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Tornadoes Strike Mississippi; Monaco's Monarchy

Aired April 06, 2005 - 15:00   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: Now in the news, Mississippi, a state of emergency. Tornadoes wiped out more than 20 homes southeast of Jackson this morning. Remarkably, nobody was killed, but there are injuries. Details in a live report coming right up.
And the rollout of space shuttle Discovery is back on track. It was put on hold earlier today when a crack was discovered in the foam insulation of an external fuel tank. Live pictures right now, as NASA says that the crack is no reason for concern. So, Discovery's scheduled mid-May march -- or mid-May launch, rather, would be the first for the space shuttle program since the Columbia disaster in 2003.

Family, friends and colleagues, clients and national religious leaders are all gathered in Angeles Church today paying last respects to famed defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Michael Jackson, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are attending, as well as the man whose trial made Johnnie Cochran a household name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O.J. SIMPSON, FORMER CLIENT OF JOHNNIE COCHRAN: No matter how popular or unpopular the cause was or the verdict was, Johnnie stayed true. He didn't try to half-step when it was over, like some guys have done. You know, that's Johnnie. He's the best. He's the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, first this hour, the threatening weather that is plowing through the south. We continue to track that line of severe thunderstorms that produced tornadoes in southern Mississippi.

This is Rankin County near Jackson, Mississippi. A helicopter shot showing utter devastation from a storm that erupted this morning, early this morning. And down on the ground, several people are injured, but no confirmed deaths so far. One person was earlier thought to be missing, but that person is now accounted for.

Now, as we said, we're keeping an eye on the storms.

And doing that for us, Orelon Sidney in the CNN Weather Center.

Hi, Orelon.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kyra, thanks a lot.

This is the area of concern, big area of low pressure here pushing a cold front across the Southeastern United States. All ahead of, that we have seen and continue to see severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. And new tornado watches is in effect. We've got two here that are in effect until 7:00 p.m. Another watch box has been issued back to the west. That will be in effect until 9:00 p.m. tonight.

These are the reports of tornadoes we've had since 6:00 a.m. Central time and some of these tornadoes have produced damage. The good news is, no fatalities reported and, as far as I know, the injuries have been minor. Three possible tornadoes around Salem, Mississippi, some building damage around Mize, Marion, homes destroyed there with trees down.

We'll continue to see this situation tonight, this afternoon, and going into the evening. Chance for destabilization right along the cold front and also ahead of the warm front. That's what we've seen all day. Take a look now the at Titan radar. The areas that are in red are current areas of tornado warnings. And we have some action around Jackson, Mississippi.

I'm going to zoom in a little bit closer there and show you what's going on. If you're in Mobile, watch out. Big area of thunderstorms headed in your direction. You could see some very gusty winds from this, whether or not you get tornadoes, even around New Orleans, some very strong storms there that are heading northeastward right around Lake Pontchartrain and then up to the north. Various thunderstorms continue to develop in that unstable air back to the west.

It's going to a very, very active afternoon. We'll have to keep an eye on this one -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Orelon, thanks so much.

SIDNEY: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Got some other stories across America now. Putting the nation's security plan to test. The country's largest ever counterterrorism drill is now in its third day. And today's focus, protecting a nuclear power plant. Specialized soldiers have been deployed to do just that. The weeklong drill involves 225 agencies and New Jersey and Connecticut. And federal officials say, so far, so good.

Now, in Florida, an accused child killer pleads not guilty. John Evander Couey entered that plea in writing days before he was to appear in court. Local authorities say Couey has confessed to abducting, abusing and killing Jessica Lunsford. At the time, the convicted child molester was living right next door.

PHILLIPS: Governments go to extraordinary lengths to inform parents about the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders.

Reporter Rad Berky of affiliate WPLG in Miami found a convicted sex offender living in one of the most improbable places of all, a day care center.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAD BERKY, WPLG REPORTER (voice-over): We found a woman named Joanne Wright (ph) running a day care for children out of this home on Northwest 26 Court. We also found her son, Anthony Wright (ph), listed on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Web site as a sexual offender.

And Anthony Wright lists his address as the very same house where the children are being cared for. Joanne Wright would only speak us to through her front door.

(on camera): How do you feel about a sexual offender living in the same place as a day care center?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He lives here, but he's not really here during the time that I operate or that I'm in business.

