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CNN Sunday Morning

1.4 Million Acres Burned in Texas; Flooding at Lake Champlain; Easter Mass at the Vatican; Shooting in Syria; New Government Deal in Yemen

Aired April 24, 2011 - 06:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everybody, from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Happy Easter to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes, 6:00 a.m. in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): Let me give you a live look, a gorgeous picture. This is outside St. Peters Basilica. They're there in the square and this, of course, where the pope is having Easter mass. He will also deliver his Easter message today as well as tens of thousands gather there every year to listen to the pope.

These live pictures coming to us from Vatican City and also I want to switch over and show you a live picture this morning as well, this in Washington, D.C. This coming to us actually from Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, just outside of Washington, but this is where we're expecting some 5,000 people to gather there for the Easter sunrise service.

An annual tradition there. You see people already gathered, listening to the Navy band here in just a moment, but another beautiful sight as people get ready today to celebrate on this Easter, as we look at this picture at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Let us say good morning right now to our military men and women who are watching us right now on the armed forces network around the world. Thank you for what you do. Thank you for being here with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Let's turn now -- we will get back to some of those Easter services and celebrations today, but need to turn to some of the severe weather.

We are just about a month into spring and boy, what a day it was yesterday, a heck of a spring day from the Midwest to the northeast, a bit of volatile season. We know it can be, but take a look at these.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): These were some of the pictures we were watching with you yesterday, a tornado with winds nearly 170 miles an hour raked across the St. Louis area, damaging, destroying more than 750 homes, this was all happening on Friday night, just became clearer and clearer to us throughout the morning yesterday just how bad it was.

The city's main airport, these are the pictures you're seeing here, got slammed, a lot of damage there. The plans are to have it operating at 70 percent capacity today, an amazing feat, given how much damage they did sustain.

Also in North Texas, wildfires there scorched more than a million acres, quieter today, but firefighters fear drier weather in the coming days could spark more flare-ups. Also there's the flooding in the northeast, snow melt, heavy rains pushed Lake Champlain over its banks in some areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: But we need to get back to what was happening in St. Louis, Missouri. We were watching this with you yesterday, those new pictures, a tornado blew homes off their foundation, left a scar across the landscape there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): The weather services says the tornado was the most powerful to hit the area since 1967. This morning, homeowners trying to pick up some of that debris, literally trying to pick their lives up and put them back together.

Among those trying is Brianna McIntyre, she was in her home in the St. Louis suburb of Bridgeton when that tornado hit. Her home was leveled. She is on the line with me this morning.

Ms. McIntyre, thank you for taking some time out. Tell me, is there anything salvageable from your home, just how bad is it?

BRIANNA MCINTYRE, HOUSE DESTROYED IN STORM (via telephone): Hi, how are you? First of all, happy Easter.

HOLMES: Yes, ma'am, happy Easter to you. It's tough to be celebrating this way I imagine for you and a lot of folks in the St. Louis area.

MCINTYRE: Yes, but you know we're trying to do our best to move on and do what we can, but --

HOLMES: Well, ma'am, tell me, what was, I think these are the pictures we are looking at. It's almost unrecognizable the ones you sent in. This is your home. Is it fair to say your home is gone?

MCINTYRE: It's gone. I had no idea that the damage would be that extensive, you know, I was in the basement thankfully, when it happened, with a friend. When I came upstairs, it was unrecognizable.

HOLMES: Ma'am it sounds like you had a basement, you got enough warning. When did you know that it was time to stop watching the television and time to seek shelter and get to that basement like you mentioned?

MCINTRYE: I was in my room upstairs, maybe 20 minutes before all this happened and I was looking between two TV channels and I looked to a news channel and it urged people to go downstairs, go into any kind of places of shelter. And I just said OK, Brianna, just go. I wasn't even going to go at first and thank God I did.

HOLMES: Well, ma'am, what was the experience like? What were you experiencing in that basement between I guess what you might have been hearing, what you could even see and what you were feeling as well?

MCINTRYE: Well, the first thing that went out was the lights. The lights flickered and it was complete darkness and then you could hear like when you're on a plane and your ears pop.

HOLMES: Yes.

MCINTRYE: Your ears popping and it was like a suction noise and all of the sudden, we just heard the roof ripping and me and my friend, Daniel, we just ran as quick as we could to the basement bathroom, we got into the tub and just held each other.

You know, comforting me because I was crying, and then you could just hear this loud ripping noise, sounded like a train running over the top of my house. It was just, and it shook. It was pretty scary.

HOLMES: Well, ma'am, even though you were going through that and you could feel the shaking and you could hear all that noise, when you were coming out of there, when it was all over, did you think that possibly your house was still standing? Did you have any idea that you were going to see what you saw when you came out of that basement?

MCINTYRE: I had no idea. I knew that there was going to be some damage because I heard there was ripping off of the roof. I hoped that part of the roof and some shingles that had fallen off, but I knew something was wrong when we got out of the tub.

And I could hear it raining in the house, and my friend Daniel went to the base of the stairs and he said "Brianna, I'm looking up and I can see the sky." I climbed up the stairs carefully because there was glass and insulation everywhere and I got to the top of the stairs and I saw my roof in front of my face. Shingles were in front of my face.

HOLMES: Well, Miss McIntyre, what do you do now? Where do you even start?

MCINTYRE: Well, yesterday we started, we woke up early, got a lot of friends, family, church friends and we just got as much as we could out of the house.

Anything that was salvageable we could get cleaned, store away for now, called insurance, see what we can do, file a claim and just start over really. Do what we can. HOLMES: Miss McIntyre, I certainly appreciate you taking the time to share your story with me, with our viewers this morning, just one of a number of stories of the experience people are going through there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: It's good to talk to you. I'm sorry we were brought together under these circumstances, but thank you for your time. A blessing that nobody was hurt, but good luck to you and your family and the whole community there. Thanks so much.

MCINTYRE: Thank you. Bye.

HOLMES: All right, we are going to be getting back and certainly give you more updates about what's happening at St. Louis here in just a moment including what's happening at the airport.

Our Bonnie Schneider is here as well. We'll check in with her on the weather, but also part of the weather story is in Texas right now where the weather is providing a bit of a break.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): They're battling more than a dozen major wildfires there. The Texas Forest Service says firefighters battling 18 active fires, covering more than a million acres. They're cutting large patches ahead of the fire trying to stop the spread.

