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Hijacking Attempt Thwarted; Homes Blasted to Splinters; Texas Cattle Ranch Ravaged; Pinning Down Donald Trump; Trump's Voting Record; The Bombing of Tripoli; Return to Segregated Schools; Boy Details Jesus after Near-Death Experience; Countdown to the Royal Wedding; NFL Star Stabbed, Wife Charged
Aired April 24, 2011 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Right now on CNN. A crude reality.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are alive, our neighbors are alive, and our son is alive. And so, we are OK.
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LEMON: Surviving a fierce tornado, now the aftermath. Flattened homes, decimated lives and a trail of destruction.
And witness to revolution.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tracer fire is flying in the air.
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LEMON: My one-on-one with CNN's Nic Robertson back from a region in turmoil. His up close and personal on what has happened and where it goes from here.
Plus, meeting Jesus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had really pretty blue eyes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: An 11-year-old boy says he not only met the son of god, but he's been in heaven and back. My conversation with him and his father.
Plus, truth or dare? With the Donald Trump called on the carpet accused of lying about his voting record. The man who broke the story joins us live. I'm Don Lemon. The news starts right now.
And we begin with breaking news. Some frightening moments tonight aboard an Alitalia flight, reportedly an attempted hijacking. Flight 329 took off from Paris en route to Rome. And reports say an agitated passenger attacked a flight attendant demanding the flight be diverted to Tripoli, Libya.
Italy's state-run news agency says the attacker is a man from Kazakhstan who attacked the flight attendant with a nail clipper. Some news agencies are reporting it was actually a knife, though CNN has not confirmed that. But Alitalia did confirm to CNN that other flight attendants immobilized the attacker and the plane and its 131 passengers landed safely in Rome.
The attacker was taken into police custody. The flight attendant was taken to the airport emergency room for a check-up.
CNN's international editor Azadeh Ansari joins us now with the details.
So Azadeh, it's early morning in Rome now. Lots of investigating to be done, but do we know anything, anything about this? Does it have to do with the unrest in Libya?
AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK: Well, right now, Don, it's still at the early hours and we cannot make that parallel and we can't draw those conclusions. However, we do know based on the statements that was released from Alitalia that this apparently agitated passenger did approach a flight attendant and asked for the flight from Paris to Rome to be diverted to Tripoli, Libya. So that's all we have, and that's based on the statement that Alitalia released themselves.
Now, again, all 131 passengers have arrived in Rome, and they are safe. And, again, according to the state media reports, as you said, Italy's state news agency, also they are saying that he was from Kazakhstan and he apparently attacked the flight attendant.
LEMON: And there's some discrepancy about whether it's a nail clipper or a knife, but that reporting will be worked out when Rome starts to wake up. It's early morning there.
ANSARI: Correct.
LEMON: Do we know anything else about this man except him being from Kazakhstan?
ANSARI: Not at this stage. We don't. But, again, this is a story that's evolving, and we should have more details as we go on into the hours here.
LEMON: All right. Azadeh Ansari from our international desk. Thank you.
ANSARI: OK.
LEMON: Now this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out. Get out. Go back inside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This is our other big news on CNN tonight.
Panic inside the terminal at the St. Louis airport, running for cover as a powerful tornado bears down. The damage crippled Lambert Airport for a time. But tonight flights are coming and going again.
One of the concourses is still closed so it's not totally back on schedule. Still, it's a lot better than Saturday when only a handful of flights landed. Crews are still working to get everything back online.
And, you know, it's been a very long weekend for people who live in the tornado's path. This is what winds of 166 miles per hour or more can do. Lots of cleanup today, and in the weeks ahead in these neighborhoods. 750 homes were damaged. But despite the loss of property, there was no loss of life. There are no reports of deaths or serious injuries.
Our Dan Simon has been talking with tornado with tornado victims in Missouri all day long. For many of them, as Dan tells us, the cleanup is just beginning.
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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An emotional Marcy and Kevin Baker see their home for the first time since the tornado hit Friday evening. They have a 15-month-old baby, who slept in what was a nursery on the second floor.
MARCY BAKER, LOST HOUSE IN THE TORNADO: We are alive, our neighbors are alive and our son is alive. And so we are OK.
SIMON: They are OK because the Bakers were out of town in Texas. Today, they grab some boxes, pack up what they can and begin to think about what it will be like starting over.
BAKER: We have a dining room table, couch, love seat, chair, TV and stereo.
SIMON: Across the street, Laura Walter can't believe her bad luck. She shows us why. Pointing to the sign in the front yard; the house was for sale and had gotten a buyer.
