Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Storm Cleanup Continues; Space Shuttle Launch Delayed; Alabama Tornado Survivor's Tale; First the Wedding, Now the Parties; Kate's Dress; NFL Lockout Status Uncertain; William Waits, Harry Glances; Obama Meets with Endeavour Astronauts

Aired April 29, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And take a look at something that we showed you last hour. I want you to look at the box in the lower left hand side of your screen as we switch gears and start talking severe weather here again.

Based on data from the National Weather Service, our weather team has determined that a single super cell caused much of the epic damage from Mississippi all the way up to Tennessee, one super cell. You see it right there. It did make a direct hit on Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and it kept on traveling, one single cell.

Speaking of Tuscaloosa, the number we now have is 36 people dead. The president is visiting today Tuscaloosa to take a look at the damage and try to lend some comfort. Let's listen to President Obama.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, Michelle and I want to express, first of all, our deepest condolences to not just the city of Tuscaloosa but the state of Alabama and all the other states that have been affected by this unbelievable storm. We just took a tour, and I have got to say I have never seen devastation like this. It is heartbreaking. We were just talking to some residents here who were lucky enough to escape alive, but have lost everything. They mentioned that their neighbors had lost two of their grandchildren in the process.

What you're seeing here is the consequence of just a few minutes of this extraordinarily powerful storm sweeping through this community. And as the governor was mentioning, Tuscaloosa typically gets a tornado during the season, but this is something that I don't think anybody has seen before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was the president just this morning in Alabama.

CNN's Marty Savidge was in Alabama just outside of Birmingham yesterday. Today, he and his crew has made it to Smithville, Mississippi, where in the entire state, 33 people have died.

Marty, I know we saw Governor Haley Barbour just a short time speaking. He used the phrase utter obliteration. Is that what you're seeing?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is.

The damage here is as bad, but no worse, say, than what you have seen already in many, many different places. What makes it worse, I guess you could say, is that this is a small down, and this small town has lost just about everything that makes a town a town.

For instance, this would be where the zip code would be normally, meaning the post office, the center of the town. Well, the post office is now as just as you can see a pile of rubble that you wouldn't know it was the post office unless I told you. And there is the sign, pick up the mail at Amory. Amory is a town about eight miles down the highway here, 25, heading south.

So that's the post office. Come over here, right next door, that building has the green bean kind of mangled up. That's city hall. City hall is totally gone. Everybody who was in there is OK. And then just across the railroad tracks a little bit there, that's the police station. Every police vehicle in this town is inside that police station, not in a good way. The building is totally wiped out.

They lost the only gas station they had. They lost the Dollar General here in town. They lost the Piggly Wiggly here in town, which was the only grocery store. There lost the only funeral home that this town has. There are now 14 people dead in this area -- 10 percent of the population was wiped out as result of this storm. I could go on and on and on.

But what you pretty much see is that everything that made this town, made it a community, made it what it was has been wiped out. And that's what is different about some of the other areas, the big areas that have been hit.

Now, when people start talking about rebuilding and carrying on their lives, they are still in a state of shock. And that's the one thing you also find when you venture out the outskirts of town and look at people in their homes. They are dumbfounded. They are still dazed and they're still not really sure what they are going to do.

So it has had a tremendous impact on a very, very small town. And one last thing, yesterday, the storm that went through here was categorized by the Weather Service as an F-4, winds about 200 miles an hour. Today, they finally realized, no, this was as bad as it gets. It's an F-5, winds in excess of 205 miles an hour. And by the way, it went from that end of town to this end of town it's estimated in less than two minutes and passed over most people in about 10 seconds. Changed everything -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: Smithville, it's about 30 miles from Tupelo, population 800. You mentioned 14 dead. Looking ahead, and I know that's difficult I'm sure for a lot of people there. As you mentioned, they're still in shock. But is there anything for people watching, any help folks can provide?

SAVIDGE: Well, there's a lot of hope -- a lot of help that is coming and a lot of hope that is here.

The biggest thing they need right now is earth-moving equipment. They are still looking for those who are dead. There are 24 people that are listed as missing. So they fear that their death toll is going to go higher. One of the things they will start doing is after they check all of the buildings and check all the rubble, they are going to start checking in the various waterways around here, the rivers, the ponds and things like that. Because they fear that people may have been blown into there.

