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Crossing at St. Augustine; Supreme Court and the White House

Aired April 04, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon on this Easter Sunday. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Eight months after the swearing in of the nation's first Hispanic U.S. Supreme Court justice, the president may soon have another opportunity to make another lasting mark on the nine-member bench. The nation's oldest and longest serving justice John Paul Stevens reportedly says at 89 he may soon be ready for retirement. Sources close to Stevens who turns 90 later on this month tells CNN that he will announce this month whether he will step down.

CNN's Kate Bolduan has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of any president's longest lasting legacies. Filling a Supreme Court vacancy. And for President Obama that opportunity is likely drawing near. Speaking to "The New York Times" Friday, Justice John Paul Stevens said, "I do have to fish or cut bait, just for my own personal peace of mind and also in fairness to the process." Then to "The Washington Post" he said, "I will surely do it while he," meaning President Obama, "is still president."

THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: If there's going to be retirement, it's almost certainly the liberal justice Stevens. So President Obama can't move the Supreme Court to the left in any way. Rather, he can cement his impact on the court with his nominees serving for decades in the future.

BOLDUAN: Stevens is expected to make an announcement about his future this month. Less than one year after the President's history-making nomination of the first Latina justice, Sonia Sotomayor.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Justice Sotomayor brings to the court both a mastery of the letter of the law and an understanding of how the law actually unfolds in our daily lives.

BOLDUAN: Sources close to the process tell CNN the White House is quietly but actively preparing to fill the spot. Among those talked about for the job Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Judge Merrick Garland, an Appeals Court judge in Washington and Judge Diane Wood, an Appeals Court judge in Chicago. All left leaning choices which could mean a tough confirmation fight ahead.

SENATOR JON KYL (R), MINORITY WHIP: I think the President will nominate a qualified person. I hope, however, he does not nominate an overly ideological person. That will be the test. And if he doesn't nominate someone who's overly ideological, I don't think you may see Republicans voting against the nominee but I don't think you'll see them engage in a filibuster.

GOLDSTEIN: We're talking about determining the constitutionally of laws that relate to abortion, to affirmative action, to gay rights, to the separation of church and state. So the stakes are incredibly high.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Now, if Justice Stevens does announce that he is retiring this year, the White House's goal would be to get a nominee confirmed and in place in time to join the court before the court begins its next term in October. And meeting that time line would likely require a nomination by May or June, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kate Bolduan at the White House, thanks so much for that. Appreciate that.

So let's get right to our CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser, for more on this. So Paul, after health care, jobs bill, all these battles, how might these fights actually influence the road ahead for the President as it pertains to a Supreme Court nominee?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It kind of a similar situation we were in last summer. Because remember health care was just starting to go through Congress through committees on both sides of the House and the Senate. You had a host of other big ticket items starting to get pushed. We are in the same situation here. Health care has been passed, but a lot of other big agenda that the president wants to get through the Senate.

But Fred, there is a different dynamic now in the Senate. Last summer when Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed by the Senate that was a vote that took place in early August just before the summer recess break. The Democrats had 60 seats in the Senate, a super majority. Now they're, of course, down to 59. And you heard Senator Kyl right there in Kate's package, he didn't rule out a filibuster. He said that if the person the President nominates, if there is an opening this year, that person isn't over ideological, then there won't be one but he did not rule it out. So it could be an interesting summer and a hot one as well.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about now health care. Since that's a battle that not just the President has gotten a lot f flak for, but there has been a lot of fallout that's affected a lot of other members of Congress, particularly Bart Stupak who's how apparently being targeted by the tea party movement. In what way, what's taking place in his corner?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, the bill is now a law. But the fight is definitely not over. You're going to see this fight continue right until the November mid terms. You mentioned the tea party. The Tea Party Express, it's one of those national tea party organizations, eight days ago they kicked off their third cross country tour. They kicked it off in Searchlight, Nevada. They targeted Harry Reid. They're also targeting other Democrats and particularly some House Democrats who voted in favor, of course, of that health care bill. And they're targeting Bart Stupak, the socially conservative Democrat of northern Michigan. We've got a number of press releases from the Tea Party Express, kind of almost bragging about how many stops they're going to make. They're going to make five of them in his district this Thursday and Friday.

