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Tornado Danger; Waiting to see the Pope; Death of Prince Rainier
Aired April 06, 2005 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Fierce storms, including tornadoes, strike Mississippi. Extensive damage. Emergency crews on the scene. We're following the developing story.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, live pictures from the Vatican as millions of people are paying their respects to the pope. This hour, how Rome is coping with the crowds and protecting pilgrims over these fresh pictures.
PHILLIPS: The passing of a prince. We're going to look back at the life of Prince Rainier, who wowed the world, wooed a Hollywood actress, and literally kept Monaco on the map.
LIN: And rising gas prices. Five simple steps you can take to spend less the next time you go to the pump.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin, in for Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
LIN: At this hour, a line of severe weather is sweeping through the South and packing tornadoes. Take a look at this.
Devastating damage in the state of Mississippi, just below Interstate 20 near Jackson. A system described as a super cell tore through Rankin County before moving eastward and spinning off twisters in six other counties.
Now, in all, at least 16 tornadoes have now been reported. And the danger is not over yet. So let's quickly go to the CNN Weather Center, where CNN's Orelon Sidney is standing by, tracking all those storm systems -- Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot.
This is what's happening this afternoon. Very dangerous day in the South.
We have this low pressure system aloft, moving across the central United States. Cold front extending out ahead of it. That is what's generating severe thunderstorms this afternoon. Moisture, of course, coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. Put that together and you've got severe thunderstorms.
Two tornado watches in effect now until 7:00 p.m. on both counts. We continue to get numerous reports of tornadoes.
Now, we have had as many reports, as you said earlier, about 16 reports. That doesn't necessarily mean 16 tornadoes. That could be multiple sightings of the same storm. In fact, I think that's quite true.
Down in Salem, Mississippi, though, as many as three tornadoes possible there, with some damage earlier today. Building damage around Mize, Mississippi. And the latest I've seen, four homes damaged in Bellchase, Louisiana. That's in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Parish.
This is what we see for the afternoon. Here's our cold front, here's some of the current thunderstorms. But notice there's a potential for destabilization back to the west, and also out ahead of our warm front.
The counties that you see and the parishes you see in red here are current tornado warnings. Those flashes, actual lightning strikes now across parts of the Southeast.
Put the whole things in motion and you can see that this line of thunderstorms, this area of thunderstorms is moving off to the north and east. If you are in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, and across the Florida Panhandle, you should be on the lookout for developing thunderstorms later on today -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thanks so much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Straight to the phones now. Lea Stokes with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency joining us now from Jackson, Mississippi.
Lea, tell us the situation in Jackson right now. And is it still considered one of the hardest areas hit so far?
LEA STOKES, MISSISSIPPI EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Yes, the Rankin County area, which is the Jackson area, we're getting reports as many as 45 mobile homes are destroyed or damaged, and 12 homes are destroyed or damaged. And we did have six people who were injured and taken to local hospitals here. One of those is still in critical conditions.
PHILLIPS: Any rescue efforts under way? Any missing persons at this point?
STOKES: There was one missing person earlier in Pike County, which is the southern end of the state on the Louisiana border. But that person has been recovered and there are no injuries there.
And one thing we are seeing, back in 1992 Rankin County also had a very severe tornado go through that area and about 10 people died. And since then -- since then, that community has taken the efforts to become storm ready, a program through the National Weather Center service and NIMA that we promote that lets the county receive weather warnings in different ways and able to tell the community through different means in weather radios when severe weather is approaching. So the only thing we can relate this to is that, before they were storm ready, there were 10 deaths from a similar tornado. And today, now that they they've done some preparation, there were six injuries but we've had no deaths in the state.
PHILLIPS: So does that mean once the storm ready procedure went into place that folks either got their things and got out of town, or they went to some area by tracking the National Weather Service where they knew probably wasn't going to get hit very hard?
STOKES: Well, with the storm ready, we promote things like outdoor warning sirens, and for people to have weather radios in their home. And another big thing, we do public education, that if you are in a mobile home and this type of weather is approaching, to not try and ride out any kind of a storm in a mobile home, to take shelter elsewhere.
PHILLIPS: Any power outages anywhere?
STOKES: We do have some power outages in different parts of the state. As you can see on the map earlier, the entire state has been covered with thunderstorms, tornadoes, and some severe winds. And it's just in separate different areas of the state where we're getting power outages reported. I don't have a total number.
PHILLIPS: Just before we let you go, do you have a confirmed number of tornadoes that have definitely hit in Mississippi since early this morning?
STOKES: No, I do not. And we are still telling people to stay inside their home, not to be trying to drive around and sightsee, because some of this weather is still moving through. And emergency workers are trying to get out and do their jobs, and if people are on the roads trying to sightsee the damage, it impairs them or hampers them from being able to help those who need the help most right now.
