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Homes Ripped Apart, Flattened in Missouri; China Crackdown on Christians; Browse, Tweet, Get a Job; MidEast Unrest; Prince William and Kate's Courtship; Libya Stalemate Must be AvoidedCool Cars at New York Auto Show; Dating Website Sued; Apple's Earnings Go Up

Aired April 24, 2011 - 14:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This Easter Sunday, two days after a damaging tornado ripped through St. Louis, Missouri, prayer and picking up the pieces. The crippled Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is now open again after the EF-4 twister fueled by winds up to 165 miles an hour caused heavy damage there.

Right now it's up to air carriers to determine which flights are taking off and landing. The airport's main terminal, meanwhile, is heavily damaged, so it's working to move airlines to two other concourses.

Well, not far from the airport, this is a view of the damage caused by that tornado. Hundreds of homes ripped apart, and in some cases flattened. Miraculously, no deaths or life-threatening injuries reported. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon says that's "absolutely amazing."

CNN's David Simon is in the hard-hit area of Bridgeton, a St. Louis suburb.

Dan, this is the worst this area has seen in 40 years. How are they coping?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a tough day. And as you can see, it is now raining, and that is just adding to the misery here. Let me explain where we are.

As you said, we are in this small suburb of St. Louis. We are on the second floor of a house in this subdivision. The tornado tore through this roof.

A 15-month-old baby normally sleeps in this room. Fortunately, the family was out of town when this all happened. But I want to show you what things look like downstairs, and really across the street.

I mean, look at this trail of destruction as we go ahead and walk downstairs. I mean, this path was just absolutely enormous. You're talking about a dozen homes or so that have been damaged or destroyed. This, by the way, is the living room of this house, or at least it was the living room.

We're going to go talk to Mary Ellen who lives next door. She lost her house, completely destroyed. You can see all the rubble. She's been here working in the rain trying to salvage whatever she can.

Mary Ellen, I want to talk to you basically about what you've been doing today, but first of all, as the camera comes over here, where were you and how did you learn that your home was destroyed?

MARY ELLEN NORTON-HARRIS, HOME DESTROYED BY TORNADO: Well, I was helping some friends with out-of-town relatives, and they called to warn me about the impending weather. So I was watching the Weather Channel, and I heard a tornado at 70 and 270, which is just over here, and I started calling my children and my husband and didn't get any response.

So I didn't realize it had touched down until about 9:30, when I was trying to come home, and my younger son called and said, "You can't go home. We don't have homes." And this was it. This was the result of it.

SIMON: So you get here, and you said this was about 9:30 at night, the tornado had struck maybe an hour or so before. And so that night -- this was Friday evening -- did you start trying to remove things and debris, or what did you do?

NORTON-HARRIS: No. Actually, we couldn't get close. The power lines were down, so the police had it cornered off.

I went up a street over and parked where my daughter actually had been in their basement, and they walked me over to this clearing, and I saw the back of my son's house, and I didn't see anything for mine, so it was a total loss. There was no sense in even trying to pick anything out.

SIMON: What have you been able to get?

NORTON-HARRIS: All my baking pans. I love to bake, love to cook. So I have pots and pans, I have some silverware.

Most of my irreplaceable mementos from my parents and grandparents are gone. I have plates, some clothing if we can salvage it. I can only find one shoe in each pair.

Some pictures -- we have some things that were in the basement, baby pictures that were in plastic bins. So the basement, as long as the ceiling doesn't collapse, they'll be salvageable. And so we're pretty fortunate.

SIMON: Well, thanks for talking to us and good luck to you.

NORTON-HARRIS: You're welcome. Thank you.

SIMON: So, Fredricka, this is what an F-4 tornado looks like. And before we leave, I just want to point out that this home directly across the street, right next to our satellite truck here, it had a "For Sale" sign in the front yard. And the woman who lives there had actually gotten a buyer, and she was supposed to close on Thursday.

So talk about some tough luck there. This home, obviously destroyed.