(on camera): When were you supposed to close?
LAURA WALTER, LOST HOUSE IN TORNADO: Thursday, this coming Thursday.
SIMON: And has that person been informed?
WALTER: I have no idea. I haven't really had much time to do anything but clean up here.
SIMON (voice-over): This is the St. Louis suburb of Bridgeton, a tornado cutting a path down this entire street.
(on camera): Tell me about your house.
CHUCK GREEN, HOST HOME AND BUSINESS: Gone. Our roof was sitting on the vehicles out on the street. Inside the house was open to the storm. The back porch and the house was blown out.
SIMON (voice-over): Ironically, Chuck Green lost his emergency service business, too, since he worked at home.
GREEN: Today is calm down my wife, have a good meal and regroup Monday morning. Start all over.
SIMON (on camera): As if you needed more evidence on how powerful this storm was, I want to show you this. This is one of the most unusual things we've seen. This is from the frame of a house, this a two-by-four piece of wood driven right through the radiator of this SUV.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, until you see it in person, I think it's even more devastating.
SIMON (voice-over): One person finds humor in all this misery, a "For Sale" sign in front of a destroyed vehicle.
Dan Simon, CNN, Bridgeton, Missouri.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And from tornadoes to wildfires burning across Texas.
Up next, we meet a family who has lost nearly everything, but they still have hope for the future.
And many of you have been asking for information on social media. You can check us out on Twitter, Facebook, CNN.com/Don and on FourSquare.com.
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LEMON: Cooler temperatures have given Texas fire fighters a much needed break this weekend, but they are bracing for more flare-ups tomorrow as warm, dry weather sweeps across that state. The worst of it has been in Palo Pinto County where flames have destroyed nearly 200 homes.
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LEMON: And for the next two days, fire fighters will rely on helicopters and military planes like you see there to douse the blaze with retardant.
Meantime, hundreds of residents forced to evacuate returned to their homes this weekend, but officials warn they may need to evacuate again. Among those who fled the wildfires, the Courmac Family in the town of Strawn. Nearly every single inch of their 10,000-acre cattle ranch was singed. The fire spared nothing, not even their herd.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann rode along. And a warning, some of the images are disturbing.
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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN ALL PLATFORM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Texas cowboy rides out through a charred landscape to round up his cattle. Instead, Justin Cormack comes upon a horrifying scene.
JUSTIN CORMACK, TEXAS RANGER: Not a lot to say.
OPPMANN: Overrun by a sudden and fast-moving wildfire, his family's cows were all but incinerated. A loss that can break even a tough cowboy's heart.
JUSTIN CORMACK: It's something you can't really explain. I mean, this is home. I know a lot of people who think this is the land, but you know, this is my backyard and we've run cattle out here since I was a baby, and so --
OPPMANN: All Justin can do is marked the dead. The Cormacks hope they will be compensated for the fire's wrath. It's not yet clear if that will happen. So far about 15 percent of the herd has been claimed by the blaze.
JUSTIN CORMACK: You can see all the burn marks down her leg and her hip.
OPPMANN: Other cattle were badly injured and will be put down.
JUSTIN CORMACK: Wildfires here, it happened --
OPPMANN: Justin came back from medical school to help his mom and brother with the aftermath of the fires. The Cormacks have raised cattle here for 25 years. 10,000 acres of North Texas, now almost every inch is charred.
(on camera): Walked across this ranch and you'll have a hard time finding anything that's not burned from hilltop to hilltop. The fire incinerated nearly everything, including the fields where the Cormack Family's cattle graze.
JUSTIN CORMACK: You couldn't really even see the flames but it was moving. It was booking it.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Brother Jake needs to find new pasture from the cattle he saved from the wall of fire.
(on camera): Did you ever worry that you might go out of business with this?
JAKE CORMACK, TEXAS RANGER: Yes. It crossed my mind a lot actually, but we've been really happy that we have friends all over and people, strangers that have really come together and donated as much hay as they can and gone out there looking for other grass leases for us to put our cattle on until we can get over this hump.
OPPMANN (voice-over): There really is no other choice.
JUSTIN CORMACK: It's not just a job. I mean, it literally is a way of life. And I just couldn't picture myself doing anything else, even if I was a CEO and making $1 million a year. This is what we do.
OPPMANN: The Cormacks say they have overcome tough times before, and so, too, they will endure this trial by fire.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Strawn, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Coming up here on CNN, Donald Trump likes to talk.
He's been bragging that he has more money than Mitt Romney. So how much money does he really have? And has he been lying about his voting record? The man who broke that story joins us live.
