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Violence Increases in Iraq; Mistaken Identity Controversy in San Antonio

Aired April 22, 2005 - 14:30   ET

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

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


TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Ben & Jerry's policies, yes! The ice cream company joined in a protest against Washington's environmental policies today. A gigantic 900-pound Baked Alaska made their point. The company, known for its activism on social issues, fears Washington may allow oil drilling in the Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Zacarias Moussaoui plans to plead guilty today to charges related to the 9/11 attacks, but his attorneys are not going along with the plan. They say they will object and want a full hearing to determine whether Moussaoui is mentally competent to plead guilty. The hearing is scheduled for 3:30 Eastern.

The punishment fits the crime. So says the Virginia Supreme Court. Today, it upheld John Muhammad's murder conviction in the 2002 D.C. area sniper spree. Muhammad's lawyers argued that since Lee Boyd Malvo was the actual triggerman, Muhammad's death sentence was too severe.

We're turning now to the violence in Iraq. A recent spat of attacks seems to indicate that the insurgent onslaught is back on the rise. That's after a period of relative calm after Iraq's January elections. Now, as we reported earlier, Islamic militants claim they shot down this commercial helicopter yesterday. This is the video that's been airing on Al Jazeera. 11 people, including six Americans, were killed. One person survived that crash, but was later shot dead. So are the insurgents back on a major offensive?

Let's bring in retired Air Force Major General and CNN military analyst Don Shepperd. Great to see you, General. What do you think, first of all -- does that video pretty look spot-on to you and do you think it got shot down?

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET): I think it did get shot down. I think it got shot down by a missile, Kyra. And although we have competing claims for who shot it down by two insurgent groups, that appeared to me to be a Hip helicopter and the crash pattern looked very much like what you saw there on the ground. So I think it's probably real.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So that brings us to -- you mentioned that the Hip helicopter, civilian helo, not owned or operated by the military. So why a civilian helo? Why not travel in Iraq via military security and transportation? And you know, do they have protection like the military? SHEPPERD: Some, yes. The civilian helicopters, there's a lot of them, and a lot of fixed-wing civilian aircrafts now flying in the Iraq because the military can't do it all and they're tied up in military operations. The MI-8 Hip helicopter that we saw shot down is basically a version of the Soviet MI-8 military Hip, and it may have some protection, but to include flares and sophisticated infrared jamming devices like the military airplanes themselves had. Although these expensive to maintain, it could have had these onboard. But it was operating an obviously -- in that shot, if that was a real shot -- at low altitude and did not have much time for the systems or the pilots to react.

PHILLIPS: What do you think this means for civilian air transport in Iraq now?

SHEPPERD: Look, anytime you're flying in Iraq, you stand a chance of getting smacked triple A fire, small-arms fire, or also shoulder-fired rockets. It's a risk you take. You can't stop flying across that country and have an economy growing within Iraq. So they're going to continue to fly and you're going to continue to lose one every now and then. I think the last helicopter we had shot down was -- of a major crash -- was back in April, so it's dangerous, but it's going to continue, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's talk about the other videotape. We're not going to air it again, but we do have a picture of this Bulgarian bodyguard. First of all, amazingly, he survived this crash, which is incredible in itself, but then we, later on, had to witness this videotape, also released on Al Jazeera, that he was assassinated.

SHEPPERD: Yes, again, this could be a bogus thing. We've seen so many bogus tapes in these groups, but from what I have read, the Bulgarian government is confirming that it was one of the pilots on board. And of course, this is a horrendous act, it makes it headline news. On the other hand, it is, of course, no worse than the executions that seem to take place every day from this insurgency in Iraq, Kyra. It's a terrible place in a really, really tough neighborhood, and you got to expect things like this to happen every now and then.

PHILLIPS: Is it just impossible, when traveling by air, to secure -- I mean, I remember being in Iraq. I mean, you know when you were there, any time we were in a helicopter, an aircraft, I mean, you had support on the ground. Everybody knew where you were, where you traveling to. It just seemed so strange that here they were over this open field and insurgents were able to even be in the area. I mean, it wasn't like they could hide behind anything. It's wide open.

