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American Morning

"I Was Born in Hawaii"; Tracking a Serial Killer; Summa Cum Broke; Royal Wedding Guest List; 10-Year-Old Boy Only Survivor After Mother Drives Family Into Hudson River; Daytime Soap Operas Slowly Going Off Air; Zsa Zsa Gabor's Husband Reportedly Wants A Baby; Princesses in Training

Aired April 15, 2011 - 07:58   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi. Deadly storms on the move. Twisters spotted on camera. At least five people reported dead overnight. Severe storm warnings across the South right now.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Collateral damage from those sleeping air traffic controllers. The man in charge of the nation's air traffic operations is out of a job at the FAA.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. President Obama meeting the so-called birther controversy head on and giving fair warning to Republican opponents seeking to derail his bid for re- election on this AMERICAN MORNING.

VELSHI: Good morning, everybody. It is Friday, April 15th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. This air traffic control story will not go away. It continues, but looks like we're getting closer --

ROMANS: And now, somebody for sure lost their job over it. And it's not someone who fell asleep.

VELSHI: That's right.

CHETRY: And normally this would be tax day. But you get a reprieve, a three-day reprieve because of a little celebration in D.C.

VELSHI: For some of you in the South, it will be good, because you're going to have some rough weather.

CHETRY: Absolutely. We have violent storms right now. We're been tracking them all morning with our Rob Marciano. But right now, five people confirmed killed in this severe line of storms. Several states facing a tornado threat. Witnesses say one huge funnel cloud touched down in a town of Tushka, Oklahoma, trapping others in their home and badly damaging a school.

Rob Marciano, as I said, is tracking all of this.

You know, you had been warning this in our 6:00 hour, this -- a strong line of storms moving through. What's the latest?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, as it moved through Oklahoma, it got into Arkansas. Not a lot of tornado reports in Arkansas, but certainly, some strong winds. And this is damage that occurred overnight. And there were fatalities just from trees, large trees falling on top of structures where there were people inside.

So, this whole complex is moving east. Here it is on the radar scope. We have tornado warnings out right now for Yazoo County, in Humphreys County there in central Mississippi. It was Yazoo City that a year ago almost to the date had a nasty tornado ripped through that town, with fatalities a year ago almost to today. Here's your line.

And the strongest storms are moving through central Mississippi right now, a line that's moving through western parts of Tennessee where it's strong enough to have some power lines and trees down there. That will be heading towards Nashville in the next couple of hours. And that tornado watch is, in effect, for the next couple of hours as well. The storm prediction center may issue another tornado watch that would extend into parts of Alabama. But they have yet to do that.

This system extends up towards the north as well with cold air behind it.

The bull's eye is going to be across parts of Mississippi and Alabama as we go through later today. But the severe weather threat will extend right up into the Ohio River Valley later on this afternoon, and this whole system gets to the Northeast over the weekend.

Much more on this throughout the morning, guys. Back up to you.

VELSHI: All right, Rob. Thanks very much. We'll stay on top of it with you.

There's new fallout from a number of incidents involving air traffic controllers falling asleep on the ground. Hank Krakowski, the FAA official in charge of the nation's air traffic system, who you see here, has resigned. The five controllers and one supervisor caught napping have all been suspended.

After the latest incident at Reno-Tahoe Airport this week, the FAA ordered two controllers to be on duty overnight at 27 airports where there used to be just one.

ROMANS: And in Libya right now -- dictator Moammar Gadhafi almost taunting the opposition and the world, racing down the streets, popping out of the sunroof, pumping his fists.

Meantime, this morning, President Obama and the leaders of France and Great Britain all published an op-ed saying Gadhafi has to go, that it is impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Gadhafi in power.

CHETRY: Georgia lawmakers are getting tough on immigration, following in the footsteps of Arizona's controversial law. Georgia's legislature passed a bill that would allow law enforcement to ask about the immigration status of criminal suspects. Also, anyone caught using fake documents to apply for a job could face prison time.

That bill is now headed to that state's Republican governor. No word yet on whether or not he plans to sign it.

VELSHI: President Obama in Chicago for the first of many fund- raisers in his re-election campaign that he just started at the beginning of last week. He's also meeting that so-called birther issue head on. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was born in Hawaii.

(CHEERS)

OBAMA: But I became a man here in Chicago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Joining us up in Washington, Candy Crowley.

Candy, the ovation so long, we had to cut it, after he said, "I was born in Hawaii," the crowd went crazy.

CNN chief political correspondent and she's also the host of "STATE OF THE UNION."

Is this a new strategy by the White House, to talk about this? This has been 2 1/2 years and the White House, you know, they presented the documents, thought this thing had been put to rest, kind of let the right wing own this discussion. Now, the president is addressing it.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, he was at a fundraiser. So, he is surrounded by his most ardent supporter, the people who, early on, are willing to pony up a lot of money to come and see him. And so, this is a group that is going to applaud that. And this really is the first kind of, you know, blatantly, openly political raise some money "I want to get reelected" event that he's done.

