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American Morning
Deadly Storms Tear Up South; Storms Kill 194 In South at Current Count; NATO Strikes In Battered Misrata; The Alzheimer's Epidemic
Aired April 28, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Savage storms and tornadoes tearing through five states.
I'm Christine Romans.
One hundred seventy-three people are now dead, hundreds more are believed to be trapped or missing this morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And shoppers stretched to the limit.
I'm Ali Velshi.
Wal-Mart says its customers are really hurting because of high gas prices. Does this mean the average American is running out of cash? We'll talk about it.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry in London.
We have new details of the royal wedding now just a day away. We got our hands on the official program of the royal wedding. Meantime, the Middleton family is under royal lock and key tonight. I'll tell you how Kate is spending her last evening as a commoner.
And you can bet it's anything but ordinary -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Thursday, April 28th.
Intense severe weather to tell you about, and, frankly, as the sun comes up over the South, the devastation is appalling.
VELSHI: It's really quite amazing to see some of these pictures. When all the victims are found and all the tornado sightings are confirmed, yesterday's storms in the South could rewrite the record books.
ROMANS: A hundred and seventy-three people are confirmed dead, 128 of them are in Alabama. Hundreds more are missing or trapped in debris. It could take days to find them.
Alabama's governor has called in 2,000 National Guardsmen to help with search and rescue efforts. Road are impassable all over the state. In Tuscaloosa, the mayor says the city's infrastructure is in ruins.
VELSHI: The University of Alabama has canceled classes. The school's recreation center is being used as a shelter this morning. In the Huntsville area, the storm knocked out power to the Browns Ferry nuclear power plant. Fortunately, the facility's safety systems worked. The back-up diesel generators were able to power the reactors.
ROMANS: If you've never experienced the fury of a tornado, prepare yourself. This is what a monster twister looks like and sounds like from a few hundred feet away.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
ROMANS: Alabama took a terrible beating, confirmed fatalities in 16 counties in the state, 15 of those deaths are in Tuscaloosa, where a mile-wide tornado tore apart the city block by block.
VELSHI: It's unbelievable. Reynolds Wolf is there this morning.
Reynolds, the sun has come up. You're starting to see the devastation around you. Tell us what you're in the middle of there.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, you're right. You know, as the sun has been coming up, it's been shedding more like on this hellish story. In fact, you look off to my immediate right, you can see this apartment building.
CNN photojournalist Jonathan Schaer is giving a great shot for you.
And as you look at the building, you're going to notice a few things in those tiles, some roofing tiles, almost like pockmarks that happen to pop up here and there on the roof. The reason why you're seeing those because of the debris picked up by winds in excess of 200 miles per hour that pummeled the side of the building and caused some of the damage.
Down below, you look at the windows, no glass whatsoever. Everything has been blown out.
Jon, I don't know if you can get a shot of the two cars there. But you can see a couple of them, a gentlemen, a security officer saying in the foreground, too. The cars just ripped apart. In fact, some shards of metal are even sticking through parts of the back windows. I mean, everything is devastation.
As we walk down the streets here, Jon, you can see some other things. Here in the foreground, debris, couch, pillows, bowls from someone's kitchen picked up and pushed across the road. What's insane about this debris is how it was picked up so quickly by these storms racing through the western half of the state, right along this frontal boundary. It was yesterday's daytime heating combined with that high humidity that really sparked things and made for a very unstable atmosphere.
And we had an idea that the storms are going to be strong. In fact, there was a moderate risk and then a high risk by the Storm Prediction Center for parts of the Southeast. But I don't think that anyone could have ever dreamt that things would be as bad as they were.
Take a look at this fence line, if you will. You can see not only the fence. Jon, just bear with me. I hop over here for a bit. You can see a little bit of the chain links knocked over. Again, more the wind. Pardon me for the trucks. People are coming through and trying to get an idea of what's happening, and you see the debris.
I got another vehicle that's coming through and I'm going to step back across the road. Bear with me, again, Jon. I'm going to wave these guys on through. And notice what they are bringing with them. They have got the tiller. They got a tractor. And that's the first step of getting things back together here in the state of Alabama.
I'm 41 years old. I spent a great deal of my life here and consider this place home. And let me tell you, the people that call this place, this great state home, are going to do what they can to put things back together. That all begins today. But they are going to do so with heavy hearts.
One hundred and twenty-eight lives lost. As they sift through the wreckage, through the rubble, odds are, they are going to find additional people. Hopefully, some of them will still be alive. But things are certainly very grim for the time being.
We are keeping our fingers crossed. Let's send it back to you.