SHEPPERD: Well, the military made you feel comfortable, but any time you're in a helicopter or any aircraft low to the ground over there, you are vulnerable. Somebody can pop up with a shoulder-fired missile. They're proliferated in the entire region there, they're all over the place. And only shoulder-fired SA-7 stalam (ph) missiles, if indeed that's what it was, they can shoot at you from any tree line, from any river bank, and then vanish, if you will. So you are simply vulnerable. You have to be equipped with the right equipment to be secure, and the fact that you weren't shot and I wasn't shot at when I was there is just good luck, Kyra, because they're shot at every day.

PHILLIPS: Well, at least we're saying that weren't shot at, right, General?

SHEPPERD: Indeed.

PHILLIPS: OK. Let's talk about the nomination of the next chief -- or the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Pete Pace. I know you're going to give a little hula here for the marine. Are you surprised a marine? I guess this is a another step in the diversification, of having all the military represented in this post. And what do you think Peter Pace?

SHEPPERD: I'm not surprised at all. He is the right guy for the job at right time for several reasons. First of all, he's well- schooled in the military, all the way back from a marine infantry rifleman in the Vietnam days, all the way through modern conflicts, including Somalia. He's got a great background. He is a very intelligent officer. He's respected by the other services, and he has a good relationship with his boss, Secretary Rumsfeld. I think it's a dynamite choice. And additionally, he is really a nice guy. He's a guy you'd like to have as your neighbor. I think it's a terrific choice.

PHILLIPS: Major General Don Shepperd, always a pleasure. Thank you.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure.

HARRIS: A rough road for John Bolton gets even rockier. Former secretary of state Colin Powell is now weighing in on Bolton's nomination as Washington's U.N. ambassador. According to "The New York Times," Powell told two Republican senators he has reservations about Bolton's selection. The beleaguered diplomat has faced a grilling about his management style during Senate confirmation hearings. President Bush has called for a quick confirmation of Bolton, but the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has delayed a scheduled vote.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're on the weather watch today. We've been showing you what happened in Kansas yesterday. Now the storms are heading east. We've got a weather box on the bottom of your screen and we're going to check back with Orelon soon.

HARRIS: A Texas-sized mix-up in San Antonio. Critics accuse twin brothers -- there they are, they're politicians -- of a switch-a- roo. But was it all just a case of mistaken identity?

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. "Star Trek Enterprise" is entering the final frontier. And more American controversy -- "American Idol" controversy -- headed your way. I'll explain when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, we're keeping a close eye on that weather today, watching for more tornadoes like this Kansas twister that we saw yesterday. This amazing video was taken by a storm chaser from just a couple hundred yards away. Now for a look at how you can track the storms on our Web site, here's CNN's Veronica De La Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Tornadoes have long captured people's imagination and spawned some of their worst fears. How common and how destructive are they? Where do they most often occur? At cnn.com, a special report.

Tornadoes start as offshoots of thunderstorms, but can be devastating forces in their own right, carving a path of destruction many miles long and an excess of a mile wide.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A tornado is basically a violently rotating column of air that extends from the clouds down to the ground. When they touchdown, depending on the size and strength, they can level virtually everything in its path.

DE LA CRUZ: And how much do you know when it comes to these violent natural occurrences? This interactive offers possible indicators of whether a tornado is approaching, details the difference between a tornado watch and more severe warnings and gives you tips on what you can do if a twister comes your way.

Residents of what's known as Tornado Alley, shown here on this interactive map, stretching across the central U.S., are more likely than most to face this dilemma. Those tornadoes that touch down, some with winds exceeding 250 miles per hour, can inflict significant damage. You can look at the 10 deadliest twisters in the U.S. in this gallery.

Since the 19th century, surveys have included reports of tornadoes moving houses, completely unharmed, feet from their original locations. Which stories are true, and which ones are legends? Click through this interactive gallery for some answers. For example, tornadoes seek out mobile homes. Fact or fiction? And tornadoes always rotate counterclockwise. You can log on and find out. You can also get your current forecast or sign up from the severe weather alerts.

From the dot-com newsdesk in Atlanta, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And speaking of storms, you should have seen the crowds waiting to see a hot new movie. With that and all the other news out of Hollywood, let's check in now -- there she is -- with CNN entertainment correspondent...

VARGAS: There he is! HARRIS: Sibila Vargas. Well, it's good to see. It's been a long time, my friend.

VARGAS: Tony, how you doing?

HARRIS: Well, thank you, better now.

