Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Massive Tornado Rips Through Oklahoma; Patrolling for Pirates
Aired May 25, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the most impressive tornado I think I've ever seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
T.J. HOLMES, CO-HOST: Yes, that is impressive. Amazing video we have to show you this morning. A massive tornado forms live on the air and rips through Oklahoma, the pictures you have got to see. We've got those for you straight ahead.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CO-HOST: And patrolling for pirates, literally. We are live on a U.S. Navy destroyer off the coast of Somalia, one of the most dangerous coastlines in the world.
HOLMES: And a somber tradition, placing American flags on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery. We'll honor the fallen on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Good morning to you all. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, I'm T.J. Holmes.
DE LA CRUZ: And I'm Veronica De La Cruz in this morning for Betty Nguyen. It's nice to see you. Thank you so much for starting your day with us.
Nice to see you as well.
HOLMES: Good morning. Always good to have you here with us back in Atlanta now. So, we do want to start this morning with some of that severe weather and some of that video, that's amazing. Taking aim again at the Midwest, tornadoes tearing through for the third straight day.
DE LA CRUZ: That's right. Let's go ahead on that. Take a look at the map now. Tornadoes carving a path near Kingfisher and Garfield counties, that's where Lacey and Hennessey, Oklahoma are, just northwest of Oklahoma City.
HOLMES: Now, let's get back to this just incredible video. This is stuff that you'd just can't believe what you're seeing but this is the real deal, folks. This is not something made up in Hollywood on some movie. This is from Lacey, Oklahoma. The destructive power of a slow-moving tornado on display here. This is what it's doing to a pig farm, just tearing it up. You can see the debris going all over the place. Amazing pictures taken from the news chopper of a CNN affiliate, KWTV, and our Tony Harris spoke to the pilot of that helicopter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KWTV)
MASON DUNN, NEWS CHOPPER PILOT: The rain just started pouring like crazy. We turned and looked to our left over here, that's when we seen the tornado form. And all the kind of debris being thrown around, we heard glass breaking, the doors were rattling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Again, that was the helicopter pilot of that news chopper, that's Mason Dunn, who got all of those amazing pictures.
Now, this is what was left over from all that destruction. That pig farm, this is what it looked like after the tornado. At least three of the barns were cut to ribbons of tangled sheet metal and broken boards. No one was hurt here. And we're also told that none of the pigs were injured seriously as well. Just everybody a bit rattled.
Well, most of the tornado activity missed major towns. No deaths reported from Saturday's storms in Oklahoma.
DE LA CRUZ: Absolutely, amazing images there. We have more to show you.
Also from Kansas, an update on storm damage there. Two people were found dead there yesterday -- victims of Friday night's storms. Authorities say a tornado tossed their car about 150 yards off the highway.
So, let's get a check on the situation there right now. CNN Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf has been tracking all of the severe weather.
Reynolds, what is it looking like today?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It looks like it's going to be a better day, but that's the same thing I said yesterday. Yesterday was a slight risk day. And you saw what happened in Oklahoma. It gives you an idea of how volatile things have been of the last couple of days.
And just to give you a little bit of perspective, on Thursday, we had roughly 40 or so tornadoes. Then yesterday - rather, I'm sorry, on Friday we had roughly 63, and then yesterday, only 13. So, yesterday out of all the days was the least catastrophic of all the big days. You saw just how widespread some of the damage was. It gives you an idea of just how incredible these storms have been.
Now, we have some of that video, I believe. We're going to pop that up for you. This video is from Mikey Gribble. Mikey Gribble's video from Garfield County. That's going to pop any time. It shows you the widespread damage. You can see, off in the distance, is a truck there, a lot of damage from the - the roof damage.
This, as you see, right now is just a funnel cloud but it's about to make contact with the earth. And when it does -- like right there, then it is considered -- classified a tornado. One of several that they had just in the northwest of Oklahoma City yesterday -- a compelling and terrifying sight to behold.
One thing that was very interesting about these tornadoes, in comparison with what we had on, say, Thursday and certainly on Friday, many of the tornadoes a couple days ago were rolling around 60 miles an hour, moving at a forward progress of 60 miles an hour. Yesterday, many of them are around10 miles an hour. So, very, very slow which hence gave people plenty of time to take cover.
Let's move right along to the weather maps very quickly and show you the scenario that we're seeing today. We still have all that gulf moisture coming in. We're seeing some scattered showers and storms in the (INAUDIBLE), in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and then northward, we ago along I-35. In Oklahoma City, a splash of that showers there.
And now, just to the northeast of Wichita, we're seeing a few hail-makers near Towanda and back near Cassidy (ph), and then further north, we go into Wisconsin, even to northern Michigan, where we see some splash and dash showers.
So, it looks like the set-up is not going to be quite as rough as it was of the last couple of days. But fast forwarding into Memorial Day, parts of Midwest and into the great lakes, still could see the risk of strong storms. It's been just that kind of weather we'll have (ph). Back to you guys.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Well, good news, it's at least it won't be as bad today, of course, that being all the mess in the plains states, unbelievable.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: Yes, but still more risks, last word. One of the last words he used there. So, we've got to be on lookout.
WOLF: Still there. Got to be ready.
HOLMES: We appreciate you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
DE LA CRUZ: Thanks, Reynolds.
All right. From the plains states now to the California coastline, charred earth left behind along this coastline. Wildfire there's destroying at least 20 homes. Hundreds more are still in danger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ELLEN ISAACS, FIRE VICTIM: We tiled our great room ourselves, you know, we'd laid all the tiles and everything. So, this is the tile from that. This is the wheel of our car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Nearly 2,000 residents evacuated the area. Fire officials say the blaze is about 35 percent contained, but it could still take several days before it is all under control, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Well, we know a lot of people probably left home for the Memorial Day weekend. And if you were driving, it's going to cost you more to get back home than it did to get that (INAUDIBLE).
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, not shocking. But there is yet another new record this morning. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is now what? $3.93 a gallon, that's up from 3.91 yesterday. And in California, gas is over $4 in some places and that has a lot of people changing their plans this holiday weekend.
Here's Kara Finnstrom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Destination: Disneyland. Families who made this year's traditional Memorial Day trek by car felt the pinch at the pump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Round trip about 150 to 200 of gas (ph).
FINNSTROM: She drove from San Francisco.
RYAN WILSON, TOURIST: It's very expensive for sure.
FINNSTROM: These newlyweds cruised their gas-guzzling trailer home all the way from Canada.
WILSON: I would be surprised if we'd get about $2,000 to come down here and go back home.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That's a lot.
WILSON: We're just over the border, too. So, yes, it's a long, that's big.
JULIE WILSON, TOURIST: It's a good chunk of change from our fund.
FINNSTROM: In California, soaring gas prices have just hit $4 a gallon for regular self-serve.
JEFFREY SPRING, AUTO CLUB OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: And what we're seeing here in California is -- people are still wanting to go somewhere for Memorial Day holiday but they're staying closer to home. They're not going as far. And what our travel agents are telling us is that the folks that come into our offices are more cost-conscious.
