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American Morning
Tornadoes Devastate Parts of Alabama; England Prepares for the Royal Wedding; Tornadoes Kill 173 in South; Punishing Those Who Pay Late; Obama Takes on Trump; Princess Diana's Legacy; In-Depth Look Inside FAA Training Academy
Aired April 28, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: We have death and destruction in five southern states. Savage storms spawning towering tornadoes, killing 128 people in Alabama alone, 45 in neighboring states. Hundreds more hurt, trapped, or missing right now on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. It's Thursday, April 28th. I'm Ali Velshi. Unfortunately, not a good morning for many people in the south today.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Big, huge breaking news in the south. I'm Christine Romans. We've got the latest on the royal wedding live from London in a moment, but let's get right now to the death and destruction that we're seeing in Alabama, Mississippi and other parts of the south.
VELSHI: Now seeing some reports in Virginia. We start with breaking news. The death toll jumping again in the past hour in total, 173 people in America now dead from these storms and what could be the worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history. Terrifying images of a massive deadly twister tearing apart one Alabama town block by block.
And 128 people now confirmed dead in Alabama from yesterday's savage storms. It could take days to account for hundreds more right now who are trapped or missing.
ROMANS: In Tuscaloosa 15 people were killed by some of the most violent weather ever seen there. The city's mayor assessed the damage and said, "pray for us." Block after block flattened. This is the mile-wide funnel cloud that tore apart so many homes, so many lives. Alabama's governor asked the president for help, he got it - 1,400 National Guard troops have been called in to conduct search and rescue operations.
VELSHI: Right now the student rec student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa is being used as a shelter. Take a look at this video of the twister that tore up so much of Tuscaloosa. It was shot by Christopher England of Crimson Tide Productions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER ENGLAND, CRIMSON TIDE PRODUCTIONS: You can see that the tornado was sucking stuff up from the ground. I couldn't tell what it was, but I could see all kind of things floating around it. But then you could see just different colors being sucked up into the tornado, and you knew it was just ripping stuff up. You just didn't know, you know, you didn't know what. But it was just -- you know, unreal to see something that shrine and something that massive because it was just huge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Some of that is because it's a professional photographer. This was an amateur video. But still, that is massive. You can see the colors as he described it in there. In Tuscaloosa, homes are without power. Essential services like police and fire have been interrupted.
ROMANS: Alabama Emergency management says 128 people are dead, and that number is likely to rise. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley is joining us live from Montgomery this morning. Good morning, sir.
First of all, I mean, this is so devastating. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your entire state this morning as you try to see what the damage is as the sun rises, as morning breaks. What are your folks on the ground telling you about the scope of the devastation as you can see more this morning?
GOV. ROBERT BENTLEY, (R) ALABAMA: Well, of course, we have not been able to get out yet because of the sunlight. But as soon as we're able to do that we'll be out. Really right now we're in a search and rescue mode. We're making sure that those that may be out there that are trapped that we have not found, that we are trying to find those. We activated 2,000 National Guard last night and activate more today if we need to.
ROMANS: You're looking in overturned cars -- sorry to interrupt you, sir. Will you be looking in cars and the homes, just literally going door to door I'm assuming?
BENTLEY: Absolutely. We'll look everywhere there's been devastation. There's been massive devastation across northern Alabama. These long track tornadoes, they really tear up the landscape as well as homes and especially in homes that are not very stable. And we're looking for people first.
VELSHI: Governor, your home town, Tuscaloosa, has been particularly hard hit. What's the latest you have on Tuscaloosa?
BENTLEY: Well, at present time we have 15 confirmed dead, but we expect that total to rise, and there was massive devastation there in Tuscaloosa. Some of those that were killed were students. Some of it was in student housing off campus, but not on campus.
But we will be there today. We will be all over north Alabama today visiting and helping in any way that we can. I talked with the president last night after we declared a state of emergency yesterday, we asked him to do the same last night and he did.
ROMANS: You mentioned students killed in off-campus housing. The University of Alabama has suspended classes and canceled operations for today, Thursday. You've got some 30,000 kids in -- well, young people at the University of Alabama.
BENTLEY: Well, I spoke with the president at the University of Alabama last night, Dr. Witt. He told me that the University of Alabama itself is intact. There were just some trees down and some minor structural damage. It did not actually hit the campus itself.
VELSHI: Governor, thank you for your time this morning. We know you've got things to do. Thanks for being with us. We'll keep on top of the story along with you and your team. The governor of Alabama joining us now, Governor Robert Bentley.