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LEMON: Donald Trump has got a lot of money. That much we know. And if he's going to run for president, he might need every single cent. But when he brags about his billions, he shies away from specifics.
CNN Susan Candiotti got him on the phone to see if he put his money where his mouth is.
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SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "The Apprentice" opening boasts about the power of --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Money.
But pinning down Donald Trump's own wealth is tricky business. We talked by phone.
(on camera): You say your wealth is more than $2.7 billion. How much more? Is it more than $6?
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: Well, it's much more.
CANDIOTTI: Is it more than $10? Is it less than 20?
TRUMP: I would say -- well, I don't want to do that because I don't want to ruin the suspense for the day that I possibly announce, but I will tell you it is much more.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Announce whether he'll run for president. If he does, he'll have to tell all on a required financial disclosure form. For now it's a guessing game.
TRUMP: My big thing is real estate. I mean, I do great at real estate. I mean, I'm really good at it.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Can you give us a dollar amount?
TRUMP: And people will see.
Well, I'd rather wait honestly until the filing.
CANDIOTTI: How about just the "Celebrity Apprentice" contract?
TRUMP: It's been a very, very lucrative show.
CANDIOTTI: Well, just give us a number.
TRUMP: I'd rather not.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Clearly he's a wealthy man. Trump's name is in gold on 40 Wall Street, one of many assets.
Want to play on a Trump golf course? High-rise apartment buildings on New York City's West Side all say Trump but his stake in them is less than clear.
How about Trump vodka? Trump steaks? Thirsty for some Trump spring water? He won't say how much he makes on those deals either.
TRUMP: I make a lot from licensing. I make a lot from a lot of things.
CANDIOTTI: Should Trump's net worth matter to potential voters?
STU ROTHENBERG, COLUMNIST, ROLL CALL: They need to be comfortable with the person. And Donald Trump, part of who he is, is how he's made his money and how he's lived his life.
CANDIOTTI: People do wonder about his riches.
ESOSA AMASWA, STUDENT: He has a lot of dealings with -- that, you know, affect many people. And I would like to know if he has the people's best interests in heart.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): You're gone through some well-publicized bankruptcies.
TRUMP: Well, let's stop that because that's wrong. I never went bankrupt at all.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): True. His Atlantic City casinos were thrown into Chapter 11 Trump says strategically to save the business. TRUMP: We've used the laws of this country to our benefit but we've used the laws of this country to reduce debt. Now I had a casino company and still have. I have a casino company where I cut the debt from $1.8 billion to approximately $300 million.
CANDIOTTI: How much of the casinos does he still own?
(On camera): How much?
TRUMP: It's a very valuable piece.
CANDIOTTI: Can you say --
TRUMP: It's a very valuable piece.
(CROSSTALK)
CANDIOTTI: What percentage?
TRUMP: I don't want to say. But it is a nice chunk.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): But if he runs and opens his books --
(on camera): Are owe prepared for the kind of scrutiny that that is going to unleash?
TRUMP: I'm sort of a public person for 20 years. I mean people know me. And they know --
CANDIOTTI: But they don't really know -- they don't really know what you're worth.
TRUMP: Well, they don't -- well in a way --
CANDIOTTI: They don't.
TRUMP: They don't know that much because I'm a private person in terms of financial, but that will be disclosed.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Maybe then we'll get a sense of his dollars.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: The president was born here. This birther issue is more than one person. There's a lot of groups that have glommed on to this. I think the Republicans are making a terrible mistake in making this a big issue. We have immigration. We have the deficit. We have the economy. Those are the things that the public cares about.
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LEMON: Now on to the politics of Donald Trump.
That was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, fellow billionaire and fellow New Yorker and friend to Donald Trump.
Bloomberg coming down on a very different side of the so-called birther issue than Trump is.
So let's hear what CNN contributor and political anchor New York 1 Errol Louis has to say about this and other issues.
So, Errol, what's your assessment to Bloomberg's remarks?
ERROL LOUIS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Bloomberg is an independent now. He's been a Democrat. He's been a Republican. Now he's an independent. And frankly, he's speaking for this 69 percent of independent voters out there. A very crucial segment of the voting populace, who think that the birther issue is nonsense. That's what they tell the pollsters.
They are satisfied that the president was born here. It was a good piece of political advice. It's unclear whether or not Donald Trump wants to take it.
LEMON: All right. Let's move on to a story that your team broke on Friday on New York 1.
Donald Trump's voting record. That's what we're talking about.