But the path of this destruction is just so unbelievable. You can see this SUV here flipped on its side. I mean, it just goes on and on and on -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow. There is never any explaining of the destruction of a tornado. And then it looked like one of the homes over your right shoulder seems like it's pretty close to being fully intact, whereas everything else is obliterated.

SIMON: You know, that's exactly right. You never know how these things work.

Let's just go ahead and put the camera -- this house, basically untouched. Just a few siding panels off, but the people who live there, I think, are going to be there tonight. They don't have any power yet, but at least they still have their home.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Dan Simon, thanks so much. Best of luck to all those there in Bridgeton.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Also out of Texas, investigators are looking into a domestic disturbance called that left a deputy dead. It happened yesterday about 30 miles south of Dallas. The gunman opened fire from inside a shed, killing one deputy and wounding another. Police later killed the gunman in a shootout.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued an elderly man from a 40-foot boat, a sailboat, in fact, off the California coast yesterday. A helicopter waited to airlift him to a San Diego hospital. The 71-year-old man had a diabetic seizure.

And tears of joy flowed at an Easter weekend homecoming in Massachusetts. After nearly a year overseas, military families reunited with their loved one. These troops are from the 342nd military police Army Reserve unit that handled Customs duties in Afghanistan. They weren't supposed to be home for Easter, but they arrived early.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZACHARY BOLCOME, U.S. ARMY RESERVE: It feels really good to be home. A year is a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Barack Obama and his family observed Easter at Shiloh Baptist Church this morning. It's home to one of Washington's oldest African-American congregations. You see there Michelle Obama waving.

The service lasted about two hours. Last Easter, the Obamas worshipped at a Methodist church.

Christians told they couldn't worship on Easter? We'll take you to the scene, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.

Now some of today's international headlines.

There are reports of heavy shelling in Misrata, Libya, just hours after Moammar Gadhafi's forces announced they were withdrawing. A rebel spokesman accuses Gadhafi of playing dirty games.

There were more protests in Yemen today, despite reports that President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to step down within 30 days. The deal was brokered by other Persian Gulf nations, but protesters say Saleh should leave right now. They also object to a provision giving Saleh immunity from prosecution.

Pope Benedict celebrated Easter mass at St. Petersburg Square in Vatican City. He prayed for the victims of political turmoil in Africa and victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

And now hundreds of Christians are under house arrest in China this Easter Sunday. Chinese police in Beijing blocked some 500 worshippers from attending services at China's largest independent church. Dozens of others were arrested.

Our Stan Grant tries to take us on a tour of the church, but then watch what happens when police intervene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Over here you can see the police that have turned out today. Now, this is where one of the Houng (ph) churches, the so-called illegal churches in China was going to hold a service, an Easter Sunday service.

Now, this church has been part of a crackdown by authorities over recent weeks. Hundreds of members of the church have been rounded up and detained. The leaders of the church are, in fact, still under arrest, still being held somewhere.

The church members have said that they would hold this service anyway, in defiance of the threat from the police. We haven't seen any of them yet turn up, but we have seen plainclothes police coming towards us, even turning their cameras on us.

Brad (ph), he's filming us. Filming us.

OK. This guy over here is now filming us filming him, which is every indication -- OK, we should just get out of here. Let's just keep shooting him shooting us.

I'm going to try to walk up the stairs now to where the service was meant to be held. Let's see how far we can go.

Happy Easter. Happy Easter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING CHINESE)

GRANT: Yes.

Joe, can you just come -- we're trying to get through to --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING CHINESE)

GRANT: So we have to go another way?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says that there is an event being held upstairs and we're not able to go.

GRANT: OK. OK.

No, move back, Brad (ph). Move back, Brad (ph). Move back. Move back.

OK. OK. OK. OK. If we leave -- OK.

Deputy, let's go. Let's go, Brad (ph). Let's go.

Clearly, we're being chased out of here. These people don't want us here. We're not going to be able to get to see the church service today, so we're going to leave.

Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And social media, well, it's not just for telling friends where you are or what you're eating. It's a great place to actually find a job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. So, thousands of college graduates will be getting their diplomas in the coming weeks. And then, of course, they'll be hitting the job market, hoping to nail something down.

Debra Shigley is the author of "The Go-Getter Girl's Guide." Ooh, it's always so hard for me to say those Gs. But that's good, catchy. I like it.

All right, Debra. So let's talk about these guidelines and this kind of, I don't know, real impetus to get a lot of college graduates on the social media. Something tells me they're all on it already, but this can help you get a job.

DEBRA SHIGLEY, AUTHOR, "GO-GETTER GIRL'S GUIDE: Yes. Well, absolutely.

It is cheaper, faster, and a lot of times more fun to search for jobs, and also to find job candidates on social media. So that's where you want to be.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right. So, you've got to friend people.

SHIGLEY: Yes, and you want to be bold --

WHITFIELD: But not just anybody.

SHIGLEY: Not just anybody, right. And the standards are a little bit different for the different tools we're going to use. Right?

So, on Facebook, that's where you're friending people. LinkedIn is also a great place that's a little more professional contacts. And you want to be bold in terms of who you reach out to, because you never know how that connection might come back to help you.

And it's interesting. With LinkedIn, basically the magic number is 50 people. So you want to have at least 50 contacts, because that's when you start to see second-and-third-degree connections. And after that point you can start to reach out and create even more connections.

WHITFIELD: But then you have to be careful about what you say. Maybe you don't want to put, you know, that Saturday soiree on there. So what does it mean when you say there's got to be a complete profile? How complete are we talking?

SHIGLEY: Right. So, exactly, you want to be careful to scrub your Facebook, LinkedIn, anything that would be perhaps untoward, that you wouldn't want to show potential employers, because they are looking at it. But it's interesting. On LinkedIn, for example, if you have a complete profile, meaning you have more than one job posted, meaning you have a photo included, you're many more times more likely to be viewed.

WHITFIELD: And also go for a photo?

SHIGLEY: Well, you're seven times more likely to be viewed on LinkedIn if you have the photo included.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

SHIGLEY: So results kind of speak for themselves, so you have to kind of weigh that.

WHITFIELD: So look your best.

SHIGLEY: Right, look your best.

WHITFIELD: And wear something professional.

SHIGLEY: Very professional, yes.

WHITFIELD: No party getup, right.

And then you say you really want to maximize your online resume. So it's got to be fitted just right for online reading. SHIGLEY: Right. In particular, LinkedIn kind of is the new resume, right? And you wouldn't have a half-completed resume that you send out for a job application, right?

So you want to include those past jobs. For college students in particular, internships, previous summer jobs. All that should be on there because you're trying to create a great online profile that employers can see and see that you're qualified for positions that are open.

WHITFIELD: Internships are big.

SHIGLEY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: A lot of those people will think, you know, I haven't really had a job yet, so I don't have much work experience. But that internship is work experience, so put it on there.

SHIGLEY: Absolutely. Absolutely. You need that.

WHITFIELD: OK. Favorite companies, what do we mean by this?

SHIGLEY: Well, it's interesting. You can follow favorite companies on LinkedIn. Obviously, you want --

WHITFIELD: Places you want to go.

SHIGLEY: Places you want to go. You can see who's coming and going. You can even see what employees have been hired or not working at the company anymore, too.

And also, with Facebook, I mean, most companies have Facebook profiles, have Facebook pages. You want to be looking at that, because that's where you're going to set yourself apart in terms of the job search, knowing what the hot topics are, knowing what's going on with that company. You need to ask smart questions in those interviews, and social media is just another way to keep up to date on what companies are doing.

WHITFIELD: Knowing the lingo, kind of the company lingo --

SHIGLEY: Yes. Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- and the particular titles of people in jobs. All that stuff is out there.

SHIGLEY: Absolutely. And some companies even tweet job openings, so you want to be following your favorite companies on Twitter as well.