ROMANS: there are 2,000 National Guard being activated there. And some killed in Alabama in off-campus housing were students of the university of Alabama. Life changed forever in the last 24 hours. Reynolds Wolf, an Alabama native, joining us from Tuscaloosa this morning. What are you seeing now, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're seeing the view from the old armory. And from your viewpoint tuning in from across America, what you're seeing -- your viewpoint is from the roadway. In the foreground you can see a lot of debris and you can see fence posts where from across the road, you had debris traveling at 100 miles an hour.
You can see right here to my immediate left a Humvee, a vehicle designed to take a great deal on the battlefield ripped to shreds. A few more of them all just in horrible shape. Some even farther back have been ripped to pieces.
We talk about these tornadoes, the real damage, the real danger is not due to the wind itself but rather the stuff it picks up, the debris. If you look here at the foreground, I'll step over some of the debris we're talking about, take a look at this. Almost like a javelin that's been jabbed here in the ground, really intense stuff. You get hit by this stuff, even a small piece of wood, and this can be as deadly as any bullet.
What's insane is you look down this roadway, the sun is coming up, but debris as far as you can see. You have the parks building over there. You have a grove of trees and a couple homes that -- what's really amazing, 12 hours ago, 13, 14 hours ago these people didn't have a care in the world. A few cloudy skies, maybe some raindrops here and there, but the devastation, there was no idea this would unfold.
Sure there were some warnings, some watches, the discussion posted by the weather center that there was a risk for parts of the southeast, but I don't think anyone thought this would happen. It's just incomprehensible.
If you look over here, John sheer is the good man behind the camera, a stool, even on the trees, a life vest, things that are not where they should be -- a few toys, stuffed animals for kids. It's unbelievable all tied in with bedding, with siding, cars, you see one over there, late model car just torn to pieces. A proven point as to where you never want to get into one of those during a tornado. Guys, in a situation like this the safest place to be is definitely underground, but unfortunately for 128 people here in parts of Alabama, they didn't get to shelter soon enough. We can expect that number to rise in the coming minutes, hours and, unfortunately, days.
ROMANS: Reynolds, the governor just said he expects the number to rise to Tuscaloosa. There are 15 confirmed deaths in Tuscaloosa, but he thinks the number will rise as sun comes up, dawn breaks and you're able to sort of see the scope of the devastation. What are people around there telling you? Are they going back and -- it looks like we've lost Reynolds as we were trying to -- yes, we'll talk to him again.
VELSHI: Another story we've been following for you on "AMERICAN MORNING." President Obama has shown his birth certificate, the one everybody was asking for. Is Donald Trump going to show his net worth now?
ROMANS: Didn't he promise to you?
VELSHI: He said a lot of things. It's unclear exactly what he promised.
ROMANS: CNN goes in depth, our continuing week-long look inside the FAA and its air traffic controllers. Would you believe they're training with model airplanes?
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: You're watching "AMERICAN MORNING." We're back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to a special live edition of "American morning" here in London. I'm Koran Chetry. We're in our location in front of Buckingham Palace in the background just a day away from the big wedding. We've got people camped out in tents right here as well. So the excitement still growing, and each and every day it gets 6 busier, more crowded. And security is cracking down a little bit more each and every day as well.
We wanted to give you a glance at some of the morning headlines so you can see what's going on with the royal couple. They appear to be living just a normal day-to-day existence despite the eyes of the world, some two billion people will be on them tomorrow.
Here is a shot of "The Daily Telegraph." On the right-hand side, you can see Kate holding a bouquet of flowers. On the other side is William. If he looked winded, he decided to join his pals in a game of football. He raced his Ducati motor bike to and from that game. There's the prince making his way to and from a game of football with pals. But they did say that he chose to forgo the nightly ritual of going to the pub after the game and instead he headed back to St. James palace. Other new info, who will be reading at the wedding. Kate's brother James is said to be giving the reading. Also buzz this morning about her vows, what she will and will not be saying, the phrase "obey" will not be part of their vows. They talk about loving and comforting one other, but the term "obey" will not be in there.
They did go to Westminster Abbey and had a run-through. They practiced walking down the aisle with her father at her side. Said to be delighted with how decorated the abbey was ahead of the wedding. She looks perfectly calm. She's either a super-bride or she hides it well. William admitted to having his knees knocking together a little bit, so he definitely is feeling the nerves as the world gets set for this huge event that is now just one day away. Christine?
