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Pope Francis and Raul Castro Met at the Vatican; Police Officers Killed in Mississippi; Renewed Concern on Safety; Jeb Bush Says Brother George W. Bush is Foreign Affairs Advisor; Prince in Baltimore; Merkel, Putin to Meet on Ukraine Ceasefire; Michelle Obama on Different Standards. Aired 4-6p ET

Aired May 10, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:00:00] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM --

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Right now, very pronounced funnel cloud and tornado in progress.

CABRERA: A wild weather weekend.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: haven't seen anything like this in a long time.

CABRERA: Damaging winds, floods, even blizzards in the plains and Ana hammering parts of the east coast.

Plus, two officers shot and killed in the line of duty.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Men go out every day to make sure we are safe were turned on tonight.

CABRERA: A simple traffic stop turns into a deadly encounter and rips a community apart.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Thirty years ago was the last time this happened in Hattiesburg.

CABRERA: And an historic meeting. Raul Castro and Pope Francis had a private conversation at the Vatican.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Obviously, this comes at a time of dramatically improving relations.

CABRERA: What did they discuss? "Newsroom" starts now.

Good afternoon, thanks for joining me, I'm Ana Cabrera, in for Fredricka Whitfield. Happy mother's day.

Cuban president, Raul Castro is publicly thanking Pope Francis today in his role in improving U.S.-Cuban relation. They met privately at the Vatican earlier today and this is their first face-to-face meeting. It comes on the heels of a surprise diplomatic breakthrough between Washington and Havana, which was, in part, facilitated by Pope Francis.

Joining me now is CNN religion commentator, Father Edward Beck. Father, thanks for joining us again. Happy mother's day to you and your loved ones.

FR. EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION COMMENTATOR: Thank you, to you, too.

CABRERA: Was this a big deal, in your mind?

BECK: It really was a big deal, Ana. You have to remember this is a country that for over 50 years, since 18959 with the revolution, was seen as an atheist country. Fidel Castro espoused a Marxist-Leninist philosophy that says that religion -- it's the opium of the people. And so the church was suppressed, religious and priests were exiled. And now, you have the brother, the new leader, Raul, coming to the pope not only extolling the virtues of the pope but supposedly afterwards saying if this pope continues in this vein, I will begin praying and may return to the Catholic Church. This is revolutionary.

CABRERA: I know part of the Vatican's foreign policy is two-men relations and we have learned the Pope was integral in the U.S.-Cuba diplomatic negotiations. Pope Francis seems to be a mover and shaker. To what do you attribute his effectiveness?

BECK: Ana, I think people see him as someone walking the talk. They see him as a down-to-earth person who has real people's concerns at heart and he seems to be acting on it. He is not afraid to speak his mind. He is not afraid to inject himself into such political conversations as the Cuba-United States relationship. And so I think what people are looking once again to the Pope and the Vatican for is this kind of moral leadership that perhaps some feel has been lacking for a while or there has been a hesitancy on the Vatican to enter into some of these frays. This Pope does not seem to hesitate.

CABRERA: No doubt about it. In fact that leads me right to my next question. Why do you think he chooses to involve himself in some of these really political hot topics?

BECK: I think because he sees them as issues of justice. He says that the situation in Cuba must improve for the poor there. He sees people who have been oppressed for a very long time. And so if it's an issue of justice, albeit political, this Pope sees himself right there because social justice is about what the church is supposed to be about.

It's where the church is supposed to be. So, this pope will enter the political forum if he believes that there are issues of justice, peace, equality, gospel values that need to be addressed.

CABRERA: Do you feel that this Pope has transformed Catholicism or people's perception of Catholicism?

BECK: I would say we are in the midst of a transformation. Certainly, nothing is complete. But we have come an awful long way in a very short period of time under the leadership of Pope Francis. I suspect that will continue. Now, you remember, the Pope is coming to the United States in September. He is going to first stop in Cuba.

[16:05:03] Raul said today, he is going to go to all of the masses that the Pope will say in Cuba. Then he will come to the United States. He will speak before Congress. He will speak in Philadelphia at an open-air mass. He will visit New York City and so, more and more, you're going to see attention on this pope as he addresses human concerns. I don't think that those in Congress are ready for what the Pope is going to say to them when he comes to Washington in September.