Two firefighters have died fighting the wildfires there. One of the largest of those fires at the PK Complex fire, it's around 70 miles on west of Fort Worth, Texas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: More than 150 homes have burned in that fire. Residents there just now getting to see what's left. Our Patrick Oppmann was there as they returned to their neighborhoods.

PATRICK OPPMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., days after wildfires ripped through one Texas community, residents are finally seeing the aftermath up close.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPPMANN (voice-over): Hundreds of evacuees wait in a line stretching miles, worried and frustrated, trying to stretch on their homes.

RUDY EVENSON, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE: Yes, we're allowing residents from four of the affected communities around PK Lake to go back in and check on the status of their property just for a few hours today.

OPPMANN: Residents from this wildfire ravaged corner of Texas brace themselves for more heartbreaking news. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to take a bunch of pictures for the insurance and then start sifting and see if there's anything we can put in some of our tubs and bring back home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not knowing is the hardest part. We loved coming out here and it's a beautiful lake and it's just hard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trying to just see what we can salvage, if there's anything to salvage.

OPPMANN: For days the fires have raged here, and it's not over.

(on camera): Evacuees have been for days pleading with authorities to be able to get back and see their homes, that was supposed to have taken place, but then the fires flared up again and it's making this return home very slow going.

(voice-over): When they finally get back a burned out moonscape awaits them where many homes once were. Some fires burned hot enough here to leave rivers of metal in their wake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an event that's going to mark time in our history. It's something that's going to change forever the looks and the community itself. It will be life before the fire and life after the fire.

OPPMANN: For Peter and Carolyn Bennis there's no going home.

CAROLYN BENNIS, LOST HOME IN FIRE: I kept saying to myself you can't prepare yourself for this and you really can't. I really did think that I would go and start bawling when I saw it, but it's just so, it's just so gone. There's nothing really to cry over.

OPPMANN: You're a little bit shocked.

BENNIS: Yes, you just, yes, you just drive up and go really? How did this happen because last Saturday it was there?

OPPMANN: All that's left now of their home of five years is ashes. The fire consumed everything the couple had there, but it's a home, they say, they will rebuild.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OPPMANN: Authorities are still battling wildfires here and they say it could take months to rebuild these communities. And Governor Rick Perry had one simple request for Texans this weekend, pray for rain. T.J. --

HOLMES: All right, thanks to our Patrick Oppmann there. He's talking about praying for rain there. Other people are praying that the rain will stop in some places.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): When in heavy rains Vermont's Lake Champlain over its banks roughly a foot and a half above flood stage.

And then in Lowell, Kentucky, the National Weather Service says Ohio River is expected to rise three to four feet above flood stage by tomorrow. Experts are reminding people not to drive through those floodwaters.

Let me turn to Bonnie Schneider here covering the weather for us. It doesn't matter, does it, Bonnie, no matter what flood we ever see. Somebody is going to try to drive through it and they're going to get stuck there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: That's right even in an SUV, T.J. because just six inches of water can dislodge even a tall vehicle. So it's important to never attempt to cross a road even on foot when you can't see how deep the water is because rushing water will knock you off your feet very quickly.

So do not try to do that and I'm glad we're talking about this because the flood threat that's posed for the Ohio Valley in the Midwest will not just be for today, but it will be for Monday into Tuesday. We'll be talking about this all week long and it's much more serious this morning than it was even yesterday.

Flash flood warnings are now posted across areas of southern Illinois, western Kentucky, all the way across eastern Kentucky including the city of Louisville. We have advisories posted north of that in Cincinnati and unfortunately for St. Louis, the last place we need rain as people pick through the debris from the EF-4 tornado that hit the region Friday.

This is what we're looking at, more rain coming through, now the heaviest looks like it's mainly to the south of the city, but it's working its way into southern Indiana, very heavy downpours there and the rain is not going to stop.

There's a lot of rain coming up from Oklahoma and that's all moving to the northeast. Right now, we do have one advisory to tell you about. We've had a severe thunderstorm watch that popped up into areas of Oklahoma, looks like that just expired.

But look at the squall lines that are coming in through in the St. Louis - in the southern areas of parts of Illinois and into Missouri. Now all of this as I mentioned is on the move and headed to the east and we're also getting some more interesting reports about the tornado.

And the long track of it that works across the St. Louis area, 22 miles, that's the line you're looking at here coming up a little bit later on this morning, I'll talk more about the specifics that the National Weather Service survey found on this tremendous tornado EF-4 intensity and we'll break it down and show you exactly how it all played out. T.J. --

HOLMES: All right, Bonnie, we appreciate you being here as always. We'll check in with you throughout the morning. We are 13 minutes past the hour now.

We showed you those live pictures, a couple of Easter services happening now and happening in a lot of places Easter Sunday. But can you imagine headed to your church this morning or your Easter service and being rounded up? Yes, the police are waiting to arrest you. It's happening somewhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): About a quarter past the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING, and Easter Sunday morning and look at this, this is the sunrise service said to get under way at the bottom of the hour.

This is at Arlington National Cemetery. This takes place every year the Easter service they have. They're expecting about 5,000 people to attend and we're expecting to hear from the Navy band here shortly as well.

But this is an annual tradition that takes place right there, and part of this one, this is just one of a number of services as you know happening on Easter Sunday, another one taking place, annual tradition over in Vatican City.

The pope right now conducting the Easter mass right now. This is St. Peters basilica, a live picture you're looking at thousands of people as they do every year collect there on St. Peters Square listening to the pope. We're expecting to hear his Easter message at some point today as well after he conducts this mass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Meanwhile, a different story happening in China. Police standing guard outside a church waiting to arrest people who come to worship during one of the holiest periods of the Christian calendar.

In the past month alone, Chinese police have arrested more than 200 members of a so-called home churches, which the government considers illegal. Our Stan Grant now from China.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Over here you can see the police that have turned out today. Now, this is where one of the home 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 said 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 plain clothed police coming towards us, even turning their cameras on us.

Film him 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. 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. Yes, we're trying to get through to -- we have to go another way?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says there's an event upstairs we're not able to go.

GRANT: OK, move back, we're not able to go. Clearly, we're being chased out of here. We're not going to get to see the church service today so we're going to leave. Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Much different picture happening in China versus many other places around the world.