ROMANS: You can practice walking down the aisle, but we don't know how big the dress is, so walking down the aisle in a dress is the hardest part.
VELSHI: That's right. The walking we do every day.
ROMANS: That's whole of the ball game. All right, thanks, Kiran.
Meantime in this country, we are continuing to watch the birth certificate controversy that isn't a controversy, but -
VELSHI: -- as to why we're continuing to watch it.
ROMANS: Yes, President Obama produced his birth certificate. Is it time now for Donald Trump to throw open his books?
VELSHI: Also we're going to see - we're going to return to our top story we've been following.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI (voice-over): In Alabama, as that state wakes up this morning starting to survey the damage. We now have more than 170 people dead from these storms in southern states. We'll keep you updated on that. It's 15 minutes after the hour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Hold your nose, new penalty interest rates from the Bank of America. Carmen Wong Ulrich is minding your business. What is this? If you skip a payment, suddenly boom.
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's big. This one is a whopper here. As of June, if you're a Bank of America customer, don't be late with even one payment. You may be charged a new interest rate of 29.99 percent on all future purchases.
ROMANS: Wow.
ULRICH: The bank has started to inform customers that they're rolling out this new penalty rates. Now, of course, Bank of America says, listen, this is not for everyone who is late with a payment.
We're going to check your payment's history, see if you've maxed out balances often, et cetera and you're going to get that, of course, that 45-day advance notice. Now the new rates are at shoring up lost revenue, the bank says, due to the Card Act Regulation.
Now remember, with the Card Act though there are no limits on how high your credit card interest rates can go. A few months ago, if you remember too, the banks started charging 5 percent of users a $59 annual fee.
And the thing is a lot of folks, I hear from so many people who they just can't stand this anymore. You can opt out of that 45-day notice. It's time to close the card and to change.
ROMANS: You have to pay the minimum on time.
VELSHI: There's no way around it.
ULRICH: You have to pay the minimum on time. They are loaning you money, if you don't pay them something when you're supposed to, they are going to nail you.
ROMANS: Yes, there's no wiggle room any more when it comes to credit cards. You have to be super, super savvy and make sure you make those payments. Whatever you can, minimum, of course, payment on time.
VELSHI: Crazy market stuff.
ULRICH: Crazy market, the Dow at a three-year high, up almost 96 points. The Nasdaq a ten-year high, 22 points yesterday and S&P 500 is at a three-year high.
ROMANS: I love your batman, pow, pow, pow.
ULRICH: But, you know, and this is the first recession where we're seeing the incredible highs in the market, but they're not being reflected in employment numbers.
VELSHI: But it's an important thing for people to remember because for those who do have IRAs or 401(k)s, all this constant talk about how the economy is not recovering does prevent some people from taking advantage of things like this, where the market has been going up since the end of the recession.
ULRICH: And if you don't have the income, that's the first thing on your mind. I need to pay the bill even though the market's doing great, your IRA's doing great, but if you can't pay those bills that's what's really important.
ROMANS: Ten-year high on the Nasdaq surprised me. I didn't realize it had crawled back to a ten-year high. That really surprised me.
ULRICH: But you know, a lot of the biggest initial investors in Facebook are now pulling out because there's this idea that this is a tech bubble again. ROMANS: Tech bubble 2.0.
ULRICH: So we'll be watching.
ROMANS: All right, Carmen, thank you.
ULRICH: Thank you.
VELSHI: OK, President Obama, you saw it almost 24 hours ago, he showed his birth certificate to reporters and the public. So what about Donald Trump? Has he decided he's going to show us his net worth? We'll find out next.
ROMANS: Also, we want to return to our top breaking news story live from Alabama. The death toll has now risen to 173 people killed by these devastating storms in the south. We're going to go live to Tuscaloosa, one of the hardest hit areas. It's 21 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Most of this show is live, but this part where we show you the picture of New York and give you the forecast has been taped for the last two weeks. It's cloudy and 62 and we're expecting thunderstorms this afternoon.
I have to say I don't think -- it hasn't been panning out every day that we've getting this rain. But now this isn't just the normal rain, this is that storm system that's created such devastation in the south, which is moving now further north and east.
So the northeast really is going to get stuff. We've got severe weather warnings now in Carolina and in Maryland.
ROMANS: A ferocious winter, a ferocious spring, and now these last a couple days of storms just been devastating. We're going to have more pictures of that for you.