CABRERA: We will be covering that indeed. Father Edward Beck, thank you so much for spending part of your day with us.

BECK: Happy mother's day to you, Ana.

CABRERA: I appreciate that. Have a great weekend.

BECK: Bye-bye.

CABRERA: Sadly, this holiday weekend is marked with tragedy in Mississippi. Two police officers, one a rookie, the other an officer of the year, were gunned down, killed during a traffic stop in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, last night. Three suspects are now in custody after a massive manhunt. They will face a judge tomorrow.

CNN's Rosa Flores has been following this story all day is joining us now from New York. Rosa, what are you learning?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, good afternoon. You know, law enforcement experts always tell us there is no such thing as a routine traffic stop. The job of a police officer is always dangerous. Well, this is a perfect example.

Now, we have three suspects in custody and two police officers dead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): A traffic stop ended in a hail of gunfire Saturday night, leaving two Hattiesburg, Mississippi, police officers dead, and three suspects in custody.

Police say Curtis Banks and his brother, Marvin Banks, fled the crime scene, allegedly stealing a police cruiser and using it as a getaway car. Both were arrested hours later after a brief manhunt.

Mayor Johnny Dupre says the third suspect, Joanie Calloway, was driving the car at the time of the traffic stop and was arrested shortly after the shooting.

MAYOR JOHHNY DUPREE, HATTIESBURG, MISSISSIPPI: This is a horrific time for people around the nation when you have police officers that are sworn to serve and protect and this ruthless kind of action happens.

FLORES: Calloway and Marvin Banks are charged with two counts of capital murder each. Curtis Banks faces two counts of accessory after the fact of capital murder, according to officials. DUPREE: If you commit a crime in Hattiesburg, we take care of you,

but we want to ensure all the people of Hattiesburg and the surrounding areas that they are still safe in Hattiesburg.

FLORES: Authorities are tight-lipped about the time line of the night and the suspected motive. Only saying Officer Deen initiated the traffic stop, called for backup and that Officer Tate responded to the call. As for the families of the two slain officers, there is little comfort to be found.

Ronald Tate, the father of Officer Tate, expressed his grief on Facebook, posting several times throughout the night, saying, "well, Lord, I had been praying that it was all just a mistake. My baby. I just need some kind of mercy right now." And later, "my heart has been ripped out of my chest and torn into a million pieces. I'm in a dizzy haze since 10:11 p.m. last night. I just want to be able to move again. Right now, I can't."

In a press conference, Dupree pledged to seek justice for both families.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Now, I talked to Officer Tate's father by phone and he tells me that a great relationship with his son, that his son actually used to work in customer service at an auto parts store and that his soul would light up when police officers would walk in the door. And he told his father, "Dad, I want to be a police officer. That's my dream." Ana?

CABRERA: CNN's Rosa Flores. Thank you.

Up next, we will go live to Texas which could see more tornadoes today. Plus the latest on the cleanup from yesterday's severe storms. Stay with us.

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[16:12:09] CABRERA: Breaking news right now, we are getting word of a new tornado warning, actually, two of them, Iowa and South Dakota affected. Meteorologist Tom Sater just rushed in from the weather center. What is the latest, Tom?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This isin between Sioux City and Rapids City, the tornado we have, the warning earlier was in Texas, and now we're all the way up into South Dakota here. You see the watches from the Rio Grande all the up into South Dakota where we got a tornado on the ground with a warning and blizzard conditions on the western end of the state. It's just mind boggling, isn't it? It got over 6 1/2 inches of snow there.

Here is what we are watching in this area, see where Omaha is to the north, that's part of the southwest areas of Minnesota in towards South Dakota as well. This thunderstorm warning is actually facing northward, so ahead of the cold air that's blanketing the area with snow, we are seeing a rapid development from south to north across the area.

So again, it's only about 7,000 affected in this area. Thank goodness it is in between some of these larger community but this is in effect until 3:15 Central Time. We're going to keep an eye on this. This again, Ana, this is going to be one of many, now that we are in the heating, but incredible contrast between the cold air and the blizzard conditions back behind as many as 10 states seeing snow, but at least the blizzard warnings are now just winter storm warnings, it's crazy, on Mother's day, but again this is going to be something we are going to be watching closely the next several hours, moving to the north at about 25 miles an hour, so they're moving slow.

