Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Road Accident in NY Kills Seven; Chinese Dissident in U.S. Embassy

Aired April 29, 2012 - 16:00   ET

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

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Investigators are on the scene of a terrible accident in New York. Seven people were killed when their van hit a median, flipped off an overpass and fell about 100 feet down, right onto a transit facility. The accident happening right near the Bronx Zoo.

CNN's Susan Candiotti joins me right now. Susan, what's the latest?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly law enforcement officials here are saying it's one of the most horrific scenes that they have ever seen. Many of them for 20 years or more. We have, as you indicated, seven people dead here. Four adults, three children, including an infant and an elderly couple. We don't know what the relation is. But two of them in their 80s.

A law enforcement official tells me that the driver of the SUV appears to be one of the women who was inside the car. We know that one was aged 45, and the other was 30. They said that the SUV was traveling at a very high rate of speed on the Bronx River Expressway, Parkway, and for some reason, they don't know why at this point, it hit a barrier and went flying over the overpass, about 50 to 60 feet into the air. And the same distance down before it came crashing down in the very heavily brush area of the southeast perimeter of the Bronx Zoo.

We're standing at the - one of the side entrances right now. Not near any of the animal exhibits or any of the visitors, totally out of the public view. This SUV was crushed. It landed upside down. And all the people inside were pronounced dead at the scene. Because it landed in such a heavily brush area, they had to bring in a heat- sensing camera to see whether any of the victims had possibly flown out of the vehicle.

As I said, a horrific scene, a terrible one. And of course, the investigation is ongoing. Alison?

KOSIK: One question here for you, Susan. I know you said they were driving at a high rate of speed. Was it erratic? Did drivers who saw this happen, did they see the van, the SUV driving in an erratic fashion?

CANDIOTTI: Well, this is what's interesting. They've talked to at least one eyewitness, I am told, who said that it wasn't apparent to them what caused the SUV to suddenly cross over, hit a barrier and go flying over the bridge. So if something had happened, if they were distracted by something, whether it was a medical issue, it's far too soon for authorities to say what caused the vehicle to go flying over the overpass.

KOSIK: OK. Susan Candiotti in New York with the latest. Thanks for joining us.

Still no official confirmation from China or the United States that a prominent human rights activist is under American protection in Beijing. Questions about the exact whereabouts of Chen Guangcheng are swirling just a few days after secretary of state Hillary Clinton arrives for annual talks with Chinese officials.

CNN's Stan Grant is in Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): A lot of speculation that in fact is behind these walls here at the U.S. embassy. Now, according to an activist, a friend of Chen's who spoke directly to CNN. He says that he brought Chen here after he escaped from his captives in his village just a matter of days ago. And this activist said that he has the photos to prove it.

(voice-over): These photos show Huhja and his wife meeting Chen Guangcheng who says these were taken just in the past few days.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: Chen escaped from house arrest in China a few days ago. He was convicted of organizing protests against the government.

Back here in the U.S., fire officials in St. Louis, Missouri, are launching an investigation after a sports bar tent collapsed during a severe storm over the weekend. One person was killed, 16 were seriously hurt. And almost 100 others suffered minor injuries. Officials say 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts lifted the tent right off the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF DENNIS JENKERSON, ST. LOUIS FIRE DEPT.: I got hit with the metal pipes, the stands that hold these things down, the wire, we've got electric inside this tent. We had a mix of about everything that could happen here. We had live wires laying on the ground. We got some severe injuries to quite a few people.

DEPUTY CHIEF JOHN ALTMANN, ST. LOUIS FIRE DEPT.: We understand there were about 100, 150 people under the tent at the time the weather came in. The music was loud. People had been, you know, in attendance at a ball game all afternoon. And I don't think they were really aware the seriousness of the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Three people are dead, a fourth is missing after an accident during a California-to-Mexico sailing race. Race organizers say the sailboat likely collided with a much bigger vessel. Rescuers are still searching for the fourth crew member. The deaths are the first in the race's 65-year history.

Londoners say they are shocked to learn that the British Army may be setting up surface-to-air missiles right in their neighborhood as part of the security preparation for the summer Olympic games. The Army passed out these leaflets in the East London neighborhood of Tower Hamlet warning them that they may see anti-aircraft missiles as the games get closer. Some residents say it's an overreaction.