PHILLIPS: Good advice. Lea Stokes, the emergency management there in Jackson, Mississippi.
Thanks, Lea.
STOKES: Thank you.
LIN: Kyra, overseas, in Vatican City, people are still trying to move their way through the basilica to pay their tributes to Pope John Paul II. That line is long, to say the least. And time is now running short.
In an effort to make sure everybody who lines up gets in, officials are closing off access at 10:00 p.m. Rome time, 4:00 p.m. Eastern. That's two hours from now. So we're told almost two million pilgrims have passed through St. Peter's Basilica since the pontiff's remains were brought there on Monday.
Now, some five million will have to squeeze into Rome by the time of the funeral on Friday. The all-important conclave for choosing the next pope will start on April 18th, the cardinals said today, and it will last as long as it takes. The cardinals say they have also read the pope's will officially, his spiritual testament, and they plan to make the contents public tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: Rome's mayor is asking Rome's residents to open their home to visitors with no place else to stay. The eternal city's population will essentially double before this week is over, but of utmost concern to Vatican, Roman and Italian officials are the 200 VIPs who also plan to pay their respects in person.
More on all this now from CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a seemingly endless stream of people as the faithful file past the body of Pope John Paul II. Outside, a sea of humanity, stretching more than a mile down the road that leads to the Vatican.
They wait, sometimes for more than eight hours, often breaking into song or shouting the pope's name and applauding. According to the Vatican, 18,000 people pass through the doors of St. Peter's every hour. More than a million will have seen the pope lying in state by the end of viewing tonight.
The crowds have been calm, but they keep coming. And their sheer numbers have already presented logistical problems for the city of Rome.
LUCA ODEVAINE, DEPUTY MAYOR OF ROME: Biggest problem we have is transports, because people are coming in Rome, and we have to get them to the Vatican. So probably transport is absolutely (UNINTELLIGIBLE) now, because people -- 500,000 people came in the morning. And the underground and buses are full of people coming.
COOPER: But Friday's funeral will present an even bigger challenge, how to protect the more than 2 million mourners and 200 dignitaries. President Bush will attend. So will former president Clinton and Prince Charles.
GEORGE BAURIES, CRITERION STRATEGIES: The problem is that there are so many people in such a small area that basically time and distance are your best friends in these kinds of events.
COOPER: Not surprisingly, the Vatican, a sovereign nation, has its own security force, starting with the Swiss Guard. They may look like they're in place just for show, but the 100-strong military force is sworn to defend the pope to the death, and in the past, they have.
There's another 200-person security detail comprised of bodyguards and a special corps from the Italian police.
Vatican security, however, doesn't stop there. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dignitaries will not be exposed to any potential person coming in from the crowd. There's going to be a buffer zone or a protective area. But you need to allow planes or, you know, rockets or anything like that from coming into the area. And that's where there'll be coordination with security services, as well as military components.
COOPER: Metal detectors surround St. Peter's Square, and the carabinieri, paramilitary police, patrol the streets outside the Vatican.
By Friday, a more obvious security presence will also be in place. More than 6,000 extra Italian police, including snipers, bomb disposal experts, and motorcycle escorts will be put on patrol. Fifteen hundred officers will watch over the dignitaries, and the Italian interior ministry says it will provide armored cars for all of them.
Then there's the security we don't see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vatican has its own intelligence capability. It's a small service, not well known, but they have the internal capability to monitor intelligence issues, which, to their benefit, allows them to basically function the same way the Secret Service is the lead agency when the president comes.
COOPER: For now, the crowds keep coming, filled not with fear but with grief, less concerned with security than with saying good-bye to the much-loved church leader.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: President and Mrs. Bush are en route to Rome as we speak. They set out from Andrews Air Force Base this morning and are due to touch down a little more than an hour from now. And as you've heard, the Bushes lead a five-person U.S. delegation, including the former presidents Bush and Clinton and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Not attending will be the first U.S. president to host a pope at the White House. Aides say that Jimmy Carter wanted to go but was quite willing to withdraw his request when told the cutoff for the traveling party was five.
LIN: All right, Kyra. Just in the last hour you were talking about Space Shuttle Discovery. There was a delay in moving the shuttle to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. It is now under way.
It is going to be making the trip. It was delayed because they found a tiny crack in the external tank. But it turns out they feel that it's something that can actually be repaired on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. So Discovery is now making the journey there.
This is a shuttle that has a big burden and responsibility. It will be the first manned mission since the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded over the Texas skies. And some 41 different modifications have been made from the report that came out of the Columbia shuttle disaster safety recommendations.
So, clearly, NASA feels confident that they will be able to repair this crack on the launch pad. Minuscule, not even tiny. It is a minuscule crack.
