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SUV Falls 60 Feet, 7 Die; Obama Pokes Fun at Himself; Man Killed in Tent Collapse; Kate Middleton Becomes One of World's Biggest Stars; Civil War Continues in Sudan; Do Athletes Think Rules Don't Apply to Them?
Aired April 29, 2012 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: An SUV filled with an elderly couple, young children and a baby plunges off the bridge, lands near a zoo, killing everyone inside. Driver error or dangerous roadway? That's what investigators want to know.
The notorious warlord who sparked worldwide outrage and contributed to a filmmaker's very public meltdown may be closer to being captured -- thanks to the U.S. military.
And bucket lists are so five years ago, not to mention they're usually for old people. Not this one, for a baby. It's a tear jerker gone viral.
(MUSIC)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Thank you so much for joining us.
We're going to begin with that horrific story out of New York where seven people, including three children, have died in a crash, their SUV flipped over a guardrail and plunged 60 feet to the ground.
I want to go straight now to CNN's national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, standing by right now.
What are police saying? Do they know what exactly happened, Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, they don't. You know, this was a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon and then something went terribly, terribly wrong. This SUV as you mentioned, with seven people inside, police say driven by a woman, 45 years old. There was another woman in the car, as well as an elderly couple, and three children, ages 5, 15 and 3, all of them wearing seat belts.
But police say, for some reason, this woman traveling south, in a six- lane highway, in the left-hand lane, the high speed lane, for some reason lost control of their car, they don't know exactly how fast she was going hit the median concrete barrier, about two to three feet high. According to witnesses overcompensated, may a sharp left-hand turn and went sailing across three lanes of traffic, going in the same direction and went over a fence, a middle fence, about three feet high, sailing 60 feet into the air and then going 60 feet down. The car landed, flipped over, it was crushed, everyone pronounced dead at the scene.
Don, an awful accident described as horrific by veteran investigators.
LEMON: My goodness. Any witnesses, did anyone see anything to figure out exactly what caused the driver to swerve and hit the median, Susan?
CANDIOTTI: They are talking to a number of witnesses, but investigators say right now it is far to early to say what might have caused this woman to lose control of this car, so many possibilities, possible mechanical failure, was she detracted by something going on in the car? Did she have some kind of a medical condition? All are, of course, there are many possibilities and right now, they'll have to obviously, do an autopsy, find out what happened.
And as you saw a short time ago, they were able to bring that vehicle out of a heavily brushed area and they drove it out of the crash scene ands away for further investigation.
LEMON: All right. Susan, thank you.
What we do know, it is terrible. This stretch of road is no stranger to bad wrecks. Back in 2006, six people were killed and almost exactly the same spot.
I want to go now to CNN radio correspondent Steve Kastenbaum. He joins me now from New York.
Steve, you covered the wreck near this site six years ago. Was anything done to your knowledge to improve safety of the road after that crash?
STEVE KASTENBAUM, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Oh, Don, you know, as soon as I heard about this accident, I got chills because I remember standing at that very same stretch looking at the center median and thinking it was unusually slow.
This was an old section of the Bronx River park way, one of the earliest park ways in New York. And because it was so old, the center median was a lot lower than most highways back in 2006 and it was a horrific accident there that resulted in five family members dying on that roadway, a six person died a few days later. And after that accident, they did make some improvements to the center median. In fact, I drove by that area a few weeks ago and I couldn't help but notice that the center median was higher than it was back on that day in 2006.
But an eerie similarity between these two accidents, the Gardner family back in 2008, on July 9th, was heading to a basketball tournament in a northbound lane, it was an eye shot of today's accident actually. And for some reason, the car jumped the center median, slammed into a light post and it resulted in five deaths on that day and a sixth a few days later.
LEMON: Steve, I have to ask you. So you said there have been improvements in the median, in that center median to make it a bit higher. Is there -- is the Bronx River park way, right?
KASTENBAUM: Yes, it's the Bronx River park way.
LEMON: Is it a straight away? Is it a curve? Is there something maybe unusual about that particular spot that would cause someone to lose control?
