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CNN Sunday Morning
Contaminated Water Leak; Southwest Planes Grounded
Aired April 03, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning to you all.
Plan A is not working. So, in Japan, they are turning to plan B to try and stop contaminated water that's pouring into the Pacific.
Also, flights on hold. Southwest Airlines is keeping dozens of planes on the ground for now while it tries to find out why one of them blew its top.
And then there is Charlie Sheen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(INAUDIBLE0
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unreal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Just an idea here --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Awful. Waste of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: -- of people and what they thought about his one-man show that opened last night. It's called the "Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour, and it could be coming to a city near you. These folks say if it's coming to a city near you, run!
From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING for this April 3rd. Good morning to you. Thank you for spending some of your weekend here with us. I'm T.J. Holmes.
We do need to start right now in Japan, where there has been a grim discovery -- the discovery of two bodies inside one of the nuclear reactors. The two missing plant workers were killed during the quake and tsunami, but their bodies just discovered Wednesday. Officials wanted to alert family members first before telling the public.
The death toll now tops 12,000 in this disaster. Meanwhile, 21 busses are being used to evacuate more than 1,100 residents from shelters in one town north of Sendai. Half of the people of this town lost their homes. The mayor had asked people to evacuate while temporary housing is being built.
Also, protests taking place in Tokyo this morning. That's what you're seeing here. Anti-nuclear groups getting together, held a demonstration at the offices of TEPCO. TEPCO, of course, runs that troubled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
TEPCO has been unable to stop that leak that's happening at the plant as well. The leak is letting contaminated radioactive water flow into the Pacific. But they had a new plan today to stop the leak.
Our Martin Savidge is keeping an eye on all things us from Tokyo.
Martin, hello once again. What's next in trying to figure out this leak?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.
Yes, a sad and frustrating day for people out there at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. As you pointed out, round one did not work. This is an eight-inch crack through which a steady stream of highly radioactive water is going from onshore into the Pacific Ocean. What they're trying to do is stop that leak, of course.
So, yesterday they poured cement, stopped, poured more cement, held their breath. It didn't work. The water kept gushing into the Pacific.
So, plan B, as you pointed out today, taking this very high-tech powder that has the ability that once it touches water, poof, it just really expands and becomes absorbent. And then, for good measure, they also threw in sawdust and shredded up newspaper and poured all of this into the same tunnel that's probably where the crack is -- and again waited, and, again, with no luck. The water is still going into the Pacific Ocean.
And the other frustration is they don't know where it is getting contaminated. They do know that the water is going in, they just don't know whether it's coming from reactor two or someplace else on site. And it really is proving to be a difficult problem for them, T.J.
HOLMES: And, Martin, also, we showed our viewers just a couple of pictures of the protests that were taking place in Tokyo, protest against TEPCO, the company that runs the plant. This one seems relatively small. But is the backlash continuing to grow there in Japan against this company and their efforts in trying to stop this failed effort so far and trying to stop what's happening at that plant?
SAVIDGE: Well, as you know, T.J., protests in general here in Japan are very rare events. And so, the fact that you only had maybe a couple hundred people show up today, that's actually a significant event here in Japan. And these protests have been growing. Initially, in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, you had five or six people outside of TEPCO, the owners of that plant's headquarters. Today, it's several hundreds.
So, it just shows you that the level, the numbers, as well the volume of people protesting is getting much, much louder and opinion polls show that the people in general are getting much angry over the handling of this whole situation, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Martin Savidge, live for us in Tokyo, we appreciate you so much this morning reporting for us. Thanks so much.
I want to turn back to Libya now and a mortar attack by government troops that has apparently hit a hospital. A doctor at a clinic in Misrata says the building was shelled and when people then arrived at the scene to try to help the injured, they were hit by a second blast. At least one person dead, 15 others wounded.
Meanwhile, rebel forces are pulling away from the city of Brega. Our Ben Wedeman reporting for us that there was some sort of ambush there. And opposition fighters needed to pick up more ammunition before trying to retake that city. And we'll be hearing more from our Ben Wedeman at the bottom hour when he joins us live.
Also, more deadly protests in Afghanistan over the burning of a Koran that happened here in the United States. One person was killed, 16 injured in clashes between police and protesters today in Kandahar. At least nine people were killed in demonstrations yesterday, 12 more killed Friday when protesters stormed a United Nations compound in northern Afghanistan. Seven of those 12 were U.N. employees.
Well, a Gainesville, Florida, pastor, Terry Jones, his church is the one that sparked outrage when his Web site said a copy of the Koran had been burned.