ROMANS: You know, Reynolds, the tough thing about this is that the tornadoes have passed through but it's a very dangerous situation. You are looking at roads that are impassable, a lot of heavy equipment. You probably have live power lines down.
Now, people have to be very, very careful as they are going back to assess the damage, don't they?
WOLF: Absolutely. But the problem when you have a situation like this is -- this is really a personal thing for many people. And as we look at things, we want to see but we don't want to touch and interact with personal possessions.
But the problem is, you're right. You are going to have people that aren't going to be thinking logically. They think emotionally. They want to go and try to find the things that meant so much to them.
And when you have one of these kind of storms, one of the systems that blow through, there's things, there's items go everywhere. But, again, the bottom line is, a lot of those things that many people are concerned about can be replaced. The 128 lives lost cannot.
ROMANS: All right. Reynolds Wolf -- thanks, Reynolds. We'll check in with you again throughout the hour.
VELSHI: And as Reynolds mentioned, the National guardsman called in to help with search and rescue in Alabama. Now, the president has declared a state of emergency, FEMA and homeland security officials will be on the scene as well.
Now, when the mayor of Tuscaloosa saw the damage, all he could say was, "Pray for us."
ROMANS: That mayor, Walter Maddox, joins us live on the phone right now.
Mr. Maddox, this -- we've just heard Reynolds Wolf say he's 41 years old and he's lived there much of his life, he's never seen anything like this in your great state. Has Tuscaloosa ever seen devastation like this?
MAYOR WALTER MADDOX, TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA (via telephone): It's unparalled with everyone I have spoken with over the past few hours.
ROMANS: What are you finding on the ground as your search and rescue teams and your first responders are seeing first light and are trying to assess the damage?
MADDOX: It's devastating. The city's infrastructure has been absolutely decimated. Right now, we have 36 confirmed deaths. We've had over 600 individuals treated at the state's regional medical center as a result of the storm.
We still have 44,000 power outages. We've lost two water tanks on the east side of the city, which is crippling the water supply.
So, we are facing an overwhelming situation in which we are short on men, materials and equipment. Fortunately, the governor has been outstanding and state EMA resources, hopefully, will begin to flow -- have flowed and will continue as we continue search and rescue. Recovery efforts probably will not begin for another 24 to 48 hours. Our focus right now is finding citizens who are hurt and finding those that are missing so we can then begin to process recovery.
VELSHI: Mayor, do you have some sense of how many people you are looking for, how many people are reported missing and might be trapped?
MADDOX: No. I will at 10:00. I am meeting with my command team. I have authorized an operation team to do nothing but focus on search and rescue. And we are being aided by many municipalities across the state.
We have fire stations that are damaged and inoperable. So, I mean, we've lost our environmental services. We've lost police precincts. We've lost fire stations. So, our own infrastructure itself which would deal with these issues has been crippled. So, it's just compounding upon -- it's compounding the situation.
ROMANS: The human toll and the human suffering is just heartbreaking, 600 injuries, you say. What kind of injuries are you seeing? Is it the -- is it the flying debris? Is it people who were stuck in their homes or cars overturned? What kind of injuries are you guys finding?
MADDOX: I don't have specifics, but I've have been on the ground several times during the day and during night. And I'm about to go back out again in the next few minutes. I don't know how anyone survived.
We are used to tornadoes here in Tuscaloosa. It's part of growing up. But when you look at this path of destruction, it is likely five to seven miles long and in areas half a mile to a mile wide, I don't know how anyone survived. It's an amazing scene.
There are parts of this city that I don't recognize. And that's someone that's lived here his entire life.
VELSHI: You got the university there. What do we know -- what's the situation there? Obviously, there are a lot of students who are not living with their families, living alone there. We've seen some of the destruction there. It seems like it escaped the worst of it.
MADDOX: Yes, it is. The campus itself appears not to have been damaged. We did have some apartments and condominiums where students lived that were damaged. And with cell phone towers down and communications down, we have parents that are having a difficult time getting in touch with their children. But it appears that the university itself was saved any major damage.
ROMANS: The governor suggested that there were likely fatalities among students living off campus. Can you confirm that? Do you if that's true?
MADDOX: There is a strong possibility.
ROMANS: That's just heartbreaking for families who are trying to track down their families.
So, the first order of business for you and for your teams is to get your first responders and your power companies and get the infrastructure to a point where you can move on from her. Is that right?
MADDOX: That's right. And, of course, today, search and rescue -- I told our team at 5:30 this morning that search and rescue is our primary focus. And then we will transition into recovery mode.