BERKY (voice-over): She says Anthony works during the day and is not around the children, but she is no longer going to be in business.

When we told Department of Children and Families what we found, DCF moved within hours to close the home. And based on what was found, DCF was considering referring the matter to the state attorney's office for falsification and fraud. DCF says Wright did not notify the agency that Anthony Wright was living at the house. Wright made the offenders list when he was convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior with a child under the age of 16.

(on camera): And you don't see a problem with that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there a problem with it? It is?

BERKY: I'm asking you. I mean...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have me on tape or something?

BERKY: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, a spokesperson for the state says that there are no reports that Anthony Wright harmed any of the children at that home.

LIN: All right, well, the shuttle Discovery is on the move right now from its hangar to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. There it is. It doesn't look like it's moving because it's moving at one mile per hour. That's how cautiously they have to go. But there was a -- the rollout began about an hour ago and is expected to take another seven hours or more. It was delayed a bit after engineers found a hairline crack in the external tank insulation. Now, they have determined it is not a problem, and NASA is still eying a mid-May launch. Our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, with more on that milestone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two years, two months since the tragic loss of Columbia, the shuttle Discovery is pointed in the right direction, skyward, and the space agency believes it is as well.

EILEEN COLLINS, NASA ASTRONAUT: It's time for us to go fly.

O'BRIEN: Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and her crew are in the final stages of training.

COLLINS: I'm confident enough that what happened to the Columbia will not happen again in the space shuttle program.

O'BRIEN: They're the first to strap into an orbiter since Columbia broke up reentering the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, killing the crew of seven.

PAUL HILL, FLIGHT DIRECTOR: It's been quite the emotional roller coaster. You know, the initial aftermath from the accident was very intense, a lot of grieving, a lot of really intense work, trying to figure out what caused the accident.

O'BRIEN: What happened to Columbia is now familiar to us all. Moments after launch, a 2-pound piece of insulating foam broke off the external fuel tank and scored a bullseye on the leading edge of Columbia's left wing. It was a mortal wound to Columbia's heat shield, which protects the aluminum structure from the searing inferno of reentry.

(on camera): But, of course, the problem was much deeper than the foam strike. The independent board that investigated the Columbia accident found a shuttle program that was dangerously mismanaged, poor communication, dissenting viewed discouraged, shortcuts to try to meet a schedule. NASA says it's trying to do everything it can to change the way it does business, but no one would suggest this is an easy thing to fix.

HAL GEHMAN, ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BOARD: There's more risk here than I think the average public realizes. I believe that the first couple will be as safe as they possibly can be made.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): NASA has spent over $1 billion trying to insure it, the shuttle's tank redesigned and the foam application process improved. There are more ways to inspect the orbiter, with cameras on the ground, at the end of a robotic arm and from the space station where it will dock. And the astronauts will also test some heat shield repair techniques in space.

HILL: We're all understandably apprehensive. We all need to get past this and demonstrate to ourselves somewhere deep inside that we still understand how to do this. We still can do this dangerous thing.

O'BRIEN: Commander Collins was assigned this flight four years ago. The mother of two young children, she could have bowed out. Not her style.

COLLINS: For me to not fly this flight, I just -- I probably couldn't live with myself afterwards.

O'BRIEN: NASA knows that it still has some work to do, some Accident Board prerequisites for launch. But, if all goes well Discovery could fly as soon as May 15. It will be the beginning of the last chapter of the space shuttle story. The aging fleet will be retired after about two dozen flights over the next five years, risky business, but NASA says it won't forget the lessons of Columbia.

Miles O'Brien, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, he was one of the world's longest ruling monarchs. Prince Rene -- Rene -- Renai...

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Oh, Rainier.

LIN: Rainier.

PHILLIPS: Rainier of Monaco. Forgive me, Prince.

Ahead, we're going to look at his life, his legacy and what's next for the principality that he turned into a playground for the rich.

Also ahead, special delivery. A food delivery man gets stuck on the job, literally. Why out why he spent the last three days in an elevator.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live pictures from Rome, 36 hours and 45 minutes until the funeral of Pope John Paul II. And the line into St. Peter's Basilica isn't getting any shorter. But soon it will. At 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 10:00 p.m. in Rome, no one who is not already waiting to pay their respects will be allowed to come visit. That's to guarantee that no one stands and waits and waits and waits, only to be turned away.