They're upset with him because he was one of the leaders in the Democratic anti-abortion movement that helped put some tough legislation or a tough bill out there last fall. But he did negotiate with the White House. They're very upset with him. They'll be targeting him on Thursday and Friday.

WHITFIELD: All right. Other things to watch this week. New Orleans, the Southern Republican Leadership Conference taking place. What's the focus?

STEINHAUSER: Yes. This happens every couple of years. It's a gathering of the Southern Republicans and also some from outside the region. And when there is not a Republican incumbent in the White House who is running for re-election, it's also kind of maybe a beauty pageant in a way for some of those GOP hopefuls in the next presidential election.

And well, we're going to see some of those possible contenders there like former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, Mississippi governor Haley Barbour. We're going to see Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana governor, Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania and Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker. All of them possible. Fred, still a long way away. But possible White House contenders in 2012.

And next Saturday, we'll have a straw poll. Not always the most accurate thing in the world. But of course, it will generate a lot of buzz, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK and back to the President, we know that he may be thinking a lot about Justice Stevens, what's going to happen later on this month or this year, et cetera but what is on tap for the President later on this week?

STEINHAUSER: He'll probably start with domestic politics early in the week, but you're alluding to later in the week when he heads to Europe. I believe it's Wednesday that he goes to the Czech Republic. He'll be meeting with the Russian President Medvedev there. And they'll be signing that nuclear arms treaty that they just negotiated. So international policy is definitely going to take center stage later this week.

Prior to that though, you may see some news on health care or maybe the President may surprise us and again go out on a campaign trail to tout the new law. And you may also hear more about jobs. But later in the week it's all about international relations.

WHITFIELD: All right. Paul, thanks so much. Appreciate that. STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Have a great week.

All right. Former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and civil rights leader Andrew Young takes us on a journey back in time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW YOUNG, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Once we got started, there was no option. It was a fight to the death for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A pivotal civil rights battle lost to history until now. And we're about to see just how mentally tough Tiger Woods is during this week at the Masters tournament.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.,: Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do god's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promise land.

ANNOUNCER: On April 4th King was felled by an assassin's bullet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It was 42 years ago today when those shots rang out in Memphis, Tennessee. The year was 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. has risen to become the embodiment of this country's civil rights movement. A sniper's bullet took the life of a man dedicated to non violence. As a charismatic Baptist minister, King inspired a generation to nonviolent protest. John Lewis of Georgia would grow from one of King's civil rights foot soldiers to U.S. congressman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: When I heard that Martin Luther King Jr., my friend, my leader, my hero, my inspiration, had been assassinated, I cried. I cried like so many others did. I was there with Robert Kennedy, and it was Robert Kennedy who announced to the crowd that Dr. King had been assassinated. I felt like something had died within me and something died in all of us, I think. Something died in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: John Lewis's memories this morning. Another close friend and fellow soldier of the civil rights movement is Andrew Young, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., wants people of all generations to remember another chapter of the movement. One often overlooked.

I recently sat down with Young to talk about his documentary profiling St. Augustine, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (on camera): June 9th, 1964. You mentioned this was a very painful time to relive. But you decided to put it together again.

YOUNG: It really wasn't painful. It was, I think, a critical point in the movement. It was probably the most rigorous test that nonviolence had. And we passed it. If we had not passed it, we could have lost the Civil Rights Act.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At a time when Negroes throughout the south and across the nation have organized demonstrations and civil disorders, to call attention to their demands for more civil rights, Saint Augustine has had its share of conflicts. Trouble developed during a night march on June 9th where more than 200 persons marched downtown to the slave market.