But also President Obama trying to put an end to the birther controversy releasing his original long form birth certificate, but that's not silencing Donald Trump. In fact, he won't even admit he was wrong. Here's what he told our John King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You said this was missing. You had your investigators say it was missing. You're questioning the character and the integrity --
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: The president himself --
KING: Let me finish. I let you finish. You're questioning the character of the president of the United States.
TRUMP: The president himself -- KING: Shows you in a dead heat with the president of the United States. There's no such poll. We've never polled.
TRUMP: I'll give it to you.
KING: We've never polled Obama versus Trump?
TRUMP: Yes, you have. Really? Can I show it to you?
KING: Yes, I'd love to see it.
TRUMP: Excuse me, hold it. Can you get that poll? It was like 42- 44, the CNN poll.
KING: CNN has never polled --
TRUMP: OK, that's fine. Let's see if you're right or wrong, OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: CNN has never polled Obama versus Trump. There are a lot of people that you can disagree with. John King doesn't get his facts wrong on that one. Author and investigate journalist, Chris Byron is back with us.
You remember he was with us last week. Donald Trump was listening to the conversation. Also called in to say you were wrong about that.
ROMANS: You've been following him for more than a decade. So you know Donald Trump, the business of being Donald Trump.
CHRISTOPHER BYRON, NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLING BOOK AUTHOR: I've been dusting for his fingerprints for 30 years.
ROMANS: Is he a business man or is he a reality show star?
BYRON: I think he's a blowhard and a phony. That's what I really think.
ROMANS: Has he lost all credibility from this whole thing?
BYRON: I think with this one, he has. I mean, he pivoted so effortlessly yesterday from release your birth certificate to let's see your college grades.
ROMANS: But wait, he said the only reason he was talking about the birth certificate was because every time he sat down in an interview reporters would bring it up. But reporters did not bring up the college records.
BYRON: No, he brought it up.
VELSHI: You remember when you were here last week. Let's just play a bit of this. You weren't here so take a listen to what - a bit of the conversation from last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP (via telephone): Well, we're looking into it very, very strongly. At a certain point in time, I will be revealing some interesting things.
VELSHI: Even if you don't tell us what it is, have you got something that suggested Barack Obama was not born in the United States?
TRUMP: We're looking into it very strongly and you will be very surprised.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: He said, investigators cannot believe what they're finding. Doesn't he owe the president and the American public an apology at this point?
BYRON: He owes this morning to release all the results of that investigation or shut up and never bring it up again. I mean, he's becoming a profession character assassin. He's like a one-man swift boater and it should stop and it should stop now.
ROMANS: Well, he says that he wants to bring up China. He wants to talk about the big issues, but he just keep getting dragged into the birther debate. Was he dragged into it or did he inflame it so that he could rise in the polls amongst people who think that this is --
BYRON: Please don't throw me in that briar patch. That's all he's talking about here. He brings all this stuff up and then says, I didn't do it. He won't stop. He's going to keep going.
VELSHI: Here's an interesting matter, when we talked to him about this last week, we were inquiring into his net worth. What we constantly says that he's - that Forbes says he's worth $2.7 billion and he's worth many more times than that.
BYRON: Right.
VELSHI: The argument is -- because that doesn't make you in touch with Americans and their financial situation, their argument is I can run a business.
BYRON: Sure, he can. He's taken his businesses in New Jersey bankrupt four times. He's sold an IPO on Wall Street and it went from $35 a share to single digits in two years. He was thrown out as CEO or quit as CEO, then quit the chairmanship of the board.
And people all over the country have suffered huge financial losses from that alone, but he's so smart and rich, he can't tell you. I think he should release his own financial records instead of running around the country yakking about people like Obama. If he's so smart, let's see his SATs.
VELSHI: You were mentioning something that maybe he shouldn't have been talking about President Obama's school records because he's got some issues of his own. BYRON: He sure does. I mean, he - he said, how this guy get into Occidental or get in - from there, step up -to Columbia and from there step up to Harvard? Well, look, this man, when he was 13 years old was removed from the day school that he was going to in Queens where all his brothers and sisters were going and stuck in military school.
And what I hear is that - I've been reporting on this guy for a long time, was that he was like the class bully. And they pulled him out for that reason, put him in the military school, with New York Military Academy, which did apparently shape him up. But let's see the truth. Where's the facts? Where's the facts? He can throw a punch, but can he take one?
ROMANS: And you'll hear later, we talked to Larry King who has interviewed him 32 times and he's a very good friend of his, who said he's a good man at his core but that he has a very big ego. And that's what this is all about.
