good morning. it has not happened in almost 40 years, but it could happen today. expect it to happen today. engineers getting ready to open a spillway along the mississippi river. thousands of square miles downriver could be flooded, but

new orleans and baton rouge would be saved. also mirroring arizona, the second state with some stiff immigration laws. the governor nathan beale signed that law yesterday. the author will be here with me in the studio live and also someone who's against it. you want to hear the conversation. also another conversation you'll be interested to hear, a rare interview with hank aaron, talking about baseball, how it's letting down the black community. also talking about who the real home run king should be. from the cnn center, this is your cnn saturday morning. glad you could spend part of your day here with us. it's 7:00 a.m. in morgan city, louisiana. all eyes on morgan city today. let's talk about this flooding, major flooding has swamped the upper mississippi and ohio river valley is now making aim at

lower mississippi. later today the army corps of engineers could open the morganza spill way in louisiana. it has not been opened in more than 40 years. w450i why would they open it now? it could save the cities of new orleans and baton rouge saving them from flooding, but unfortunately it would flood homes and businesses in the southwest part of the state. also on monday, president obama will give a commencement address at a high school in memphis and will also take the time out while he's there to meet with families affected by the flooding. but that may not be much comfort to others who know floodwater also take their homes. >> it's worse than we thought. it's really worse than we thought. we thought maybe we might have water in our yard, instead this is going to come into our home, it's going to take everything we

have got. >> all right. let's turn back to this morganza spill way, just north of baton rouge, residents living west of the mississippi all the way down the flood plane have been warned about what this might mean, it will mean flooded homes and farms. ed, do we know when they might open this thing up? >> we're probably looking at sometime this afternoon, t.j., probably 2:30 central time, 3:30 eastern time. this is all very much in the air and we're waiting to get official confirmation in the next three hours perhaps early in the afternoon. to set the scene, all this water you see behind me, this is a holding reservoir for the morganza spill way. the fact that there's this much water there shows you how

dynamic and incredible this situation here. halfway down, you see a huge gray crane over the top. it's already in position to open up one of the floodgates and we understand this will be done in a very slow and distribute process. when one of those floodgates open, you can look across and see all of this dry land. you can see this will curve south toward morgan city, about 100 miles. it will take several days for this water to reach all the way down there, but they will do in this a very slow and distribute process, t.j., we're told, a lot of that is to give a chance for the wildlife to adapt to all the water that's coming. why they're doing this, we have talked a lot about over the last few days. they need to take pressure off of the mississippi river and what will trigger the opening of these floodgates is the pressure

on the levee system that goes between baton rouge and new orleans. we understand that anything over 1.5 million cubic feet per second. anything more than that puts too much strain, the army corps of engineers says, on the levee system. it will flood a vast amount of farm land, but there are many communities that will be in danger of these floodwaters so a lot of these people taking a lot of precautions to prepare for these floodwaters that will be coming their way. t.j.? >> taking precautions, have they been told to get out? is the evacuation being suggested? or will it ever possibly be mandatory? or will people hold on and ride it out? >> reporter: there's been a lot of warnings that have been going out over the past few days,

urging people, one place we spent a lot of time in, the town of hugo rose where a town of more than 800 homes there, people have been packing it up in some cases taking everything out of their homes because they know what's coming down the pike here. other little towns on the way toward more gogan city, people been building up levees and sandbagging. and authorities want to go door to door to urge people to come out. >> ed lavendera, we appreciate having you from morganza. we have got more businesses, we have more property, we have more lives here, we need to flood this area to try to save that area? >> it's the plain and simple way to look at it. what will be threatened the least. it goes the route of the mississippi river, you've got

baton rouge, new orleans, you go the other way, you get morgan city, louisiana. it will be flooding an area of about 3,000 square miles, it's hard to to believe, one area, morgan city home to about 12,000 people. the mississippi river, just so you'll get your bearings is actually right up here, going right past the floodgates, you can see meandering it's way down to new orleans. but this area that's shaded in blue, that is the area that's going to inundated with flooding. the levee systems are crucial in this part of the world. one of the reasons why it's so crucial is that it actually prevents the floodwaters from escaping the banks. in a normal situation you've got the flood and if you've got the rising river waters and nothing to hold it back, it spreads out

in some cases for miles in either direction. but when you have a levee system which is an artificial bare year on both sides of the river bank, it keeps the river in a nice channel and keeps it from flooding. we need dry conditions, we don't need any rainfall in parts of louisiana and mississippi. and thankfully the weather is going to cooperate. in parts of the great lakes, scattered and storms. including places like detroit, back into cincinnati, you can expect some rainfall, also in places like washington, d.c., same deal in st. louis, back into the pacific northwest, seattle may deal with some rainfall, spokane, some rainfall, but high in the higher elevations, we're talking more snow. >> we'll check in with you again here shortly. now some more new information on what was found by navy s.e.a.l.s inside bin