WHITFIELD: Why is it that's a slice of history that very few people knew about and are really going to be reintroduced or introduced to it for the first time through this documentary?

YOUNG: The focus was on Washington. And the House had passed the Civil Rights Act. The Senate was in the process of a filibuster. In the meantime, this movement had been going on for over a year independent of us.

KING: Saint Augustine had the feeling that it was a very peaceful, tranquil community and that it was ahead in race relations, and had done some token things in this area. And then came the movement when the Negro community rose up.

YOUNG: Dr. King was afraid that if it exploded into violence, it would kill the civil rights bill. I think we gave Lyndon Johnson a whole lot of help. The fact that this was on the news while he was trying to break that filibuster was a big help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our whole foreign policy and everything else will go to hell over this. Yesterday (INAUDIBLE) Saint Augustine, they jumped in. Police jumped in. They closed on. They started (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: And these were some of the people that were involved. Dr. Hayling.

YOUNG: Hayling became the first Negro member of the state dental society. He joined the civil rights struggle after the dental group was denied meeting facilities at white hotels and restaurants because of his membership.

Before it was over Dr. Hayling would lose a very lucrative dental practice. His dog would be shot and he himself would be beaten and very nearly killed.

WHITFIELD: Hank Thomas, Purcell (ph) Conway, not household names when you talk about the movement, not at that time and not even today. What were they doing that was so remarkable and that was so independent?

YOUNG: Hank Thomas, for instance, as a student he went and sat down at Woolworth's to get a hamburger. And they didn't know what to do with him.

HANK THOMAS, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: The manager came and asked me what I wanted. Obviously told me I wasn't going to get served.

YOUNG: They wouldn't serve him. But they lit him sit there for a couple of hours. But when six teenagers decided that they were going to picket Woolworth, they got arrested and the judge gave them a year in prison. Unless they signed away their first amendment right to protest.

WHITFIELD: And they wouldn't do it. At least -

YOUNG: Four of the six would not do it.

WHITFIELD: Some of the parents did it.

YOUNG: Yes, that was an exorbitant price to pay.

JOE ANN ANDERSON OLMER, ARRESTED AS ONE OF THE ST. AUGUSTINE FOUR: We never thought that we would be in jail that long or it would have the repercussion it had. We just wanted a hamburger and a Coke. That's what we wanted. But we never did get served.

YOUNG: They were not treated as juveniles, either. They were treated as adults. Girls and boys alike both ended up in adult prisons. Though they were still 16 years old. And the community was enraged. But with the civil rights bill pending, and with clansmen being mobilized from all across north Florida and the Florida panhandle, it was really too much for this small black community. Very vulnerable to take by themselves. Now, my first instruction was to go down and stop it.

WHITFIELD: In Saint Augustine, there was violence. And you were a target.

YOUNG: Well, there was violence against us. But there had been violence against us all over. John Lewis had been beaten up 20, 30 times by then. It happened to be a first for me. But, you know, it was my turn.

ANNOUNCER: The marchers were met by a gang of rock throwing, fist swinging white men. When police were slow to intervene, demonstrators were beaten to the ground and kicked.

WHITFIELD: When you saw the images for the first time, I understand you really just saw the images of that beating in 2006, you say, "then I got mad."

YOUNG: Well, that's what I said. The truth of it is, I was pretty proud. Because - not because I got beat up. But because I got up. It didn't take me down. WHITFIELD: There wasn't a moment ever where you said, OK, you know what? This is just - this is not going to work. You know, hands up. We give up. This is not a fight that we're going to win. Not here.

YOUNG: No. That was not an option. Once we got started, there was no option. It was a fight to the death for us. And Dr. King used to laugh and joke about it. Say, he said, look, somebody's going to have to die. It's not going to be easy. He said, but it's better to die than to kill. Because when you die for what you believe in, it's much more likely to happen. If you kill for what you believe in, all you do is start a cycle of killing.