Chris Byron, thank you so much.
BYRON: My pleasure, folks.
ROMANS: Really nice to meet you. Thanks a lot.
BYRON: Back at you.
VELSHI: All right. It's 7:30 on the East. 30 minutes after the hour. We've got breaking news right now. Powerful storms and towering tornadoes now killing 173 people in the south. That is the new death toll. Much of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is flattened. Alabama's governor says 128 people have been killed in his state alone.
A city in ruins being battered from all angles again now. We're going to Libya. NATO air strikes shelling Libya's port city of Misrata, trying to drive back Gadhafi forces that have turned the town into a wasteland. Rebels say 18 more people killed and 42 injured in Misrata in the past 24 hours.
And the ruthless crackdown in Syria is caught on tape. Look at this amateur video apparently showing a panicked crowd of protesters fleeing gunfire in the city of (INAUDIBLE). Now we are not able to confirm the tape's authenticity. Human rights groups say 500 people have died in security crackdowns since the uprising began.
And that turmoil in Syria is trickling down to the royal wedding. British officials announce that the Syrian ambassador is no longer invited to the ceremony. A foreign office spokesperson said it would be quite inappropriate.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
ROMANS: Back to our breaking news now, the National Weather Service says it received over 150 reports of tornado sightings in the south yesterday. 150 reports, that's right around the national average for the entire month of April. VELSHI: Tuscaloosa, we were just telling you, has been flattened. A mile-wide twister - look at this twister, tore up this city block by block. The National Guard has been called in, 2,000 National Guard troops, according to the governor whom we spoke to just a while ago. FEMA and Homeland Security officials have been summoned. The president has declared it a disaster area. And that devastation continues as the sun comes up when we start to find out how much damage had been done.
ROMANS: 83,000 people live in Tuscaloosa. For many of them life changed forever in the last 24 hours. Reynolds Wolf is joining us live from Tuscaloosa this morning. Good morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys. You know, the amazing thing about Tuscaloosa this morning is it doesn't matter where you happen to point the camera. Anywhere you look, there's a different story. And unfortunately, much of the story involves the devastation.
This tornado that struck this area late yesterday afternoon hard to believe that just a little over 12 hours ago this was a normal structure. This house was in decent shape, now it's in shambles. The trees, you see the trees that yesterday were full of foliage had been stripped bare, in many situations have been splintered also. It's not just the trees. It's not just the houses, but their personal items everywhere. Clothes, bicycles that once belong to kids. It's just an amazing thing.
But you know, that's stuff that can be replaced. What cannot be replaced are the 128 lives that have been lost in parts of Alabama. Unfortunately, as people continue to sift through this wreckage, there will be more lives, more people found. There's still the possibility of entrapment in many of the structures that we have, not just in this particular neighborhood, but across the state of Alabama.
These storms came through very quickly. It has a slow moving frontal boundary, and preceding that you had very humid conditions, you had temperatures that got up in the 80s. So made for a very unstable air mass and you can see what the unstable air mass certainly did. Off in the distance, beyond the trees, you can see a row of apartment buildings, what stands, what remains basically are some of the forms you see, a little bit of a brick on the bottom, but the roofs themselves gone, completely gone.
Across the street where we were for our last live shot is the old armory. A couple of trucks there. You see them reduced to half trucks. Those are things that are able to withstand all kinds of things, including land mines, many of them are beyond repair, complete totaled. Now, something else we're seeing a little bit close up, I'm going to cross the street.
CNN photo journalist Jonathan Sheer (ph) is here with us. Jonathan, I'm going to walk over here and show folks this car. This is something else that's just been amazing. You know we often tell people how it's dangerous to get into a car during these kinds of situations because although it's a heavy vehicle, the wind can certainly pick these things up and they become death traps. On the other side, you see just the wreckage of a house, part of a bed, part of a bench that someone may have tried to find cover, even a bathroom - we tell people that oftentimes, bathrooms in the centermost rooms of the house are the safe places to be. One of the reasons why is because the plumbing provides an almost anchor like system for the people. I can tell you that anyone being in the middle of that structure would have a hard time walking out unscathed.
The safest place to be during the time of a tornado is really not only the center room, the best place to be is underground. But unfortunately, for many of the people who call central Alabama, specifically Tuscaloosa, home, they didn't have that option, guys. Again, death toll 128. Unfortunately those numbers may rise. Back to you.