But, right now, the wait is running eight to 12 hours, with an estimated 15,000 to 18,000 pilgrims passing by the pope's remains per hour. Almost two million people have already come and gone since Monday.

LIN: Well, as Monaco mourns the death of Prince Rainier, the citizens of the tiny principality are also keenly interested in what happens next there. So, who will actually assume the throne that the Grimaldi family has held for more than 700 years?

Well, the children of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly always have been newsworthy, you might say, but are they crown worthy?

Charles Mosley is the editor of "Debrett's," considered the social Bible for royals and royal watchers. And he joins me from London to talk about the future of Monaco's monarchy.

Thank you very much, Charles, for being here.

First, I'd like to get your observations on the loss of the prince and his legacy.

CHARLES MOSLEY, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "DEBRETT'S": He transformed Monaco from a tiny principality, which was for a few rich people, into a bigger one, literally. He extended it 20 percent by filling in bits of the sea, which was a haven for many very rich people.

But the trouble is that, in doing that, some of the money that came in was dirty money, and there have been one or two unpleasant incidents, notably, the death in a very suspicious fire in his apartment of Edmond Safra, a very rich banker, some years ago. That has been a hard stain to shrug off.

LIN: Yes. And, you know, it seems that it is a -- it's a monarchy filled with secrets, because he closed the investigation or sealed the investigation into Princess Grace's death, because there were some indications that it was their youngest daughter, Stephanie, who might have been at the wheel.

MOSLEY: Precisely.

LIN: So, now that the prince has died, do you think some of these secrets may actually come out and be known?

MOSLEY: I don't think that that is very likely, because, unless there was somebody else on the road or in the car at the time, Princess Grace, the only other person, is now dead. So, unless Stephanie is going to fess up that she was actually behind the wheel, and it's so long ago, that I doubt that it would be worth prosecuting her, that seems unlikely.

There are, of course, other secrets which may surface, but that's not one of them, I don't think.

LIN: Princess Grace dying 26 years ago. I mean, as recently as 1999, the prince had said that his was a true love, that he never had any interest in remarrying. That was a love story, wasn't it?

MOSLEY: She was a hard wife to follow, not just a hard act to follow.

LIN: Princess Grace, yes.

Now, on the shoulders of Prince Albert. Talk about the succession, because there was a constitutional change that Prince Rainier made to ensure that the Grimaldi legacy continue. Explain that, and for how long would Prince Albert hold the title as monarch?

MOSLEY: The problem is that, if there is no male heir, which there could only be according to the old constitution, France would take over Monaco completely. It's overshadowed it for centuries, but it would completely absorb it.

Therefore, they changed the constitution to say that it could pass through the female line, as well as the male line. Since Albert has no wife and shows no signs of acquiring one, it will, on his death, pass to Caroline or, if she is dead, her children, probably her son, who is now in his 20s, and will presumably be groomed for the position, as Albert himself has been.

LIN: All right, Prince Albert...

MOSLEY: The principality has passed through the female -- sorry. I was about to say, the principality has passed through the female before in the past, but at a time when it was more independent of France than now.

LIN: Why do you think Prince Albert has never married? And you say he never intends to.

MOSLEY: It may be that he is as choosy over finding a first wife as his father proved to be over finding a second wife. In other words, nobody is quite good enough. But it may be that he doesn't like girls very much. It has been suggested that.

It is true that he's been photographed with Claudia Schiffer, but, then, so have many people.

LIN: Right.

MOSLEY: Including the well-known magician David Copperfield.

LIN: But don't you think, if Prince Albert were gay, we'd know this by now? I mean, it's not an easy secret to keep over a long period of time.

MOSLEY: It is if you are the prince of a tiny principality and your word is law. It's a great deal easier than it is for the rest of us.

LIN: All right. Well, at least Prince Rainier did find success in an area. The bedrock of his success perhaps was a solid marriage to Princess Grace, something that his children have not been able to achieve yet in their own time. But we shall see what happens.

Thank you very much, Charles, Charles Mosley, editor in chief of "Debrett's."

