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American Morning
Fireball in the Desert, Attack on Egyptian Pipeline; More Storms Threatening Huge Chunk of Nation; Continued Fighting in Misrata; America's Role in Libya and Syria; Home Prices Keep Falling; Royal Run-Through; Nun Trapped In Elevator For Days; The Quack Is Back
Aired April 27, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.
A lot happening overnight. Let's get you caught up.
A fireball in a dessert. An attack on an Egyptian pipeline, cutting off the flow of gas to Israel and Jordan and authorities are not ruling out sabotage or terror.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans.
Torrential rains, rising rivers, lethal tornadoes and more storms threatening a huge chunk of the nation right now.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry, live in London, where we're just two days away now from the royal wedding. This morning, a lot of excitement after a thousand members of the royal military lined the streets in full dress for a final rehearsal and run through. People are already camping out.
We got a sneak peek on that, as well, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
VELSHI: Good morning. It's Wednesday, April 27th . I'm Ali Velshi. A lot of news today.
ROMANS: There sure is. I'm Christine Romans. And Kiran's in London with the countdown for the big day.
CHETRY: That's right. And a very interesting thing this morning.
Good morning, guys. Great to see you.
This full dress rehearsal that took place in the wee hours of the morning. We're right in front of Queen Victoria Memorial in Buckingham Palace, two days away now until the royal wedding. And coming up this hour, I also had a chance to speak to the U.S. ambassador to the U.K., Ambassador Louis Susman. He is the only official member of our government going to the wedding and he showed me the invitation. There's a look at it right now. Pretty hard to get your hands on one of those.
Also, as I said, overnight these rehearsals taking place with all of the members or many members of the military, a thousand members of the armed forces, army, Navy, and royal Air Force, all of them taking part in the predawn rehearsal. They're certainly gearing up.
The security aspect big, as well. In fact, we had bomb-sniffing dogs running in and out of our work space today. So they really are starting to ramp up for this day, both for the couple, but also for the city, as well.
Back to you guys.
VELSHI: All right, Kiran, we'll be back to you very, very shortly.
But first this hour, from Arkansas to Kentucky, the threat of tornadoes again, very high right now and it could affect millions of people. Let me show you a map. The states in purple and red face a high risk of severe weather today and that means the potential for more tornados.
ROMANS: Check out the skies over Memphis, Tennessee, last night. A tornado warning issued. We're getting several reports of tornado sightings and damage across the city. Thirty thousand people are without power this morning. And in Arkansas, another death overnight. Emergency officials telling us it's wind related. Storms in the state have now killed 11 people in the past week.
(WEATHER REPORT)
VELSHI: Let's talk about the flooding Jacqui is talking about.
Right now, an update on the badly damaged levee that's got thousands of people and homes in harm's way this morning in Popular Bluff, Missouri.
ROMANS: This levee failed the federal inspection in 2008 for the private district that operates it never fixed it. That's according to the Army Corps of engineers. This morning, the Black River continues to flow over the levee and through it in some places where it's been breached a few times. And now the National Guard has been activated because there are concern the levee could wash away, putting 17,000 people in Poplar Bluff directly in the path of a raging rain-swollen river.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAY NIXON (D), MISSOURI: Once we get through this we'll have an evaluation where they were weakened, where they were broken. I think it's important to do that afterwards. We're still in making sure my gosh -- we had as I said before, we had 59 people water rescued within the last 24 hours. We're focused on getting people safe right now. We'll figure out how to stop them from getting hurt the next time after we're back to normal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's stressful, you know? You pay for a home (INAUDIBLE) and you're out of your home. Your things, your comfort zone is gone. It's -- you have nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Poplar Bluff has had 15 inches of rain in the last four days alone. More than 1,000 people in the town have already evacuated.
VELSHI: Let's take you to Egypt now. A fireball erupting overnight after a gas pipeline explosion. Look at these pictures. Flames filling the sky. The pipeline pumps natural gas to Israel and Jordan. Right now authorities are trying to figure out what triggered the explosion. Luckily no one was hurt. In February, in the same town a gas line was set on fire and that incident state media suspected a terrorist attack.