Well, President Obama is responding to the violence in Afghanistan in a statement saying, "The desecration of any holy text is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry. However, to act and kill innocent people in response is outrageous and an affront to human decency and dignity."
We do want to go back to a story we were telling you all about here yesterday with Southwest Airlines canceling a few hundred flights. They pulled about half of their 737s from service after one of the planes developed a hole in the cabin on Friday.
But as our Ted Rowlands now reports, this is not the first time Southwest has had this type of problem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The plane is sitting in Yuma, Arizona, as investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board try to figure out what happened.
ROBERT SUMWALT, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: It's very important to find out what happened in this event. We don't want this to happen again and airplane structures should not fail and rupture as it did yesterday here over the skies of Arizona.
ROWLANDS: Passengers say the hole opened up shortly after takeoff.
DAVID SMITH, SOUTHWEST PASSENGER: It sounded like explosion at least. But, all of the sudden, there's a big sun roof in the middle of the plane. A big, old hole. You see daylight running through it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden, oxygen masks dropped and everyone was just trying to get the masks on and it was scary.
ROWLANDS: This isn't the first time a Southwest 737 ended up with a hole in it.
In 2009, a similar incident took place when a Southwest plane lost cabin pressure and was forced to land in Charleston, West Virginia, with a football-sized hole in it. The cause of that hole was found to be metal fatigue.
In 1988, a flight attendant was sucked out of an Aloha Airlines 737 after an 18-foot piece was blown off its fuselage.
SUMWALT: We'll be going back and looking at those other events to see what we've learned and if the corrective solutions from those events, if they did not work, why they didn't work.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Investigators say they expect to spend several days here in Yuma, combing over the aircraft. They've also sent the data recorders and a piece of the fuselage to Washington to analyze it there. And they have sent another team of investigators to Southwest's headquarters in Texas to go over all of the maintenance records of this aircraft.
(voice-over): In 2008, Southwest was penalized by the FAA for not keeping up with mandatory inspections for skin cracking in their planes. In that case, Southwest discovered its own error and reported itself to the FAA. After the latest incident, Southwest elected to ground 79 of its 737s to check them for cracking. An effort the company says to make sure their passengers are safe.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Yuma, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: You have, of course, and I've been keeping up with, you've heard all about what's been happening with Charlie Sheen the past few months. So, you know when he says it's all about winning that some of those who saw his new live show last night disagree it was a win.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unreal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Throw your ticket in the trash. Awful. Waste of money. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, that seemed to be consensus actually. He actually was booed, heckled. Some people got up and bounced before the show was even over. I'll tell you all about this.
Also, a 66-year-old grandmother -- looks sweet and innocent enough, does she not? But she's Florida's newest crime fighter. We will tell you all about her.
Also, it could be a rough start to the week weather-wise. Chad Myers is here with us.
Chad, hello. Good to have you with us.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good to be here this morning, although I didn't get a lot of sleep. It's OK.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: Fires in the west, winds blowing at 70 miles per hour, severe weather in the east that could make its way all the way to the East Coast, even New York City, by Monday and Tuesday. So, yes, spring is on its way.
Forecast is coming up in two.
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HOLMES: Ten minutes past the hour now.
Firefighters are working to put out a huge brushfire. This is happening in New Mexico. About late yesterday, it had scorched some 75 acres. Fire crews expect the fires to keep burning because of the heat, the conditions out there, some structures threatened by the flames. No word yet about any of evacuations.
Now, we'll bring in Chad Myers.
It's always fascinating this time of year. We were talking about snow in some places, fire dangers some places.
MYERS: Yes, look at this -- this is just incredible. You know, you talk about brushfires, we talk about grass fires.
HOLMES: Yes.
MYERS: This is actually the bosk area, which means that there's plenty of stuff here because the river runs through it, so to speak, although it's not Montana. The river makes good stuff. It grows along the river bank, but in the wintertime, it's all dead.
HOLMES: Plenty of stuff to burn.
MYERS: It hasn't greened up yet. So, all of this fire, and there's so much fuel, and the wind today is going to be 70 miles per hour. So --
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: -- not to be able to get out of the way.
HOLMES: But we had 75 acres there. That sounds small.
MYERS: That is -- no question, little. But when the wind gust blows at 60 or 70, it can take -- a gust of wind can take an ember and send it two miles, so the firefighters thinking they are doing good stuff here, all of the sudden, two miles ahead of them, there's another fire that they have to jump on. And it's time for you to literally get out of the way.
We saw what happened around Amarillo a couple of weeks ago when we had all of the stuff in the Texas Panhandle -- same story today for the Pacific and the Southwest, all the way from Texas back into Arkansas.