Well, as you watch our coverage here on CNN, certainly as events happen around the world. One of the staples we have is our CNN international correspondent Nic Robertson. Just take a look. You'll recognize it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here's the truth, here's what happened here. Look at the trees over here. Look at the devastation. Look at the destruction here. This is what the government wants us to see. These people celebrating --

HOLMES (voice-over): Robertson has reported from all over the world including lately in Libya. But this week we were treated to Nic Robertson being back here at CNN at our Atlanta headquarters. He talked to us about what it's like covering a war zone. It's 19 minutes past the hour.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's now 20 minutes past the hour now. It was another deadly day for protesters in Syria, keep pushing for change there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): At least ten people were killed Saturday when Syrian security forces opened fire on the crowd. This happened in the suburb of the capital Damascus where people gathered for funerals. Witnesses say government forces fired from rooftops as thousands marched through the streets.

Also change is it appears coming to Yemen. Months after protesters took to the streets, the president there, Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to step down as part of a deal brokered by neighboring nations.

He's supposed to leave office within 30 days and in return he gets immunity. Saleh has been in power there for more than 30 years, but he and opposition leaders still need to sign that agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Libyan government forces are leaving the key city of Misrata. A spokesman for the military says they'll leave it up to tribal leaders there to battle rebels for control of the city. Misrata is a key for rebels in Libya since it has one of the largest ports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): Meanwhile back in the capital of Tripoli, NATO planes continue hit key targets around the city late last night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Coming up next hour, we'll be talking to our Fred Pleitgen who will be live for us in Tripoli.

Now Fred is there, he is there in place of Nic Robertson who has been there for sometime reporting, but earlier I talked to our Nic Robertson about his time in Libya, about how the story is being seen here in the U.S. during one of his visits back here to the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: To have with us a rare visit, if you will, from Nic Robertson, our senior international correspondent. A lot of people recognize him from a lot of the work he's done internationally, but as of late particularly in Libya.

So good to have you here in Atlanta with us and I wanted to ask you, I mean, you've been watching some of the coverage here in the U.S., reading the papers as well.

Are people getting the right, is it possible even to get a good sense of what's happening in Libya given the view that you've gotten out?

ROBERTSON: You know, I think if you read and look at everything you've got a good overall picture. But if you're there on the ground you feel it differently and sort of see it slightly differently because you're living it and breathing it, it's every minute of the day.

It's not when you pick up the paper and watched the television. I think perhaps the thing that people forget about Libya is how big it is, 6 million people, about maybe 1.5 million in the eastern country, 4.5 million in the west where Gadhafi is.

If there were a wide conflict that, it would be pretty barbaric, tribal and it would involve a lot of people. I think perhaps when we kind of see it in the newspapers and watch it on TV, I don't feel that we can portray it sometimes. That perhaps what doesn't come across.

HOLMES: Give people a sense as well because this is another part that's hard to get them to understand. There's no real sense of nationalism, if you will, in Libya.

This place is segmented and broken up and the tribalism you speak of, is it hard to get people to understand exactly what the rebels, the opposition, who they are and what they're fighting for necessarily?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): And essentially just a change in regime and a chance to sort of call the shots on who might be the next leader of the country. I mean, historically the country was in three separate pieces, the west, the middle and the east.

So you've got this historic difference then the tribal difference, but it's Gadhafi that united the country 40 years ago. That's, I guess, another thing that we forget because he's kind of a tyrannical leader and he needs to go and that's what everyone says. And that's the reality on the ground.

That he is a guy that's kept the country together, kicked out the Italian occupation, forced the Americans out of the country all that time ago and he's seen as a unifying guy from a small tribe. He wasn't looking for a tribal influence and all the big tribes worried who was going to get the power.

He kind of held them all at bay and everyone's a little bit happy, you know, the tribes, no one big tribe is dominant and that's the key to his success in the past. Of course, it outlived that now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Nic Robertson, it's good to have you in Atlanta. Good to see you, great work as always that you do whether it's in Tripoli or beyond. Really good to have you here.

ROBERTSON: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We're at 24 minutes now. My conversation there with our Nic Robertson who you can expect to see back on the international scene here soon.

Back in this country some cities around this country, have you seen the gas prices? Of course, you have but does yours look like that? Some places, yes, they are creeping closer and closer to $5 a gallon. President Obama says he has a plan to make things more affordable for you. We'll tell you the plan, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: All right, we are getting close to the bottom of the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING, Easter Sunday, hope you're having a happy one so far and good one for the rest of the day.

But let's turn to the royal wedding, which is this week. Can you believe it? Royal wedding watchers are wondering a lot of things about this wedding. We're getting some details, but still people are wondering about the dress and so on and so forth and they're also wondering about the first dance.

Right now, there is not a first dance planned for the couple at the reception. Now why would you ask? We don't know for sure, but I have a sneaking suspicion it has something to do with this video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): What do you do? I mean, like my sister would say "bless his heart." He was at a concert a few years ago. This was actually an all-star concert for Diana, his mother. This was back in 2007. She's there next to his brother. His brother is like Prince Harry is like please stop.

But you knows? We all have a moment or two now and again, but who knows what kind of a dancer he really is, but no first dance planned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now we just have five days left until the party of the year, the royal wedding, Prince William and Kate Middleton are laying low this week that means skipping Easter service with the queen even?

Our Max Foster at Westminster Abbey for us in London. Good morning to you, Max. Good to see you, buddy. Can you tell us, will we see this couple, any public appearances this week? Are they going to lay low? We might not see them until wedding day?

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, there's nothing planned. I guess, it's fair enough when you got the biggest media event ever in history coming and you're in the middle of it. You want to lay low a bit.

There are a lot to do as well. We know that Kate Middleton is involved in every detail of this wedding and the abbey is still open right now to the public. On Tuesday it will be closed down, the flowers will start arriving on Tuesday.

She'll be probably focusing on that. Some interesting here though, we got to reveal a bit more about that later on in the week, but there are lots of plans in place.

At the moment, this weekend, they're lying low. Normally, they would be at Windsor Castle with the rest of the Royal family marking the Easter service with the queen and the only ones not there this weekend, T.J. A private weekend, this is the couple, of course, that enjoys their privacy. It's pretty hard to keep right now, but they're doing pretty well.

HOLMES: All right. And you mentioned that she is involved in every detail of this wedding. And so many plans are in place now. But are there some things that are left to be decided or that is still left to do? Are things being finalized, if you will?

FOSTER: Well, I have to say we're getting the official weather forecast tomorrow from the MET office, the official body in this country. But the indications are that it's going to be beautiful and sunny like this until Friday, but it starts raining. We're getting the official confirmation tomorrow, but that's a kind of problem.

But I was at the Royal Muse just a couple of weeks ago, they got a wet weather program, of course, they thought about everything. If that happens, then the coach, the carriage, you will see them leaving the Abbey in - will be - will have a roof, will be enclosed -

HOLMES: Yes.