Syria intensifies its brutal crackdown this morning as more gunfire and arrests and reports of dead people lining the streets. The army continues to attack civilians in the city of Daraa right now. Witnesses say dozens of tanks are in the streets and the United States now says there's evidence that Iran is lending its support.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Instead of listening to their own people, President Assad is disingenuously blaming outsiders while at the same time seeking Iranian assistance in repressing Syria's citizens through the same brutal tactics that have been used by the Iranian regime.
We have said repeatedly that we are very conscious of and concerned by the evidence of active Iranian involvement and support on behalf of the Syrian government in its repression of its people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is too early to decide on receiving anybody -- we have our national investigation --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Syria's U.N. ambassador is rejecting calls for an independent investigation into the reported deaths of those hundreds of demonstrators by security forces.
ROMANS: In Libya now, Moammar Gadhafi's forces continue an all-out assault on Misrata. The bombardment has virtually reduced the strategic city to rubble. One resident saying it's like a scene from World War II. CNN's Reza Sayah is on a boat just off the port of Misrata, it's still not safe for him to come ashore. He joins us on the phone.
Reza, what's the situation like there right now?
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christine, we're getting a first look at the damage, the destruction here in Misrata, which has been the most brutal front in the war in Libya and the front line and battle for Misrata has been Tripoli Street (ph). This is a major thoroughfare that goes through right in the heart of town in Misrata and used to be part (INAUDIBLE) activity for the war. But the fighting has laid waste of much of everything here. I'm looking around me, I can't find a single building that's not either damaged or destroyed. Some of the tallest buildings in Misrata are along Tripoli Street. Obviously whoever controls these tall buildings owns the highest points in this city. It's an advantage in any battlefield. That's why both sides were desperately fighting for Tripoli Street, and several days ago the rebels did finally seize control of Tripoli Street. That's why we have an opportunity to come down and get an up close look at the destruction and devastation.
But the fight here in Misrata is not over. This fight regime claims several days ago that they pulled the troops outside of the city. They even said they suspended operations. But based on what we saw today and last night, that's clearly not the case. Regime forces again shelling Misrata, this time the port area, the city's only lifeline, according to opposition officials, some of the rockets landing near refugee camps that have been housing migrant workers. According to rebel officials, several people have been killed.
So an important victory for the rebels capturing this main thoroughfare in Tripoli, but there's all kinds of indications that there's more fighting to be done here in Misrata.
ROMANS: All right. Reza Sayah in the front line there in the battle between Gadhafi's forces and the rebels in Misrata.
Thanks, Reza. And, stay safe.
VELSHI: This is a story that's been growing over the last few days. What started out as a bummer for online gamers is now being called one of the worst security breaches in years. Credit card numbers and other vital information hacked from Sony's PlayStation network. This morning we're learning how much might have been stolen.
Seventy seven million users worldwide have been offline since the cyber-attack last week. It could end up costing Sony billions of dollars. But here is what was possibly stolen or compromised: names, credit card information, purchase history, billing addresses, e-mail addresses, all hacked. But Sony says the hacker did not get the three digit security codes on the back of the credit cards.
If the hacker successfully stole credit card data the heist would rank among the biggest known thefts of financial data ever. We'll stay on top of that story for you.
ROMANS: A series of GOP town hall meetings taking place across the country but one in Orlando turns ugly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 400 days (INAUDIBLE). Do the math, it's a math problem and this is the problem we've got to deal with here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: GOP lawmaker Daniel Webster greeted with heckling and boos yesterday as he tried to explain the controversial House Republican budget. Nearly 300 upset constituents voiced their anger, mostly about potential cuts to Medicare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This plan restores the money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what you want to do. It's wrapped (ph) in Medicare.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want people. Let's conduct ourselves likewise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I promise you not only will Medicare not go broke, which it will under the current system --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand -- (INAUDIBLE) going to go broke. We are offering --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (OFF-MIKE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will have it if this plan's adopted. You will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The "Orlando Sentinel" reported that several left-leaning groups like moveon.org may have recruited some of the crowd.
Maybe he'll run, maybe he won't. Presidential GOP -- a possible GOP contender Donald Trump continues his quasi campaign. He'll arrive in New Hampshire today locked in for a series of events. Trump will meet with voters and top Republicans. Meanwhile, Trump's birther claims losing steam. In a special investigation CNN found President Obama was, in fact, born in the U.S. as the evidence has consistently shown.