Here's what Trump said in an interview when presented with evidence he hasn't voted in many years. And this is New York 1.
He said in a phone interview, he says, "I voted in every general election. You're going to pay a big price because you're wrong. I have records that I voted and so does the Board of Elections. I signed in at every election."
OK, but the board of elections tells a different story, Errol.
LOUIS: Board of elections. You know, we did our shoe leather. Great, young reporter named Michael Herzenberg did the foot work.
He voted, Donald Trump did in the Republican primary in 1989, and then for the next 21 years, he didn't vote in any primaries at all. I mean, and that's, you know -- and during that period, by the way, he switched parties so one wonders why are you switching from Democratic registration to Republican, from Republican to Democratic registration if you're not going to vote in the primaries. And these included some pretty big races.
We're not even sure he voted in the primary in 2008 between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. And he missed at least one big general election along the way as well.
So his outrage and his, you know, sort of bluff and bluster, sort of vaguely threatening to sue us and that kind of thing is really misplaced. The reality is he is not somebody who has been all that engaged in the political process as a voter. And ironically now, he's floating these rumors, these rumors have circulated that he might want to run in a primary himself.
It might be a little bit harder to get diehard Republicans to do that if they hear that he kind of avoided their primary for over a decade.
LEMON: And, Errol, I want to get your quick answer to this.
My ultimate question, is this going to affect him? What does this say if anything about his honesty or his candor?
LOUIS: I don't know if it's dishonest. I mean, he did a typical sort of politician's evasion. He says you'll be in a lot of trouble. I've got proof that I voted in general elections. Well, that's not what the story was. The story was about primary elections. He did miss at least one general in 2002, but you know, it doesn't do any good to start down that road.
But this is somebody who as we've talked about many times, Don, has really pushed for a lot of publicity and, you know, you'll live by the media and you die by the media.
LEMON: Errol Louis, thank you very much, sir. We appreciate it.
It's been a year of dramatic change in the Middle East, and our Nic Robertson has seen it unfold firsthand.
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ROBERTSON: Tracer fire is flying in the air.
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LEMON: Nic is a witnessed to revolution throughout the region. Ahead his inside look at the bigger picture.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a clear sign that the military --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Getting caught up on tonight's headlines.
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LEMON: The close call early Sunday for a police helicopter in Los Angeles. It happened near the Van Nuys Airport. Officers are responding to a call about a man with an assault rifle when several shots were fired at the helicopter. No one was hurt, and it did land safely at the airport. The alleged gunman was later arrested.
If you see this man, call the FBI. He is 65-year-old Earl Albert Moore. The FBI named Moore a suspect in last week's failed bomb attempt at a mall in Littleton, Colorado.
Investigators believe Moore planted a pipe bomb near a mall food court last Wednesday, the anniversary of the columbine school massacre. Moore has an extensive criminal record and was released from prison less than two weeks ago.
It is a go for Gabrielle Giffords. Doctors have cleared the congresswoman to attend Friday's launch of the space shuttle "Endeavour." Sources tell CNN, Giffords will be accompanied by a nurse. Her husband Mark Kelly is commanding the launch. Giffords is said to be speaking in short sentences and walking. She was shot in the head at a political event back in January.
Heavy shelling in Misrata today just hours after Moammar Gadhafi claimed his forces were retreating from the city. One of the attacks was caught on amateur video.
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(BOMB EXPLOSION)
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LEMON: You can hear the bomb explode and see the plume of smoke just a few hundred yards away from that group of rebels.
Meantime, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham today calling on coalition forces to up the ante in Libya suggesting they bomb Gadhafi's inner circle.
More protests in Yemen today despite reports that President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to step down within 30 days. The deal was brokered by other Persian Gulf nations, but protesters say Saleh should leave right now. They also object to a provision giving Saleh immunity from prosecution.
The fighting in Libya is far from over, and the outcome is not at all certain. For the past month, CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has been covering this ongoing conflict from Moammar Gadhafi's stronghold of Tripoli.
And I recently sat down with Nic to talk about the night of March 19th when NATO bombs began to fall on Tripoli. You saw and heard that breaking news first right here.
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LEMON: You were among the first, if not the first, to report on the air strikes and to bring that to the American public.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Very heavy gunfire.
(CROSSTALK) LEMON: And if you're quiet just for a moment, let's listen. If you can get close to the window or an opening and maybe we can hear it. As of now, we don't. Is it still going on?
(GUNFIRE)
ROBERTSON: It's still going on at the moment, Don. Let me get a little closer.