So, it's a good place to bring it up in that sort of subtle way. And let's face it. It is a -- if it is a good issue for a certain segment of the population, it is also a good issue for Democrats, because, as you say, you had to cut the applause. It is a good, "Oh, they're out to get him. You know, let's get behind him." So, it is an applause line for him as well. The politics cut both ways.

CHETRY: And he was actually asked about this. He addressed the issue in an interview with ABC. Let's listen to what he said and I want to ask you about how he tackled it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Over the last 2 1/2 years, there's been an effort to go at me, in a way that is politically expedient in the short term for Republicans. But creates, I think, a problem for them when they want to actually run in a general election, where most people feel pretty confident the president was born where he says he was, in Hawaii. He doesn't have horns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: You know, and this is interesting, because even as he's addressing that, he's not sounding defensive. He's not really defending himself. I was definitely born in Hawaii.

VELSHI: He's sounding --

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: Yes, he's almost -- he's sort of putting it back on the GOP here. How big of a problem may this turn out to be for the GOP?

CROWLEY: Well, we'll see. I mean, listen, you have -- in this particular parsing of the politics of it, the president has, on his side, Newt Gingrich, who also thinks this is very bad for Republicans.

Marco Rubio -- any number of kind of headline Republicans have said to Donald Trump who, in the most recent iteration of this, has brought it back to the headlines, has said, stop. You are hurting the party. This is not the issue we want to be talking about. There are plenty of issues like jobs and the economy, foreign policy, all of those things. This is not what you ought to be doing.

Donald Trump doesn't tend to listen to the Republican Party or anybody else in that matter. It's something (INAUDIBLE). So, setting aside the motivations of the people who are questioning where the president was born, the politics of it, I think, as most people agree, are exactly what the president said, that this is not something -- it may be helpful in the primaries.

There is a suggestion in the polls, that a good number of ardent Republicans, that is those who vote in the primaries, most conservative part of the party, a good number of them do have questions about where the president was born. So, what he's talking about short run is maybe, you know, in the short run, in the primary process, perhaps that brings, in this instance, Donald Trump, some kind of headlines, and some sort of attention.

But in the long run, when you go into the general populous, and you have to get elected by more than just Republicans and more than just Democrats, you need independents and you need some cross party votes, when you get to the general populous, the vast majority of people believe that the president is born in the United States and there's been ample proof of that.

So, the president is parsing it pretty much the way Republicans are.

VELSHI: All right, Candy, good to see you. Thank you.

CROWLEY: Thanks.

CHETRY: Let's watch Candy, by the way, 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time this Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION."

ROMANS: Up next: tracking a serial killer in Long Island. Why one former New York detective believes the murder is playing some kind of twisted game.

VELSHI: And this guy who's got a lot of experience on the story. It's worth listening to.

Education lasts a lifetime, in some cases, so does paying for. We've got scary new numbers about the cost of college. We are watching your money.

It is seven minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: An FBI helicopter with high resolution photography equipment on board will be flying over Long Island's south shore beaches today. They're going to try to find more victims of the suspected serial killer there.

VELSHI: Now, so far, eight bodies have been found along with two separate sets of human remains that were discovered earlier this week.

Jason Carroll is joining us this morning with more on this.

Jason, this is a complicated case on a number of levels because we talk about it as a serial killer. We don't actually know how many of these bodies are connected to the same killer.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And we don't know if it's one killer or more than one. So, a lot of, you know, parts of this case are still coming together.

And, you know, as the search on Long Island intensifies, we did speak with a former detective who has first-hand knowledge of what it's like to track and capture a serial killer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): As investigators search for more clues to lead them to a suspected serial killer or killers on Long Island, one former detective who helped find one of America's most infamous serial killers watches every development.

JOSEPH COFFEY, RETIRED NYPD DETECTIVE SGT.: This case is very -- wearing on detectives. And these guys out here, I feel for them because I went through this with the Son of Sam.

CARROLL: Son of Sam. That's how David Berkowitz identified himself in 1977. The serial killer shot 13, murdering six, before getting caught.

COFFEY: I had a certain amount of rage in my heart regarding Mr. Berkowitz.

CARROLL: Joseph Coffey led the task force created to catch Berkowitz.

COFFEY: Emotionally, you have memories coming back to you all the time.

CARROLL: His background, giving a unique perspective into the Long Island investigation.

COFFEY: Keep this in mind, these bodies were hidden for a purpose. Whoever this is, didn't anticipate these bodies being found.

CARROLL (on camera): And what does that say to you?

COFFEY: When he started his crime wave, if you want to call it that, it's a vendetta. He was afraid of getting caught.