laden's compound. we're hearing from navy officials they have uncovered an unreleased audiotape, they believe it was taped last month and in it bin laden talked about uprising in indonesia and tune naeza. and also a stack of pornographic materials, but it's unknown who it belonged to. was it bin laden's or his sons, or his couriers? officials aren't saying right now. also pakistan's parliament defending the raid. pakistan also demanding an end to u.s. drone strikes in their country. not exactly a whole lot of drilling going on, but with $4 a gallon gas, no more than the norm than the exception, president obama talking about safe and responsible domestic oil production in his weekly address. >> last year america's oil production reached its highest level since 2003, but i believe that we should continue to

expand oil production in america, even as we increase safety and environmental standards. to do this, i'm asking the department of the interior to analyze alaska's national petroleum reserve and to speed up the drilling of oil in the mid and south atlantic. >> the president went on to say that he wants to expand oil drilling in the gulf of mexico and call for an end to mul multimillion dollar subsidies for oil companies. and a national crackdown on immigration. georgia's governor signs a controversial new law, we are talking to one of the bill's authors, he is here in studio with me. he'll see why he thinks georgia won't face the same fate that arizona has faced so far. more of my conversation with hall of famer hank aaron, do

african-americans have a future in the game he loves? the numbers aren't good. you'll hear his take this morning. we are! got it. [ male announcer ] don't be the last to know. get it faster with 4g. it's the network of possibilities. at&t. yoo-hoo. hello. it's water from the drinking fountain at the mall. [ male announcer ] great tasting tap water can now come from any faucet anywhere. introducing the brita bottle with the filter inside.

11 minutes past the hour now, georgia is the latest state to pass a law identifying illegal immigrants. governor nathan beale signed the bill into law yesterday. he was greeted by protesters outside that capitol building. there are some 425,000 illegal immigrants in georgia, that's the seventh highest in the nation and even more so than arizona. under this new law, police are allowed to verify immigration status of those suspected of particular crimes. also those in the country illegally can be arrested. police can also use a database to confirm that new hires are authorized to work in the u.s.

georgia chamber of commerce, along with a group representing georgia farmers opposed the e-verify provisions in that law. joining me is the author of that law in georgia. sir, thank you for coming in this morning. let's see here, 425,000 estimated illegali immigrants i the state of georgia. do you want them all to go? >> i want people to follow the law and what we have done with house bill 87 is to the greatest extent possible removed incentives for someone who somes to the country illegally comes to georgia. the cost the huge, estimated $425 billion per year. >> you talked about not having more come in. you're trying to get rid of the incentive for coming into the state. but for the ones that are here, would you like for them all to go? >> absolutely. if you're in this country

illegally, there's a process by which you come here legally. and there are millions and millions of people sitting around all over the planet, some of the most desperate places in the world waiting for their turn at the american dream. and i don't know how you can defend as fair individuals that come here in circumvention of the law. we allow millions of people to be naturalized in our country every year. >> a lot of people don't want people jumping to the front of the line, don't want people walking across the border. but just to hear that he wants all those people to go, and still at the same time, do your hearts go out to and you don't think they're bad people necessarily, they're here and trying to provide and work for their families. would you give them that?

>> i understand wanting to make a better life for your family. but i also understand that we are a nation of law and the corner stone that has sustained our democracy for 200 years, depends onned a herns to the laws. >> do you believe that illegal immigrants are adding to this state? because there are plenty of estimates and studying we can give you that say they are adding a whole lot. some estimates up to $20 billion in the state of georgia. >> certainly illegal aliens are paying some sales taxes and other various taxes, but georgia, it's kind of a nebulous problem on the federal level. they don't have to balance their budget. here in georgia, ever single dollar they spend has to be balanced with the money that's coming in. in the last four years we have cut a third of our budget. so when you're talking about a

$2.4 million net impact, that impacts our schools, the quality of our students education. that's netting out the taxes that are paid being against the burden on our taxpayer services. >> what do you feel about being unfortunately that guy. we read here the arizona style law. when people hear that, it has a negative connotation to people around the country. and a lot of people in new york, florida, wherever, they're not going to take time to hear your bill. all they're going to hear is the news, arizona style law, georgia's not friendly to immigrants, immigration and they're anti-business, are you concerned about the impact that this law could have on folks not bringing conventions, not bringing their meetings here, not bringing their vacations here just like we saw in arizona? >> we have by any statistical

measure the most business friendly state in the country, from a regulatory standpoint, from a tax standpoint and it's going to continue to be that way. you ask do i like being that guy. certainly i would love for people to actually sit down and read the bill and understand what's in it. this is a responsible bill, it doesn't cast any wider net than we intend it to, it only gets to the people who are here in the country illegally. >> this is the government's job, you don't want to wait on them to do it? >> it has been 30 years we have been waiting for them to do it and we're taking it as our responsibility. >> mr. ramsay, we appreciate you coming in this morning, a lot more about this and i know you think yours can hold up in court because some are coming after