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ROBERTSON: I'd gone to bed and then I heard the anti-aircraft gunfire start and the cameraman was in another room.
LEMON: Who's your photographer again?
ROBERTSON: Haleila (ph) Abdullah.
LEMON: Great job. He did a great job. I was very --
ROBERTSON: He did an awesome job. I mean, he was absolutely incredible. We couldn't have done what we did without him. He speaks Arabic. He's got an excellent editorial head on his shoulders. He's a great guy, a great asset.
LEMON: He knew what --
ROBERTSON: Well, he was in his room setting up, because he heard this. And he got the camera out and he was setting up to go live with our transmission equipment to do that. I was in my room and I could hear it. And I remembered back to 2003 in Baghdad hearing the first bombs coming in then, and calling through the international desk to get the story on the air.
And I was -- my cell phones were dead because the government cut those services off. I was trying to use the hotel phone, and then I realized that I could, I still had Internet in my room so I could Skype. So I was connecting here to Atlanta through Skype. Got put through to the show, and then I think you were saying, "Well, let us hear what's going on?"
And I think by that stage, I'd opened my balcony doors, I'd taken my laptop outside on to the balcony because it was wireless Internet, and so my computer was open and then you could hear the noise of everything that was going on.
And then I realized, you were saying "Wait a minute, wait a minute, you got live pictures coming in" and that made me realize, Haleil's got his camera up and running. I got to get there. I got to get there. I think I said, "OK, give me like a minute to move. I put my shirt on and then raced down the hall." That's the first time I've relived that moment. I haven't even thought about it.
LEMON: Yes. That was a great moment and that moment has replayed, it's all over the Internet. We said it was perhaps one of the most dramatic moments of the conflict. Having been there, what?
ROBERTSON: Having been there there's a real possibility of wide scale bloodshed because of the tribal structure of the country if the conflict doesn't come to an end. And it would be a shame if it is allowed to run out of control. This can be brought under control more quickly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: CNN's international correspondent -- senior international correspondent Nic Robertson.
Just ahead, an 11-year-old describes what he says was a meeting with Jesus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had really pretty blue eyes. A smile brighter than any other smile that I've ever seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Hear what else he told me about his trip to heaven.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We want to go now to the big stories in the week ahead from D.C. to Tinsel town.
Our correspondents tell you what you need to know. We begin in our nation's capital.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Bolduan at the White House. The president and first lady start off their week with the annual Easter egg roll. And then Tuesday, the president will host the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates here at the White House.
Wednesday, the president and first lady fly to Chicago for a taping with Oprah Winfrey before the president flies to New York for two fund-raising events there.
The following day, the president will host the president of Panama back here at the White House. And, finally on Friday, the first family travels to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to watch the launch of the space shuttle "Endeavour." The husband of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is commander of that shuttle.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Figuring what to do in Libya remains a top priority. NATO is still in the lead prosecuting that air war over Moammar Gadhafi to Libya, but bad weather, difficulty in finding targets, all of that making it very tough for NATO to prosecute the air war and for the U.S. presence. Predator drones armed with missiles now flying over Libya, but hampered by that bad weather. So expect a debate about the word stalemate to go on for some days to come. POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. And coming up this week, Wall Street will be watching Main Street as we get key housing reports on both sales volume and home prices across major U.S. cities.
And central bankers gather Tuesday for their two-day policy meeting in Washington. We'll get their announcement on interest rates, Wednesday. And Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will give his first ever news conference following that announcement.
Finally, we'll get the first look at just how much the U.S. economy grew in the first three months of this year with the first-quarter GDP report, and that is coming out on Thursday. We'll track it all for you, of course, on CNN money.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer. Here's what we're watching this week. The royal wedding, of course. We're just days away now to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
"Showbiz Tonight's" Brooke Anderson is live from London starting on Monday with all the big, breaking wedding news. "Showbiz Tonight," live at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN. And we're still TV's most provocative entertainment news show at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.
LEMON: All right, thank you, guys.
And we turn to the weather. Some wicked storms are ripping through much of the country right now from Arkansas all the way to D.C.
So we turn now to our newest meteorologist joining us here in the CNN weather team.
Alexandra Steele, joining us on what is starting as a big weather week, in some areas being hit right now.
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, absolutely. But right now, as really rough as it looks on radar, Don, certainly could be a lot worse. Of course, two weekends ago in Raleigh, the beginning of this weekend. And as we head towards this week, certainly going to be quite a severe weather week.