Now, eventually for today, we'll get severe weather popping up. I could even see severe some weather into parts of Colorado and also I pinked it in there, but that's not out of question. By late tonight, it could all the way late tonight, even tomorrow, could be up to Chicago. That could slow down some airports tomorrow morning across parts of Chicago. Maybe even into Detroit.
But the big story is tomorrow, all the way from Ontario through Ohio, down to the Gulf Coast. That's where the severe weather will be. I'm talking significant number of tornadoes, big hail and wind.
It's the tornadoes we worry about. It's the tornadoes that can hurt you. Don't go out and look for them.
Please, this is not a tornado chase day. This storms maybe running at 70 miles per hour, you can't get of the way. They are chasing you, you're not chasing them.
So, this is the day to have that NOAA weather radio on today and, of course, tomorrow, too -- T.J.
HOLMES: Always good to keep repeating. You guys are always on top of it, telling people about those weather radios.
MYERS: They are 25 bucks now. You can't afford not to have them.
HOLMES: There's no excuse for it.
MYERS: Yes.
HOLMES: All right. Chad, we appreciate you, as always. We'll check in with you again.
Also, we're going to be checking in on the 2012 race for the White House. It is -- yes, under way pretty much as you know. And, believe it or not, there was an election yesterday. Well, of sorts -- Republican straw poll in one Southern state. If you're looking at this video, you can probably guess the direction we're going with this.
Also, we're talking so much about the Republicans. We now know of a Democrat who is officially about to get into the race.
Also, another contest going on. Last night, that's why I'm a little bleary eyed this morning. I couldn't miss the Final Four. We know who's in the championship on Monday night. And last night's game did not disappointment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we're a quarter past the hour now on the CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Well, this kind of got ugly and sports can get ugly every now and again. But take a look what happened at a soccer match, folks. This was happening over in Egypt. Fans of an Egyptian soccer club, they stormed the field in the closing minutes of the African Champions League qualifying game against Tunisia.
Now, some of those who did take part of this are part of a fanatical soccer group that played a key role in Egypt's revolution. Now, they planned to use demonstrations at the game to push a political agenda.
But organizers lost control after a crucial goal was disallowed and they just had to watch helplessly as protesters disrupted the match and damaged the stadium in a rampage. Nine people injured according to "Reuters." Egypt's prime minister has now apologized for that.
Well, let's turn to a much different contest, with a much different result. Last night's Final Four did not disappointment. We went from 68 teams, we are down to two. It's almost over.
CNN Sports' Marc Fein here with me this morning.
Good morning, kind sir. Good to have you with us.
MARC FEIN, CNN SPORTS: You are a big basketball fan, aren't you?
HOLMES: I'm a huge basketball fan. Should have gone to bed last night, but I didn't commit to the whole college season to give up now.
FEIN: I'm very impressed how long you stuck with it.
HOLMES: Yes.
FEIN: Well, T.J., Monday night, UConn and Butler will battle for the national title. The Huskies looking for their championship. Butler Bulldogs trying to earn their first.
Here's how they advanced. In the second half, we pick it up. Butler leading VCU, 44-43. Shelvin Mack pulling up and knocked it down the three. Mack, five for six from behind the arc, a team high 24 points.
Later on, Butler with the ball and the lead. Matt Howard, huge rebound and put back, lays it in, Butler putting it out of reach. They hold on. VCU's magical run comes to an end, 70 to 62.
HOLMES: And that's kind of sad. I mean, VCU, you can't help but cheer for Shaka Smart, and --
FEIN: You can only have one Cinderella at the dance.
HOLMES: One Cinderella, I guess. But, yes, it was a heck of a run. We will probably never see this again.
Charles Barkley was saying it last night, it's a total fluke. We'll never see it again.
FEIN: Well, I don't know. A lot of people are thinking the mid majors may be around to stay. So, and certainly add four more teams. So, you never know.
HOLMES: It's one and done thing. All these guys go to the NBA. So, some of these smaller schools keep some of their athletes longer. So, that's a good point.
FEIN: Again, flashing the sports knowledge.
HOLMES: No, I could be talking about sports all morning. I could talk sports all morning.
FEIN: All right. The one semifinal had two Cinderella teams. The other semifinal had had two of the sports' most storied programs head to head, UConn taking on very tough Kentucky team.
We'll pick up the action in the second half of this one as well. UConn up two. And Kemba Walker, he's been the talk of the tourney, laying it up and in. He had 18 points in the game.
And then, at the end of the game, Kentucky with a chance to go for the tie or the win. DeAndre Liggins taking the deep three, misses it, UConn wins it 56-55. They will face Butler for the national championship on Monday night.