But I think the thing that we all have to understand, this is not a matter of hours or a matter of days. We are talking about a matter of months. Our water system is crippled. Our infrastructure is crippled and we have families that have absolutely lost everything, including family members. And it is tragic and it is a dark hour for our city.
VELSHI: Mayor, sometimes we see images and they don't match the devastation. But in this case, it is unbelievable -- the pictures we are looking at right now. Our hearts are with you and we hope you get all the help you need. We wish you well and we hope you can get to those people that are trapped and save some more lives today.
Mayor, thank you for joining us.
MADDOX: Thank you.
VELSHI: Walter Maddox is the mayor of Tuscaloosa. And that's not the only place that we are seeing with that kind of damage.
ROMANS: Right. He says he's got 36 fatalities in Tuscaloosa. You got many, many more in other states and in other states as well.
Jacqui Jeras is in the extreme weather center.
Jacqui, this was a powerful storm.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEROLOGIST: Oh, yes.
ROMANS: It was a system of tornadoes. It was a tornado cell, right?
JERAS: Yes, it was one super cell there in Tuscaloosa, that also traveled into Alabama. In fact, I got in the radar.
But in terms of putting this into perspective, the number of deaths that we've seen so far is probably going to end up being -- we haven't seen this many fatalities from a tornado system since probably 1974. 1974 was that super outbreak we always talk about and the sheer numbers of tornadoes that we've seen in this two-day outbreak will probably exceed this. So, this is definitely one for the record books in the top five, for sure, maybe the top of all time.
This is what the radar signature looked like right before it hit Tuscaloosa. This right here, this is what we call a hook echo. So, when you see that, that's a big dangerous sign. You can see this thing then track up towards Birmingham and it continued on up to the Northeast and also caused damage into Georgia. This is more than 100 miles for sure that this whole thing traveled. So, just incredible, the intensity and the longevity of this storm.
This is a radar image as well. And this bright thing we see right here is what we call a debris ball. When we see that on radar, that's confirmation to us they are stuck flying in the air, pieces of houses, roofs, cars, you name it.
And when we put this into a vertical perspective, we were able to see that this debris went up probably about 8,000 feet into the atmosphere. So, that is just amazing. That's how that all travels.
More than 150 reports of tornadoes yesterday. There, you can see it widespread across the Deep South. And we've even been seeing some action into parts of the Northeast for today. And we have to tell you that this system is still out there, guys.
We've got watches in place from Upstate New York, all the way down into Georgia. Tornado watches on the southern end of this. Severe thunderstorm watches on the north. But we have seen isolated tornadoes as far as New York already this morning.
So, this is a different animal today than what this system was yesterday. And it's a slight risk day. But we may still see tornadoes. These will be weaker tornadoes. They'll be shorter lived but they still can cause damage.
We've got one warning right now right near I-26, to the east of Columbia. This is in South Carolina, and severe winds all within this line of storms. And then, we've also been seeing some really nasty stuff right here outside of Washington, D.C. And then, also, near Albany, New York.
So, another significant day out of this historic outbreak, guys. Tomorrow will be a calmer day up and down the East Coast. But we've probably got a good 12 plus hours to go before things look much better.
ROMANS: All right. Jacqui Jeras, excellent information. Thanks, Jacqui.
VELSHI: All right. It's 14 minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: We're not employing people under age here. Brad, one of our floor directors here, brought his daughter into work. Is it bring your daughter to work here or is it just Brad --
ROMANS: It's bring Isabelle to work today. She is beautiful and very, very polite.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: That's right.
President Obama taking a not so subtle dig at Donald Trump at a fundraiser in New York last night. The president said politics is not a reality show. It's serious. He also made light of the news that followed him most of the day, the release of his birth certificate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My name is Barack Obama. I was born in Hawaii, the 50th state of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Here's an interesting twist to the story. The widow of the doctor who delivered President Obama back in 1961 said she had no idea until yesterday morning --
ROMANS: When the birth certificate was released and his name was on the bottom.
VELSHI: She had no idea that her husband had done that. She had a conversation with our colleagues at CNN radio about what it was like to hear the news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very, very excited and quite thrilled and very honored and had no idea. I hadn't even had a chance to be sure that all my family members know, because of all of the wonderful response. It is a great thrill and a great honor, and I had no idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: If only she had known ahead of time, we could have cleared this thing up years ago.
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: That's right. She also says she agrees with the president that the issue is a distraction that takes away from real issues.
VELSHI: Now that we've got that sorted out, let's go to London. Kiran has got other things -- stuff to tell you about. Kiran, there's no questions around there about where anybody was born, I hope.