KASTENBAUM: I'll tell you, in that section of highway, it goes from being elevated to back down at the street level. And in that elevated section, it's an old section of the highway, there's a part of it that has, as you can see in that picture there, there's no shoulder on that side of the elevated part of the highway. I believe that was the accident I was at, yes this was an accident from 2006. You can see in that area there was no shoulder and as a result it was an area that people tended to speed in because they knew there was no place for a police car to be sitting to catch speeders and there was talk that speed may have played a role in that accident back in 2006 and that's where speed was a factor here.
But you can see in that shot that we just saw, that the center median back then was much, much lower than it is today and it was the reason why the car back then was able to ride up on to it and slam into the light post.
But, again, I just couldn't believe that another accident took place in almost the same exact spot, almost six years to the day afterwards.
LEMON: What's interesting, though, when you're looking at those things, when you're driving, you're investigating right on top of it, you may not notice it. But if you're driving, it could be an optical illusion in that area, that throws you off as a driver. That you never know when you're approaching that area, you said, if it goes from being elevated to being flat.
I have to ask you this, though, because out of 314 bridges in the Bronx, the Department of Transportation in New York says 235 were found deficient and that is a big number. But that doesn't mean that they're not drivable. It just means that they need improvement.
Is this a bigger issue in New York state do you think?
KASTENBAUM: I think you hit upon something key here, Don. Back in 2010, this bridge was one of several in New York state that were determined to be functionally obsolete and not structurally -- the structural integrity of the bridge was called into question. But when we look deeper into the meaning of that, what that definition means, it doesn't mean that the bridges are necessarily unsafe, but it means that they don't meet today's standards, contemporary standards. So, these bridges needed to be brought up to date to meet today's safety standards. And this particular portion of the Bronx River park way, this bridge that this vehicle went off of today, it was declared in 2010 the functionally obsolete.
LEMON: Steve Kastenbaum, we really appreciate your reporting. Good stuff there. Thank you for keeping us up to date on this, Steve Kastenbaum. I want to go now to the Pacific coast where three people are dead, a fourth is missing, after an accident during a sailing race. The yacht was heading from Newport Beach, California, to Ensenada, Mexico. Race organizers say it likely collided with a much bigger vessel overnight Saturday near the Coronado Islands. That's where they found the three bodies and the wreckage. The Coast Guard and Mexican navy are searching for that missing fourth crewmember.
LEMON: For most Americans right now, we lived under the very real threat of terrorism, but that threat may have been lessened a year ago this week -- when U.S. commandos flew into Pakistan on a singular mission and get -- to get Osama bin Laden. And after a nighttime raid on his compound, bin Laden was dead.
Today, President Obama's counterterrorism chief said the U.S. still has work to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BRENNAN, WHITE HOUSE SR. ADVISOR ON COUNTERTERRORISM: We're on the path to al Qaeda's destruction and the president has committed that we're not going to rest until al Qaeda is destroyed as an organization, in the Afghan-Pak area as well as in other regions in the world. It's a murderous organization that has killed many Americans as well as many other nationalities over the course of the past decade and more. And, so we are going to make sure that that organization is destroyed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And now, we're seeing recent evidence of that ongoing fight. On orders from the White House, the U.S. has expanded the use of drones against militants in Yemen, even when their exact identities aren't known. Operations can be green lighted based solely on intel that a target poses a threat against the U.S.
In fact, this week, officials said at least 52 al Qaeda militants were killed in Yemen, including one of the terror group's top commanders.
Coming up, I'm going to talk to retired General Spider Marks, a year after the death of Osama bin Laden. Are we any safer? Make sure you join me next hour, 7:30 Eastern, for unique and expert insight from General Spider Marks. It's coming up.
Terror worries surround the upcoming London Olympics. Now, we have learned that missiles may be placed around the city.
But, first --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: Mr. President, you remember -- you remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow? That was hilarious.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Jimmy Kimmel zings the president, but Mr. Obama had some funny lines of his own. Did you hear the joke he made about eating dogs? We're talking with our political junkies, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: That music means politics and we're going to talk got it right now.
