Two American Tourists Kidnapped at Gunpoint; U.S. Second Highest In Child Poverty
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Breaking news this morning. Two American tourists kidnapped by gunmen in Egypt. We're going to take you live to Cairo straight ahead.</s>ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN HOST: Plus, happening right now, the first commercial spacecraft prepares for its return to earth.</s>BANFIELD: And caught on video. An out of control truck slamming into a tavern and trapping those helpless customers up against the bar. There are pictures you have to see to believe. Look at that.</s>SAMBOLIN: Good gracious.</s>BANFIELD: Remarkable.</s>SAMBOLIN: That is really incredible.</s>BANFIELD: Lucky they're all, more or less, OK. No deaths, but very, very frightening moments. It's an early morning. Good morning to you. Welcome, EARLY START. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.</s>SAMBOLIN: We're really happy you're with us this morning. I'm Zoraida Sambolin. We are bringing you the news A to Z. It's exactly 6:00 in the East.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>BANFIELD: We begin with our breaking news this morning. The U.S. embassy in Egypt says it's working hard right now to try to free two U.S. tourists who were kidnapped at gunpoint. It happened in the town of Dahab in the Siani region of Egypt. Check out your map. To the top and the right. That's where two armed men forced those American tourists out of their car and took them away. The alleged kidnappers apparently demanding the release of someone who was arrested the day before on a drug charge. CNN's Ben Wedeman is live for us in Cairo. So, the embassy is admitting this happened, Ben. They say they're working hard. But do they have any leads on this?</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Actually, we had just gotten off the phone with the official at the Egyptian interior ministry, who says that officials from the local governor in the Siani as well as Egyptian intelligence are in direct contact with the kidnappers. The kidnappers are demanding a member of their tribe, who was arrested as a very -- what's described as a very large amount of marijuana -- be released in exchange for these two Americans, who the U.S. embassy says tells us were kidnapped yesterday by armed men on this road between Dahab and to the north, the road leading to the north which until now had been considered one of the safest areas of the Siani. So, negotiations are underway between Egyptian officials and the kidnappers. And if we go by previous incidents of kidnapping of foreign tourists in the Siani, they may be released soon because this is really just a local dispute. The American tourists are just a pawn being used between the Egyptian government and the kidnappers in this case. Ashleigh?</s>BANFIELD: And is there any similarity between the story we broke on this program back in January of those two American women who were also kidnapped, if I remember correctly, at gunpoint as well in Egypt?</s>WEDEMAN: Well, very much similar in the sense that it's a local dispute. We have to keep in mind that the Siani peninsula is an area which for years was neglected by the Mubarak regime. So, there's a lot of resentment, a lot of friction between the Bedouin inhabitants of the Siani and the Egyptian government. This is how they play out their disputes. Kidnap local tourists. The Egyptian government very sensitive to the impact on the tourism industry by this sort of news, very eager to resolve the situation as quickly as possible, as peacefully as possible. Ashleigh?</s>BANFIELD: Ben, do we have any proof of life at this point? Do we know that these two 31-year-old Americans are okay? Are they at least confident that they're negotiating with these kidnappers?</s>WEDEMAN: Well, we don't have proof of life. We have not received that. But we have to go on the word of the Egyptian government, of the interior ministry, who does indicate they are well, have not been harmed. And that in fact, dead hostages are of no use whatsoever. So, we're hoping -- we don't know, but hoping that this will lead to their release unharmed, as was the case of those American tourists in the Sinai earlier this year. Ashleigh?</s>BANFIELD: Ben Wedeman live for us in Cairo. Thank you.</s>SAMBOLIN: It is three minutes past the hour. The dragon is headed back to earth. Here's a timeline of events for the Space X Dragon capsule. It released from the international space station last hour, 5:35 a.m. Eastern. From there, it will deorbit at about 10:15 a.m. and splash down in the Pacific Ocean some time before noon. Then NASA will hold a briefing on the mission. So far, the mission has been a success, making history as the first commercial rocket to dock with the international space station. Space analyst Miles O'Brien joins us now. Miles, I got to tell you, in these parts, you are a rock star. Everybody absolutely loves you.</s>MILES O'BRIEN, SPACE ANALYST: Well, thank you.</s>SAMBOLIN: We're very excited to talk to you this morning. Can you tell us -- I know I went over the timeline. But can you tell us what we should be seeing?