FOSTER: -- of those - it's the glass coach, it's called, and it's enclosed, but that's going to be the only thing that will change. I'm sure there's so much support for this here. Everyone is still going to come out and see them.

HOLMES: Now, Max, what are the - you said everybody is going to come out and see them. That was my next question, I guess, how do you prepare for this, if you will? I mean, just the city, how many are they expecting to try to crowd down there and be a part of it and when do you all actually anticipate people coming out even days ahead of time trying to get a good spot?

FOSTER: Well, they sort of are already. If you imagine, these are the crowds outside the Abbey right now. There's more of them that would be normally. So people are already coming and visiting the key points on the route of the service, if you imagine.

Certainly the barriers in place, thousands and thousands of barriers are going to be laid up and the whole of Central London effectively is going to be closed off on Friday and that's going to cause some level of chaos (INAUDIBLE) to walk around, really.

People will start camping out from now, if we go on previous experience, not happening quite yet. A much bigger security operation than there was really for Diana's wedding, so there's going to be a lot more pressure on people to move through. But they're going to allow some people certainly to camp out, we're not quite sure where, not in the parks, but perhaps on some of the pavements. We'll start seeing that happening soon.

HOLMES: All right. The event of the year just a few days away. Max Foster, good to see you, buddy. We'll be checking in with you plenty.

And to our viewers, be sure to stay with CNN for all of your Royal wedding news tonight. We got a special. CNN Presents "The Woman Who Would Be Queen" and, of course, right here, live coverage on Friday morning. You can watch it here. Our coverage starts at 4:00 A.M. Eastern Time. You can watch it, DVR it, just be a part of the international viewing party.

Oh, we're going to get back to St. Louis here in just a moment. Can you believe, flights are actually expected to take off again today from the St. Louis airport? They are still trying to clean up and recover from the tornado that struck on Friday night. The damage didn't stop though just at that airport. Take a look at this stuff, folks. Neighborhoods just blasted. Dozens of people return home and there wasn't much of a home left.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hey there, again everybody. Thirty-six minutes past the hour on this Easter Sunday. I'm T.J. Holmes. Thanks for spending part of your Easter morning here with us.

Let me give you an update now on St. Louis. Another morning of cleanup and repair following Friday night's powerful tornado. At Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, officials there, trying to operate at 70 percent capacity starting today. Workers are replacing shattered windows and cleaning up debris. The first planes are scheduled to depart this morning. Nine flights actually arrived last night.

According to Missouri's governor, the tornado damaged 750 homes. Look at that folks. Some of them were destroyed. No fatalities have been reported, just amazing. More than 20,000 people were also without power last night.

Shelters have been set up to help those displaced by the storm. Red Cross volunteers have been providing a lot of that assistance. Jessica Willingham was with me yesterday morning. She's with the Red Cross and she was giving us updates yesterday morning and she's kind enough to be back on the line with me this morning.

Jessica, thank you so much once again for being willing to update us and our viewers. What kind of night did you have? I know yesterday, you were trying to figure exactly what the need would be. So how great did it turn out to be? How many people actually needed a place to stay?

JESSICA WILLINGHAM, RED CROSS SPOKESWOMAN (via telephone): Well, as you know, the Red Cross shelters are available for anybody who needs help and always open, so the numbers are changing all the time. The latest report I got that is that we had double the amount of folks that stayed with us last night, because yesterday, you know, when the sun came up, people really had a chance to see the damage -

HOLMES: Yes.

WILLINGHAM: -- and they didn't realize the extent of the damage. So as that has been unfolding, more and more Red Cross volunteers trained before this ever happened came in to help and we continue that today. HOLMES: And I know that you also had people out in neighborhoods actually surveying a lot of that damage and trying to do an assessment and talking to people. I guess what kind of is your mission today, more of that, more of the same? Or as the days go by will your mission kind of evolve?

WILLINGHAM: Well, the mission does evolve, but our first response in the Red Cross is to make sure that people have a safe place to stay and have food to eat and they have their basic needs met.

And then, once we know that they're safe, then we move into damage assessment and actually going into the neighborhoods with trained volunteers to assess that. Of course, all of this is in cooperation with emergency management officials, but our goal is to get people the help they need by determining how damage is there and then moving them into case work so that we can help to get them on the long-term path to recovery.

HOLMES: What kind of support are you getting from the public in general whether it's there in St. Louis or across the country right now? I know you were trying to put out some - some information and a phone number and website if people wanted to help, but what has the response been?

WILLINGHAM: The response has absolutely been incredible. People have been calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. They've been logging onto Redcross.org. They've been making donations to help support the relief effort. They've been getting out and - and doing the work themselves.

So the St. Louis community has always had an incredible tradition of being generous and once again that is happening here, but folks across the country are also seeing what's happened and wanting to help through the Red Cross.

HOLMES: All right. Well, ma'am, you have been awfully generous with your time. I know certainly you want to get the word out and we'd like to do that as well. But we appreciate you during this busy time being willing to always update us and our viewers. Thank you so much. I'm sure we'll check in again. Thank you so much, ma'am.

WILLINGHAM: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right. I want to turn to Bonnie Schneider here now. She's with me for weather. Bonnie, we were watching these pictures yesterday as people were trying to walk through their homes and all these rubble and I was looking at the cameras and rain was hitting those cameras, like, oh, my goodness. Are they getting rained on too?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They are.

HOLMES: Now, it's - it's actually a flood watch in the area?

SCHNEIDER: A flood watch and a flood threat, T.J., for the next couple of days for St. Louis and areas to the south. And this morning, we have new information for you on specifics about the tornado in St. Louis. What you're looking at here is a long red line that shows the entire track of this tornado. Let's zoom in.

And you can see just to the west of Maryland Heights, that's where the line begins. That's where the tornado touched down at 7:55 P.M. on Friday in Creve Coeur and then it intensified as it moved towards Maryland Heights becoming an EF-3 and that's when it got really bad, 200 to 400 yards wide of damage.

Finally, when it got to Bridgeton, which is just near the airport, that's when we saw the most damage when the storm's wind grew to EF-4 intensity and slammed the airport. What does it look like inside the airport when a tornado hits? Let's take a look. This is surveillance video. And first, it looks like just a couple of pieces of debris, but then suddenly everything starts whipping about the hallways. The security team ducking for cover. You can even see a pole that blocks a line, if you're waiting on line for security, debris, parts of windows, incredible damage sustained to the airport because the storm was so long.

