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CNN Sunday Morning
'Tea Party' Activists Join Wisconsin Budget Battle; New Libyan Protests Expected Despite Threats of Violence
Aired February 20, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Tens of thousands of angry teachers, frustrated taxpayers and "tea party" imports converge in Wisconsin in a battle over budget cuts. With no compromise in sight, will the protests gain momentum today?
And what about the 14 lawmakers who left the state instead of voting? We'll talk live with one of the state senators.
A rougher road for protesters in Libya, where there are reports of brutal deaths in the wake of a deadly crackdown. Journalists are not allowed in, but powerful pictures are making their way out.
And extreme winds tear through several states, whipping a New York City fire to a dangerous five alarms.
And in Washington, knocking down a national treasure: a beloved Christmas tree.
It's early and we're on it.
From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's February 20. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. And thanks for waking up with us this morning.
We just told you about those powerful winds knocking down the Christmas tree. Reynolds Wolf is going to be here in just a moment to tell us where the snow is going to be the real problem today.
We'll get you caught up on those developing stories as well as this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My kid's not here! He's dead because of him. He ruined my (BLEEP) life! I'd like him to go to hell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: This mother is heartbroken, taking her anger out on a judge convicted in a racketeering scheme. Did his actions cost her son his life? Her compelling story is coming up.
And we'll give you rare access to some of the best of the best in the Marine Corps: Their sniper team. Before you can become that kind of top gun, you need some very special training. So stick around for that.
And have you checked your mailbox? It is a very big morning for Prince William and Kate Middleton. The royal invitations have been sent. Who made the list? Who got snubbed? That's all coming up in just about 20 minutes.
No deals, no negotiations and no compromises in that huge budget battle happening now at the Wisconsin state capitol. The fight centers on slashing the collective-bargaining rights of public employees. And it's being closely watched by other states struggling with budget deficits. Thousands have been at the capitol building in Madison all week. More demonstrations are expected today.
CNN's Shelby Lin has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHELBY LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No rest this weekend for opponents of Wisconsin's controversial budget bill, who for a fifth day marched at the state capitol in Madison to voice their displeasure over the measure.
The bill would raise the cost of benefits for state workers and limit the ability of workers' unions to collectively bargain.
Republican Governor Scott Walker says the measure is necessary in the tough times the state is facing and to avoid laying off 6,000 state workers.
Opponents say the governor's math is fishy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're going to lay off 6,000 people, but you just promised me six weeks ago you're going to create 250,000 jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are broke. We are broke in Wisconsin.
LIN: This woman was one of the pro-Governor Walker demonstrators who came out for the first time Saturday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that the concessions that the governor is asking for are out of line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable! Unprecedented! Un-American!
LIN: The talk has been just as heated in the state legislature, where the bill is at an impasse.
Fourteen state senators brought the Senate to a halt, fleeing the capitol, demanding the governor negotiate further.
But his supporters don't see that happening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our governor has come out very strongly and he's not going to bend. We're - that's why we elected him. LIN: I'm Shelby Lin, reporting from Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Fourteen Democratic senators skipped town from Madison on Thursday, leaving the Senate without a quorum needed for a vote on a bill. Where are they and when are they coming back?
We'll see if we can find out. At the top of the next hour, I'm actually going to talk to Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller about all of this.
And now to the Middle East, where anti-government protests are heating up today on the first day of the workweek. Protesters in Libya vowing to keep up the pressure even though the government has staged a brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrators. Witnesses told CNN that protesters were even being shot from helicopters.
Unlike in other countries, protests in Libya seem to be strongest outside the capital city. The protests are centered in the eastern city of Benghazi. That's significant, because that's where Moammar Gadhafi staged his revolution to take power back in 1969. The Libyan government says the protests are being started by outside forces intent on destabilizing their country.
The group Human Rights Watch says more than 80 protesters have been killed in just the last few days.
Here's what one witness told our Don Lemon last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over 200 people died today, and that was maybe at 10:00. And now it's 2:20, so I can't estimate how many. That's only today. I'm scared tomorrow, because I'm afraid if I'm going to survive tonight, that there's going to be another group tomorrow with you, hopefully.
(CROSSTALK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think the situation is that bad that you believe that people won't survive overnight? It - is it that bad?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm telling you, my friend has died already and all 200 people died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: We'll be talking with him just a little bit later in this hour. And we have to stress that obtaining independent confirmation on events in Libya is very difficult. The Libyan government maintains tight control on communications and has not responded to repeated requests from CNN for access to Libya.
In Bahrain, the main trade union has called for a general strike today. Protesters there have occupied Pearl Square at the center of the capital city. The area had been controlled by the military, but troops and police moved out of the way.
The order to move the military came one day after we saw dramatic pictures of protesters being shot.
This was the scene. Witnesses say government forces fired directly on the protesters. Four people were killed. Bahrain's crown prince spoke exclusively with our Nic Robertson about the violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE SALMAN BIN HAMAD BIN ISA AL KHALIFA, CROWN PRINCE OF BAHRAIN: It was a terrible tragedy. When I heard that news, I hopped into my car and drove straight to the TV station and spoke to the nation and appealed for calm.
This is not the Bahrain I know. I never thought I'd see the day that something like that would happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The crown prince also said there would be an investigation into the shooting and that he now welcomes dialogue with opposition parties.
Coming up in our 8:00 hour, we'll talk about to a Middle East expert about the domino effect that we're seeing from these protests and how they are all affecting the United States.
Reuters reports that Egypt will start releasing around 200 political prisoners very soon. But the country's prime minister says only a handful were jailed during protests that toppled President Hosni Mubarak. Emergency laws allowed Mubarak to imprison political rivals.
The U.S. Navy this morning is monitoring the abduction of four Americans by pirates in the Indian Ocean. That tops our "Weekend Wheel," a quick look at other stories that we're following today.
The four are being held aboard their yacht, the SV Quest, by Somali pirates. The yacht is owned by Jean and Scott Adam (ph). They are on a round-the-world trip. On their website, the couple says their mission is to spread Christianity.