He certainly made the race interesting for a while, but Newt Gingrich is getting out. Sources close to him says Gingrich will officially end his presidential bid on Wednesday instead of Tuesday as previously reported. And for a while, he was a frontrunner, but only went on to win two primaries, South Carolina and Georgia.
At this hour, President Barack Obama holding a fundraising dinner at a private home in Virginia with former President Bill Clinton. Tickets are $20,000 each, 20,000 bucks. It's the president's second fund- raiser today.
The president went zinger for zinger with comedian Jimmy Kimmel last night at the White House correspondents' dinner. And he wasn't afraid to go there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What's afraid of a hockey mom and a pit bull? A pit bull is delicious. Of course I know everybody's predicting a nasty election and thankfully we have all agreed that families are off-limits, dogs however are apparently fair game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I'm going to bring in now, CNN contributor Will Cain and Mr. L.Z. Granderson, contributor at CNN.com and a senior writer at ESPN.
OK. That was good. Wasn't it, funny? Did you guys like it?
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: It was funny.
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It was great.
GRANDERSON: I think it was great.
LEMON: L.Z., were you surprised that the president joked about eating dogs?
GRANDERSON: No, of course not. I mean, it's pretty much his stage, right? So if you know people are whispering about him, if you know it's political fodder, the best way to get a hold of it is to beat it head on. I thought it was brilliant, just absolutely hilarious. I don't know who the wrote the jokes, but they made their own show.
LEMON: I wrote that joke. Then there was a much different ending. If he had just flipped that, it still would have been funny, the hockey mom instead of a pit bull, it still would have been a very funny joke.
So, there's a moment a little later with host Jimmy Kimmel. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMMEL: Keith Olbermann burned more bridges than the arsonist of Madison County. He has more pink slips than Marcus Bachmann.
Too soon? Too soon? If you're not familiar with Marcus Bachmann, he plays Cameron on the show "Modern Family". Oh, there he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
CAIN: OK, I have a question.
GRANDERSON: That was just wrong. That was wrong.
LEMON: More pink slips than Marcus.
CAIN: Let me ask you a question, let me be the host and ask you guys a question. And I'm genuinely curious here. If as the rumor suggests Marcus Bachmann is gay, but he hasn't come to grips with himself. Now, I'm asking two guys who've been through this process, honestly, I'm honestly curious, why is it OK to make fun of him? Was it just because it was politics? Or because he's a public figure?
GRANDERSON: Oh, Will, stop it. Stop it, Will.
LEMON: Look at this video first of all.
CAIN: No, no, you don't have to convince me of anything. I'm just asking why it's OK.
LEMON: Well, listen, before L.Z. answers, I'm just going to say this -- I'm assuming that he's flamboyant. It wasn't anything. I just thought it was a very funny joke, I didn't analyze it as much as you have, Will. But anyway, go on, L.Z.
GRANDERSON: You know what? Don and I have been friends for years, but I wasn't around Don when he was a teenager, so I don't know if he tried to convert gay people or not. But it just seems funny that when you are having flamboyant mannerisms and your livelihood is to convert gay men to be straight, it's just funny.
I don't know. I don't even care what his politics happens to be. It just kind of a funny thing just with both the two images, that's all.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: OK. Anyway, did we satisfy your curiosity, by the way, since you're so curious?
CAIN: Yes. I mean, there's no doubt it's a funny joke. But there's a lot of funny jokes in the world. I was just wondering why it was OK.
But I mean, it's a decent answer. But I'm really curious genuinely.
LEMON: All right. Let's move on.
CAIN: I didn't mean to rain on your parade.
LEMON: We'll move on before this becomes something way crazier. I can see the bloggers already.
GRANDERSON: All Will said he was curious.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: The dinner is really more of a roast these days and some people weren't laughing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMMEL: The president was very candid in an interview with "The Atlantic" a couple of weeks ago when he called Kanye West a jackass -- which no offense, sir, but I think you got the wrong West. I think you meant Allen. Do all Wests look the same to you?