VELSHI: All right. I think that 128, add that to the other states around there, we're at 173, so far. But as you said, Reynolds, as the sun is up now. The governor told us the same thing, the governor of Alabama, they're going to be looking for people.
ROMANS: All right. Reynolds, well, thanks so much.
We're going to continue to follow that breaking news here and all the developments in the south as the storm moves, but now we turn it over to Kiran who is following the big story there, the royal wedding on Friday. Hi, Kiran.
CHETRY: Hi, guys. Yes, royal wedding watchers around the world are counting down to the big day tomorrow. They say they're truly thrilled for William and Kate, for the happy couple. But they're also talking about Princess Diana, her legacy, what she would want for her son if she was still alive today. And a little bit later we're going to be talking about the lasting influence she had on William. That's live for you when we return from London, next on "American Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to "American Morning." There you're just seeing a look the queen's guards. Just a few moments ago they paraded around Queen Victoria's Memorial here. And made their way, it was quite a show. As they also prepare for their daily duties, but also a humongous day tomorrow. There you are also looking at the throngs of people that are out and about. Twice as crowd as it was even three days ago. So certainly a lot of anticipation and the royal wedding is, of course, tomorrow.
Quickly, by the way, we got our hands on the program, the official program of the royal wedding. And as we had talked about, there are some definitely some parts of this that will be in honor of or at least in memory of the Princess Diana, the late Princess Diana, from the hymn "Jerusalem," which she also had sung at her wedding. That's included here as well as many other aspects.
It's going to be will be a joyful celebration, of course, but also a little bit bittersweet because thoughts are certainly going to drift to the late princess. Many say that Will and Kate's special day is a reflection of his mother, the people's princess, and her influence and legacy certainly lives on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: William of Wales.
CHETRY (voice-over): His preferred name at St. Andrews says it all. Not Prince William, heir to the throne. A reflection of his grounded style, found in his volunteerism, his military career. And his choice for a wife. Technically, a commoner. Testimony to the undying influence of his late mother, says Mary Robertson. She hired Diana as a nanny when she was 18 and became friends with the future princess.
MARY ROBERTSON: She did not want them to grow up as isolated and out of touch as members of the royal family usually do.
CHETRY: Diana recognized the importance of teaching her sons about compassion, bringing them on hospital visits to AIDS patients.
ROBERTSON: She wanted them to just see that ordinary people had, you know, real problems, maybe for them, you know, to have some perspective.
CHETRY: A philanthropic tradition rooted in caring that went beyond duty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was the people's princess.
CHETRY: The people's princess, but also William and Harry's mom. Their strong bond on display here. Her boys racing into her arms, not in keeping with royal protocol. And echoed in William's decision to give Kate his mother's engagement ring.
MARK SAUNDERS, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER: The ring was given in consultation with the queen and with Prince Charles. They both thought it was a magnificent gesture.
CHETRY: His handling of his mother's untimely death. And years later his father's decision to marry the woman who many say broke Diana's heart. William juggles a family dynamic most would find difficult all under the glare of Britain's media spotlight.
(on camera): Here in the heart of London, the eyes of the world will be on Prince William as he gets set to say his "I do's." But perhaps the person who mattered the most to him in the world, his beloved mother, Princess Diana, won't be here to see it.
(voice-over): A union that stands in stark contrast to the relationship of Diana and Charles. They married after just six months of courting. William and Kate have been together for eight years.
ROBERTSON: He certainly knew that his mom had struggled a lot on her own. And I think he'll be very careful to make sure that he's there by Kate's side.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: So there's a look. Princess Diana. She touched so many lives here in England and of course, around the world. It was her compassion, her humanitarian efforts that made her the people's princess and no one knows Diana better than one of her close friends, her best American friend. I'm joined now by Princess Diana's friend and designer, Lana Marks. Thanks for being with us again.
LANA MARKS, HANDBAG DESIGNER: Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor.
CHETRY: What would Diana think of all of this? I know you can't read her mind but just knowing her the way you do.
MARKS: Diana would be so joyous, she would throw her arms around Catherine and she would embrace her and she would be so thrilled with the way William's coming across in his whole role that he will embrace her legacy as the people's king, as the future people's king. She would just be overwhelmed with joy.
CHETRY: And what's important to note that he does get along well with his father, but he had a very special relationship with his mother. She passed away when he was just 15 years old. Is the way that he perhaps, as we've seen, he's traded his fiancee, and now soon to be his wife, a reflection of him wanting to make his mother proud?