And I often find -- it depends on your industry a little bit, but especially if you're in something related to communications, lots of times people just cut through the clutter and post actual job openings with a resume -- excuse me, an e-mail to send your resume to -- on Facebook. And that's how you get the word on opportunities that aren't yet posted on job boards.

WHITFIELD: This is so insane.

SHIGLEY: Yes, it is.

WHITFIELD: It's so competitive, and this really underscores that, too.

SHIGLEY: One more way.

WHITFIELD: It means you've got to have that -- you know, whatever kind of upper hand you can get here.

SHIGLEY: Right. Right.

WHITFIELD: Social media is another way in which to do it.

SHIGLEY: Yes. And it's also important, too, to take that offline. Once you get that connection, you have to follow up, ask for a lunch, ask for a meeting, ask, can you look at my resume?

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: OK. Debra Shigley, thanks so much.

SHIGLEY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: "Go-Getter Girl's Guide."

SHIGLEY: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Good to see you.

And best of luck to all these high school graduates looking for a job. College graduates, too.

All right. Now a quick look at some of the best video from our CNN affiliates. Take a look right there.

What is that? A pretty unusual site. Police chased a mountain lion through a neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

It's not clear whether the animal was somebody's pet or wandered in from the countryside. Residents watched with amazement as officers tried to corner it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They tried to shoot it with a tranquilizer, and she (INAUDIBLE) ground real big in the trees and just jumped out. And I don't know. I just took off running.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. Good instincts there. A tranquilizer dart finally did the trick, and the big cat fell asleep. The 70-pound female will live at the Tulsa Zoo until authorities can find a permanent home.

And did you get any Peeps? Now, that's what that is. I was a little confused for a minute. I know you were, too.

The baby marshmallow chicks are a tradition this holiday, but not like this. Hundreds of them turned up on a Seattle man's lawn attached to little skewers, as you see right there. So, don't blame the Easter Bunny. It was a prank by friends, but I'm sure nobody one would be upset if you went by and just plucked one and ate one.

All right. Still ahead, first communion is a memorable experience, especially when the priest says, no, you cannot participate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

WHITFIELD: Congressional leaders want more pressure put on Tripoli to stop the bloodshed in Libya. With the number of casualties growing, some say it's time for NATO to go after Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle.

Listen to what Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman had to say on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: It's my belief that it's going to be hard for American national security interests to survive intact if Gadhafi stays. You know, I like coalitions, it's good to have them, it's good to have the U.N. involved, but the goal is to get rid of Gadhafi.

A military stalemate is ensuing, and the only way I know to make this thing successful is to put pressure on Tripoli. The people around Gadhafi need to wake up every day wondering, will this be my last? The military commanders in Tripoli supporting Gadhafi should be pounded.

So I would not let the U.N. mandate stop what is the right thing to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: I think every time we pull back, it says to Gadhafi that he can tough this out. And I want him to feel that we're just going to squeeze and squeeze until he decides it's time to go, because that's the only end that will be meaningful here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. So it's not just Libya. Take a look right here.

Syria and Yemen, also on the map of concern here and vying for international attention. Right now, there is plenty of violence and unrest in each of those nations.

So which of these countries should concern the U.S. the most?

For answers, let's bring in CNN Senior State Department Producer Elise Labott.

All right. So, that's the question, Elise. Which is of the greatest concern to the U.S. right now?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN SR. STATE DEPT. PRODUCER : Well, Fred, I think there's different levels of concern for different reasons. In Libya, obviously, you have U.S. troops involved, so the U.S. is concerned about the military and it's also concerned about the lives of Libyans facing Moammar Gadhafi.

But as we've heard, even from Defense Secretary Gates, Libya is not of vital interest to the United States. And some people say as Libya goes, so does Libya.

Some of these other issues like Syria and Yemen, far more U.S. national security interests. In Syria, you've seen the kind of U.S. struggle with its response about getting rid of President Assad, whether they should say it's time for him to go. That's because they're very scared of what comes after him, whether there's going to be some kind of sectarian tensions.

He's really -- his allies have really been a minority. And you can see the kind of similar situation as we had in Iraq, where sectarian tensions boil over, the opposition really isn't very well organized. So it's kind of like the devil that you know is better than the devil that you don't know.