T.J., well, it is a very interesting matchup because as a program, as you know, UConn has a storied tradition, but Butler was in the final last year. So, it's not like these kids don't know what it's like to be there in the final game. They've got really more recent experience in a game like this.
HOLMES: They -- it's almost the same as last year. You got the small school, Butler, taking on a powerhouse. Last year, it was Duke.
FEIN: Right.
HOLMES: This year, it's UConn. What do you think, man?
FEIN: I was going to ask you, what do you think? HOLMES: You know, I heard someone call the coach of Butler, Brad Stevens, call him maybe the Bill Belichick of college basketball --
FEIN: Wow.
HOLMES: -- because he is just -- he studies the game in such a way, such a tactician, I don't know. You can't bet against those kids. I can't bet against Kemba either.
FEIN: Kemba is tough to go against. I'm going to go with -- I'm going to with UConn, but I would love to see Butler win it. So, can I go with both sides? Is that fair?
HOLMES: You know, you're dealing with politicians there. You got to play it right down the middle.
Marc Fein, good to have you with us. Hope to see you a lot more, my man. The hours aren't your thing.
FEIN: I'm happy to do it.
HOLMES: OK. Hope to get you back. Thanks so much.
Well, another sport we're actually going to talk about, and I can't talk to you. I don't know anything about this one, cricket. To the most of us here in the U.S., a game played somewhere else in people in uniforms we don't readily recognize. Well, in those countries, though, some of those other countries, this sport is really practically a religion. More than a billion of those so-called worshippers were in a frenzy all of last week.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We're showing you this video a little earlier, kind of an ugly scene that took place at an African league game. This is between Tunisia and Egypt soccer league. Some fans stormed the field there, weren't happy with a call. That took place -- that's kind of the ugly side of sports.
But let me tell you what happened in India yesterday. Flares and firework there, telling a different story, a celebration nearly 30 years coming. India has won the cricket world cup.
What, you weren't paying attention here? Using the spirit of sportsmanship and the joy of the game to ease tensions as well between rival nations.
Our CNN producer, Nadia Bilchik, is joining with us this morning.
Cricket. That's just not one --
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Cricket.
HOLMES: -- that the U.S. pays attention to.
BILCHIK: No. But interestingly enough, cricket and baseball have the same origins.
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: And they -- if baseball is the national pastime of the United States, then cricket is the international pastime of many countries, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan. In fact, it's more than a national pastime. It's a religion.
HOLMES: OK. So, it's more than just the similarities are a stick and a ball and you hit. There's more to it than that.
BILCHIK: Oh, there is so much more to it. Let's start off. Yesterday, huge game because India beat Sri Lanka.
But, first, let's look at the similarities and differences between --
HOLMES: Between the two.
BILCHIK: -- baseball and cricket.
So, to start off with, baseball has a strike zone whereas cricket has three physical pegs call wickets.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: Baseball has a pitcher, cricket has a bowler. Baseball has a round bat, and cricket has a flat bat which changes the form. Baseball, the field is a diamond, cricket is a rectangular shape.
But one of the most important is baseball has a slugger and can only hit the ball forward, whereas in cricket, the batsman can hit the ball anywhere.
HOLMES: I did not know that last part.
Now, this is the one I'm always fascinated, because the pitcher or the bowler, you say, they always seem to wind up in a major way. And I don't understand how those guys make contact.
BILCHIK: And they are so talented, extraordinarily talented.
But why the game yesterday was so significant, in order for India to play Sri Lanka, they had to beat Pakistan. The India and Pakistan game, you had the prime minister of India sitting next to the prime minister of Pakistan. If you remember, the Mumbai bombings in 2008, and the entire (INAUDIBLE) and the acrimony between the two countries, where, in fact, India even blamed Pakistan or was concerned that Pakistan was involved.
And here, you have you this great conciliatory gesture of the two prime ministers sitting together during that game. The countries both came to a standstill. One company announced that only three of 75 employees showed up to work that day.
(LAUGHTER) BILCHIK: I mean, can you imagine? Yes, people just -- one man was about to have surgery, and he says he's not having his surgery, he's going to watch the game. But, yesterday, India beat Sri Lanka, and we're going to have to wait until 2015 to see something like this.
HOLMES: OK. Wrap this for me really quickly. This was a nice moment. The two countries paused. But can this lead to actual -- some real diplomacy and real changing of relations?
BILCHIK: The power of sport. And one thing I will have to tell you about is Sachin Tendulkar, the man who made history by winning India's second world cup.
