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CNN Saturday Morning News

Airstrike Near Gadhafi Compound; Winds Damage St. Louis Airport; The Value of a Prenup

Aired April 23, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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

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T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, folks. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes, with this Saturday, April 23rd. Seven a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia.

But it is 6:00 a.m. for the folks waking up to a mess in St. Louis. A massive storm ripped through that city. The picture you're seeing now from the airport -- an airport that is shut down indefinitely. If you're trying to fly through the Midwest today, you need to call ahead. The latest in just a moment.

Also, something we just got, what, just about an hour or so ago. This is it, folks. This is the official manual, the wedding of the Royal Highness, Prince Williams of Wales and Ms. Katherine Middleton. This book just came out not long ago, but it has all the details of the wedding, who will there be, who won't, even where they'll be sitting. All the details, the guest list, all that right there. We'll be sharing details of the royal wedding coming up in just a moment.

But, here at the top of the hour, let's go to St. Louis. The airport there closed like I just mentioned. Witnesses say it was in fact hit by a tornado, waking to get confirmation of that, though.

But whatever it was, it blew out about all the windows in one terminal. Workers there are cleaning up. But according to the airport, no flights coming or going as of now.

Lots of damage in the pictures. But it's also important to note there were only a few minor injuries. People were able to huddle in the bathrooms, try to escape a lot of flying debris.

It wasn't just people inside the airport, either. There were lines of cars full of people coming to pick up loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was very, very real, like being inside a movie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sky went totally black. The wind picked the car up, maybe an inch or two, dropped it and blew out the windows. It happened real fast. Piece of plastic came in and hit her. I threw the phone and grabbed her out of the car seat and put her in my lap in the front seat and just bent over and held on to her until the wind calmed down and then we got out and ran inside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then the sirens started going off. We hurried in. Almost instantaneously, all the windows started blowing out at one time. And the next thing we know, we heard crashes and the poles were falling and then they told to us go down to a bunker underneath the airport. And the lights were going out and they turned the generator on and kept us down there for -- they just got out. It's been, what, two hours now.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

HOLMES: Yes. And it wasn't just the airport that was damaged. You can see this -- nighttime video. We're waiting to see some of the daytime pictures to give us a better idea. But this is from last night. Homes lost roofs, power lines torn down. Also, a nearby church had its steeple torn down during Good Friday services. Parishioners huddled along the pews in the church during the storm.

We're going to turn now overseas where an airstrike on a parking lot outside Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's compound in Tripoli killed three people. That strike presumably from NATO forces.

A government spokesman said he does not yet have the identities of the people killed. And government also announced that forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi will withdraw from the coastal city of Misrata and allow tribal leaders to deal with opposition forces. But the opposition, their spokesman laughed off that suggestion that tribal leaders would actually order an attack on the rebels.

Also yesterday, Senator John McCain visited Libya, met with key leaders of the opposition. McCain is pushing for greater involvement in helping the rebels overthrow Gadhafi.

Take you live now to Tripoli, the Libyan capital there. Fred Pleitgen is there.

Fred, hello to you. What else can you tell us about the strike on Gadhafi's compound?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're still waiting to hear details. And we haven't heard any confirmation from NATO yet that there were in fact people who were killed in that air strike or whether or not that airstrike actually took place. We're waiting for an operational update from NATO. That should be coming in the next couple of minutes.

What the Gadhafi government is telling us is they say that this rocket or bomb struck a parking lot outside the Bab al-Aziziyah compound, which is a compound where Moammar Gadhafi stays. And this parking lot has an anti-aircraft gun right next to it but it also has people going in and out of the compound at that place. The compound is also ringed with anti-aircraft weapons, of course, at this point in time as well. And as you said, so far, the government has been saying three people were killed. They don't have the identities of these three people yet, whether or not they were military personnel or, in fact, civilians. So, we're waiting to hear updates from the government here in Tripoli as well.

And this, of course, happened as NATO seemed to be stepping up its airstrikes both in and around Tripoli, as well as in other parts of the country. We've been hearing jets flying overhead here in Tripoli for the better part of the morning -- also, a lost airstrikes around the Tripoli area last night. And that came only one day after NATO struck at least eight ammunition dumps here in and around the Tripoli area.