VARGAS: Well, it was star gridlock as Tinseltown's favorites showed up for the premier of "King's Ransom." The comedy, starring Anthony Anderson, Regina Hall and Donald Faison is about a businessman who plots his own kidnapping and ransom. We spoke to Anderson, who told us he had an absolute blast working on this film.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ANDERSON, ACTOR: What you guys see really can't capture what, you know, actually happened on the set, you know, with regards to the fun that we were having. I mean, you know, we're all a group of friends, you know. I've known Kelitta Smith ten years. Charlie Murphy, going back just as long. Donald Faison, Loretta Devine, Regina Hall. We've all worked together before, so, you know, this was really just a group of friends coming together, doing what we love to do. And what you see is what you get.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: He's so cute -- anyway, "King's Ransom" is rated PG-13 and opens today in theaters.

Well, listen up Star Trek fans. Permission to board will soon be denied. You've got about a week to enjoy the final episodes of "Star Trek Enterprise." At the end of the month, the sci-fi adventure will end its four-year run. The show's departure marks the first time in over an decade that TV will be without a Star Trek series.

And finally, with the contestants seen bounced and even some leaving the show, "American Idol" has definitely seen its fair share of controversy, but things could be getting a whole lot more dramatic. Reports say ABC is planning a bombshell expose on the show. According to "Variety," "Primetime Live" will explore the relationship between the "Idol" judges and the show's contestants. It will likely air next month during May sweeps. Now both ABC and Fox are declining a comment on this story. We called them today.

And if that weren't enough, former "Idol" contestant Corey Clark, reportedly is claiming he had an affair with "Idol" judge Paula Abdul. Now the allegations come as he allegedly is shopping a book around, proposal to various publishers. Now Clark got booted from the second season of "American Idol" after it was revealed that he faced charges of assaulting his teenage sister. The assault charges against Clark were eventually dismissed, but it seems there's always something going on over there at "American Idol," Tony, so, I'm not sure how it's going to end, but not looking too good.

PHILLIPS: Drama.

HARRIS: Drama. You're right, Kyra. That's why they call it reality television, huh?

VARGAS: That's right. It got a little too real.

HARRIS: Yes, yes. Too real for the room. All right, Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles. Sibila, thank you.

VARGAS: Nice to see you.

PHILLIPS: Well, in San Antonio, Texas, a pair of local politicians have some explaining to do, and to their credit, they are explaining to whomever will listen. Here's what all the chatter is about. Monday night in San Antonio, it's the fiesta, pretty fun. If you've never done it, you really should. The annual river barge parade.

Waving to the crowd there on the barge, featuring the city council, is the man announced as Julian Castro, who's leading the race for mayor. But wait, he -- this is the sticky part. That wasn't Julian Castro. It actually was his identical twin brother, Joaquin. A sharp-eyed TV reporter, saw the difference. Now it's out there and the brothers say it's all just a big misunderstanding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN CASTRO, MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Well, I didn't decide until that day, actually, because on the schedule they just told me something had come up that I thought we had moved, which was a meeting with neighborhood leaders, so I went off to my do my council duties and my brother had been invited because on the barge, family members can go.

He showed up, but nobody told the parade announcer from the boat that I wasn't there and he was. He's gone with me before and just has a wonderful time. We're having it right now in San Antonio. We've got three different parades. He's gone with me before on the barge. This time, he told everybody on the barge that it was him, but nobody told the announcer to announce him instead of me. And for that reason, everybody got confused.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: So Joaquin...

JOAQUIN CASTRO, TEXAS STATE HOUSE: Yes, he stood me up and that's what that's happened, because I was expecting him to come, and so I'm alone on the barge, saying hi to people, waving to folks. And probably 90 percent of San Antonians know that there's two of us, but that night, it was kind of hard to explain to 200,000 people watching that it was me and not him.

O'BRIEN: So when people would come up to you, Joaquin, the brother, for all of us who are trying to sort through this, and say, hey, Julian, how are you? Did you say no, no, it's Joaquin -- or, is that something you normally do, or was it just like, hey, I won't really spell it out.

JOAQUIN CASTRO: No, every day I go out of my way -- that's the strange thing -- to tell people that it's me, you know, and that's it not him. But that night, we were floating along the river on the barge and folks are lined along the walls and the stands, and it's just impossible for them to hear you or you to hear them. So I couldn't exactly yell out to them, oh, it's Joaquin, it's not Julian.

O'BRIEN: Julian...

JOAQUIN CASTRO: And so that's how the controversy got started.