CHETRY: No. Actually, the front page of one of the papers says, America's insanity is on display as they talked about the whole birther controversy, but I finally found a place that is actually far more crowded than Times Square and that is at small stretch of sidewalk outside of Buckingham Palace where everybody is here.
We have a bunch of people from New Jersey. New Jersey is well represented. They're all camping out for as many days as it takes or as many hours as it takes, rather, to try to figure out if they're going to do it in shifts on the buddy system even though they just met. Also, a really, really interesting new piece of information today.
They've been holding a lot of the wedding details, but they just released the official photo that's going to be in the wedding program. Let's show it here. That was a beautiful shot of the couple. This is the official program photo taken by Mario Testino. It shows the two of them just looking absolutely gorgeous and that was just released moments ago. So, a lot of excitement about being able to see the royal couple right before their big I dos.
When we come back, we're going to be checking in with our own Atika Shubert. She is the only western journalist that's actually hold up in the same hotel where Katherine Middleton and her family will be spending the last night before the wedding. We'll be right back. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We are back. We have a beautiful, live shot this morning of Buckingham Palace. I've never seen the streets this busy since Times Square at New Year's Eve. It's probably the best (INAUDIBLE) teaming with people. They expected this, of course. The police have been doing a stellar job, so far. They've got their big day, of course, tomorrow, but right now, it's just all of the excitement.
I've met probably as many people from the U.S. who came over to witness this as I have Londoners. But, there is all the talk about what the bride to be is going through right now. You want to talk about pre-wedding jitters. Well, imagine, pre-wedding jitters times a million on a global stage. We have some great information about what Kate is going to be doing.
She's going to the posh Goring Hotel, and that's where she will be with her family spending her last night as a, technically, as a commoner before she becomes royalty. Our Atika Shubert joins us live outside of that London hotel. What's it like there, Atika?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's already quite a crowd here. Some of them already in wedding clothes as it were to celebrate the royal wedding. The Goring Hotel behind me is, basically, going to become the headquarters for the Middleton Family and that is where Kate Middleton will be spending her last night as a single woman.
And this hotel has a history of its own. It's over 100 years old. This is, literally, right behind Buckingham Palace. So, it's often been considered almost an annex of the palace, but you might be able to see behind me. There's actually an awning in place. So, for those people who are hoping to come here to catch an early glimpse of Kate Middleton in her wedding dress before she departs for Westminster Abbey, unfortunately, that's not going to happen.
It's completely closed from view, and the first time you'll be able to see her in that much-anticipated dress will be when she steps from the car at Westminster Abbey, Kiran.
CHETRY: The best laid plans.
Thanks so much for that. A lot of excitement. Of course, as I said around here, everyone (INAUDIBLE). This is probably one of the most excited people out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came all the way from the states for this.
CHETRY: Yes, he did, and he wore a very subtle color so he would blend in right here in the middle of Buckingham Palace. A lot of fun out here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(CHEERING) CHETRY: These are the diehards. These are the ones that don't care how cold it gets or how much it rains. They're going to be out here. Some of them getting chided by the others. She just told him it's a royal wedding and you have to be quieter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I'm just so excited.
CHETRY: But yes, there's a lot of excitement out here. Back to you guys in New York -- Christine and Ali.
VELSHI: Smashing.
ROMANS: I'm speechless.
VELSHI: Yes, that was something else.
ROMANS: I'm speechless.
VELSHI: Tell that guy we like his shirt and his sign.
ROMANS: So, is he sort of the representation of all of America right now?
VELSHI: For the moment, he is, actually.
ROMANS: All right.
VELSHI: I think it's cute that somebody thought you need to be quieter for it.
All right. When we come back, hey, there's an interesting story. Wal-Mart sees 100,000 customers a week, and they're saying they're seeing some trends that might indicate Americans are running out of money because of gas prices.
ROMANS: Also, we're going to go back to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a city devastated by a monster tornado. Some estimates put this twister at a mile wide. Meteorologists say it could have been one of the worst days in the state's history. Certainly, a series of storms for the record books.
VELSHI: All right. It is 27 minutes after the hour. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
VELSHI: Twenty-nine minutes after the hour. We have breaking news.
ROMANS: We do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS (voice-over): Powerful storms and towering tornadoes now killing 194 people in the south. The death toll skyrocketing again in the past hour. Much of Tuscaloosa is flattened. Alabama's governor says 128 people have been killed in his state alone. He's called in 2,000 national guardsmen to help with search and rescue efforts.