It's one of the best-known American tragedies, the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. But now there's a new account of what happened that night in 1968. As you know, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to life as the lone shooter. But his attorneys are hoping for a new trial. Among the evidence they may present is the story told by Nina Rhodes Hughes. That's here right there on the left with Robert F. Kennedy. She was there at the Ambassador Hotel the night Kennedy was shot.

And in an exclusive interview with CNN, she says there's part of the story the FBI has ignored all these years. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NINA RHODES HUGHES, WITNESS TO RFK ASSASSINATION IN 1968 (ON THE PHONE): There were more than eight shots. And interesting that you read whatever the FBI issued, everybody said eight shots, not. I wish there were some recordings of me that night. I did give an interview to someone with a microphone where I said there were at least 12, maybe 14. And I know there was, because I heard the rhythm in my head. And I know the first two or three shots, I wasn't aware as I said I thought they were flashbulbs. What has to come out is that there was another shooter to my right. And Robert Kennedy was also to my right where Sirhan Sirhan was almost straight ahead. And to my left standing on some steel, you know, raised platform. And that there were two shooters. It must come out and who they were. It must come out who the other shooter is, because there definitely was another shooter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Now, Rhodes Hughes was never called as a witness in the original trial. But she says she just wants to get her story out. A federal judge is reviewing that story right now. I'll talk with Nina Rhodes-Hughes in our 5:00 hour.

This week President Obama officially kicks off his re-election campaign. That's serious stuff. Last night he was busted out the jokes at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The question is, of course, was he really funny. Find out next when CNN's senior political contributor Ron Brownstein weighs in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: President Obama is planning to officially launch his campaign against Mitt Romney this week with rallies in the key states of Ohio and Virginia. Republicans are already accusing him of misusing taxpayer funds by campaigning on trips the administration has labeled official business.

Meantime, Mitt Romney is trying to convince a couple of his Republican opponents to endorse him now that they're out of the race.

CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein joins me now from Washington to talk about the latest twists and turns in the campaign. Hi, Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Alison.

KOSIK: So President Obama has been doing lots of traveling to key campaign states.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

KOSIK: This week the GOP chairman accused the president's campaign of misusing taxpayer funds to campaign. Anything to this or is this kind of just that general sign that the general election fight is, you know, off and running to the races?

BROWNSTEIN: I think, more the latter than the former but, you know, the fact is, the president did make a series of appearances this week on college campuses that all happened to be in swing states in support of his view on holding down the interest rate on student loans. And I think the Republican complaint is something we often hear in a race with an incumbent president. I would say though it seems to have gotten the administration's attention because they have as you pointed out had the rallies next weekend that are officially launching the campaign as campaign rallies in the critical states of Ohio and Virginia.

KOSIK: OK. And switching gears to Gingrich now. Sort of all the talk here. This week Newt Gingrich finally, is going to announce he's dropping out. Mitt Romney still hasn't gotten an endorsement from Rick Santorum. How hard is Romney going to have to work to get these two on board, you know, for a show of unity?

BROWNSTEIN: You know, I remember when at the front end when people announced when they were going to announce for president, you know, now you're saying announcing you're going to be leaving the race. You know, you don't want to leave the race and have people say, "Hasn't he already left the race?" So in the sense, in that sense, I think both Gingrich and Santorum have to worry about overplaying their hand. I mean, the fact is in modern politics, the parties really do consolidate very quickly behind their nominee.

Mitt Romney is polling very high among Republicans, around 90 percent. And I think if Santorum and Gingrich drag this on too long, they're at a greater risk of diminishing themselves than diminishing Romney.

KOSIK: Yes, I mean at some point, you know, it's almost becoming laughable that Gingrich is announcing he's getting out. Does it really matter whether he endorses him or not?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, as I said, I mean is he still in? I mean you kind of had that reaction from many voters who kind of have the sense of the Republican race as having been decided. I mean I think in the end, everybody will endorse Mitt Romney. Obviously it is a tremendous priority for Republicans to unseat Obama just as it was for Democrats in '04 to unseat George W. Bush. And that is a very powerful force, sort of compelling everybody to come together. Because you know, when the party is this committed to defeating an incumbent president, if you seem to be doing anything that gets in the way of that goal, it has costs to your long-term viability inside the party.

So I think both Santorum and Gingrich, as I say, probably have more to lose from dragging this out than Romney does.

KOSIK: OK. Well, you write in the "National Journal" this week that "On the central issue of the role of the federal government in American life, the distance between Obama and Romney may actually be wider than the differences than any two nominees since Democrat Lyndon Johnson and Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964." Is the economy going to be the battleground where we see the biggest fight over these differences?

