[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Anchor:] Top of the hour. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get you up to speed with some breaking news we have. A 20-year-old Saudi man is in FBI custody in Texas today. He is charged with attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction. They say that targets may have included the home of former president George W. Bush.
[Malveaux:] They are calling eastern Libya "Free Libya" today. Moammar Gadhafi's opponents grabbed even more territory. The opposition now holds cities across the Mediterranean coast in that area in red you see. The Libyan leader has a grip on Tripoli and the west. CNN's Ben Wedeman is one of the first Western journalists to report from Benghazi. Now, the uprising against Gadhafi began in that city just eight short days ago, but unlike Egypt, where journalists faced some angry mobs, Libyan protesters, well, they are welcoming Westerners to tell their story to the world.
[Ben Wedeman, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] When they saw us arrive, they just exploded with cheers and clapping, people saying, " Thank you, thank you" in English, throwing candy and dates inside the car. I mean, the only thing I can really think of, or I thought of at the time, was it was like being the first American soldier in a Jeep driving into Paris after the fall in 1944.
[Malveaux:] A ferry filled with as many as 600 Americans remains stuck in port in Libya. Officials say it will head to Malta tomorrow. That's if the bad weather lifts. Libya won't let the U.S. land charter flights to evacuate Americans. Police in New Zealand say that the number of dead in Tuesday's earthquake is closing in on 100 today. That is twice that many people are missing under these crumbled buildings in Christchurch. No one has been found alive for 24 hours now, but the families are not giving up.
[Unidentified Female:] I've been trying to text my daughter's phone since I have reception just because I thought the rescuers might hear the ring and dig down and find her.
[Malveaux:] Hawaii is now the seventh state to allow civil unions. The governor signed the bill yesterday. The new law applies to heterosexual and same-sex couples. It gives them essentially the same rights and legal benefits married couples enjoy starting next year. And congressional Democrats are planning a bill to repeal the federal law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. The push comes after the Obama administration announced that it would no longer defend that law in court. Now, the president and attorney general say the law is unconstitutional and discriminates against same-sex couples.
[Jeffrey Toobin, Cnn Senior Legal Analyst:] What's especially striking about Attorney General Holder's letter to Speaker Boehner on this subject is that if you follow its implications, it really suggests that this administration is about to embrace the notion that gay people should have the right to get married.
[Malveaux:] There are now more than 1,000 hate groups operating in the United States. That is the highest number the Southern Poverty Law Center has seen since it began tracking all of this. So check out the map. The red means there's at least one hate group operating in that state. The darker red means more groups are there. The biggest growth has been in militia and patriot groups. Well, the Wisconsin Assembly is expected to vote on a controversial budget bill in just a few hours. It would severely limit union bargaining powers. Our CNN's Kate Bolduan, she is in Madison with the very latest.
[Kate Bolduan, Cnn Correspondent:] Hey there, Suzanne. Yes, the assembly is moving towards a vote on this budget repair bill, but all eyes remain on the Senate, which is effectively still remaining at a standstill as those 14 Democrats are still out of state, and they cannot bring this budget bill to a debate and to a vote at this moment. And that's exactly the point, and that's why they fled the state. But as both sides are showing very little sign of backing down from their position, we're starting to get news of people around the state are already starting to potentially feel the effects of the uncertainty surrounding this debate, as well as the uncertainty about the coming budget that the governor has said will probably include a lot of funding cuts to the cities and the districts. We've learned of a school district just about an hour northeast of where we are here in Madison that has already put it's a very small school district put 34 of its teachers, all of its teaching staff, which includes 32 teachers and a librarian and a guidance counselor, all on notice that they could potentially be laid off next year. The superintendent says this is all because of the uncertainty surrounding the debate going on here in Madison, as well as they don't know what kind of funding decrease that they may see in the coming budget. Obviously, it's a very somber mood there, very difficult to be able to do that. And of course they're hoping to not have to lay off anyone, but he says they have to plan ahead, and these are the tough decisions that people across the state and districts across the state are starting to have to take a serious look at. Very ironically, one of the people that has been put on notice for potentially be laid off come next year is the Senate majority leader, a Republican, Scott Fitzgerald. His wife is a guidance counselor in this district. And she herself, we're told, has been put on notice of potentially losing their jobs. So, real effects are already starting to be felt. Of course, these people have not been laid off yet, but they're all starting the process of starting to have to warn people that there is potential for that Suzanne.
[Baldwin:] All right. Kate, thanks so much. A lot of people keeping a close eye on the story you're following there. It's going to impact a lot of folks. Thank you, Kate. Now, here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. As the unrest in the Middle East spreads, there are worries about gas prices, and it is becoming more urgent. Carol Costello, she's in Washington. She joins us with today's "Talk Back" question. Carol, I guess people are going to have to make some sacrifices, but that's pretty tough.
[Carol Costello, Cnn Correspondent:] It is pretty tough. But, Suzanne, as one oil industry expert told me, let the "petronoia" begin. Word is if the turmoil spreads in the Middle East, America's gas prices will head north. Way north. They could rise to $5 a gallon. Already, there are calls for President Obama to get ready to open the U.S. oil reserves just in case. Haven't we been down this road before, like in 2008? Remember, gas prices hit $4.11 a gallon. Americans actually reacted. We drove less. We got rid of our SUVs. We used mass transit. And a new campaign slogan was born "Drill baby, drill." Today, the U.S. is not drilling more. We're driving just as much. Consumers are once again clamoring for SUVs and pickup trucks. As for fuel efficiency, according to TruCar.com, hybrid cars account for just three percent of the market. Bottom line? As an oil expert Tom Collossa put it, "We like our guns and we like our gas." So, "Talk Back" today: What will it take to get serious about actually reducing our dependence on foreign oil? Talk to me on Facebook, Facebook.comCarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour Suzanne.
[Malveaux:] Carol, I'm aging myself, but I remember back in the '70s we had that huge station wagon. I was just a kid, and those gas lines were unbelievable at the gas stations there. It was a time you all remember. It kind of changed our lives.
[Costello:] Oh, yes. Interesting you bring that up, because Tom Collossa says the last time leadership took a really strong role in getting America to reduce its dependence on foreign oil was during the Jimmy Carter era, and we all know how that went. Not well.
[Malveaux:] And we didn't have great hairstyles back then either. That didn't go so well. But we'll see how all of this shakes out, if people actually are going to adjust to the changing time. Thanks, Carol.
[Costello:] Sure.