this bill in the courts, you think this can hold up. we appreciate you coming in. of course not everybody happy with this new law, some of the strongest opposition is coming from the business community. that perspective after the break. where do you go to find a business backed by

the superguarantee®? only superpages.com®. for local maps, deals and more, go to superpages.com®. and let the good guys save the day. 19 past the hour, i spoke with the author of georgia's new immigration law. it requires employers with at least 10 workers to use what's

called the e-verify system before they make new hires, that would confirm their immigration status and if they are able to work in this country. a group of protesters, though small, gathered outside the capitol. among those opposed to the bill business owners. good morning, thank you for being here as well. >> good morning, t. do you think we need illegal workers in this country and specifically in this state? >> we do have a shortage of people to do specific jobs in our country. >> now to do those jobs, though, do we need to have illegal folks here? because i read and i see some things that sounds like some say yes, illegal workers are here and we need them. >> we need a reformed immigration plan to allow our country to accept more people in that would like to work in our country.

>> when you hear this argument all the time, do we not have at 9% unemployment and what is it, 13 million, 14 million out of work in this country, do we not have enough people to do the job? >> we have a lot of jobs in the restaurant and entertainment industry that quite frankly americans will not do. >> what does that mean? >> i have spoken to restauranteurs that have said in the past two years they have had no american people apply as dishwashers and restaurants and scholarly people as stewards. the industry is concerned about this. i spoke to a restauranteur yesterday afternoon before you called me and a restauranteur was sharing me with that hispanic employees are leaving and thigh are legal to this country, they are resident aliens of the united states and have a legal right in this

country, they are leaving the state of georgia because they feel unwelcome, they are concerned for their families, they are concerned for being harassed, they are concerned for being singled out. >> the restauranteurs that you speak of, what is their concern? if this illegal workforce goes away, does it mean they can't fill the jobs? i hear people say my only option are illegal workers, and the illegal workers get the job and it's because that employer doesn't have to pay them a certain wage, they can pay them a little less than the minimum wage. >> the restaurant industry has been complying with federal law by doing i-9 verification. the restaurant industry has been complying with that for many years. >> but that's a form that you can just hand anybody, any fake i.d. and you fill that thing

out, it's not checked with the federal database. >> when the person is entered into your payroll system, that social security number is verified with the social security administration and if there is a nonmatch, you give that employee a letter and allow them time to straighten out their issue, with their social security number or how it was put into the system. >> you oppose e-verify, you can plug somebody in and see if they're here legally. >> the e-verify system is extremely cumbersome. you have to train an administrator and there is a high degree of security that needs to happen when one uses the e-verify system. you cannot use it as a screening device, you cannot use it for preemployment. when you hire an individual, every individual in your business has to be screened through e-verify. if that person comes up with a

nonmatch, they have a specific period of time, it's roughly two weeks to straighten out whenever issue might be with their identification. during that time you cannot suspend them, you have to continue on with their training procession. and the e-verify system was set up so that you are not allowed to discriminate against anybody. however if you take an individual who may not actually -- who has an issue with their name, a hyphen ated last name. >> one of the provisions here does say that someone needs to show i.d. if someone's stopped for a crime. you all are more so opposing the parts that have to do with employers and whatnot, but any other provisions that you have a problem with in this law? >> there are provisions that penalize people for assisting people that are in need. i have had restauranteurs say to

me so if i take an individual to the hospital that cut their hand, i would -- i could be penalized for taking that person to the hospital. >> that's not true. the law says you can't transport someone if you are -- if you know are an illegal immigrant and you transport them to further their illegal status taking somebody to the hospital is not the same thing. >> there are many immigration attorneys will tell you there will be cases made on that. there will be people penalized. the bottom line is we're alienating, we're profiling against a certain group of people. the asian community are just as concerned as the hispanic community. >> i would talk about this all morning, ms. brimmer, it's law now, we have got july 1 before it takes effect. we'll see if it stands up. >> my organization has 300,000

employees that represents $14 billion in revenue and represents 1/18 of the state's overall revenue budget. we will be working with them to make sure they understand the law. my cream is what makes stouffer's fettuccini alfredo so delicious. i think you'll find it's the vegetables. deliciously rich. flavorful!