BROWNSTEIN: I think it will be two places, the economy will be one, how to control the federal deficit is the other. We have diametrical views on what it takes to get the economy moving at a faster phase. With the Republicans and Mitt Romney and the Republicans in Congress arguing that the key is cutting taxes further, cutting regulation and cutting spending. President Obama arguing that we have to kind of make building block foundational investments and things like alternative energy, education, R&D and infrastructure to build what he calls a stable foundation for prosperity.

So that's a big gap. You also have an equally big gap on the question of what to do about the long-term federal deficit where you have the Republicans gain talking for about across the board tax cuts and in the Mitt Romney world, the top tax rate would be 28 percent. President Obama would let it revert it to 39.6 where it was under Bill Clinton. Mitt Romney will end the federal entitlements, things like food stamps and Medicaid and convert them into (INAUDIBLE). He changed Medicare from its current format into something like a premium support or a voucher system. The president would have some cuts but would maintain the current form of those programs.

So we are talking about a very big debate that is not only about the last few years, but really the way the federal government is operated in many effects since the great society under Lyndon Johnson.

KOSIK: OK. One last question for you. One issue Mitt Romney has been - he's certainly been outspoken on is illegal immigration. Now you say Marco Rubio could offer him a much needed lifeline to the Hispanic community with his revised Dream Act. Will Romney actually take that chance? BROWNSTEIN: You know, so far, the sign is that Romney is being very cautious about it. If you recall in the primary, Mitt Romney repeatedly used immigration as an issue to try to undermine the conservative credentials of his rivals, whether Rick Perry or Newt Gingrich. And as a result he moved to very conservative positions on the whole range of immigration issues, pledging to veto the Dream Act and talking about self-deportation for 11 million illegal immigrants who are here. You can see the results of that in these post-primary polls where President Obama is running at least as high as the 67 percent among the Hispanics that he won in 2008.

Now here comes Marco Rubio, the Cuban-American Republican senator from Florida, he says he has an alternative version of the Dream Act that will allow young people who were brought here illegally by their parents, not to become citizens but to remain in the U.S. legally on a work visa. Mitt Romney was asked about it, he was very cool. (INAUDIBLE) his communications adviser was asked again yesterday by (INAUDIBLE) of "The Washington Post," at a public event, again didn't dismiss it, but kept their distance.

This is a high stakes decision, Alison, for Romney. Because on the one end if he embraces it, it could help him build some bridges back in the Hispanic community, but if he publicly rejects it and snubs it, that could compound the problems he's dealing with already.

KOSIK: OK. CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, thanks for joining us.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

KOSIK: All right. Enough with the serious political news. Time to give you a glimpse into last night's White House Correspondents' Dinner where comedian Jimmy Kimmel and President Obama (INAUDIBLE) the latest Washington scandal for a little laugh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Four years ago, I looked like this. Today I look like this. And four years from now, I will look like this.

JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: Mr. President, do you remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow? That was hilarious.

You know, there's a term for guys like President Obama. Probably not two terms, but -

OBAMA: We've got men in tuxes, women in gowns, fine wine, first- class entertainment. I was just relieved to learn this was not a GSA conference.

KIMMEL: Anyone who has tickets to the GSA after party, the plane is leaving for Four Seasons in Dubai at midnight on the dot. Don't be later, you'll miss out on your complementary white tiger cub. OBAMA: It's great to be here this evening in the vast, magnificent Hilton ball room. Or what Mitt Romney would call a little fixer upper.

KIMMEL: We have numerous members of the print media in the attendance which reminds me of a riddle, what's black and white and red all over? Nothing anymore.

OBAMA: Even Sarah Palin's getting back into the game. Guest hosting on the "Today" show. Which reminds me of an old saying. What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? A pit bull is delicious.

KIMMEL: I do have a lot of jokes about the Secret Service. You know, I told them for $800 I wouldn't tell them, but they only offered $30. So-

OBAMA: I really do enjoy attending these dinners. In fact, I had a lot more material prepared, but I have to get the Secret Service home in time for their new curfew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: It's one of the big yardsticks we always use to measure how the economy is doing. In a minute, we'll hear why this week's employment report is even more important than usual.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: It's a big week coming up for the U.S. economy. We're going to be getting a very important gauge of the jobs market on Friday with the Labor Department April jobs report and the burning question is, whether we're headed for what's considered a double-dip recession.