The Adams' pastor talked to affiliate KABC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THE REV. LLOYD ROGERSON, ST. MONICA'S CHURCH: Both of them had a - a great outreach, of course, through this ministry to take the - the scriptures, the Bibles, to - to - to places across the world. And so they helped - they felt that call to - to do that, and - and that's what they were doing, I presume, when this happened.
My prayer and my hope is with that family and with them in a special way now that, somehow, they can be returned safely. And that's - that's - that's our prayer, that's our hope today, that these great people who are taking this holy word and giving it to so many people across this world, that - that they will somehow return and find safety and come back home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Hmm.
A new business is booming in Colorado, offering group discounts for medical-marijuana products. It's kind of like the wildly popular Groupon site, if you're familiar with that one. Right now, it is only in Colorado, where medical marijuana is legal. But the founder is considering expanding into other states that allow people to purchase pot.
Investigators in Texas are now releasing this videotape in an effort to find the person responsible for throwing a Molotov cocktail at the governor's mansion in Austin. It happened actually back in 2008, but police still have not been able to identify suspects. They're hoping this tape will jog some memories for people.
The mansion suffered minor damage from the fire. The governor actually wasn't even there at the time.
A massive apartment fire is still burning in Brooklyn, New York, nearly 12 hours after it started. At least 100 people had to be evacuated. High winds gusting to around 40 miles per hour have hampered efforts by firefighters to get this under control.
"The New York Times" reports that some of the floors have collapsed. At least 20 firefighters and three other people were treated for some minor injuries.
High winds in the nation's capital snapped the trunk on the National Christmas Tree not far from the White House. The 42-foot-tall blue spruce was the star attraction back in December, when the first family took part in the lighting ceremony. But by late last night, it was just a memory. The area was cleaned up and the tree was reduced to mulch. How sad.
Thousands of Auburn University fans rallied under their beloved oak tree Saturday, hoping that the trees allegedly poisoned by a disgruntled University of Alabama fan might be saved. A 62-year-old former police official is charged with poisoning two of the trees. Neither of the oak trees are expected to survive.
The storm system that brought heavy snowfall to the Sierra Nevadas and the Rocky Mountains of the western U.S. is now sweeping eastward. I'll tell you who will need to bundle up in just a moment.
Plus, have you got yours? The royal-wedding invites are in the mail. Did you make the guest list? Find out.
But first, could you be living in one of America's angriest places? A new report by MensHealth.com has ranked the angriest U.S. cities.
Here is the list:
No. 5 is Newark, New Jersey.
No. 4, Sin City, Las Vegas, Nevada.
No. 3, St. Petersburg, Florida.
So what are the top two angriest cities in the U.S.? Don't get mad, but we're going to make you wait until the other side of this break to find out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Does your city rank high when it comes to anger and aggravated assaults? If so, you may be living in one of the angriest cities in the U.S., according to "Men's Health" magazine.
Here are the top two angry towns:
Topping the list, taking the No. 2 spot, Baltimore, Maryland.
And the No. 1 angriest city in America - here's the big moment - given the current state of the economy there, they may have good reason to be upset. It is Detroit, Michigan. Sorry, Motor City. Don't blame me; I'm just the messenger.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAYE: One of the premier events of the NBA All-Star weekends is the slam-dunk contest. Big names like Dr. J and Michael Jordan were the stars that made it magical.
Well, today, the young guns pull out on the stops. Check out the dunk that won it all for Blake Griffin. The Los Angeles superstar actually jumped over the hood of a car to slam it home. That is impressive.
Then he (INAUDIBLE) landing on the hood. Pretty funny stuff. Griffin is on the west squad for tonight's all-star game. You can catch it on TNT at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
This is the time of year when sports fans turn their eyes south for baseball's spring training. But for the New York Mets, they aren't answering questions about star players and young rookies. Instead, they're talking about Bernie Madoff and allegations that he helped Mets owner Fred Wilpon make millions. Wilpon is also facing a lawsuit brought by the man in charge of getting back the money lost by Madoff's victims.
You see, Wilpon and Madoff were friends for about 35 years and Wilpon was a major investor. Well, this week, he defended himself at Mets camp in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) FRED WILPON, OWNER, NEW YORK METS: We got the same kind of returns. We never got any special returns. It was over a long period of time. We lost over a half a billion dollars the day he went over. Cash money.
We - we put in money. I personally put in money within three weeks of him going under. I know you're looking at me like I'm - like I have a third head, but I'm not stupid. I - you know, I wouldn't do that if I - I wouldn't risk my family's money if - if I thought he - there was anything wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Wilpon is now looking to sell a 25 percent stake in the team. "Forbes" magazine puts the value of the New York Mets at $858 million. The manager of the Mets minor-league team in Buffalo is also being asked to return money he made investing with Madoff. The bill for Tim Teufel is just over $1 million.
And then, there's this: It's Bernie Madoff's Mets jacket. Oh yes. Looking pretty snazzy, right? Well, it fetched more than $14,000 when some of his personal items were auctioned to pay swindled investors.
A bizarre story out of Texas. A runaway bulldozer plows through two homes and nobody seems to know exactly what happened. That story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Glad you're with us. It's about 19 minutes past the hour.
A runaway bulldozer destroys one home and damages another in Texas. That tops our cross-country look at stories that we're following today.
Police in West Odessa are trying to determine how the bulldozer started up. Neighbors say they had to break out the back window to get inside and turn off the engine. The bulldozer's doors had been locked and there were no injuries, luckily.
And here's a reunion that was a long time coming. Parker, that adorable little black-and-white dog right there - well, he disappeared six years ago from the Auberding (ph) family. But on Wednesday, the Human Society of Indianapolis called saying, 'Hey, guess what? Yes, we've got your dog.' Six years later.
A jogger found the dog at a park and turned him over to the Humane Society. The family and Parker are now back home in Kentucky. Love that.