And in Yemen, serious U.S. concerns about al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula in the country. In Yemen, there have been terrorist attacks planned against the United States. So the U.S. is really hoping that this transition in Yemen, that it's finally come around to the fact that President Saleh looks like he is going to go. They want to see that they can manage it so that counterterrorism cooperation doesn't get interrupted.

WHITFIELD: So, it sounds like they're really underscoring that the U.S. is really conflicted here about what to address first. Does it also have something to do with the U.S. waiting to see what other country might take the lead?

LABOTT: Well, I think everyone always looks to the United States to lead, and we've seen in Libya that on one hand the U.S. is saying, we're going to be in this partnership. We're going to help lead this partnership, but we're going to take a backseat on the military.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

And it's kind of like the world has this psychological view that they're looking for the United States to lead. So on one hand, don't want the United States to go it alone, on the other hand, what are we doing without the United States? And I think you've seen the U.S. kind of say, listen, you have some of these assets. You're the ones that really were pushing to go to the Europeans, to go into Libya, and they think it's healthy for the Europeans to see what it's like to lead. The U.S. is leading in Iraq.

The U.S. is leading in Afghanistan, and the rest of the world knows if they're not going to pick up the slack, the U.S. is going to do it. The U.S. is saying, okay, you try to see what it's like to be a leader.

WHITFIELD: So does this say something about this particular White House's strategy on foreign policy, or is this really a result of a ripple effect? You have trouble in one country in this region and it ripple into its neighbor?

LABOTT: Well, I think, you know, they're trying to deal with so many issues, Fred, at once and trying to juggle so many different countries. It's kind of like that game that you play at the carnival, whack-a-mole, if you will.

They're hitting all these different problems that come up. Where are the protests the loudest? Where are the - is the violence the strongest? Where are the rest of the international community? Where is the wave?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: The U.S. is trying to ride that wave by also kind of balancing its U.S. national security interests. But I think part of the problem is while they're dealing with these individual countries, you still can't take your eye off the ball that we're not hearing a lot about Egypt anymore.

We're not hearing a lot about Tunisia anymore and these countries still need help, so I think, you know, everyone is looking for the U.S. more to lay out some kind of vision. What is their vision for a region that's experiencing so much change?

And I think Secretary Clinton has said that President Obama could be laying out some kind of speech in the coming weeks to lay out what the U.S. vision is for this region.

WHITFIELD: And of course, many critics around the world would say it shouldn't be up to the U.S. to have a vision about the Middle East or any other place other than the United States.

All right, Elise Labott. Thanks so much. Appreciate that, producer with CNN and the State Department.

All right, still to come, something almost everybody can relate to. If you get e-mail on your smart phone, we have a phishing warning for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this holiday weekend, you've probably been in touch with your family and friends, and if you have been using a smart phone, there is a good chance scam artists are getting in touch with you as well.

Social media writer Amy Gahran joins us now with a warning about phishing. So Amy, when we talk about phishing. We were also talking about those scam e-mails that come in our inboxes. Why are smart phones more at risk?

AMY GAHRAN, MEDIA CONSULTANT: Well, actually it's not just the smart phone issue. I mean, most of us are used to thinking about mobile media as on phones like this. Actually, the vast majority of phones out there look like this.

This is what the industry calls feature phones, and they're actually 70 percent of the market. Most of these are e-mail enabled and most of them also have web browsers on them, very basic ones. But the issue is when you get an e-mail in and it says something is wrong with your account, there is suspicious activity on your bank account, you need to click this link right now to check out the activity.

If it asks you to log in and asks for your password, that's probably a scam. Never click in a link in an e-mail and then enter your password. That's just generally bad policy.

WHITFIELD: So that really is the red flag. If it's saying we want more information from you as we're trying to inform you about something, then just delete it? Don't even open it.

GAHRAN: Well, yes, that's true, but you might also want to notify your bank or other organization. It's not just your bank, but it could be your insurance company or a retailer you do business with.