O'BRIEN: You know, of course, when you mention controversy -- there's some seriousness to this controversy. Your opponents have used the word deceptive, dishonest. Were you trying to fool people in any way?

JULIAN CASTRO: Not at all, you know. We've been focusing during the campaign on the issues that mattered in San Antonio of growing our local economy, creating better neighborhoods and creating a city government that we can be proud of. And because of that, right now, I'm well ahead in the polls and we're in the early voting periods, so they're using anything that they can take to try and change that. But, it was unintentional. As twins, we're literally, every waking hour that we're out and about, we're used to getting confused. We campaign for each other, but not as each other. We take our public policy-making roles very seriously.

O'BRIEN: Do you think the controversy has helped your campaign in a way, or hurt your campaign?

JULIAN CASTRO: I don't think it's done either. I think people realize that, you know, we're twins and God made us that way and our mother likes us that way and there's nothing that we can do about it. And our family members were invited to the barge and Joaquin still showed up, even though I couldn't make it. So I think in the end that people are going to pay attention to the issues that matter for San Antonio. And it's a great city. We invite you to come down.

O'BRIEN: I've been there many, many times.

JOAQUIN CASTRO: And Soledad, just for the record, just for the record, there is a very easy way to tell Julian and I apart. I don't know if you've noticed it.

O'BRIEN: No.

JOAQUIN CASTRO: He's one minute uglier than I am.

O'BRIEN: Ooh. You're going to beat him up.

JULIAN CASTRO: I disagree with that assessment.

O'BRIEN: Listen, any way to keep this from happening again?

JOAQUIN CASTRO: Absolutely. In fact, I bought my brother a t- shirt a few days that has -- will keep everything straight for both of us, and we're going to wear it during Fiesta Week.

JULIAN CASTRO: We invite you and the crew to come down to San Antonio for Fiesta Week. It's a wonderful, charming time, and you might find us with our t-shirts on there.

O'BRIEN: Oh, and make it all clear for everybody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Oh, my. I want depositions. Right now. Depositions.

PHILLIPS: I want to see if he wins mayor now.

HARRIS: Yes, exactly.

PHILLIPS: That's what I want to know.

HARRIS: We'll follow it.

This just in to CNN. We want to take you to the Florida Everglades, where we're able to show you some pictures of a fire there right now. As you know, we've been following a lot of weather in the Southeast and water spouts off the coast of Florida. Now, a fire in the Florida Everglades. We can also tell you that apparently this fire is not in an immediate proximity to any residences. We're not sure about businesses at this time. We are pretty sure at this time that this fire is not near a residential area.

And west of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is the locator on this fire right now in the Florida Everglades. We're going to continue to follow these pictures and get that answer definitively as to what's nearby that area. Once again, fire in the Florida Everglades. Right now the information that we're getting is that it's not near any residential areas, at least for now. That's good news.

PHILLIPS: All right, straight ahead. No soup for you! Jerry Seinfeld made him famous, but now the, quote, "Soup Nazi" wants you to eat his soup and lots of lots of it.

HARRIS: And later on LIVE FROM, how is Wendy's handling the now- infamous finger in the chili story? Crisis P.R. 101. And what Wendy's is doing right.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So do you remember the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld? Well, he's cooking up something brand new.

HARRIS: Kathleen Hays has the scoop. Live from the New York Stock Exchange. Hello Kathleen.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

All right. We're keeping a close eye on the weather for you, of course. We're going to get another live update from Orelon Sidney in just a few minutes.

HARRIS: And the video of the day in case you missed it. Charlie the smoking chimp.

PHILLIPS: We're not kidding. What can I say, a full, live report on the Charlie's addiction. Next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: An now the news. Keeping an eye on the weather. We're tracking a dangerous storm system that racked through the Midwest and is now pounding the Southeast. Find out where it is headed next.

Remarkable aerial footage here out of the Florida Everglades. A sizable fire is raging in the interior of the national park in West Miami-Dade County. We're told the fire is not a threat -- is not a threat -- to any residential area or developments. Just lots of heavy smoke as you can see here. And apparently a good deal of brush and vegetation going up in flames there in the Everglades.