And take a look at this face. You would think llamas would be sort of cuddly, right? But not this one. Ronnie Griffin (ph) of Kings Mountain, North Carolina, says this is one mean llama. He attacked Griffin, who called 911 trapped inside his car.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 DISPATCHER: Your phone's breaking up. What's got you hemmed (ph) up?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A llama.
DISPATCHER: A llama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man, he was all over me and that car both.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Love that.
Ronnie Griffin was not injured in the attack, but he says he is not going to turn his back on his animal, either. I don't blame him.
It is time to watch your mailbox. Yes, the royal-wedding invitations are on the mail. Have you checked your mailbox? I have the guest list and all the details you're going to want to know, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: February is Black History Month, and that's weighing heavily on the hearts of many people in Baltimore as they mobilize to save a civil-rights landmark.
Here's CNN's Fredricka Whitfield with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baltimore, Maryland - a city like many across the country looking for ways to spur economic growth.
That's why city officials and developers have high hopes for a planned $150 million housing and retail project.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All for history (ph).
WHITFIELD: The problem is, one of the buildings they want to demolish has a special place in Baltimore's and civil-rights history.
It was back in January of 1955 when 20-year-old Helena Hicks and her friends went into Read's Drug Store and sat at the lunch counter, knowing that the store served only white people.
HELENA HICKS, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: It isn't much fun to see other people go in and get a - something hot to drink or sit down and be able to get something hot to drink and eat.
WHITFIELD: Hicks and her group were not served. They stayed for nearly half an hour before leaving without incident. But they made their point. Within days after other protests at Read's, the retail chain changed its policy. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three four.
CROWD: Save Read's Drug Store!
WHITFIELD: Over 55 years later, Hicks is back...
HICKS: It nobody ever does it, it never gets done.
WHITFIELD: ...trying to save the building.
HICKS: It's a big part of the civil-rights movement. We have had in this country lots and lots of activities relating to the civil rights of people. And this is a big part of that whole process. And so it has to stand and be recognized.
CROWD: Save Read's Drug Store!
WHITFIELD: The building that housed Read's is now city-owned, and there are plans for massive construction in the neighborhood. Community activists want the building spared. They say it could serve as an educational tool for children to learn what happened there in 1955.
City leaders and the developer say they're sensitive to the situation and they say they want to do right by the community.
KATHY ROBERTSON, BALTIMORE DEVELOPMENT CORPORTATION: The developer has already said, they in no way want to disrespect the history of the neighborhood and disrespect the event. We're not quite sure how to commemorate that yet, whether it means the physical building, whether it means that there will be a display or some interactive activity in the building.
WHITFIELD: Hicks says she's encouraged, but says she's not letting up more than five decades after she first took a stand here.
HICKS: This has to work. We have to keep this building up. Because once you lose history, it's gone forever.
Fredricka Whitfield, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And coming up:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you know what he told everybody in court? They need to be held accountable for their actions. You need to be! Do you remember me? Do you remember me? Do you remember my son ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: A mother's grief for the son she no longer has. She says it's because a judge got kickbacks to send kids like him away for minor offenses. The whole story straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It is half past the hour.
Winds of change across the Middle East. Let's catch you up now on the protests that have captured much of the world's attention.
We're getting new reports this morning of more demonstrations today in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a. This would be the 10th consecutive day of protest there, crowds chanting "First Mubarak, now Ali," references to Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh and recently deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
In the nearby island nation of Bahrain, a dramatic turn of events at the epicenter of demonstrations there, protesters retaking the Pearl roundabout. That's where Bahrainian authorities cracked down two days ago in an effort to crush dissent. But the crown prince gave in to protester who demanded military forces be removed from the square.
Similar protests threaten the government of Libya, a country sandwiched between Tunisia and Egypt, where mass demonstrations have successfully toppled governments there. It appears Libya's long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi, is digging in and so are the protesters.
CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney has the latest, but with this warning - some of the images you are about to see are certainly graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No - no freedom whatsoever, you know? In fact, I can't even reveal my name. I can't even tell you my location. I can't - I can't even say which hospital I work in.
That's enough - that's enough indictment for the government, that people live in fear.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A hospital doctor in Libya's second city, Benghazi, explains why the climate of repression under Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's rule is driving people out into the streets and why ordinary people are risking their lives by taking on the overwhelming firepower of the military.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you can hear now, it's like a (INAUDIBLE) rounds being fired. All the day, they're just being - bringing sort of injured people and dead bodies into the hospital.
SWEENEY: The death toll has been rising in Benghazi ever since clashes broke out on Tuesday, the unrest spreading to several other towns and cities, heading westwards towards Gaddafi's stronghold, Tripoli.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE). SWEENEY: A strikingly contrasting picture on state television, this talk show airing the cause of Gaddafi supporters from Benghazi, berating the demonstrators. Pictures of a ransacked government office, the unrest blamed on foreign elements.
Video too of Gaddafi supporters on the streets of the capital Tripoli, and, watching from afar, exiled opposition leaders hoping for Gaddafi's downfall.
MOHAMED YOUSESS MEGARIAF, NATIONAL FRONT FOR THE SALVATION OF LIBYA: We hope now that this sacrifice that Libyans have showed, and this courage and bravery that they showed in - in facing Gaddafi's mercenaries and Gaddafi's security forces and revolutionary committees, these sacrifices will - will lead - will path the - the road for - for freedom for our people and reclaiming our country again from this tyrant regime. I have no doubt about this.
SWEENEY: Despite Internet services down in much of the country Saturday, uploaded pictures, reportedly from two towns in the Benghazi area, show these bodies. Anti-Gaddafi demonstrators claim they are foreign mercenaries brought in to Libya to fight for one of the most repressive regimes in the Arab world, an example, they say, of the lengths Gaddafi may go to to stay in power.
Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: It is 33 minutes past the hour. Time for a quick check of our top stories.