And if that line looked long to you, it was, 22 miles long and just under half a mile in terms of width. So the storm at its highest intensity, the winds, the gusts were high between 166 and 200 miles per hour. That is so unusual, only less than one or two percent of tornadoes are this intense and this long.

Generally, tornadoes are usually much weaker. And as we mentioned earlier, unfortunately, the flood threat for today continues. Some lighter rain for St. Louis. But, T.J., heavier rain hitting Southern Indiana right now. This is just the beginning of a big flood threat for today, tomorrow and into Tuesday. Just steady rain every day, several inches will accumulate, maybe more than that, possibly even up to a foot of water in the next five days.

I'll talk more about that in just a bit.

HOLMES: Oh, my goodness. All right. Bonnie Schneider, we appreciate having you as always. We'll check in shortly.

Well, it's 42 minutes past the hour now, folks. When gas prices go up sometimes a politician's popularity goes down. Up next, President Obama's plan for easing tensions you face every time you head to the gas stations.

Also, check this out. It can be the best part of coming home, a soldier surprises his daughter for Easter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. It's a quarter at the top of the hour here on this Easter Sunday. Happy Easter to you all.

Well, rising gas prices keep you closer to home maybe for this holiday. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded has crept up now to $3.86. You see the premium stuff there cost $4.13. That's the average, folks. Compare that to last year, you're looking at $1 more per a gallon regardless of the grade.

President Obama, check that out. The president is acknowledging the financial reality at the pump. Take a listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Whenever gas prices shoot up, like clock work you see politicians racing to the cameras waving three-point plans for $2 gas. You see people trying to grab headlines or score a few points.

The truth is, there is no silver bullet that can bring down gas prices right away. But there are a few things we can do. This includes safe and responsible production of oil at home, which we're pursuing.

Thursday, my Attorney General also launched a task force with just one job, rooting out cases of fraud or manipulation in the oil markets that might affect gas prices, including any illegal activity by traders and speculators.

And another step we need to take is to finally end the $4 billion in taxpayer subsidies we give to the oil and gas companies each year. That's $4 billion of your money going to these companies when they're making record profits and you're paying near record prices at the pump. It has to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, folks, I don't have to tell you prices of food going up, but we have Stephanie Elam here to explain to us exactly why.

And, Stephanie, always good to see you, but the price of food going up at the grocery store is one thing. But then you start to notice that at the restaurants and then even at McDonald's, is that a bad sign of prices going up at McDonald's?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That really hits it home, T.J., and when the world's largest restaurant is saying this is such a problem that it's impacting our quarterly numbers.

So if you take a look at what McDonald's has told us, they've said, you know what, we expect in January - they told us that prices are going to go up two to two and half percent in the United States. Well, now, they're saying that the average increase is going to be about four to four and a half percent in the U.S. and Europe. They're saying the quarterly margins are being hurt because of inflation and that that is really going to impact their numbers this year, worse than expected.

So - and this is not just - like you said, it's not just McDonald's. This is across the board. They're saying a lot of different companies that are dealing with the fact that commodity prices and that's things like your eggs, wheat, meat, poultry, all of those things that you need to get to the store, the price of them has gone up over the last six months or so.

When you look at a chart of that, you can see that it's gone up and up and up, and because of that it's making it harder for a lot of Americans when they go to the store to buy the things they used to maybe a year ago, they're feeling more of an impact. And with the economy slowly getting back on its feet, that's not what we want to hear at all - T.J.

HOLMES: Yes. Going in the wrong direction. But, I guess, a lot of people could probably guess why prices are going up, because it costs more to move this stuff around quite frankly, the gas prices.

ELAM: Right. You want to think that oil prices have nothing to do with your food. I'm sure you would like your apple to not be dipped in oil. You would like nothing like that whatsoever, right? Well, the truth of the matter is, it does cost money to get that stuff off the farm and then to truck it to wherever it needs to go. And so that's going to impact a lot of things for you.

Obviously, it hits you in many multiple places so it's not just at the grocery store. It could be even at something that you're getting at the convenience store. It's going to be even at the retail stores, so it gets broader and broader and that's a problem for a lot of stores because they go we know that the economy is just getting back on its feet, but at the same time, we have to raise prices because we can't keep eating this cost.

HOLMES: All right. Stephanie Elam with the reality for us here. Stephanie, always good to see you on, and can't wait to be on TV with you again. We'll see you.

ELAM: I'm looking forward to it, too, T.J., thanks a lot.

HOLMES: All right. It is Easter Sunday, but what in the world does a bunny rabbit have to do with Jesus? You know, the rabbit's been a symbol of Easter for centuries now. Exactly how did that happen? We are tracing the roots of one of the holiday's most popular symbols.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Oh, we're getting close to the top of the hour. Welcome back to the CNN SUNDAY MORNING. And I want to say welcome back to our military men and women who are watching us on the Armed Forces Network around the world right now.

We are seeing a live picture at the Sunrise Service that happens on Easter Sunday at Arlington National Cemetery. This is at the Memorial Amphitheater. No shot of the crowd we can show you here, but they expect some 5,000 people to come and worship at this non- denominational service that they do annually. But about 5,000 people usually show up for this annual tradition. What a beautiful sight out there. We hope to bring you some more pictures. But one of a number of services taking place on this Easter Sunday.

Oh, look at this. This was caught on camera. That is dad and daughter right there. A surprise reunion. This is how it played out earlier this week in Clearwater, Florida. That's Army Specialist Robert Pierce. He flew from Afghanistan to wish his little girl a Happy Easter. Oh, just a nice scene we can share with you there.

Well, Easter, people think about, yes, you're going to church possibly, but you can't have Easter without the Easter bunny, can you? But can you tell me why the rabbit and Jesus, what do they have to do with each other -

NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well, interestingly -

HOLMES: -- kind of make this connection?

Our Nadia Bilchik here to break this down for us.

BILCHIK: Well, like Mercedes Benz and beer, they say that the Easter bunny originates in Germany.

HOLMES: In Germany, OK.

BILCHIK: And that the German settlers who came to Pennsylvania in around the 1700 had something called the Osterhase or the Easter hare and that was - the idea was an egg-bearing hare and they use to make the eggs out of pastry and sugar. And that evolves into the Easter bunny or the Easter rabbit as it's fondly known.

But think about bunnies. They're abundant. They're very fertile. Did you know that rabbits can conceive while pregnant? So in the same way they say - this is one of the few most usual explanations I've heard. In the same way that Christ gave birth spiritually so many and was so abundant -

HOLMES: That's the idea.