They also fear that there are some people still trapped in their storm shelters because a lot of the buildings, the debris was blown everywhere. They could have gone and many people do have shelters where you go underground -- and then got buried, which is one of the reasons why they still have equipment out there.

But they don't necessarily have enough. They are trying to bring in more because they have got a huge clearing process that is still under way. They are doing it in stages, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Marty Savidge for us in Smithville, Mississippi. Marty, thank you.

And I want to move from Mississippi now. Want to take you to Tennessee next, where the number there statewide is 34, 34 deaths. We are live in the town of Apison, east of Chattanooga. Reporting for us there is CNN's Susan Candiotti is there.

And again it's just behind you, behind Marty, behind Reynolds Wolf, it's the same picture. It's just devastation.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's how these twisters do their thing, that's for sure, Brooke.

And here they have moved unlike in parts of Alabama out of the search- and-rescue mode and into the recovery mode. So, behind me, you might be able to make out there's a utility truck that is already hard at work, because, statewide, they have got -- well, at last count -- about 130,000 customers without power. They are trying to whittle down that number bit by bit and have as the day has gone on.

But to hear them tell it around here, you could not move on these streets just 24 hours ago. That has changed quite a bit. However, as you leave just this one spot where I am, you can see that the devastation is widespread in certain areas along the path of the storm, which stretched on anywhere from 15 to 30 miles and was wide about 800 yards at the least. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: It appears as though whoever used to live here salvaged an American flag and planted it there, perhaps a sign that they plan to rebuild or try to rebuild their lives. But, look, their house blown off its foundation.

If you step over here and come down the street a little bit, you see where the bottom of the house appeared to land. It was sheered off by the twister and if you look up into the trees, that appears to be the bottom of the trailer. You can see the wheels there resting on the side of that tree which, again, is torn apart by the tornado.

Look up and down the street, if you swing over this way, more evidence of homes destroyed by the tornado, again, yet another home blown off its foundation. If you look farther on down, you see more evidence of that, trees toppled over, limbs everywhere, lines down. It's the story that you see time and again here in Hamilton County, Tennessee. A lot of rebuilding needs to be done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Now, one more story, Brooke, about tragedy and survival. Just up this hill was a mobile home right at the top there. There's even a car parked up there where the mobile home used to be. That twister picked it up, pitched it about 300 feet. It landed right next to where you see that car over there, blew the thing to bits.

Unfortunately, there were five people inside trying to ride out the storm. They were thrown from the house. Four of the five people did not survive. However, one young man, only 8 years old, blew over the tree, over the hill, into some trees and he was able to survive. He was found several hours later as a search-and-rescue crew was going through trying to look for people. They found those who didn't make it and then they heard the cries of this young man. They were able to find him at the base of some trees.

I will be showing you the brush later on. But I'm telling you it's amazing that he was able to survive. And they do say that he will make it, Brooke, one hopeful sign there.

BALDWIN: Stories like that, story of the daughter who was flown in her bed and made it, someone in a tanning bed. It's story after story after story. But it's so important, Susan, for you to be there on the ground in Tennessee. Because we have talked so much about Alabama and most definitely they have seen the brunt of this in terms of the sheer number of fatalities, but this spanned six different states.

And you mentioned -- and I just want to pick up with one point you made -- you said they are now officially he in recovery mode. So are we to presume, then, that any missing is presumed dead?

CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly in this particular county, they have accounted for everyone, they said. They were able to get a lot of volunteers to pull together and look around here, look through all of this mess, all of this rubble and able to determine that they could account for where everyone was. However, obviously, that may not be the case in other parts of the state. Still checking with Tennessee Management.

BALDWIN: I see.

CANDIOTTI: But I will tell you this. Right now they have got a lot of social service agencies and volunteers who are going about trying to attend to the needs of those who are trying to make in the houses that are still standing, giving them food, giving them water, for those who want to stay home, but just can't, to find them other shelters.

They have got a couple shelters opened up in this area right here. But one of the pressing needs, honestly, around here...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: What is that?