A city already in ruins in Libya being battered from all angles again. NATO air strikes shelling Libya's port city of Misrata, trying to drive back Gadhafi forces that have turned the town into a wasteland. Rebels say 18 more people were killed, 42 injured in Misrata in just the past 24 hours.
A roof has cracked down in Syria caught on tape. Amateur video apparently shows a panicked crowd of protesters fleeing gunfire in the city of Homs. Just confirm the intensity (ph), human rights groups say at least 500 people have died in security crackdowns since the Syrian uprising began, Ali.
VELSHI: Back to our top story now. The National Weather Service says it received over 150 reports of tornado sightings in the south yesterday. That's right around the national average for the entire month of April. This is in one day. That doesn't mean that there were 150 tornadoes, but there certainly were a lot of them.
ROMANS: Right.
VELSHI: We were talking about the governor and the mayor of Tuscaloosa. The Mayor says the city has been flattened.
ROMANS: Tuscaloosa, block by block, a mile-wide twister simply tearing up this city. The National Guard has been called in. FEMA and Homeland Security officials have also been summoned.
VELSHI: And 83,000 people live in Tuscaloosa. For many of them, life has changed forever in the last 24 hours. Let's go to our severe weather center where Jacqui Jeras continues to watch storm outbreaks. This is not over but it seems the worst of it has passed us by.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is a different animal today than what we were dealing with yesterday and the upper level conditions have certainly changed a fair amount. However, we still have that threat of tornadoes out there and most of that is along the east coast.
Now, here, you can see all the watches that are in place. That stretches from upstate New York, stretching all the way down into parts of Georgia. The red boxes are the tornado watches. The yellow boxes are the severe thunderstorm watches. We have the little boxes within those and the purple that you see that you are. Those are tornado warnings, which are being issued. These right now, at least at this hour, a Doppler radar indicated, a tornado could drop out of these things at any time.
We also have a couple of those up north as well. We have tornado warnings in parts of Maryland, Carol and Frederick Counties as well as York County under tornado warnings at this hour. We are going to watch this whole line progress off to the east. There, you can see the risk area. Today is a slight risk day, which means we are going to see damaging winds and a couple of hail makers, and maybe some isolated tornadoes. Yesterday was a high risk day, and we only get a couple of those days a year.
So, you know, it truly has been a historic situation. What we have been seeing over the last couple of days, so much destruction, so much devastation and unfortunately, quite a few de deaths. You have to be underground to survive something like this. Most people in Alabama don't have basements. You have to plan ahead of time. You have to say, OK, where am I going when the warnings go off? Do you have a friend across town that might have a basement? We had a PDS watch here in Atlanta, and last night I slept in the basement with my kids. We are expecting that kind of an outbreak.
VELSHI: When that's upon you, there is no amount of anything else you can do except seek shelter. That devastation is something we are not used to seeing. Jacqui thanks very much.
ROMANS: Meantime, prices are up for gas for the 37th day in a row, still creeping ever closer to $4.50 a gallon. The national average now for a gallon of regular is $3.89. But in eight states and Washington, D.C., the average price is above the $4 mark. It is the highest in the country and city-wise in Chicago. Tucson is one of the cheapest.
VELSHI: It is becoming a major problem for people because, as you like to point out, you are paying more money for the same amount of something.
ROMANS: That means you have less money to spend on other things.
VELSHI: And Wal-Mart which sees more customers than any other retailers, are noticing their shoppers are running out of money. Carmon Wong Ulrich is "Minding your Business" for us this morning. Wal-Mart is like its own economic indicator.
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is. It reflects how things are going, not too good. The CEO of Wal-Mart, mike duke, had sobering words regarding his customers. He said that rising fuel prices have put consumers under a lot of pressure and that they are, quote, running out of money.
He noted the end of the month is a tough, tough time for retailers where folks clamp down on spending making month's end a real concern for Wal-Mart. The mega-retailer has had seven straight quarters of decline in sales. According to the CEO it's gas prices, higher prices on fresh groceries and paper goods all squeezing their number one customer, the paycheck to paycheck customer.
What they are doing to drive growth is testing online grocery delivery and using social networking to drive discounts and sales.
ROMANS: Really interesting. We will continue to follow that.
Now we are going to send it to Kiran in London who is following the big story of the week from there which is the royal wedding. The countdown begins.