CABRERA: When you see a screen that is that colorful, you know it's not good. Tom Sater, thank you for that update.

35 million people are in the path of those storms and others, heavy rain, large hail, strong winds all possible today. Texas is one of the hardest hit states. Residents there still cleaning up from the three confirmed twisters yesterday. One of them striking the town of Cisco. It is a small town west of Fort Worth, leaving one person dead. Other parts of Texas could see more twisters today.

CNN's Jennifer Gray is joining us from Cisco, Texas. Jen, fill us in, what is going on there and what are they preparing for?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Ana, they are preparing, unfortunately, for more storms, after being hit what we were told an EF3 tornado about three quarters of a mile wide with a path of destruction seven miles long. This area was hit very hard, one of the hardest hit areas in Texas.

You can see the field behind me the trees just snapped in half. We are up at a little bit higher elevation, down this road and around the bend a little bit. We hear that three homes are a total loss down there. We don't have access to those homes because the roads are cut off by trees and falling power lines. Unfortunately, one person died in the storm yesterday. Three others injured. One critical condition. And of course, more storms today is a bad sign.

[16:15:00] We look out to our east and you can see, that's where most of the storms are forming. We do have -- we have gotten lucky so far. Most of the storms have been to our south and to our east, but you can see on the other side here, cumulus clouds are building in the distance, a few storms possible as we go through the next couple of hours.

One thing you do not want to hear when you have just been hit with an ef3 tornado, more storms, but unfortunately, that's what we could be dealing with as we go through the afternoon hours. Of course, talking to the public information officer from this area and he said they have had tornadoes in the past but because it's so rural, they haven't had any structures hit until this one and so, hit hard, like we mentioned.

And as far as sirens go, the town of Cisco has sirens, they didn't go off because where the tornado actually hit was a couple miles south. And so, folks just have to rely on their weather radios, they have to watch their local meteorologists and know what to do and have a plan in place in case severe weather strikes which, again, unfortunately is what they are doing today. Ana?

CABRERA: Jem, do most of the people in that area have, like, storm cellars that they go to during these tornado events?

GRAY: Some do, most of them don't though. Most of the people with the storm shelters are a little bit north of here. So, like I said, some people do, but a lot of them don't. And so you have to get into that small interior room, away from windows. I'm from a town of about four, five hours east of here and so it was the same for us, you just get into that small, interior room, you try to put as many walls in between you and the outside as you can and stay there until the threat is over.

CABRERA: All right. Jennifer Gray, reporting from Texas for us. Thank you so much and do stay safe.

Now this is what it looked like this morning in Denver at the Rockies Stadium. This is Coors Field. Officially, the city got 3 1/2 inches of snow overnight. Some areas of Colorado, though, got as much as eight inches of snow on Mother's day. The Rockies' official website said they had to break out the snowplows to get all that snow out of there and prepare the field.

And this is what it looks like now, typical Colorado. It can change so quickly. They are scheduled to play a baseball game in just a few minutes. The current temperature there, a chilly 44 degrees.

Up next, are we safer today than right after 9/11? Why one former U.S. official says no. Today is more dangerous.

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[16:20:55] CABRERA: There's renewed concern today over just how safe the U.S. is from home-grown terror. Earlier on "State of the Union," we heard some startling comments about the terror threat in this country from the man who was the first Homeland Security secretary, Tom Ridge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM RIDGE, FMR. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: When it comes to the nature of the threat, we are in much more serious circumstances today than we were after 9/11. Remember, back then, we thought about Al Qaeda and Afghanistan, and Pakistan and a few other places. We have seen Al Qaeda has metastasized. It is now a global scourge and you have the ascendancy of ISIL. The combination of those two groups, their appeal to the lone wolves and we have seen them acting in Belgium and in France and in Canada and in the United States.

So the threat vectors and the nature of threats are far more complicated and far more serious about today than on September 12, 2001.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CABRERA: Daunting statement. Let's talk more about it.