(FINANCIAL UPDATE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "WORLD NEWS TONIGHT") PETER JENNINGS, HOST: I will continue to do the broadcast on good days. My voice will not always be like this. Certainly, it has been a long time. And I hope it goes without saying that a journalist who doesn't value deeply the audience's loyalty should be in another line of work.

To be perfectly honest, I'm a little surprised at the kindness today from so many people. That's not intended as false modesty, but even I was taken aback by how far and how fast news travels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, well-wishes are pouring into longtime ABC News man Peter Jennings after he revealed to his audience last night that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Now, Carol, I hope you don't mind that I do this, but not all our viewers know that you came to us from ABC from "World News Tonight." And I wanted to ask you about just the relationship with Peter Jennings. He was a tough boss, yet a very caring boss, wasn't he?

LIN: Very much so.

I mean, people understand that he's the managing editor of "World News Tonight," but they don't really understand what it means. "World News Tonight" is not "World News Tonight" without Peter Jennings. People will tell you, when you start as a correspondent there, it could take you two years to get on to that program, because he edits every word. He approves every word and every correspondent who makes it onto that air. He is that exacting.

It can take six weeks to get script approval for a story that you've been working on. And sometimes, you have to see the man personally to pitch to try to get on his program.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know he respected you, and I know that he followed your work, because there was that live interaction that you had during the Hong Kong handover. And he took an opportunity to ask you about your family.

LIN: You know, he's so work-oriented and yet found out through a different source that my family had a historic connection to China losing Hong Kong. And so he made me a specific part of the special coverage of the Hong Kong handover back to China and asked about stories that my mother told me across the kitchen table and took a direct interest in that, wanting to put a personal touch on current events.

And I think that's really what his touch was with people, that he could be such a taskmaster and so detailed in the day-to-day workings, inner workings of that broadcast, and yet he saw the big picture, that the story was really about people. And that's I think what he's so good at. And you cannot underestimate how people feel at ABC News today. This man is "World News Tonight" and so much of the history of that network.

PHILLIPS: And he's made an impact on you. And that's why we're lucky to have you here with us.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right. That's great. Thanks, Carol.

LIN: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, that wraps up this edition of LIVE FROM on a little bit of a softer note there.

LIN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

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Aired April 6, 2005 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, Mississippi, a state of emergency. Tornadoes wiped out more than 20 homes southeast of Jackson this morning. Remarkably, nobody was killed, but there are injuries. Details in a live report coming right up.
And the rollout of space shuttle Discovery is back on track. It was put on hold earlier today when a crack was discovered in the foam insulation of an external fuel tank. Live pictures right now, as NASA says that the crack is no reason for concern. So, Discovery's scheduled mid-May march -- or mid-May launch, rather, would be the first for the space shuttle program since the Columbia disaster in 2003.

Family, friends and colleagues, clients and national religious leaders are all gathered in Angeles Church today paying last respects to famed defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Michael Jackson, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are attending, as well as the man whose trial made Johnnie Cochran a household name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O.J. SIMPSON, FORMER CLIENT OF JOHNNIE COCHRAN: No matter how popular or unpopular the cause was or the verdict was, Johnnie stayed true. He didn't try to half-step when it was over, like some guys have done. You know, that's Johnnie. He's the best. He's the best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, first this hour, the threatening weather that is plowing through the south. We continue to track that line of severe thunderstorms that produced tornadoes in southern Mississippi.

This is Rankin County near Jackson, Mississippi. A helicopter shot showing utter devastation from a storm that erupted this morning, early this morning. And down on the ground, several people are injured, but no confirmed deaths so far. One person was earlier thought to be missing, but that person is now accounted for.

Now, as we said, we're keeping an eye on the storms.

And doing that for us, Orelon Sidney in the CNN Weather Center.

Hi, Orelon.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kyra, thanks a lot.

This is the area of concern, big area of low pressure here pushing a cold front across the Southeastern United States. All ahead of, that we have seen and continue to see severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. And new tornado watches is in effect. We've got two here that are in effect until 7:00 p.m. Another watch box has been issued back to the west. That will be in effect until 9:00 p.m. tonight.

These are the reports of tornadoes we've had since 6:00 a.m. Central time and some of these tornadoes have produced damage. The good news is, no fatalities reported and, as far as I know, the injuries have been minor. Three possible tornadoes around Salem, Mississippi, some building damage around Mize, Marion, homes destroyed there with trees down.