CANDIOTTI: ... the biggest request they are getting is for port-a- potties. Because they have no power, of course, there's no place to use the facilities. Therefore, what they are going to start doing tomorrow morning is delivering groups of port-a-johns and put them at various locations around the county, so that people have someplace, literally, where they can go, go for relief, go for help.

BALDWIN: If someone is watching and they have access to that, hopefully they will lend a helping hand.

Susan Candiotti, my thanks to you there on the ground in Tennessee.

Coming up next, another story here. Their home is gone, destroyed in six seconds. But, amazingly, they survived it as it collapsed around them. When we come back, I will speak with that family about where it was they were able to take cover and what it was like as the tornado demolished everything around them.

Also, the president is still in Florida as planned at Cape Canaveral, even though today's space shuttle Endeavour launch was scrubbed. We will take you live to Kennedy Space Center to find out when the shuttle might now take off next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to share one more story with you.

Joining me now on the phone with another story from the epic storm that hit the Southeast this week, Randy Guyton from Concord, Alabama.

And, Randy, I read what you told our producer. That your home was destroyed in six seconds. And I want to have you describe that. But if you can, sir, lead me up to those six seconds. You were watching television, right, with your wife and your wife daughter and your wife son. You knew a storm was coming?

RANDY GUYTON, SURVIVOR: Yes, ma'am.

Actually, our cable network went out on television and the satellite went out. So, all we had was an old radio to go by from National Service -- National Weather Service. And we had probably 30 seconds to get into the basement, because they said it hit our area within 10 miles, the Hueytown-Bessemer area.

And we got down into the basement and opened up the middle door where the two double garage doors are. We had was two cars parked in one, my little girl's Honda Accord and our Ridgeline, which was on our side, which would be facing the west side. And our house was two stories with brick foundation, concrete foundation. So...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: So you knew you had 30 seconds to move and move quickly. And so you go to your car?

GUYTON: Yes, ma'am. This is what's incredible about this, is, first of all, we opened up the middle door and we saw the storm coming from the west side of us from Tuscaloosa. And it was probably a mile-wide tornado. And what -- and we started hearing the effect of the tornado.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: What did it sound like?

GUYTON: It sounded like two jet engines and maybe two or three trains. So I said, All right, everybody get into the Ridge -- get into the car -- into the truck. And we all laid down into the floorboards. And just incredible power, just the blocks caved in on us, the house came down. It took the house and raised it up, shifted (ph) it back and it came down. And we were in the Ridgeline (ph), and all the concrete blocks started slamming up against the doors. And that extra protection that we -- that I made a decision a long time ago that that would be the safest place for us to be...

BALDWIN: That was your safe spot, going into your car, hitting the floor, hitting those floorboards, and that was the place that ultimately save you and your wife and your son and daughter's lives.

GUYTON: Yes.

BALDWIN: What was it like, though? You described the bricks coming down on -- I mean, your home collapsed on your car.

GUYTON: The home collapsed down. It crushed my daughter's car, which was next to us. But the Ridgeline is a full-size pick-up.

BALDWIN: I see.

GUYTON: You know, it's got a full -- it's a heavy-duty truck. We laid in the floorboards, all four of us, front and back. And everything started coming down. The truck caught -- one of the beams came down straight across, which enabled the floor to keep from coming the rest of the way down on us. But the glass collapsed. But the concrete blocks were hitting the side of the vehicle so hard, it was scary. I mean, it's, ultimately, between the Lord's hand on us, my son was screaming, Jesus, save us!

BALDWIN: Are you all right?

GUYTON: It's hard. But I've never seen any power, never experienced anything like that in my life. But the thing about it is, it was the right place at the right time, you know, to be. If we'd have been anywhere in the basement, we would have been killed because everything collapsed.

BALDWIN: I hear you -- I hear you emotional here, talking about this experience. I would be emotional myself. You're emotional because you realize what? Because you realize you barely made it?

GUYTON: Yes, ma'am. And the thing I (INAUDIBLE) said about this, is the total loss of the home and everything is one thing, but what really amazed me is how people came together in the community helping one another (INAUDIBLE)

BALDWIN: And you have your family?