Here's what White House press secretary Jay Carney had to say about that report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I think CNN recently did a highly credible piece on an established fact, which is that the president was born in the United States of America and, you know, this was a settled issue. It is unfortunate that for whatever reason this is the subject of -- that gets any kind of serious attention. I'll leave it at that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Tonight John King sits down with Donald Trump. You can catch it at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on "JOHN KING USA."
VELSHI: OK. A new report out shows home prices are falling again. We're going to discuss whether that makes it a good time or a bad time to buy a house. You might be surprised by the answer.
ROMANS: Also more from our conversation with Ambassador Louis Susman. He is the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. Kiran sat down with him. Why the U.S. will not be more involved in Syria and what are the differences between Syria and Libya in terms of U.S. policy. We're going to have that for you.
It's 13 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Look at that. Fierce fighting continues this morning in Misrata. Moammar Gadhafi's forces have virtually leveled that Libyan port city, an important city. Meantime, NATO air strikes are taking out key Gadhafi targets in Tripoli.
Now, this is the 39th day since the U.S. began its military involvement in Libya, and it's the 31st day since NATO took charge of that mission. In total, 3,853 NATO sorties and 1,606 air strikes have been carried out.
So far, according to the U.S. Defense Department, it has cost Americans more than $608 million. It's expected to cost $40 million a month going forward.
Kiran had a chance to talk with the American ambassador to the U.K. about both Libya and Syria. Kiran, tell us a bit about your conversation.
CHETRY: Yes. It's interesting, and we talk about this a lot. I wanted to ask, you know, one of our - one of the members of our government about this, the U.S. taking a big - a big lead, military role in Libya before handing things over to NATO, but then responding very differently in some other places, most recently Syria and the brutal crackdown of that government on protesters there. We responded, as the United States, with words and not actions, like many other countries.
I had a chance to speak with U.S. Ambassador Louis Susman about the difficulty of dealing with these foreign hot spots. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: People say whatever happens in these Arab countries has to happen country by country. It's not our role to impose. Yet, at the same time, the - people in some of these countries, like Libya, are asking out and crying out for western help.
How do you balance what's right when it comes to that?
AMB. LOUIS SUSMAN, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.K.: Our position is, is that, one, I think we have stopped a massacre, potentially, in - in Benghazi, with our allies. I think that we're attempting to keep further civilian deaths to a minimum from Gadhafi back to the rebels.
And I think that we're focused, though, on the fact that eventually it's going to have to be the Libyan people that are going to have to decide what their government is they want, and whether it's democracy or a civil war or whatever. It's their - their choice, and we encourage that.
CHETRY: We seem to, though, have some inconsistencies in our foreign policy, fundamentally, choose - choosing or at least making the decision to answer the call to Libyan people to help, yet we're not doing that in some of the other places that are experiencing similar uprisings, most recently in Syria. Why is that?
SUSMAN: You have to analyze it country by country. We espouse the values of democracy, and then you've also got to balance your values and your security and what your national interests are.
We're doing that, and we have condemned the violence in Syria. We have not been in favor of any regime change. If Syria will allow their people to peacefully protest and peacefully attempt to decide their own fate, that's what we're for.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: So, there you go. Very interesting take from the ambassador on the difficulties in our foreign policy and those types of decisions that we make about when to step in and - and when to just call with words and condemnation.
Coming up in the 7:00 hour, we talk more with Ambassador Susman. We really got a chance to talk to him about the royal wedding. It's of course the hottest ticket in town, and he has one.
Back to you guys.
VELSHI: And you got a good look at it. Thanks, Kiran. We'll be back with Kiran in just a little bit.
Hey, why are more Americans not signing up for overdraft protection?
ROMANS: Why? I don't know. Maybe because they'd rather just be rejected.
VELSHI: Maybe because it's expensive. We'll check it out after this.
ROMANS: Also, coffee getting more expensive, highest in three years, $3 a pound for the coffee beans that we all need. So much -
VELSHI: But Americans are still signing up for coffee.
ROMANS: Yes. But we're going to tell you, the Grande and Venti - I love that banner - price increases. We're going to tell you how much.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Three year highs for stocks. Can you imagine? Three year highs for stocks, people gunning for 13,000 in the Dow, better than expected report on consumer confidence, strong earnings from some industrial heavyweights pushing the Dow up 115 points, the Nasdaq up by about 22, the S&P 500 up nearly 12 points on the day.