So, it certainly does appear as though, T.J., NATO is, in fact, stepping up its campaign here in Libya -- T.J.

HOLMES: And, Fred, tell us the latest out of Misrata that we have and remind our viewers of the importance of this third largest city there in Libya.

PLEITGEN: It's extremely important for many reasons. First of all, because it is the third largest city here in this country. Second of all, because it has the only deep water port here in Libya and the only real honest-to-good container terminal. It's a very modern container terminal, as almost all the important goods that come to Libya come via the port of Misrata because it has those facilities.

And, of course, also, it's the only bastion of the rebels in western Libya. So, it's a very important strategic city for both sides.

Now, what we're hearing from the Libyan government side is that they say their forces are withdrawing because the tribes have told them to do so because they want to solve the issue that's going on there. They say that the tribes are going to negotiate with the rebels. If they don't come it a conclusion, the tribes are going to attack the rebels.

Now, the rebels, of course, for their part are saying something completely different. They say this is not an uprising by some rebel forces. This is an uprising by the people of Misrata who actually have the tribes on their side. So, they certainly don't believe that the tribes are going to attack them.

And they also say frankly they have taken the center of Misrata away from Gadhafi's forces, over the past 72 hours. They've ousted the snipers and the tanks that were inside the city's center. So, in effect, they are saying that Gadhafi is trying to make what is, in fact, a retreat from this area the at hands of the rebels seem as though it is a responsible withdrawal from that area -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Fred Pleitgen for us in Tripoli, Fred, we appreciate you as always.

I want to turn now to Syria. And there's more deadly violence to tell you about from there. From anti-government sentiment there, at least 43 people killed in a bloody day of confrontation in several cities. Take a look.

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HOLMES: Reliable figures about numbers of dead, difficult to come by. Syria is not allowing CNN to report from inside the country. But Amnesty International has a different death toll, says at least 75 people were killed yesterday.

President Obama issued a statement condemning the use of force by the Syrian government. And he said, quote, "The Syrian people have called for the freedoms that all individuals around the world should enjoy: freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and the ability to freely choose their leaders. President Assad and the Syrian authorities have repeatedly rejected their calls and have chosen the path of repression."

Going to get back to St. Louis here in just a moment. The airport there closed indefinitely -- nothing coming in, nothing going out. What's going to happen to all those flights, all those passengers? We're taking a look at and taking you to the airport.

Also, let us say good morning to Karen Maginnis, in for us this weekend.

Karen, it seems like every weekend, we are seeing something nasty. But it is that time of year.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. Springtime brings the severe weather. And it has raked across the Midwest. More storms expected today. Will St. Louis see more storms? And we'll tell you what else the Midwest has to worry about.

That's just ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

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HOLMES: Thirteen minutes past the hour now. We're here with Karen Maginnis, our meteorologist.

This gives us an idea. We see these tornado sightings. But it's always important no note -- people think, well, why don't you just call it a tornado? Well, you have to wait for an official word.

MAGINNIS: Exactly. They have to go out and survey, and see what kind of damage was done, just how intense the damage was, and does it look like it was caused by a tornado or straight line wind damage.

But we had nine reports of possible tornadoes. This is according to Google Earth. Here's the state of Missouri. We also had a tornado reportedly touch down in Kentucky. Also, several right across Oklahoma.

Well, for today, this is what we're anticipating -- still the potential for some severe weather, right across Midwestern United States and in through Kentucky, also Indiana, as well as portions of Illinois and Missouri. This is where we're looking for that severe outbreak once again today, could see isolated some tornadoes pop up once again.

But in the forecast, the long-range forecast, the next five to seven days, looks like some portions of southern Missouri, also Indiana and Kentucky could see as much as 10 inches of rain. That's going to be another big story over the next week or so -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Karen Maginnis on it for us this morning -- Karen, we appreciate. We'll check in with you plenty throughout the morning.

We want to get back to what's going on in St. Louis right now, particularly at the airport. Not a whole lot is going on. It's closed as of right now. Witnesses say it was hit by a tornado.

Take a look at some of this video, some of this damage, blew out a lot of windows in one terminal. They're trying to get this cleaned up now.

But what about the flights supposed to be going in and out today?

Well, joining me now is Jeff Lea. He's the public information manager at the St. Louis International Airport.