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all right, major league baseball, looking back this weekend to the ground breaking contributions of african-americans. people like martin luther king jr., frideedom riders but also people like hank aaron. i sat down with hank to talk about his place in baseball history. what would you say to those fan who is say hank aaron is the home run king, he will always be my home run king and they refuse to acknowledge anybody at this point that's above your name.

would you say let it go, the guy above me has more home runs and he's your home run king. what would you say? >> i would thank them first of all if they think that way of the but here again, you know, and we're talking about barry bonds and you know, barry bonds hit more home runs than i did. and he should be justifiably should be the home run king. that's the way i look at it. i look at it as saying he done everything he wanted to do, everything he was supposed to do in baseball. people say, well, you know, he was on this, he was on that. i don't know what he was on. you know, i have no idea, i'm not god, i don't have any idea. the only thing i know is that barry bonds was a terrific ballplayer. i hit 755 home runs, and no matter how you look at it, i ain't going to hit another home run, not in this year, i may do it somewhere else.

he hit more home runs than i did on earth so he should be classified as the home run king. >> so you don't believe he was on anything? >> i didn't say he wasn't on anything, i just say no matter what it was, i have no idea what he was on. as i said before, i'm not god, i don't make those kind of rules. >> you are the guy who said if you get up to 50, 60 home runs, there's something funny. >> i think there's something funny, there's a difference when you say i think something's different. >> you are a scholar and a gentleman. i love it, i love it, i love it. he had a whole lot more to say about the state of today's game and the lack of african-americans in major league baseball right now. you just saw part of the interview there with the hall of famer. you'll hear more out it next hour. also this morning we're keeping a close eye on the mississippi and all the towns along the mississippi and right now people who live in a small

bayou town, they got the bad news this week, 15 feet of floodwater is on the way. cnn was there to get their reaction. >> 70% of the people have packed up and gone already. >> going to be a ghost town pretty soon. >> yeah. building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible.

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more information coming out of pakistan that was recovered in that raid on bin laden's compound in pakistan. new details still emerging about that raid about recovery of pornography at the bin laden compound. also this morning back here at home, the president, president obama heading to memphis, tennessee on monday. we'll get a firsthand view of the ongoing flood crisis along the mississippi river. also on that flooding note, the u.s. army corps of engineers plans on opening another spill way to alleviate the possible flooding in baton rouge and new orleans. but the controlled flood plan

could swamp smaller communities. some pretty desperate times for a lot of people along that mississippi, residents of one small bayou town have been told to evacuate. ed lavendera when they learned the reasons why, 15 feet of water bearing down on their community. >> tucked away in the shade of louisiana cypress trees and back water creeks, you'll have a hard time finding butte la rose, but it's pierre water myers dance floor. >> i put that sign up about two months ago, i have always wanted to name is camp last dance. >> the music has stopped and pierre -- >> i don't know why i'm locking it. >> reporter: is packing up before the floodwaters wash over butte la rose.

>> 70% of people have packed up and gone already. >> reporter: for 70 years, butte la rose has been an electic group of cajuns. >> what's it like to be around here knowing what's coming down the river. >> it's just a somber mood, you know, everybody's just doing what they got to do. >> his bayou community will soon be flooded. >> i'm going to get three feet of water in it. three to four foot. >> but pierre is about to learn that the floodwaters will likely be worse than anything he imagined, pierre and hundreds of butte la rose residents pack into the town's firehouse to hear flood level predictions from the army corps of engineers. >> i'm telling you the water from right here 15 feet. where we're standing, so someone could reach up 15 feet, there's probably up to the roof of this building. >> they said there's going to be

15-foot of water right here. it's over with, it's over with. >> reporter: it's over for butte la rose. too painful for people to hear. >> there's going to be a strong current. >> reporter: as pain turns to anger. colonel ed flemming offers a little comfort. >> in 22 years i have moved 14 times. we might have a box, you might have some important documents you might have some pictures, some keepsake things, those are things we're going to put in the car when that moving truck drives away and you're standing in your driveway with your family and a couple of suitcases and a box, that's when you find out what's important to you. >> and the sadness of the moment brings kelly trimm to tears. >> it's worse than we thought. we thought we might have water in our yard, instead it's going to come into our homes, it's going to take everything we have

got. >> pierre watermeyer knows it's time to pack up and put butte la rose in his rear view mirror, but it's not his last dance. >> we'll dance again around here. >> reporter: and the sign will be the last thing he grabs on the way out of town. ed lavendera, cnn, butte la rose, louisiana. lets turn to some politics now, shall we? the gop field for the 2012 presidential election starting to take shape. newt gingrich and ron paul announce this is week. deply political director paul stein hauser joining me now from washington. paul, hello to you. the governor, governor huckaby, i chased him around the state house for a couple of years. why is he messing around?