BILCHIK: -- so are rabbits so abundant.

HOLMES: OK.

BILCHIK: And they're such a peaceful creature and such a loving creature, so somehow there's the tie-in.

HOLMES: But how do we get to that?

BILCHIK: How do we get -

HOLMES: OK. The story you just told me is one thing, but you got the pink bunny next to you. And we got the eggs and the candy. I guess that message seems to be lost most times.

BILCHIK: It seems the evolution -

HOLMES: Yes.

BILCHIK: -- we sometimes forget, we just - as you say become symbolic and synonymous.

HOLMES: OK.

BILCHIK: But really the rabbit as the symbol of fecundity and fertility, and the rabbit as a symbol of a kind and loving creature.

Now, where do we get to the eggs is fascinating -

HOLMES: Yes.

BILCHIK: -- because the eggs, again, the symbol of life and fertility.

But what particularly is fascinating is today is Greek Easter as well as regular Easter and the Greeks have a fascinating tradition because they don't have eggs in the pastel colors of spring, they have eggs that are dyed red.

And on the Thursday, before Easter known as Blood Thursday, they will dye the eggs in a beautiful deep red color and then they'll cover them with oil so they become shiny and that these eggs, again, the red symbolic of the blood of Christ. And one of the more fun traditions of Greek Easter is you have an egg smashing competition. So you take your red egg, yours and mine, and the idea is who's ever egg smashes first is the loser, but you've got to go tip to tip.

HOLMES: Oh, my goodness. Now, where do we get the whole Easter egg hunts and also these colors and the candy and all that? Is that just us getting a hold over here in America?

BILCHIK: It's certainly symbolic.

HOLMES: OK.

BILCHIK: It's - the fact that it's evolved into something that is candy and chocolate filled and have a look at the abundance over here, but, again, the egg being something that is fertile -

HOLMES: The symbol.

BILCHIK: -- the symbol of continuity.

HOLMES: OK, folks. So there is a message behind the Easter bunny. It's not just all fun and games and candy and eggs.

BILCHIK: Eggs and rabbits.

HOLMES: All right. Nadia, always educating us. We appreciate you as always.

We're getting close to the top of the hour here, folks.

Charlie Sheen, you know, he's on a tour across the country. His latest stop was in South Florida. But a lot of people who came out to see him weren't necessarily there to support him. Find out why these women want him to go home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, as we come up on the top of the hour here on this Easter Sunday, taking a look at some of the stories making news across the country.

Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROTESTERS: Go home, Charlie Sheen. Go home, Charlie Sheen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, I guess you can understand the message. They are not fans, necessarily, of Charlie Sheen. These women were protesting last night at his Torpedo of Truth tour in Miami. Small group said sheen serves as the lowest example of a role model.

Also, turn to Texas now the pastor of a church in a small Texas town of Floresville has denied Holy Communion for a boy with cerebral palsy. Irma Castro (ph) says the pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church told her that her grandson doesn't qualify for communion. Canon law requires that a child receiving communion must have sufficient knowledge of Christ. The pastor says because the child has the mental capacity of a 6-month-old, he does not qualify.

And something you don't expect to see in your backyard. A mountain lion discovered roaming behind a Tulsa, Oklahoma, home. This was yesterday. The 70-pound lion had to be knocked out with a tranquilizer, and then he was taken to the zoo in Tulsa.

(MUSIC)

HOLMES: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Happy Easter to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta.

Take a look now at live pictures we're getting from Arlington National Cemetery, sunrise service is under way there, got under way about a half hour ago. They have some 5,000 people gathered there for annual tradition at the memorial amphitheater there at Arlington National Cemetery. We'll be checking in there.

Also this morning, we're still learning more about that tornado that hit late Friday night. And look at this -- this is in St. Louis at the airport. You know, the airport got hit and hit hard.

But this is just some of the latest video we are seeing of what was a spectacular and unfortunate night for St. Louis. But the good news, a blessing, no one was killed there. We'll give you the latest out of St. Louis.

Meanwhile, we need to start on the international front, another deadly day for protesters in Syria. They keep pushing for change. And it seems the government is pushing back with deadly force. At least 10 people killed Saturday when Syrian security forces opened fire on the crowd. This happened in a suburb of the capital city of Damascus. People had gathered there for funerals, witnesses say government forces fired from rooftops as thousands marched through the streets.

Also, change appears to be coming to Yemen, months after protesters took to the streets there. The president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has agreed to step down as part of a deal brokered by neighboring nations. He's supposed to leave office within 30 days and in return he gets immunity.

Saleh has been in power there for more than 30 years. Both Saleh and opposition leaders however still need to sign the agreement. Witnesses now tell us that hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets this morning to protest that deal, and the president's possible immunity from prosecution.

Well, in Libya now, NATO again is launching airstrikes. It targets around Tripoli. Planes are being met, however, with a barrage of anti-aircraft fire.

Our Fred Pleitgen is in Tripoli for us again this morning.

Fred, hello. Give us the latest on these airstrikes.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, T.J.

There were pretty big airstrikes that went on last night. We're not exactly sure what was hit in those airstrikes. But the Libyan deputy foreign minister came here last night and held a press conference and said that several targets had been hit around Tripoli area, also around the area of Sirte, which is an area that's very important to Moammar Gadhafi and also his hometown. He's also got a lot of military infrastructure in that area. It's very hard to judge what was actually hit here in Tripoli.

It seemed to us that one of the targets that might have been hit could have been an ammunition dump because Sirte had one major explosion and then several secondary explosions coming from the same site. And you're absolutely right. There was a barrage of anti- aircraft fire that went into the air, pretty useless quite frankly trying to hit those jets because they fly at an altitude that's much too high for these flat cannons to reach.

But, yes, it seems as though NATO is stepping up its air campaign here in Libya considerably. And also as we know and as we've been talking about, T.J., the past couple of days, also Predator drones now in use especially it seems to us in the Misrata area, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Fred, as well, the Misrata, the all- important area there, still a lot of back-and-forth. What is the latest we know out of Misrata?

PLEITGEN: Still a very fluid situation. One of the things that the Libyan government told us a couple of days ago is that their army apparently was in the final stages of withdrawing from that area. They retracted that last night when they came out, held a press conference and said that they weren't, in fact, with drawing but were simply stopping their operations in the Misrata area.