So, we appreciate you hopping on during what is, I'm sure, a busy, busy morning for you guys. Is that update, does that still stand? You all are close now. Any idea when you might open back up?

JEFF LEA, ST. LOUIS AIRPORT (via telephone): No. We're waiting for daylight to get assessment of the damage to the airport complex. And right now, it's just too risky to open the airport given the damage inside terminal one, concourse C, and outside of terminal one. So, as of now, we're closed pending those reviews. And may be an hour-by-hour situation as we work through the day to figure out how we get back up and running.

HOLMES: Well, Mr. Lea, like you said, you want to get a better assessment when you get daylight there. But as of what you know and what you were able to see throughout the day, just how bad off is the airport?

LEA: Well, it's pretty extensive. We are very fortunate that we only had five people transported to the hospital. And those appear to be minor injuries. We might have had another 10 to 12 that were treated for scrapes at the airport. That's amazing given the number of people that were at the airport and the type of damage we have.

Again, as you mentioned, we have high percentage of windows that were blown out in our C concourse that serves AirTran, Cape Air, Frontier and American Airlines. We also had a number of windows blown out in our terminal one, which is our historic terminal that was built in 1956. And then, a lot of the pictures you're probably airing this morning are some of the damage outside of that terminal which we had a lot of cars impacted. I know we had a shuttle van that was hanging off the terminal parking garage.

HOLMES: Yes.

LEA: A lot of sign structures that were blown down, three light poles. Right now, the airport is still on the backup generator. So, basically, we're on our emergency system. You can understand why we just cannot open the airport at this time.

HOLMES: Sir, one more thing to you here. How many people, do you estimate, you had in your airport terminal between the passengers, you have a lot of people working there as well. How many people were there? And it seems remarkable that you had as few injuries as you had.

LEA: It is quite amazing. We do know that we had certainly the tornado sirens were heard. We do know that we had a lot of our staff, personnel and colleagues that were assisting the passengers and visitors to take cover, if you will, and to move into the interior part of the airport, to go to safe zone and we think that had a great part in reducing the number of injuries.

As far as the number of people, I certainly don't have an account. But I'm sure it was, you know, hundreds to thousands that were at the airport over our two terminals, as well as a lot of folks who are along the highway and around the airport complex. You know, as you're reporting now, we have a lot of damage in our nearby communities.

So, the St. Louis region certainly hit hard. We are teaming up with our communities, surrounding communities, the St. Louis City and the county are working together o today on the cleanup. They have through the night and they'll continue to work together on the assessment of damage and see what it's going to take to get the airport back and running.

We do advise, though, because the airport is closed, the public will not be allowed to come in near the terminal. That if you had flight plans, either flying out or picking up an arriving party to contact your airline, they'll have the latest information on what you may need to do, to make alternative plans or, you know, alternate flight plans as well.

HOLMES: All right. Again, Mr. Jeff Lea, the public information manager at St. Louis Airport -- sir, we appreciate you taking time on what is certainly a busy morning for you guys. And we'll continue to check in with you and pass the information along to our viewers as well. Thank you for your time, sir.

LEA: Thank you, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. We're at 18 minutes past the hour now.

We know we're less than a week away from that wedding, the event of the century almost. Is it not for some people? But Prince William and his bride don't need a prenup, then nobody does, right? Slow down, grab your loved one. Get them in front of the TV right now. We will have a conversation here that will certainly prompt a conversation in your house.

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HOLMES: All right. It's royal wedding talk time.

This is what we got this morning. Just a couple hours ago, the official guest list. It also has instructions in here, all the details you ever want to know about the royal wedding. Who's going to be the 1,900 guests? Also, where they're going to be sitting exactly in there? All that stuff.

Here's a look at a few of the names that jumped out at us immediately. You would know some of the -- you know, the Beckhams, of course; Guy Ritchie, the director; also, Sir Elton John; Joss Stone; also, Ian Thorpe, the torpedo, the Australian swimmer -- just to name a few.

Well, royal couple -- the royal couple now William and Kate, they are not going to have one of these, a prenuptial agreement. Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren did have one. And during these tough economic times, more couples, and not just celebrities, are saying "I do" to prenuptial agreements.