HOLMES: All right. Well, you know all those moments you and your family, spend so much time, all that family time watching TV? Well, how about your TV watching you back? And it's telling advertisers your every move as you surf that dial.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Coming up on the bottom of the hour here on the CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
You're watching me right now. But here's a question for you: how would you feel if I was watching you right back? Does that creep you out just a little bit?
What we're talking about really is your TV watching you, targeted advertisements. Are they helpful or are they out of line?
Carl Azuz is here to discuss with CNN Student News.
I guess that's probably the thing there. You need to figure out what your students feel about this. This kind of seems a little creepy.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: Well, I mean, if you are over at my house for instance, you might see an advertisement for, let's say, a mountain biking trip or a sports car. Things I'm interested in.
HOLMES: Right.
AZUZ: And so, the ads therefore are more relevant maybe to things I'm interested in. So, you would not see ads at the house for like kitchen utensils because I avoid the kitchen like a plague.
But the point I'm trying to make here is there is a tradeoff to that. There are privacy concerns -- with some people saying should advertisers being keeping tabs for what's on my DVR, on things I'm recording and things I'm watching.
And there's that sort of relevance versus privacy argument that a couple of people that Deb Feyerick spoke to when she initially did this report. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON WERTHER, PRES., SIMULMEDIA INC.: The benefit to consumers is that you get more relevant ads and you have fewer ads that are irrelevant to you that are cluttering up your TV experience.
BRIAN STEINBERG, ADVERTISING AGE: How much will advertisers use kind of know where we are, where we're walking, what we like, what we don't like, what are preferences are, in exchange for more relevant, more interesting advertising?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: So, there is an exchange there, T.J. And the question that some students are a little creeped out about is should your TV be watching you? Should your cable box be taking notes of what's on your television and then giving that information to advertisers?
HOLMES: I'm curious about where the kids come down. Again, what age group are you kind of polling here?
AZUZ: Middle and high school students.
HOLMES: Middle and high school students.
AZUZ: Sixth to 12th grade.
HOLMES: All right. Give me a general idea. Is there a consensus one way or another?
AZUZ: You know, sometimes, if there is, it's like more interesting to report. But they are on the fence and that makes that -- you know, that makes this interesting in itself. We have a comment from Sam for you.
And Sam doesn't see a problem with this. Sam is telling us that it's important for advertisers, they need to know our demographic -- that's a word they learned on CNN Student News -- to help with their research. Doesn't think it's a breach of privacy.
But on the other side, we have students, like Sadam, who were telling us this is a major invasion of privacy. Doesn't like the idea that companies, random companies, he says, as he puts it, would be seeing what we watch on our television. It's our business, not theirs.
And there's a third school of thought here, and that's what you see in this kind of -- from Kaylee. She's saying companies could ask their customers if they are comfortable with being monitored and as Deb Feyerick reported, some cable companies do allow you to opt-out of having information on DVRs sent to advertisers. So, that does exist.
But to a lot of students, it's sort of like the creep factor. They don't like the idea that what they are watching might be recorded without their knowledge.
HOLMES: OK. This is -- advertisers have been doing this. And you can -- there's a way they spy on you and it depends on what you're watching because if I'm watching -- I'm sorry to admit -- but if I'm watching "Family Guy," you know --
AZUZ: I guess, "Jersey Shore."
HOLMES: Yes, you get a certain kind of advertising. If I'm watching "60 Minutes," I'm not getting the same kind of ads. They know their audience. But, I don't know. I don't know where I come down on this one. That -- it doesn't helpful to know you're getting mountain bikes and things like that versus kitchen utensils. Wouldn't you rather have that?
(CROSS TALK)
AZUZ: Sure -- I mean, to some extent yes, I mean, a lot of folks they think fast forward through the commercials anyway.
HOLMES: Yes.
AZUZ: So there is -- there is that sort of folks who says I don't want to see commercials in the first place. But you know for those of us who do watch, I mean, it's definitely a trade-off, and the question is, how much information of yours are you comfortable with being shared.
HOLMES: If we didn't have advertisement, how would we hear about all of those wonderful new products Apple is putting out?
AZUZ: The same thing with --
HOLMES: Carl it's always good to see you, my man.
AZUZ: Thank you T.J.
HOLMES: Thanks so much.
Well, we are coming up right at the bottom of the hour here.
We have been telling you about what's happening in Libya the fighting going back and forth. And cities continue to really just change hands between the Gadhafi forces and the opposition forces. We will head live to the region coming up next.
Also, 66 years young. Meet the newest superhero in Florida.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirty-four minutes past the hour.
Now we want to turn back to Libya, where we have been watching a number of new details pop up in a number of places around that country.