More chants, more signs and more anger today at the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison. Governor Scott Walker is proposing a budget that would remove most collective bargaining rights for teachers and other public employees. Tea Party activist arrived by the busload yesterday to show their support for the governor's proposal.
A U.S. official says the Navy may try to stop a hijacked yacht from reaching Somalia. The yacht with four Americans was boarded Friday by Somali pirates. No confirmed identities for the Americans.
A friend of one of the couples believed aboard the yacht says they had expressed concern about sailing through a region known for pirate abductions.
After a bloody week of violence in Northern Mexico the nation's president is sending in the army. President Felipe Calderon said the army is ordering four battalions to the country's northern region to battle drug traffickers.
Since Monday, at least 14 people have been killed in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas. Among them, a U.S. Immigrations and Customs agent, along with a man and his 8-year-old son.
An emotional scene outside a Pennsylvania courthouse. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... message.
SANDY FONZO, SON SENT TO JUVENILE CENTER THEN COMMITTED SUICIDE: My kid's not here anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma'am -
FONZO: My kid's not here. He's dead because of him! He ruined my [bleep] life!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: A heartbroken mother lashing out at former Judge Mark Ciavarella. Her son, an all-star wrestler, killed himself after being sent to a juvenile detention center for a minor drug offense.
Now, it turns out that Ciavarella was accepting money to do that. He secretly received nearly $1 million to put kids away just so a juvenile facility could stay full. The former judge was convicted Saturday of 12 counts, including racketeering and money laundering.
Ciavarella remains free while he awaits sentencing.
The mother who screamed at Ciavarella is Sandy Fonzo. She says when her son, Ed, first got in trouble, Ciavarella told her he was going to scare him straight. Instead, it snowballed into an unending nightmare until her son took his own life.
She spoke with Don Lemon last night about why she lashed out and says she'll never forgive him for what he's done to her family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FONZO: My son was my life, and that's all I had, and now it's gone, so I don't have that same life. I don't - you know, I exist right now.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: How did your son first come in contact with Ciavarella's court?
FONZO: He was 17 and he was going into senior year of high school. Like I said, he was an all-star wrestler. He was expected that year to take states. He would have been the first one in his high school to have that title, and he would have received a scholarship to anywhere in the country.
And right before school started he just started hanging with a different crowd and he was staying out later, you know? He was pushing the limits and it - it just went on for a while. Ed lived just with me. I wasn't with his father, and - and he just - I don't know. Things were just getting a little bit out of control.
And when I spoke to his father, he had friends that we actually went to school with in the Wilkes-Barre Police Department, and we knew Ed was at an underage drinking party, so we sent them in just to get him out of there. We wanted to put a scare into him and just get him back on track. And, you know, he just had too much to lose to go down that path.
LEMON: Can you ever forgive this judge?
FONZO: No. Never. Never. I - there is no justice. He'll never receive my sentence, what I have to live with every day of my life without my son.
He left on that beautiful day yesterday to go back with his family. I have nothing anymore, and he still has no - nothing. It was - it was all for nothing. It was all for greed and for more and more. He never had enough, and he took everything from me. And I'll never, never forgive him, no.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The maximum sentence for Ciavarella is 157 years and he'll have to give back almost $1 million.
We told you earlier that the protests are continuing in Libya and throughout the Middle East. We want to get now to one of our - a protester there who is in Libya. We can't, of course, tell you his name or even his location, really, for his own safety.
But I just want to make sure, do we have you on the phone?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you do. Yes, I'm here.
KAYE: OK. First of all, if you could, tell us what the situation is there right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. The situation right now is that all the people came here for the funeral, and they got to go to the cemetery soon to bury the dead.
And yesterday - I mean this morning, I had a doctor talking to one of your anchors about the injured and about the dead people in the - in Al-Jala Trauma Hospital, but the numbers he gave this morning, he just called me back to confirm, the numbers are actually much, much more than the numbers he actually had told me. And that -
KAYE: Right. Well -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- is actually official.
KAYE: Well, as you know, it's very difficult for - for us to get any confirmation, because Libya has not approved CNN's access into Libya, and it's very hard for us to confirm exactly the level of violence on the ground.
So why don't you tell us - I know that you've been sending out video and pictures from your spot there. Can you - can you tell us how you're able to do that? And are you concerned about your own safety in doing that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am very concerned about my own safety, but right now my safety is not on the stake, because Libya is on the stake, and Libya is much, much more important than my safety right now.
So many people died. My life is not more precious than theirs. We are all one.
KAYE: How are you able to get the images out, if - if you don't mind explaining that? Because I know you - you -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I - I would like to explain that to you. I used to be an Internet service provider a long time ago, and I have a two-way connection that - and it's a live connection. It's nothing to do with the government. It's private.
So I got that, and I'm on top of the - of the court now, the North Court in Benghazi, and I have actually installed it yesterday, and I have been actually, you know, sending you live feeds, live camera, if you can see, even a live - live scene (INAUDIBLE). You can see the Libyans that been the server (ph), the user name. You will see the live videos, and today and yesterday we were - we were trying to connect IV (ph) cameras so everybody can see what's going on.
It's a massacre. It's really a massacre.
KAYE: And tell us what you want the world to know, and why - why so many people are risking their lives in Benghazi and throughout the other areas there, and why you're even risking your life even just talking to us? What - what should the world know about Libya and what's happening there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Libya wants to be free of the - of the injustice - injustice (INAUDIBLE) of Gaddafi and his sons and his family. I mean, they have been actually taking over Libya for 42 years now, and we think that's more than enough.
I think that the first - the first people who should have actually made this revolution were us, not Egypt, not Tunisia. But we thank them - we thank them very much for making us here today.
KAYE: What's interesting, though, in Egypt - and maybe you can help us make sense of this - in Egypt, the military stood as one with the protesters. But that's not what's happening in - in Libya, is that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't actually confirm that we have military, but, I mean, Gaddafi has actually - and you know that already. You have - I have heard that on the news. I mean, he has already brought militia from the country of Chad and other countries of Africa, and they gave them, you know, knives and they have them guns and they gave them, you know, helmets and stuff to attack us and kill us.