CARROLL (voice-over): Finding evidence here, a challenge. The brush too thick even for police dogs, but Coffey says more leads may develop by learning how the four identified victims got there. All were known prostitutes.

COFFEY: Interview cab drivers, not necessarily as the perpetrator but as witnesses because these women had to have transportation to get to and from their johns.

CARROLL (on camera): Do you think the person what's responsible for what's happening out here wants to be caught?

COFFEY: No, that's a fallacy.

CARROLL: Is it?

COFFEY: No. They say that all the time. He wants to be caught. That's baloney.

CARROLL (voice-over): Coffey is reminded of another Long Island serial ill killer, Joel Rifkin. He also targeted prostitutes and was convicted of killing nine, but confessed to murdering 17.

COFFEY: Whoever is doing this knows this area, whether he was born and raised here, or whether he still lives here. You couldn't do what this person was doing without knowing this area.

CARROLL (on camera): Why not just leave the area and go quite for a period of time?

COFFEY: Because they love the game. And this is a game for them. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: Well, Coffey also says decks are doing a good job in not releasing too much information to the press. He says the mistake they made in Son of Sam was in being too quick to release information. David Berkowitz was watching and ended up using that to his advantage. He also believes that the killer or killers will be caught.

VELSHI: You know, here's the interesting thing. We think -- and I think we mean well when we think we're performing a service by giving out all of this information. But it's quite possible that whoever is perpetrating these crimes is following the media.

CARROLL: And that's why detectives have to be very, very careful about the information that they do release.

ROMANS: It's interesting. And sometimes, all they need is a lucky break. You refer to the guy, Rifkin, that they found. That was because he didn't have a license plate. They pull him over and they find a body in the trunk.

CARROLL: Exactly. And look, luck sometimes plays a role in this. Let's be honest. But it's also hard work, detective work and ultimately, that might end up being what helps them catch this killer or killers.

CHETRY: They just need a break.

CARROLL: Yes.

ROMANS: All right, Jason Carroll -- thank you, Jason.

CHETRY: Well, "Star Wars" on the high seas. Check this out. The Navy showed up its latest weapon, zapping an onboard motor -- an outboard motor on a small boat. And they were able to do this from more than a mile away.

ROMANS: Wow.

CHETRY: So, the boat is about the size of one you might see. Let's say off the coast of east Africa, the pirate that the pirates use. And they're calling it the first successful test of a high energy laser.

VELSHI: That's very neat.

ROMANS: Yes. And if you don't have outboard motors, you cannot go and take over an oil tanker. That's for sure.

VELSHI: Right.

ROMANS: All right. The college education stays with you for life. You know, and so do the bills, in some cases -- daunting new numbers about the cost of college. We're watching your money. We're going to help you be smart about student debt.

It's 14 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, if you're a parent out there saving for your children's education or if your one of the kids trying to pay of your debt, you know that it costs a lot of money. College students now owe more than pretty much everyone else owes on their credit cards combined. Carmen Wong Ulrich is watching your money this morning. It used to be thought of as an investment. Is it still, a college education?

CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: I think it absolutely can be an investment. If you're talking about the average price of a car versus education, it can still be an investment. It's all about what you do with it and how you do it. Now, student loan debt, yes. It outpaces credit card debt. It's going to pass a trillion dollars total this year. According to FastWeb, two-thirds of college grads had debt in 2008 compared to less than half in 1993.

Now, the average college debt load is around price of a car, 24,000. According to the Department of Education, the average high schooler gets only 38 minutes of college advice before deciding where to go to school. Now, that's from 2005, but I doubt it's gotten too much better. But as college degree becomes more essential in the job marker and college costs rise on average from 6 percent to 11 percent a year, it is vital to be savvy on your loans what to take out, how much, and how to manage the college process.

Now, key points to keeping loan amounts low? Well, graduate and graduate in four years or less. If you can imagine, 40 percent of students take six years or more --

ROMANS: No way.

ULRICH: And have loans and more loans. And 20 percent never actually graduate.

ROMANS: That makes a bad debt in a heart beat.

ULRICH: Exactly. In a heart beat. So, you got to make sure you graduate in four years or less.

VELSHI: It used to be -- six years, the cost of the education was not nearly as high as, you know --

ULRICH: The longer you drag it out.

ROMANS: Those days are over of not quite knowing what you want to do. Three or four different changes of --

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: It adds on a year easily.

ULRICH: And don't forget, the longer you're not in the work force, the longer it's going to take you to catch up. VELSHI: Carmen, wouldn't you say that if you want to continue your education, not take six years to do a four-year degree, but get a masters or get another degree, the opportunity cost of doing that today is better than maybe in three or four years when the job market is so hot that it's a bad decision to stay in -

ULRICH: Really depends on -- great advice for your parents, listen, know your kids.

VELSHI: Yes.

ULRICH: Know what they're going to do. Know how they're going to do in school, and like you said, keep them focus. And also, please, exhaust federal loan options. They have the lowest rates and they have the most flexible terms.