The soonest that it can launch is May 15th, the first manned mission since the Columbia shuttle disaster. So we wish it well. It's going to travel one mile per hour, four-mile journey.
PHILLIPS: It's taking it slow and easy.
LIN: Slow and easy.
PHILLIPS: Another live event that we've been following, as you know, a number of celebrities attending the funeral for famed defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran in Los Angeles. Among them, Michael Jackson, who arrived at the service with his attorney, Thomas Mesereau.
The singer's child molestation trial is in recess. That's why he was able to come to the funeral.
Cochran is best known as the lead lawyer of the so-called dream team which successfully defended O.J. Simpson. Simpson also, as you can see here, arrived at the service.
Cochran, who was 67 years old, died of a brain tumor last week. He was diagnosed back in 2003.
These are live pictures now of the service. Other VIPs attending at West Angeles Cathedral include the Reverend Al Sharpton and rapper P. Diddy Combs.
LIN: Also, the tiny principality of Monaco is mourning the death of longtime monarch Prince Rainier. Flags there are at half staff for the 81-year-old leader credited with transforming Monaco into a thriving modern economy.
He ruled the country, smaller than New York's Central Park, from 1949, making him one of the world's longest-serving monarchs. He died early this morning after a month in a hospital battling heart, lung and kidney problems.
CNN's Chris Burns has this look at the royal family he left behind, and questions about who will rule the principality next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While turning Monaco into a prosperous world stage for fast cars, high-rolling gamblers and glitterottis (ph) seeking a tax haven, Prince Rainier also headed a dysfunctional royal family, steeped in scandal and tragedy.
After his fairy tale wedding to American actress Grace Kelly in 1956, the couple raised three children who grew into young and restless aristocrats. Princess Stephanie, dubbed the wild child, survived the car crash that killed her mother in 1982, but said she never emotionally recovered. She's known for her colorful boyfriends, her tattoos, and her dabbling in pop stardom, modeling and fashion design.
Stephanie had two children with her former bodyguard, Daniel Ducruet, married him in 1995, then divorced him the following year after he was photographed cavorting with a former Miss Topless Belgium, allegedly in a setup.
She had a third child out of wedlock, then married a circus trapeze artist. But has since split up and was reportedly seeing Ducruet again.
Princess Caroline was 21 when she married a French playboy banker, Philippe Junot, in 1978. Junot sold their Tahiti honeymoon photos, and she divorced him two years later.
Caroline then married Italian property magnate Stefano Casiraghi, with whom she raised three children. Casiraghi died in a speedboat racing accident in 1990.
Her third husband, Prince Ernst, of Hanover, was said to have been Grace's choice for Caroline. But he's caused headlines himself. He was fined for attacking a hotel owner and a photographer.
Prince Albert, heir to the principality, is still a bachelor at 47. Denying rumors he's gay, he dates actresses and supermodels. Still, Prince Rainier amended Monaco's constitution in 2002 to allow one of his daughters to provide a successor just in case to keep Monaco from falling under French control, which would end seven centuries of Grimaldi family rule and end decades of tabloid mischief.
Chris Burns, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: The literary world is mourning the death of one of America's greatest novelists. Nobel Prize-winning author Saul Bellow died yesterday at age 89 of natural causes. He rose from writing book reviews for $10 a piece to become one of the nation's best writers after World War II. Bellow also won a Pulitzer Prize and three national book awards.
LIN: All right. Well, what caused a coalition helicopter to crash in Afghanistan with 18 people on board? We are going to go live to the Pentagon with more on that story.
Plus, can this president be a peacemaker? The Iraqi Assembly picked a Kurd for the post. What it could mean for the future of that war-torn country straight ahead.
And cutting down on the price you pay at the pump. We're going to have some simple steps you can take to keep more money in your pocket. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Disaster in Afghanistan to report. Sixteen people killed in a coalition helicopter crash. For those details, let's go to the Pentagon. We find correspondent Barbara Starr tracking those events.
Barbara, what happened?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the U.S. military indeed now confirming 16 people are dead from the crash of that CH-47 helicopter earlier today in Afghanistan. It happened near the city of Ghazni. That's about 80 miles southwest of the capital of Kabul.
There is, of course, an investigation under way. Initial reports perhaps that there may have been severe weather, perhaps a dust storm in the area when this happened. You see some local Afghans assisting by trying to throw dirt and other material on the fire to put it out.
Recovery operations have been called off for the night. But the fact that they are confirming there are 16 people from the crash, at least 16 bodies now recovered, they do expect to find two more, because there were 18 people listed on the manifest.
Those recovery operations expected to resume tomorrow. Identification of those on board, of course, is pending, the notification of their next of kin. We are not told yet whether they were all military personnel or whether there were also civilians -- Carol.