KAYE: So, who is - UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And (INAUDIBLE) a lot.
KAYE: Who is actually - who is actually firing on the protesters there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, these militias are spreading away, because they can't actually resist the - the people, just with their, you know, guns and - and, you know, their knives.
So, right now, it's the government who are attacking the people with the guns, and heavy, heavy equipment, heavy guns. Not normal guns, not handguns, actually. I don't know what to call them, RV - not RVG. I mean, I don't know the names, exactly. Sorry.
KAYE: Right.
What is the goal here? Do you expect that you will have the same success as the protesters the opposition has had so far at least in Egypt?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that we had made a success already. Believe me.
KAYE: In what way?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In what way? I mean, he can't control the country anymore. It's - it's not his country. It's the people's country.
People live here. They are bright. And - and they are doing everything. They're not going to - they're not going to - I mean, they're not going to back off. It's not going to happen. They're going to die for it, and they are determined to die for it.
KAYE: All right. Well, we'll have to leave it there. We appreciate you sending us pictures and getting the word out and taking the time to speak with us.
Once again, that is a - a gentleman from Libya. We are not telling you his name or where he is for his own safety.
And, once again, we do want to just tell you how hard it is to get - to get our own pictures out of Libya. CNN has not been approved to enter the country, and nobody there will - is really confirming for us - nobody official, at least, will confirm for us the numbers of those injured, of those killed, and how badly the violence is truly escalating there. So we'll keep an eye on that as well.
Up next, a huge day for Britain's royal family. A live report from Buckingham Palace, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
Now, you are going to want to check the mail carefully this week, because you could be receiving one of these. Yes, take a look. That is the official invitation to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Takes place in April. Mark your calendar. Gold bevel dye stamped. About 1,900 invitations in all. Save the date has already been faxed out.
So chances are, if you didn't get one of those, you wouldn't be getting one of these either. But there's always hope. I personally is still holding out hope, but it is doubtful.
Mark Saunders is a CNN contributor and has written several books on the Royals. He joins me from Buckingham Palace in London. Mark, those invitations are absolutely beautiful. They are now out, so who has been invited -
MARK SAUNDERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
KAYE: -- and who has been slighted? Any - any word on that?
SAUNDERS: Well, the invites are - most of the monarchs of Europe and the world have been invited. Those 40 invitations sent out by the queen herself, 200 members of the British government, 80 charity workers, William and Katherine's friends are numbering about a thousand at the moment. It's an awful lot of people have been invited.
The ones that have been snubbed, Fergie is the main one. Tremendously disappointing for the former Duchess of - well, the Duchess of York, even though she's trying to go on a great face about it.
KAYE: Yes. Because a lot of people - and I think at one point, even she had come out, they thought that she would be invited. So any idea what happened there?
SAUNDERS: Well, no. I mean, both of her daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, they've both been invited. They're very good friends of both William and Harry, and indeed, they grew up with William and Harry. Princess Diana was - and the Duchess of York were great friends. So they got together every Sunday when their children were growing up.
I really don't understand it. Fergie is claiming that she's got a prior engagement abroad. As I say, I think that's just a brave face. Possibly they don't want any problems.
KAYE: Right.
SAUNDERS: Prince Andrew will be there with his daughters. He'll be representing that family.
KAYE: Makes sense. What else can you tell us about the actual - about the ceremony? Do we know anything about how Kate is going to make her way to the ceremony?
SAUNDERS: Well, Kate will be arriving by car. It will be kicking off at 11:00 in the morning at Westminster Abbey. Kate will be arriving by car. After the ceremony, when she is - when she's married to William, they will be leaving by a royal coach. So the queen is said not to be very happy that Kate - that Katherine is arriving by car. In fact, she said - said to William, "How exactly are you arriving, William? Via bicycle?"
KAYE: Why? Because she wants everybody to be able to see her, right?
SAUNDERS: Oh, yes. I think - I mean, the queen is concerned about her subjects. Remember, people are going to be on the streets of London, four, maybe five nights -
KAYE: Sure.
SAUNDERS: -- waiting for a good position. The queen is concerned - queen is concerned about her subjects. It could be symbolic. It could be arriving in a car as a commoner, leaving the church as a member - a senior member of the royal family. But it - it has aroused a lot of interest, this arriving by car.
KAYE: And is there any -
SAUNDERS: If we remember Princess Diana, she arrived in a glass coach.
KAYE: Right. Which was beautiful.
SAUNDERS: Right.
KAYE: Is there any word yet on Kate's dress?
SAUNDERS: Yes. All I can tell you is that there will be no arms going to show. It's going to be long - long sleeved. There is speculation - is intense. As you know, both her mother and her sister recently were seen at Bruce Oldfield's place in Knightsbridge. Oldfield obviously one of their - one of the favorite designers of Princess Diana, but it really is the best kept secrets in London at the moment.
KAYE: Amazing that they're able to keep anything a secret about this. All right. Mark Saunders, good to see you. Appreciate it. Thank you.
Have you heard about the mission to Mars? Well, it's not really a space flight, but it's about as close as it gets. Yes. Who are these guys? We'll explain, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
Here's something for you to ponder this morning. Would you lock yourself into a tiny capsule with six strangers for 520 days? Don't answer yet. Keep in mind here, you're not going to have any fresh air, no fresh food and no sunlight. This is exactly what's going on right now in Russia.
In today's "Morning Passport," Nadia Bilchik shows us why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Why would anyone do this?
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: And not only that, there's thousands of people who applied for this, and they chose only six. And the six people that they chose for this experiment, and basically it's a simulated, what would it be like to go to Mars?
And because Mars is so far away and would take on average 520 days, so it will be 250 days to get there. It will be another 30 days to explore Mars, which is why we're doing the story right now, because this week they actually explored Mars, and then it will be another -
KAYE: On the ground.