ROMANS: And never borrow for college -- never pay for college with your retirement.

ULRICH: That, too, my friend. Do not do that.

CHETRY: Sometimes, your workplace will pay for you to get, at least, partially some of the higher degree. So, get out, get a job, and --

ULRICH: And get creative.

CHETRY: Yes. And start talking about a higher degree.

ROMANS: Excellent, great advice, Carmen. Thank you.

ULRICH: Thank you.

VELSHI: All right. I got a question for you, guys.

ROMANS: What?

VELSHI: You invite co-workers to your wedding?

CHETRY: Yes.

ROMANS: Aha.

VELSHI: OK. Prince William agrees with you. He invited all 27 members of his royal air force squad to see him tie the knot with Kate Middleton later this morning. I think he has fewer budgetary constraints for his wedding than many people do. William's pals say they are honored and looking forward to the big day. Meanwhile, the prince is getting the same treatment as any other pilot.

He had to put in the leave form to request time off for his honeymoon.

CHETRY: Aww.

VELSHI: Oh, stop. Honestly! You guys are predictable. Prince William and Kate Middleton's big day is April 29th. You can watch, DVR, you can participate, you can be part of CNN's global viewing party. No RSVP necessary. We'll see you there.

ROMANS: All right. Coming up. Just when you thought your smartphone couldn't get any smarter, it does. The 4G network taking the tech world by storm. We're going to have the latest tech geek out gadget stuff. Twenty-one minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: It's hard to remember the days before we all had Smartphones. Today, about one in three households have one. They seem to make everything easier. You can pay bills, you can send e- mails, book flights. A lot of buzz surrounding this 4G network. You may have seen ads for it, a billboard. It's supposed to be as fast as the Wi-Fi connection that you may have at home.

Jonathan, good to have you back. I've seen these ads. I've seen people talking about 4G. Simple, for our audience, what is 4G?

JONATHAN GELLER, FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF BOYGENIUSREPORT.COM: 4G is much, much faster than a 3G network. It could be ten times faster, and it will give you internet speeds almost like home broadband which is amazing. It also supports a lot more people. See, you don't get the dropped calls. You get a lot more capacity.

VELSHI: OK. Ultimately, the dropped calls is a problem that's becoming less significant to people. I do a little surfing on my device. It's not super fast, but what is it going to let me do other than just be fast?

GELLER: A lot of multimedia things, a video conferencing, video sharing, attachments, sending e-mails with big files, all those things are very, very quick on 4G.

VELSHI: Who's offering 4G or who will be offering 4G?

GELLER: Well, right now, all four carriers are, and in the next 12 months, you'll start to see the roll-outs become a lot more aggressive.

VELSHI: All right. Are there products and services available right now on this 4G?

GELLER: There are, yes.

VELSHI: Does this cost more than the 3G networks?

GELLER: You know, prices are actually about the same for devices and for the monthly plan.

VELSHI: So, is it a no-brainer that if you have the opportunity of buying a 4G over 3G, you should take it? GELLER: Yes. It's means more early adapter now, just the devices -- battery life is a little bit of concern. But, again, in the next 12 months, 4G will be very prevalent across everything.

VELSHI: All right. We were talking about the iPad 2, and you tried out the Playbook which is Blackberry's version of the tablet, research in motions version of a tablet. Yesterday, the stock took a big hit because the Playbook has been getting negative reviews. What do you think about that?

GELLER: Yes, I mean, I reviewed it. You know, RIM gave us (ph) in about a week ago. It's a really great tablet. It's just not quite there, I don't think. They're working out some of the bugs. In the next couple of months, it'll probably be a lot better than it is today.

VELSHI: Now, the thing I like about it is it reduces the size. It's smaller than an iPad, bigger than a blackberry. Give me a sense, a year or two down the road, what are we looking at? Is iPad going to rule the world or are these sort of mid-sized devices going to be more popular?

GELLER: You know, it's stop for debate. I mean, the Playbook is seven inches, iPad is 10. RIM's probably working on something that's 10 inches. So, it's interesting to see them converge in what size will get to, but I think around seven to 10 inches.

VELSHI: You try everything. What do you use?

GELLER: I use an iPad 2.

VELSHI: And then, for your phone, you use an iPhone or --

GELLER: I use an iPhone.

VELSHI: All right. So, you're an Apple aficionada. You like that.

GELLER: I love Blackberry, but I'm on my iPhone.

VELSHI: All right. So, I used to be one of those guys. I want to switch topics for a second. I used a video camera with tape in it, and I resisted while people moving toward flash drives and hard drives in their video cameras, but the thing that brought me over was the flip cam.

GELLER: Yes.

VELSHI: And it became so successful, Cisco bought it. And now, Cisco announces their done with the flip cam. What happened?