Now, the rebels tell a very different story. They say that yesterday their people and the people of Misrata were again targeted by artillery mortar, as well as rocket fire. We have reports of 22 people killed yesterday in Misrata. But we have to be a little careful there because only some of those were actually killed by that indirect fire. Others were actually killed when they were wandering around downtown and came too close to unexploded bombs which, of course, are littering the streets there in Misrata after those many weeks of fighting.

So, at this point in time, the rebels are saying that they've ousted the government forces from downtown Misrata. They say there are still government forces on the southern edge of the city and on the western edge of the city who are using indirect fire, things like rockets to target the people of Misrata, whereas the government is saying that it's basically stopped its operations, still has troops inside the city, and is waiting for a tribal delegation, which it claims will try to negotiate with the rebels and will fight the rebels if the rebels don't come to some sort of agreement. The rebels say that is nonsense. There is no tribal delegation coming and that quite frankly the tribes around that area don't have any weapons anyway -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Fred Pleitgen for us in Tripoli -- Fred, we appreciate you as always.

So, we're going to get back to that tornado in St. Louis. They're still trying to cleanup in that area. The force leaving debris all over the airport there yesterday, shutting down that airport. But they're starting to get things back up and running. Can you believe it?

And can you believe this as well? Some of the latest video, newest video we're getting out of that airport. Look at this, folks, as the winds that tornado made its way through. This is just some of the latest we are seeing, but just an amazing scene. And again, only a few people with minor injuries, not a lot of serious injuries we're hearing about at all and no deaths to report.

But the emergency crews, they're not wasting any time cleaning up. The timetable for getting flights back up and running on schedule, we'll have that for you next.

Also, Bonnie Schneider is here.

And, Bonnie, you were telling me a short time ago, St. Louis is still not done with nasty weather.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately, no, T.J. We're looking at the chance for thunderstorms this Easter Sunday. And not just for St. Louis, but much of the heartland facing a flood threat that will last through Tuesday. I'll tell you all about it. Plus, we have some new details about the tornado in St. Louis. That's all straight ahead on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Ten minutes past the hour on this Easter Sunday morning.

A lot of folks in St. Louis are waking up on this Easter Sunday -- actually have a lot to be thankful for. We told you about this mess, hard to believe there's something to be thankful for. But the part the city and county officials call a blessing is that no one was killed. This round of storms and tornadoes that hit the city are just outside the city on Friday night. Winds up to 170 miles an hour, damaged or destroyed about 750 homes.

The city's main airport got hit pretty hard, a lot of damage there. But they do expect to be up and operating at 70 percent capacity today.

Earlier this morning, I spoke with one homeowner, Brianna McIntyre. Listen to her describe the moments when that tornadoes hit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA MCINTYRE, HOME DESTROYED TORNADO (via telephone): All of the sudden, we heard the roof ripping and me and my friend, Daniel, we just ran as quick as we could to the basement bathroom. We got into the tub and just held each other.

I knew something was wrong when we got out of the tub and I could hear it raining in the house. And my friend, Daniel, went to the base of the stairs and he said, "Brianna, I'm looking up and I can see the sky." And I went out and climbed up the stairs carefully, because there was glass and insulation everywhere, and I just got to the top of the stairs and I saw my roof in front of my face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes, tough to hear. But still, the upside there, amazing, she wasn't injured. People in her house not injured. Nobody killed, just minor injuries reports. So, there's a blessing there.

We have, of course, Bonnie Schneider with us this weekend.

I'm starting to hear -- we're getting more details about this tornado. And you just told me this is kind of unusual, the way it behaved yesterday.

SCHNEIDER: It really is.

HOLMES: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: You know, these large, long-lasting tornadoes, T.J., do not make up most tornadoes. We don't typically see a tornado on the ground for 22 miles. But at 7:55 Friday night, that's where it started in Kirkwood (ph), which is a suburb of St. Louis. And then the storm intensifies as it approached Maryland heights, it became EF- 3 strength and the winds surpassed 135 miles per hour.

But it t wasn't until it got closer to the airport, that that's when things really got intense, the storm went all the way up to an EF-4. We can show you what it looked like inside the airport from security video. When you have an EF-4 tornado, there's really -- it's amazing there went weren't more injuries or loss of life because the winds in an EF-4 can be sustained at gusts over 166 to 200 miles per hour. That's where you don't want to be near the winds when a tornado strikes.

And a lot of the people we've been talking to here on CNN and our iReporters that survived this tornado, the reason that we didn't have the loss of life was the lead time. The tornado warnings were issued between 20 and 30 minutes before the tornado hit, and that gave enough time for people to get into their basement, to get to the most interior room of their home.

If you don't have a basement, that often is the bathroom, because even the plumbing in the bathroom can act as an insulator to protect you. You may not think of it as a safe place, but you want to grab a mattress or a blanket or a pillow to protect you from flying debris, like you saw in the airport video.

So, an EFf-4, again, one of the most strong tornadoes, devastating really on our scale here. You know, we're also tracking, of course, not only the threat for tornadoes in April, but in May, just to let you know what's ahead. May is really the month we see the most tornadoes annually across the country. So, it's been a very busy April unfortunately.

And it's going to get busier, and not just from the threat of severe weather. The threat of flooding -- flood warnings posted across much of southern Illinois into Kentucky, Paducah under flood warnings right now and advisories posted across just where we don't want rain, where they're cleaning up, in St. Louis. Now, what this means is we're going to see some thunderstorms intermittently throughout the day, across Missouri, across Illinois. And particularly, this morning, in Indiana -- if you're up early to head to a friends or family in Indiana for Easter, unfortunately, you're facing some very strong downpours this morning. And that's all headed to -- you guessed it -- Louisville, Kentucky.

So, it's a stormy one this morning for Easter Sunday and a lot more rain is on the way. Just be prepared for that flooding in the Ohio Valley and the Midwest -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Bonnie Schneider here for us this weekend -- Bonnie, we appreciate you as always.

At a quarter past the hour now.

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall, he's back home from the hospital, two weeks after allegedly being stabbed by his wife. Michi Nogami-Campbell, she was charged in a domestic violence incident, out on bond right now. She told police that this was self- defense. Marshall originally told police that he fell on a glass vase. He had surgery Friday night, expected to make a full recovery.

Also, a North Carolina company is recalling about 5,000 pounds of cucumbers because they may be contaminated with salmonella. The cartons of cucumbers were shipped to nine states, you see the states there on the screen. These are all nature's delight cucumbers. Salmonella found on some of the cucumbers in Florida. More information on this recall at CNN.com.