Sixteen years ago, there was no Facebook, there was no Google, and a tweet was something Barbara Walters gave her do. This --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Barbara did not like that, did she, L.Z.?
CAIN: No.
GRANDERSON: No. The girlfriend did not like that at all. But I thought it was hilarious.
I guess I won't be on the view any time soon because I thought that was really funny.
LEMON: I think the question, seriously, Will, and I had a Republican strategist on last night. She was saying, hey, listen, it's all fair game, it was funny. Why go to a correspondents' dinner if you can't take a joke?
I think that Chris Christie -- some of the harshest jokes were to Chris Christie. At least two of them, or two or three of them, and he just laughed. He took a joke. Why go if you can't take a joke?
CAIN: There's nothing more endearing than to be able to laugh at yourself, right? It's wonderful. And you got to expect it when you go there. I think -- and Barbara Walters' displeasure of that joke is a little odd because -- I mean, she should be used it to by now, through "Saturday Night Live" and thousand of other jokes, I would think -- it's kind of part of her fame. It's kind of part of her shtick.
I will say this, on Allen West, when I know I'm going to look like, hey, I'm defending Republicans, I can't take a joke for the people that I ideologically identify with. The only problem with that is there was nothing to laugh at it. It was just calling him a jackass. There wasn't like --
LEMON: Whoa, whoa, you missed the joke.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: It was a black thing. It was, do all black people look alike? That was the funny part of the joke.
CAIN: I got that part of the joke. I got that part of the joke.
LEMON: All right. OK, I'm glad we satisfied your curiosity.
Thank you, Will. Thank you, L.Z.
GRANDERSON: You're bad, Don.
LEMON: I know, I know. I got the microphone. Thank you, guys. See you.
Right after a quick break.
Under fire, gun ships and fighter jets take aim inside the world's newest nation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Deep in the jungles of Uganda, U.S. troops are aiding the mission to bring notorious warlord Joseph Kony to justice. If Kony's name sounds familiar to you, it's probably because of Jason Russell. His Kony 2012 campaign called for bringing the Lord's Resistance Army leader to justice.
White House officials say that won't be easy, but they aren't giving up. Next hour, we're going to go to the front lines with a reporter from a CNN correspondent embedded with -- a report from a CNN correspondent embedded with U.S. troops.
Egypt could have a new government within hours, as a post-revolution chaos continues. The head of Europe's ruling military council will form a new government according to state media. It also came hours after parliament suspended its session to protest the current prime minister. Presidential election is scheduled for May 23rd.
Splitting Sudan was supposed to be the end of decades of civil war. Instead it had just drawn a line in the sand between two sides. Journalists on the border fear for their lives today when they came under fire in South Sudan.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
LEMON: Reporters scramble for cover as they were attacked by Sudanese helicopter gunships and fighter jets. The president of Sudan declared a state of emergency today for cities along the border. And we're going to show you more of this amazing video and talk about the history of conflict in Sudan a little bit later on this hour.
Another sign that Myanmar's isolation is slowly ending, the U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, well, he arrived there on Sunday. He's the latest high level diplomats to visit the state once known as Burma. Myanmar's new civilian leadership is slowly putting in place political reforms.
Some Londoners are concerned Olympic officials are getting carried away with their security plans. Leaflets are being passed out in an east London neighborhood warning residents that missiles could be placed on a water tower. London is hosting the Summer Olympics from July 27th to August 12th.
The hour's top stories are just ahead here on CNN. But, first, the killing of four students during a Vietnam war protest at Kent State 40 years ago and a newly released audio reporting that may change the history books.