CHETRY: Exactly, the countdown is certainly on. It has gotten more crowded as the days have gone on. There are fans of the royal wedding and there are super fans, people that will do anything for their shot to be here. One is our CNN iReport royal wedding contest winner. He joins us. His name is Jason Sauter. He is here with his girlfriend Nancy. They won and they are enjoying London. We will check in with them and see how excited they are for the big day tomorrow. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The countdown to the royal wedding is on. We are here live in front of Buckingham Palace. You can see the throngs of people on the streets behind me, and it has just continued to grow. Everything has continued to look pristine. The police have done an incredible job making sure everything goes well because they are certainly welcoming an influx of people from around the country, including the United States.
And we received thousands of submissions for this coveted spot to actually win and be able to fly over here on CNN's dime. One guy really caught our attention, CNN's royal wedding iReporter winner. Check him out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON SAUTER, CNN IREPORT ROYAL WEDDING CONTEST WINNER: It gives me the opportunity to be the voice of countless males in my shoes. I have a background in reporting and while my girlfriend would love the opportunity, she would be too overjoyed to handle it. Send us to London and I will do an amazing job reporting on the event and CNN, you will make a girl very happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: There you go, the tiara and everything. We couldn't turn that down. Here they are joining us this morning, Jason Sauter of Orlando and his girlfriend, Nancy Vidarte. They join us. They are very excited. Did you think you were going to win with that submission?
NANCY VIDARTE, JASON SAUTER'S GIRLFRIEND: No. We just did it to have a wonderful time and if we did win, we were going to be so excited. We are having a wonderful time.
SAUTER: We are very spontaneous people.
CHETRY: You both work at Disney, so you shot a lot of that there. You were able to kick it up a notch and you won. What's it been like here?
SAUTER: It is kind of surreal. This is Nancy's dream to come here. She has always been fascinated with the royal family and the history behind it. So for her to meet these amazing people and to see their love and passion for it, it is kind of like a dream come true, her own little fairy tale.
CHETRY: You are young. You basically heard about Princess Diana. You didn't see a lot of her early years, 1981.
VIDARTE: Right. I am actually Harry's age. But I felt like I grew up with them. I saw her later years. When they went to college, I was in college and enjoying everything they have ever done. So I've grown up reading about them, watching them on TV and the opportunity to be here for William's wedding is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed about.
CHETRY: How excited are you that he chose Kate Middleton? Do you think that's a perfect love match?
SAUTER: Yes. She is a wonderful role model for all of us commoners out there.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: We are Americans. I guess our equivalent of royalty would be Hollywood. There is not all the tradition and pomp and circumstance surrounding that. A lot of people ask why do you care as Americans about the British royal family. What is the fascination?
SAUTER: I think right now the fascination is that Kate is a commoner. People can relate to it. We grow up with these fairy tale stories of love and Cinderella, and now we are getting to see that play out before our eyes.
They are also our ages. So we grew up. This generation can relate to them. We have spent the past eight to ten years living our lives with them and watching them on television. So just like with large pop groups, we he have this fascination and this love for them. Nancy, obviously, couldn't marry William, so she is living with me. I'm the next best thing.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: You could still marry Harry. Calm down ladies, Harry is still available. You and Harry are the same age. What do you think about Harry being the best man? He is, of course, always the rebel of the group and he will be attending with his girlfriend Chelsea Davie.
VIDARTE: Yes. I am excited for them. I wish everybody the very best. I have also enjoyed learning all about them and their relationship. This is a big day for him too. They are very close.
CHETRY: It is exciting. I thought it was quite interesting that what William was doing was playing football and she was doing last- minute errands. If someday you guys tie the knot, do you think she will be that calm?
SAUTER: She won't be. I will be playing football, going to the beach and laying out. She, no. CHETRY: Can you imagine the pressure?
VIDARTE: The pressure Kate is facing is amazing with Westminster Abbey. I am a huge fan of British history and everything. That is one of the most remarkable places I have ever been. The fact of anybody getting married in there and let alone becoming the next princess and queen is unbelievable.
CHETRY: Jason and Nancy, you guys are a wonderful couple as well. I hope you have a blast and congratulations on winning. It was very, very cute and creative submission. Thanks so much. Have a blast.
SAUTER: We are.
VIDARTE: Thank you.
CHETRY: And so we want to know where you guys will be. If you would like to join the coverage or submit your own iReport, go to iReport.com. We would love to hear from you.
VELSHI: Do you really want to know where I am going to be watching the royal wedding from? You keep saying that. We want to know where you are watching the royal wedding from.
CHETRY: I am talking to the viewers.
VELSHI: Where do you think I will be watching the royal wedding from?
CHETRY: You are going to be at the only Starbucks that's open stuffing your face.
ROMANS: I love how you talk with will and his mates. When you come back, are you going to say princess.
CHETRY: Of course, those were his mates, this he were playing some football, which was soccer.