And Cuba is looking to change some longstanding rules that could mean the end for some of those old cars that are clogging Havana's streets. In the recent communist party summit, they agreed to relax restrictions on ownership. Now, people may be able to buy and sell cars at homes.

That's a major change for Cubans. Right now, they're only allowed to buy or sell cars freely that were on the road before the 1959 revolution. That could change these new rules.

Also, a piece of movie history could be yours, maybe. This is supposedly the car from the movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," the 1968 film starring Dick Van Dyke and was based on a book by Ian Fleming, the guy, same guy who did James Bond. It's on sale for eBay. The starting bid is a cool million bucks. The guy who is selling it says it's the real deal. You would hope that it is.

Well, she has been called tiger mom. She's been called America's most controversial mom. And this morning, she gets a new title. She's one of the world's most influential. I'm talking to her about her honor. You'll hear that interview ahead.

Plus, remember the uproar over that ad showing a mom painting her son's toenails pink? Now, there's a new argument against nail polish for kids. You need to hear this one.

It's 17 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twenty minutes past the hour now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. You remember this from last week. The creative director and president of clothing chain, J. Crew general-line, she was painting her 5-year-old son's toenails pink. This was an ad. And some people said it could be sending the wrong message, should little boys have pink toenails.

But, now, it sparked a different kind of debate. This one has to do with health. Is it even safe to paint a child's nails?

Well, a pediatrician in New York City says some nail polish formulas carry three major toxins, what they call the toxic trio, said it could cause health issues if children put their fingers in the mouth. And imagine the toes being what they do. But, still, you get the idea. The recommendation should you decide to paint your child's nails, consider use a water-based formula which they say is less toxic.

All right. Also something we're asking, do you remember the controversy over the tiger mom, Amy Chua, the author of "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother"? She was called America's most controversial mom, people pretty worked up about her tough love parenting style when her book was published in January. Now, though, she is one of "TIME" 100, "TIME" magazine's ranking of the most influential people of the year.

I spoke with her this weekend about her new title.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMY CHUA, AUTHOR, "BATTLE HYMN OF THE TIGER MOTHER": Oh, my gosh, I was shocked when I saw that headline. It actually says the opposite on the cover of my book. It about how I was humbled by my 13-year-old. So, I think that is what caused the controversy.

But, you know, in retrospect now, T.J., I feel like I had some tough moments but it's like the fact that people wanted to have this conversation and to debate. And I think it's a sign of the vibrancy of the country. I really do. I think this is not an apathetic country. It's one that wants to have a conversation, try to get it right.

HOLMES: Now, you -- you certainly, with this book now, have had influence. But what do you think now and congratulations on being named one of the "TIME" 100. But what do you think your influence has been?

CHUA: Well, first of all, it is such an honor. I mean, I was so surprised, you know, to be on a list with people who have changed governments in the Middle East and saved lives and all these great artists. It's very humbling and very exciting. My daughters just can't believe I'm on the same list as Mark Wahlberg.

I, sort of, feel like I was an accidental catalyst. I really do. You know, I was, like, this is a country that, you know, we have conversations. And I think parenting is one of the hardest -- it probably is the hardest thing that I've certainly ever done, and there's no one right answer. I deeply believe there are many good ways of parenting, but I think we can learn from each other.

HOLMES: We've had you on before and had plenty of conversations about the book and that parenting aspect. And certainly wanted to have you on as you being one of the 100, and part of that is your photo shoot for the "TIME" 100. We're going to put this up.

And when I first saw it, Amy, I thought that those tigers were brought in with some kind of fancy, you know, computer generated tigers. That was the real deal, was it not?

CHUA: They were real. They were real. They were supposed to be. They told me they would be little 6-week-old cubs the size of dogs. But there was a mistake. And they were 6 months old. They were huge 200-pound things.

I mean, it was the most exciting thing for our family actually. I think I was just too ignorant to know --

HOLMES: That you should be scared? CHUA: Had I known how dangerous they were. Yes.

HOLMES: All right. And the last thing, your daughter has a blog as well. And your daughter, tell -- has she decided where she's going to school?

CHUA: I think she's going to Harvard.

HOLMES: She's going to Harvard.

CHUA: I think she's going to Harvard.

HOLMES: You're a Yale professor but she wants to go to Harvard.

CHUA: Yes, she needs to be a little farther away from me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, she's just one of the 100. Who are some of the others on that list of most influential people? Well, included this year were the prince and his fiancee, Kate. Of course, their wedding is coming up at the end of this week. Also on the list, though, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Who else made the "TIME" 100 list and who has made it the most times? I'll tell you in just a couple of minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, Oprah Winfrey, currently winding down her talk show, has been named one of "TIME" magazine's most influential people every year since 2004 -- more than any other "TIME" 100 designee. Winfrey is followed by President Barack Obama. He has made the list six times, just a couple more of the "TIME" 100, the list that came out that just a few days ago.

Meanwhile, the president -- he's back on the road this week, not talking about spending cuts, however.

Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser has more on what the president is up to this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hey, good morning, T.J.

I guess it's president by day, fund-raiser at times by night. President Barack Obama heads t New York City Wednesday. That night, he's the main attraction at a top dollar dinner for his reelection campaign. Mr. Obama announced his bid for a second term at the beginning of the month. Since then, he's headlined fund-raisers in Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and now, this week, New York.

If you're surprised, don't be. This Oval Office strategy is nothing new. Most recently, Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton employed the same strategy when they were running for re- election.

The same day Mr. Obama is in New York City, Donald Trump heads to New Hampshire. As just about everybody knows, the businessman-real estate mogul and reality TV star, says he just may run for the White House. His meetings with the Republican officials and activists in New Hampshire, that marks his first visit to one of these crucial early-voting primary and caucus states.

Trump says he'll announce whether he'll make a bid for the GOP presidential election by June -- T.J.

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HOLMES: All right. Thanks as always to our Paul Steinhauser.

Take a look at now at some of the stories making headlines.

Pope Benedict XVI, he is leading Easter morning services in Vatican City today. Thousands have gathered in St. Peters Square for mass. And the pope's holiday message, he says today Christians celebrate the birthday of the new creation.

Also, less than 24 hours after the tornado hit in St. Louis, the airport there, the Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, it reopened last night under some limited operations. The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit there was the strongest to hit the St. Louis metro area in more than 40 years.

Also, a lack of clean drinking water -- we're used to hearing about that in third world countries, but not when talking about America's schools. Kids are having trouble getting clean water to drink in our schools.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, tracking down the reason in "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D.," which starts right now.