Hospitals across the country are warned to look out for phony inspectors. An organization that accredits U.S. healthcare facilities sent the advisory after it says three hospitals reported suspicious visits by people posing as inspectors. It happened last month in Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit. New Jersey has also reported similar incidents.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired April 22, 2005 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Ben & Jerry's policies, yes! The ice cream company joined in a protest against Washington's environmental policies today. A gigantic 900-pound Baked Alaska made their point. The company, known for its activism on social issues, fears Washington may allow oil drilling in the Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Zacarias Moussaoui plans to plead guilty today to charges related to the 9/11 attacks, but his attorneys are not going along with the plan. They say they will object and want a full hearing to determine whether Moussaoui is mentally competent to plead guilty. The hearing is scheduled for 3:30 Eastern.

The punishment fits the crime. So says the Virginia Supreme Court. Today, it upheld John Muhammad's murder conviction in the 2002 D.C. area sniper spree. Muhammad's lawyers argued that since Lee Boyd Malvo was the actual triggerman, Muhammad's death sentence was too severe.

We're turning now to the violence in Iraq. A recent spat of attacks seems to indicate that the insurgent onslaught is back on the rise. That's after a period of relative calm after Iraq's January elections. Now, as we reported earlier, Islamic militants claim they shot down this commercial helicopter yesterday. This is the video that's been airing on Al Jazeera. 11 people, including six Americans, were killed. One person survived that crash, but was later shot dead. So are the insurgents back on a major offensive?

Let's bring in retired Air Force Major General and CNN military analyst Don Shepperd. Great to see you, General. What do you think, first of all -- does that video pretty look spot-on to you and do you think it got shot down?

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET): I think it did get shot down. I think it got shot down by a missile, Kyra. And although we have competing claims for who shot it down by two insurgent groups, that appeared to me to be a Hip helicopter and the crash pattern looked very much like what you saw there on the ground. So I think it's probably real.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right. So that brings us to -- you mentioned that the Hip helicopter, civilian helo, not owned or operated by the military. So why a civilian helo? Why not travel in Iraq via military security and transportation? And you know, do they have protection like the military? SHEPPERD: Some, yes. The civilian helicopters, there's a lot of them, and a lot of fixed-wing civilian aircrafts now flying in the Iraq because the military can't do it all and they're tied up in military operations. The MI-8 Hip helicopter that we saw shot down is basically a version of the Soviet MI-8 military Hip, and it may have some protection, but to include flares and sophisticated infrared jamming devices like the military airplanes themselves had. Although these expensive to maintain, it could have had these onboard. But it was operating an obviously -- in that shot, if that was a real shot -- at low altitude and did not have much time for the systems or the pilots to react.

PHILLIPS: What do you think this means for civilian air transport in Iraq now?

SHEPPERD: Look, anytime you're flying in Iraq, you stand a chance of getting smacked triple A fire, small-arms fire, or also shoulder-fired rockets. It's a risk you take. You can't stop flying across that country and have an economy growing within Iraq. So they're going to continue to fly and you're going to continue to lose one every now and then. I think the last helicopter we had shot down was -- of a major crash -- was back in April, so it's dangerous, but it's going to continue, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, let's talk about the other videotape. We're not going to air it again, but we do have a picture of this Bulgarian bodyguard. First of all, amazingly, he survived this crash, which is incredible in itself, but then we, later on, had to witness this videotape, also released on Al Jazeera, that he was assassinated.

SHEPPERD: Yes, again, this could be a bogus thing. We've seen so many bogus tapes in these groups, but from what I have read, the Bulgarian government is confirming that it was one of the pilots on board. And of course, this is a horrendous act, it makes it headline news. On the other hand, it is, of course, no worse than the executions that seem to take place every day from this insurgency in Iraq, Kyra. It's a terrible place in a really, really tough neighborhood, and you got to expect things like this to happen every now and then.

PHILLIPS: Is it just impossible, when traveling by air, to secure -- I mean, I remember being in Iraq. I mean, you know when you were there, any time we were in a helicopter, an aircraft, I mean, you had support on the ground. Everybody knew where you were, where you traveling to. It just seemed so strange that here they were over this open field and insurgents were able to even be in the area. I mean, it wasn't like they could hide behind anything. It's wide open.

SHEPPERD: Well, the military made you feel comfortable, but any time you're in a helicopter or any aircraft low to the ground over there, you are vulnerable. Somebody can pop up with a shoulder-fired missile. They're proliferated in the entire region there, they're all over the place. And only shoulder-fired SA-7 stalam (ph) missiles, if indeed that's what it was, they can shoot at you from any tree line, from any river bank, and then vanish, if you will. So you are simply vulnerable. You have to be equipped with the right equipment to be secure, and the fact that you weren't shot and I wasn't shot at when I was there is just good luck, Kyra, because they're shot at every day.