Joining me now from Orlando, CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. General, we saw after the attack against the provocative cartoon contest in Texas, that home-grown terror is real. How do you fight it without stepping on basic freedoms?

RET. LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, that's the toughest question we are going to face, Ana, and I think Mr. Ridge's statement is absolutely correct. But I would like to just comment on that, because remember, on 9/11, I was a war planner in the Pentagon on 9/11 and very few Americans had ever heard of Al Qaeda. We adjusted to them very quickly over a period of 10 years, we fought them in Afghanistan and Iraq, found out about their centralized networks.

What we have now is a different kind of organization with a different kind of network. They are more decentralized. They are not looking for the great big attack but the multiple attacks. And as you just said, that's what's going to have the conversation continuing about stepping on individual liberties because we have to gain intelligence to beat this --this new organization.

CABRERA: Right. And the federal court just ruled that the way the NSA collects and stores certain data is illegal. So, what is the government to do to combat this growing threat of what is social media-inspired terrorism in many ways here at home.

HERTLING: Well, when you take a look at the decentralized kind of activities going on in this organization, there is very little control over these individuals. I think the government is going to have to have some renewed looks at things like posse commititis, the Patriot Act, all those kinds of things that are perhaps going to reintroduce some things where we have to take a harder look at how we do intercept social media, at how we do intercept potential phone calls.

I know not a lot of Americans want to hear those kinds of things because it does infringe on liberties, but it's a whole lot better than people having slaughtered in different attacks across the country.

CABRERA: You know, one other guest that spoke today on "State of the Union" was Senator Ron Johnson from Wisconsin and his comment had to do with messaging and he said that ISIS has this messaging thing down. They are able to say and to show that they are winning in so many ways, we need to flip the messaging to be able to show we are winning. What's that going to require?

HERTLING: It's a great comment, Ana, and what I'd say is everyone has been claiming that the government doesn't have a strategy against ISIS. We, in fact, do have a strategy and it's touching into the various realms of diplomacy, information operations, economic and military. But it seems everyone wants to defer back to the military piece of this because it's the easiest one to look at.

But I would suggest we have got to do a whole lot more work on the information element of our national strategy because truthfully, there's very few people in charge of that right now and we are hoping to turn the corner on this and what we have learned in the military is hope is not a method. You actually have a plan. You have to have someone come into work every day and actually executing that plan but it's very difficult in this realm because truthfully, we're not very good at it.

[16:25:00] CABRERA: Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, you are always so insightful. Thank you so much.

HERTLING: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: Breaking news, we're just getting word of a new tornado warning this time, it's Grayson County, Texas, right on the border with Oklahoma.

Let's get to meteorologist Tom Sater.

SATER: Yes, we want to continue to bring these updates. Obviously, we lost a few souls in the U.S. this week and numerous injuries, a lot of property damage. This is not the one up to the north near Sioux City and Rapids City, we are back out northeast of the Dallas area.

This watch box, 8 1/2 million people are involved in this until 9 p.m. Central Time. This is the one that included Denton a little earlier ago. We had an observation and it has been confirmed, tornado on the ground near Gunter. Now it doesn't look like a very large tornado warning area but the concern here to me, this is the same storm, when we had a warning on earlier it was only moving at 25 miles per hour.

Now it is 55 miles per hour. That is a tremendous windmaker. And a lot of damage, just from the winds alone. So again Gunter, this is until 3:45, we're going to continue monitor this one. There's going to be many more, Ana, there's no doubt about it, but it has been observed, law enforcement as well. We'll keep you posted.

CABRERA: You're getting your workout in today.

SATER: Yes, we are.

CABRERA: Thank you so much, Tom.

Up next in the NEWSROOM, a new poll out shows Jeb Bush lagging in the politically correct state of Iowa. What's going on? Our political panel weighs in next.

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[16:30:32]

CABRERA: Hello again, thanks for staying with me. I'm Ana Cabrera in for Fred this week. Former Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, a likely presidential candidate, is known for distancing himself from the policies of his older brother, at least that was the case weeks and months ago, but now he is making headlines after revealing in a private meeting that former President George W. Bush is one of his main Middle East advisers. To discuss more, Tharon Johnson is joining us, he is a Former South Regional Director for Obama 2012 and G.O.P. Communication Strategist Adam Goodman, joining us from Tampa. Adam, I will start with you. Politically, was it a bad move or a good move for Jeb Bush to admit his brother advises him?