FINNSTROM: They're spending less on hotels and food, and trimming travel budgets wherever they can.
Jesse Lopez who lives and works near Disneyland, says the latest gas prices have him worrying about much more than holiday plans.
JESSE LOPEZ, MOTORIST: Beyond my means already, you know? Because I have an Explorer at home that my wife drives and, you know, that takes 100 gallons. I mean, $100 actually to fill that up. So, we're looking at both cars, $150 every week, $600 a month. That's half of my house payment.
FINNSTROM (on camera): For anyone trying to cut gas costs, AAA offers the following tips -- drive slower, going 55 miles per hour instead of 70 saves you fuel. Check the inflation in your tires. And when you fill up, do it in an urban area if you can instead of a rural one because there's more price competition.
Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Anaheim, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. She gave you a couple of tips there. We have some more for you here that can save you money by not wasting that gas. Six ways here that people typically waste their gas.
First, I know a lot of do you it, you race away from the green light, like you're at a race or something, like NASCAR. When there's a green flag. No, when the light turns green, ease down on the gas pedal. Don't just shoot off (ph).
Next, racing up to that red light. Yes, a lot of you do it, you're trying to make the red light, and then you get there and not quite in time, you have to slam on the brakes. Well, don't do that. When the light is red ahead, lay off the gas pedal sooner rather later.
Also, everybody does this, you speed.
DE LA CRUZ: You do it.
HOLMES: And, of course - I don't speed. I'm a law abiding citizen, I do not do that. So, don't, that wastes gas. Also, that bumper buzzing as it's called, tailgating, that's a bad thing. If you hang back, you can drive more smoothly and you use less gas.
Also, don't let that car idle. Turn off the engine while waiting, if you can, if you're going to be waiting around a little while. And finally here when you're running errands, go your farthest distance first, and then, you have the option, possibly, if you can walk to do some of those errands up for the shorter distances.
So, some very easy things, a lot of you probably guilty of a lot of that stuff, some simple things to save gas (ph).
DE LA CRUZ: It's sad that it's come to this. Don't idle your car, figure out a map before running your errands.
HOLMES: We should all be thinking that way any way. It shouldn't take high gas prices to help us thinking that way to conserve and save. So, if this helps us, we do it in fact (ph).
DE LA CRUZ: Good point. Al right, do you feel like dancing?
HOLMES: Always.
DE LA CRUZ: Always. Well, we are trying to get into rhythm with primary voters right here on CNN.
Actually, I think it is Barack Obama who's trying to get into the rhythm of the primary voters right there. He's dancing to the beat in Puerto Rico. We're going to have the latest from the political beat just ahead.
HOLMES: Also, not really dancing here for Hillary Clinton, kind of dancing around some comments she made. The controversy continues -- her reference to Robert F. Kennedy's assassination. Is the Obama camp ready to accept her explanation?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, this is Army Sergeant Matthew Wesler (ph) from (INAUDIBLE) Oklahoma. I'd like to say hi to all the good folks back home that supporting us. Thank you very much. Especially I like to say hi to my mom, Deborah Laettner (ph) and my son Lane. I miss you guys. I'll see you soon. Happy Memorial Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peter Haskell Burkes, Pete was really not only one of my best friends, but he was very responsible, a very trustworthy person. He was a very big patriot. He says, "I'm a soldier, my country demands of me to go to Iraq to fight for freedom. And this is my duty to serve my country." I just wished there were more guys like Pete in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And we turn to some presidential politics now and take a look at what the candidates are doing today.
Well, Barack Obama is going to be delivering the commencement address at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He's filling in for Senator Ted Kennedy.
Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, continues her three-day swing across Puerto Rico, ahead of the June 1st primary there.
And Republican John McCain is hosting what aides call a "social event" at his home in Arizona. On that guest list -- some that have been named as potential running mates for him, including Governor Mitt Romney, also Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana.
Barack Obama is also firing back at John McCain this weekend over military service and veterans benefits. On his campaign plane last night, Obama blasted McCain's suggestion that he shouldn't speak on veterans issues, because he, being Obama, did not serve in the military. He said it makes no sense whatsoever, and Obama criticized McCain for not supporting legislation to expand the G.I. Bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I revere our soldiers, and want to make sure that they are being treated with honor and respect. I think the G.I. Bill is one way for us to do that. And I hope that John McCain and George Bush decide they believe the same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, McCain supports expanding education benefits but opposes giving full scholarships after three years of service. He says that could possibly encourage military members to get out of the military early and thereby hurting retention rates.
Well, the biggest remaining contest for the Democrats is one week from today. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama competing for 55 pledged delegates at stake in Puerto Rico. Obama, well, he's dancing for votes, dancing to the beat as he led a short parade through old San Juan yesterday. A latest CNN calculations give him a 190-delegate lead over Clinton.
Well, is it historical reference or a dangerous and desperate remark? Hillary Clinton's comment invoking the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy is stirring up debates still. But Jim Acosta reports, the Obama campaign seems ready to accept Clinton's explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman is rejecting the notion this video amounts to a political gaffe.
TERRY MCAULIFFE, CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: This had nothing to do with Senator Obama. This was about Hillary and her position in the primaries and her timeline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ARGUSLEADER.COM)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D-NY) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The Clinton campaign is sticking to its claim that the senator invoked the June 1968 assassination of Robert Kennedy, only to stress that nomination battles can last until the end of spring. Terry McAuliffe accuses the Obama campaign of making mischief.
MCAULIFFE: The Obama campaign knew what they were doing and they wanted to run this story out for three days over the Memorial Day weekend.
ACOSTA: But campaigning in Puerto Rico this weekend, Barack Obama urged caution on a local radio station.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, RADIO ISLA 1320)
OBAMA: Sometimes you get careless in terms of the statements that you make. And I think that's what happened here.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And the Democratic frontrunner said he accepted Clinton's explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I, you know, regret that if my referencing that moment of trauma for our entire nation, and particularly for the Kennedy family, was in any way offensive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Some African-American leaders in the Democratic Party aren't being so charitable. The Reverend Jesse Jackson, an Obama supporter, was with Martin Luther King the day of his assassination, that same fateful year.
REV. JESSE JACKSON, CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: We do live in a very volatile environment, therefore -- that's why that suggestion is such a dangerous and such a volatile suggestion. I do not believe in my heart that that is Hillary Clinton at her best state (ph). It maybe of loss (ph) or desperation.
ACOSTA: Others in the party wonder why Clinton insists on staying in the race.
DANE STROTHER, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: It's also another obvious reason why it's time for Hillary Clinton to step out of the race. There's no upside for her from here on out. But I do not, in any way, believe that she was thinking of Barack Obama at that time.
ACOSTA (on camera): As for that South Dakota newspaper where Clinton made that reference, a reporter for the "Argus Leader" says he took the senator's remarks as a historical reference telling CNN, quote, "I was in the room, and I'm surprised the comment generated so much sound and fury."
Jim Acosta, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: And a lot more to come from Jim Acosta in the next hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING. We'll have him live.