Now, take a look at some of these numbers. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, up to 50 percent of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce by the 20th year of marriage. People just don't make it. According to "USA Today," though, only 3 percent of folks with a spouse or fiance have one of these prenuptial agreements. So, who-hoo!

Our financial expert and founder of LearnVest.com, Alexa Von Tobel, joins us from what is always a delicate discussion, Alexa. So, you tell me --

ALEXA VON TOBEL, FOUNDER, CEO LEARNVEST.COM: Good morning.

HOLMES: Should more people get them? Just a general question. But should more people have these things?

VON TOBEL: So, prenup agreements are not nearly as scary or challenging for people to get. So, I think the answer is yes. Since the recession, as you said, we're seeing more and more people opt-in for these agreements.

HOLMES: All right. And I'm going to put something up on screen now. Three reasons that people should get them, because people hear prenuptial agreement, they think it's just something that the wealthy folks do -- but not necessarily.

So, go through these with me, some of the reasons people should get them. They're not just for the rich. Here are some of the myths here. But once you're married, some people think it's too late. Also, a prenup means betting against your marriage. Who are these for?

VON TOBEL: So, prenups are really for everyone but there's four main reasons to get a prenup.

So, the first is, if you have really unbalanced finances. So, if someone is making significantly more than someone else or coming to the table of the marriage with a lot more in savings, you should consider getting a prenup.

The second reason you should consider getting a prenup is if someone is coming to the marriage with a significant amount of debt. When you get married, that's a legal agreement. You are assuming that debt. So, you should assume that if something goes wrong, you're not going to want to end up with someone else's massive debt. So, that's the second main reason.

The third is, if you're coming into a marriage and ultimately you have kids from a previous marriage that you're going to want to take care of their inheritance in the future, you're going to want to protect your assets.

And the final reason is if you're going to be leaving the workforce to bear children or to raise children -- so this could be male or female in terms of raising a child -- you would want to make sure that you consider a prenup because you're not going to have income and God forbid something goes wrong during that period of time, you're going to be in trouble.

HOLMES: OK. Alexa, here's the question that everybody has -- how in the world do you bring this up to your future spouse? You know what, just in case this doesn't work out, I need this backup plan. That is an uncomfortable conversation to have. VON TOBEL: That's exactly right. So, the first thing is just quickly remember that a lot of people don't think about it like this. But a prenup is not an agreement that says I'm betting against our marriage. What it really is saying is it's an insurance policy. So, think about it like this --

HOLMES: Same difference.

VON TOBEL: We get insurance policies -- we get insurance policies because God forbid we get hit by a car or get really injured. But that doesn't mean I'm hoping or wishing or betting on me getting hit by a car. God forbid that happens, I want to make sure I'm protected. That's what a prenup really is.

So, our experts at LearnVest.com recognize that this is a really tough discussion. It's very emotional and tremendously personal. But it's something to consider. And everyone has to go through their own dynamics of their relationships.

But we recommend you sit down on a Saturday, when you have a lot of time, and really walk through what's important for you, for your finances. As you said, you know, 50 percent of people are going through divorce. So, it's worth sitting down and thinking about. HOLMES: OK. And again, people are going to get these afterwards. You can get post-nuptials. It's not just the prenups, correct?

VON TOBEL: That's exactly right, T.J. So, a prenup is not always before a marriage. You can get a co-habitation agreement whether you're living with someone else and not even married. And you also always get an agreement, a nuptial agreement when you are married.

HOLMES: All right. Alexa, it's good to see you. This is always a delicate one. And I know people are going to have all kinds of responses. But it's good to see you.

VON TOBEL: It's heavy.

HOLMES: It is heavy. It could be some good information for some folks.

But, Alexa, thank you so much. We'll see you again soon. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday.

VON TOBEL: That's right. Thank you so much. And, you, too. Have a great day.

HOLMES: All right, folks. Quick break here, folks. I'm going to call my wife and see what we're doing this afternoon. We'll be right back.

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HOLMES: Doctors want to expand the definition of Alzheimer's disease. The goal here, to spot changes in the brain long before dementia symptoms appear. Five million people in the country are currently suffering from the disease. Researchers hope to develop drugs to slow Alzheimer's and early detection is key.

I'll be back with you in a half hour.

"SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." right now.