everybody wants to announce on their show. you got him, you got trump. >> i tell you t.j., most of the signs point towards the white house -- he hasn't raised a lot of money for a campaign, it's expensive to run for president. a lot of his staff, the guys that helped him out last time he ran, he has let them go to other candidates. a lot of this is pointing to a nonrun. he has gained a lot of weight since he last ran and he has the cnn contract. hike huckabee on top of all of our polls and everybody else d and. >> do you have to mention that he gained a lot of weight? as wolf pointed out yesterday, wolf blitzer, he said you know what? for the first time he's making a lot of real money. you don't make a lot of money in

those state houses. let's move on to someone who did make some money yesterday. let's move on to ron paul, he made the announcement, made it official, he's in. do this sounds like the same old story, same old song how is it different? >> he's got a lot of devoted, energetic and enthusiastic followers. i have seen him on the campaign trail, they love this man. we saw this money bombs back in 2008, raising millions of dollars online, he's only done it once. he's considered maybe outside the main stream of the republican party, some of his views are a little too far out there when it comes to foreign policy, u.s. involvement in nato. >> and newt gingrich, i'll skip the sound i was going to use from him. but still some pluses anding minuses, a lot of these minuses, he has such a record, and they

do call it baggage. >> he's got a lot of experience, he's got a long resume. he's got a lot of name recognition, that's good, people know him. but the flip side is, a lot of that name regular in addition is pretty good. and you mentioned some of the other baggage, he's married three times, he's admitted to an affair and that may not play well with social conservatives. >> paul, we'll talk to you again here shortly. >> we told you about this story last weekend right here. we were just getting word that they have been kicked off the plane by the pilot. we're talking about those two imoms. what about you if you get on the plane, can you be kicked off for any reason?

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all right, quarter of the top of the hour here now, tell you about a story we first brought you last weekend. two muslim clerics taken off of a plane apparently without a solid explanation. two imams -- both men were taken off the official flight apparently by order of the pilot. >> when mr. john came out and his face was red and he was upset and he said, i apologize, you guys, i'm watching you from beginning to the end, you are very polite, very nice, very

cooperative, very helpful. we appreciate your patient and a lady who appreciates our patience, they were very good and very professional. but they said the pilot is not allowing you to go. >> ironically, the imams went to charlotte, they were headed for a conference that focussed on islam phobia. they do want to make sure the pilot is held accountable for his action. the pilot is with atlantic southwest airlines. here's what he had to say, we take security and safety very seriously, and the event is currently under investigation. for the case of two imams being kicked off a commercial flight, got us all wondering, just how much power do the pilots have? let's bring in sonny hostin who works over at our sister

network, "in session." does it mean matter who was uncomfortable? some way it was the pilot, some say it was the passengers, does that even play into the scenario? >> i don't know if it matters who was uncomfortable, but what does matter is supreme court has found recently in february that the captain or the pilot of an aircraft has very wide discretion in determining who he will fly, who he will fly with or she, and also in determining what is safest for the aircraft and in his word, or her word is final. and so in that sense, these pilots are saying that they are concerned that this was a safety concern and that they make those judgment calls. >> is that enough? it sounds like the pilot or the captain has the ultimate power no matter what. they can say they don't like the way your shoes are tied and kick you off the plane, is that right? >> i think that's really the

question, t.j. is it okay if i get on and i'm a latina lawyer and the pilot doesn't like the way i look and says i can't get on the plane? well, no, there has to be a valid security concern and i don't think the supreme court ruling trumps someone's civil rights. but again, to fly is not a right, it's a privilege and certainly people have decided they don't want to be screened and so they drive or take the bus. but i don't think that a pilot can trample on someone's civil rights, there has to be a valid security concern or safety concern. in this case i'm a little bit concerned because the t.s.a. has cleared these men already, they had cleared them several times through several layers of security, so tsa is saying we didn't make the judgment call not to allow them to fly, this was strictly on the airlines. but again, airlines can refuse to transport someone if they deem that that individual is unsafe and the pilot of an

aircraft is a representative of the airline and has that final say. so it's going to be a balancing test, i think. >> yeah, but what exactly is that threshold if they deem someone to be threatening or unsafe and also, though, nobody's ever going to put you off a plane, first of all, here, sonny, we know that, but still when you purchase that ticket, is that somewhat like a contract and you are agreeing to give up in some way some of your rights and handing that discretion over to the airline and the pilot? >> it really is. again, flying is a privilege, it not a right. so yes, when you purchase that ticket, you submit yourself at least to the tsa and you submit yourself to being screened and all of those things, we have covered those stories, t.j., but the extra layer is the pilot of the aircraft. he or she can say i have a safety concern for this aircraft because of this individual, but i don't think, and the supreme court hasn't quite ruled on this, but i don't think that

that pilot can say because of someone's appearance, because of someone's religion, i am uncomfortable and i'm not going to allow them on the plane. that in my view goes too far. this investigation is still unfolding, i am certain that the pilots are being interviewed. if it's determined that their actions were unjustified, there are going to be a lot of repercussions from disciplinary actions from within the airline, i think, but these scholars are going to sue, they have already retain as lawyer and they are going to sue. >> we're thinking about muslim men being targeted, but it's something we all need to keep in mind when we fly, quite frankly, we could all end up in a situation like this, we know better, we know how to behave, you don't just make jokes and things like you did before. we all need to behave. always a pleasure to talk with

you, talk soon. >> thanks. all right, michael vick, the role model. he will actually be a commencement speaker for students in philadelphia next month. is this a redemption story that continues? or is this maybe a bad idea? also baby boomers pushing themselves too hard to stay in shape. doctors call it boomeritis. do you have it? stay here. we're adding new cel. increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. in an eso i takegive you one a day men's 50+ advantage. as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration.