And don't miss your chance to hear from the candidates in their words. Politics unfiltered, it's our BALLOT BOWL today at 4:00 o'clock Eastern, only right here on CNN: Your home for politics.
DE LA CRUZ: Trapped for 11 days and now finally free. How an elderly man in China survived the quake.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Steven was killed in Iraq April 21st, 2007. He was ready to retire after serving 18 years in the military. He was looking forward to coming home and seeing his wife and his kids. And we miss him every second of every day. Steven, you're our hero and we love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, a lot of college graduates can't really take it easy on this holiday weekend. They're busy. Some of these recent grads, the clock is ticking on them to find a job and start that career.
DE LA CRUZ: That's right. CNN'S Ali Velshi has some career advice that is right on Your Money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The class of 2008 is leaving the carefree college life behind for the real world. Step one - finding a job.
BRAD KARSH, BOBBOUND.COM: My best piece of advice is be flexible in the job search. You know, a lot of students kind of go into the job search right after they graduate and think, I want to work for one of the big four accounting firms in New York City. And if they don't get that job, then they're devastated.
VELSHI: Karsh says don't accept a job you aren't going to like, but be open about the types of companies you're applying to. Bigger is not always better.
KARSH: You can think medium-sized, even smaller-sized. Those kinds of companies have lots of openings right now. The bigger companies, they hire well in advance. The smaller and medium-sized companies, they've been just in time hiring. They're looking for people now.
VELSHI: Karsh says your first job will give you a good foundation and will teach you a lot about the working world.
KARSH: It's not 40 years ago where you had one job for the next 30 years. The fact of the matter is now -- right now, people have -- by the time they retire -- something like seven or eight different jobs or careers that they go into. Your career path is a winding road. It's not straight and linear.
VELSHI: And that's right on Your Money.
Ali Velshi, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Here's what's coming up next: Chasing modern day pirates off the coast of Somalia.
HOLMES: Yes, our David McKenzie goes looking for the renegades of the sea. But first, let's go and look for Reynolds Wolf who's still looking for some bad weather.
WOLF: That's right. We have some renegade storms yesterday roaring right through parts of Oklahoma -- 13 reports in fact. And today, we're wondering -- could it happen again? Well, the full story coming up in just a few moments right here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My brother, Stephen Kowalczyk, he was a real adventurer. He wanted to serve and he felt like what we were doing in Iraq was something he wanted to try to help make better. He felt like he was making a difference. It's something, I think, we think a lot about on this Memorial Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Welcome back. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
DE LA CRUZ: Nice to see you this morning. I'm Veronica De La Cruz.
Let's go ahead and get a quick check of the headlines this morning, T.J.
HOLMES: An incredible story of survival coming from China. Rescue crews have pulled an 80-year-old paraplegic man out from under the rubble of his house and yes, this comes 11 days after the earthquake. China state-run news agency says the man survived with the help of his wife who was bringing him food and water until rescuers could actually get there and free him.
DE LA CRUZ: Colombia's government says the leader of a leftist group accused of kidnapping hundreds of people there may be dead. Officials say intelligence suggests the leader nicknamed "Sure shot" may have died of a heart attack back in March. Officials believe "Sure Shot" was about 80 years old. HOLMES: In Myanmar, representatives from 52 countries are gathering to talk today about spending more money to help the cyclone survivors. The U.S. has already given Myanmar more than $20 million for cyclone relief. U.S. officials say that's all they'll send until Myanmar's military government lets foreign experts travel to the most devastated areas.
DE LA CRUZ: Danger on the lawless seas. Modern day pirates off the coast of Somalia are hijacking ships and attacking oil rigs.
Our David McKenzie is on board the destroyer, USS Shoup, that's near the center of the Gulf of Aden and joins us live.
Good morning to you, David.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Veronica. I'm here on a USS Shoup. This is guided missile destroyer right in the middle of the Gulf of Aden.
Now, I wanted to show you across the way here, this is a very rare thing to see on television. And I don't think ever been filmed live. This is the FS Mon (ph), it's a ship that is refueling this. Hundreds of thousands of gallons are coming in to the USS Shoup.
But essentially, the main role of this ship that I'm on right now is to fight pirates in the area of Somalia. They take them on using radar and high-tech weapons. And the problem is that they have to take them on in the middle of the ocean and often can't get back to them when they take them back into the shores of Somalia -- Veronica.
DE LA CRUZ: David, we see there on board the USS Shoup. You know, I'm curious at this point, what else is being done to prevent these attacks? I know there was a French luxury yacht that was captured not too long ago; a Spanish fishing boat, I believe. What else is being done to make sure that this doesn't happen again?
MCKENZIE: That's right. There have been many attacks this year. In fact, piracy attacks off this coastline are up 20 percent from last year. It's (INAUDIBLE) set system. They come out; they hijack these boats.
What's being done right now is that the U.S. and French governments are trying to go to the security council at the U.N. and get and to allow these massive destroyers like these to chase those pirates back into territorial waters so that they can take them on. Right now they're stuck in international waters, essentially protecting the oil vessels that come through these very shipping lane. But for now they are slightly hamstrung from going, like to get those pirates. And that would be the next step. Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: You know, when you think of pirates, you think of Captain Hook. I'm curious, David, what you know about these pirates and who they are.
MCKENZIE: Well, that's right. This is no longer Jack Sparrow, Black Beard or Captain Hook. These guys have night-vision goggles, they have rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. They operate from mother ships off shore and go from those mother ship and attack massive cruise liners, as you said luxury yachts. They take people. They often hijack people and then they ask for ransom. Just last year, millions of dollars was spent by shipping companies to try and free those ships up. It's a major sports of ocean. Something many people don't realize is out there but off the coast of Somalia, this is one of the worst parts of the world. That's why coalition forces like this French ship that you see right now and the USS ship that I am on are really in these areas to try to make the waters safer. Back to you.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. David McKenzie on board the USS off the coast of Somalia. David, we do appreciate that very interesting insight to the situation there. Thank you.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We will turn back to some weather now and a third straight day of severe weather in the Midwest. Incredible pictures of Oklahoma from the air. A tornado tearing up farmland.
DE LA CRUZ: Absolutely amazing pictures. And take a look at this. This is what's left of a pig farm in Lacey, Oklahoma. Badly damaged, but luckily no farm workers were seriously hurt there. These pictures taken by local news choppers chasing the storm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF MASON DUNN, NEWS CHOPPER PILOT: I'm trying to keep as far away as I can right now to keep this picture up so the people ahead of this will know what is coming. There are a lot of people out here storm chasing or looking around today, I guess because it's memorial weekend. This tornado is nothing to mess with. This is a huge tornado.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: And there were several of those huge tornadoes cutting through Oklahoma. Besides the pig farm, at least one home was badly damaged. One trailer home was tossed across a road.
HOLMES: All right. We are going to turn to our Reynolds Wolf. Something I have noticed here, you help me understand.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Bring it on, man.
HOLMES: It seems like we have seen so much video in the past couple of weeks, amazing video, like more than you would normally get from a tornado. Amazing stuff. Is it just more cameras out and there's been so many tornadoes that there are more to capture? What's going on?