We'll continue to see this situation tonight, this afternoon, and going into the evening. Chance for destabilization right along the cold front and also ahead of the warm front. That's what we've seen all day. Take a look now the at Titan radar. The areas that are in red are current areas of tornado warnings. And we have some action around Jackson, Mississippi.

I'm going to zoom in a little bit closer there and show you what's going on. If you're in Mobile, watch out. Big area of thunderstorms headed in your direction. You could see some very gusty winds from this, whether or not you get tornadoes, even around New Orleans, some very strong storms there that are heading northeastward right around Lake Pontchartrain and then up to the north. Various thunderstorms continue to develop in that unstable air back to the west.

It's going to a very, very active afternoon. We'll have to keep an eye on this one -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Orelon, thanks so much.

SIDNEY: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Got some other stories across America now. Putting the nation's security plan to test. The country's largest ever counterterrorism drill is now in its third day. And today's focus, protecting a nuclear power plant. Specialized soldiers have been deployed to do just that. The weeklong drill involves 225 agencies and New Jersey and Connecticut. And federal officials say, so far, so good.

Now, in Florida, an accused child killer pleads not guilty. John Evander Couey entered that plea in writing days before he was to appear in court. Local authorities say Couey has confessed to abducting, abusing and killing Jessica Lunsford. At the time, the convicted child molester was living right next door.

PHILLIPS: Governments go to extraordinary lengths to inform parents about the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders.

Reporter Rad Berky of affiliate WPLG in Miami found a convicted sex offender living in one of the most improbable places of all, a day care center.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAD BERKY, WPLG REPORTER (voice-over): We found a woman named Joanne Wright (ph) running a day care for children out of this home on Northwest 26 Court. We also found her son, Anthony Wright (ph), listed on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Web site as a sexual offender.

And Anthony Wright lists his address as the very same house where the children are being cared for. Joanne Wright would only speak us to through her front door.

(on camera): How do you feel about a sexual offender living in the same place as a day care center?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He lives here, but he's not really here during the time that I operate or that I'm in business.

BERKY (voice-over): She says Anthony works during the day and is not around the children, but she is no longer going to be in business.

When we told Department of Children and Families what we found, DCF moved within hours to close the home. And based on what was found, DCF was considering referring the matter to the state attorney's office for falsification and fraud. DCF says Wright did not notify the agency that Anthony Wright was living at the house. Wright made the offenders list when he was convicted of lewd and lascivious behavior with a child under the age of 16.

(on camera): And you don't see a problem with that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there a problem with it? It is?

BERKY: I'm asking you. I mean...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have me on tape or something?

BERKY: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, a spokesperson for the state says that there are no reports that Anthony Wright harmed any of the children at that home.

LIN: All right, well, the shuttle Discovery is on the move right now from its hangar to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral. There it is. It doesn't look like it's moving because it's moving at one mile per hour. That's how cautiously they have to go. But there was a -- the rollout began about an hour ago and is expected to take another seven hours or more. It was delayed a bit after engineers found a hairline crack in the external tank insulation. Now, they have determined it is not a problem, and NASA is still eying a mid-May launch. Our space correspondent, Miles O'Brien, with more on that milestone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two years, two months since the tragic loss of Columbia, the shuttle Discovery is pointed in the right direction, skyward, and the space agency believes it is as well.

EILEEN COLLINS, NASA ASTRONAUT: It's time for us to go fly.

O'BRIEN: Discovery Commander Eileen Collins and her crew are in the final stages of training.

COLLINS: I'm confident enough that what happened to the Columbia will not happen again in the space shuttle program.

O'BRIEN: They're the first to strap into an orbiter since Columbia broke up reentering the Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003, killing the crew of seven.

PAUL HILL, FLIGHT DIRECTOR: It's been quite the emotional roller coaster. You know, the initial aftermath from the accident was very intense, a lot of grieving, a lot of really intense work, trying to figure out what caused the accident.

O'BRIEN: What happened to Columbia is now familiar to us all. Moments after launch, a 2-pound piece of insulating foam broke off the external fuel tank and scored a bullseye on the leading edge of Columbia's left wing. It was a mortal wound to Columbia's heat shield, which protects the aluminum structure from the searing inferno of reentry.