MARKS: I definitely think the way he took Kate Middleton is making his mother proud. Because when she raised them, she raised them as real people. She took them on the streets of London to see the homeless. She explained to them when they came home that they would have a hot bath and these people wouldn't have a hot bath. She made them in touch with the real world. And William is taking care of Catherine in that way as well, he's guiding her, he's showing her, he's guiding her, and showing her the ropes and everything like that. Diana would be so proud of him.
CHETRY: She'd also be probably be quite a wonderful mother-in-law to have.
MARKS: Diana would be an amazing mother-in-law. I can see her sitting in the cottage at Bucklebury with the Middletons, having tea with Catherine and her mother and embracing them and perhaps going to fittings for the wedding dress and just taking them in her arms and the three of them being like sisters.
CHETRY: When you take a look at the excitement around London right now, people are saying that they haven't seen this much excitement since, of course, the wedding of Princess and Prince Charles. But most recently, the queen's (INAUDIBLE) believe a big celebration of her birthday. It seems there's a regenerated interest in the royal family because of these young people.
How much pressure does that put on them? I mean, on top of everything else, they're 28. They're getting married. People are going to start -- the next question, when are they getting children?
I mean, how do they sort of keep grounded in the midst of all of this?
MARKS: Yes, yes. I think it is quite difficult for them, because when you consider the Queen's role, she has never set a foot wrong. Right throughout her reign, she's been magnificent and I know William will want to carry on this legacy and he will never want to set a foot wrong. And now Kate coming into the fold. She definitely will not want to set a foot wrong. So, there is pressure on them.
I do think it's so wonderful that they're going to live in a cottage for the first few years while William carries on his royal Air Force duties, because they can segue into this role slowly and carefully. And also, they've had the advantage of eight years together which Diana never had. She had a few months.
And I think it's such a joyous occasion, so positive, with so many awful things going on in the world, I think the Queen must be so happy, too.
CHETRY: She probably certainly is. And, you're right, that distinction that they don't have to immediately be king and queen, they can ease into it, as you said, should be very important.
MARKS: Yes, yes, yes.
CHETRY: Well, it was wonderful talking to you. Thanks so much for joining us, Lana Marks.
MARKS: Thank you so much for having me.
CHETRY: Hope you enjoy yourself.
MARKS: Very much so.
CHETRY: Quite a show tomorrow.
MARKS: Yes, yes. A lot of emotion.
CHETRY: Absolutely.
And you can join in the celebration, as well. CNN's going to bring you every unforgettable moment in the royal wedding. Our coverage is going to start tomorrow at 4:00 Eastern. You can watch all of the royal wedding information anytime, as well, on our blog CNN.com/royalwedding.
Also check out our new blog, if you get a chance, unveiled, bringing you special details of the special day. And we'd love for you to tell us what you're going to be doing. Send in an iReport. Go to ireport.com, give us a look at how you're celebrating the big day, as well.
Back to Ali and Christine in New York.
VELSHI: Do I have to tell you how I'm going to be celebrating?
CHETRY: Are you going to be a party pooper, Ali? VELSHI: No, no. But it's very early in the morning for us over here so I'm not dressing up like royalty and sitting on my couch eating popcorn. It's going to be pretty average what I'm doing at 4:00 in the morning.
ROMANS: He's going to wear his Burger King crown.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: All I'm going to be doing is praying that it doesn't rain. We're out for 11 hours straight. I'm just hoping the weather can hold.
VELSHI: I can guarantee you we'll be dry on this side. That much I can -- I'll blog about that. I'll go and do an iReport.
ROMANS: Kiran, get a good night's sleep, my dear, because you're going to have a big, fun day tomorrow.
VELSHI: OK, air traffic controllers. Boy, this just continues to be in the news. We've got a new incident we want to tell you about. But coming up, we're going to a look inside an academy that trains them. You might be surprised at how low-tech some of their training has to be.
ROMANS: Also, we want to go back to our top story this morning. Tuscaloosa, Alabama, devastation. Look at this monster tornado. We have new pictures and new angles of what has been a devastating night for much of the south. A hundred and fifty different tornadoes reported, as many tornadoes as you usually get in a whole month in one night.
Forty-seven minutes after the hour.
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ROMANS: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day. One hundred twenty-eight people are dead in Alabama, killed by yesterday's savage storms and tornadoes. Tuscaloosa was torn apart block by block. Nearly 160 people overall confirmed dead in five states.