DE LA CRUZ: We have lots of i-reporters. You know.
WOLF: Well, I mean, you know, you are right on every single count. You know, what's funny is that people have been saying, gosh, it does seem like there are more tornadoes each and every year. One of the great things is that we got more because the technology is getting better. We are able to spot these. As you both mentioned, cameras are getting cheaper. They're getting better. With it more people are able to get them. So, we're able to get more of these pictures.
Pictures like the one that you're about to see in mere moments from another storm chaser. Take a look at this video that we got for you. And it's coming up right now. Yes. See. The video that we have on this one shows kind of a rope tornado. Not one as wide as the one we saw in Colorado which was nearly a mile wide just a few days ago. This is pretty much the nature of most tornadoes that you're going to see. If they make contact with the ground, only stay around for just a few seconds and up they go. Most tornadoes do not last for a very long time.
This video that you see is in Garfield County. Unbelievable thing. And what's interesting is this was not an area that was under a watch at the time. It wasn't even just a slight risk area, yet the atmosphere was volatile enough to create some of these storms. And thankfully, there weren't any widespread injuries. That's certainly the best news. Certainly no fatalities to report from this batch of storms as well. Now, the question is could it happen again today? The answer is yes. It could happen again. Still, the atmosphere would not support a major outbreak like we saw in parts of Colorado over the last and into parts of the plains over the last 12 to 24, 48, even 72 hours. Still we see some scattered showers near Oklahoma City. North that we go from Wichita, we have a couple of hail producers, but still nothing severe at this time. That's a look at your forecast. We got so much to share with you today. So, make sure you sit tight. We'll have more coming up. Back to you.
DE LA CRUZ: And Reynolds, you have actually been out on some of these storm-chasing trips, haven't you?
WOLF: Absolutely. Many times. And you know, it's funny is it's not as though you are always lucky. I mean, only a slight chance of really seeing anything. Many times you go out, and spend days in the plains and not see a single storm.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you keeping us to up to date this morning. We'll check in you a lot.
WOLF: Thanks.
DE LA CRUZ: Thanks, Reynolds.
Of all the Memorial Day rituals, this holiday, the pilgrimage of one family to their son's grave at Arlington National Cemetery is one that you won't forget. All coming up.
HOLMES: Also, the senior chaplain at Arlington will join us to talk about the role of faith as the nation pauses to remember those who laid down their lives for this country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
Specialist Stephen Littlefield near Camp Liberty right now, Fortsdale, Oklahoma is where I'm from. I just want to say hello, mom Vila Anscot (ph), Legacy Valley, California. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be here right now. And I know you support me 100 percent of the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD JOHNSON: My youngest uncle was in the Marines. Unfortunately when he was 20 years old, he was killed in action in Vietnam. I just started playing trumpet in the band. And I decided that as a tribute to my uncle I was going to play "Taps" on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. I started doing that back when I was about 12 years old. Now I'm 50, and I've been doing it ever since then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: You know, every Memorial Day weekend since 1948 our fallen military at Arlington National Cemetery have been honored with a special display.
HOLMES: Yes, it's called Flags In. And you'll recognize that every available soldier in the Army's 3rd infantry division places a small American flags one foot in front of each grave marker. There are, according to Arlington National Cemetery, 300,000 people buried at Arlington.
DE LA CRUZ: And families visit the graves throughout the year at Arlington. Of course, memorial day weekend draws extra attention to the national cemetery.
HOLMES: And photojournalist Bethany Swain shows us one Ohio couple's ritual for honoring their son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My son was there for the first push in Fallujah in '04. They made that city safe to vote. He saw four of his comrades die on the way in. That made him march on even stronger. He was stationed at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. And we brought some sand from there this time for him. Each time we come we bring something a little different. I can't leave this place without playing him my guitar. I promised him I would continue to play my guitar. And so I have to bring it here and sing to him and show him that I haven't stopped.
My son was very inspirational. This is home away from home for me. In two years' time I've been here 18 times. We're from Rossford, Ohio.
How I wish ... how I wish you were here. I don't care what it costs. If I have to walk here I'm coming here to see all these flags today. Year after year it's just heartwarming. God love the Marine Corps. If it weren't for these people, I don't know where we would be. Wish you were here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, it is in keeping with this memorial weekend that we turn to our "Faces of Faith" segment this morning. Air Force Colonel Charlie Stutts is the senior chaplain at Arlington. He oversees nearly three dozen funerals daily at the national cemetery. He joins us now live from Arlington, Virginia. Sir, thank you for being with us. And it's amazing to hear, I guess, for a lot of people that there are that many funerals that happen on a daily basis, five days a week there. 30?
COL. CHARLIE STUTTS, SR. CHAPLAIN ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY: Yes, T.J., it is it's an interesting thing to imagine that you would do 30 committals per day five days per week. We have a dedicated chaplain team of seven chaplains and chaplain assistants, and honor guard, and other individuals that make that happen each and every day to honor our veterans.
HOLMES: And sir, that sounds like a small chaplain team. Is that about the number that - of staff that you usually have? Are you short there on chaplains?
STUTTS: That is a staff that we normally have. We have augmented from other chaplains in the area and also reserve chaplains at times will also come in and assist.
HOLMES: Will this weekend - I know there are special services, we talk about the Flags In, that happens every Memorial Day but as far as your job goes this weekend and at the cemetery, is there anything different or special that the chaplains themselves and how are your responsibilities any different or different at all this weekend?
STUTTS: Actually, T.J., this weekend is actually not different for us. We will be doing what we normally do each and every day here at Arlington National Cemetery. And that is honoring our veterans and provide pastoral care for our families. We will be invited to have prayers, wreath layings, speak at different occasions. But our - each and every day we do about the same thing as we do on Memorial Day.
HOLMES: Sir, help a lot of people understand because you all do so many of these. Again, about 30 a day. How do you go about - keep from getting burned out, I guess, if you will, because you certainly don't want to get to a point where the funerals become routine and the services are routine. Each one is different, special and certainly special to the families. I'm sure you become emotionally attached to each and every one, but in doing so that's got to burn you out in a way.
STUTTS: T.J., there is a lot of compassion fatigue as we would call it. We work at not letting that happen as we take time to reflect, then take time to renew for ourselves. We do connect with families which is so important that we do that. As we care for them, that way it doesn't become a routine. We know the individual, know how special they are, know the needs of the family. And that way when we talk with them on the phone about a week before the service happens, it gives us that point of connection.
And then on that day of committal, when we see them about 30 minutes before the service, we have already made that connection. We are able to talk with them, talk about the service and then go through that service together. That snippet of time is really important and makes a really big difference in their life in this time of their most deepest crisis that they are going to probably experience in their life.
HOLMES: And sir, you say you talk to them. You comfort them. Who talks to you and comforts you after doing so many? You've been at this for several years, I can't imagine how many of these you have had to preside over. So, who do you talk to? How do you, I guess, keep it together?