GUYTON: I've never seen anybody -- a bunch of people work so hard to coming together, from law enforcement, you know, neighbors and distant neighbors. And the church next to me was -- the roof was taken off. It's probably a -- you know, a 40 or 50-year-old church and it wasn't (ph) real well built, the structure. And they found the church bulletin 70 miles down in Springville, Alabama.

BALDWIN: The winds were unbelievable, we hear, you know, up to 200 miles per hour in some spots.

GUYTON: Yes, ma'am, at least.

BALDWIN: I'm glad you're all right and your family. And it's wonderful to hear all these different communities coming together, as you've said. Randy, thank you for calling in and sharing your story, and we are thankful that you are OK.

If you would like to find out more on how you can help all these folks devastated by the tornadoes from this past week, here's where you go, "Impact Your World." Go to CNN.com/impact. There you will find all kinds of organizations, ways you can help those in need. Again, CNN.com/impact.

And switching gears a bit here, we are getting some new information with regard to those nine Americans who were killed this past week in Afghanistan at that airport in Kabul. Chris Lawrence is at the Pentagon. He's gathering all the information right now. He's going to join me with the latest there.

Also, it's been a bit of a long day for the royal couple, but they are still out celebrating in a mighty Aston Martin there. But we are hearing they just went back to the palace for some dancing with their very closest friends and family. Zain Verjee is live outside the palace. We'll get the details from Zain just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So here's a piece of video you may not have seen. It is a priest doing cartwheels down the red carpet -- look at this! -- at Westminster Abbey after Prince William and Catherine Middleton's wedding. Now, apparently, he was very pleased with the way the service went and he showed it by -- yes, let's do a little slo-mo -- and the priest -- oh! And upside-down. There he goes. Very nice. So now that that is finished -- he's very excited -- there is another kind of party that is getting under way. The British call this a "Knees up," and it just seems about everyone in London is going to one, including Prince William, and his new wife, Catherine, now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

So Zain Verjee is in London. And Zain, before we talk details about this big to-do, can you just tell me what exactly is a "knees up"?

(LAUGHTER)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A "knees up," Brooke, is basically a great party with a lot of drinks, and you have a great time, and hopefully, you don't remember what happened the next day. That's what's called a "knees up."

BALDWIN: Right on. Right on. OK. So a "knees up." I know it's just about 9:30 at night there London time, and it's time for this big private party, 300 people, their closest friends at Buckingham Palace. And the queen has left the building. So bust out the disco ball, Zain. What kind of scoop do you have?

VERJEE: Yes, the queen's kicked off her dancing shoes. She's taken off, and just leaving it to the young ones there. There's about 300 people. It's an exclusive party, and only the closest family and friends. And then there's going to be dancing until the wee hours of the morning. Prince Harry has been really involved in this party, and basically, is planning a survivors' breakfast and wants to show the bride and groom a really good time. And if you want anyone organizing a party in these parts, you want it to be Prince Harry.

BALDWIN: One thing I was wondering, Zain, is, you know, Kate was absolutely gorgeous in the Sarah Burton-Alexander McQueen dress this morning. Do we know if she's changing?

VERJEE: Yes, she is. She did. And she's actually wearing another white dress. It's a strapless gown. It's very, very beautiful. It's satin. And it is another design by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. She was wearing a short bolero cardigan, as well. She looks amazing, but it is very similar to the wedding dress, so a lot of people were saying, Hey, you know, maybe some color would have been nice. But she does look gorgeous.

BALDWIN: Keeping with the bridal theme. And what about music? Do we know, Zain, who's performing inside those palace walls tonight?

VERJEE: Well, we know that Joss Stone (ph), the singer, is going to be there as a guest. We don't know whether she's actually going to pick up the mike and sing. There was a lot of speculation a little bit earlier that Jay-Z and Beyonce might be here to perform. We do not know that. Beyonce hasn't returned my calls, so I can't confirm. But I know it's going to be a really good party, and they're going to have a good knees-up. I'm going to have a knees-down.

BALDWIN: Knees-down. It's been a long day for you, I am sure, Zain Verjee. We appreciate you there, outside of Buckingham Palace -- beautiful night. Thank you so much for staying up with us.