But first, each week, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiles innovators from all walks of life and all fields of endeavor. The program is called "THE NEXT LIST." And next Sunday, he talks to Ben Kaufman, owner of a startup business that gives innovators a place to bring their ideas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN KAUFMAN: It's human nature to invent. It's human nature to try to make your life better. It's human nature to try to make the world around you a better place. To actually do that and to execute on all those ideas is really freaking hard. Good ideas should find their ways on the shelves because they're the ideas of people with the right luck or circumstance. They should find their ways on the shelves because they're just great ideas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A new recording related to the infamous Kent State shooting could alter history. CNN's Susan Candiotti says four decades later, those looking for healing got a jolt from a court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): This iconic image is synonymous with America's internal battle over the Vietnam War, tear gas and bullets, 43 years ago this week at Kent State University. Four students were killed, nine others injured when Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest.
Alan Canfora took a bullet through one of his wrists. ALAN CANFORA, FORMER STUDENT: So, I looked down, and I could not believe that I had been shot. It was an unbelievable moment, like a nightmare.
CANDIOTTI: In a sense he says he has been wounded again. Just before this week's anniversary of the event, the Justice Department sent Canfora a letter denying a request to reopen the case.
CANFORA: The central mystery since 1970 has always been -- was there or was there not an order to fire?
CANDIOTTI: A federal civil rights case against the guardsmen was dismissed in 1979. The Justice Department now reveals the FBI destroyed an original ree-to-reel recording of the shooing.
But a digitally enhanced review of a copy of those tapes has revived the question. Audio engineer Stuart Allen was hired by a Cleveland newspaper to analyze the tape. He claims the fatal volley was preceded by four shots from an unknown source.
STUART ALLEN, AUDIO ENGINEER: Fourth gunshot, most important. Here's the echo from it.
CANDIOTTI: Seventy seconds later, Stuart says there's a command to fire followed by 67 gunshots.
SUBTITLE: "All right, prepare to fire." "Get down." "Guard Fire."
CANDIOTTI: Listen again.
SUBTITLE: "All right, prepare to fire." "Get down." "Guard Fire."
CANDIOTTI (on camera): I don't know about you, but I get chills when I hear that. What do you feel?
STUART ALLEN, AUDIO ENGINEER: What a waste. And hopefully, by bringing the truth out here, this will never, ever happen again.
CANDIOTTI: The State Department calls the words and sound "unintelligible" with "no consensus."
Allen says this isn't about prosecuting anyone in the National Guard.
ALLEN: It's about setting history right.
ALAN CANFORA, FORMER KENT STATE STUDENT: We're seeking healing. We're seeking reconciliation.
CANDIOTTI: Canfora and supporters plan to appeal the Justice Department's decision, meet with Ohio's governor and take legal action, hoping the mystery behind the Kent State shootings may one day be solved.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It's half past the hour now. Let's get you caught up on the headlines.
Seven people including three children have died in a horrific crash in New York State. Their SUV flipped over a guardrail and plunged 60 feet to the ground. It landed upside-down in an area of the Bronx Zoo that is closed to the public. Police say all the victims were wearing their seat belts. In 2006, six people died on the same stretch of road.
U.S. troops are helping in the hunt for Joseph Kony. The notorious warlord is a leader of the Lord's Resistance Army in Africa. An Internet campaign called "Kony2012" pushed for world leaders to make his capture a priority. Next hour, you're going to see how U.S. soldiers are helping in the crusade.
Egypt's parliament has persuaded the country's military leaders to appoint a new government. The current prime minister is a holdover from the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak. Lawmakers suspended parliament in protest. The head of Egypt's military counsel says the cabinet will be changed within 48 hours.
The fire marshal is looking into a tent collapse in St. Louis yesterday that killed one person and injured 16 others. It happened as baseball fans gathered at a local bar, just as a storm blew right through. Now manufacturing guidelines said the tent should have held up to the estimated 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts.
Wind was only part of the problem as the wild weather hit the Midwest.
The Severe Weather Center here following it all.
And Jacqui Jeras says the hail was the size of golf balls, right?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No -- bigger --
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: -- baseballs, tennis balls. This is what we consider severe, the size of a quarter. That's severe. And this is what came down.
LEMON: That's huge.
JERAS: And it caused a lot of damage.
Let's roll the video to give you a better perspective on what happened. This is just outside the St. Louis area in Illinois and this was baseball-sized hail. And you can see, when you compare it to the size of your hand, just how huge this thing is.