STUTTS: We keep it together. I have a great family that takes very good care of me. And also the relationship with the Lord makes - gives us the strength and the courage to continue doing this and keeps us focused in the way we need to go. So, there's a good team of us working together as chaplains, chaplain assistants, caring for one another to make sure we don't get burned out and that this does not become routine.
HOLMES: Well, sir, bless you. And bless you for the work you do. I know a lot of families you have touched over the years and will continue to touch. Again, doing this five days a week, doing about 30 service there. Seven chaplains doing it. Air Force Colonel Charlie Stutts, thank you so much for being here with us. And Happy Memorial Day to you. Have a good weekend.
STUTTS: Thank you very much, T.J.. It's good being here and thank you again for being a part of this time today.
HOLMES: No problem at all, sir. Thank you so much.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, we don't just honor our fallen troops on the Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day is also a time when people sometimes plan vacations. And we are going to join our Josh Levs, because I believe he's been looking into some of these trends. Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, coming up, we're going to look at this. Do you deserve a vacation but can't really afford to travel very far? Well, you can still take one. Our i- reporters have some suggestions for you, coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I sent in pictures of my brother, Corporal Thomas Hilbert. He was killed September 7th, 2007 in Mosul, Iraq. He loved life. He loved everybody. There wasn't anybody really who didn't like him or who he didn't like. The military, the army was his thing. All the jobs he could have, he wanted to be a cab scout because they were the first in and the last out. He volunteered for the mission he was killed on. And that's just who he was. (END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Let's talk gas prices, shall we? I believe that they are what, up again.
HOLMES: 3.93.
DE LA CRUZ: 3.93.
HOLMES: 3.91 yesterday.
DE LA CRUZ: Close to that $4 mark. So, let's, you know, what people are doing. Gas stations these days are offering free car washes. And this one in Birmingham, Alabama, actually, offered free scripture along with cheaper gas. T.J.
HOLMES: Certainly a godsend for some lucky drivers who became religious instantly. The gas sold for $1.07 a gallon, that's $2.50 off the regular price.
DE LA CRUZ: $1.07 a gallon. A local church behind the discount also pumps motorists with the good word. And some might call that double savings, maybe. Double savings but a godsend for sure.
HOLMES: Absolutely. Hey, if it will get you in church on Sunday, come on in. Selling gas and church at the same time, that's fine. All right. But another way to save gas is simply just stay at home and this has its own word now called a staycation.
DE LA CRUZ: A staycation, not a vacation but a staycation. Our Josh Levs at the dot com desk has been hearing from all the viewers about this. Well, lots of people are taking a staycation?
LEVS: Yes, they are. I mean, as we know, AAA is saying that fewer people are traveling this year, at this time. For the first time in about six years. So it's a big deal that we're talking about it. And a lot of people who want to have a vacation and feel like they can't because gas is so expensive because they are already crunched in the housing crisis. So, what we did is we drew a "your wisdom," what ideas do you have for staycation? We got some great i- reports. Let's go to the board right here.
I'm going to start off with this. We heard from Juan Delgado in Madison, Wisconsin, he showed us, he just took a bike tour around his own town, discovered the beauty about where he lives. He didn't even know a lot of these wonderful places. These are the kinds of things that we are seeing on i-report. And if you come from one of these many cities that are now represented in the staycation section of i- report, you might become excited and realized that there are some new stuff around that you haven't seen yet.
Let's go over here now. This is Knoxville, Tennessee, where Jenny Lambert took her grand kids over there. She says there's a brand new water park over there. Again, she tells us, you know what, she had to cut down on travel in general, largely because of gas prices. It really is hitting people right there in the pocketbook. She is saying, you know what? I managed to have all this fun with my family.
Now, yesterday, we saw a guy's pretty amazing house, right. And he took a staycation in his own backyard. This person is taking a vacation in the big island of Hawaii. Well, if i lived in the big island of Hawaii this would be a staycation to me, too. Let's take a look here. This is from Noel Hawkins who wrote us and said you know what I haven't spent that much time looking around where I actually live. I mean look at this. This, I would take a vacation there, let alone a staycation.
Now, I'm also going to show you someone who e-mailed us. This is pretty interesting. This is from a guy who says he has taken vacations his entire life. His name is Noel Siverton (ph). He is now retired. He and his wife have found that in this economy they can't take the kinds of vacations they might have planned on. Instead, they picked up a hobby. Now, they're all into bird watching. He opened up a website about i. This is it, smugma.com (ph). He takes photos and puts up these nice pretty things. See, guys, it's something. Some suggestions from our i-reporters. You could go to ireport.com, you can see a lot more ideas on how to have some fun even in this economy. Veronica, T.J..
DE LA CRUZ: All right, Josh. So Noah, is he on the island of Hawaii, and his address is what?
LEVS: All right. So, T.J. is going to go to that mansion in Connecticut, you and I will go to that place in Hawaii.
DE LA CRUZ: Sounds good to me.
LEVS: It's all up there on ireport.com. People put their full names and the city they live in. It's not that hard to find.
DE LA CRUZ: Josh.
HOLMES: Wow. Appreciate it thank you.
Well, NASA we'll turn to now, they are near the end of a long, long trip but certainly no vacation for their scientists.
DE LA CRUZ: Just hours away from the surface of the red planet. We are going to be taking a closer look at the latest mission to Mars. Plus this, good morning, Reynolds.
WOLF: Good morning. And we have got a quiet morning for the time being, but the question is, is it going to be as crazy as it was yesterday later on? Take a look at this video that we have. This taken just in Oklahoma where we had plenty of storms there and quite a few tornadoes. We're going to show you the great footage coming up in a few moments and let you know when you can expect for the rest of the holiday weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Jeff Lucas. He decided to be in the Navy Seals at age 9. he went on to become the top Navy Seal on the East Coast in 2004. Jeff loved his Lord, his family, and his country more than anything. He was very special. The family grieves to this day, but we are so proud of him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And on this Memorial Day weekend we are honoring our troops and asking you, do you have personal stories of loved ones lost in a war? You can share your stories at ireport.com.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, that's right. Send us your stories, your photos, your videos. Also your letters. We're going to be sharing some of them today, also tomorrow. Go and log on to ireport.com to get started.
HOLMES: And the Phoenix is rising. Less than 12 hours from now, NASA's Mars Lander is expected to reach the red planet.
DE LA CRUZ: And the first part of its 400 million mile mission will be over. But that was the easy part. We get more now from CNN's space correspondent, Miles O'Brien.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN SPACE CORRESPONDENT: The fourth rock from the sun is the solar system's Bermuda triangle. So, when the Phoenix Marslander reaches the red planet, scientists will be turning blue, hoping their galactic gambit pays off.
PETER SMITH, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA: And we're waiting for that final flip over of the last card. And you know, I'm holding a good hand. I got a couple of aces.
O'BRIEN: Lead scientist Peter Smith knows what it's like to lose all his chips. A decade ago he developed the camera for the Mars Polar Lander. The spacecraft crashed back in 1999 as it approached the Martian surface. No one is certain why.
SMITH: We found probably a dozen little bugs that could definitely been the end of polar lander.