</s>O'BRIEN: Well, right now what we're seeing is that at least they made it look easy. Breaking up can be easy to do. Because right now, as we speak, Dragon and ISS, international space station, after about six days of coupled operations, have parted company. And so now -- actually, NASA and Houston is sort of watching things unfold, like we are. And the emphasis moves to Hawthorne, California, the headquarters for Space X or Space Exploration Technologies, this upstart firm with about a tenth of the number of employees that the shuttle program had that has successfully staged this first-ever test mission with such great success. It isn't over yet. They're on their way for that very crucial breaking or deorbit burn, which will lead to a splashdown about 500 miles off the coast of the Baja Peninsula. And then retrieval of cargo inside, which is a crucial thing. With the shuttle fleet gone, this is the only vehicle, Zoraida, that can bring cargo back from the space station. The Russian, Japanese and European vehicles that service the space station are just trash incinerators on their way back. They're not designed to withstand reentry. And so watching this unfold right now is another key step, but the key milestones have all gone off without a hitch so far.</s>SAMBOLIN: Yes, it's been complication-free. So, what complications would you anticipate, perhaps, as it makes the reentry?</s>O'BRIEN: Well, reentry is a -- we're talking about a vehicle moving much faster than a rifle bullet right now. 17,500 miles an hour. It's kind of hard to comprehend that kind of speed. Twenty- five times the speed of sound. It has to go from that to zero in very short order. And so what you see as it comes down is essentially a streaking meteor. It has material on the bottom of it, called a blade of material, which is actually designed to burn and burn away as it comes in, to protect the contents and, of course, the capsule itself. One of the key things we need to watch for in the coming moments just before that important nine-minute deorbit burn is there's a thing called the trunk which is attached to the bottom of the capsule. It's designed to keep it operating well while it's in orbit. It has the solar rays attached, power, capability and so forth. It needs to jettison and part company with the capsule in order for it to come down safely. That will be important one to watch. And then we'll watch for hopefully a nice splashdown.</s>SAMBOLIN: And then it gets carted away?</s>O'BRIEN: Yes.</s>SAMBOLIN: All right. Miles O'Brien, thank you very much. Space analyst and correspondent for PBS Newshour. Thank you.</s>BANFIELD: Three New Jersey teenagers charged with robbery and assault this morning for allegedly bullying a 15-year-old high school student so relentlessly that he later committed suicide. Prosecutors says Morristown High School freshman Lennon Baldwin was assaulted at school back in March. It was caught on surveillance tape. And that attacker was suspended, but Baldwin was allegedly attacked again just three days later and then committed suicide just three weeks after that. Former Reuters University student Dahrun Ravi will begin serving a 30-day jail sentence this morning for spying on his gay roommate with a web cam during an intimate encounter. That roommate, Tyler Clementi, later committed suicide. The judge said he didn't see any purpose in putting the 20-year-old Ravi in prison with hardened criminals for a longer period of time.</s>SAMBOLIN: Troops shelling the Syrian town of Hulag this morning, the scene of a massacre that killed more than 100 people and has sparked international outrage. The Free Syrian Army has set a Friday deadline for the Syrian government to pull its troops out of residential areas and allow humanitarian aid in. The rebels haven't said what would happen if, as expected, the Assad regime does not comply.</s>BANFIELD: They were just enjoying their drinks at this bar when a vehicle came crashing through. Take a look at your screen. Incredible surveillance pictures.</s>SAMBOLIN: Yikes.</s>BANFIELD: Wow! That is Gordy's bar in Little Canada, Minnesota. A 51-year-old woman apparently losing control of her vehicle, taking out a utility pole and crashing right through the wall of the building. That pinned five of the customers up against that bar as well. Rescue crews were there. The manager of the bar, Pat Sazenski, got away just in time.</s>PAT SAZENSKI, BAR MANAGER, GORDY'S: It happened like that. You didn't have time to react. Three feet down I see a pole flying through. I thought that was kind of strange. And then all of a sudden, I heard a boom and the truck came right through the wall.</s>BANFIELD: Unbelievable. Six people, including the driver, were hurt when all of this happened. Police say the driver of that truck may have actually had a medical condition that caused her to lose control and ram that building.</s>SAMBOLIN: Oh! Tough to watch that. The White House on attack against Mitt Romney's record as governor of Massachusetts. The president's senior strategist, David Axelrod, will hold a news conference this morning at the state house in Boston. He will be joined by state officials who served with Romney. A new Obama campaign ad with a preview of what we can expect.