And if you missed this morning's wedding, you can catch up with a special edition from this guy, Piers Morgan, tonight. Piers will have the biggest moments of the day. He was live this morning for the wedding. That's PIERS "MORGAN TONIGHT," special time, 8:00 o'clock eastern. And now this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERA WANG, DESIGNER: I think she's made her very own strong personal statement as to who she really is. It's not only about the dress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Speaking of the dress, the experts weighing in on the royal wedding dress. Hit or miss? Vera Wang has the review.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: When it comes to the day, the big wedding day, let's face it, it's been all about the dress. And that has been especially true for Kate Middleton's wedding to Prince William. It seems everyone was asking, guessing, what would it be, what would it look like, who would design it? Well, we finally got the answer this morning when she stepped out of her car there, gorgeous, in front of the Westminster Abbey, ivory and white satin and lace with a train measuring just over six feet. And it was designed by Sarah Burton. She is creative director for Alexander McQueen.

So how did she do? Who else would we ask but iconic designer Vera Wang, who has made wedding gowns for everyone from Jennifer Lopez to Chelsea Clinton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERA WANG, DESIGNER: I think she's made her very own strong personal statement as to who she really is. It's not only about the dress to me whatsoever. I mean, I think it's that she is really her own person, that she has a sense of her own elegance and what is appropriate. I think she's showing the world that she's not here to only dress for fashion, she's here to dress for herself in a very elegant and dignified manner. And I think that says volumes about who she is and the task that lies ahead for her. I think it's not only an emotional statement, it's a very intellectual and realistic one.

And my favorite part of it all is the way that the veil just hangs behind her face. Veils are very complex to cut, and they can come in all different shapes and sizes. But the very fact she wore such a simple veil over such a beautiful dress in its classicism -- and of course, the McQueen work (INAUDIBLE) so beautiful, as Haimish (ph) said. So to see a dress executed this beautifully, with understanding of the accessories, as well, is really unbelievable to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: And I want to remind you we are not going too far from the storm, the devastation across the Southeast. This is a live picture, empty podium for now, but we will be hearing from Alabama governor Robert Bentley and also some folks from the National Weather Service should be briefing members of the press. Again, the latest number we have from Alabama in terms of fatalities, 228. We're watching that for you.

We are also getting some new information about those nine Americans who were killed this past week in Afghanistan. We have to take a quick break, but we will have that for you next.

Also, you may be hearing some of the rumors out there, but we're going to be talking facts. We will tell you what's really going on with the NFL lockout today. And our Alison Kosik actually spoke with one of the players. She is going to join me live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Three stories for you here. We have Endeavor's last shuttle launch delayed, new details on this week's deadly shooting in Afghanistan, and NFL lockout, on or off.

John Zarrella, I want to begin, though, with you at Kennedy Space Center there in Florida. We got the news what, late this morning, Endeavor scrubbed. Remind us why that happened.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, essential heaters in the shuttle's orbiter maneuvering systems, which literally steers the shuttle -- they failed in one of those orbital maneuvering systems, so they could not go and they had to scrub at least three days. We're looking at no earlier than Monday now, Brooke, before we can get Endeavour off the ground.

BALDWIN: So Monday the earliest it could go. Gotcha.

ZARRELLA: Yes, Monday, and I think that launch time would be sometime around 2:30, 3:00 in the afternoon, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. John Zarrella, we will see you back there on Monday then. John, thank you. Next in "Reporter Roulette," Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence with some new details, Chris, I know that you're getting on these nine Americans who were killed in that airport, that Kabul, Afghanistan, airport this past Wednesday. What are you learning?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) Brooke, shot by an Afghan in a room at the Kabul airport. We're now hearing that the initial investigation into this shooting shows that the gunman had two guns, that he appeared to be acting alone. And while they haven't ruled it out entirely yet, right now, there's no evidence that he had any connection to the Taliban. It still brings up the question how one man killed nine Americans. Eight of them work for the Air Force. Seven were officers, one enlisted female, and an American contractor in a room. That is still the question the military is investigating.

BALDWIN: I know I had been reading some news and some other investigations about increased frequency of these violent incidents between, you know, Afghan soldiers and NATO folks. And they were saying that some of it is due to simple combat stress on behalf of these Afghan soldiers. Could that be the case here?