O'BRIEN: After the polar lander lost, NASA canceled most of the Mars program, including a carbon copy of the doomed polar lander, and that's the very spacecraft knocking on Mars' door now. And engineers say they have tested and re-tested Phoenix extensively.
ED WEILER, NASA ASSOCIATE ADMIN.: We fixed everything we knew about that we could think of. And of course the one question left is the unknown unknown.
O'BRIEN: NASA built Mars polar lander it on a shoe string, part of a philosophy called faster, better, cheaper, championed by then administrator Dan Golden. A Mars orbiter built with the same budget constraints made its crater on the red planet a little over two months before polar lander. In that case, two teams of controllers confused metric and English measurements leading to a fatal navigation error.
WEILER: That's a classic example of when cutting corners, being penny wise and how foolish it can really get you. So there's nothing wrong with faster, better, cheaper, as long as you always remember it's three words, not two.
O'BRIEN: NASA is hoping the hard lessons of faster, better, cheaper have given Phoenix a better than average chance. But the average is not good. Over the years, less than half of all Mars missions have succeeded. NASA's opportunity and spirit rovers were and remain big winners. But they arrived on Mars inside giant bouncing beach balls. Landing a large craft like Phoenix with legs and rockets is much dicier.
WEILER: There are so many things happening in a short period of time, it's definitely the seven minutes of terror.
O'BRIEN: Assuming it's a lucky seven for the team, Phoenix will set up shop near the Martian north pole, dig into the tundra, and if the luck holds possibly find some evidence of life past or even present. Now that's what you call pay dirt. Miles O'Brien, CNN, Tucson, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And be sure to tune in tonight for special coverage of the Phoenix landing and see if, in fact, they do hit pay dirt. You can join Miles O'Brien starting at 7:00 p.m. Eastern for all that action including live coverage of that landing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good for me because when I see it, I know he's all right. I mean like in this video here, he looks tired. You know, he looks worn out. And the same though (ph), when I see that, I know he's all right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Staying connected to the home front. Solders in Iraq reading to their kids back in the U.S. It's "Operation Storytime," making a difference on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
And hello to you all. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, I'm T.J. Holmes. Hope you're having a good Memorial Day weekend so far.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, it's nice to see you. I'm Veronica De La Cruz, in today for Betty Nguyen. Thank you so much for starting your day with us.
We want to go ahead and start with the weather now. We have some pretty amazing pictures of severe weather that will absolutely take your breath away. It's from Oklahoma. Take a look. You can actually see it's running behind us there. HOLMES: Yes, some strong storms there spawning several tornadoes. The destructive force caught on camera. Here's where it happened. We can tell you, around Lacey and Hennessey, Oklahoma, about 75 miles from Oklahoma City. Here's more of that incredible video now.
This is stuff you usually see somewhere in Hollywood, computer- generated for some movie, but this is the real deal. These shots are taken from a local news helicopter that was hovering over Lacey, Oklahoma.
This is a slow-moving tornado. It took several minutes and ripped through a pig farm. That's a pig farm and all of -- it coming to pieces there. You can see ripped up that debris, going around and round like matchsticks really caught up in that tornado. Nobody hurt, would you believe, not even the pigs at that pig farm.
DE LA CRUZ: Amazing.
HOLMES: Now let's show you the aftermath. This is what it looked like after that tornado. At least three of the barns cut to ribbons of tangled sheet metal and broken boards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KWTV)
GILBERT POPPAWELL, SURVIVED TORNADO: The rain just started pouring like crazy. When we turned and looked to our left, that's when we see the tornado forming. All the kind of debris being thrown around, we heard glass breaking, the doors were rattling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Now, most of the tornado activity missed major towns. There were no deaths reported anywhere in Oklahoma from yesterday's storms, unbelievable.
Also now, an update on storm damage in Kansas -- two people there found dead yesterday, victims of Friday night's storms. Authorities say a tornado tossed their car about 150 yards off the highway. So, we've been keeping tracks of all of the tornadic activity from Kansas to Colorado.
Let's go ahead and find out what the latest is now with Reynolds Wolf. He is tracking all of that from the CNN severe weather center -- Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's a fairly quiet morning. Yesterday, at this time though, things were relatively quiet, too. But by late afternoon, we had a little bit of the heating, we have some instability in the atmosphere, which showed the video that you saw moments ago.
We even have more that's going to take you just in the northwest of Oklahoma City. You see this in Garfield County. This is just unbelievable. Kind of a rope form with the funnel you see making contact with the ground, some of the debris beginning to kick up -- a scary sight, indeed. At the same time, it's kind of a mesmerizing thing.
There are a lot of storm chasers out yesterday. Many of them moved farther to the north where we thought there would be a better possibility of these storms, yet, right in an area where we didn't have any watches, warnings, or even a high risks area, we have many of these tornadoes formed.
You know, storm chasing is often an imperfect science. Take a look at this video that we have. This is (INAUDIBLE) about a year or so ago, going to parts of Kansas where we were fortunate enough, I guess in terms of being a storm chaser, we were fortunate enough in Nickerson, Kansas to see a couple of tornadoes make contact with the ground. This one not really the same magnitude as what we have seen over the last couple of days, but still, a compelling thing to see.
And I'll tell you, the feeling that you have there, the adrenaline rush of the wind and the -- just the smell of the weed, it's just a really compelling thing. The noise is just remarkable also.
Again, let's show you the set-up that we're going to be seeing today. There's still that moisture that's coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. That with a little bit of daytime heating could give us storms. Nothing, again in Oklahoma at this point. We are seeing some activity in Kansas, also Missouri, right along parts of the Mississippi river from Quincy (ph) southward, just to the north of parts of St. Louis, we're seeing a few embedded cells.
But at this point, we don't have no reports of severe weather. But we run the risk, though. The risk of severe storms right along in the same places, the usual suspects, back through Texas, into Oklahoma, back into Kansas, even into Missouri and as far north as parts of Minneapolis, even into northern Michigan -- you could see those strong storms today. Certainly, it would be the late afternoon hours between 3:00 until 6:00, the early evening hours where you're going to have the best chance of that instability.
So, please be careful. We know there are many people that are leaving, getting a late start on the holiday weekend. There are plenty of traveling today on parts of I-35 and into the I-70. This is an area where you really want to be careful.
That's the latest that we've got for you, just another day of rough weather and of course, it could happen again today.
DE LA CRUZ: That is tornado alley, right?
WOLF: Yes, it is, absolutely. But, you know, you don't have to worry just about tornado alley. Any place you have all those components, all that moisture, the daytime heating and some kind of lifting mechanism, you can have those tornadoes.
DE LA CRUZ: Right. All right, Reynolds, thanks so much.
WOLF: You bet, guys.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Time now for a quick look at some of the other headlines this morning.
HOLMES: A legendary comedian and director, Dick Martin, has died. Martin is best known as co-host of 1960s hit, "Laugh-In." A spokesman for Martin's family says the 86-year-old comedian died from respiratory complications.