LIN: Thanks, Barbara. Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Taking you live now to the floor in Washington, D.C. You are looking at live pictures now of Representative Henry Hyde, Republican of Illinois.
He's one of the most prominent Catholics in Congress, and he's on the House floor today, evidently making remarks about the pope and introducing a House resolution, honoring his service. It's going to be voted on later today, shortly before a congressional delegation leaves Washington to attend the pope's funeral.
Now, we've been getting word from our congressional producer that controversial language in an earlier draft of the resolution dealing with abortion and euthanasia was dropped to prevent a floor fight with Democrats. We learned that, evidently, from a senior GOP aide there.
And the change came in the final "whereas" section that originally said this... "Whereas up to the moment of his death on April 2, 2005, Pope John Paul remained faithful and principled, inspiring a continuing defense of the unique dignity of every human life from conception to natural death."
The final language drops the last five words. And that was to prevent any type of discrepancy on the floor among politicians, and to keep things civil as the resolution was coming forward to honor his service and the death of Pope John Paul II.
Once again, Representative Henry Hyde there introducing that.
Well, a big political breakthrough in Iraq after weeks of wrangling. Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani is elected president by the Transitional National Assembly. The post is largely symbolic, but it's seen as a significant step in a country where Kurds had been treated as second class citizens.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has the profile of the new Iraqi president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the moment Jalal Talabani had been waiting at least 60 years for, voting in an Iraqi election that would see him, a Kurd, get the prize job of Iraqi president.
JALAL TALABANI, PATRIOTIC UNION OF KURDISTAN: I feel I'm very, very glad to have this chance to participate in these elections.
ROBERTSON: The first-ever Kurdish president, proof that so long the underdogs in a majority Arab Iraq, his people were finally getting equality, that it has not been an easy path.
Talabani's peshmerga mountain fighters fought a bitter campaign against Saddam Hussein's army in the 70s and 80s. Thousands of Kurds were killed, most notably in a poison gas attack in 1988 in the town of Halabja.
Following the 1991 Gulf War, Talabani helped lead a full-scale uprising against Saddam. When the Iraqi army retaliated, the Kurds fled, hundreds of thousands over the border to Iran and Turkey. Then their fortunes changed.
The United States declared a Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq. Talabani himself went to Baghdad to confront Saddam Hussein.
TALABANI: We have discussed four main problems. First, normalization; second, democracy for Iraq; third, Kurdish national rights; and fourth, the national unity of Iraq. In our very frank discussions we have reached an agreement.
ROBERTSON: But under U.S. protection, the Kurds turn from fighting Saddam Hussein to fighting themselves. Talabani and his progressive Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party vied for control for Kurds' mountainous corner of Iraq with arch rival Massoud Barzani and his clannish Kurdish democratic party. Barzani eventually calling in Saddam's army and almost forcing Talabani out of the country.
Only U.S. mediation brought a piece deal in 1998. But the two sides continue to run their own fiefdoms.
When U.S. troops arrived, overthrowing Saddam in 2003, Talabani could not have been happier. TALABANI: Let me first thank President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair for their historical decision to liberate Iraqi people.
ROBERTSON: A decade of self rule and good security had given the Kurds an edge over the rest of Iraq. And their economy boomed.
But in the south of Iraq, the assessment was the Kurds only wanted independence. This year's election saw Talabani and Barzani bury the hatchet and form a united front to maximum Kurdish representation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This unity has proved that the Kurds leadership has matured in understanding the interests of the Kurdish people.
ROBERTSON: When election day came, Kurds embraced their new freedoms and went to the polls in huge numbers.
TALABANI: The Kurdish role is to always (UNINTELLIGIBLE) mediate among main structure of Iraqi society, Shia Arabs, Sunni Arabs, Christians, Muslims, Turkomans.
ROBERTSON (on camera): For many Arab Iraqis, though, the verdict is still out on Talabani and the Kurds. And although mostly a ceremonial role, how the president performs will be critical if Iraq is to avoid civil war.
Nic Robertson, CNN Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: We've got some of the pope's secret plans made public. In fact, we're going to talk about his attention to detail later on LIVE FROM.
And we're going to get some rarely seen glimpses of the pontiff from a collection of photos.
KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Hays at the New York Stock Exchange. Up next, all Americans are not equal when it comes to income and health care. A new report details pervasive economic inequality in America.
I'll have that story next on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All the powerful women on the front row there in the control room.
LIN: I know. Now we know where the power really lies...
PHILLIPS: There you go.