We'll see how it holds. We got about three hours before we find out.
VELSHI: All right. This next story, we're going to have to hold each other back from becoming business wonky on this.
But I'm talking about the Federal Reserve. It controls your money and the cost of your money through interest rates, and now, after the better part of the century, the Federal Reserve is ready to answer some questions.
ROMANS: I can't believe this. I mean, when I started covering the Fed - (INAUDIBLE) hold me back from being wonky, but when I started covering the Feds you didn't even know if they changed their interest rate target.
VELSHI: Right. You'd have to - you'd have to find out from what bonds were doing.
ROMANS: It was all secret. But now Fed chairman Ben Bernanke is going to be the first Fed chairman in history to actually have a press conference (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: That's right. This afternoon.
The Fed has come under tough criticism since the financial crisis for its secret policy decisions and its sterile answers and was basically dragged into this publicity stunt kicking and screaming by Congressional action and by lawsuits from the media. But still, do not expect Bernanke to say too much because everybody still knows that -
ROMANS: Sure.
VELSHI: -- when the Fed chairman speaks, it has a great deal of impact on the markets.
ROMANS: And (INAUDIBLE) interestingly, it's when the markets are open. You see, I would have scheduled it for when the markets aren't open -
VELSHI: Absolutely. Yes.
ROMANS: -- so that you don't have some kind of instant reaction like that.
VELSHI: Right.
ROMANS: Also, I think he's going to be grilled about gas prices and commodity prices. If you don't -
VELSHI: Housing prices.
ROMANS: If you don't drive, take an airplane, eat or live in your house -
VELSHI: Then inflation is not a problem.
ROMANS: Then inflation is not a problem. He'll be asked about inflation I'm sure.
VELSHI: Remember one thing, though. Back when we were covering this, we started covering this, international markets didn't respond the way - so whether you have this thing at noon or 4:00 in the afternoon -
ROMANS: That's true.
VELSHI: -- someone will respond to it.
ROMANS: That's true.
All right. Pesky overdraft fees. They continue to be a cash cow for the banks. According to a new study, Americans will spend an estimated $38.5 billion in overdraft fees this year. That's despite new rules requiring that banks get your permission before signing you up for overdraft protection.
According to a consumer watchdog group, banks are using misleading sales tactics. I've seen this and investigated this a little bit. They say that the 30 percent who signed up for overdraft protection, of those, 60 percent actually didn't really want it.
VELSHI: My bank, I - I generally like the way they work, TD Bank, but they have been remarkably aggressive, every time I log in, trying to get me to sign up for this overdraft, and - and a little less convincing about -
ROMANS: And overdraft protection means you have to pay a fee when you're -
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I'm surprised. They never aggressively pitched me on anything as much as they do every time I sign in.
All right, home prices. This is a very tough part of the economy, and according to a new report, could get tougher. The latest S&P Case- Shiller Index of home prices in 20 cities shows that they dropped another 3.3 percent last month, and they're hovering new - near the lows that were reached back in April of 2009. You'll remember, that's when nobody could get credit, so nobody could buy houses.
Check this out, the prices of homes in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Oregon, Seattle and Tampa, all at their lowest point since 2006 and 2007. Look at this - Detroit, the only major market to show a gain last month, but prices in Detroit are now lower than they were in January, 2000, which was the previous low. And if you're in Detroit, there's really no other direction to go.
ROMANS: If the buyer's market - if you have a job, you have money, you have credit, you've got your house - you know, your pick of houses out there. But a lot of people aren't getting the credit to get them on it.
VELSHI: I do want to remind people of one thing. We've got interest rates at a very low rate right now, under five percent for a 30-year fixed mortgage.
ROMANS: They're - in our lifetimes, they may never look (INAUDIBLE) -
VELSHI: We - we may never see that.
So when you hear news like this, if you are in the market for a house and you have good credit and you could have done it, measure that all, because even if home prices go down where you're planning to buy, interest rates are likely to go up. And over a 15- or 30-year mortgage, the interest rates will matter more to you.
ROMANS: All right. We're going to give you the suspected Mall Bomber story, the update on that. He has been caught, and you're never going to be believe where they picked this guy up.
VELSHI: And a frightening end to a flight in Chicago. A plane skids off a runway, very close to a major street. We'll tell you what happened. We'll show it to you when we come back.