Our Reza Sayah is in Benghazi for us today; Reza, hello to you once again. You described this yesterday as an accordion; kind of some of these cities just going back and forth, exchanging hands. Give us an update.
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes T.J., a lot of people are asking how long this conflict is going to last. And it's days like this that make you think we've got a long ways to go.
Of course, yesterday the opposition came out and they said they've re-taken the town of Brega. Today a rebel spokesperson telling CNN that's not the case. The city is still being fought over. The opposition saying regime forces that have pulled out of Brega and retreated west are now shelling the town with heavy artillery. Some rebel fighters going away from Brega, retreating to the east.
The opposition spokesman person calling Brega no-man's land, saying, no one is in absolute control. It looks like that's where the front line is right now, with regime forces to the west and rebel forces to the east. With fighting still going on in Brega.
Earlier on Sunday, more gunfire, more explosions, heard in Brega and rebel fighters were seen racing out of town in their vehicles and our correspondent Ben Wedeman who was there, describing the scene as chaotic and disorganized.
And T.J., it's these types of accounts that we've heard over the past 24, 48 hours which leads one to believe that perhaps Brega was never in control of the opposition over the past 24, 48 hours despite what the opposition told us yesterday.
HOLMES: Wow that is an interesting development. And Reza, can you give us an update as well; this -- this coalition -- this NATO air strike that hit a rebel position and killed a number of people.
SAYAH: Yes, it's obviously a concern not only for NATO the coalition that -- for the opposition as well. Right now, the opposition is not being critical of NATO, they are just describing this as an unfortunate incident; 13 rebels killed; seven others injured on a NATO airstrike on Friday night that hit a convoy. The opposition telling us that this convoy had heard air strikes in the Brega area and they had gone forward, to check out the damage and that's when they were hit.
The rebels saying they were told not to go forward, but for some reason, they did go ahead and that's when this incident happened. NATO saying that they are aware of the incident and they are investigating -- T.J.
HOLMES: Reza Sayah for us this morning in Benghazi, Reza we appreciate you, as always.
We turn back here to the U.S. now and President Obama getting involved in the ongoing budget battle happening on Capitol Hill. He called Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner yesterday about a possible compromise deal. The Democrats and Republicans are at an impasse right now over how much to cut from the current budget. We could have a government shutdown if no deal is reached by Friday. Meanwhile, House Republicans are proposing monumental changes to next year's budget, the 2012 budget. Not the 2011 budget they're still going back and forth about. Now they are talking about big cuts to a politically risky target -- Medicare, Medicaid. The 2012 budget proposal calls for an end to Medicare enrolment in ten years. Instead, eligible seniors would get vouchers for private insurance. And Medicaid which is aimed at helping lower income families afford healthcare would also be cut by as much as a $1 trillion. Full details of that plan expected to be unveiled sometime on Tuesday.
Well, an important story here now. Gay rights advocates are celebrating this morning after a Navy panel recommended an openly gay sailor be allowed to stay in the military. Petty Officer Second Class Derrick Morado was up for discharge after another sailor reported seeing pictures of him kissing another man on MySpace.
Gar rights activist say this is the first case in which the military chose not to enforce "don't ask, don't tell". Congress passed the law if you remember repealing that controversial policy last year, but it still has yet to officially go into effect.
Well, Charlie Sheen is taking his act on the road and the reviews are in and this is not pretty.
But before that, the highlight of my CNN SUNDAY MORNING; is coming up in just a moment with Candy Crowley. She's going to have a number of things she's going to be talking to me about, including the budget, but also what we have been seeing in Libya she joins me next.
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HOLMES: Well, it's 20 minutes until top of the hour. That is 20 minutes until "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley. She is joining me with a preview for this morning from Washington. Candy, good morning to you, as always.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Good morning.
HOLMES: A couple of big things on the plate here. We've got this budget battle that something is going to have to happen this week, but also Libya is still on the table. Let's start with Libya this morning.
CROWLEY: Well, we have General Jim Jones, retired general who used to be the President's national security adviser, to try to walk us through, if he can. The administration is thinking on getting involved in Libya, because by the end of the week, as you know, we have the Defense Secretary saying, ok, we're no longer going to fly sorties over Libya. We're going to leave that to the coalition. We're no longer going to send those Tomahawk missiles into Libya. We're going to leave that to the coalition.
So we were -- we were kind of all in and then we pulled back; we want to get an explanation for that and -- and what the real endgame here is, not just in Libya but in the entire Middle East. So that's -- you know, Libya to me remains a very fascinating look at both the Middle East, but as well at the inner workings of the administration.