LAWRENCE: You know, they're not ruling it out. I mean, it could -- this could have been a dispute between them, something that came out again. They have -- they say right now, there's no evidence of any Taliban connection. And yet you do see an increase in frequency. But Brooke, some of these incidents are very different. Some are actual Taliban attacks in which they impersonate, say, an Afghan troop or police officer. Others are cases where it's an actual Afghan policeman or soldier who has turned.

BALDWIN: OK. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon. Chris, thank you.

And finally in "Reporter Roulette," the NFL lockout. Is it on or is it off? Alison Kosik joins me live from New York. And you know, Alison, you know, one minute the NFL back in business. The next minute, the lockout's back on. So what is the deal today?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, it's one of those things, Brooke, where this is a situation that has a lot of moving parts. I mean, last night, we heard that football is back, players can begin working out, talk to their coaches, get their playbooks. And that's after a federal judge said the lockout between the team owners and the players is illegal and actually lifted the lockout.

But now we're hearing rumors that the NFL lockout could be back on. Remember, it's just a rumor. You know, but one thing is clear in all this. The NFL and players -- they still haven't cleared up their labor dispute which still threatens to cancel the season. Oh, my goodness! Can you imagine no football? You know, they're basically at odds over how to divvy up the NFL's $9 billion revenue pie.

Now, earlier today, I did speak with Ray Lewis (ph). He's the all-pro linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens. He was here at the New York Stock Exchange to talk about finances. I, of course, cornered him on this issue. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAY LEWIS, BALTIMORE RAVENS: Everything is kind of -- it's kind of moving slow, but it's definitely picking up. And so if you had to ask me honestly, I think we will definitely have a season.

KOSIK: OK.

LEWIS: It's kind of hard not to have a season.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOSIK: So he's hopeful that the negotiations are on track. He says he's been texting and talking with his coach, Brooke, but it doesn't mean that football's back on for certain. Fingers crossed, right?

BALDWIN: Right. Well, I think part of the issue, though, is if and when they have a season, the question is when it would begin. It could be pushed back. There could be much fewer games, so...

KOSIK: Exactly.

BALDWIN: I guess we wait and see.

KOSIK: Oh, yes. When are they going to to practice, right?

BALDWIN: Right. We don't know.

KOSIK: Yes.

BALDWIN: Alison Kosik, thanks for that. Thanks for the interview, too. And that is your "Reporter Roulette" for this Friday.

Coming up here, we have some new amazing video of the tsunami that ripped into Japan in March. You have seen so many different pieces of video, all the tragedy unfolding, the tsunami, the earthquake there in Japan. But there's a piece of this video that really makes it different and so, so incredible. We'll show that to you.

Also, CBS's Lara Logan finally speaking out about what happened to her when she was attacked covering the revolution in Egypt. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Checking some of the other top stories of the day here, first, pretty compelling video here that we've just gotten to CNN, showing the power of the tsunami. This was Japan. This was last month. Look at this. This is courtesy of the Japanese coast guard, video showing these cars, trucks, huge trucks in some cases, just washing away, planes, helicopters, in the wave from that massive tsunami. You remember more than 14,000 people have died, hundreds have lost their homes -- hundreds of thousands.

CBS News correspondent Lara Logan is breaking her silence after a brutal attack in Egypt's Tahrir Square. Logan was pulled away from her producer and bodyguard and sexually assaulted back in February. She was there covering the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. Logan tells "The New York Times" that 200 to 300 men ripped off her clothes and then beat and raped her with their hands. That's her quote. She says the attack lasted about half an hour. Logan was rescued by a group of civilians and soldiers.

And spurred by the deadly crackdown against anti-government protests in Syria, the U.S. is imposing new sanctions now. These sanctions targeting specific members of President Bashar al Assad's inner circle. At least 26 people were killed by government forces today there in Syria. Now, under these sanctions, assets of Assad's brother and others will be frozen. They're banned from traveling to the United States. And Syria's oppressive regime is prevented from doing business with the U.S.

A federal ruling hands a new victory to supporters of stem cell research. Today, the District of Columbia court of appeals lifted a ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Last year, a federal judge imposed an injunction after saying embryotic stem cell research destroyed embryos and violated congressional spending laws. The federal appeals court overturned the ban in a controversial 2-to-1 decision.