WHITFIELD: When people think about the civil rights movement and all the poignant moments, marches, fights, they think Montgomery, Birmingham, Salma. They don't think of St. Augustine. Why do you want people to know more about St. Augustine.

YOUNG: Well, people see Birmingham and they don't see Birmingham. They see the dogs and the fire hoses. That was just the tip of the iceberg. St. Augustine, you get a chance to see the people. And you get a chance to see the suffering.

OLMER: You know, it would take a whole lot of courage to stand up to hatred. Have you ever seen hatred where they throw bricks at you, bottles, chains and that? We all experienced that by just watching.

MAUDE BURROUGHS JACKSON: they started throwing everything they could find. And I know they had to bring a lot of that with them. And so many of our people got hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They would pull our Caucasian friends out of the line first.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tall, white guy with a lot of black faces. You knew you was going to get hit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stay in your place, and you'll be all right. In St. Augustine.

YOUNG: By going back and telling the story, and reliving it on film, we hope to start the process of healing. Everywhere I go, I meet people who still relive this not in any shameful or regretting way, but a proud way in that they were the nonviolent soldiers that helped call America back to its constitutional traditions.

WHITFIELD: What is the takeaway from this documentary in your view? What are you hoping?

YOUNG: That freedom is never free. That there's always a struggle for what is right.

WHITFIELD: Do you ever worry that whether it's those who actually lived it or those who feel so distant from the civil rights movement, that there are people who say, you know what, I want to live in the here and now. I don't really want to learn or revisit or see about what happened 40, 45 years ago, because it's ugly, it's hateful, it's embarrassing, and if I just pretend like it didn't happen, you know, we can all just live harmoniously and move on.

YOUNG: If we pretend like it didn't happen, it's almost sure to happen again. Human beings have got to understand their history, or they're doomed to repeat it. If we can look on it and say, look, we've been there. We've been through that. It's time we learned from that that we must live together nonviolently as brothers and sisters, or we will perish together as fools.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: "Andrew Young Presents" is syndicated in about 100 markets. And you can check your local listing to find out when it airs in your area. It's also available on DVD. And my entire interview with Ambassador Andrew Young can be seen on my web site, cnn.com/fredricka.

All right. The Pope addressed the faithful at the Vatican this Easter Sunday. But something was missing from his message.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. A warning about the dangers of domestic terrorism from a Connecticut senator today. Joe Lieberman says America's trains, subways and buses are vulnerable to attack. He thinks more needs to be done to protect them. Lieberman says he is worried about incendiary political rhetoric spurring radicals into launching attacks.

College basketball's final game is set. Little old Butler University in Indianapolis is headed to the big dance. Butler beat Michigan State 52-50 while Duke whipped West Virginia. The championship game is tomorrow night.

Pope Benedict XVI held Easter mass at the Vatican this morning. The Pontiff's message to the crowd didn't mention the expanding sex abuse scandal engulfing the Catholic church. The Pope and other church leaders have been accused by victims for perpetuating a climate which allowed cover-ups to persist for decades.

President Obama and his family are back at the White House after attending Easter services at a Washington church. The Obamas joined more than 1,000 worshippers at the Allen Chapel AME church, a historically black church, on Washington's southeast side. Other Washington area Easter observances included the annual sunrise service at the Arlington National Cemetery. There was a performance by the U.S. Army band and a sermon by the Marine Corps chaplain.

Two differing views on how to get Americans back to work on the Sunday morning talk shows today. On Fox, the GOP's number two leader in the Senate accused Democrats of partisanship on jobs and financial reform. Meantime, White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers tells CNN's "State of the Union" progress is being made in turning around the bleak unemployment situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LAWRENCE H. SUMMERS, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: We've got a long way to go. We've inherited a terrible situation and most pressing economic problems since the Great Depression. In our country, it is the President's preoccupation to put people back to work. That's what the Recovery Act was all about. That's what the legislation he signed into law to give incentives to businesses to hire people who've been out of work was all about.