Well, all Americans on a level playing field, I guess, when it comes to income and health care. So a new study is saying no. LIN: No. No. Kathleen Hays is at the New York Stock Exchange with more details on who's getting the short end of the stick -- Kathleen.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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Aired April 6, 2005 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Fierce storms, including tornadoes, strike Mississippi. Extensive damage. Emergency crews on the scene. We're following the developing story.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Also, live pictures from the Vatican as millions of people are paying their respects to the pope. This hour, how Rome is coping with the crowds and protecting pilgrims over these fresh pictures.
PHILLIPS: The passing of a prince. We're going to look back at the life of Prince Rainier, who wowed the world, wooed a Hollywood actress, and literally kept Monaco on the map.
LIN: And rising gas prices. Five simple steps you can take to spend less the next time you go to the pump.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin, in for Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
LIN: At this hour, a line of severe weather is sweeping through the South and packing tornadoes. Take a look at this.
Devastating damage in the state of Mississippi, just below Interstate 20 near Jackson. A system described as a super cell tore through Rankin County before moving eastward and spinning off twisters in six other counties.
Now, in all, at least 16 tornadoes have now been reported. And the danger is not over yet. So let's quickly go to the CNN Weather Center, where CNN's Orelon Sidney is standing by, tracking all those storm systems -- Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks a lot.
This is what's happening this afternoon. Very dangerous day in the South.
We have this low pressure system aloft, moving across the central United States. Cold front extending out ahead of it. That is what's generating severe thunderstorms this afternoon. Moisture, of course, coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. Put that together and you've got severe thunderstorms.
Two tornado watches in effect now until 7:00 p.m. on both counts. We continue to get numerous reports of tornadoes.
Now, we have had as many reports, as you said earlier, about 16 reports. That doesn't necessarily mean 16 tornadoes. That could be multiple sightings of the same storm. In fact, I think that's quite true.
Down in Salem, Mississippi, though, as many as three tornadoes possible there, with some damage earlier today. Building damage around Mize, Mississippi. And the latest I've seen, four homes damaged in Bellchase, Louisiana. That's in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Parish.
This is what we see for the afternoon. Here's our cold front, here's some of the current thunderstorms. But notice there's a potential for destabilization back to the west, and also out ahead of our warm front.
The counties that you see and the parishes you see in red here are current tornado warnings. Those flashes, actual lightning strikes now across parts of the Southeast.
Put the whole things in motion and you can see that this line of thunderstorms, this area of thunderstorms is moving off to the north and east. If you are in Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, and across the Florida Panhandle, you should be on the lookout for developing thunderstorms later on today -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thanks so much -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Straight to the phones now. Lea Stokes with the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency joining us now from Jackson, Mississippi.
Lea, tell us the situation in Jackson right now. And is it still considered one of the hardest areas hit so far?
LEA STOKES, MISSISSIPPI EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: Yes, the Rankin County area, which is the Jackson area, we're getting reports as many as 45 mobile homes are destroyed or damaged, and 12 homes are destroyed or damaged. And we did have six people who were injured and taken to local hospitals here. One of those is still in critical conditions.
PHILLIPS: Any rescue efforts under way? Any missing persons at this point?
STOKES: There was one missing person earlier in Pike County, which is the southern end of the state on the Louisiana border. But that person has been recovered and there are no injuries there.
And one thing we are seeing, back in 1992 Rankin County also had a very severe tornado go through that area and about 10 people died. And since then -- since then, that community has taken the efforts to become storm ready, a program through the National Weather Center service and NIMA that we promote that lets the county receive weather warnings in different ways and able to tell the community through different means in weather radios when severe weather is approaching. So the only thing we can relate this to is that, before they were storm ready, there were 10 deaths from a similar tornado. And today, now that they they've done some preparation, there were six injuries but we've had no deaths in the state.
PHILLIPS: So does that mean once the storm ready procedure went into place that folks either got their things and got out of town, or they went to some area by tracking the National Weather Service where they knew probably wasn't going to get hit very hard?
STOKES: Well, with the storm ready, we promote things like outdoor warning sirens, and for people to have weather radios in their home. And another big thing, we do public education, that if you are in a mobile home and this type of weather is approaching, to not try and ride out any kind of a storm in a mobile home, to take shelter elsewhere.
PHILLIPS: Any power outages anywhere?
STOKES: We do have some power outages in different parts of the state. As you can see on the map earlier, the entire state has been covered with thunderstorms, tornadoes, and some severe winds. And it's just in separate different areas of the state where we're getting power outages reported. I don't have a total number.
PHILLIPS: Just before we let you go, do you have a confirmed number of tornadoes that have definitely hit in Mississippi since early this morning?
STOKES: No, I do not. And we are still telling people to stay inside their home, not to be trying to drive around and sightsee, because some of this weather is still moving through. And emergency workers are trying to get out and do their jobs, and if people are on the roads trying to sightsee the damage, it impairs them or hampers them from being able to help those who need the help most right now.