HOLMES: And remind our viewers here. A lot of people watched of course, the President make this address on Libya this week. But did he answer all the questions that people had?
CROWLEY: Well, if you -- judging by the questions that Congress had on Thursday when the Defense Secretary was up there, I would -- I would have to say no. I think there's still some confusion by critics about the idea -- what -- what's funny, is we started the first of the week, we had the critics going why are we in there, why do we joined this coalition? Why are we using U.S. forces and by the end of the week, when Gates was saying ok, we're pulling back to where going, well, why are you pulling back now?
So in -- in some ways, you can't ever win when you're President. But in other ways, there are really legit questions out there that we hope to put to General Jones.
HOLMES: All right, also big day on Friday. This latest continuing resolution, I lost count of how many we've had with the budget now. It's supposed to be up -- coming up this Friday. There seems to be a pretty good talk out there that no, they will not do another one. So that being the case, Friday is going to be pretty important. Will something get done this time?
CROWLEY: I -- I continue to think so, because the fact of the matter is when you look at the center of the U.S. senate and the center of the House that is moderate Democrats, moderate Republicans, nobody sees any real big interest, any political interest being served by shutting down the government.
Now, you do have the left saying, wait a minute, these cuts that the right wing wants to put in are way too big and then we have the Tea Party and conservative wing of the Republican Party going there is not enough cuts. But I think, in the middle, there are enough people that if they put together, can put together a coalition, they can get something passed that will last until October, which is when of course the new fiscal year budget starts.
HOLMES: Yes we have barely -- hadn't gotten 2011 done and we're talking about 2012 now. We've got Republicans are going to be making a pretty good statement, a big statement this week about what they have in that budget, tackling Medicaid and Medicare it appears.
But I know you'll get to all of that. Candy Crowley, always good to see you on a Sunday morning and we'll see you here in a few minutes. All right.
CROWLEY: And you as well, thanks.
HOLMES: All right. And again to our viewers stay right here. She is just about 16 minutes away. Candy Crowley, "STATE OF THE UNION" 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 a.m. Pacific.
Well, the reviews on the new Charlie Sheen road show are in. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unreal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sell your ticket.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Awful, a waste of money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A waste of money, awful. Whatever happened to winning?
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HOLMES: Well, Charlie Sheen has hit the road. His new road show just opened up last night. It could be coming to a city near you. And the advice from people who have seen the show? Run. Our Kareen Wynter, our entertainment correspondent, with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Charlie Sheen, oh, boy. He definitely was not winning on his opening tour night. His highly-anticipated "Violent Torpedo of Truth Tour", look, his name up in bright lights, center stage in the Motor City. But Sheen, he bombed in a big way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The worst show ever.
WYNTER: The thousands of fans inside Detroit's Fox Theater, they let him have it. They booed. They chanted refund. They called him loser. Sheen basically spoke in warlock and troll language all night long, saying he was here to save the fans. He also rolled out a presidential-like podium and gave a nonsensical speech.
There were clips, believe it or not. from Charlie's recent news interview. It was one big mess of montages. He also had his goddesses -- that's right -- his goddesses on stage and they burned his iconic "Two-and-a-Half Men" shirt. The show, you know, it's just a show where Sheen, he never ever managed to connect with the audience. He even chalked it up as an experiment.
The question is with all those tour dates remaining over the next month, will fans really want to pay to see a less than stellar performance.
Kareen Wynter, CNN, Detroit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: It was opening night, ok? Maybe the show needs some work. This happens, all right?
Let me share a little bit more about what happened last night, this new extravaganza. During the show, some fans were so unimpressed they actually walked out before the show was over. This was him arriving here, raising his cup, kind of toasting to the crowd. But some people, still fans excited just to see the celebrity Charlie Sheen, if you will.
But let me let you listen to the fans themselves their verdict about the show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Chicago, don't waste your money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coherently losing, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He lost.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean I like the guy, but it was so bad. Chicago, save your money.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chicago's done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's done. It was so bad -- I mean --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love Charlie Sheen. I thought it was going to be something more than the (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a total waste of money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honestly, I felt really bad for him. Everyone was booing, and they wouldn't give him a chance to talk. It was actually really sad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Pretty sad there, yes. Trying to talk and some people kept interrupting him, booing at times. He was being heckled as you heard there in some of the reports. He couldn't control the crowd.
Now, he is trying to complete a 20-city tour. That was stop number one. We'll see if he gets to stop number two. Warner Brothers fired Sheen from hit comedy "Two-and-a-Half Men". Warner Brothers is owned by Time-Warner, CNN's parent company.