KYL: I think what Republicans will do is look very carefully at any more spending plans. Because as it turns out, we have spent hundreds of billions of dollars to very little effect. Most of the jobs created are government jobs, even in these latest figures that you noted, 48,000 of the jobs are temporary Census takers. It's not the kind of private sector job creation that we know will sustain an economic recovery

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We hope this has been a peaceful, joyous Easter holiday.

Next, a mad scramble as you see right there for eggs. But guess what? It turned a little scary.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. No doubt your Easter Sunday filled with lots of music and, of course, eggs. Take a look at this. It was supposed to be an Easter egg hunt. But it also turned into a free for all as many usually do. But take a look here, 60,000 eggs were actually dropped from a helicopter at the Rochester Fairgrounds in New Hampshire yesterday. And that sent about 10,000 people scrambling. Church organizers didn't expect such a huge crowd. Volunteers tried to hold some of the folks back. But there were still reports of people getting elbowed, trampled. They were scrambling for those eggs. No reports of any serious injuries however. The church isn't sure if it will sponsor another one of these kinds of egg hunts.

Bonnie Schneider is in the Weather Center. It was beautiful weather whether it be by helicopter, egg drop or egg hunt anywhere else.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well you know what's funny about those eggs, they had goodies inside. Not only was there candy but there were certificates for ipods and xboxs and flat-screened TVs.

WHITFIELD: That explains the scramble.

SCHNEIDER: Yes, that would get the parents motivated as well I think to find the eggs. Fredricka, it's a gorgeous Easter Sunday across much of the country. Temperatures are feeling like it is summertime, really. Even into the northeast where it's 74 degrees in New York City, 77 in Boston. Great weather for tonight for the Red Sox season opener. And we also have the season opener down in Atlanta where the temperature has been in the 80s the past few days, that is tomorrow playing the Chicago Cubs. We have a live picture to show you of Atlanta, Georgia, and it is looking like another fine afternoon. Just like yesterday, look for highs to stay in the 80s. It is hot out there. Temperatures are 10 to 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. I think folks in Atlanta were ready for it. It snowed several times this winter, very unusual.

All right. Check it out we're watching another winter storm coming in across parts of the northwest. I call it a winter storm because it's a cold core Pacific storm that will bring very substantial snow to the areas of the Sierra Nevada as well as cascades. Also, wind and rain we are seeing that occurring right now into Portland, some snow also through the mountains of Oregon as well.

But then when you look farther to the south that is where we're seeing more substantial rain develop across California. Now, this is important to note for those of you that are heading back to work or traveling even right now for Easter Sunday. In the Bay area the rain is coming down lightly. But it will get more intense tonight. I'm anticipating thunderstorms. As that storm system drops farther to the south we'll start to see more measurable rain in the Santa Barbara area. And then for Los Angeles tomorrow morning we could see about a half inch of rain so keep that in mind it could be raining for several hours Monday morning in the Los Angeles area and possibly further south as well towards San Diego. Back to work tomorrow, we'll be watching for that.

There it is San Francisco if you are traveling an hour and 55 minute delays right now. It will probably stay like that throughout much of the day because the weather is not improving in the Bay area. I think the rain will also affect air travel for tomorrow into Los Angeles and into San Francisco as well because the storm system's kind of a slow mover, as you can see. The threat for severe weather exists in a small pocket of the country right in the Midwest. As of now, I haven't seen too much in the way of severe thunderstorms. Just one popping up south of Davenport, Iowa. As we go through the day we have a lot of warm air with temperatures above normal, some colder air coming in. Certainly wintry weather enough to create the snowfall that is sliding to the east.