PHILLIPS: Good advice. Lea Stokes, the emergency management there in Jackson, Mississippi.
Thanks, Lea.
STOKES: Thank you.
LIN: Kyra, overseas, in Vatican City, people are still trying to move their way through the basilica to pay their tributes to Pope John Paul II. That line is long, to say the least. And time is now running short.
In an effort to make sure everybody who lines up gets in, officials are closing off access at 10:00 p.m. Rome time, 4:00 p.m. Eastern. That's two hours from now. So we're told almost two million pilgrims have passed through St. Peter's Basilica since the pontiff's remains were brought there on Monday.
Now, some five million will have to squeeze into Rome by the time of the funeral on Friday. The all-important conclave for choosing the next pope will start on April 18th, the cardinals said today, and it will last as long as it takes. The cardinals say they have also read the pope's will officially, his spiritual testament, and they plan to make the contents public tomorrow.
PHILLIPS: Rome's mayor is asking Rome's residents to open their home to visitors with no place else to stay. The eternal city's population will essentially double before this week is over, but of utmost concern to Vatican, Roman and Italian officials are the 200 VIPs who also plan to pay their respects in person.
More on all this now from CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a seemingly endless stream of people as the faithful file past the body of Pope John Paul II. Outside, a sea of humanity, stretching more than a mile down the road that leads to the Vatican.
They wait, sometimes for more than eight hours, often breaking into song or shouting the pope's name and applauding. According to the Vatican, 18,000 people pass through the doors of St. Peter's every hour. More than a million will have seen the pope lying in state by the end of viewing tonight.
The crowds have been calm, but they keep coming. And their sheer numbers have already presented logistical problems for the city of Rome.
LUCA ODEVAINE, DEPUTY MAYOR OF ROME: Biggest problem we have is transports, because people are coming in Rome, and we have to get them to the Vatican. So probably transport is absolutely (UNINTELLIGIBLE) now, because people -- 500,000 people came in the morning. And the underground and buses are full of people coming.
COOPER: But Friday's funeral will present an even bigger challenge, how to protect the more than 2 million mourners and 200 dignitaries. President Bush will attend. So will former president Clinton and Prince Charles.
GEORGE BAURIES, CRITERION STRATEGIES: The problem is that there are so many people in such a small area that basically time and distance are your best friends in these kinds of events.
COOPER: Not surprisingly, the Vatican, a sovereign nation, has its own security force, starting with the Swiss Guard. They may look like they're in place just for show, but the 100-strong military force is sworn to defend the pope to the death, and in the past, they have.
There's another 200-person security detail comprised of bodyguards and a special corps from the Italian police.
Vatican security, however, doesn't stop there. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dignitaries will not be exposed to any potential person coming in from the crowd. There's going to be a buffer zone or a protective area. But you need to allow planes or, you know, rockets or anything like that from coming into the area. And that's where there'll be coordination with security services, as well as military components.
COOPER: Metal detectors surround St. Peter's Square, and the carabinieri, paramilitary police, patrol the streets outside the Vatican.
By Friday, a more obvious security presence will also be in place. More than 6,000 extra Italian police, including snipers, bomb disposal experts, and motorcycle escorts will be put on patrol. Fifteen hundred officers will watch over the dignitaries, and the Italian interior ministry says it will provide armored cars for all of them.
Then there's the security we don't see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vatican has its own intelligence capability. It's a small service, not well known, but they have the internal capability to monitor intelligence issues, which, to their benefit, allows them to basically function the same way the Secret Service is the lead agency when the president comes.
COOPER: For now, the crowds keep coming, filled not with fear but with grief, less concerned with security than with saying good-bye to the much-loved church leader.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: President and Mrs. Bush are en route to Rome as we speak. They set out from Andrews Air Force Base this morning and are due to touch down a little more than an hour from now. And as you've heard, the Bushes lead a five-person U.S. delegation, including the former presidents Bush and Clinton and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Not attending will be the first U.S. president to host a pope at the White House. Aides say that Jimmy Carter wanted to go but was quite willing to withdraw his request when told the cutoff for the traveling party was five.
LIN: All right, Kyra. Just in the last hour you were talking about Space Shuttle Discovery. There was a delay in moving the shuttle to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. It is now under way.
It is going to be making the trip. It was delayed because they found a tiny crack in the external tank. But it turns out they feel that it's something that can actually be repaired on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. So Discovery is now making the journey there.
This is a shuttle that has a big burden and responsibility. It will be the first manned mission since the Space Shuttle Columbia exploded over the Texas skies. And some 41 different modifications have been made from the report that came out of the Columbia shuttle disaster safety recommendations.
So, clearly, NASA feels confident that they will be able to repair this crack on the launch pad. Minuscule, not even tiny. It is a minuscule crack.