I want to bring in Todd Schoenberger. He's managing principal at the Black Bay group. Hi, Todd, how are you?

TODD SCHOENBERGER, MANAGING PRINCIPAL, THE BLACKBAY GROUP: Doing great, Alison. Thanks for having me.

KOSIK: So tell me about this trifecta of jobs, ADP employment, jobless claims, this sort of trifecta of jobs report that we're getting this week. What's the expectation for Friday's big jobs report especially?

SCHOENBERGER: Well, Wall Street is looking for 162,000 jobs. Now, that's critically important because if you look at last month, we saw 120,000 jobs reported. And in the preceding three months before that, we saw over 200,000 per month. So looking forward, we really need to start seeing tremendous job growth. 160,000 jobs is great, but it's not magnificent. That's what this economy really needs.

KOSIK: Right. Are we really seeing a sort of a stalling out of the jobs market? Or the jobs momentum that we saw in the few earlier months of the year? Or is this more of a trend or was that sort of a blip?

SCHOENBERGER: Well, it sure looks like it, Alison. Because when you look at the jobless claims figures tat we've been receiving, and those come out every Thursday, those numbers have actually been going higher. So people are losing their jobs and therefore that's usually a sign that companies and employers are not going to be hiring as fast.

KOSIK: So you say it's a trend? I'm just making sure, you mean it's a trend?

SCHOENBERGER: It is a trend. And more importantly, though, if you look at the last six months, 70 percent of all the jobs created in this country are of the low-income variety. Jobs in leisure, retail and hospitality. So moving forward, you really want to see job growth but you really want to see the jobs that are of the high income variety because those are the employers - or employees who will probably be more likely to purchase a car or home. You know, the big ticket items. And that's what this economy really needs.

KOSIK: Well, personal income and spending numbers for March that come out this week, will that give us any more insight whether or not we're really kind of falling backwards at this point? And I'm talking about these numbers are actually the numbers that of how much income people made, you know, what people made and what they spend. So tell me about that.

SCHOENBERGER: Yes, you're right, Alison. That number comes out tomorrow at 8:30. And what's critically important about this number is that it's going to show you how much money Americans are making. The consensus estimate is that we're going to see a two tenths of one percent rise over the preceding month. And then also the personal spending number, now we're looking at five tenths of one percent on this. But this will be down.

So when you start thinking about those higher oil prices which obviously translate to higher prices at the pump, and don't forget higher food costs at the grocery store, that could also translate to a lower spending number. So that will impact the economy going forward, because we need consumers to go out and spend.

KOSIK: Now, we got a GDP number, economic growth came in worse than expected on Friday, 2.2 percent, compared to the fourth quarter of three percent. It does feel like we're going backwards. Although you look deeper on those GDP numbers, consumers are still spending so what's going on here. We're getting a mixed picture. How is the economy moving?

SCHOENBERGER: That's right, Alison, because when you look behind the curtain, and you really dig deep into the GDP report, you'll notice that the savings rate went down. And this was the first time in nine months that we've seen this number go down. It went from 4.5 percent down to 3.9 percent. So that's a sign that Americans right now are not saving as much obviously, but then they're clearly having to dip into other maybe credit cards to try to cover their monthly obligations. Because we've seen revolving debt actually increase over the last 30 days.

So that's a critically important number. Because moving forward you need this economy, you want Americans to save. You want them to spend. But more importantly you don't want them to fall further into debt. And everything is really pointing to some dire times in quarters to come.

KOSIK: And quickly, yes or no, are we headed toward a double- dip? We're getting that talk again. It's coming back into the picture. Yes or no?

SCHOENBERGER: Yes, we are, Alison. There's no question about it.

KOSIK: OK. Well, we shall see these numbers on Friday. Todd Schoenberger with the BlackBay Group, thanks for joining us.

SCHOENBERGER: Thank you, Alison.

KOSIK: So while we're on the subject of money, $80 million, that's what experts are predicting will be the starting bid for the iconic painting "The Scream." It goes up for sale Tuesday at Sotheby's in New York. Earlier I spoke with Susan Prideaux. She's the author of the biography Edvard Munch behind "The Scream.' I asked her why the owner is selling the last privately owned version of the famous painting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN PRIDEAUX, BIOGRAPHER, EDVARD MUNCH: The owner is selling it. He feels that it's such a great thing, it really should be in the public domain rather than in private hands. And with the money that he's raising, he is going to build a new museum devoted to the Art of Edvard Munch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And Munch actually painted four versions of "The Scream," two hanging Munch Museum in Oslo and the third is at the National Gallery in Norway.