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minutes to the top of the hour. we bring in a friend of ours from hln sports. another sad story this week. this 28 years old, young man in the nhl found dead. >> we're talking about derek drugard, really known as an enforcer on the ice, drops the glove at a moment's notice, a fighter. but what a lot of people don't know about drew is what he did off the ice. he worked with a lot of charities, in particular, a lot of charities to help kids who are the children of military members. he used to invite military members and their families to games, last night around 6:00 minneapolis time, he was found in his apartment by family members. still have not determine what the cause of death is, but the coroner telling cnn they will

perform an autopsy today. but a sad story and really a hard hit for ranger fans and the organization. again, just 28 years old, in the prime of his career, really. >> at this point, they're not looking at foul play, necessarily? >> all they would tell cnn is that they're solely investigating his death so they don't know anything yet. >> a rough week, of course the sad news, a colleague, a guy we worked with out of chicago, a sports anchor found dead in a hotel room in atlanta. a rough week in sports. let's take a transition here, we talked about this a second ago. michael vick, he has certainly since he got out of prison, he has gone through certain steps in his rehabilitation. he's getting out there a little bit, now talking to the kiddies? >> he's been selected as a

commencement speaker at the camelot schools in philadelphia and people are already saying, okay, this guy, should he be a role model to these kids? but the camelot schools is a program designed for public school kids who are trying have problems and are trying to get back into the public school system. this man has admitted to -- now he's getting his chance and these kids actually voted to have him come and speak to them. people want to criticize michael vick, i don't agree with what he did, but i do agree to a person getting a second chance and he needs to do things like this in order to continue that rehabilitation process. you know what i'm saying? >> that's neat, i didn't know that part t kids actually had a say so in it, they voted? >> it was between the mayor and the school superintendent and michael vick and vick won by a

slim margin, but he's the perfect person to talk to these people. here's what could happen, you could have everything, you could lose it and now have you to continue like i did on the re b rehabilitation path back into the public school system. >> we are talking about literally opening up the floodgates, that's the plan for parts of louisiana, they could end up under 25 feet of water so bigger cities can stay dry. ♪ you love money ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪

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what's your story? citi can help you write it. . all right, we're at the top of the hour here on this cnn saturday morning, something that hasn't happened in almost 40 years is expected to happen

today. a spillway along the mississippi river expected to be opened up and it could impact about 25,000 people downriver. why? that's being done in an effort to save new orleans and baton rouge from major flooding. also, president bush, you remember, he vowed to take down osama bin laden ten years ago. so what does the former president have to say now that the terrorist is dead? the former president is breaking his silence finally. also millions of people fly through a visa lit troottery ev year and suddenly find out they don't. i'm t.j. holmes on this saturday, may 14. it's 8:00 a.m. in morgan city, louisiana. that's where we need to start with the flooding. a lot of places taking steps right now trying to save major cities along the mississippi

river from flooding, the army corps of engineers could open the huge morganza spill way. the trig sir when floodwaters are throwing at 1.5 million gallons a minute. the last time the spillway was used was back in 1973. opening this thing will divert water from baton rouge and new orleans, possibly saving them from massive flooding by taking pressure off their levees. that would also flood homes and farms in seven louisiana parishes in the south central part of the state. the national guard has been called in, they're working around the clock trying to fill sandbags in morgan city. and president obama is going to be giving a graduation speech to memphis seniors. there's not everyone anybody can do to comfort those who know

their homes are going to be lost. >> it's worse than we thought. it's really worse than we thought. we thought maybe we might have water in our yard and stuff, this is going to come into our homes, it's going to take everything that we have got. >> now let's tell you more about what this spillway is, what it means to those along the mississippi. it's just north of baton rouge, people living west of the mississippi all the way down the flood plane have been warned that water levels will rise dramatically and flood homes and farms, i want to bring in ed lavendera once again in morg morganza, you gave us a description earlier that was very helpful. you see where the water is now, that's not going to be where it is later? >> reporter: absolutely, in the next few hours, a lot of this will change dramatically we anticipate. this is kind of a holding reservoir, where a lot of times this is actually dry, just dry land, but you can see how this,

this is already spilloff from the mississippi river. what you see behind me, here the structure is the morganza floodway structure. there's 125 gates and they will start opening them about 1:30 central time. when you walk over the bridge here, you look back over that dry land, those gates will send that water back over that way and it will curve to the south about 100 miles down to morgan city, and that flooding through this river basin is what will be flooded here in the coming days, we're told the water will take about three days to reach morgan city, so there's a lot of communities, a lot of wide open farm land as well. as you mentioned, the trigger for this is that 1.5 million cubic feet per second of water on the mississippi river, that puts too much pressure on the