And if you have filled up that gas tank at all recently -- me last night, 60 bucks -- you're already feeling the pain at the pump. And according to AAA, the average price of a gallon of gas is $3.90 per gallon. It is going up and up and up. Gas is now over $4 a gallon in nine different states and the nation's capital. Prices have climbed 36 cents in the past 38 days, and consumers -- they are cutting back and they're trying to use less of this.

Coming up, it has been quite a day of just incredible pictures, and we'll show you some of the best of them. Also, I'll show you one of my favorite moments, one of the highlights from this morning's Royal Wedding. Curious if you picked up on this. Also, Wolf Blitzer in Washington to tell me what is coming up on "THE SITUATION ROOM" in just a couple of minutes. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So if you woke up early like I did, maybe you were working on that first, maybe second cup of coffee, a little blurry-eyed but aware, nonetheless, perhaps you noticed this during the royal wedding that made some of us smile.

It was Prince William. He was showing great restraint. He was waiting to see his princess until she finished her long walk up the aisle at the Westminster Abbey, but we focused in on Prince Harry who was on the other side of him and he couldn't quite resist turning around. Watch this moment with me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): So you saw Prince Harry sort of look over his shoulder. Maybe we can play it again. That was when Katherine Middleton, there she is, heading up to the altar.

Prince William turned to her and from the best we can tell through reading his lips said, you look beautiful, but Harry couldn't quite resist looking and passing along who knows what to his brother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And for all of the biggest moments of the royal wedding day, you can watch the special edition of "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT." Piers' all wedding - talking all about the wedding and everything you want to know about the ceremony, the dress, the parties. That is tonight at a special time, 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

And now we are 10 minutes away from "THE SITUATION ROOM" and each and every time, every day, we talk to Wolf Blitzer to see what he has coming up. Wolf, I do have to ask, did you set the alarm? Did you wake up to watch?

WOLF BLITZER, THE SITUATION ROOM: You know, I did not set the alarm, but for some reason, God wanted me to watch the wedding ceremony so I woke up at 5:45 just in time to see all the festivities unfold. It was very exciting. It was a wonderful moment.

BALDWIN: Your sweet, beautiful wife wasn't elbowing you, honey, get up?

BLITZER: Everything was good. I actually woke up before she did. So that was encouraging that we watched it. It was fun. It was exciting. The bride was beautiful. The groom was handsome. What can I say? But here is the big news.

BALDWIN: Yes.

BLITZER: Brooke, tomorrow night, Brooke Baldwin, where will you be?

BALDWIN: With you, Wolf Blitzer.

BLITZER: The White House Correspondence Association. Brooke Baldwin, ladies and gentlemen, is coming to Washington. We're going to get the photogs ready. I'm sure you're going to look gorgeous at the White House Correspondence Association dinner.

BALDWIN: Thank you. I'm blushing. I'm turning beat red, but I appreciate it and I cannot wait.

BLITZER: Have you got the dress already?

BALDWIN: I do. I have my gown. It's blue.

BLITZER: You've got the whole thing. It's blue?

BALDWIN: Yes. It's very nice.

BLITZER: The designer?

BALDWIN: Someone. I don't know. I should pay more attention to that stuff, but I'll figure it out. I'll take a look at the tag.

BLITZER: The paparazzi will be all over you.

BALDWIN: OK, anyway, Wolf Blitzer, what do you have coming up on "THE SITUATION ROOM?"

BLITZER: We're going to talk about obviously the very devastating news coming out of the south more on the fallout from the tornadoes. We're also going to have professor who knows a lot about the Middle East.

We're talking about Libya and also dramatic stuff happening in Syria. Right now, the ratifications in the Middle East, North Africa, all of that very, very important so we're going to do all of that news and obviously we're not going to neglect the wedding.

BALDWIN: Of course.

BLITZER: Zain Verjee, you know, Zain Verjee personally? BALDWIN: I just chatted with Zain.

BLITZER: I love Zain. She is going to be with us as well. She used to be a regular here in "THE SITUATION ROOM." We let her go off to London, but we're bringing her back today.

BALDWIN: Excellent. We will watch for that. Wolf Blitzer, I will see you, it is a date tomorrow night. See you then.