Nearly a year since Osama Bin Laden's death, the fight against terrorism is far from over. But Al Qaeda is no longer the biggest threat. Details coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Three people all suspected militants killed in northern Pakistan today. Intelligence officials there say an American drone fired missiles at a school where the militants were hiding. It happened in a part of Pakistan widely believed to be a haven for Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives.

Fighter jets from Sudan attacked military units today across the border in south Sudan. Look at this. Soldiers and this TV news crew ran for cover during the air strikes. Several south Sudanese troops were hurt. South Sudan split from Sudan last year after a long civil war. The two nations are still at odds over where the border should be. And how to share oil production.

Back here in the U.S., new details about that bunker standoff near Seattle. It ended yesterday when the S.W.A.T. team blew a hole in the bunker and found the body of Peter Keller. He was accused of killing his wife and daughter. Here's what they found once they got inside that bunker. Supplies of food and other things, but mostly a lot of guns. Police say Keller apparently shot himself to death.

A year ago Wednesday, U.S. commandos flew into Pakistan with an extremely dangerous and difficult mission ahead. Conducting a raid on Osama Bin Laden's compound. The world's most notorious terrorist was killed after a decade on the run.

CNN's Athena Jones takes a look at the threat from Al Qaeda now and the global fight on terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was an historic moment.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tonight I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda.

JONES (voice-over): After a risky overnight raid, America's enemy number one was dead.

LEON PANETTA, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I think the one thing all of us feel pretty good about, that were involved in this operation, is that, as a result of what we did, America's safer.

JONES (voice-over): It's a view shared by national security analysts. Peter Bergen, who interviewed bin Laden in 1997, says Al Qaeda is in terrible shape.

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Almost all their leaders are dead or captured. They haven't mounted a successful attack in the West since the London attacks of July 2005. Their brand is severely tarnished.

JONES (voice-over): But government officials and experts warn that the fight against global extremism isn't over. So-called lone wolf attackers, like the man who plotted to bomb Times Square, the Christmas 2009 underwear bomber and the man who killed seven people in southern France earlier this year remain a threat.

Terrorism expert Bruce Riedel is a former CIA officer.

BRUCE REIDEL, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: We have Al Qaeda franchises in places like Yemen, Iraq, which remain dangerous, and we have the idea of Al Qaeda, the idea of global jihad, which inspires a small minority of fanatics to carry out mass murder and commit suicide.

JONES (voice-over): Riedel said Americans shouldn't underestimate the importance of getting rid of bin Laden and people like American-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, killed in a drone strike in Yemen last fall. U.S. counterterrorism efforts are aimed at keeping up the pressure on al-Awlaki's sponsor, Al Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula and other Al Qaeda allies who are still bent on attacking us.

Analysts say the Arab spring has changed the game.

REIDEL: The Arab spring showed that dictators could be toppled through Twitter, not terror. And that's not Al Qaeda's M.O.

JONES (voice-over): Peter Bergen said it's important to maintain perspective.

BERGEN: Seventeen people have died since 9/11 in the United States at the hands of Al Qaeda or people inspired by their message. About 300 Americans die every year in accidental (inaudible) drownings. We have a sort of irrational fear of (inaudible) drownings.

JONES (voice-over): Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: At a time when church attendance is dwindling, Joel Osteen's church packs them to the rafters. We're going to talk about his secret for success and his reluctant steps into politics, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: CNN's Belief Blog covers faith aspects of the day's biggest stories. And this week, one story that caught our eye was an interview with evangelist Joel Osteen. He's the senior pastor at Lakewood Church, often called the biggest church in America. CNN.com religion editor Dan Gilgoff joins me now from Washington.

Hi, Dan.

DAN GILGOFF, CNN RELIGION EDITOR: Hi, Alison.

KOSIK: So Osteen is in Washington for a big event at Nationals Stadium and you got a chance to sit down with him for a conversation earlier this week. And this, of course, was between him taking batting practice with the Washington Nationals and delivering opening prayer in Congress.

You know, at a time when most churches in this country are shrinking, Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston boasts, what, 40,000 weekly members? What is his secret?