</s>MITT ROMNEY, GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People want to know what I stand for, they can look at my record as governor.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mitt Romney was not an effective leader in Massachusetts. And the proof is in the pudding.</s>JAY KAUFMAN, STATE REP. FOR THE 15TH MIDDLESEX DISTRICT: I had worked only under Republican governors, and I worked really well with all of the others. There was really not much working with Mitt Romney.</s>SAMBOLIN: The White House plans to make the case that Romney's economic plans while governor resulted in slower job creation, more debt, bigger government and cuts to essential middle-class programs. And coming up at 7:00 Eastern on "STARTING POINT," Soledad O'Brien will get reaction from Massachusetts governor Duvall Patrick, a Democrat and an Obama surrogate.</s>BANFIELD: It's 10 minutes now past 6:00 on the East Coast. Graduation day is Saturday, and the class valedictorian, stuck in Mexico. Spring break, this is not. Why this high school senior is stuck across the border. And, guess what, she may not be able to come home for three years. The story in a moment.</s>BANFIELD: Welcome back. It is now 14 minutes past 6:00 on the East Coast. Time to get you updated with the top stories. Christine Romans.</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Ashleigh. Two American tourists kidnapped at gunpoint in Egypt. It happened in the town of Dahab. Now, the kidnappers are demanding that a member of their tribe be released from jail in exchange for these two Americans. The man was arrested this week with a large amount of marijuana. The U.S. embassy says it's working hard for the safe return of those two kidnapped Americans. Space X's Dragon capsule put the international space station in its rearview mirror. The commercial spacecraft releasing from the station, the first step in its journey home. It's expected to splash down in the Pacific later this morning. And a woman who tried to commit suicide while she was pregnant is now facing life in prison because her unborn child died in that attempt. Bei Bei Shuai is a woman living in Indiana. She says she drank rat poison after her boyfriend dumped her because she was depressed. Shuai gave birth, but her child did not survive. Indiana prosecutors have charged her with murder. A Pentecostal preacher from West Virginia who was known for handling dangerous snakes during his sermon, he has died after being bitten in the leg by a rattlesnake. Forty-four-year-old Matt Wolford was bitten Sunday at a West Virginia state park. He died early Monday morning. Wolford told "The Washington Post" last year that he believed the Bible instructed Christians to handle serpents to test their faith in God. The FAA is now looking into a coalition on the tarmac at Chicago O'Hare's airport. Yesterday afternoon, an American Eagle commuter plane that had just landed in Chicago got clipped by the right wing of a cargo jet, a Boeing 747, as that cargo jet was taxing for departure and no one was hurt. In Indiana, a high school senior finds out this morning if she'll be stuck in Mexico for the next three years. Elizabeth Olivas is class valedictorian at Franklin High School. She's supposed to deliver a graduation speech Saturday. She has lived in Indiana since she was 4 years old. She was born in Mexico and she never became a U.S. citizen. Now, a law required she returned to Mexico within 180 days for her 18th birthday to get a visa or a green card. She got there one day late. Now, she's banned from returning to the U.S. unless she's granted a waiver this morning at the U.S. consulate in Juarez. We're going to talk to Elizabeth Olivas later this morning, 8:00 a.m. Eastern, on "STARTING POINT." She's supposed to give a speech on Saturday.</s>SAMBOLIN: Oh, my gosh. I hope she is granted that waiver. Thank you, Christine. Sixteen minutes past the hour. A pair of Florida newlyweds are lucky to be alive this morning after a metal pole impaled the windshield of their SUV. Sandy and Carlton Francis were driving south in Interstates 95 Sunday in Hollywood when the six-foot long metal rod came crashing through their windshield. Look at that. It missed both of them by about a foot.</s>CARLTON FRANCIS, PASSANGER: When I got out of the car and looked at it, I cried. I cried.</s>REPORTER: Did you see it coming?</s>SANDY FRANCIS, PASSANGER: I saw it for a split second.</s>C. FRANCIS: I braced myself. I braced myself and I just hoped for the best.</s>REPORTER: Did you think you lost him?</s>C. FRANCIS: Yes, I did.</s>SAMBOLIN: Goodness. Authorities still aren't sure where that pole came from. They think the metal was already on the highway and it went flying when another car drove over it. I'm going to call today's show lucky to be alive.</s>BANFIELD: I'm going to call today's show buy a lottery ticket. Holy molly. Seventeen minutes now past 6:00. Here today, gone tomorrow. That's the way it works. Facebook's stock plunging. Its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, finds his status plunging, too. He's no longer among Wall Street's elite. We'll explain what ranking he just lost.</s>SAMBOLIN: For an expanded look of all our top stories, head to our blog, CNN.com/EarlyStart.