It's 28 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. We're crossing the half hour.
Beautiful glorious day yet again in London on this Wednesday, April 27th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
Beautiful shot of Queen Victoria Memorial and in the background there, Buckingham Palace. Boy, it's in the mid-50s with bright sunshine again today. Hard to believe that they're saying it may actually rain on the day of the royal wedding in just a few days.
Coming up in two minutes, we're going to be talking about the overnight rehearsals that took place with members of the military in full dress, getting ready in the wee hours of the morning to go through this processional route and make sure everything is just perfect. There's a shot of the horse and carriage. Beautiful this morning.
We're going to talk about all the overnight rehearsals, the latest picture of Kate Middleton and much more with our royal watcher, Mark Saunders, royal expert sitting with me right now. He's going to be joining us in just a couple minute -- Ali, Christine.
VELSHI: All right. Kiran, thank you.
ROMANS: Watching some extreme weather and also watching events in the Middle East, too.
VELSHI: Lots --
ROMANS: Lot to follow today.
VELSHI: It's 32 minutes after the hour. Let's bring you some of the top stories, starting with the Middle East.
Moammar Gadhafi's troops are stepping up their assault on Misrata. Witnesses say Libyan -- the Libyan port city -- look at these pictures -- is now reduced to rubble. This latest attack targeted the port area of Misrata. NATO air strikes late last night reportedly stopped that offensive.
ROMANS: It's being called one of the worst online security breaches ever. Hackers breaking into Sony's PlayStation network, compromising the private information of, get this, 77 million PlayStation users. The company says credit card numbers, purchasing histories, billing addresses, e-mail addresses, have all been stolen of you gamers out there.
VELSHI: And they remain off-line.
Eleven people are now dead in Arkansas after a second straight night of severe storms. There was at least one fatality overnight. Emergency officials say that it was wind related. There's a lot of damage in Little Rock, where powerful winds dropped trees on homes, even tore off the roof of a hospital.
Jacqui Jeras is in the extreme weather center.
And the severe weather threat not over yet, Jacqui, and, in fact, could be happening right now in some southern states.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It absolutely is, including Arkansas. Southern parts of that state getting hit right now with severe weather, large hail and damaging winds. The yellow box indicating we have that threat as well as the red boxes. We're expecting the threat of tornados.
New watch box here that includes you in Lexington, Kentucky, down towards Nashville, until 10:00 local time there. And things are really rocking right now across northern parts of Alabama. We've got tornado warnings, as well as severe thunderstorm warnings in this big severe line that's moving through. This is pushing near Huntsville right now, as well as into Birmingham. So, be aware of that threat.
And this is another one of those "high risk days" as we call them, and this is the greatest area where we have that potential for rotating thunderstorms. And this is just kind of a warm-up, guys. We're going to see more action late this afternoon and into tonight.
On top of that, the rainfall has been extremely heavy. Flood watches and warnings extend from the Deep South all the way into the Great Lakes region.
Take a look at this live picture from our affiliate out of Nashville where the rain continues to come down and we're getting lots of reports of flooding here. Flash flooding. So, be very, very cautious if you do have to take off for work here this morning. Check out some of the rainfall totals, guys. This is since Friday. Almost 20 inches in Springdale, Arkansas. Check out Poplar Bluff where we're still monitoring that levee situation about 15 inches.
So, wet weather, wicked weather continuing today. This is the second day now of our big outbreak. A slight risk of severe thunderstorms up and down the East Coast tomorrow and we can take a breather for the weekend.
Back to you.
ROMANS: Jacqui Jeras, thanks.
And in the Midwest, people are obsessively checking the river levels, you know, the Mississippi and all other rivers, too, because they're concerned about some pretty major flooding there, too.
VELSHI: We got flooding. We got that severe weather. And we still have those fires in Texas. They say it's a rough day around the country.
Hey, let's go over to London. Things are looking a little better out there. In fact, they had a rehearsal for the wedding -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, they did, guys. Only two days left and they want to make sure, of course, the biggest global event of the century, the royal wedding, goes off without a hitch. They left nothing to chance. They perfectly timed everything, perfectly choreographed everything.
Thousands of royal military personnel -- there you see them -- hit the streets. They were in full dress. These were members of the Royal Air Force, of all of them, for the royal wedding.