GILGOFF: That's right. It's funny, most churches are shrinking right now. But if you ask Osteen, he thinks Christianity has never been in better shape because his church is growing, and all of the churches of his megapastor friends are growing, too.

I think one of his secrets is a message that's really all about self-empowerment and self-help. And he doesn't talk a lot about sin; it's about as far away from fire and brimstone as you could get.

And I think, on the one hand, this is his attraction. Tens of thousands of people are headed to his church each week. On the other hand, he's become something of a controversial figure. So there are other Christians who criticize him for preaching what they call a Christianity Lite.

KOSIK: Hmm, interesting. OK. So, yes. And this is someone, no doubt, who has also had some political influence, although reluctantly. And I want to show you what he had to say to our Wolf Blitzer this week about Mitt Romney's faith. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL OSTEEN, PASTOR: I just think it's different callings that you feel called to. For instance, Billy Graham is a mentor of mine and been a friend to me and all. And when he was here, he was an evangelist going out from city to city, preaching repentance and you need to come to know Christ.

Well, the people I'm preaching to at the church each week, you know, probably 95 percent of them know the Lord, so I can't just keep going, OK, guys, you've got to get to the cross, Jesus died for us. I mean, we do do that, I do it a lot of times at the end of the message.

But a lot of my message is, OK, now I know the Lord. I believe in the cross. I believe he was raised from the dead. I believe in the blood of Christ and all that. But now how do I live my Christian life?

KOSIK: OK, so clearly it wasn't with Wolf Blitzer. But you get the point here. This was about his calling. How important is this, Dan?

GILGOFF: Yes, well, he's an important political figure. This week he said to us that he thought that Mitt Romney was a brother in Christ. And Mitt Romney, of course, is a Mormon. Joel Osteen, one of the most influential evangelicals in the country, I think that really is a big deal.

One of the top goals of Romney's advisers that work on religious outreach is to get evangelicals to come out this time around and say it's OK to vote for a Mormon. That didn't really happen when Romney ran for president in 2008.

Now, Osteen didn't endorse him, far from it. By coming out, though, and saying he is a Christian, Romney is a Christian, he's one of us, that goes a long way in lending him legitimacy and making it, quote, "OK for evangelicals to vote for him." I think it is a big deal.

KOSIK: OK, so -- and this church is no doubt massive. It preaches its own version of Christianity, to a degree. You asked him a little bit about this. What was his response?

GILGOFF: Yes, you know, he doesn't wade into politics. I think that's a big key to his appeal. I think you might see more preachers following his lead in this election. I think that a lot of Americans are tired of their religious leaders talking about polarizing politics, talking about hot-button issues.

And so even though Osteen is controversial, I think you might see more preachers preaching a message like his, very soft, very appealing, very light on politics, even in an election year like this one.

KOSIK: OK, CNN.com's religion editor, Dan Gilgoff, thanks for being with us.

GILGOFF: Good to be here, Alison. Thanks for having me.

KOSIK: And you can read more on the interview with Joel Osteen by going to CNN.com/belief.

A group of American Christian singers got a rare chance to visit North Korea. They're going to share their experience with us right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: When most of us think of North Korea, we think of dictators, rocket launches and extreme poverty. It's not the kind of place you would expect a Southern Baptist singing group to get standing ovations.

The 150-member Sons of Jubal chorus and orchestra is just back from a trip that it made to North Korea. It's believed they are the largest musical group from America to ever visit North Korea. Conductor Jon Duncan and chorus member Darwin Caldwell are with me now to talk about their extraordinary trip.

Jon, let me start with you. How did this trip come about and what did you think when you heard you were heading to North Korea?

JON DUNCAN, CONDUCTOR, SONS OF JUBAL: Well, it's been a three- year process, and seeing this come to fruition, and it's as a result of Global Resource Services, that is a humanitarian aid organization that the Georgia Baptist Convention participates with and helps and supports.

And part of their program is not only humanitarian aid, their food distribution and medical supplies, but they also have education exchange and cultural exchanges. And one of the primary functions of the cultural exchange with DPRK is through their international music festival. And so they asked GRS to select a group from the United States to represent the United States there for that festival. And so when the opportunity presented itself, we thought that would be an interesting challenge and we wanted to be part of it.

KOSIK: Did you get a little nervous going to North Korea?

DUNCAN: Well, it's always a little bit nervous, because just acquiring the visas can be a real challenge. It's kind of hard to plan too far in advance.