BLITZER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And we are just getting video from the Kennedy Space Center. President Obama, you know, "Endeavour" was scrubbed today, but he, you know, he continued on from Alabama to Florida and he met with those six astronauts who would have gone up into space today, space shuttle "Endeavour." We will bring you a piece of that, some of that video next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Well, just about an hour we were hoping to see the space shuttle "Endeavour" launch from Cape Canaveral from Kennedy Space Center. It didn't happen. It was scrubbed today because of some technical problems with some of the heaters.

I want to bring in John Zarrella who is - knows all things space for us and he is still down at the Cape. John, I know that the president continued on. He came to the Kennedy Space Center with the first family. I want to talk to you, but let's just watch some of this video. We've just gotten it in to CNN. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN (voice-over): Of course, the president is not mic up. I was hoping that if we just kind of kept quiet, we could hear some of that. But obviously that's the president, the first lady, Mark Kelly there on the right.

The commander of space shuttle "Endeavour" and then the rest of the crew right around him. John, what do you know about what the president did today and do we have any idea, only to be a fly on the wall for part of that conversation?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, it's funny because it actually was a benefit, a bonus, I guess, that they didn't launch today. They actually got to -- and the first lady, spend a little time with the crew, with Mark Kelly. And now there's actually some live pictures of the Obamas leaving and heading now down to south Florida.

OBAMA: The first family leaving.

ZARRELLA: But, you know, it's funny because at one point, while he was meeting with the astronauts, somebody in the press corps coughed and the president said, not around my astronauts. So there were some moments of levity as well. And you know, Brooke, at one point before they all got together there, the president met with Mark Kelly separately and then he and the first lady and Commander Kelly walked down a corridor and went into another room where Gabrielle Giffords, Mark Kelly's wife was. And they met with her for about 10 minutes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Kelly first briefing the president and the first lady on his wife's condition. As well know, it's less than four months ago that she was almost killed in Arizona in the shooting. And they also had a chance to go over to the Orbiter processing facility and they spent some time there.

The first family, looking at Atlantis and getting an up close look there and Atlantis, of course, as you know, Brooke will be the final shuttle flight, either around the late June time frame. Brooke.

BALDWIN: It's interesting to point out, when you mentioned Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, I mean, she's a ranking Democrat on the House Space Subcommittee and she, you know, over the past couple of years gave a little bit of push back to the president, who in the last two or three years has been tightening the strings on the space program.

So I'm just kind -- it's sort of interesting, the dichotomy of the president coming down, right, being surrounded by astronauts, excited to go up into space yet at the same time knowing that this is the second to last time that we will see this.

ZARRELLA: Yes. She's not -- she was not easy on NASA. She was actually a very big supporter of the constellation program, what Congress wanted to do moving forward, was not happy with the president and NASA when they were deciding that they were going to scrub the constellation program.

She was very vocal about that, but this goes beyond that. You know as well I do, Brooke, this was a moment, you know, the love story here. You had one over in London. And you had one here, too, with the commander and his wife and the president coming to certainly pay his respects as well, for lack of a better way to put it.

I don't know that we will actually see any pictures of that meeting. I think we got what we're going to see, the president with the crew and his family also touring the other facilities.

BALDWIN: You know, I spoke with Sanjay earlier in the show just sort of trying to gauge. He's been in contact with some of the Congresswoman Giffords doctors back at the rehabilitation center in Houston.

And I don't even know if - or at least they're not, you know, telling members of the media if she will be going home or she'll staying at the Cape for presumably the Monday launch. Just quickly though, John, is that what you're hearing Monday right around 2:30 Eastern? ZARRELLA: Yes. We're waiting for NASA news briefing that should start sometime in the next half hour or so. Hopefully a better idea, but no earlier than Monday, Brooke.

It could be longer than that. They have to go by Wednesday or they will have to stand down for a couple of days and then pick up again on Friday or Saturday. So --

BALDWIN: And, again, this is the second to last. We'll see that final launch at the end of June and then that's the end of the space shuttle program. John Zarrella, thank you so much for sticking around with me at the end of my show. I appreciate you and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. See you back here on Monday. Now to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." Wolf --