But the issue is that that the phishers, when they steal the e-mail addresses, they know two things, they know your e-mail address and they know who you do business with.

WHITFIELD: Yes, OK.

GAHRAN: And they - then they know, wow, we can make this look like an e-mail from Chase Bank because we have all their logos and everything. They can make it look official. Now, the problem with mobile devices is twofold.

First of all, it's a difficult environment to see what the full URL is, the full web address that you would be going to. A lot of times you can only see the first part of the URL. The second thing is when people have a phone in their hands, like, I want to click it. What can I do with it?

So they're more likely -- there's a research company called Trustier that back in January got the server records from servers that a bunch of scammers had been using, and they looked and found that mobile users were three times more likely to enter their log in information than people who are accessing it from a computer.

WHITFIELD: OK, like you said, everybody has a smart phone to some degree, but is this the case that certain smart phones are more susceptible than others? For example, the iPhone, is that one putting you at greater risk than say a Blackberry? I hate to use product names, but that's what some critics are saying.

GAHRAN: What this particular study showed was that iPhone users were eight times more likely than Blackberry users to access the phishing site. They weren't necessarily more likely to enter their log in information, but they were more likely to click the link in the e- mail.

WHITFIELD: Why?

GAHRAN: Well, I don't know, because that study only looked at things from the point of view of the scammers. It only looked from the site that they were supposed to be hitting. But the company Trustier speculated that the iPhone is more of a consumer device and the Blackberry is more of a business device, so hopefully business users are a bit more aware about security issues.

I don't really know why it's a case, but just good general common sense is. If you get a link in an e-mail, don't click it. Now, if you do click it and you do the wrong thing and enter your password, you want to immediately go to the regular web site through your browser.

Don't click another link to get there -- change your password immediately, because that's what they were trying to get, is your password. Then notify them that, hey, I messed up, and they can monitor your account more closely.

WHITFIELD: OK, good tips. We don't want to get scammed out there, and it certainly seems there is an increase of avenues in which to get scammed. Social media writer, Amy Gahran, thank you so much.

GAHRAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Prince William and Kate Middleton have invited 1,900 people to their wedding. Guess who, among the following, got one of those invitations?

Take a look at the list. Was it former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's former butler, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni or Chan Shingadia, the Middleton's grocer? Find out next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, so before the break, we gave you four names to choose from. So among them, who made the royal wedding guest list?

Would you believe it was the grocer, Chan Shingadia. The invitation states that men must wear a uniform, mourning coat or a suit. But Shingadia and his wife have received special permission to dress in their traditional Indian sari.

So what's it like to be friends with the future king and queen of England? In this new documentary "The Women Who Would Be Queen," CNN's Soledad O'Brien meets a man who has known the royal couple for years and has fascinating and surprising insight into Kate Middleton and Prince William.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a very down-to-earth normal guy.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jules Knight first met Prince William in 2001 when they both arrived at St. Andrews University to study art history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were no admiral graces, if you like. I think he makes people feel very relaxed, so I don't think there were many people who felt overwhelmed by him. You know, the fact that he was the future king of England didn't seem to come into things. In St. Andrews, it's very easy to forget that there's a world out there. It's a bubble.

O'BRIEN: The palace had negotiated a deal with the press to stay away from St. Andrews and Prince William. He was able to be a normal student and it was this private bubble out of the spotlight that Jules often partied with William.

JULES KNIGHT, FRIEND OF WILLIAM AND KATE: I remember, you know, we walked out of the pub. We were quite drunk and we were walking down the street, about 10 of us. You know, I saw a pellet gun on the floor, so I picked it up and started waving it around.

Then he grabbed it out of my jacket pocket and was holding it in the air. And suddenly, even in my drunk state, I was like, this is probably not a good idea. What does this look like from behind?

And I remember looking behind and there were these bodyguards looking incredibly agitated, like what the hell is going on?

O'BRIEN: Jules also remembers Kate joining William at local pubs and hanging out at parties.