ADAM GOODMAN, G.O.P. COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, the Bush family has had an incredible record of public service for years to the country. And I think one thing about Jeb Bush that the country is going to get to know very soon is he seeks advice and input and thoughts and ideas from across the spectrum and I think the more, the better, in terms of trying to figure out where we go next and I think this is what this election will be all about.

CABRERA: Do you agree?

THARON JOHNSON, FORMER SOUTH REGIONAL DIRECTOR, OBAMA 2012: I disagree. I think what Jeb is really analyzing right now is how unpopular is his brother still with American people? I mean, he can definitely get advice from him as far as foreign policy, but there are still many Americans right now who blame President Bush for the state of the economy right now. And there are a lot of Americans that overwhelmingly disagree with his approach to Iraq. Now, what Jeb has talked about is he sort of disagreed with the military strategy but he never really was clear about whether or not he disagreed with his brothers as far as intentions and decisions to invade Iraq at that time.

CABRERA: You are mentioning Iraq, I want to make sure we clarify, according to Bush's spokesman that these comments reportedly were not about Iraq, was specific to Israel. I want to read you what the response is, it says "Governor Bush deeply respects his brother's service to this country and in response to question about James Baker and Israel, he reiterated that he looks to his brother whose stalwart support for our ally is in line with his commitment to standing with his role in the a face of greater threats to their security and our own." So Tharon what's your take on that response?

JOHNSON: I think the same thing applies. What he's doing is he is showing he has got to start talking about foreign policy and also did talk about Iraq as far as the president. But let's get back to one of the things that I think he is using as sort of a hypothetical situation. He was not the president at the time. We have got to give President Bush the benefit of the doubt that he had information that no other people had. But at the end of the day, I think he has got to be very careful about how it's going to play with the mainstream electorate, saying that your brother is one of your top advisers on foreign policy.

CABRERA: Adam lets broaden the conversation to the G.O.P. race right now as it is shaping up. A Quinnipiac University poll asked republican voters, if the G.O.P. Iowa caucus were held today, for whom would you vote? I want to show the results of this poll. You will see Scott Walker is in the lead. Jeb Bush though, only taking 25%, lagging in this poll. So, Adam, do you think Scott Walker is going to continue to have the momentum he seems to have early going? GOODMAN: Oh, gosh, you know, these are all horse race polls a lot of

fun to look at and talk about. They really don't mean anything. Right now, we are in the season of first impressions, as voters are starting to get their first tastes of these candidates in many cases. We are still over nine months, nearly nine months away from the Iowa caucuses. What will mean something, Ana, when we really get down to it is when they move from orchestrated choreography of opening announcements to the real-time competition on debate stages on television, across America. That's when it starts to really count and in the case of Jeb Bush, I guess we led off with, I think he is going to do very, very well there. And by the way, I do want to comment on the last question. There wouldn't be a greater supporter of the state of Israel and standing tall with our friends than Jeb Bush and any of the other major republicans.

CABRERA: All right. We have to leave it there because we have some breaking news to get to, Tharon Johnson and Adam Goodman, thanks to both of you.

Our breaking news right now, new reports of a confirmed tornado north of Dallas, nears the Dallas Fort Worth airport. Let's get to CNN's Jennifer Gray who is in north Texas right now. Jen, fill us in.

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, Ana it was located just over Gunter, 12 miles southwest of Sherman. It is moving to the northeast at about 40 miles per hour. This is all part of that same system that impacted Denton just a few moments ago and so there has been confirmation once again of a tornado in progress. So, if you are in that area, you need to get to your safe spot, seek shelter, and take cover immediately. It's a very dangerous storm this is all north of the Dallas metroplex. These storms are all moving to the east, the individual cells are moving northeast direction at about 40 miles per hour. So, take cover if you are in that area, Ana, these storms also have the potential to create very large hail, damaging winds and like we are seeing now, these isolated tornadoes. All part of this main system we have been talking about over this multi-day severe weather threat. Today is yet another day of the possibility of severe weather. We have been talking about it for days now and just as we have been talking about it, it is unfolding this afternoon. So, do plan on more tornado warnings across the plains as we go into the afternoon and evening hours but right now this one tornado warning just to the south of Sherman with a tornado in progress, Ana?