And then we'll go to our iReporters who have been sending in some incredible video as well. Louisville got hit hard with this hail yesterday also. You can see it pounding cars. When you're talking about hail the size of baseballs that just smashes the windows and puts dents all over the place. It's like somebody takes a sledgehammer and beats your car with it. There's all those little punch holes all over it.
How did this happen? How does hail get this huge? People want to know, right? In a thunderstorm, you have updrafts and downdrafts. You have little particles of water that rise in the updraft, and it rises above the freezing point and it starts to freeze. It starts to fall down into the downdraft but it can get caught up in this cycle of going up and down, up and down, each time collecting a layer of ice upon it. Eventually, it gets so heavy that the updraft can't support it anymore that it falls back down as a chunk of ice. The colder it is and the higher it goes, the stronger the storm. It comes down, it's like 150 miles per hour. Imagine that on your head.
LEMON: When it came down when it was higher, does that mean it was bigger than that?
JERAS: It could melt a little bit on the way down. When we measure hail -- if you want to be a little weather reporter at home -- it's diameter. It's not the circumference all the way around. It's just half of it.
LEMON: Got it.
I still don't know what that means.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: But you want to stay inside. Wait until the storm is over before you take those pictures.
LEMON: Yes. That was horrific yesterday with that tent.
JERAS: Yes. Real sad.
LEMON: Yes.
Thank you, Jacqui.
JERAS: Sure.
LEMON: We appreciate it.
It's been one year of royal wedded bliss. William and Kate are celebrating their anniversary. And in that time, Kate has become one of the biggest stars in the world. Their story, next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are celebrating their first anniversary quietly. One year ago, a million people lined the streets of London to get a glimpse of the royal couple and their lavish wedding seen around the world on television.
Max Foster has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL 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.
(CHEERING)
FOSTER: She was the newest member of the royal family, and already one of its most famous.
(CHEERING)
FOSTER: The duchess's first big test as a working royal was her tour with Prince William of North America.
PRINCE WILLIAM: I'm so excited to be able to share this with Katherine because she has told me --
(CHEERING)
FOSTER: She appears so relaxed, so composed she prompted comparisons to her late mother-in-law, Diana, who also had a talent for wooing the crowds.
Katherine's visit to Canada was the highlight of her year, a senior royal source told me. By the time the tour hit Los Angeles, Katherine 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., Katherine accompanied her husband to visits 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.
JUDY WADE, ROYAL CORRESPONDENT, HELLO!: I have been kind of a bit concerned that if it keeps up like this, with Kate turning up and people just writing about what she wears, then she'll get a very shallow image, and I have mentioned this to people at the palace. But that will change inevitably, because she will be doing more interesting, more challenging jobs.
FOSTER: That started to happen when the duchess delivered her first speech, in England's Ipswich last month. William had been tutoring his wife from the Falklands where he was on military service. The senior royal source tells me that the prince has taken the lead in helping his wife adapt.
KATHERINE, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: I'm only sorry that William can't be here today.
(LAUGHTER)
He would love it here.
FOSTER: With her inaugural speech kicked off, Katherine completed the full range of public duties expected of a royal. The palace source has confirmed that her induction is complete and she is a fully fledged member of the royal family.
(CHEERING)
FOSTER: But William can't take all the credit for her success. His father, Prince Charles, has also played a key role in helping Katherine adjust, as has the queen. CNN has learned that Charles and Katherine have become so close, they now go on private visits together to art galleries and opera houses.
But despite the help that she's received from family members and palace staff, everything the duchess has got involved in, including this Olympic hockey practice, have been approved if not instigated by her.
(SHOUTING)
FOSTER: The senior royal source says that the duchess is strong willed and knows her mind. Not much fazes her as she has the confidence to handle big events like this.
(on camera): So the duchess has graduated as an independent working royal. How does she feel about it? She would never judge her own achievements, I'm told, but she does feel that she has achieved her objectives.
Max Foster, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Up next --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down.
(GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We promised you more of this incredible video of soldiers and journalists under fire in Sudan. We're going to show it to you and talk more about the history of conflict in Sudan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Remarkable images out of the country of South Sudan. They show a camera crew running for cover as gunfire comes from above. And just hours ago, the president of Sudan declared a state of emergency in the cities along the border between the two rivals.
Our exclusive report from ETV's Robyn Kriel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBYN KRIEL, ETV REPORTER (voice-over): We have been promised a story. This is close to the front line of the border clashes with the north.
(SHOUTING)
KRIEL: And the South Sudanese commander here is ready to talk.
(SHOUTING)
KRIEL: But another story is about to break around us.
(SHOUTING)
KRIEL: "It's coming," these soldiers shout.
(GUNFIRE)
(SHOUTING)
KRIEL: Sudanese warplanes are streaking in and we have just seconds to find cover.
(GUNFIRE)
KRIEL: We try to make ourselves invisible as at least a half a dozen bombs drop around us.
(GUNFIRE)
KRIEL: We wait for the sound of the planes to fade, then we make our escape.
(SHOUTING)
KRIEL (on camera): We were just three kilometers from the front line when we heard incoming fire from what the soldiers say were gunships and MIGs. We were then forced to take cover. And once the -- once there was a lull in the firing, we decided to head out in our vehicle because it was simply too dangerous and we didn't know what to expect.
(GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was Robyn Kriel from ETV. We want to go beyond this incident now, beyond this one headline for a look at what caused all this.
CNN's international editor, Azadeh Ansari, joins me now.
Azadeh, that's pretty incredible video. But if you live there, sadly, this is just another day.
AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: This is just another day. And this is a contested region, Don. What we're seeing here is a border war. South Sudan is the newest country to be added to the world and it's not even a year old, first. As things escalate over how to divide the oil revenue, and more importantly, where to demarcate the border, where to draw the line.
LEMON: What's really at stake? Why all this fighting?
ANSARI: This fighting has a history to it because there's been decades of civil war in the region, in Sudan. So with last year's vote, when they voted to gain their independence and split off, there was a lot of concern from the international community as to whether or not this violence would then resurface and escalate. And we're seeing it happen right now. It didn't happen as much at the time, but now we're seeing it come back into play.
LEMON: You've been talking about George Clooney. George Clooney has been --
ANSARI: Very passionate.
LEMON: -- very passionate about this. What about, beyond that, help from the international community?
ANSARI: The international community has -- there's been a lot of finger pointing but nothing concrete or tangible has been put into motion or effect. We're going to watch this closely to see how the violence and how this escalates going into the coming weeks. But believe me, there's going to be some kind of outcry. The point it, it's easy to form a new government, Don, but the reality is establishing and maintaining that new government sometimes doesn't happen without a fight. And that's what we're seeing now.
LEMON: Azadeh Ansari, from our international desk.
Thank you very much. Appreciate that.
Athletes behaving badly, from punching opponents to infidelity. Do they think the rules don't apply to them? We'll talk to senior investigative reporter from "Sports Illustrated," Mr. Jon Wertheim, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Every week it seems another sports figure gets in trouble, doing things that would cost the rest of us our jobs, even our careers. But they survive to play or to even coach again. Jon Wertheim is here, senior investigative reporter from "Sports Illustrated."
There's the new cover. You see Lebron James on the cover.
Jon, Arkansas football coach, Bobby Petrino, and his mistress, just the latest example of this bad-boy stuff we have been seeing. And there's New Orleans Saints' and Ron Artest or Meta World Peace, his new name. Do these guys think that normal rules don't apply to them, you think?
JON WERTHEIM, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Yes. You know, we're not talking about all athletes. We should probably draw a distinction between what happens on the field in the heat of battle and this anti-social behavior. But yes, look at an athlete's life. Just about everything militates against normal. You've got young guys that get paid lots of money. They've got staffs, apologists. They don't wait in line. They're not paying for meals. Yes, there's a reason why they often don't behave like the rest of us.