KNIGHT: They had fun and they enjoyed laughing and --

O'BRIEN (on camera): She said that he was a good cook. Can he cook?

KNIGHT: Maybe he is. Yes, he did cook.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Jules was there the night William and Kate became more than just friends. March 2002, when Kate strutted down the catwalk in revealing lingerie at a charity fashion show.

KNIGHT: I did think, wow, she looks great. She's beautiful and I think he probably was pretty impressed as well.

O'BRIEN: William and Kate started dating and were a couple for years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: William Wales.

O'BRIEN: By the time they graduated in 2005, the world knew they were together.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Katherine Middleton.

KNIGHT: They were closer than I had ever seen in my life, like around the world, like 100. And the noise of the cameras going off and the flashes was intense. It was just unbelievable.

O'BRIEN: Jules stayed in touch with William and Kate, occasionally seeing them at reunions and parties and the palace when he was performing with a singing group, Blake.

KNIGHT: We sung for the queen twice or three times. We sang at Buckingham Palace three times.

O'BRIEN: Royal ties that have brought the singing group popularity, success and a new song dedicated to old friends getting married. Soledad O'Brien, London, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And, of course, there is more tonight at 8:00 Eastern. We take you behind the scenes when CNN presents "The Women Who Would Be Queen."

Then this Friday, April 29, the big day, tune in for CNN's royal wedding experience or DVR it beginning at 4:00 a.m. Eastern. It's going to be better if you watch it live, though. Set your alarm clocks.

All right, time for a CNN Equals Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines on the CNNPolitics.com desk. Here's what crossing right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): After visiting Libya last week, Senator John McCain is calling for quick action to drive Moammar Gadhafi out of power. McCain says a prolonged stalemate could open the door for al Qaeda terrorists.

Donald Trump is feuding with political strategist Karl Rove. Trump says Rove did a terrible job advising George W. Bush and ended up running Bush's presidency into the ground. Trump was responding to Rove's recent criticism. Rove said Trump shouldn't be considered as a serious presidential candidate.

And another potential Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, is feuding with conservative pundit Glenn Beck. Beck called Huckabee, quote, "a progressive." Huckabee responded by saying Beck should stick to conspiracy theories.

And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go cnnpolitics.com.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Earth day and expensive gas are putting fuel-efficient cars back in the spotlight this weekend at the New York International auto show, and that's where we find Susan Candiotti, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So if you're in the market for a new fuel-efficient vehicle, perhaps you need to be at the international auto show in New York.

That's where we find our Susan Candiotti. She is behind the wheel of something that everybody wants to get their hands on right now. Susan --

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. You're right, talking about high prices with the national gas average of, what, $3.86 now according to AAA? People are coming to car shows looking for cars where they can save money any way they can.

So there are about 25 hybrid models at this particular car show, and then there is this car. It's the Nissan Leap. The thing about it is an electric car, 100 percent electric. You never have to go to a gas station again with this particular kind of car.

This Nissan Leap has also won a world award for this year at this car show. Let me show you how it works. So it charges, right? This is what the charger looks like. It costs another $1,800 on the price of the car. It is installed at your home, so you see the man holding that trigger. And you plug it in over here when you pop this on top of the car. It gets plugged in here.

This can, by the way, also take a three-pronged outlet, but the charge for 100 miles takes seven hours. There are also fast charge stations around the country, certain parts of the country, not everywhere yet. That only takes a half hour, but it gives you an 80 percent charge.

Now, this also has some other very impressive features that we can talk about, for example, availability. Right now you can -- there is a waiting list that you can't get on for another couple months, but 20,000 people are driving this car nationwide right now.

And the warranty is pretty good, too, on the battery cells. Eight years, 100,000 miles. But Fred, if you're missing maybe one thing, what can you think of that you would normally see on the back of any vehicle? Anything come to mind that is not on this car?

WHITFIELD: Well, I was going to say maybe the whole gas tank thing near the rear, but it's an electric car so, of course, no gas.