[16:35:56]

CABRERA: All right, CNN's Jennifer Gray in Texas. Thanks for the update.

Pop icon, Prince is in Baltimore tonight. The singer rarely gets political, but he is now weighing in on Freddie Gray's death through his music. We will bring it to you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:41:55] CABRERA: Pop icon Prince, weighing in now on the troubles in Baltimore through a song. The singer behind "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry" performs tonight in Baltimore in an effort to pull the city together. This concert is being called rally for peace and people are being asked to wear gray in honor of Freddie Gray. Prince released his much-anticipated tribute song "Baltimore just yesterday".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

How we gonna see another cloudy day, we tired of crying and people are dying, let's take all the guns away. (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Joining us now from New York is the Founder and Editor-in- Chief of Swagger New York.com, Sian Pierre Regis, he is also a contributor to our sister network, HLN. Sian Pierre, thanks for joining us. Do you think this song and this gesture by Prince will have an impact?

SIAN-PIERRE REGIS, FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SWAGGERNEWYORK.COM: Oh, absolutely. You know, I think a lot of people have actually been waiting for an artist like Prince, an iconic artist like Prince to really come out and say something. Throughout the last six months, we haven't seen very many artists really say much. You know, P. Diddy and Rick Ross put out a song shortly after the death of Michael Brown called "don't shoot," didn't get any radio play, didn't really go anywhere. For Prince to really stand out, put out a song and then fill an entire stadium of 11,000 people, this is a big, big statement. I think people are listening.

CABRERA: Prince usually stays out of the political fray though. He is not one of those who usually like to get in the middle of hot topics. Are you surprised to see him do this?

REGIS: You know, you know, here and there, Prince -- some of his songs, sign of the times in 1987, where he really did he speak out about aids, violence in our communities, drugs, he has done things on nuclear disarmament, a song called "Ronnie Talk to Russia." He does here and there come out and say something. I'm not surprised now, given that just at the Grammy's he mentioned black lives matter on the stage at the Grammy's, which was quite controversial. So, this is obviously an issue that means a lot to him.

CABRERA: And why Baltimore? Does he have a special connection to Baltimore?

REGIS: You know, I don't think he has a special connection to Baltimore, but I think he probably realized that, you know what, enough is enough. This is a time to actually stand up and say something and put -- he is an icon, right? And to say listen, I have a voice, I have a platform and now is the time to use it and thankfully, I hope tonight, you know, people everywhere, whether you're watching on title or you're actually there at the concert, listening and we do fight for justice. CABRERA: Do you think Prince has any -- I even hate to suggest it,

but you have to wonder, does he have a financial interest in making this statement that maybe this song and him doing this will give him kind of a rebirth in his career?

REGIS: Well, I think Prince's so iconic that he -- I don't think he is really doing it for money, though I will say that it was surprising to me that the tickets actually cost something. I mean, some of these tickets are going from $22 to nearly $500 a ticket. And yes, of course, you would think, hey, listen, if you're doing this for the cause, then this should be free. But I think the statement itself is large enough and hopefully, with the press that he has gotten around it, which has been quite a lot, we can keep the conversation going and not let it die. And I think that's the most important thing here.

CABRERA: And the tickets cost money but people can listen in for free at home, right?

REGIS: Yes. So he has teemed up with Jay-Z, Jay-Z's tidal music streaming service, if listen anytime between 8 and 9 tonight on tidal.com, you can heart entire concert, it should be pretty fun. Again it is not just Prince, there are a number of celebrity guests, musical acts that will show up who he has not confirmed so it should be an amazing, exciting, thrilling and hopeful hour.

CABRERA: I like it. We will end it on that positive note. Sean Pierre Regis thanks so much for joining us.

REGIS: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: Candid words from Michelle Obama on the emotional toll of being the first African-American first lady.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then there was the first time I was on a magazine cover. It was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and a machine gun. Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I'm really being honest, that knocked me back a bit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: More from her commencement address to the graduating class at Tuskegee University when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Street medicine is bringing medical care right to the homeless, were they are, under the bridges and along the river banks, abandoned buildings, safety net, anybody home?

