your apartment. That is still legal, at least for now. But, please, do us all a favor, and keep your windows closed.

That will do it for me. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you tell them, Randi Kaye.

KAYE: Oh, yes.

BALDWIN: Randi, thank you so much.