(on camera): But, of course, the problem was much deeper than the foam strike. The independent board that investigated the Columbia accident found a shuttle program that was dangerously mismanaged, poor communication, dissenting viewed discouraged, shortcuts to try to meet a schedule. NASA says it's trying to do everything it can to change the way it does business, but no one would suggest this is an easy thing to fix.

HAL GEHMAN, ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION BOARD: There's more risk here than I think the average public realizes. I believe that the first couple will be as safe as they possibly can be made.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): NASA has spent over $1 billion trying to insure it, the shuttle's tank redesigned and the foam application process improved. There are more ways to inspect the orbiter, with cameras on the ground, at the end of a robotic arm and from the space station where it will dock. And the astronauts will also test some heat shield repair techniques in space.

HILL: We're all understandably apprehensive. We all need to get past this and demonstrate to ourselves somewhere deep inside that we still understand how to do this. We still can do this dangerous thing.

O'BRIEN: Commander Collins was assigned this flight four years ago. The mother of two young children, she could have bowed out. Not her style.

COLLINS: For me to not fly this flight, I just -- I probably couldn't live with myself afterwards.

O'BRIEN: NASA knows that it still has some work to do, some Accident Board prerequisites for launch. But, if all goes well Discovery could fly as soon as May 15. It will be the beginning of the last chapter of the space shuttle story. The aging fleet will be retired after about two dozen flights over the next five years, risky business, but NASA says it won't forget the lessons of Columbia.

Miles O'Brien, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, he was one of the world's longest ruling monarchs. Prince Rene -- Rene -- Renai...

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Oh, Rainier.

LIN: Rainier.

PHILLIPS: Rainier of Monaco. Forgive me, Prince.

Ahead, we're going to look at his life, his legacy and what's next for the principality that he turned into a playground for the rich.

Also ahead, special delivery. A food delivery man gets stuck on the job, literally. Why out why he spent the last three days in an elevator.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Live pictures from Rome, 36 hours and 45 minutes until the funeral of Pope John Paul II. And the line into St. Peter's Basilica isn't getting any shorter. But soon it will. At 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 10:00 p.m. in Rome, no one who is not already waiting to pay their respects will be allowed to come visit. That's to guarantee that no one stands and waits and waits and waits, only to be turned away.

But, right now, the wait is running eight to 12 hours, with an estimated 15,000 to 18,000 pilgrims passing by the pope's remains per hour. Almost two million people have already come and gone since Monday.

LIN: Well, as Monaco mourns the death of Prince Rainier, the citizens of the tiny principality are also keenly interested in what happens next there. So, who will actually assume the throne that the Grimaldi family has held for more than 700 years?

Well, the children of Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly always have been newsworthy, you might say, but are they crown worthy?

Charles Mosley is the editor of "Debrett's," considered the social Bible for royals and royal watchers. And he joins me from London to talk about the future of Monaco's monarchy.

Thank you very much, Charles, for being here.

First, I'd like to get your observations on the loss of the prince and his legacy.

CHARLES MOSLEY, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "DEBRETT'S": He transformed Monaco from a tiny principality, which was for a few rich people, into a bigger one, literally. He extended it 20 percent by filling in bits of the sea, which was a haven for many very rich people.

But the trouble is that, in doing that, some of the money that came in was dirty money, and there have been one or two unpleasant incidents, notably, the death in a very suspicious fire in his apartment of Edmond Safra, a very rich banker, some years ago. That has been a hard stain to shrug off.

LIN: Yes. And, you know, it seems that it is a -- it's a monarchy filled with secrets, because he closed the investigation or sealed the investigation into Princess Grace's death, because there were some indications that it was their youngest daughter, Stephanie, who might have been at the wheel.

MOSLEY: Precisely.

LIN: So, now that the prince has died, do you think some of these secrets may actually come out and be known?

MOSLEY: I don't think that that is very likely, because, unless there was somebody else on the road or in the car at the time, Princess Grace, the only other person, is now dead. So, unless Stephanie is going to fess up that she was actually behind the wheel, and it's so long ago, that I doubt that it would be worth prosecuting her, that seems unlikely.

There are, of course, other secrets which may surface, but that's not one of them, I don't think.

LIN: Princess Grace dying 26 years ago. I mean, as recently as 1999, the prince had said that his was a true love, that he never had any interest in remarrying. That was a love story, wasn't it?