GELLER: Well, they bought it for $600 million.

VELSHI: Yes.

GELLER: I think only around two years ago, and they're just shutting it down. You know, they had a new product coming out a week ago, and that's, you know, gone. It's interesting. Maybe, they want to use the technology for their video conferencing.

VELSHI: Which they're doing very well with.

GELLER: Exactly, so it's possible.

VELSHI: OK. For the viewer out there who's in the market for a new video camera, what technology do you use? What do you buy?

GELLER: Well, you know, it really depends on what you need. If you want things simple, there are alternatives to the flip cam. Kodak makes something. A lot of manufacturers do. One of the reasons that people are hypothesizing that flip is done is you use your Smartphone now.

You use such a high resolution camera. Your iPhone, your blackberry, android phone. You can shoot video in HD and upload it right to YouTube. So, that's the predicament there.

VELSHI: When flip came out, that really wasn't an option. There were very few cameras that phones that gave you good resolution on cameras. What do you got here? You got the -- these are some of the 4G products, by the way, you've got?

GELLER: These are some of the 4G products. This is the LG T- mobile G2X.

VELSHI: Right.

GELLER: It's amazing, amazing speed. I mean, it's probably one of the fastest android phones I've used. So, 4G speed, has 8 megapixel camera, front facing camera for video conferencing, as well.

VELSHI: Right.

GELLER: Really, really grate product. Available on April 20th in stores. This is the Motorola Atrix, 4G from AT&T. It's really cool for enterprises. It has a fingerprint scanner on the back.

VELSHI: Oh, wow.

GELLER: Unlock it, you have a way (ph) to slide your finger over and then the phone unlocks. Really, really cool. Great for enterprises. Also can power 10 ATP (ph) video --

VELSHI: What's the software that that runs?

GELLER: This is android as well.

VELSHI: That's android. OK.

GELLER: And then, this is actually -- it's so early that I'm not able to show you the software, but it's from Sprint. It's the HTC Evo 3D.

VELSHI: Yes.

GELLER: Really cool. It takes 3D video and phothos.

VELSHI: Wow.

GELLER: In addition to that, you can view them back on the device in 3D, and this will be out in the summer. It's a really, really great product. And this is one of my favorite in the world. This is the Verizon Samsung mobile hot spot.

VELSHI: Right.

GELLER: And what this does is it's basically like a little router in your pocket.

VELSHI: Yes.

GELLER: About the size of a deck of cards, and it will spit out 4G speeds over Wi-Fi to five devices, your laptop, your iPad, your Nintendo DS, whatever you have.

VELSHI: Right, because I doubt one of those is not 4G. So, it's the fact you're spitting it out it's taking a cell signal.

GELLER: Exactly.

VELSHI: But it's slower because it's not as 4G.

GELLER: Correct.

VELSHI: I can pack this in my bag and take it wherever I go.

GELLER: You're good to go.

VELSHI: Subscription service, I guess?

GELLER: It is. It's around $50 a month.

VELSHI: All right. Jonathan, good to see you. Thanks very much for your head's up on all this.

GELLER: Absolutely. Thank you so much.

VELSHI: All the new 4G devices -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Guys, thanks so much. Let's take a look at the top stories now as we cross the half hour. Tornado alley living up to its name. Some violent storms being blamed now for at least five deaths in Arkansas as well as Oklahoma. Severe weather could also spawn more tornadoes across parts of the south today.

In Libya, the city of Misrata still under siege from pro-Gadhafi forces, and artillery assault on a port road in a residential area reportedly killed 23 people and wounded hundreds of others. What you're looking at is amateur video taken of shrapnel on the ground and other buildings destroyed. The Libyan opposition plans major demonstrations today.

Also, pink slips going to every public school teacher in Detroit. Nearly 5,500 union members now on notice they could lose their jobs. Officials are preparing to close as many as 25 schools in the district in June.

ROMANS: New developments this morning in the tragic case of a distraught young mother who drove her family van into the Hudson River in upstate New York, killing herself and three of her children. Details of their final horrifying moments are coming now from the sole survivor of the tragedy, the woman's 10-year-old son, and a good Samaritan who stopped to help him as he stopped shivering on the side of the road.

Deb Feyerick now with the latest.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You see the pictures of the little boy and you have to wonder just what is going through his mind. All of this may not have registered or resonated. By all accounts this quiet, polite, loving young mom who apparently was unable to tell the people around her how vulnerable she had become, twenty-five-year- old Lashondra Armstrong believed the only way out of her pain is taking the life and lives of her children.

A Facebook posting shows her asking people for mercy, saying I'm sorry, everyone, forgive me, please for what I'm going to do. She bundled her young kids into the family minivan and raced to the river blocks from her home.