So, there they are. This happened in the early, early hours of the morning, of course, so they could avoid traffic, as well as any potential tie ups with the people on the streets because there are so many tourists, as well as Londoners, here in town.
Joining me now is royal biographer Mark Saunders.
Great to see you this morning.
MARK SAUNDERS, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER: Hi.
CHETRY: So, this full military rehearsal that took place.
SAUNDERS: Yes.
CHETRY: They're not leaving anything to chance obviously. But what was notable about it?
SAUNDERS: I think what was notable about it was that nothing went wrong. With a dress rehearsal, they say that you want something to go wrong, because that way you can sort out a great day.
What was noticeable was there were no crowds. As I was watching the pictures, I kept thinking how magnificent it's going to look with the crowds because remember, this isn't choreography. This is a drill. These guys are drilled and drilled and drilled, which makes them so good.
But when they say that we're going to see a spectacle likes of which no other country can put on, I think that's so true.
CHETRY: It's amazing. And you're right, when you have the crowds on either side, people are going to be there waving the flags, commemorative flag, Union Jack, and then, inside is Will and Kate.
SAUNDERS: And the music, the mass the bands, the guards, the RAF, the royal marines band, it's going to be an astonishing sight.
CHETRY: Well, we're certainly looking forward to it. I mean, just seeing this full dress rehearsal, it really is breathtaking.
I want to bring your attention to the cover of the "Daily Express," one of the papers here. This is a paparazzi photo. I hope you guys can see it. This is Kate driving her car and this is her snapped yesterday leaving their home.
SAUNDERS: Yes. Her home in Bucklebury in Berkshire. Yes. And now, apparently, Kate arrived on Saturday and she had a full day of facials and spa treatment with her sister Pippa. William arrived on Sunday bearing gifts, we're told. I assume that's Easter presents.
But what I was thinking was that this isn't -- this is a lovely house where they live, the Middletons. But it's not the biggest house in the world. I think this is a good example of how close William is with the family. That he can go down --
CHETRY: He felt comfortable staying there.
SAUNDERS: Yes. He only left yesterday. So, he was there for two nights, three full days, and it does look as if he's very close to the family.
CHETRY: Will that change once they get married, she's officially married into royalty, I mean, in terms of protocol? I mean, can they do that?
SAUNDERS: I think the problem when you're the heir to the throne is that to move from A to B is like moving a circus with all the security. And that I think Catherine's mother and father are looking for a new place, somewhat bigger. So, yes, I think William will remain close to his in-laws.
CHETRY: The other interesting thing they were talking about, when we talked about preparations taking place here in London, the police are also leaving nothing to chance. They talked about the -- reserving the right to do these preemptive arrests. And, in fact, it looks like they did do that, arresting six, I guess, these anarchists.
SAUNDERS: Yes.
CHETRY: The condition of their bail is they can't come back to central London during the wedding. How effective is that?
SAUNDERS: Very effective. Under the securities act, they have this power. But the thing about the anarchists, the same with the war protesters, nobody wants to deny them the right to protest. But we do want to deny them the right to mess the day up for everybody else because that's what it is.
They won't achieve anything, Kiran. Also, they need to be protected because if they tried anything with this crowd on Friday, they probably would be lynched.
CHETRY: So, in their own -- for their own safety.
SAUNDERS: Yes.
CHETRY: It's also interesting because the other article in here says that police are saying they need these crowds to be their eyes and ears. They're saying everyone out there, if you see something suspicious or you see something strange, tell us and we will immediately take care of it. So, they're relying on the people being out there as well.
SAUNDERS: Well, I mean, Britain has had 40 years of a terrorist threat. We had the Irish problem, we had the Islamic problem and the police have always relied on the public. Everywhere you go in London, you'll see big signs, "If you see anything suspicious, call the terrorist hotline." And it has been very effective and I think it will continue to be so.
CHETRY: Well, it's great to talk to you again as always, Mark Saunders. We'll check in with you a little later. Thanks so much.
And, by the way, if you want to be part of this global viewing party, go to CNN's royal wedding coverage, starting at 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday. You can get all your information. In the meantime by going to CNN.com/RoyalWedding.
Check out the new blog also, "Unveiled," everything you need to know about the nuptials, the wedding, the dress. It's all on CNN.com/unveiled.
And also, we want to know where you'll be, will you be watching the royal wedding? If so, send us an iReport if you're doing something neat.