PHILLIPS: Well, at least we're saying that weren't shot at, right, General?

SHEPPERD: Indeed.

PHILLIPS: OK. Let's talk about the nomination of the next chief -- or the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Pete Pace. I know you're going to give a little hula here for the marine. Are you surprised a marine? I guess this is a another step in the diversification, of having all the military represented in this post. And what do you think Peter Pace?

SHEPPERD: I'm not surprised at all. He is the right guy for the job at right time for several reasons. First of all, he's well- schooled in the military, all the way back from a marine infantry rifleman in the Vietnam days, all the way through modern conflicts, including Somalia. He's got a great background. He is a very intelligent officer. He's respected by the other services, and he has a good relationship with his boss, Secretary Rumsfeld. I think it's a dynamite choice. And additionally, he is really a nice guy. He's a guy you'd like to have as your neighbor. I think it's a terrific choice.

PHILLIPS: Major General Don Shepperd, always a pleasure. Thank you.

SHEPPERD: Pleasure.

HARRIS: A rough road for John Bolton gets even rockier. Former secretary of state Colin Powell is now weighing in on Bolton's nomination as Washington's U.N. ambassador. According to "The New York Times," Powell told two Republican senators he has reservations about Bolton's selection. The beleaguered diplomat has faced a grilling about his management style during Senate confirmation hearings. President Bush has called for a quick confirmation of Bolton, but the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has delayed a scheduled vote.

PHILLIPS: Well, we're on the weather watch today. We've been showing you what happened in Kansas yesterday. Now the storms are heading east. We've got a weather box on the bottom of your screen and we're going to check back with Orelon soon.

HARRIS: A Texas-sized mix-up in San Antonio. Critics accuse twin brothers -- there they are, they're politicians -- of a switch-a- roo. But was it all just a case of mistaken identity?

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Sibila Vargas in Hollywood. "Star Trek Enterprise" is entering the final frontier. And more American controversy -- "American Idol" controversy -- headed your way. I'll explain when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Well, we're keeping a close eye on that weather today, watching for more tornadoes like this Kansas twister that we saw yesterday. This amazing video was taken by a storm chaser from just a couple hundred yards away. Now for a look at how you can track the storms on our Web site, here's CNN's Veronica De La Cruz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Tornadoes have long captured people's imagination and spawned some of their worst fears. How common and how destructive are they? Where do they most often occur? At cnn.com, a special report.

Tornadoes start as offshoots of thunderstorms, but can be devastating forces in their own right, carving a path of destruction many miles long and an excess of a mile wide.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A tornado is basically a violently rotating column of air that extends from the clouds down to the ground. When they touchdown, depending on the size and strength, they can level virtually everything in its path.

DE LA CRUZ: And how much do you know when it comes to these violent natural occurrences? This interactive offers possible indicators of whether a tornado is approaching, details the difference between a tornado watch and more severe warnings and gives you tips on what you can do if a twister comes your way.

Residents of what's known as Tornado Alley, shown here on this interactive map, stretching across the central U.S., are more likely than most to face this dilemma. Those tornadoes that touch down, some with winds exceeding 250 miles per hour, can inflict significant damage. You can look at the 10 deadliest twisters in the U.S. in this gallery.

Since the 19th century, surveys have included reports of tornadoes moving houses, completely unharmed, feet from their original locations. Which stories are true, and which ones are legends? Click through this interactive gallery for some answers. For example, tornadoes seek out mobile homes. Fact or fiction? And tornadoes always rotate counterclockwise. You can log on and find out. You can also get your current forecast or sign up from the severe weather alerts.

From the dot-com newsdesk in Atlanta, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And speaking of storms, you should have seen the crowds waiting to see a hot new movie. With that and all the other news out of Hollywood, let's check in now -- there she is -- with CNN entertainment correspondent...

VARGAS: There he is! HARRIS: Sibila Vargas. Well, it's good to see. It's been a long time, my friend.

VARGAS: Tony, how you doing?

HARRIS: Well, thank you, better now.