Right now, though, you can see, we do have delineated here in the red. Of course, tornado watches. Meaning the atmosphere is ripe for tornadoes to develop. We do have two tornado warnings, meaning they have been spotted on radar. One in Texas and one here in eastern Arkansas. Again, these lines moving east about 25 to 30 miles per hour.
Bigger picture, though, you can see, from Springfield all the way to Louisville. Not so much tornadic activity or hail or wind tonight, but inundation of rain over the same areas, training, so flooding, flash flooding, really a concern here, and the problem is it's been raining for days and will continue to rain for days.
So let's move it a little bit now into the northeast. Earlier tonight, in Philadelphia and Baltimore and Washington. You're watching us from there. You know you had some storms. Not massive storms, but some storms nonetheless moved through. But for the most part, they have pushed east over the water. Quiet conditions now but, Don, that certainly won't be the case in the next couple of days.
LEMON: Everything you explained, what I'm wondering about and I'm sure a lot of people are, tomorrow's commute tonight.
STEELE: All right, it's going to be rough and especially in a couple of areas.
So let me show you where we're going to see the worst of it. What we're going to see again, tonight, where the rain is now. But here's what we're going to see the worst of things tomorrow.
We're going to see Little Rock, Houston and Dallas. This quadrant of concern, it's been impacted day in and day out. Again, tomorrow, a little more tornadic. The potential for tornadoes, Little Rock, Jackson, Houston, St. Louis even and all the way here toward Washington, D.C. even.
So tomorrow's impact flying in or out, driving around the belt ways of Washington or Baltimore, flying into BWI, Reagan National, even west of town to Dallas.
St. Louis, Memphis, Dallas, all will be impacted with hail, winds and even some isolated tornadoes. So a very rough day tomorrow. But, Don, even into Tuesday and Wednesday of this coming week, a rough weather week for sure.
LEMON: Be prepared.
STEELE: Be prepared.
LEMON: Thank you.
STEELE: Thank you.
LEMON: Words of wisdom from Alexandra Steele. Welcome to CNN.
STEELE: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: Straight ahead here on CNN.
An 11-year-old boy's meeting with Jesus. Find out what he told me about the encounter and his trip to heaven.
But first, despite decades of efforts to desegregate schools, a report from Boston's Northeastern University shows many school systems are more segregated than ever.
CNN's special correspondent Soledad O'Brien takes a look at why some say that's happening in their school system in North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joshua is two, his sister Malia one, but their great grandmother, Geraldine Alshamy, is already worried about their education.
Six years ago, she moved her extended family to Wake County, North Carolina, because she didn't like the school system where she lived.
GERALDINE ASLHAMY, GRANDMOTHER: We moved to what they call neighborhood schools and it was basically just segregation.
O'BRIEN: Segregation because "neighborhood schools" means students attend school closest to where they live. A black neighborhood means a black school, a white neighborhood, a white school. Since 2000, Wake County's been mixing students from families of all income levels to create fully integrated schools. Then, 13 months ago, a mostly new school board voted to replace that system in favor of neighborhood schools.
REV WILLIAM BARBER, NAACP: They argue that diversity is the enemy of student achievement when we know that almost 100 percent of the research of the last 50 years says that diversity and resources are keys to student achievement and excellence.
O'BRIEN: The NAACP complained to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, which says re-segregation is a growing trend nationally.
RUSSLYNN ALI, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CIVIL RIGHTS: In schools that are racially isolated, they tend to have fewer of the things that we know make the difference in public education. They are far more likely to have more than their fair share of our least effective teachers. We don't see the access to the rigorous curriculum that we know they'll need to succeed.
O'BRIEN: Critics of the proposed changes in Wake County worry that schools in poor neighborhoods will be neglected and fail. The new school superintendent says he's aware of concerns.
ANTHONY TATA, WAKE COUNTY, NC, PUBLIC SCHOOLS: We're trying to make sure that we avoid the problem of high poverty schools.
O'BRIEN: By 2012, they'll decide how to assign students. Geraldine Alshamy is unhappy.
ALSHAMY: When we go back to neighborhood schools we are facing segregation all over again and everything that has been done will be undone.
O'BRIEN: Soledad O'Brien, CNN.
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POPE BENEDICT XVI: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
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LEMON: Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Easter Sunday with tens of thousands of pilgrims at St. Peter Square in Vatican City.
The pontiff's homily asked for peace in Libya and the Ivory Coast. Both nations experiencing civil war. The pope also pray for Japan which was ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami last month.
And here in the United States, President Barack Obama was among the millions observing today's Christian holy day. He, the first lady and daughters Malia and Sasha attended services at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington. A church founded by freed slaves. Congregates gave a standing ovation when the first family arrived and the reverend gave them a welcome message. Last year, the Obama celebrated Easter at a Methodist church.