DE LA CRUZ: NASA's latest mission to Mars, the Phoenix Lander, now is just about 11 hours away from reaching the red planet. The Lander is looking for signs of life, past or present. CNN will bring you special coverage of the mission including the landing on Mars. It comes your way tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
Wow, amazing. Captain Knievel there, smashing his dad's world record motorcycle leap in Ohio. Robbie Knievel jumping 24 delivery trucks in all. It's about 200 feet, T.J., it's almost double what his father evil jumped at the exact same location back in 1975. And what a landing.
HOLMES: Why? Why?
DE LA CRUZ: But why not?
HOLMES: Why.
DE LA CRUZ: Why not. Come on.
HOLMES: OK. Sorry.
DE LA CRUZ: He's keeping the dream alive.
HOLMES: He's keeping the - yes, he's keeping it alive.
DE LA CRUZ: Right?
HOLMES: Yes.
All right. We'll turn to some presidential politics, certainly alive and well right now. Look at what the candidates are doing this holiday weekend. Barack Obama delivering the commencement address at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He's actually filling in for Senator Ted Kennedy. And they're having to change a lot of things up, having to close that ceremony to the public because they expect so many people to show up and want to see Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton continues her three-day swing across Puerto Rico, ahead of the June 1st primary.
Meanwhile, Republican John McCain hosting what aides call a "social event" at his home in Arizona. But on that guest list -- Republican governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal; former governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney; and also, Florida Governor Charlie Crist -- three people who have been dubbed or named as possible V.P. running mates with McCain.
And Barack Obama, meanwhile, is firing at McCain over military service and veterans benefits. On his campaign plane last night, Obama blasted McCain's suggestion that he shouldn't speak on veterans issues because he, Obama, did not serve in the military. Obama says it makes no sense whatsoever. Obama also criticized McCain for not supporting legislation to expand the G.I. Bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I revere our soldiers and want to make sure that they are being treated with honor and respect. I think the G.I. Bill is one way for us to do that. And I hope that John McCain and George Bush decide they believe the same thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Senator McCain supports expanding education benefits but opposes giving full scholarships after three years of service. The president and McCain believe that if do you that, it encourages people to get out of the military, thereby hurting retention rates.
Meanwhile, the biggest remaining contest for the Democrats is one week from today. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama competing for 55 pledged delegates at stake in the Puerto Rico primary.
There, if you don't like my stance on the issues, check out my moves. Obama trying that, at least, trying to draw up some support, he danced to the beat as he led a short parade through old San Juan yesterday. The latest CNN calculations give him a 190-delegate lead over Clinton.
And don't miss your chance to hear from the candidates in their own words. Politics unfiltered for you in BALLOT BOWL. That's today at 4:00 o'clock Eastern only right here on CNN: Your home for politics.
DE LA CRUZ: Keeping troops connected to their children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last time I held my little girl she could barely hold her head. Now, she's walking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Still a head, a look at a program designed to help soldiers and their kids keep up a family ritual even when they're far apart.
HOLMES: Plus, we'll say good morning to Josh Levs who has your Memorial Day iReport.
Good morning, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning to you guys. Your messages to the families of U.S. troops, you wrote about gratitude, about what bothers you even. That's coming up here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Sergeant Black (ph). I'm based out of (INAUDIBLE) Oklahoma. I'm in Camp Liberty, Iraq right now, from Bangor, Maine. I want to say thank you, mom, Shirley Black. Thank you for all your support and love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Retired Staff Sergeant Roger Staats, (INAUDIBLE) for his whole family, he's a family man, served in Vietnam but he got his hero's send off when we said good-bye. And we know that you're our hero. We have an angel on our shoulder. You are our best friend. I love you, daddy, I miss you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And you taking a live look right now at Arlington National Cemetery there in Arlington, Virginia, outside of Washington, where an annual tradition on Memorial Day weekend, you can see, is taking place with the flags in placed in front of tombstones of those who have died and those have been buried there at Arlington.
But, certainly, ceremonies happening all weekend. A solemn tradition there, solemn place any time of the year, but certainly on this Memorial Day weekend where so many around the country, they are stopping and remembering those who have served this country.
DE LA CRUZ: Being stationed halfway around the world can be hard on U.S. troops, especially those with small children back home.
HOLMES: Now, the military has a new program called "Operation: Storytime." It's designed to help soldiers keep in touch with their kids and help their kids learn from their parents.
Our Robin Meade has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: E, where actually kicked the stone -
ROBIN MEADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In front of a camera, reading a children's book on a base in Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, boogey (ph), that's the end of bounce around Tigger. I love you and I will be home soon, baby. I miss you and I love you very much.
SGT. CATHERINE DENNISON, U.S. ARMY: I love you very much and I'm going to read you your first bedtime story from Iraq. It's by the care bears.
MEADE: The story that these troops like Sergeant Catherine Dennison are recording are for their kids, some of whom they haven't seen in months.
At home, Sergeant Dennison's nine-month-old Melissa is mesmerized by mom on screen.
STAFF SGT. JAMES DENNISON, U.S. ARMY: When Cathy left, she left (INAUDIBLE) here, of course, she could barely hold her own head up. Now, she's walking, trying to talk.
C. DENNISON: I love you, Melissa.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Action.
CAPT. CHARLES LEGGETT, CHAPLAIN, CAMP LIBERTY, IRAQ: The main objective of "Operation: Storytime" is to provide a good way for deployed soldiers to stay in close contact with their families. It seems just to reinforce that family bond of having their parents back in the house.
MEADE: The DVD does not only help the children like Sergeant First Class Steven Downey's niece to feel closer to him.
The hundreds of stories sent from Camp Liberty in Iraq all the way back to Fort Sill, Oklahoma also help other family members.
BRIAN DOWNEY, STEVEN DOWNEY'S BROTHER: It's good for me because when I see it and I know he's all right. I mean, like in this video here, he looks tired, you know, I mean, wore out. In the same note, when I see that, I know he's all right.
SPEC. VERNON "ANDY" REYNOLDS, U.S. ARMY: I was reading two- minute stories about goofy joining the band. I picked it because it had a guitar in it.
MEADE: The wonderland of the story, Specialist Andy Reynolds read for his daughter feels a long way from the dusty workplace.
REYNOLDS: Being here, almost 10 months. I'm a generator mechanic. We work to fix on generators. I don't get to read stories to my daughter at home because I'm here in Iraq. So, I figured, before she goes to sleep at night, there will be a little daddy and daughter time. Such as Cinderella story (ph).
MEADE: Back in Oklahoma, you are looking at his daughter, Kaylin (ph). Watch her reaction as she looks at her daddy's DVD for the first time.
KAYLIN REYNOLDS, DAUGTHER: Daddy.
MEADE: She seems enthralled, though the TV cameras could attract anybody's attention's been (ph).
GINA REYNOLDS, WIFE OF ANDY REYNOLDS: Watch daddy. UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: No, I don't (ph) watch daddy.
G. REYNOLDS: Baby, we miss you, we love you. We are waiting for you to come home. Sorry, Katlin (ph) was not real cooperative, but you know how she is. She loves you and she's ready to see you.