Here's the thing. Seconds before the car sank she may have come to her senses. According to an eye witness, Armstrong's 10 year-old son, the only survivor, said his mom climbed into the backseat and cradled her four children, said "If I'm going to die you're going to die with me." But as the 10-year-old broke free, she had a change of heart, saying "Oh, my god, I made a mistake."

But when she tried to reverse the car it was too late. The 10- year-old boy managed to escape to the car window. You see him. He ran to the road desperately flagging down drivers. The woman who stopped said the little boy was soaking and frantic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEAVE RYAN, PASSERBY: He kept saying "It's my fault." He blamed himself fopr not getting his baby sister out because the buckle was too tight. He was literally blaming himself for everything that went on that he didn't get help fast enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: So, clearly, that little boy trying to get his siblings out of the car. People we spoke with say he is a responsible kid. He helped his mom with younger siblings who apparently adored him. He would take his two brothers to church, helped out at the day care center while his mom was at work. The day care director told us the day of the tragedy, the mom picked the kids up unusually early, she looked a little out of it. One of the teachers told Lashanda Armstrong that she could call if she needed help. To think that you get to that point that there seemed to be no other options.

CHETRY: And also to know that that Facebook posting for 30 minutes, if anybody could see it. I don't know how much you read into it, that's such a tragedy as well.

FEYERICK: And it didn't seem like she was trying to get retribution on the father. She was clearly upset but not, "I hate you." She was asking for mercy. Please forgive me for what I'm going to do.

ROMANS: He found an adult to help because the adult who is supposed to take care of him, protect him, couldn't.

VELSHI: Maeve was saying, the cars were passing by. It may not be your first instinct to stop. He was saying nobody would stop for him.

FEYERICK: Exactly right. Where that peer is, you have to cross a train track. The area was a depressed area. A fire had taken a home across the street. And the community is very tight so this a tragedy for them. It's resonating.

VELSHI: This is to imagine the depth of her pain and her helplessness. Thanks.

All right, 34 minutes after the hour, we're taking a quick break. We'll have your top stories on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's an understatement saying CBS daytime is getting a facelift. And Zsa Zsa Gabor could be having a baby, sort of.

CHETRY: We have entertainment reporter Shannon Cook with us, she's following these stories this morning. Nice to see you, welcome to the show.

SHANNON COOK, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. And "strange" is an understatement there.

CHETRY: I love this, right? This is prince Frederick van Anholt. He wants to have a baby.

COOK: He does. You just can't make this stuff up. This is absolutely bizarre. He's the ninth husband of Gabor. They've always bemoaned the fact apparently it was too late for them to have a baby. He suddenly decided it's not too late. Let's go ahead and do it.

CHETRY: He's 67. How long have they been together? COOK: Since '83. Gabor of course is 94, so she cannot provide an egg. He wants a surrogate and his sperm to create a baby that she would become the legal custodian of.

VELSHI: Many men want to run away from the fact it may or may not be theirs. He has a history of claiming babies that may or may not be his. He claimed Anna Nicole had his -

CHETRY: He claimed he was the father of Danni Lynn.

COOK: He doesn't have the squeaky clean image. This could be a publicity stunt. Clinics these days are discerning, they'll look at that and say this is a little bizarre. This isn't the best-case scenario. We might not go ahead with this.

CHETRY: So is this about money?

COOK: It's probably about publicity. He likes the fame.

ROMANS: This raises an important debate how old a woman should be. No. This is about whether someone is 94 --

CHETRY: She's been in failing health.

COOK: She is. That's another reason why this may not work because according to a doctor who tells CNN.com, she needs to provide legal consent for any of this to go ahead. She might not be of sound mind.

ROMANS: She has a child, a 64-year-old child.

VELSHI: Right. It's crazy. The other story we're talking about -- it's not even light talk, the consolation of two of ABC's longest running soap operas.

COOK: Right. These two shows have been around for 40 years, "All my Children" and "One Life to Live" on ABC. They're going away. It's amazing because these have been around for more than 40 years. These shows started when you actually had to get off the couch, walk to the TV, and adjust the channel by switching a knob.

But yes, it looks like soap operas and scripted television in general is kind of on the way out, which is sad for a lot of actors, obviously. As networks are looking for ways to cut cost, these kinds of shows are expensive. Sets are expensive, lighting is expensive, the wardrobes are expensive. I would imagine the budget for waterproof mascara alone is through the roof.

And they're looking for ways to cut cost, and reality television is incredibly cheap. And when you look at a show like "Jersey Shore" on MTV, you can argue it's a soap opera anyway.

ROMANS: It shows you how America tastes are changing. The death of daytime has been, CBS lost a couple --

VELSHI: If you look at unscripted television -- COOK: "General Hospital" is still going. There's an outlet for you.

VELSHI: "Jersey Shore's" plot doesn't change from season to season. They are great, reliable TV.

ROMANS: How can you say that?

CHETRY: They have tan laundry, they might tan then go to the laundry.

ROMANS: They might make out with different people.