VELSHI: On the pitch. I have to say the whole business about he said what he was going to do on his wedding day. He was going to be relaxed and hanging out. I was like that, taking it easy, having a good time. My wife had a completely different disposition on our wedding day than I had.
CHETRY: Bridezillas, what can we do? We're nervous.
ROMANS: Thanks, Kiran.
We are going to talk to you about the stock market, ten year high for the NASDAQ, can you believe it.
VELSHI: A three-year high on the S&P 500 and the DOW.
ROMANS: And whether it will continue, that's coming up. VELSHI: And Larry King returning to CNN to present his Alzheimer's special. And we asked him what he thinks about Donald Trump and this birther stuff. It's 44 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: A lot going on this morning. Here is what you need to know to start your day.
The death toll keeps rising in the south. Deadly storms now killing 194 people, most of the fatalities coming from Alabama where a state of emergency has been declared.
Markets open in 45 minutes and right now the Dow, the NASDAQ and the S&P 500, futures are all down slightly as investors wait for a key economic report on the first quarter GDP.
Rain and clouds in the forecast for the royal wedding day but officials are prepared if it rains. Will and Kate's open-top carriage will be swapped out for a glass coach.
You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Our very own Larry King has a groundbreaking special, "UNTHINKABLE: THE ALZHEIMER'S EPIDEMIC." Alzheimer's affects more than five million Americans. That number is growing and growing fast. Every 69 seconds, a new person is diagnosed. And there is no cure for Alzheimer's.
VELSHI: Yet there may be ways to start to detect whether or not you are likely to get it. In this very first CNN special report, Larry goes inside the Alzheimer's epidemic and talks to doctors, researchers and celebrities who've joined the fight to try and find a cure. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We felt so alone in this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was horrible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I just hold on to the good memories.
LARRY KING, CNN HOST (voice-over): These are the faces and voices of those touched by Alzheimer's disease. They are actors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one we knew had experienced anything like this at this age.
KING: And athletes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know for me to sit here and to talk, I get emotional.
KING: They are from famed political families.
MARIA SHRIVER, WIFE OF FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: I think anybody who is not concerned about Alzheimer's is in denial.
LAURA BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I call Alzheimer's the sad good-bye.
KING: And they are from families just like yours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Larry stopped by AMERICAN MORNING to explain why this disease is so important to him.
ROMANS: He gave a sneak peek of his upcoming special and told us about a new test that can tell you if you might inherit Alzheimer's disease.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: Larry, why did you choose Alzheimer's as the focus of your first special?
KING: Christine, I had -- I've often thought about the disease. I met the former president, Ronald Reagan, I had -- I had a breakfast and a lunch with him subsequent to his leaving the White House. I saw signs there. It would always puzzle me about this strange disease of the brain.
And then, I met a wonderful, wonderful gentleman named Larry Ruvo, he's one of the largest liquor distributors in the world. And he engaged the famed Frank Gehry, the wonderful architect to design a center that would treat Alzheimer's patients and also study the disease. If you ever go to Vegas and see it, it is incredibly shaped like the brain.
VELSHI: Wow.
KING: And Ron Reagan, the son and I go through the hospital. And one of us takes the test, there is a test, it's not a guaranteed test. It won't tell you, yes, you will get Alzheimer's. It would tell you if you're likely to get Alzheimer's. The question we ask, which I would ask both of you is would you take the test?
ROMANS: I would have to really think about it, Larry. Because you know, it's the kind of thing you want to know to prepare for your family. But it's also a little scary. I mean, it's a -- it's a disease that affects so many people. And in your family, you look around at people you know. And it's a little scary when you see people lose who they are.
KING: All we have when you think of it collectively is our memories. It's all the two of you have. All I have. If our memory were to go right now, we have nothing.
VELSHI: Yes.
KING: We don't know where we are. We don't know who is around us. Who are these people talking to us? You don't recognize your own wife or your son or your mother. It's a -- it's a tragedy. It's the sixth biggest disease of the top ten and it's the only one of the ten that's growing.
VELSHI: Well, you talk to families of a lot of people who were touched by Alzheimer's. Some -- some big names, some famous names we know and some people we haven't. Is there a commonality, is there common -- some common thread with the families of people who have been afflicted?
KING: Yes it's the worst for the caregiver. It's bad enough for the victim. Imagine what the victim's going through but imagine as the caregiver, you have given love to someone every day of your life and then you get nothing back.
VELSHI: Larry I want to ask you something else. We were reflecting on all of your interviews.
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Sure.