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Some other stories making news around the nation right now.
Earl Albert Moore, suspected of planting a homemade bomb inside a Colorado shopping mall, he has a date in federal court this morning. He was arrested at a grocery store in Boulder, not far from Columbine High School -- arrested yesterday. Although the bag -- the bomb was found in 12 years to the day of Columbine massacre, authorities have ruled out any connection. But he has been picked up.
VELSHI: Tragic scene in Los Angeles. A car crashes through a barrier on the third floor of a parking garage plunging to the street and killing the driver. Police are trying to determine just how that happened.
ROMANS: Also, NASA counting down to Friday's planned launch of the shuttle Endeavour on its final trip into space. The astronauts arrived in Florida yesterday to begin their final preparations. Shuttle commander, Mark Kelly, says he's excited that his wife, Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has been cleared by her doctors to attend.
VELSHI: And a scary way to end a flight. This Southwest jet skidded off the runway at Chicago's Midway Airport just after landing. It stopped only after its wheels got stuck in the mud. None of the 139 passengers on board were hurt. But as you know, if you've landed at Midway, it's in the middle of a residential area.
ROMANS: It sure is.
For four days and three flights -- Ali, I can't believe this story -- a nun was trapped in an elevator in northeast Baltimore -- four days and three nights. The 85-year-old woman survived on what she had -- celery, water and cough drops. Her fellow sisters had left town for a convention so she was alone in the convent. She says she spent the time praying, and now, she feels closer to God.
VELSHI: I have to say it probably is best that it happened to a nun than anyone else. That would make me crazy, but she probably took the opportunity to have a little solitude and time with God.
ROMANS: And she's well after the experience.
VELSHI: All right. The quack is back for Aflac. A Minnesota dad, Daniel McKeague, you're looking at him here, won the company's nationwide search to replace comedian, Gilbert Gottfried. Aflac executives made McKeague's squawk one more time before making it official. Listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hear one more time, we've heard it on video, but we want to hear it in person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aflac! Aflac!
VELSHI: OK. What do you think? How does his quack --
ROMANS: It's pretty good.
VELSHI: Stack up to the original. Let's listen to Gilbert's.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aflac! Aflac! I said Aflac.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS (on-camera): Gilbert Gottfried lost the job because he made some tweets, some sort of insensitive tweets about tsunami, the tsunami after the Japanese earthquake, and so, they let him go and launched a nationwide search for a replacement and have received tons of free publicity in the process.
VELSHI (on-camera): That's absolutely right. All right. We're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we've got a lot of bad weather down in the south.
ROMANS: Right now happening, as we speak, there's a big tornado threat in the south. We're going to tell you exactly where the path of these embedded tornadoes are and where millions of people should be watching for this.
VELSHI: And then, we'll go back to London where Kiran is to show you some of the people who already camped out in front of Westminster Abbey to make sure that they've got a front street view of the wedding procession.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A single invention promises to make driving greener, safer, and cheaper. It's not a new car. It's a new road.
SCOTT BRUSAW, ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: A lot of people, at least initially, thought we were off our rockers.
TUCHMAN: Scott Brusaw created Solar Roadways. Glass road panels embedded with solar cells he says could power the nation and pay for themselves.
BRUSAW: If you could replace all the asphalt and the concrete surfaces in the lower 48 states, you could produce three times more power than we use as a nation.
TUCHMAN: For those wondering if the glass will break, each 12 by 12 foot panel can support at least 80 tons.
BRUSAW: Glass layer, internal support structure with houses, bulk of electronics that aren't inside the glass and then the glass plates.
TUCHMAN: Heating elements prevent snow and ice accumulation, LED's mark lanes (ph) making nighttime driving easier, load sensors warn drivers if someone is in the crosswalk.
BRUSAW: That's the fun part of engineering which is coming up with more and more ideas and realizing this is actually a wonderful thing. Hopefully, next year, we'll have part of our parking lot already done, and that's when the real testing will begin.
TUCHMAN: Brusaw's goal is to get solar road panels in commercial parking lots within five years, and then, on residential roads.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (voice-over): Severe weather moving across the south. Forecasters say there is a very real threat today of tornadoes and destructive winds and hail. Jacqui Jeras tracking it. We'll have more in ten minutes.