levee systems between baton rouge and new orleans and that's why they would have to open up this spill way here, that's too much pressure there and if the levees were to be breached there that would be catastrophic in places like baton rouge and new orleans. so they will send this water into more remote areas, but as we mentioned t.j., a lot of communities, a lot of farm land that will be affected by what happens here in the coming days. >> our ed lavendera there, just an illustration of what's going to be happening. let me bring in reynolds wolf here with me. reynolds, i just had a thought, we have been watching this for so long now, this flooding that is coming, remind us what triggered all this in the first place? it seemed like it was so long ago that we were talking about melting snow and all this rain coming. >> incredible snow pack, incredible snow pack and of course the heavy rainfall, everything has to have a place to go. the mississippi river is truly the spine of the continent,

everything floes into it and as it makes its way down, through your ho -- the idea that they're going to divert this, it's a horrible decision that has to be made. >> we saw this same thing when they had to blow up the levee up north and you sacrificing all this farm land and literally people's livelihood that you're trying to save this other town. the same kind of thing that's happening on down in louisiana. >> the horrible decision of sacrificing a few to save many. here's how this game plan is going to work. this is our google earth image that we have of the morganza floodgates. you can make out a little bit of a line here, that line is your mississippi river, past a that landscape, all the way down to baton rouge and new orleans. but this area in blue, that's where you're going to have all

the flooding. 3,000 scare miles and you have roughly 25,000 people that live there, over 11,000 structures that could all be under water. some places the water may be as high as 25 feet in depth. the problem is that water's going to be flowing over to morgan city, a place protected by several levees. a place without levees really can't hold back the river. sometimes it can move miles inland. in this situation, we're hoping the levees will be strong enough to hold back that rising water and protect those communities. again, 12,000 people call morgan city home. a very scary prospect indeed. what we're seeing in terms of weather, we need some dry weather in parts of the southeast, especially in parts of louisiana. louisiana and mississippi should be okay, but more rain expected in the united states. not only some rain, but even some snowfall in high levels of

the kas sacascades, more snow ed in places like steamboat springs colorado, where it seems like winter will never end. >> reynolds, appreciate you as always. we'll check in with you again. we do want to turn now to some other news making headlines, including some new information on what was found by navy s.e.a.l.s on what was found inside bin laden's compound. they released and audiotape from the former al qaeda leader. in that audiotape bin laden talked about recent uprising in tunisia. they found some pornographic materials, pakistan's parliament meanwhile is condemning the u.s. raid this morning and threatening to cut access to a key drtransit facility. pakistan also demanding an end to u.s. drone strikes in their country. a great victory in the war on

terror. that is what george w. bush said in his first public comments about the death of osama bin laden. he said he got a call from president obama telling him about the successful raid and osama bin laden's death. president bush responded by saying, quote, your call. and arizona has the strictest anti-immigration law, maybe not. georgia's governor signed a controversial bill about what police can ask. >> while i think that immigration is something that needs to be identified at the federal level, this legislation is a responsible step forward in the absence of federal action. >> critics say they are planning a legal challenge to the new law before it takes effect in july. disappointing news for thousands of immigrants who thought they won the chance to legally live and work in the united states.

the first drawing did not count. we're talking about the state department's diversity visa lottery. they say a computer glitch kept some people from being entered. so they're saying it wasn't a fair drawing so they have to draw again in july. usa today talked to a u.s. immigrant named max who was already making long-term plans after seeing his name on the list. out of around 15 million applicants, only about 15,000 people get visas, so when you hear those numbers you understand why they call it a lottery and it is just that and you feel like you won the lottery if you are one of those 50,000. now max hopes that lightning strikes twice for him, who knows if it will, or he'll have to be in germany after his current visa runs out. fake photos of historic

events. that's what many of you may be seeing when you check out a website or a newspaper. at least if it's a president of president obama giving a speech. can't say if these are staged or not, but they could be. it's an old practice that the president will stand for pictures after a speech. so he's essentially standing there re-enacting, pretending to give the same speech again. this practice dates back to truman's days. you can't just always fit all the photographers in the room. this is the problem here with those cameras, they make a lot of noise, so they get to shoot their still shots after the actual event takes place. but now the white house says enough is enough with that, they're going to end that practice. that decision comes just after a reuters photographer blogged about taking pictures of the we got bin laden speech and the pictures they had to take took place after the speech had already happened. well, let's move on to hank

aaron now, you can't fake the accomplishments of this hall of famer, the baseball legend taking part in this week baseball celebration. i had the chance to sit down and talk with this man about baseball and how he thinks it's failing a particular community right now. and maybe up to 8 in a day. or...choose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. enjoy the flight. [ lane ] here's the trouble with most anti-wrinkle creams. the cream disappears but your wrinkles don't. ♪ introducing neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it has the fastest retinol formula available. in fact, it's clinically proven to smooth wrinkles in just one week. so all you have to do is sit back and watch your wrinkles go away. new rapid wrinkle repair. from neutrogena®.