Everybody knows you don't mess with granny. Not this one in particular. She saw a bank robbery going down. She didn't just stand by and let it happen.
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0850
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Just about nine minutes to the top of the hour here now.
I need to give you a heads up of a recall of Jennie-o turkey burgers; they were sold at Sam's Club Discount store. You need to get rid of these things. Some 55,000 pounds of the product being recalled for possible salmonella contamination and illnesses in ten states have been linked to the patties. The company suggests -- suggests returning the burgers for a full refund. But they certainly are suggesting that you do not eat these things.
I need to tell you now about a 66-year-old woman in Miami, being given credit now for helping to stop a bank robbery. Yes, a 66-year- old woman. A grandmother, Helen Dunsford was standing in line when the robbery started to go down on Friday. Witnesses say she showed no fear when she lunged at the suspect, tackled the suspect, and then held that suspect down until deputies arrived.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARON LASSIN, WITNESS: She just jumped out. Yes, I got one year to live. Yes, I don't care if I die. She just grabbed the lady and we helped her tackle that person down.
PAT CAVENEY, WITNESS: She just blew up. She just lost it. She grabbed her in a bear hug.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, that's no doubt impressive that it's a 66-year-old woman. But let me tell you, the suspect was female. Not taking anything away from grandma here. But that's why (INAUDIBLE), the suspect was a female. No one was hurt. No money was taken from the bank either. Congratulations, granny.
As you know, a lot of powerful politicians thinking about a run for the White House, but some they bring a little bit of baggage to the campaign trail. So how do they turn the negatives into votes?
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HOLMES: "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley, coming your way in just a couple of minutes at the top of the hour.
But first, we told you about possible Republican contenders for the 2012 election. But what about the Democrats? Their frontrunner is getting ready to officially enter the race. Of course, we're talking about President Obama here expected to file papers with the Federal Election Commission tomorrow, surprise, surprise.
One of those Republicans though had something to crow about this morning. Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor scored a win in a straw vote in York County, South Carolina; got more than double the number of votes than any other candidate on that ballot in South Carolina, as you know, all-important, because of its status as one of the early primary states. Well, Governor Huckabee there, just one of a host of possible contenders for the 2012 race. You know the names -- Romney, Gingrich, Pawlenty -- but do you really know their history? Our national political correspondent, Jessica Yellin, has more on the baggage some of the contenders are carrying around right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Reporter: Mitt Romney. He has a fierce fund-raising machine, broad name recognition, and he's getting praise from the man in the Oval Office.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I agree with Mitt Romney who recently said he's proud of what he accomplished on health care in Massachusetts.
YELLIN: what's that about? Well, health care reform could be Romney's Achilles' heel. As Massachusetts governor, he signed a healthcare reform law that included a mandate. It's a lot like the Obama health care plan which is wildly unpopular among Republican voters.
Here's the governor explaining it in New Hampshire.
MITT ROMNEY (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS: Now, our approach next door was a state plan to address state problems in a way ways that were unique to Massachusetts. Our experiment wasn't perfect.
YELLIN: For former house speaker Newt Gingrich, the challenge isn't policy, it's personal. He has been married three times, he's admitted to having affairs. That's a tough sell for the values voters who naturally gravitate to a social conservative position. Now, he's asking forgiveness and offering a rationale on the Christian Broadcasting Network.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Well, I mean first of all, there is no question that at times in my life partially driven by how passionate I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard, and that things happened in my life that were not appropriate.
YELLIN: That got late-night comics buzzing. Here's NBC's Jay Leno.
JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: Did you hear his explanation. He said he is so passionate, he's so passionate about America that he loved it so much, that it led him to cheating.
YELLIN: These days, Gingrich's wife is a prominent part of his team. Supporters are banking on his energetic campaign style, his wealth of ideas, and his name recognition to carry the day.
Then there is former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty. His biggest challenge -- he hasn't grabbed a lot of notice. A fellow Republican joked -- REP. BEN QUAYLE (R), ARIZONA: Tim Pawlenty could win the general election and serve two consecutive terms before anyone noticed him.
YELLIN: Ouch. They noticed him when he was governor of Minnesota. He slashed government spending so much he prompted a bus driver strike and a government shutdown. As for his lack of pizzazz, here is what he told ABC's Terry Moran.
TIM PAWLENTY (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA: You either look at pizzazz or you can look at people's records and what they stand for and what they got done. And I'll take results over pizzazz any day of the week.
YELLIN: Then there're former governors Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee. Both have strong appeal with the conservative base but more difficulty with independent voters. Plus, there is no clear sign either of them plans to run. And you can't win if you don't run.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Candy, it's all yours.