VARGAS: Well, it was star gridlock as Tinseltown's favorites showed up for the premier of "King's Ransom." The comedy, starring Anthony Anderson, Regina Hall and Donald Faison is about a businessman who plots his own kidnapping and ransom. We spoke to Anderson, who told us he had an absolute blast working on this film.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ANDERSON, ACTOR: What you guys see really can't capture what, you know, actually happened on the set, you know, with regards to the fun that we were having. I mean, you know, we're all a group of friends, you know. I've known Kelitta Smith ten years. Charlie Murphy, going back just as long. Donald Faison, Loretta Devine, Regina Hall. We've all worked together before, so, you know, this was really just a group of friends coming together, doing what we love to do. And what you see is what you get.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS: He's so cute -- anyway, "King's Ransom" is rated PG-13 and opens today in theaters.

Well, listen up Star Trek fans. Permission to board will soon be denied. You've got about a week to enjoy the final episodes of "Star Trek Enterprise." At the end of the month, the sci-fi adventure will end its four-year run. The show's departure marks the first time in over an decade that TV will be without a Star Trek series.

And finally, with the contestants seen bounced and even some leaving the show, "American Idol" has definitely seen its fair share of controversy, but things could be getting a whole lot more dramatic. Reports say ABC is planning a bombshell expose on the show. According to "Variety," "Primetime Live" will explore the relationship between the "Idol" judges and the show's contestants. It will likely air next month during May sweeps. Now both ABC and Fox are declining a comment on this story. We called them today.

And if that weren't enough, former "Idol" contestant Corey Clark, reportedly is claiming he had an affair with "Idol" judge Paula Abdul. Now the allegations come as he allegedly is shopping a book around, proposal to various publishers. Now Clark got booted from the second season of "American Idol" after it was revealed that he faced charges of assaulting his teenage sister. The assault charges against Clark were eventually dismissed, but it seems there's always something going on over there at "American Idol," Tony, so, I'm not sure how it's going to end, but not looking too good.

PHILLIPS: Drama.

HARRIS: Drama. You're right, Kyra. That's why they call it reality television, huh?

VARGAS: That's right. It got a little too real.

HARRIS: Yes, yes. Too real for the room. All right, Sibila Vargas in Los Angeles. Sibila, thank you.

VARGAS: Nice to see you.

PHILLIPS: Well, in San Antonio, Texas, a pair of local politicians have some explaining to do, and to their credit, they are explaining to whomever will listen. Here's what all the chatter is about. Monday night in San Antonio, it's the fiesta, pretty fun. If you've never done it, you really should. The annual river barge parade.

Waving to the crowd there on the barge, featuring the city council, is the man announced as Julian Castro, who's leading the race for mayor. But wait, he -- this is the sticky part. That wasn't Julian Castro. It actually was his identical twin brother, Joaquin. A sharp-eyed TV reporter, saw the difference. Now it's out there and the brothers say it's all just a big misunderstanding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN CASTRO, MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Well, I didn't decide until that day, actually, because on the schedule they just told me something had come up that I thought we had moved, which was a meeting with neighborhood leaders, so I went off to my do my council duties and my brother had been invited because on the barge, family members can go.

He showed up, but nobody told the parade announcer from the boat that I wasn't there and he was. He's gone with me before and just has a wonderful time. We're having it right now in San Antonio. We've got three different parades. He's gone with me before on the barge. This time, he told everybody on the barge that it was him, but nobody told the announcer to announce him instead of me. And for that reason, everybody got confused.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: So Joaquin...

JOAQUIN CASTRO, TEXAS STATE HOUSE: Yes, he stood me up and that's what that's happened, because I was expecting him to come, and so I'm alone on the barge, saying hi to people, waving to folks. And probably 90 percent of San Antonians know that there's two of us, but that night, it was kind of hard to explain to 200,000 people watching that it was me and not him.

O'BRIEN: So when people would come up to you, Joaquin, the brother, for all of us who are trying to sort through this, and say, hey, Julian, how are you? Did you say no, no, it's Joaquin -- or, is that something you normally do, or was it just like, hey, I won't really spell it out.

JOAQUIN CASTRO: No, every day I go out of my way -- that's the strange thing -- to tell people that it's me, you know, and that's it not him. But that night, we were floating along the river on the barge and folks are lined along the walls and the stands, and it's just impossible for them to hear you or you to hear them. So I couldn't exactly yell out to them, oh, it's Joaquin, it's not Julian.

O'BRIEN: Julian...

JOAQUIN CASTRO: And so that's how the controversy got started.