KOSIK: Now, Darwin, you were in North Korea during a failed attempt by the government to launch a rocket during the new leader's first public speech. Did you know anything like that was going on?

DARWIN CALDWELL, PASTOR, JEFFERSON AVE. BAPTIST CHURCH: No, Alison, we didn't know anything about the political part that was taking place in North Korea.

Our primary objective was just to try to be friendly and do a good job musically and to be as accepting as possible to the things that take place.

KOSIK: All right. So you were there to sing, as a Christian group, in a communist country. But were there any kind of restrictions on what you could sing?

DUNCAN: Well, we anticipated that there might be some restrictions. However, when it came right down to it, there was outstanding freedom that was allowed us to sing songs from our classical repertoire, musical show tunes and also songs of faith.

KOSIK: And you were also asked to sing in Korean. I want to -- we've heard -- I don't know if we heard some of that just before. Let's go ahead and play some of that.

DUNCAN: Sure.

(MUSIC PLAYING, SONS OF JUBAL)

KOSIK: How did you prepare for that, to sing that song?

DUNCAN: Well, we worked on all our Korean music very diligently. We had Korean translators that would help us, selected the music that would be appropriate, at the same time, help us understand the language, articulate it well, because we didn't want to present something that was less than excellent.

KOSIK: What was the most memorable moment for you?

CALDWELL: I think when the response of the congregation, when we sang the Korean number. When we begun -- when we opened up with the first words of it, they applauded and hollered, screamed. It was difficult to keep a good tone going there to keep all the emotion from stirring up within us.

KOSIK: Did you interact with any of the North Koreans?

CALDWELL: Very little. We had some pens, music pens that we tried to give. And -- but there was very little reaction. They -- some would accepted it and some would not.

KOSIK: All right. Thanks so much for joining us. Very interesting.

CALDWELL: Thank you.

DUNCAN: Thank you.

KOSIK: And mix in a little Cajun music, with a little environmental activism, an all-star group of musicians joins forces at Jazz Fest in New Orleans. (Inaudible) cause right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

KOSIK: That's just some of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival under way right now. And this year some of Louisiana's best known musicians are bringing more to the festival than just music. They're joining forces to save Louisiana's coastline, and they call themselves Voices of the Wetlands All-Stars. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield talks with one of the group's founders, Tab Benoit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The last time we spoke, we were talking about the wetlands.

TAB BENOIT, MUSICIAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: The oil spell and the damage. And the recovery.

BENOIT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Since that time, what have been your observations about the wetlands that you love so much and are so committed to?

BENOIT: Well, we really -- I really haven't seen the commitment from, you know, the federal government to step up and do what needs to be done here. I mean, this is a federal government issue. It's a Corps of Engineers issue and it needs to be addressed. We're still losing an acre an hour.

WHITFIELD: Is that what's at the root of your music, the Voice of the Wetlands collaboration, you, Cyril Neville --

BENOIT: Dr. John, yes. We got together before Katrina. I mean, I'm a pilot, so I spend a lot of time flying pipeline patrols along the coast and looking at it from the air. You can see where we were messing things up. You can see how we could do it differently. And I started getting with the guys who are musicians in town and trying to get a group together to make some noise and tell everybody, look, we've got to address this.

And this was pre-Katrina, you know, especially New Orleans. I knew New Orleans was vulnerable and we had to talk about it.

WHITFIELD: Was it hard to do?

BENOIT: Oh, it was really hard to do. I mean, because all of this information is just not out there, where you can go find it. I mean, if you didn't hear from people like myself, who knew what was going on, you didn't hear it at all, you know? It would be a little blurb in the paper every now and then about some issue that a decision was made to do something there.

But none of it was in a big way, significant enough to stop coastal erosion, because the erosion process is happening because the river's not feeding the delta. We've got to -- we need water to compete with water. You know, we've got to get fresh water to keep the saltwater from eating everything alive.

WHITFIELD: At what point did you realize, or come to the realization that music could really be a conduit to help convey that message, and could also help activate some solutions for some remedies?

BENOIT: I realized it when people tried to get me to run for public office and I realized that once -- I knew people that went that route, and once they got elected, they lost power. They lost the ability to tell the truth. They lost the ability to go out there and say, this is what I see, this is what needs to happen. I understood that.