Easter is the holiest day of the Christian calendar. It marks the day when scriptures say Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Followers believe when they die, they will see Jesus again. But one 11-year-old boy doesn't have to wait.
Colton Burpo says he met Jesus eight years ago when he almost died from a burst appendix. It's all in a book. It's called "Heaven is For Real," which tops the "New York Times" list of bestselling paperbacks today. Colton's dad wrote that book which described what Colton says Jesus is like.
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COLTON BURPO, SAYS HE MET JESUS CHRIST: Well, actually, I met him not quite 4, three and ten months because he had really pretty blue eyes, a smile brighter than any other smile that I have ever seen. Brown hair, a brown beard and he had white clothes on.
LEMON: OK. Colton, I want to read this quote from your dad's book. Your dad has just asked you what, you know, what the angels were singing. It's in the book when he does that. So he says, "Well they sang 'Jesus Loves Me' and 'Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho' he said earnestly. I asked them to sing "We Will, We Will Rock You", but they wouldn't sing it. Why did you want to hear that song and why did Jesus tell you that they wouldn't sing it?
C. BURPO: Well, when I was younger, that was one of my favorite songs and also, he said that wasn't a good song so life rolls the way he wants it.
LEMON: Because he's Jesus.
C. BURPO: Yes.
LEMON: So, listen, you are 11 now. You like sports. Because you have met Jesus, do you feel he is watching you so you are good all the time?
C. BURPO: Not good all the time, just maybe half of it. The other half is used for mischief with my younger brother.
LEMON: So you're not worried that Jesus is going to say hey, what are you doing? You met me and you know you are supposed to be good.
C. BURPO: No. We still have sibling rivalry in our house.
TODD BURPO, AUTHOR, "HEAVEN IS REAL": His memories he has of heaven, I can't validate all of those. I can look to Scripture and see many of them confirmed.
But a lot of the things that he also says he saw, I can give no explanation for except the fact that it had to have happened. When he can tell his mother and I where we are while he's in surgery; he talks about meeting my grandfather. He recognizes pictures of him -- pictures of him taken back in the 1940s. No Sunday school teacher implanted those memories.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: And Todd, were these things -- now I have to ask this -- are these things that you are sure you hadn't talked about, you and your wife or with other families members and maybe he overheard?
T. BURPO: Oh definitely. A picture that we had buried, my mother, my grandmother -- his grandmother, my mother, had buried in her closet before he was ever born. He never saw that. Even my -- he talks to us about meeting his sister in heaven. When he comes in and announces to his mother that she had a baby died in her tummy. He was only just four at the time. And before this experience in the hospital, you know, he wasn't quite 4.
And my wife had kind of dealt with that hurt privately. She didn't talk about that except to close friends. And how do you explain that to a little 3-year-old without scaring them to death that babies can die in their mommy's tummies? I'm confident that that was new information he was sharing with us that we didn't share with him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We wanted to tell you, the Burpos say they plan to donate some of the money the book is earning to charity.
And today is also a holy time for Jews. It is the fifth day of Passover. The religious observant involves Jews cleaning house and getting rid of specific leavened items. It marks the time when God freed Israelites from slavery in Egypt more than a thousand years before Christ was born. Passover began last Tuesday and will end this Tuesday at sunset.
It's being called the wedding of the century, and it's just five days away. So it's crunch time for all those last-minute details.
Coming up, we take you to Westminster Abbey in London where Kate Middleton and Prince William will be exchanging vows.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Today, a royal rejection was issued. Someone actually turned down a seat at what's being hailed as the wedding of the century. But the rebuff has not dampened the building excitement. Prince William will marry Kate Middleton in five days and CNN's Max Foster has more on the rejection and the latest buzz from Boston.
Max?
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, Kate and William were lying low this weekend. This intense media interest in them particularly this week, but I'm told there will be no more public appearances until their wedding here at the Abby. William very keen to protect Kate from all the intrusion that his mother experienced. And I had a chance to speak to Diana's bodyguards, Ken Wharf. He also knew William very well as a boy.
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KEN WHARF, FORMER BODYGUARD TO PRINCESS DIANA: The pressures were considerably more so than for Kate and William, simply by her inexperience. And the pressures were huge. I mean, the intrusion, the public awareness, involvement, this whole new concept was such a -- an issue for her that, you know, for the first four to five years. I mean, again, the press and the media were relentless and so the pressures were huge.