BILCHIK: -- 240 days to come back. So what the Russian Institute for Biomedical Problems and the European Space Agency have done is combined forces to have an experiment to see how would six people survive physiologically and psychologically, because that the pressure would be enormous, isn't it?
KAYE: And these are strangers.
BILCHIK: These are strangers. They're three Russians, a Chinese man and two Europeans. Never met before. But they did train as astronauts for a year before the mission. And apparently, according to all reports there, they're actually surviving and getting on really well.
KAYE: Really? But these people wouldn't actually go on the mission. I mean, we don't even know when that mission might be.
BILCHIK: Well, exactly.
KAYE: They're just helping them understand what it would be like. But no sunlight and no fresh food.
BILCHIK: No sunlight. And the space is around 1,700 square meters, but the actual living space, the capsule - living space capsule is about the size of two buses combined, so that close quarters.
And what do they do for entertainment? Well, apparently they even experienced Karaoke.
KAYE: You're kidding.
BILCHIK: And some of the things that they do. But, again, as you said, no fresh food, and they literally walked onto Mars as it's kind of a large sandpit.
Now, the things that they don't have in a simulated experience would be the gravity issue. So the suits were so heavy, 70 pounds of suits. KAYE: To carry that around -
BILCHIK: To carry that around.
KAYE: -- in this close quarters.
BILCHIK: And there's no radiation, so a couple of things they haven't managed to simulate. But on the whole, it would be the experience of 520 days and they're around halfway. So now, from next week, there are going to be two more Mars walks and then they're going to begin their return home.
KAYE: You really have to use your imagination here if you're walking on Mars, but you really know that you're in some -
BILCHIK: Exactly.
KAYE: -- tight quarters in a Russian building somewhere.
BILCHIK: And who would do this? But, you know, how much a real mission to Mars would cost? Around $10 billion. So in 1990, NASA said we're going to do this in around 2012, but it isn't happening. It's probably going to be 20 or 30 years from now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Would you do it? I don't know. Tough call.
All right. We're going to take a quick break. Six minutes before the hour. We'll see you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Time now for our Florida edition of "Extremes of the Week".
And let's start with a little surveillance video at a retirement community near Ft. Meyers. Residents there, well, they want to know who stole the sausage. And, boy, they got their answer and they got an eyeful. A naked man making himself - yes, take a look there. He's just making himself right at home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a lot of rules in here, but I don't think we have a rule against streaking in the clubhouse. But we might have to add that.
When you get up here to 55 plus, you don't get a whole lot of excitement, so this is great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Oh, yes. It's great indeed.
When police saw the tape, they actually recognized the suspected sausage thief and they made an arrest.
Police in West Palm Beach are looking for a woman who slapped a city bus driver. Seems she was a little upset that he kicked her off the bus after she refused to pay the fare, then the door hit her on the way out, and whammo, she just socked him. So she took that swing at the 72-year-old driver. Yes. That's pretty extreme.
And talking about extreme, we're going to be going back to the Wisconsin budget battle. The state senators, as you know, several of them - or many of them have actually fled the state to avoid a vote on this bill. So we will talk with one of those state senators live, coming up, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Good morning.
Thousands of angry teachers, frustrated taxpayers, and Tea Party imports converge in Wisconsin in a battle over budget cuts. With no compromise in sight, will the protest gain momentum today? And what about the 14 lawmaker who left the state instead of voting? We will have the very latest.
And have you checked your mailbox? Did you get anything from the royal family by chance? The invitations for Kate and William's wedding have been sent. Who made the list and who got snubbed?
And we'll catch you up with an icon who's had a front row seat to some of the biggest struggles in the civil rights movement. But what was the most powerful influential moment for Reverend Joseph Lowery. He'll tell us about that and his new book in our "Faces of Faith."
It's early and we're on it. From CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's February 20th. Good morning, everyone.
As we told you, we're watching that budget battle in Wisconsin, we're trying to get State Senator Mark Miller on the phone. We had said that we were going to speak with him, and he's not answering his phone. So, maybe he's watching and he'll call us.
But in the meantime, we'll get you updated on that story. The fight centers on slashing collective bargaining rights of public employees and it's being closely watch by other states struggling with budget deficits. Thousands have been at the capitol building in Madison all week. More demonstrations expected today.
CNN's Shelby Lin has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHELBY LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No rest this weekend for opponents of Wisconsin's controversial budget bill who, for a fifth day, marched to the state capitol in Madison to voice their displeasure over the measure. The bill would raise the cost of benefits for state workers and limits the ability of workers' unions to collectively bargain. Republican Governor Scott Walker says the measure is necessary in the tough time the state is facing, and to avoid laying off 6,000 state workers. Opponents say that the governor's math is fishy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are going to layoff 6,000 people, but you just promised six weeks ago you're going to create 250,000 jobs.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are broke. We are broke in Wisconsin.
LIN: This woman was one of the pro-Governor Walker demonstrators who came out for the first time Saturday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that the concessions that the governor is asking for are out of line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable! Unprecedented! Un-American!
LIN: The talk has been just as heated in the state legislature, where the bill is at an impasse. Fourteen state legislators brought the Senate to a halt, fleeing the capital, demanding the governor negotiate further. But his supporters don't see that happening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our governor has come out very strongly and he's not going to bend. That's why we elected him.
LIN: I'm Shelby Lin, reporting from Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And now, let's take you to the Middle East, where anti- government protests heating up on the first day of the workweek.
Protesters in Libya are vowing to keep up the pressure, even though the government has staged a brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrators. Witnesses told CNN that protesters were even being shot from helicopters. At least 184 people have died this week in the protests in Libya. The Libyan government says the demonstrations are being led by outside forces intent on destabilizing their country.