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all right, 16 minutes past

the hour with cnn saturday morning. it's a big weekend here in florida. baseball civil rights in advance of tomorrow's throe back game between the braves and the philadelphia phillies. exactly what is going on here. jennifer mayerly can tell us, she's in life in atlanta. >> reporter: this is a big kickoff for the youth here in atlanta for the big civil rights game. this is called wanna play, the name says it all. it's a lot of fun for the mouth and a lot of people have been coming in here since it opened at 8:00. i have seen a lot of good pitches and a lot of good swings out here so far. there's a lot going on here today starting with pitching skills. a lot of these kids are going to be taught by former baseball players. it's a great way to reenergize and reinvigorate the youth in this area and other youth that

will be coming into atlanta for the civil rights game that goes on tomorrow. but this is really all about getting the kids involve and reinvigorated in baseball. a lot of the major league baseball players, former players are going to be out here today who credit people like hank aaron who credit the civil rights movement for what they were able to accomplish in their baseball career. so today the kids will get a lot of fun out here and maybe a little bit of history and how baseball was able to come about for some of the great african-american players who are here. of course baseball played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement with some of those players. and the kids are getting to experience a little bit of that today with a lot of fun. back to you, t.j. >> and of course some of these kids, major league baseball i wouldn't say wants to recruit, but still they're trying to get people into baseball at a younger age, expose them to some of those stars.

thank you so much this morning, one of the stars will be hank aaron. i got to sit down with this baseball legend to talk about the state of the game today. take a listen to him. >> the election of a black president in this country -- >> uh-huh. >> compare that if you can, if you will to jackie robinson breaking into major league baseball and also what you did in major league baseball as far as your chasing history. in comparing those things, what i mean, how do they compare when it come to those types of events being catalysts for change in this country. we may not know until later exactly what the election did for back people in this country. how would you compare it? >> it's a whole lot different than what the president obama is up against now, you know, the change in fact him being president of the united states,

i don't know how i could compare that to anything other than to say that if dr. king were living today, we would have said, well done, son, we have made a tremendous change, we have moved in the right direction. >> you said riding on the shoulders of these giants of dr. king, of jackie robinson, a lot of people wouldn't separate you guys, a lot of people would put you in that same vain of jackie robinson and dr. king and others. why would you put yourself in that same esteem? >> i hold them much higher than i do. not only because of what they stood for, but what they stood for to bring to the civil rights table for other blacks to chew on and ride on, you know. >> what is the state of baseball these days? how is it doing today? is it's polarity waning at all?

>> it could be better, it could be a lot better. we don't have as many african-americans playing baseball now as we used to v any time we have an economic struggle in this country, we, and i mean we, the blacks are going to feel the pinch a lot quicker than anybody. and baseball is a very expensive game. >> kids can turn on tv and they can see that immediate -- that instant fame or whatnot from basketball, with football. >> i just don't believe baseball has sold itself as much in the black area as it should have, you know, really. i think that somehow, i think football has done a terrific job and i think basketball has done another terrific job of selling its sports in the areas. you look at it deep enough, it is that young kid who's 7, 10, 12 years old playing baseball, growing up, wants to play baseball and by the time he gets to 18, where he can get to college, then here come the football coach, the football coaches tell him, we got a

four-year scholarship and he's looking somewhere else because we have not made the kind of progress in baseball that we needed to make, where that black kid could look up and say oh, hank aaron is part owner of a ball club, this and that. basketball has done that. basketball has owners and this black kid and the black mother, father can look out and see that that kid, if he makes it, he got a chance to go on to greater things. >> now plenty more to chat with him about of course and of course what's on everybody's mind, barry bonds and who is the real home run king? he addresses that next hour. quick break, i'm right back. where do you go to find a super business? you know, the ones who do a super job? superpages.com®. for local maps, reviews and videos & it's the only local search site with the superguarantee®. so next time, let the good guys save the day.

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a look now at the stories making headlines, pakistani politicians demanding an end to u.s. unmanned drone strikes. meanwhile new details emerging still about that raid including the recovery of pornography from the al qaeda leader's compound. also new reports out of iran suggest authorities there have postponed their planned punishment for a man convicted of throwing acid on a woman and blinding her. the man was to have five drops of acid put in each of his eyes. human rights group amnesty international urged iran to abandon the eye for an eye sentence. moammar gadhafi assures citizens that he is still alive while criticizing u.s. air strikes on the libyan capital. the army corps of

engineering planning on opening another spillway to alleviate flooding in baton rouge and new orleans. but the controlled flood could swamp thousands of acres in small communities. ♪ magic [ male announcer ] werther's original caramel chocolate. what comfort tastes like. at usaa, this is our executive committee. this is our advisory board. our field research team.

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