LEMON: I think you're right. Because there should be a distinction about the things that happened in the heat of battle, like Ron Artest. But when there's bad-boy behavior, when you hear about Tiger Woods, that's different. But if it happens on the court, I think that's different. Is there something, though, in the mindset of folks, you know, like a Tiger Woods, like a Bobby Petrino, that contributes to their behavior that makes them maybe more successful in sports than in real life, that hurts them in real life, do you think?
WERTHEIM: Oh, I think absolutely. We think of athletes as being exceptional because they are bigger and faster and they jump higher. But they're also exceptional in the way they view things. It takes an immense amount of self-absorption to pitch the things that they do. They're confident in their abilities. I think they're not wired like we are in a lot of cases. Look back on what we know about Tiger Woods. And how many of us, if we had that much turmoil in our personal life, could do so well in our professional life. Look at Kobe Bryant. He had thse horrible dispositions from the sex crime. Later that night, he'd go on and score 50 points. I think that ability to compartmentalize is part of what makes athletes what they are. But it doesn't always translate so well to everyday society.
LEMON: Hey, Jon, it's interesting, though, because when all this stuff is going on -- and I use Tiger Woods as an example. When they have all this turmoil, they seem to be -- or even when we didn't know about them, they seemed to do much better than once they don't have it anymore. I don't -- is that a false sense of security? Maybe it's something we should examine psychologically.
WERTHEIM: I think it's fascinating. I think where athletes get their motivation is fascinating. They love the sort of "us against the world" and "we shocked the world" and a lot of times, athletes almost create this tension. They create a reason to get upset. And I think sometimes there is this motivation that I've got all this stuff going on in my life, I've got all the haters and I'm out to prove them wrong, and a lot of times we find that some of this conflict is just manufactured.
LEMON: Yes. What about the plain arrogance of it? Arkansas coach, Bobby Petrino, riding around on a motorcycle in the state with a 23- year-old who wasn't his wife? Even if he hadn't crashed, how do you explain that behavior? Or can you?
WERTHEIM: You were on -- I heard you talking about John Edwards. That's sort of different from an athlete -- arrogance, hubris. Here's a guy, highest paid public employee in the state, this recognized guy, the fact that he's driving around with a woman other than his wife on the back of his motorcycle, given his stature, says us a lot about the hubris and this corrupting influence of power. For some of these coaches, it's more like what we see with politicians, eventually enough people are pounding them on the back that the rules apply.
LEMON: Power.
WERTHEIM: A little different than a Tiger Woods. Power corrupts, exactly.
LEMON: Absolutely.
Thank you, Jon. Always good to see you. Appreciate it.
WERTHEIM: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: At the top of the hour, we're going have your developing stories for you.
And an SUV plunges off a roadway killing seven people, including three children, sadly. It may have been driver error, but this road has a history of deadly incidents.
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LEMON: Let's look ahead now to the big stories of this week. From the White House to Wall Street, our correspondents tell you what you need to know. We begin tonight with President Obama's plans for the week.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brianna Keilar at the White House. On Monday, President Obama addresses a very powerful construction union, the Building and Construction Trades Department, then welcomes Prime Minister Noda of Japan to the White House. Tuesday and Wednesday, he has a light schedule with meetings. Thursday, he and the first lady host a Cinco de Mayo reception. And Friday, he finishes off the week with more meetings at the White House.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Another packed week on Wall Street. Coming up, we'll get the latest manufacturer's reading as well as auto sales. And then on Friday, we'll get that much-anticipated April jobs report. That comes out before the opening bell. And on the earnings front, we'll get results from the oil giant BP, pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, along with Visa, General Motors and a host of other companies. We'll see how the market responds to all of it. We'll track it for you on "CNN Money."
A.J. HAMMER, ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer. Here's what we're watching this week. "SHOWBIZ Tonight" goes inside Octo-mom's home. Are her children in danger? Plus, "Jersey Shore" star, JWow joins me to talk about her reality spin-off with Snooki. I got to ask her what it's like to live with a pregnant Snooki. Catch "Showbiz Tonight," weeknights at 11:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on HLN.