Just moments ago, I talked to one witness who said he's seen the bloodshed in the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (via telephone): Libya wants to be free of the unjustice movements of the Gadhafi and his sons and his family. I mean, they have taken over Libya for 42 years now and we think that's more than enough. I think that the first -- the first people who should have actually made this revolution were us, not Egypt, not Tunisia. But we thank -- we thank them very much for making us here today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And we really do have to stress that obtaining independent confirmation on events in Libya is extremely difficult. The Libyan government maintains tight control on communications and has not even responded to repeated requests from CNN for access to that country.
In Bahrain, the main trade union has called for a general strike today. Protesters there have occupied Pearl Square, at the center of the capital city. The area had been controlled by the military, but troops and police have moved out of the way. They order to move the military came just one day after we saw dramatic video of protesters being shot.
This was the scene witnesses say that the government forces fired on the protesters. Four people killed. Bahrain's crown prince spoke exclusively about this with our Nic Robertson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE SALMAN BIN HAMAD BIN ISA AL-KHALIFA, CROWN PRINCE OF BAHRAIN: It was a terrible tragedy. When I heard that news, I hopped into my car and drove straight to the TV station and spoke to the nation and appealed for calm. This is not the Bahrain I know. I never thought I'd see the day that something like that would happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The crown prince also said there would be an investigation into the shooting and that he now welcomes dialogue with opposition parties.
Coming up in our 8:00 hour, we're going to talk to a Middle East expert about the domino effect we're seeing from all of these protests in that region and how they are actually affecting everybody here in the United States.
The U.S. Navy this morning is monitoring the abduction of four Americans by pirates in the Indian Ocean. That tops our weekend wheel -- a quick look at other stories that we're following today.
The four are being held aboard their yacht, the S/V Quest, by Somali pirates. The yacht is owned by Jean and Scott Adam. They are on the around the world trip. And on their Web site, the couple says that their mission is to spread Christianity. The Adams' pastor talked to affiliate KABC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. LLOYD TORGERSON, ST. MONICA'S CHURCH: Both of them had a great outreach, of course, through this ministry to take the Scriptures, the Bible, to places across the world. And so, they felt that call to do that. And that's what they were doing I presume when this happened.
My prayer and hope is with their family and with them in special way now that somehow they can be returned safely and that's our prayer. That's our hope today, that these great people who are taking this holy word and giving it to so many people across this world, that they will somehow return and find safety and come back home.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: You're going to want to check your mailbox this morning, because invitations for the upcoming royal wedding are in the mail. Around 1,900 invitations were sent out for the April 29th wedding between Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton. Family, friends and royals from around the world are on this exclusive list.
A new business is booming in Colorado, offering group discounts for medical marijuana products. It's kind of like the wildly popular Groupon site. Right now, though, it's only in Colorado where medical marijuana is legal. But the founder is actually considering expanding into other states that allow people to purchase pot.
Investigators in Texas are now releasing this videotape in an effort to find the person responsible for throwing a Molotov cocktail at the governor's mansion in Austin. It happened in 2008 but police still have no suspects. They're hoping this tape might jog some memories. The mansion suffered minor damage from the fire. The governor actually wasn't even there at the time.
One person is dead in a massive apartment fire in Brooklyn, New York. High winds gusting to around 40-miles per-hour winds hampered firefighters. It took several others to get the fire under control there. At least 20 firefighters and three other people were treated for some minor injuries.
High winds in the nation's capital snapped the trunk on the national Christmas tree not far from the White House. The 40-foot tall blue spruce was the star attraction back in December when the first family took part in the lighting ceremony. But by late last night, it was all just a memory. That area was cleaned up and the tree was reduced to mulch.
Thousands of Auburn University fans rallied under their beloved oak tree Saturday, hoping that the trees allegedly poisoned by a disgruntled University of Alabama fan might be saved. A 62-year-old man is charged with poisoning two of the trees. Neither of the oak trees are expected to make it.
Here is something parents worry about: some girls at a birthday party are recovering today after strong winds picked up and blew the bounce house they were playing in. Yes, can you believe that? Over the neighbor's home.
Reynolds told us that it's going to be a real windy day out west yesterday. But, Reynolds, what about today? Can you imagine? The bounce house?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, the only thing I think of something worse would be is if you're in a he house as it's bouncing like that. Probably not designed for that kind of play.
KAYE: No.
WOLF: Go figure. You know, Randi, we are going to see some strong winds again today, this time in the Northern Plains. Yesterday, the storm system was in the Rockies. Today, the upper Midwest, and tomorrow -- well, it's headed somewhere else. We're going to let you know exactly where it's going on, coming up in a few moments.
But, first, take a look at this beautiful shot of Washington, D.C. -- picture-perfect out there. Yes, it. Capital Dome looks just beautiful.
We're going to give your full forecast and so much more, coming up on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. See you in a bit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Thirteen minutes past the hour.
For days now, as you know, we have been following events as they are unfolding in Wisconsin -- in Madison actually -- where there is a budget battle heating up. Governor Scott Walker is in a standoff now with many senators, 14 senators, in fact, who fled the state to avoid a vote on the new budget.
Well, joining us on the phone now, Senator Mark Miller, the minority leader who fled the state along with those 13 other Democrats.
Senator, if you could tell us -- can you tell us even, where are you?
MARK MILLER (D), WISCONSIN STATE SENATOR (via telephone): We remain at an anonymous location.
KAYE: And what sticking points remain for you at this point? I mean, I know you've called the governor's tactics insulting. Is it mainly the collective bargaining issue? Or what is the standoff still about?
MILLER: It is the collective bar beginning issue. The public employee union has agreed to the economic concessions the governor required. And so, now, it's time for the governor to meet him halfway and take the stripping of bargaining rights -- leave the unions with those rights.
KAYE: What is it about this, though? Is that -- do you feel that workers are losing their rights here?
MILLER: Yes, and it's -- I feel it's our duty as legislators to -- to not -- to preserve rights, not chip them away.
KAYE: It may be your duty, but some might call this pretty extreme. I mean, what do you say to critics who call your decision to leave town, along with the other senators, irresponsible? I mean, we have schools that have closed in Wisconsin as a result; the teachers aren't at work. No idea when these kids are going to be able to return to school.