The soonest that it can launch is May 15th, the first manned mission since the Columbia shuttle disaster. So we wish it well. It's going to travel one mile per hour, four-mile journey.
PHILLIPS: It's taking it slow and easy.
LIN: Slow and easy.
PHILLIPS: Another live event that we've been following, as you know, a number of celebrities attending the funeral for famed defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran in Los Angeles. Among them, Michael Jackson, who arrived at the service with his attorney, Thomas Mesereau.
The singer's child molestation trial is in recess. That's why he was able to come to the funeral.
Cochran is best known as the lead lawyer of the so-called dream team which successfully defended O.J. Simpson. Simpson also, as you can see here, arrived at the service.
Cochran, who was 67 years old, died of a brain tumor last week. He was diagnosed back in 2003.
These are live pictures now of the service. Other VIPs attending at West Angeles Cathedral include the Reverend Al Sharpton and rapper P. Diddy Combs.
LIN: Also, the tiny principality of Monaco is mourning the death of longtime monarch Prince Rainier. Flags there are at half staff for the 81-year-old leader credited with transforming Monaco into a thriving modern economy.
He ruled the country, smaller than New York's Central Park, from 1949, making him one of the world's longest-serving monarchs. He died early this morning after a month in a hospital battling heart, lung and kidney problems.
CNN's Chris Burns has this look at the royal family he left behind, and questions about who will rule the principality next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While turning Monaco into a prosperous world stage for fast cars, high-rolling gamblers and glitterottis (ph) seeking a tax haven, Prince Rainier also headed a dysfunctional royal family, steeped in scandal and tragedy.
After his fairy tale wedding to American actress Grace Kelly in 1956, the couple raised three children who grew into young and restless aristocrats. Princess Stephanie, dubbed the wild child, survived the car crash that killed her mother in 1982, but said she never emotionally recovered. She's known for her colorful boyfriends, her tattoos, and her dabbling in pop stardom, modeling and fashion design.
Stephanie had two children with her former bodyguard, Daniel Ducruet, married him in 1995, then divorced him the following year after he was photographed cavorting with a former Miss Topless Belgium, allegedly in a setup.
She had a third child out of wedlock, then married a circus trapeze artist. But has since split up and was reportedly seeing Ducruet again.
Princess Caroline was 21 when she married a French playboy banker, Philippe Junot, in 1978. Junot sold their Tahiti honeymoon photos, and she divorced him two years later.
Caroline then married Italian property magnate Stefano Casiraghi, with whom she raised three children. Casiraghi died in a speedboat racing accident in 1990.
Her third husband, Prince Ernst, of Hanover, was said to have been Grace's choice for Caroline. But he's caused headlines himself. He was fined for attacking a hotel owner and a photographer.
Prince Albert, heir to the principality, is still a bachelor at 47. Denying rumors he's gay, he dates actresses and supermodels. Still, Prince Rainier amended Monaco's constitution in 2002 to allow one of his daughters to provide a successor just in case to keep Monaco from falling under French control, which would end seven centuries of Grimaldi family rule and end decades of tabloid mischief.
Chris Burns, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: The literary world is mourning the death of one of America's greatest novelists. Nobel Prize-winning author Saul Bellow died yesterday at age 89 of natural causes. He rose from writing book reviews for $10 a piece to become one of the nation's best writers after World War II. Bellow also won a Pulitzer Prize and three national book awards.
LIN: All right. Well, what caused a coalition helicopter to crash in Afghanistan with 18 people on board? We are going to go live to the Pentagon with more on that story.
Plus, can this president be a peacemaker? The Iraqi Assembly picked a Kurd for the post. What it could mean for the future of that war-torn country straight ahead.
And cutting down on the price you pay at the pump. We're going to have some simple steps you can take to keep more money in your pocket. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Disaster in Afghanistan to report. Sixteen people killed in a coalition helicopter crash. For those details, let's go to the Pentagon. We find correspondent Barbara Starr tracking those events.
Barbara, what happened?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the U.S. military indeed now confirming 16 people are dead from the crash of that CH-47 helicopter earlier today in Afghanistan. It happened near the city of Ghazni. That's about 80 miles southwest of the capital of Kabul.
There is, of course, an investigation under way. Initial reports perhaps that there may have been severe weather, perhaps a dust storm in the area when this happened. You see some local Afghans assisting by trying to throw dirt and other material on the fire to put it out.
Recovery operations have been called off for the night. But the fact that they are confirming there are 16 people from the crash, at least 16 bodies now recovered, they do expect to find two more, because there were 18 people listed on the manifest.
Those recovery operations expected to resume tomorrow. Identification of those on board, of course, is pending, the notification of their next of kin. We are not told yet whether they were all military personnel or whether there were also civilians -- Carol.