A. REYNOLDS: I really love them, I miss them. I can't wait to get home and see them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: And you can learn more about the program "Operation: Storytime" tomorrow morning. Catch "MORNING EXPRESS WITH ROBIN MEADE on CNN Headline News. Our salute to the troops for Memorial Day weekend special begins at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
HOLMES: And we have, of course, been tracking severe weather all morning long, in the past couple of days, really. We will have more in those amazing twisters in a video we've been seeing coming up at the 9:00 o'clock hour of this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My brother Daniel was in the military for the combined total of eight years. He was a sergeant with the U.S. Army. My brother was a loyal person to his friends, to his family, to other soldiers. Everybody trusted him. I know he's in a better place. They say God only takes the best and I totally believe that because my brother was best.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Oh, yes, Memorial Day weekend is upon us now, and a lot of cookouts, family get-togethers, things like that, so, at (ph) the start of the summer vacation season. That's just part of it.
DE LA CRUZ: That's right. More importantly, it's about honoring America's war dead. And that is a message that many of you have been eager to get across.
HOLMES: And our Josh Levs has been reading through a lot of your comments that are coming in to us. Hello to you, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning to you, guys. It's a perfect way to lead into this because this is an opportunity right now for you all out there to have your voice heard on this Memorial Day weekend.
Well, I want to do is start off with showing you where, this is taking place at CNN.com. We have this right here on the screen. This is one of our pages on CNN.com that's up today. And what you're able to see is stories of some of the fallen U.S. troops. All you need to do is click on any one of these photos and you learn a lot about who these people are. On this same page is people have written in some comments.
So, what we're going to do now is share some of these comments with you. We're going to start off with one from Marco Lombardozzi, that I know they can pull for us, there you go.
"I'm also a combat vet, retired, and remember some of my fallen brothers. I'm just little bothered when I see civilians enjoying the free life that's been guaranteed them and wonder if they think of the sacrifices that are being made today not only by the G.I.s but by their families."
Now, Tim Paulson: "The ability to empathize with all the parents, siblings, girlfriends and other loved ones is as natural as breathing. This is the first time that I have truly thought about what is being lost, from both sides of the spectrum."
Stephanie Clark: "Thank you for posting these stories. I feel as a nation, we have gotten detached and cold to the reality of the loss of life that has taken place. These people so deserve to be recognized."
Now, Maria David: "It's only fitting and proper to remember our patriots and those men and women in uniform, not only on Memorial Day but every day. Every night, I pray that God protect and give them strength and courage to carry on. Freedom is within us because of them."
Finally now, from Glenn Hair: "All I can say is thank you from the bottom of my heart. We live in a great country and your loved ones have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. May God bless each of you who have to live without your heroes -- especially the children."
Now, you can have your voice heard as well. Just go to CNN.com. You're going to see Memorial Day at the top. You can't miss it.
But I want to also do really quickly, show you this -- Impact Your World. At this time of year, some people are try to find out what can they do to help military families. CNN.com/impact will bring right here, brings you to a series of organizations you can join up with, including a series of military charities at the charity navigator. We'll tell you all about these, that's right there, guys: CNN.com/impact -- T.J. and Veronica.
HOLMES: All right. Josh, we appreciate you sharing that stuff with us this morning. Thank you.
DE LA CRUZ: Great information.
The great art crime.
HOLMES: Yes, thieves walking off with hundreds of thousands of dollars of artwork. Sticky fingers at the art gallery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my brother, Sergeant Phillip Anderson. He grew into a wonderful man. And he was a very dedicated soldier. He loved his job and the men he worked with.
I remember so many happy times when we were growing up. We used to get in trouble together. I remember all the laughter and the hugs. I'll miss his phone calls. He never ended a conversation without saying "I love you."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, a story here now about art bandits on the loose.
DE LA CRUZ: That's right. Florida police say two Pablo Picasso sketches worth more than $450,000 have been stolen from a Palm Beach gallery.
HOLMES: And it's just the most recent art heist and a growing trend. Our Ted Rowlands has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Earlier this year, art thieves stole a Van Gogh, a Monet, a Cezanne, and a Degas in Switzerland, estimated total value, more than $160 million.
A few years ago, Norman Rockwell collector, Steven Spielberg, wound up with a stolen painting, Russian Schoolroom. The FBI called Spielberg an innocent victim and told him to keep the purloin Rockwell until authorities sort out who rightfully owns it.
CHRIS CALARCO, FBI, L.A. ART THEFT TEAM: We're seeing trends right now where things being stolen, domestically, as well as internationally, has gone up dramatically.
ROWLANDS: Authorities estimate $6 billion worth of art is being stolen every year.
JULIAN RADCLIFFE, DIRECTOR, ART LOSS REGISTER: The detail in this is very good.
ROWLANDS: This collection is rightfully owned by the University of Southern California's Fisher Gallery, but when there is a question of ownership, Julian Radcliffe is a go-to guy. He's a master at putting finishing touches on paper trails and finding stolen art.
The former insurance executive runs the Art Loss Register, a vast online database tracking art sales and often uncovering art theft. Why steal art?
RADCLIFFE: The fact that it's mobile, that it's international, that you can sit on it for a long period of time and it does not lose its value.
ROWLANDS: Hollywood glamorizes the art of stealing in movies such as "The Thomas Crown Affair," or "Entrapment."
CALARCO: When you think of some of the famous movies like Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery -- a lot of these art criminals are not that sophisticated, suave, you know, wealthy people. At times, there are these, run on the mill kind of thugs who are out trying to steal whatever they can get their hands on.
ROWLANDS: Case in point, "The Scream" heist in Norway in the 1990s.
RADCLIFFE: One gang wanted to impress a gang from Eastern Europe with whom they wanted to do business and they were not being taken seriously.
ROWLANDS: Not all art theft involves painted masterpieces. Thieves also steal historic maps, antiquities and prints.
CALARCO: They purported (INAUDIBLE) lithograph.
ROWLANDS: Calarco says this sacrament of the Last Supper is a fake, right down to the pencil signing and number.
CALARCO: Art fraud is a major problem. And we always, you know, tell people -- you now, before you go out and spend a lot of money on art, make sure you do your due diligence, make sure you know who you're buying from and do all the research you need to do on that particular piece.
ROWLANDS: Because this is art's great era of thievery and forgery.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. We'll stick with the theme of art right now, and recover, restore and returned to public view a masterpiece stolen from a museum in Norway four years ago, back on display.
DE LA CRUZ: We just saw a moment ago, there it is again. Robbers stole "The Scream" in broad daylight. You know, it was back in 2004. It was recovered two years later, displayed for a few days, until workers started repairing it.
And the newly restored painting went back on display on Friday. So, you could see it once again, "The Scream" returns.
HOLMES: All right. Well, we have more than a dozen tornadoes we've been talking about this morning and a third straight day of dangerous storms in the Midwest -- a closer look at some of that at the top of the hour.
DE LA CRUZ: But first, Sanjay Gupta's HOUSE CALL begins right now.