We'll see heavy snow through Idaho and into the mountains there, into Nevada as well as we go through tonight. Winter storm advisory is already posted for tonight into tomorrow. But just watching the storm system today, it doesn't look too severe. Just as I mentioned this cell right here just south of Davenport is getting a little intense. Reports of minor dime-size hail in the region. More moderate rain into Chicago. Not really thunderstorms.

Also down through Bloomington into Indiana and Illinois we're looking at the threat for some wet weather. A lot of this is sliding to the east. At least the temperatures are super warm, Fredricka. So we are enjoying, again, a nice Easter Sunday overall. I can't believe how warm it is. It feels like summertime in many places.

WHITFIELD: It really does. We skipped spring, we went straight to summer. Particularly in the southeast. I saw your map. Looking at the big burst of sun right there over Georgia. That means great weather for the Masters Tournament as well. That kicks off this week. Always a great time of year seeing all those beautiful azaleas in bloom.

SCHNEIDER: Just be prepared for warm weather if you're heading to watch it.

WHITFIELD: You know what Bonnie it's going to be hot for many reasons. This is a week that a lot of golf fans and fans of Tiger Woods are certainly waiting for. He takes another step toward reclaiming his golf game after an infidelity scandal. Why he'll be back in front of the cameras tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Tiger Woods is back at the Augusta National Golf Course, home of the Masters Tournament. He arrived a short time ago and he's likely to face plenty of pressure tomorrow when he goes back in front of the microphone for a news conference. But some say his return is about more than just Tiger's game and the infidelity scandal that tarnished his image. The golf channel's Jim Gray joins us now from Indianapolis. Jim good to see you.

JIM GRAY, THE GOLF CHANNEL: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. So Tiger needs this tournament. Of course, golf needs Tiger. So which or whom stands to gain the most here?

GRAY: Well, maybe it could be a win/win. Maybe Tiger can come back out and be in public and be able to put this scandal behind him. Maybe at the press conference tomorrow he'll be able to answer some of the questions that the press and public has wanted to hear him answer since all of this happened back on the evening of Thanksgiving. And golf can win because he is the best player in the world of golf, perhaps the best player to ever play. So if he can get back out on the course and start playing the game that he has perfected, it's possible it could be a win/win for both.

WHITFIELD: Yes, so one wonders why, tomorrow, Monday, 2:00 Eastern Time, CNN will be covering it live, that Tiger Woods will be addressing the media there at the Masters. Presumably he wants only to talk about golf. But he knows that there are going to be questions about everything else as well. Or are we talking about the Masters Tournament being so controlled that perhaps there are conditions that the reporters have to adhere to?

GRAY: Well, I don't know of any conditions that have been placed on the reporters. I'm here at the final four where Butler will play Duke tomorrow night for the national championship. So I don't know what the conditions, if there are any conditions, at Augusta National, I haven't heard that the reporters going will be told that there are any conditions on the questions.

However, Augusta National likes to talk about golf. The Masters is what's most important to them. They've been in a circumstance before where they've had controversy and they've handled it in a way where they've been able to deflect those questions. I don't know exactly what the circumstance will be tomorrow. But I would hope for Tiger Woods' sake that he would try and answer the questions as best as possible. What he doesn't want to talk about and says is a private matter; he will remain to say that. But he should be at least able to be asked the questions and I would think for him, it would be best for Tiger at this point if he could do his best to try and give the press and the public and those who are interested in all of this some of what has gone on in his life since that accident and the affairs, not necessarily the details of any of the affairs, I don't know that anybody is interested in that.

I certainly know as a member of the press his sexual behavior and things he's done with others, that is a private matter. But certainly the other behaviors that have gone on and things that have taken him down to this crash where he is right now, I think it would be best for him if he could answer some of these questions, then say at the end of that press conference, hey, guys, gals, I've answered these to the best of my ability. Now we're going to talk about golf. Unless something else comes up in my life that gives you the ability to ask these questions again, it's asked and answered. We're moving forward now. That's in my rear-view mirror. But if he doesn't its going to keep going on.