VELSHI: Is that Snooki?

CHETRY: Snooki falling down because she had too many margaritas. People who watch soap operas are so loyal. It's interesting they want to cut that out. You're not going to watch a cooking show like you follow Susan Lucci's character.

COOK: But the problem is the core audience for soap operas is women, and there's so much choice out there. There's so many shows on cable that are pulling them away. There are judge shows, talk shows. These are all shows cheap to make.

Also keep in mind the beginning when soap operas were very popular, a lot of women were still staying at home and not working. A lot of women are working now. They're distracted also by material online. So the audience is waning.

ROMANS: There are others on Spanish language television. It's interesting because one segment of the television viewing audience, there are soap operas enduring and doing well. That's interesting.

CHETRY: Great to talk to you, Shannon, thanks for joining us.

ROMANS: A so-called "Birther bill" about to become law in one state, forcing President Obama or any other candidate to prove they were born in U.S.

VELSHI: Lose weight and forget less, how dropping pounds may help your mental health as well. It's 43 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 44 minutes past the hour, a lot going on this morning. Here's what we need to do to start the day.

This year's budget is on its way to President Obama's desk. That's the deal that stopped the government shutdown last weekend. The House and Senate passed it yesterday.

Egypt's ousted president Hosni Mubarak has been moved to a military hospital under guard. His health is said to be unstable. He was questioned earlier this week for a corruption probe and death of protesters. Also Japan ordering operators of the badly damaged nuclear plant to pay $12,000 to each family forced to evacuate.

A so-called "Birther Bill" in Arizona has passed the state legislature that would make presidential candidates prove, have to prove that they're U.S. citizens. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is expected to sign it.

And just about 45 minutes to the opening bell right now when Wall Street watching inflation today. These are the closing numbers from yesterday, the Dow closing up slightly, NASDAQ down slightly and S&P up even more slightly. But right now futures for the S&P, dipping down.

Teens who sleep in are safer drivers. That's the new study saying that crash rates may be higher for teenage drivers who start school earlier in the morning.

And weight loss surgery may improve mental health as well. Another new study says that people who had it and lost 50 pounds actually saw an improvement in their memories as well.

Tonight you're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 47 minutes past the hour.

We've been talking about severe weather today, a line of storms moving through parts of the south. Rob Marciano is keeping an eye on all of that for us. Hey, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning again guys. The high risk yesterday which yielded ten reports of tornadoes, damage and fatalities in Oklahoma and in Arkansas and this whole system is pressing off to the east as it usually does. And the bull's eye is going to be across parts of the eastern Mississippi and in through Alabama.

A lot of moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, dew point in the 60s; we've got wind shifts front, ahead and behind this system. And as you go in the upper levels, there's plenty of dynamics as well.

I do want to touch down on what's going on right now which is a tornado warning that's in effect for parts of Yazoo County. Here is Yazoo as you may remember it was this time almost a year ago to this day, where Yazoo City was torn up by a tornado. So this is not something that these folks take lightly.

It looks like the main cell with this in circulation just north of that city and if anything over the past couple of frame looks like it's weakened. But the entire line is certainly very, very strong and all of it associated with this cold front that is pushing off to the east. Just in the last few minutes, the storm's prediction center has finally issued a new tornado watch box that has been -- is now up for parts of Louisiana, mostly Mississippi, in through northwestern Alabama. Dixie Ally and this is an area that gets a lot of tornadoes, especially this time of year, so this is certainly of great concern as this -- this line bows out which means a lot of heavy up the straight line and winds. And that's going to be an issue too.

All right. Further to the north, we've got rain that's spiraling up towards Peoria and Chicago and the back side of this seeing a little snow. Also of concern, the wind behind this system and as you know, we have been dealing with wild fires across parts of northwestern Texas. And today we've got fire danger that is going to be high again with winds that will be gusty, 28 miles per hour, according to those computer models.

Daytime highs: 76 degrees expected in Memphis ahead of that as that front passes; 75 in Atlanta; it will be 55 degrees expected in New York City with temperatures there, that well, maybe right around where they should be, maybe a couple degrees cooler.

Newark and Cincinnati right now are sporting a few delays but mostly below an hour. And again this system will bring rain to the northeast, I think by about tomorrow afternoon into Sunday morning.

I'll toss it back to you guys in New York City. Have a great weekend guys.

CHETRY: You too, have a wonderful weekend. Load up on the Claritin, or whatever you take for those allergies --

MARCIANO: Exactly.

VELSHI: Atlanta hits me harder. I'm not even --

ROMANS: But Knoxville is worst than Atlanta that's according to that survey. Knoxville is the worst place country for allergy.

VELSHI: Yes, as I say with these allergy reports, none of it matters. The only allergy report that matters is what is going on in your city.

ROMANS: Is where you live -- the one where you live.

VELSHI: And who's moving because of that?