What do you say to those people who are saying you shouldn't have left town? MILLER: It was the governor who precipitated this, by taking such extreme action and then asking the legislator to act on it in just four working days. So, we have no tools left to us as a minority except to take this action. So, we are doing our job.
And we have succeeded in many of our goals. We succeeded in stopping the bill from being rammed through in just four days. We succeeded in mobilizing unprecedented public opposition to the bill.
We succeed in making Republican legislators aware that this was a gross injustice that Walker was asking them to do. We succeeded in making those same Republican legislators painfully aware that there are serious political consequences if they jump off the cliff with the governor.
KAYE: The governor says the state is broke. So, what is the answer then?
MILLER: Well, the answer is not chipping public employees of their bargaining rights, of their freedoms to associate and negotiate for -- that we've had in Wisconsin longer than any other state.
KAYE: So, what would you like to see done?
MILLER: Well, the unions have agreed to the governor's economic concessions. There's no need for him to continue with the stripping them of their bargaining rights. It's a plain indication that what the governor is trying to do is bust the unions, and that's not fair. We had a long tradition, the longest tradition of any state in terms of public employee bargaining and it's worked well for us.
So, it's time for the governor to recognize that this is a two- way street, not a dictatorship.
KAYE: Wisconsin Senator Mark Miller, we appreciate your time, and it's interesting talking to you about this issue that we've been following now for many days. Thank you.
MILLER: You're welcome.
KAYE: And when we come back, a real -- an amazing look at Joseph Lowery, an American icon, civil rights legend, and author. How often do you get to chat with someone who is such an important part of history? Well, we did, and we're going to share that conversation with you, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
When you talk about the civil rights movement, certain names are synonymous with the era. One of them is the Reverend Joseph Lowery, who cofounded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a group that helped drive the fight for racial equality. The 89-year-old preacher has a new book out, a collection of his sermons called, "Joseph E. Lowery: Singing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land." The civil rights icon is a part of our history and a witness to change. But you might be surprised about what he calls the most important moment of his life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REV. JOSEPH E. LOWERY, CIVIL RIGHTS ICON: God of our weary ears.
KAYE (voice-over): When America's first black president was looking for someone to deliver his inauguration's benediction, Barack Obama chose the Reverend Joseph Lowery. The preacher says, while standing at the podium that day, he couldn't help reminiscing about another historical moment.
Lowery was with Martin Luther King, Jr. at the 1963 march on Washington. And he recalls a conversation between members of their inner circle.
LOWERY: We talked about how long before we'd see a black president. And as I recall, none of us saw ourselves witnessing the first black president. We felt that we'd be -- at least we're watching from glory. We didn't think we'd live to see it.
KAYE: The man known as the dean of the civil rights movement calls the inaugural benediction one of the most memorable of his long career -- that saying a lot for a man who helped plan the Montgomery bus boycott and lived to tell about the riots that followed King's death.
But the one event Lowery calls the most important of his life -- it happened in Decatur, Alabama, May 1979, during his 20-year reign as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The organization was there to protest the conviction of a mentally challenged man named Tommy Lee Hines, convicted of rape and fleeing the scene in a car.
LOWERY: And Tommy couldn't ride a bike. He didn't have the coordination, the motor control, you know, between mind and body to drive a car -- to drive a car, let alone to ride a bike.
KAYE: Lowery says on the day of the march, there were reports of Ku Klux Klan CB radio conversations about killing march leaders. Later, shots rang out.
LOWERY: I heard bullets whining over my head. And my wife was driving behind us in the car. And when they started shooting, the crowd scattered and exposed her in the car. And they shot in the car, and splattered glass all over her body. And the young men who were marching with us sort of picked me up and carried me out of the line of fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You once told me it was one of the most important marches you had ever been a part of. Why?
LOWERY: Well, I guess because it almost took my life and my wife's life. And it was -- it showed the ugliness of the Klan. KAYE: Lowery says that march help bring national pressure on the Klan, pressure that led to arrests and convictions of various crimes.
When asked if there was anything he could change --
LOWERY: Why change the hearts of men. We're going backwards a little bit I think, the last election, the reaction to Barack Obama's election carries with it some elements of racial hatred, some resentment to the fact that even though the country did a great thing, they are those who resent the election of a black president. And I think that that's a part of what's happening in the political world.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Lowery says he doesn't know when he'll deliver another sermon. He also hasn't ruled out a second book of sermons or possibly even writing an autobiography.
Tonight, CNN spotlights another man at the center of the civil rights movement. But was he a hero or a traitor? His camera lens captured pivotal moments in African-American history. Now FBI documents expose a darker angle. Join Soledad O'Brien for the special investigation, "Pictures Don't Lie." That airs tonight 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
And when we come back, four Americans abducted by pirates in the Indian Ocean. The latest on the search for them and a possible rescue, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Glad you're with us. It's 28 minutes past the hour, and time for a quick check of our top stories.
That budget battle is still on at the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison. Governor Scott Walker is proposing a budge that would remove most collective bargaining rights for teachers and other public employees. I just talked to the state senate minority leader who says it's time for the governor to realize, quote, "It's a two-way street, not a dictatorship."
Protesters in Libya are vowing to keep up the pressure, even though the government has staged a brutal crackdown on anti-government demonstrators. Witness has told CNN that protesters were even being shot from helicopters. Unlike in other countries, protests in Libya seem to be strongest outside the capital city, Tripoli.
A U.S. official says the Navy may try to stop a hijacked yacht from reaching Somalia. The yacht with four Americans was boarded Friday by Somali pirates. No confirmed identities for the Americans on board. A friend of one of the couples believed onboard though says that they had expressed concern about sailing through a region known for pirate abductions.
The Daytona 500 is happening today. It takes nerves of steel to handle a race car at 200 miles per hour, but it takes real drive to overcome heart trouble in early age and then get back behind the wheel.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has one driver's story as he gets ready for the great American race. "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." starts right now.