WHITFIELD: Jim, your thoughts on why the Masters. He may be pursuing that fifth green jacket, right, at Augusta? Why would this be the tournament where he says I am re-entering golf?

GRAY: Well, Tiger Woods has 14 major championships. The four major championships this year will be played in Whistling Straights that will be the PGA, the British Open will be played over at St. Andrews, and Devil Beach will host the U.S. Open and the Augusta National every year for the masters. Those four tournaments are the ones that he's chasing. He's trying to get to Jack Nicklaus; Jack Nicklaus has 18 major championships. He wants to try and break that record. He's 34 years of age.

If you take the first three courses in that rotation, Augusta, Pebble Beach and the British Open over at St. Andrews, he has won half of his major. He's won seven majors on those three courses. This is an important year for him if he wants to be considered the all-time greatest golfer based on major championships if he's going to continue that pursuit.

Bu to come back at the Masters now, he's been gone for 144 days, at some point he has to move on with his life and do what he does best and that's golf. I just don't know how much longer he can take away from the game. If he's going to repair his relationship with his wife, golf and his job are going to be a part of that. I think it's just time to come back. Augusta offered him a lot of protection. The crowd is controlled. The patrons in the gallery there, the same fans who go every year, all of their badges are issued through a very sophisticated way. It's an environment where it's not going to be quite the same as any of the other PGA tour events.

WHITFIELD: We know that Tiger Woods is steely. He has the most steel of composure at any tournament. I think that will probably be brought to a whole new level this week at Augusta.

Meantime, you're in Indianapolis. You've been covering NCAA. Now we're talking, it's down to Duke, Coach K. and Butler a big final tomorrow night. Are you willing to reveal anything about what you believe the outcome will be? GRAY: I think it's going to be fun. I mean, everybody's seen the movie "Hoosiers." This is the real life film taking place. Hingle Field house is where Butler plays. That is where the film was. Butler's a much better team than that team that won in the film. Butler has won 25 games in a row and they are going up against the national powerhouse, this is Mike's eighth championship game. An opportunity for him to win his fourth. The NCAA championship, there's just one in the history of Butler. That was for a woman in 2005 who won a Steeple Chase championship. Duke has a tremendous amount of titles. It should be fun. The big guy against the little guy. Here on the little guy's home court, there'll be 71,000 and there'll probably be about 65,000 of them that will be for Butler. It should be fun.

WHITFIELD: What a legacy either way. Jim Gray, good to see you.

GRAY: Absolutely. Great to be with you, hope all is well.

WHITFIELD: We'll be watching you, too. All is good. We will be watching you too in Augusta. Take care.

GRAY: Thanks Fred good to be with you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much Jim, it was good to see you too. Top stories are next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. There was more violence in Iraq today. Three bombs exploded in Baghdad within five minutes of each other, killing at least 30 people. All three explosions occurred near embassies. Authorities think it was a coordinated attack. The violence may be linked to political uncertainty after indecisive parliamentary elections last month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FUAD AHMED, BOMBING SURVIVOR (via Translator): Is this the results of the elections we voted in? We voted. What did we vote for? If they can tell us where there is safe place to go to, we will go there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Just two days ago suspected al Qaeda gunmen massacred 25 people in a village outside Baghdad.

"Discovery" is ready for liftoff. The space shuttle is scheduled to launch just after 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. The crew will deliver supplies and science equipment to the International Space Station. Some of the seven astronauts will also take part in three space walks.

And there's a scramble to protect the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. A Chinese ship carrying 65,000 tons of coal ran aground near the reef today and started leaking oil. The ship has some 950 tons of oil on board. The plane is expected to spray a chemical solution on the leak to help with the cleanup. Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai says there will be no military offensive in Kandahar Province without the approval of tribal leader. He and U.S. General Stanley McChrystal met with those leaders today. They're trying to win support for an upcoming offensive against Taliban rebels. NATO forces hope to strike in June. Mr. Karzai told tribal leaders that they won't start, quote, until you say we can.