All right, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING -- you know, actually it takes a lot of work to be a princess but if you're up for the challenge, and we have a school for you, we're going to take you inside London's only princess training program.

CHETRY: That's right. If all you had to do is balance a book on your head, that will cool. There's a lot more to it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

One of our past CNN heroes has reached a major milestone. Five years ago, teenager Kaylee Radzyminski, started sending CDs and DVDs to troops overseas as a gesture of gratitude. The program became her non profit "iTunes for the Troops". And this week she had a little rock star help to celebrate a big achievement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI (voice-over): Kaylee Marie Radzyminski became a CNN hero in 2008 when she was a sophomore in high school. At that time, her organization "Tunes for the Troops", have shipped more than 200,000 CDs and DVDs to U.S. military member overseas. It was Kaylee's way to say thank you.

KAYLEE MARIE RADZYMINSKI, "TUNES FOR THE TROOPS": "Tunes for the Troops" has gone so far these past five year. There's absolutely nothing that I would change because it has made a difference in so many people's lives.

VELSHI: Today Kaylee is on a military ROTC scholarship at Tennessee Tech University which has become the new home of her organization.

RADZYMINSKI: "Tunes for Troops" is now part of the service learning center here at the university. There's basically a staff and student workers that volunteer for community service hours. This way, "Tunes for Troops" will be able to continue, even once I graduate.

VELSHI: This week, volunteers gathered to pack the latest shipment of CDs and DVDs which included a special milestone, the group's one millionth disk.

RADZYMINSKI: One of the guitarists from Lynyrd Skynyrd showed up at our packing party to actually pack the one millionth CD.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number one million.

RADZYMINSKI: Once I graduate, I'll be able to know that "Tunes for the Troops" was in some wonderful hands, and who knows, once I'm an officer in the United States army, I could potentially benefit from "Tunes for the Troops", getting in CDs and DVDs. And that's -- I mean it's pretty cool.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: And remember, every one of this year's CNN heroes are chosen from people you tell us about. So if you want to nominate someone who you know is making a really big difference in your community, go to CNNheroes.com.

We'll take a quick break but AMERICAN MORNING will be right back. It's 54 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: A lot of girls are looking for a fairy tale ending, to live in a big castle as a princess, you know.

CHETRY: Or at least the moms wanted them to do that, right? Now there's a school in London that makes the princess dream come true. Who better to take us through the princess in training program than our own Richard Quest? Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why did you decide, Princess Prep?

JERRAMY FINE, "PRINCESS PREP" TRAINER: Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a princess, so I wanted to create a program for other little girls that had the same dream.

You smooth your dress. You put one leg behind, one, two, three.

QUEST: So what are you telling these young ladies all about being a princess?

FINE: Well, we're teaching them to nourish the qualities of a princess that exist in every little girl; so manners, etiquette, kindness, service, duty, compassion.

QUEST: That's a lot.

FINE: That is a lot. But every little girl can do it.

Pretend you're a princess and you're at a ball. You're going to be as regal and as royal and ladylike has possible. You're making turns. You're going back and forth. It looks so easy. Look at that. What a curtsey could (INAUDIBLE). Good job.

QUEST: What's the biggest don't of being a princess?

FINE: Everyone try to sit like a princess.

I think you're not allowed to be selfish. You have to live your life for everyone else. So it's a lot about sacrifice and thinking about others.

QUEST: Now, let's talk about the royal wedding.

Who is getting married?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prince William and Kate.

QUEST: Prince William and Kate. Are you going to watch the royal wedding?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

QUEST: Do you want to be a princess? You don't? Why not.

You want to be a princess, don't you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to be one.

QUEST: Why do you want to be a princess?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're rich.

QUEST: You get rich. And you are really good with a book on your head, wasn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

QUEST: Was it hard?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sort of.

QUEST: Would you like to marry a prince?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know.

QUEST: If the royal princesses-to-be learn nothing else on their special day, at least they'll learn one trick that, who knows -- they may get to use in the future.

Richard Quest, CNN, central London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: So adorable. So, for all of those little princesses in training, the royal wedding is right around the corner. If you didn't get your invitation, we've got you covered here at CNN. We're going to take you behind the scenes of Prince William and soon-to-be Princess Kate Middleton's big day.

It's April 29th. You can watch it. You can put it on the DVR. You can actually be a part of it by sending us iReports. We're having a global viewing party as well. No RSVP necessary. Hope to see you there.

VELSHI: Great. You can go to the wedding without all the hassle of having to dress up.

ROMANS: That's right. Right to your living room.

CHETRY: You can wear your big fancy feathered hat at home all by yourself.

VELSHI: I think I might do that.

ROMANS: All right. That's it for us.

CHETRY: That wraps it up for today and for this week. Thanks for watching. Have a wonderful weekend everybody.

VELSHI: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello starts right now. Good morning and have a great weekend.