CANDIOTTI: That doesn't exist. Well, that's a good hint. There's no tailpipe. There's no tailpipe because zero emissions. So the car, again, won't be for everybody. After all, it's a commuter car so you can go back and forth to the grocery store. You can't at this point charge it up anyplace, and in certain parts of the country, California, Pacific Northwest, some parts of the southeast, they do exist. So one day this could be the answer. WHITFIELD: I think that's a very cool ride. I like it. I like most cars, and I really like that one. All right, thanks so much, Susan Candiotti. I appreciate that from Manhattan, the international auto show.

All right, a woman in California is suing match.com after being insulted by a man that she met on the popular internet dating site. That's her allegation. Well, the civil suit demands the dating service screen its members for sexual predators, but listen to what our legal guys had to say yesterday about that case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This case is going in the garbage, that's where it's going, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Really, it's going nowhere?

HERMAN: It's going nowhere, because as all my contract students know, as any person who knows how to read knows, when you get a contract and a term of use, you have to read it.

And in the match.com contract on paragraph seven on the terms of use, it's bold printed, it's the only paragraph in the entire terms of use that's bold printed saying, look, we're not making any representations to you, do your own due diligence, be careful, use these dating guidelines.

WHITFIELD: So you should be Googling any potential candidate, you should do your own research to find out if this person is who they say they are.

HERMAN: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Avery, you're saying no.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIAL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes, that's easy to say. Of course, I agree, that if -- especially if you're a single woman, you're out there looking for a date, with the internet and everything, obviously you're going to go on there. But the fact is match.com and these other dating services have a responsibility to people who subscribe.

WHITFIELD: Because you're saying people go to these sites thinking there is some kind of screening that takes place?

FRIEDMAN: They trust them, right. Right, they trust them, and notwithstanding the language, I agree with that. The fact is, though, that they're now beginning to go to the National Sex Offender Registry since the filing of the lawsuit.

That tells you something and I think there's a responsibility on both the individual wanting to date and the service providing it. I don't think this is going away at all. I think it's a very serious, fascinating case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Our legal guys are with us every weekend, and they have something to say about happy days. Happy days, usually happy, not so happy right now, at least some of the former cast members.

They are actually suing a television network, and our legal guys will be back to give their insight coming up in the 4:00 Eastern hour. Don't want to miss that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Company profits, help for air travellers and making dough off the royal wedding. Our money team is watching all of that. First to Felicia Taylor.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, well, Apple's quarterly earning has blew pass expectations. The tech giant raked in $25 billion in revenues with profits nearly doubling. Apple sold more than 18 million iPhones in the period.

Another thing gaining traction this season, the number of Americans filing fraudulent tax returns. It's nearly tripled. The treasury inspector general said people tried to claim nearly $2 billion in refunds of which they weren't entitled. Common claims include falsely lowering incomes and even claiming children that don't exist. Stephanie --

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Felicia. The Department of Transportation has released its Passenger Bill of Rights part two. The new rules are designed to make air travel more comfortable and pricing more transparent.

Among the proposed changes, airlines must post all season taxes clearly on their web site not just in small print. And they must increase compensation for passengers who are involuntarily bumped.

Subway is cutting the amount of salt in its sandwiches by 15 percent. It's fresh fit line will get a nearly 30 percent cut. The reductions will come mainly from the type of bread used. Poppy --

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Thanks a lot, Steph. Well, coming up this week, the New York International auto show, both more brand new models and concept cars than ever before, and kids will be able to pose with their favorite Cars II characters there.

Hopping across the pond, the royal wedding is expected to pay off big time in the U.K. A retail trade group predicts the event could produce $260 million in food and drink sales alone, and tourists are, of course, pretty likely to stock up on the hottest William and Kate memorabilia.

As far as here in the U.S., the big news on Wall Street will be Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's first ever news conference. He set to hold that on Wednesday after central bankers wrap up their two-day policy meeting. Of course, we'll track it all for you all week on CNN Money. Fred, back to you. WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, ladies. I'll be back in one hour. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "YOUR MONEY" is next. Is it time to invest in gold?