Lights, camera, no action. The surprisingly silent celebrity interview. Outtakes.

This is the first full week of April. The major league baseball season begins this week. This is also the week of the Masters Golf Tournament. So here is some of what happened this week in history.

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WHITFIELD (voice over): Twenty years ago in 1990, Ryan White died at the age of 18. He was a hemophiliac who got Aids from a tainted transfusion. His battle for acceptance helped dispel myths during the early years of the Aids crises.

Seventy years ago in 1940, Nazi Germany invaded Denmark and Norway. It occupied them until the end of World War II five years later.

One hundred fifty years ago in 1860, W.K. Kellogg was born in Battle Creek, Michigan, as the co-inventor and chief promoter of Corn Flakes who helped change the way America eats breakfast.

One hundred sixty years ago in 1850, the city of Los Angeles was incorporated. And 180 years ago in 1830, Joseph Smith organized the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Better known as the Mormons.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Do you ever wonder what politicians and TV personalities do right before they reach the airways? Well wonder no longer. An art exhibit in Connecticut features an entire exhibit of off hour outtakes and the footage is surprisingly silent. Here is CNNs Jeanne Moos.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): They sit down and get miked up to get ready for their close-up. But something seems off.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): It's quiet.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): I've just never seen anyone in such repose. He looks almost meditative.

MOOS: Carville, quiet. An oxymoron. You know all those talking heads on TV going blah, blah, and blah. Not here. What's called the silent echo chamber. There's John McCain, military bearing eyes boring into you. Chris Matthews who seems to forget to blink.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): She looks like a complete statue.

MOOS: The statue would be Henry Kissinger. Like portraits they hang on the walls at the Aldridge Contemporary Art Museum in Connecticut.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Somehow you feel that you're seeing into their soul.

MOOS: From Larry King grimacing to Wolf Blitzer sinking his teeth into his script to Joe Biden sinking his teeth into a pastry, washing it down then coming back for more.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): Looked like an eclair didn't it?

MOOS: Who collects this stuff?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I call it a hobby or a sickness.

MOOS: Comedian and actor Harry Sheer is mum on the how part. I just assume he's stealing satellite signals.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I think he won't admit to any technique.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): I'm like Dick Cheney, sources and methods.

MOOS: Sheer got hooked more than three decades ago when he saw footage of Richard Nixon right before his resignation speech. Nixon even sat down.

RICHARD NIXON: You're better looking than I am. Why don't you stay here? All secret service? Is there any secret service in the room? Out. I'm just kidding.

MOOS: It was Sheer who collected this famous John Edwards clip.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): I feel pretty.

MOOS: Someone else put it to music. Others include annoyed hosts.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): What are you doing?

MOOS: Ann Coulter joking around about chewing Nicorette.

ANN COULTER: Chop it up so I can snort it.

MOOS: Dan Rather debating about how to wear the collar of his trench coat and Katie Couric micking Dan Rather.

KATIE COURIC: What do you think open?

MOOS: The Aldridge Museum Exhibit doesn't show embarrassing moments but rather who the person is.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): In those moments before they put their TV personality on.

MOOS: For instance Dr. Phil not giving advice. Sean Hannity sanitizing or moisturizing. Before our interview with Sheer we nabbed him making noises. And tucking his shirt into his pants. At least when a talking head is silent, he doesn't have to eat his words.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE): No more. No more.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much for sharing this Easter Sunday with us. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Baptist leaders may cut ties to an Atlanta church because it has a woman as a copastor. What's her reaction? Don Lemon will talk to her live in the 7:00 p.m. Eastern Hour of THE NEWSROOM.

Right now, I talk with an artist who's challenging China's communist leaders on "Amanpour."