Can you make a fist? That hurt? I have been walking the streets of Pittsburgh for 23 years to the homeless. When I started, I was actually really shocked how ill people were on the street. It was like going to a third world country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anyone home? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were runaway kids, 85-year-olds, pregnant

women, and they all had their own story. What hurts the most?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This knee is so swollen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once you get to know the folks out there, I knew that I had to keep going. Are you doing okay, medically? And now, we have managed to treat over 10,000 people. Did they put staples in or stitches? Infections, diabetes, cancers, the list goes on and on and on. All right, I'm glad we saw you. The folks that are willing to come us to, we have a mobile medical van. Then we have drop-in centers. Just open up again. We connect with the person. You got friends. We will be there for you, okay? Then we advocate with them to get their insurance, get housing and care. Wherever they are, they are always within our circle of love.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You did so much for me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really is a wonderful feeling that people on the street are beginning to get a voice in health care. Good, steady. You got a good heart. It's something that we should take pride in and we can actually treat people the way we want to be treated.

[16:47:25]

CABRERA: Checking top stories now, German Chancellor Angela Merkel meeting in Moscow today with Russian President, Vladimir Putin about a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine. Merkel says the conditions of this cease-fire that were agreed to back in February still aren't being met, complicating humanitarian aid and the prisoner exchange efforts. Earlier, Merkel paid tribute to Russia's World War II victims at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The death toll from that massive earthquake in Nepal has now surpassed 8,000. This is according to Nepal's emergency operations center. And official there is are still struggling to get a handle on the sheer scope of the damage. Hundreds of American military personnel are in Nepal trying to help with the recovery.

Arguably, one of the best soccer players of all time, Pele, is out of a Sao Paolo, Brazil Hospital following prostate surgery. The doctors say the good news for this three-time world cup winner is he has an enlarged prostate but he does not have any cancer or tumors.

And the Orioles are headed back to Baltimore. When the riots broke out last month, the team, you will recall, was forced to play a fan- less game in Camden yards. While the city's beloved baseball team is returning to face off with the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow and some fans they are apparently really trying to promote this game to get people pumped up. They are calling it reopening day. We are back in just a moment.

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[16:52:28] CABRERA: First lady Michelle Obama is getting some attention after a bold statement. She told a group of graduates she has been held to a different standard because of her race. During the commencement speech at Tuskegee University, she talked about the trials she has faced as a first African-American first lady.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I also imagine that you might think about all of that history, all those heroes who came before you and you might also feel a little pressure, you know? Pressure to live up to the legacy of those who came before you. Pressure to meet the expectations of others. And believe me I understand that kind of pressure. I have experienced a little bit of it myself. You see, graduates, I didn't start out as the fully formed first lady who stands before you today. No, no, I had my share of bumps along the way. Back when my husband first started campaigning for president, folks had all sorts of questions of me. What kind of first lady would I be? What kinds of issues would I take on? Would I be more like Laura Bush or Hillary Clinton or Nancy Reagan? And the truth is those same questions would have been posed to any candidate's spouse, that's just the way the process works. But as potentially the first African- American first lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions and speculations, conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others. Was I too loud or too angry or too emasculating? Or was I too soft, too much of a mom, not enough of a career woman? Then there was the first time I was on a magazine cover. It was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and a machine gun. Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I'm really being honest, that knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder, well, just how are people seeing me? Or you might remember the on-stage celebratory fist bump between me and my husband after a primary win that was referred to as a terrorist fist jab.

And over the years, folks have used plenty of interesting words to describe me. One said I exhibited a little bit of uppity-ism. Another noted that I was one of my husband's cronies of color. Cable news charmingly referred to me as Obama's baby mama. And of course, Barack has endured his fair share of insults and slights. Even today, there are still folks questioning his citizenship.

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CABRERA: The first lady still has a couple more commencement speeches at Overland College in Ohio and at a high school in Chicago. Thanks so much for joining us me today. Again, I'm Ana Cabrera, Happy Mother's Day.

And the next hour of NEWSROOM starts now with Poppy Harlow in New York. Good night.