Two Beached Pilot Whales Released into Atlantic Ocean; Major Surprise For Marine Mom; Two Imams Kicked Off Plane; Alleged Rape Victim Flees Libya
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne, thank you very much. How many times have we talked about the opening of the flood gates? Usually with less than desirable results, well here's what it looks like for real. This is the Bonnet Carre Spillway (ph) less than 30 miles upstream from New Orleans. And the water spilling out is from the vast and swollen Mississippi River. One and a quarter million cubic feet every second. The water is heading into Lake Pontcharttrain (ph) and then the Gulf of Mexico, lowering the threat of devastating floods in New Orleans even as the Mississippi surges past its banks and some levees farther north. Well, in and around Memphis, the river is heading toward its second highest crest on record, that's 48 feet. That should happen sometime tomorrow but water levels might not fall below flood stage for two more weeks. And what Memphis is dealing with today, many other river towns are bracing for and defending against. Take a look at this right here, you have Vicksburg, all right, that's going to crest on may 19th, Vicksburg, Mississippi, that's about ten days from now, more than 14 feet above flood stage. Then you have Natchez, May 21st the crest, 16 feet above. Look at Baton Rouge, May 22nd will see the crest, more than 12 feet above flood stage. And here in New Orleans, May 23rd, two and a half feet above flood stage, that's all thanks to the Bonnet Carre Spillway. Let's get back to Memphis now, and CNN's David Mattingly. David, this flood is being compared to the region's all-time worst flood back in 1937, but the defenses are a lot better today, aren't they?</s>DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We've got flood walls and levees that they didn't have back in the '30s. In fact, it was that flood that inspired all the flood protection that we have now. Here in Memphis, they've -- they're watching their levees very closely. They have a great deal of confidence in them. And look at this massive amount of water. This staircase goes down to a parking lot over there for tourists to go to the paddle boats but look at out here, it's all just a big sea of water right now. The Mississippi is usually about a half mile wide here at Memphis, and it's now six times bigger than that, and this water is not going anywhere any time soon. And this is just a preview of what's going to be happening down river. They did not set a record here in Memphis. That crest is going to happen just a few inches from now, and it's going to happen sometime tomorrow, but that's going to be short of a record that they set here back in the '30s. This water is going to combine with other water and set records all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico now. So, this disaster is very slow moving but everybody's watching it and it is not surprising anyone. So far it's behaving exactly the way they thought it would. The water levels are right where they thought it would be, and now all that flood protection that they've built, they're using every tool in their tool box, so to speak, to make sure this water does the least amount of damage possible -- Randi.</s>KAYE: So David, how desperate is the situation for homeowners? Are people out of their homes? Have they lost their homes?</s>MATTINGLY: Well, the problem here in Memphis hasn't been so much on the water front where the Mississippi is, it's around the city where they have these other rivers, these tributaries that empty water into the Mississippi. With this water so high, their water has nowhere to go so it's been backing up. And low-lying areas in spots around the city, those areas have been seeing some flooding, get into some residential areas. We've seen predominantly several trailer parks in low-lying areas have been hit by this water, people forced out of their homes, there's 300 to 400 people are living in shelters right now and they're probably going to have to stay there for a while because it's probably going to be sometime in June, Randi -- June, before the Mississippi goes back to where it's supposed to be.</s>KAYE: And when this does -- does the crisis actually end, though, when the crest moves on?</s>MATTINGLY: Well, that just means that the water is not going to encroach anymore, but because this water level is going to stay so high for so long, there's concerns about are the levees going to be able to take it? They're doing fine right now but over time they're going to be watching them very closely to make sure there's not any sort of erosion problems or any sort of leakage that they may have to address. But they're watching them, everything's fine so far and they say they are prepared to move in just in case there are any problems.</s>KAYE: David Mattingly for us in Memphis. David, thank you. Our "Sound Effect" is a star spangled mix of motherhood, marines and a marathon bike ride. After a year-long tour of Afghanistan,. Major Bill Connor is cycling 3,300 miles across America raising money for the Semper Fi Fund that helps wounded vets. He made sure his round included Tulsa, Oklahoma on mother's day. I don't have to tell you who was waiting for him in Tulsa.</s>MARY ANN CONNER, MOTHER OF MARINE: Oh, my god, I'm so happy. Hurry up and get here. I haven't seen him since how 2009 and I just want to see what he looks like. I couldn't wait, I haven't seen you. I love you. I love you so much.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know.</s>CONNER: Oh, my god! I'm so happy! Oh, just unbelievable. And my husband's in heaven looking down at all this. I just can't describe it in words. I just -- I'm speechless and I'm not a woman who normally is speechless.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't know she could run that fast.</s>KAYE: That is so sweet. Major Connors is almost half-way through his ride which is scheduled to end in Ocean View, Delaware, on Memorial Day, and if you'd like to contribute, click on www.semperfifund.org. At another airport, two imams heading to a conference on Islamophobia were kicked off their flight. You can see the moms who were prominent in the Memphis area were wearing Islamic attire. They had already undergone an additional security check and were on board an Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight heading to a conference in North Carolina on prejudice against Muslims. The plane was taxiing towards the runway but the pilot returned to the gate. The two Imams went through a secondary screening process but shortly after the plane took off without the men.</s>MO IDLIBI, ATTORNEY FOR IMAMS: The only reason that the pilot had cited is that some of the passengers didn't feel comfortable but when the passengers were asked whether anybody felt uncomfortable, none of them indicated that they were.</s>KAYE: Atlantic Southeast Airlines said it is investigating the incident and apologizes, quote, "for any inconvenience." The airline did not say why the two men were taken off the flight but it says the men were given a chance to fly on a different flight. This story has many of you talking, so in the next hour, we'll speak to a retired pilot and a couple of experts about whether the pilot was justified in this case or if this was a simple case of profiling based on appearances. In Arizona, Governor Jan Brewer is expected to announce what's next, now that a judge has stopped its controversial immigration law from taking effect, she will speak in just about an hour or so. The legislation would have required law enforcement in the state to arrest and help deport illegal immigrants. The justice department sued arguing that only the federal government has that authority. Brewer's legal team could ask the appeals court to revisit the case or take it directly to the supreme court. Hunters found a Canadian woman after she had survived for seven weeks in the Nevada wilderness. Her husband ventured off to get help three days after their minivan got stranded. The woman survived on hard candy, trail mix, books and clothes she had packed for their trip to Las Vegas. She was rushed to a nearby hospital and spent mother's day with her children, but the search for her husband now continues. We have an update now about the Libyan woman who captured the world's attention when she told foreign journalists she had been raped. Eman Al-Obeidy has fled Libya fearing for her safety. Al-Obeidy tells CNN she crossed into Tunisia on Thursday with the help of a defecting military officer and his family. She said she left Tripoli in a military car wearing a head cover that hid everything except one of her eyes and she crossed into Tunisia using her refugee document. Diplomatic sources say European diplomats are giving Al-Obeidy sanctuary while she considers her future. Administration officials say we got a treasure trove of files from Bin Laden's compound last week, but what about people inside the compound, specifically Bin Laden's wives? Are they the missing intelligence link? A look at one of Bin Laden's elusive wives is next.