Syria rejecting calls for an independent investigation into its crackdown on anti-government protesters. Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed since the demonstrations began last month.
Sony now admitting your names, addresses, maybe even credit card numbers, may be in the hands of hackers after they broke into its PlayStation network last week.
NASA technology now helping Japan look inside its crippled nuclear reactors. NASA says the robots being used at the Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant use the same technology that's found in the Mars rover.
The price of coffee heating up. Raw beans now averaging $3 a pound. That is the highest price in more than 30 years, and it is forcing many coffee sellers to increase their prices.
And sick of your commute? Call in sick. That's apparently what five million workers have done according to a new poll. The study also found 30 percent of people commute more than two hours a day to and from work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (on-camera): You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's a special edition. I'm Kiran Chetry live in London this morning where you're looking at a beauty shot just outside of Buckingham Palace. The streets get more and more crowded every day. We're two days away, but many, many people are here.
Last-minute, people trying to fly in to town. That's still happening, even though, it is so costly. We also have some of those last-minute wedding details that are now coming together, and the Westminster Abbey filling up with flowers and trees as well. Dozens of deliveries, some shrubs that actually came from the queen's very own garden, they're actually going to be lining the aisle leading up to the altar. I mean, it's amazing the preparations. I can't even imagine.
Hundreds of royal fans, guys, also, we talked about this yesterday, what would you wait in line? Would you camp out on the streets? Apparently, a lot of people are doing it. We have some video right now right in front of the historic Abbey. People bringing tents. I mean, look at this. People bringing suitcases, food. It's basically turned a whole lot of people into this mini-community with a whole lot of royal spirit. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've followed the royal family my whole life. My parents named me after Princess Di. So, it's something I just always grew up admiring and watching Diana and following her and her boys. It was just something that I could watch on TV from the states or I could get a front row seat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I noticed well-prepared (ph) as we could be. It's the first time we've done this, but we are going to stay here until the wedding on Friday, no matter what comes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got some food, and we've got our suitcases to sit on, but other than that, that's about it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You know guys, some of those people actually camped out for Diana's wedding back in 1981, and they're doing it again.
VELSHI: Wow. It does look good. As I said, I still very little would convince me to camp out for anything, but --
ROMANS: And by Friday, you're not going to be feeling so much like a wedding -- like watching a wedding and feel like you need a shower.
CHETRY: That's what I never understand. That's the part I never understand. I mean, you've got to be exhausted, cold. You don't feel great.
VELSHI: Right.
CHETRY: I mean, you've been camping out, you know, basically roughing it, and then, you're going to pop up fresh as a daisy and watch the wedding.
ROMANS: You know what -- where are the anti-monarchists? Everyone is so excited about the monarchy and royal wedding. I mean, they must be just home grumbling.
CHETRY: Either that or they've -- they know better than to say anything because you're really getting caught up in it. I mean, when we first came, there was a little bit of that, and now, it just seems like they've been mowed over, and everybody here is really excited. One of the other things I wanted to show you, guys, this huge Ferris wheel, the London eye. This is planted right in the middle of the country's capital.
It's built in 2000. It's the millennium wheel. There were people that actually said this is an eye sore, but now -- because there it is. I mean, there's the Thames River. You see the beautiful London bridge, the tower, and then this. But, you know what, people have loved it now. I mean, this has certainly caught on. It's one of the greatest attractions in Europe.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Three and a half million people go every year. And there's a look. That's the view from 400 feet up. Spectacular views up to 25 miles away. Even as far as Windsor Castle on a clear day.
ROMANS: Yes. The irony is some of the architectural buffs hated it, but you could only see the beautiful architecture of London by being in the London eye.
VELSHI: And, by the way, she says on a clear day. That --
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: Tons of beautiful city. We'll be right back with you, Kiran. Thank you.
CHETRY: This weekend.
ROMANS: You're right.
VELSHI: All right. Gabrielle Giffords getting ready, that's the other thing happening on Friday, the shuttle launch. She's getting ready for that launch. Sanjay is going to be with us to tell us about what her progress is, and how she's getting ready for it.
VELSHI: And our Gary Tuchman brings part two of his special CNN investigation into the birther investigation. Setting the record straight, you know, displaying all of the evidence again in a very concise and compelling way. Gary Tuchman going live to Hawaii. We want to show you what he finds out. Some emotion in this piece that I think you'll be interested in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