MOSLEY: She was a hard wife to follow, not just a hard act to follow.

LIN: Princess Grace, yes.

Now, on the shoulders of Prince Albert. Talk about the succession, because there was a constitutional change that Prince Rainier made to ensure that the Grimaldi legacy continue. Explain that, and for how long would Prince Albert hold the title as monarch?

MOSLEY: The problem is that, if there is no male heir, which there could only be according to the old constitution, France would take over Monaco completely. It's overshadowed it for centuries, but it would completely absorb it.

Therefore, they changed the constitution to say that it could pass through the female line, as well as the male line. Since Albert has no wife and shows no signs of acquiring one, it will, on his death, pass to Caroline or, if she is dead, her children, probably her son, who is now in his 20s, and will presumably be groomed for the position, as Albert himself has been.

LIN: All right, Prince Albert...

MOSLEY: The principality has passed through the female -- sorry. I was about to say, the principality has passed through the female before in the past, but at a time when it was more independent of France than now.

LIN: Why do you think Prince Albert has never married? And you say he never intends to.

MOSLEY: It may be that he is as choosy over finding a first wife as his father proved to be over finding a second wife. In other words, nobody is quite good enough. But it may be that he doesn't like girls very much. It has been suggested that.

It is true that he's been photographed with Claudia Schiffer, but, then, so have many people.

LIN: Right.

MOSLEY: Including the well-known magician David Copperfield.

LIN: But don't you think, if Prince Albert were gay, we'd know this by now? I mean, it's not an easy secret to keep over a long period of time.

MOSLEY: It is if you are the prince of a tiny principality and your word is law. It's a great deal easier than it is for the rest of us.

LIN: All right. Well, at least Prince Rainier did find success in an area. The bedrock of his success perhaps was a solid marriage to Princess Grace, something that his children have not been able to achieve yet in their own time. But we shall see what happens.

Thank you very much, Charles, Charles Mosley, editor in chief of "Debrett's."

(FINANCIAL UPDATE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "WORLD NEWS TONIGHT") PETER JENNINGS, HOST: I will continue to do the broadcast on good days. My voice will not always be like this. Certainly, it has been a long time. And I hope it goes without saying that a journalist who doesn't value deeply the audience's loyalty should be in another line of work.

To be perfectly honest, I'm a little surprised at the kindness today from so many people. That's not intended as false modesty, but even I was taken aback by how far and how fast news travels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, well-wishes are pouring into longtime ABC News man Peter Jennings after he revealed to his audience last night that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Now, Carol, I hope you don't mind that I do this, but not all our viewers know that you came to us from ABC from "World News Tonight." And I wanted to ask you about just the relationship with Peter Jennings. He was a tough boss, yet a very caring boss, wasn't he?

LIN: Very much so.

I mean, people understand that he's the managing editor of "World News Tonight," but they don't really understand what it means. "World News Tonight" is not "World News Tonight" without Peter Jennings. People will tell you, when you start as a correspondent there, it could take you two years to get on to that program, because he edits every word. He approves every word and every correspondent who makes it onto that air. He is that exacting.

It can take six weeks to get script approval for a story that you've been working on. And sometimes, you have to see the man personally to pitch to try to get on his program.

PHILLIPS: Well, I know he respected you, and I know that he followed your work, because there was that live interaction that you had during the Hong Kong handover. And he took an opportunity to ask you about your family.

LIN: You know, he's so work-oriented and yet found out through a different source that my family had a historic connection to China losing Hong Kong. And so he made me a specific part of the special coverage of the Hong Kong handover back to China and asked about stories that my mother told me across the kitchen table and took a direct interest in that, wanting to put a personal touch on current events.

And I think that's really what his touch was with people, that he could be such a taskmaster and so detailed in the day-to-day workings, inner workings of that broadcast, and yet he saw the big picture, that the story was really about people. And that's I think what he's so good at. And you cannot underestimate how people feel at ABC News today. This man is "World News Tonight" and so much of the history of that network.

PHILLIPS: And he's made an impact on you. And that's why we're lucky to have you here with us.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: All right. That's great. Thanks, Carol.

LIN: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, that wraps up this edition of LIVE FROM on a little bit of a softer note there.

LIN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

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