Fire may be a concern for NASA managers on the eve of Endeavour's final launch. A brush fire's been burning near Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Right now Endeavor is still scheduled to liftoff tomorrow at 3:47 p.m. Eastern Time.
Paying even more. The national average for a gallon of regular gas now $3.89. But in eight states and Washington, D.C., the average now is above $4. You're caught up on today's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
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ROMANS: Good morning. Just into CNN, brand new video of Spaulding County, Georgia, in the aftermath of yesterday's deadly, deadly storms. Two people died there. Eleven people across Georgia are now confirmed dead. Governor Deal has declared disaster areas and states of emergency in four northwestern Georgia counties: Catoosa, Floyd, Dade and Walker.
VELSHI: And our confirmed death toll now 173 from yesterday's tornadoes and overnight.
All right. Another story we've been following. Each week CNN is taking an in-depth look into an important issue. Today, it's air traffic controllers. They've got a lot of bad press but to become one, the training program is unusually intense.
ROMANS: It is. The FAA must prepare thousands of men and women to replace the controllers who face mandatory retirement.
CNN's Casey Wian joins us live from Oklahoma and he's going to tell us the story and take us on a tour of a controller academy.
Good morning, Casey.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Ali, good morning, Christine.
You know, back in the 1980s, President Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers. And so all of those that were hired at that time are now facing mandatory retirement age. So that means the agency is looking for up to 2,000 people every year to staff air traffic control towers like this one here in Oklahoma City, and yesterday, we got to look at just how they're being trained.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN (on camera): This may look like a grown man playing with a model airplane but he's actually an instructor at the FAA's air traffic control training facility. And this is what they call their low-tech classroom. It's actually a scale model of an airport runway with all kinds of different aircraft.
Do you think the traveling public would be surprised that the air traffic controllers who are directing their flights in and out of airports are actually learning to do it with model airplanes?
TODD POOLE, FAA INSTRUCTOR: I would say probably 80 percent of our time is spent on the job training, plugged in, working live traffic. Here is an opportunity where we can use simulation training and it gives us an opportunity to stop problems, set up different scenarios that we might not see while we're doing live training out in the field.
WIAN (voice-over): The Federal Aviation Administration is six years into a 14-year push to train 20,000 air traffic controllers to replace those facing mandatory requirement.
POOLE: The students off the streets, Casey, probably have more of a hard time with the language, the phraseology and that's why we give them on the very first day, we give them a phraseology guide to try and get them used to the language of air traffic control.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twin Cessna 128 Charlie cross runway.
WIAN: We find that out firsthand trying to operate the high-tech simulator.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American, 2156 heavy, academy tower. Line up and wait.
WIAN (on camera): So I messed up there. I forgot to tell him the runway.
POOLE: Not too bad. Not too bad. That's just minor.
WIAN: It's a little disconcerting knowing how difficult it is in knowing that some students actually come in here, having as much trouble as I do.
By the time you get them out here, they're ready to go?
POOLE: Our purpose is to screen the students to see, can they be trained out in the field, you know? We don't make an air traffic controller in seven weeks. We can't do that.
WIAN (voice-over): One in five students don't complete the training. Those who do still must spend one to three weeks in a tower before they're fully certified.
SUNNY LEE-FANNING, ACTING SUPERVISOR, FAA ACADEMY: We've the sophistication in terms of the technology. We've got the people that are experienced to be able to train the people that are coming in. So, rest assured, that that is occurring.
WIAN: And rest assured, I won't be guiding your flight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIAN: Now, with salary and benefits, the average pay for an air traffic controller is $161,000 a year. And from what I experienced how difficult that job is, they are worth every penny. Ali and Christine.
ROMANS: Casey, we'll keep you on the live shots and keep you away from directing my personal airplane, no offense.
VELSHI: Yes, yes.
WIAN: You don't want me doing that, let me tell you.
ROMANS: Quick question. What is mandatory retirement age? So a lot of these guys and women are facing retirement age. What is it? In the 60s?
WIAN: It's 56-years-old. There are some exceptions. They can appeal to last a little bit longer but it's 56-years-old. It's relatively young. And you can see why, because these guys really need to be sharp. I'm six years away from 56 and I had a tough time handling it.
VELSHI: Wow. All right, Casey. Great report. Thank you very much for that.
This is a continuing issue that at least we're understanding a little bit better now.
ROMANS: Yes, and going in depth on it.
All right. Deadly tornadoes raking Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, leaving frankly catastrophic damage there.
VELSHI: We'll bring you the latest updates right after this break.
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