O'BRIEN: You know, of course, when you mention controversy -- there's some seriousness to this controversy. Your opponents have used the word deceptive, dishonest. Were you trying to fool people in any way?

JULIAN CASTRO: Not at all, you know. We've been focusing during the campaign on the issues that mattered in San Antonio of growing our local economy, creating better neighborhoods and creating a city government that we can be proud of. And because of that, right now, I'm well ahead in the polls and we're in the early voting periods, so they're using anything that they can take to try and change that. But, it was unintentional. As twins, we're literally, every waking hour that we're out and about, we're used to getting confused. We campaign for each other, but not as each other. We take our public policy-making roles very seriously.

O'BRIEN: Do you think the controversy has helped your campaign in a way, or hurt your campaign?

JULIAN CASTRO: I don't think it's done either. I think people realize that, you know, we're twins and God made us that way and our mother likes us that way and there's nothing that we can do about it. And our family members were invited to the barge and Joaquin still showed up, even though I couldn't make it. So I think in the end that people are going to pay attention to the issues that matter for San Antonio. And it's a great city. We invite you to come down.

O'BRIEN: I've been there many, many times.

JOAQUIN CASTRO: And Soledad, just for the record, just for the record, there is a very easy way to tell Julian and I apart. I don't know if you've noticed it.

O'BRIEN: No.

JOAQUIN CASTRO: He's one minute uglier than I am.

O'BRIEN: Ooh. You're going to beat him up.

JULIAN CASTRO: I disagree with that assessment.

O'BRIEN: Listen, any way to keep this from happening again?

JOAQUIN CASTRO: Absolutely. In fact, I bought my brother a t- shirt a few days that has -- will keep everything straight for both of us, and we're going to wear it during Fiesta Week.

JULIAN CASTRO: We invite you and the crew to come down to San Antonio for Fiesta Week. It's a wonderful, charming time, and you might find us with our t-shirts on there.

O'BRIEN: Oh, and make it all clear for everybody.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Oh, my. I want depositions. Right now. Depositions.

PHILLIPS: I want to see if he wins mayor now.

HARRIS: Yes, exactly.

PHILLIPS: That's what I want to know.

HARRIS: We'll follow it.

This just in to CNN. We want to take you to the Florida Everglades, where we're able to show you some pictures of a fire there right now. As you know, we've been following a lot of weather in the Southeast and water spouts off the coast of Florida. Now, a fire in the Florida Everglades. We can also tell you that apparently this fire is not in an immediate proximity to any residences. We're not sure about businesses at this time. We are pretty sure at this time that this fire is not near a residential area.

And west of Miami-Dade County, Florida, is the locator on this fire right now in the Florida Everglades. We're going to continue to follow these pictures and get that answer definitively as to what's nearby that area. Once again, fire in the Florida Everglades. Right now the information that we're getting is that it's not near any residential areas, at least for now. That's good news.

PHILLIPS: All right, straight ahead. No soup for you! Jerry Seinfeld made him famous, but now the, quote, "Soup Nazi" wants you to eat his soup and lots of lots of it.

HARRIS: And later on LIVE FROM, how is Wendy's handling the now- infamous finger in the chili story? Crisis P.R. 101. And what Wendy's is doing right.

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PHILLIPS: So do you remember the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld? Well, he's cooking up something brand new.

HARRIS: Kathleen Hays has the scoop. Live from the New York Stock Exchange. Hello Kathleen.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

All right. We're keeping a close eye on the weather for you, of course. We're going to get another live update from Orelon Sidney in just a few minutes.

HARRIS: And the video of the day in case you missed it. Charlie the smoking chimp.

PHILLIPS: We're not kidding. What can I say, a full, live report on the Charlie's addiction. Next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: An now the news. Keeping an eye on the weather. We're tracking a dangerous storm system that racked through the Midwest and is now pounding the Southeast. Find out where it is headed next.

Remarkable aerial footage here out of the Florida Everglades. A sizable fire is raging in the interior of the national park in West Miami-Dade County. We're told the fire is not a threat -- is not a threat -- to any residential area or developments. Just lots of heavy smoke as you can see here. And apparently a good deal of brush and vegetation going up in flames there in the Everglades.

Hospitals across the country are warned to look out for phony inspectors. An organization that accredits U.S. healthcare facilities sent the advisory after it says three hospitals reported suspicious visits by people posing as inspectors. It happened last month in Los Angeles, Boston and Detroit. New Jersey has also reported similar incidents.

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