So I figured, look, we've got a platform already where we can say whatever we have to say and whatever we want to say. We're not obligated to say it one way or the other to keep our people happy. We can tell the truth. And music around here is the truth. You know, it always has been. That's why the music is so powerful around here, because we've gone through powerful things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And coming up next hour, Fred's going to be talking with Irma Thomas, she's the Soul Queen of New Orleans. She's a homegrown talent and a straight-up gospel singer. She said she uses her music to get through tough times.

And it's been one year of royal wedded bliss. William and Kate are celebrating their anniversary today. We're going to take a look back at Kate's first year as a royal, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Severe storms in St. Louis, Missouri, turned deadly this weekend. One person was killed and more than a dozen people were seriously hurt after 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts tore through a sports bar tent. CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is in the CNN Weather Center.

Jacqui, I understand hail had a lot to do with the storm damage?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: A lot of hail, all over the place, damage to buildings, damage to cars. Take a look at some of the video. This is shot by a storm chaser from (inaudible), Illinois.

This is just outside of the St. Louis area, there were more than 200 reports of severe hail. And much of this was between golf ball and baseball hail -- or baseball-sized. Look at that, compared to the size of your hand. Imagine that accelerating at you at around 100 miles per hour.

So still assessing the damage. And then our iReports catching pictures, this is from Cathy Bullington outside of Louisville, Kentucky. She said most of those cars in that parking lot were damaged from that hail.

Taking a quick look at a hail chart, by the way, just to put this in perspective for you, how big these things are, when we talk about severe hail, it's about an inch in diameter. So that's the equivalent about the size of a quarter. But some of this stuff was as large as teacup size, that's three inches in diameter, just shy of a grapefruit. So, yes, that's really incredible.

Now we are watching some thunderstorms here that are developing way out into parts of Colorado and New Mexico. Those could develop into some hailmakers. Now, the threat of severe weather really stems from that area all the way into St. Louis.

Once again, we've got the stationary boundary that's just been parked there all weekend long. And it's really the demarcation zone between the cool air to the north and warm to the south. We're just two degrees shy of a record in Atlanta, while you're looking at freeze and frost advisories in the northeast.

They're even getting helicopters out there to try and mix up the air to try and protect some of the crops in the northeast. There you can see where the advisories are in effect, and more storms along this boundary will continue tomorrow. Unfortunately, our weather kind of repeating itself here as we kick off the work week, Alison.

KOSIK: OK, Jacqui. Say, can you believe it? I can't believe it. Time flies. It's already been one year since Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot. The couple shared -- yes, just like that. But the couple shared their wedding with the world, of course. But they're celebrating their anniversary in private. CNN's Max Foster takes a look back now at the Duchess of Cambridge's first year of royal life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The biggest day of her life, and one of the biggest media events in history. She entered Westminster Abbey as Kate Middleton and emerged as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge.

She was the newest member of the royal family, but already one of its most famous. The duchess' first big test as a working royal was her tour with Prince William of North America.

PRINCE WILLIAM: I'm excited to be able to share this with Catherine, because she's told me --

(APPLAUSE)

FOSTER (voice-over): She appeared so relaxed, so composed, she prompted comparisons to her late mother-in-law, Diana, who also had a talent for wooing the crowds.

Catherine's visit to Canada was the highlight of her year, a senior royal source has told me. By the time the tour hit Los Angeles, Catherine was declared one of the biggest stars in the world by many of the Hollywood A-listers and studio execs who clamored to meet her.

On her return to the U.K., Catherine accompanied her husband's visit to his causes, while she researched her own. In January, her charities were announced, and they focused on art, addiction and hospice care, although it was nearly always what she wore that made the headlines first.

CATHERINE, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: I'm really sorry that William can't be here today.

(LAUGHTER)

CATHERINE: He would love it here.

FOSTER (voice-over): With her inaugural speech kicked off, Catherine completed the full range of public duties expected of a royal. The palace source confirmed that her induction is complete and she's a fully fledged member of the royal family.

William can't take all the credit for her success. His father, Prince Charles, has also played a key role in helping Catherine adjust, as has the Queen. CNN has learned that Charles and Catherine have become so close, they now go on private visits together to art galleries and opera houses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: How does Catherine herself feel about the past year? I'm told she enjoyed all of those public engagements. But she would never rate her own achievements, only saying she has achieved her objectives, Alison?

KOSIK: Thanks, Max. We'll take a look at how Kate Middleton has impacted the fashion world. That's coming up in a little bit.