VELSHI: And we counted 32 times that Donald Trump was the exclusive guest on your show, not counting --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Not counting panel.
VELSHI: -- not counting times that he's been in there in the panel. You know him pretty well.
KING: Very well.
VELSHI: Tell me what you think has been motivating what's been going on in the last few weeks with this whole birther controversy and now the fact that the President has put it to rest.
KING: Well, I -- I know Donald very well. I count him a good friend. He's a good guy. I think in my heart he's not going to run. I think he's going to say something like, well, I led you -- I led you down this path, I've shown you the way now carry on. I don't want it to be about me, I want it to be about issues. I can see him saying that.
And I don't know if he could take defeat. And he would be an underdog and Donald is not an underdog type. Now, how he got on this birth thing is beyond me.
ROMANS: The rule -- the first rule of politics is never punched down. You know, the President for his couple of years sort of stayed on the sidelines on this and finally had to go toe to toe with someone who's not even a declared candidate.
You know the President is saying, side shows and carnival barkers, he's not naming Donald Trump by name but it's just a little surreal.
KING: No and are we part of the blame frankly? Donald Trump is a successful businessman, he's a wonderful media figure. In fact, if you want to get down to the heart of it, I believe that many figures in the world of media would like him to be the candidate, because we know the interest he causes. We know the debates would be wild. And we don't see on the horizon a Republican candidate who will blow your mind but he was in my opinion appealing to a substantial group of Republicans who wanted the President to be born in Ghana.
VELSHI: Larry, good to see you. You just -- you just stirred the pot even more. Now, you've got a whole bunch of people that are going to say, the President is born in Ghana. Larry we look forward to your special on Sunday night, "UNTHINKABLE: THE ALZHEIMER'S EPIDEMIC."
KING: I didn't say that.
ROMANS: I know, I know. Larry King thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: He's going to -- we have this on Sunday with his profound look inside -- inside the Alzheimer's epidemic. You can join him on his ground-breaking journey this Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
VELSHI: It sounds very, very interesting.
8:54 in the East. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Beautiful shot outside of Buckingham Palace on this yet another sunny day here in London. Boy, everyone is knocking wood. It looks like it will be a decent day tomorrow as well. There is a chance of some rain.
However, at exactly 11:00, when the ceremony is taking place, the big royal wedding, it might actually hold off until a little bit later. So everyone is hoping for that because there are many people out here. The atmosphere is electric. People are camping out.
And we want to show you something. We got our hands on the official wedding program, which was nice get this morning to be able to page through it and see a little bit about what we're going to be viewing tomorrow. But also in this, they released their official wedding program photo, just a beautiful shot from Mario Tostino (ph) of Kate and William. And he was a favorite photographer of William's late mother, Princess Diana. And you can sort of see shades of her in William's face in that picture.
But just a beautiful shot of the happy couple as they get ready and everyone else does as well to join in on the celebration.
CNN is going to bringing you every unforgettable moment of the royal wedding. Our coverage is starting at 4:00 in the morning Eastern Time, we hope you'll watch or DVR and participate by sending in an iReport.
We're going to be having a really good time trying to bring you all the unique moments of this massive, massive celebration that's taking place tomorrow.
Guys, I will be out in Hyde Park; that's an area where they are setting up huge monitors so that people can come in and view it. It's about a five, six-minute walk from Buckingham Palace. And there are going to be a ton of people out there to just sort of have a big street party, if you will, for the big day.
VELSHI: And if you've got somebody camping out and blocking off your position?
CHETRY: We don't have to camp out. We have press passes, thank goodness. There are a lot of people who are doing that and are quite excited about it. We bumped into a family of 12 from a part of London out here. They are all just waiting in line, kids and all, ready to go.
VELSHI: Wow.
ROMANS: Well, it is going to look pretty good on the TV set. You might not need -- I mean I would rather --
VELSHI: And frankly, if you're a family of 12, you can take shifts, right. Somebody can go and go for a shower and get lunch, whatever the case is.
CHETRY: They are doing it exactly.
ROMANS: It is smarter to do it in shifts.
VELSHI: We are looking forward to doing this and to watching it with you tomorrow morning. You have yourself a good day and as Christine says, get some rest.
ROMANS: That's right. Meantime in the U.S., we are watching some big, breaking news across the south. Massive tornadoes. We have got devastation in five states. In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, you have 36 at least dead. More than 100 dead in Alabama. We have a lot more of that that we are following.
"CNN NEWSROOM" will be following that all morning.
VELSHI: And "CNN NEWSROOM's" Carol Costello is going to start with that live breaking coverage right now -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": I am. Thanks. Have a great day.