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FOSTER: Well, as Kate and William prepare for their big day, we're expecting some news on the weather. The official weather forecast out on Monday. Will there be rain? What will Kate's title be after she's married?
We can assume it's Princess Catherine for instant. More details though expected around that. Also there has been some fallout from the guest list as ever with weddings.
Former Prime Ministers Gordon Brown and Tony Blair haven't been invited. The crown prince of Bahrain has been invited, but he's turned down the invitation. There has been so much criticism of him in the UK media on how particularly he's handled the uprising in his country.
Also, some details early in the week on the flowers. How will the Abbey be dressed? Don?
LEMON: All right, thanks, Max.
And at the top of the hour, we take you behind the scenes with "CNN PRESENTS: THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN." And of course, we are your place for live coverage of the ceremony Friday morning. Make sure you tune in for CNN's Royal Wedding experience or you can DVR it. Beginning at 4:00 a.m. Eastern, and be a part of our viewing party.
An NFL star's wife is charged with stabbing him, but she says it was self-defense. We'll have much, much more on this story just ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any response to all the reports and allegations?
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LEMON: Silence from the wife Miami Dolphins star receiver Brandon Marshall. That's Michi Nogami-Marshall, leaving jail Saturday after being charged with stabbing her husband in the stomach. Brandon Marshall is already out of the hospital, but this saga is far from over.
I talked about the case with Pablo Torre of "Sports Illustrated."
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PABLO TORRE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Yes. Brandon Marshall's wife admitted to Broward County sheriffs that she was, in fact, who stabbed her husband and she did it out of, quote-unquote, "self-defense."
And what that adds up to really is just the latest chapter in an unfortunate history of domestic abuse allegations for Brandon Marshall, a tremendously, tremendously talented wide receiver and a star wide receiver, but also one who is likely to lead your team in domestic run-ins and police run-ins. And allegations like this, as he has touch downs or receptions. And that's really just the latest in the string of incidents throughout his career.
LEMON: Yes. I'm glad you mentioned that because, first, we want to show you. We have some photos that appeared in "Essence" magazine after the couple got married. The magazine described a big, lavish wedding that they had. And as we look at these, Pablo, we have to point out again that this is the couple's first time in this position, is it?
TORRE: Yes. Yes, it is. They had an incident in March 2009. It was a misdemeanor battery charge in Atlanta. But other than that, in Miami, Brandon Marshall has been on pretty good behavior.
And, in fact, in Denver, it was, you know, a story that wouldn't end. I mean, that was part of the reason he was shipped out of there a year ago this month. And it was thought he was on best behavior back in Miami. But, unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case thus far.
LEMON: OK. So, what, if anything, does this mean for him professionally or personally?
TORRE: Well, professionally, it seems like right now, the Dolphins are standing by their guy. Official contact isn't allowed between the teams and players because of the current NFL lockout. But what we do know is that the team doesn't have any drastic plans. That's the news coming out of Miami right now.
And, you know, for better and for worse, he's such a talented athlete, such a talented player that, you know, he's avoided a lot of the major scrapes that you'd expect of a guy with such a history.
And so, really, nothing too major right now, but we'll have to see when the cards are on the table in terms of the legal charges and what ends up happening to him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We want to check our top stories right now.
Frightening moments aboard an Alitalia plane Sunday night after an agitated passenger attacked a flight attendant on Flight 329 en route from Paris to Rome. The man demanded the plane be diverted to Tripoli, Libya. The airline says other flight attendants were able to immobilize the passenger. The plane and all 131 passengers landed safely in Rome.
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LEMON: In Syria, security forces opened fire on pre-Democracy demonstrators, Sunday, killing at least two. Witnesses tell CNN secret police surrounded a mosque being used as a makeshift hospital. Snipers fired from roof tops without warning. This weekend's violence comes on the heels of Friday's brutal crackdown killing at least 75 people.
The man many blame for California's deadline pipeline explosion last year is resigning with a $34 million retirement package. Peter Darbee will leave his post as CEO of PG&E on April 30th. Our affiliate KPIX reports Darbee is quitting to help build confidence in the troubled utility. But critics say Darbee's cost cutting ways played a part in the September 9th explosion that killed eight people.
A long weekend of cleanup for victims of the tornado in St. Louis. As much more and much more ahead as you can tell from this video. About 750 homes were damaged, some of them leveled, really just into rubble as you can tell from the video. This was the most powerful tornado to hit the city in more than four decades.
I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us. I'll see you back here next weekend. CNN Presents: "The Woman Who Would Be Queen" next.
Good night.