LIN: Thanks, Barbara. Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Taking you live now to the floor in Washington, D.C. You are looking at live pictures now of Representative Henry Hyde, Republican of Illinois.
He's one of the most prominent Catholics in Congress, and he's on the House floor today, evidently making remarks about the pope and introducing a House resolution, honoring his service. It's going to be voted on later today, shortly before a congressional delegation leaves Washington to attend the pope's funeral.
Now, we've been getting word from our congressional producer that controversial language in an earlier draft of the resolution dealing with abortion and euthanasia was dropped to prevent a floor fight with Democrats. We learned that, evidently, from a senior GOP aide there.
And the change came in the final "whereas" section that originally said this... "Whereas up to the moment of his death on April 2, 2005, Pope John Paul remained faithful and principled, inspiring a continuing defense of the unique dignity of every human life from conception to natural death."
The final language drops the last five words. And that was to prevent any type of discrepancy on the floor among politicians, and to keep things civil as the resolution was coming forward to honor his service and the death of Pope John Paul II.
Once again, Representative Henry Hyde there introducing that.
Well, a big political breakthrough in Iraq after weeks of wrangling. Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani is elected president by the Transitional National Assembly. The post is largely symbolic, but it's seen as a significant step in a country where Kurds had been treated as second class citizens.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has the profile of the new Iraqi president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the moment Jalal Talabani had been waiting at least 60 years for, voting in an Iraqi election that would see him, a Kurd, get the prize job of Iraqi president.
JALAL TALABANI, PATRIOTIC UNION OF KURDISTAN: I feel I'm very, very glad to have this chance to participate in these elections.
ROBERTSON: The first-ever Kurdish president, proof that so long the underdogs in a majority Arab Iraq, his people were finally getting equality, that it has not been an easy path.
Talabani's peshmerga mountain fighters fought a bitter campaign against Saddam Hussein's army in the 70s and 80s. Thousands of Kurds were killed, most notably in a poison gas attack in 1988 in the town of Halabja.
Following the 1991 Gulf War, Talabani helped lead a full-scale uprising against Saddam. When the Iraqi army retaliated, the Kurds fled, hundreds of thousands over the border to Iran and Turkey. Then their fortunes changed.
The United States declared a Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq. Talabani himself went to Baghdad to confront Saddam Hussein.
TALABANI: We have discussed four main problems. First, normalization; second, democracy for Iraq; third, Kurdish national rights; and fourth, the national unity of Iraq. In our very frank discussions we have reached an agreement.
ROBERTSON: But under U.S. protection, the Kurds turn from fighting Saddam Hussein to fighting themselves. Talabani and his progressive Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Party vied for control for Kurds' mountainous corner of Iraq with arch rival Massoud Barzani and his clannish Kurdish democratic party. Barzani eventually calling in Saddam's army and almost forcing Talabani out of the country.
Only U.S. mediation brought a piece deal in 1998. But the two sides continue to run their own fiefdoms.
When U.S. troops arrived, overthrowing Saddam in 2003, Talabani could not have been happier. TALABANI: Let me first thank President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair for their historical decision to liberate Iraqi people.
ROBERTSON: A decade of self rule and good security had given the Kurds an edge over the rest of Iraq. And their economy boomed.
But in the south of Iraq, the assessment was the Kurds only wanted independence. This year's election saw Talabani and Barzani bury the hatchet and form a united front to maximum Kurdish representation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This unity has proved that the Kurds leadership has matured in understanding the interests of the Kurdish people.
ROBERTSON: When election day came, Kurds embraced their new freedoms and went to the polls in huge numbers.
TALABANI: The Kurdish role is to always (UNINTELLIGIBLE) mediate among main structure of Iraqi society, Shia Arabs, Sunni Arabs, Christians, Muslims, Turkomans.
ROBERTSON (on camera): For many Arab Iraqis, though, the verdict is still out on Talabani and the Kurds. And although mostly a ceremonial role, how the president performs will be critical if Iraq is to avoid civil war.
Nic Robertson, CNN Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: We've got some of the pope's secret plans made public. In fact, we're going to talk about his attention to detail later on LIVE FROM.
And we're going to get some rarely seen glimpses of the pontiff from a collection of photos.
KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kathleen Hays at the New York Stock Exchange. Up next, all Americans are not equal when it comes to income and health care. A new report details pervasive economic inequality in America.
I'll have that story next on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: All the powerful women on the front row there in the control room.
LIN: I know. Now we know where the power really lies...
PHILLIPS: There you go.
Well, all Americans on a level playing field, I guess, when it comes to income and health care. So a new study is saying no. LIN: No. No. Kathleen Hays is at the New York Stock Exchange with more details on who's getting the short end of the stick -- Kathleen.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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