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CNN Sunday Morning
North Korea Launches Long-Range Rocket
Aired April 05, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICHARD LUI, CNN ANCHOR: Defiant move: North Korea launches a long-range rocket some nine hours ago but it never makes it to orbit. Several countries condemned this launch. President Obama is calling it a "provocative act."
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is April 5th.
Good morning, everybody. We got a lot to tell you about today. I'm Betty Nguyen.
LUI: Yes, and, Betty, good morning.
So, I'm Richard Lui in for T.J. Holmes on this day. Thanks for starting your day with us. It's 8:00 a.m. Eastern and 5:00 a.m. Pacific and 9:00 p.m. in North Korea.
NGUYEN: And thanks for being with us, Richard.
All right. We want to get you right to it. Here's what we know about the North Korean rocket launch so far. The North Atlantic Region for Aerospace Defense says the payload from the rocket never made it into orbit, instead, it reportedly dropped into the Pacific Ocean when the rocket broke up. The Taepodong-2 rocket launched around 10:30 Eastern last night. North Korea says it was carrying a satellite but the U.S. and other countries fear it could have been a missile armed with a warhead.
The U.N. Security Council is holding an emergency session over this launch today. And we are also following the story for you from all angles. Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is standing by live for us in our Washington bureau, and CNN senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry is in the Czech Republic where President Obama is attending the European Summit.
So, let's start with you, Ed. Just when President Obama is urging the world to get rid of nuclear weapons, North Korea sends a rocket with a suspicious payload into space. How does this development relate to the president's message in Prague today?
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, it was Press Secretary Robert Gibbs who woke up the president with the news just before dawn here in Prague. Mr. Obama since then has been working the phones, consulting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and others, and then he delivered this long planned speech in which, as you noted, he declared that basically North Korea is part of much broader nuclear threat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): The topic of the president's most sweeping foreign policy address yet, a call to rid the world of nuclear weapons could not have been more timely.
PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: North Korea broke the rules, once again, by testing a rocket that could be used for long-range missiles. This provocation underscores the need for action, not just this afternoon in the U.N. Security Council, but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons.
HENRY: The president was awoken in the wee hours about the rocket launch, and immediately engaged in high level briefings in the Czech Republic, with top aides like National Security adviser, General Jim Jones, and consulted by phone with military officials.
OBAMA: North Korea must know that the path to security and respect will never come through threats and illegal weapons. All nations must come together to build a stronger global regime and that's why we must stand shoulder-to-shoulder to pressure the North Koreans to change course.
HENRY: But this speech has been in the works for weeks. So Mr. Obama tried to ensure it was not overshadowed by North Korea's move, and playing out a broader vision that includes seeking approval of a comprehensive ban on testing nuclear weapons, vowing to secure all loose nukes within four years to keep them out of the hands of terrorists and forging a new agreement with Russia.
OBAMA: To reduce our warheads and stockpiles, we will negotiate a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with the Russians this year.
HENRY: The message resonated well in this former Soviet satellite. The president and first lady greeted warmly by a raucous crowd of more than 20,000, pictures reminiscing of the presidential race. And Mr. Obama borrowed a line from the campaign to help sell this new international effort.
OBAMA: This goal will not be reached quickly, perhaps not in my lifetime. It will take patience and persistence. But, now, we, too, must ignore the voices who tell us that the world cannot change. We have to insist -- yes, we can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Now, the U.S. is, obviously, pushing for strong condemnation, possibly even sanctions by the U.N., which is meeting in emergency session this afternoon in New York. Along those lines, Secretary of State Clinton here in Prague has been consulting with her counterparts from China, South Korea and Japan as well as Russia, trying to coordinate this response very carefully, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes. And as we heard the president talk this morning, Ed, he mentioned, you know, as if we're going to reduce this international nuclear threat that also includes the U.S. reducing some of its nuclear arsenal. Now, how is that going to be received in Washington? Are lawmakers going to be on board with that?
HENRY: I think they are, because the president already previewed this at a previous stop in London at the G20 Summit. If you remember, he had his first face-to-face with Russian President Medvedev, and basically, he laid out the fact that they, on each side, want to reduce their arsenals by about 1/3, get it down to about 2,000 on each side. And the president is planning to follow up on that in July by going to Moscow himself. First time, obviously, as president.
So, this has already been previewed for the whole world to see. So, they're expecting it will be received pretty well back in Washington, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Ed Henry joining us live from the Czech Republic -- Ed, thank you for that.
And Mr. Obama touched upon many topics in his speech this morning, including North Korea, nuclear power, war, the economy. And since many of you may have missed the speech at 4:00 a.m. Eastern, we are going to air parts of it in our next half hour.
LUI: More now, Betty, on the international response to that rocket launch in North Korea. Both the U.S. and Japan had six naval destroyers monitoring the area around the Korean peninsula just days before the rocket launched.
Now, CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence joins us live from Washington.
You've been following the story for us as well as the trajectory of that rocket for us, Chris. The question right now might be: How did the U.S. military respond based on what you're hearing from officials right now?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, Richard, what they did was they monitored it. There were two-guided missile destroyers in the Sea of Japan, and there were also a guided-missile cruiser and another guided-missile destroyer on the other side of Japan on the Pacific Ocean side. They were able to monitor that launch. Again, they had two destroyers in the area where North Korea had said the first stage of the missile would fall in the Sea of Japan, and they also had two other ships positioned in the Pacific Ocean where North Korea had said the second stage would fall.
The U.S. military is confirming that the launch did not succeed, that it did -- although it did drop the first two stages, it did not launch a satellite into orbit.
LUI: So, Chris, if this rocket was the part of launching a satellite, as North Korea has been very consistent in saying, why was the military so concerned about this launch?
LAWRENCE: It wasn't so much about this launch, but what its implications could have been or could be for the future. Because if this launch was successful, North Korea would have learned a lot in terms of rocket motor staging, guidance, control, using reliable fuel, successful deploying a payload. Even though this was believed to be a satellite, that information would have been very useful down the road in one day, if North Korea was to try to switch out what was on top of the missile from a satellite to a nuclear warhead.
Now, a lot of experts believe that the range on this Taepodong-2 missile is about 4,000 miles. Now, that could sit over Alaska and skirts the edge of the Hawaiian Islands. It's not enough to get to the west coast of the United States. But there is a concern that this long-range missile could, one day, come into play in terms of defense.
But there is one caveat to that, most people believe that if you did put a nuclear warhead on this missile, it could not reach that range. So you would have to improve the missile to get that far.
LUI: All right. Chris Lawrence, our CNN Pentagon correspondent looking at the delivery system of this Taepodong, what it can mean if it were to be weaponized -- thank you so much. Appreciate it, Chris.
LAWRENCE: Yes.
LUI: Secretive and closed off for decades, North Korea has been called the Hermit Kingdom, a nation of more than 23 million people isolated diplomatically and economically with a very centralized communist government led by Kim Jong-il, and linked to its biggest neighbor China by a border that's more than 1,400 kilometers long with just seven road crossings and four railway points.
Now, in recent years, North Koreans refugees have fled into China, seeking food, jobs and freedom. Tentative reforms by the regime have been ordered and North Korea remains isolated and poor at this moment. A little bit of background.
NGUYEN: Well, police in Washington State say a father apparently shot and killed his five children and then took his own life. The children's bodies were found in the family's mobile home near Tacoma. The youngest is 7 years old. Police say after the father killed them, he drove to a nearby casino and shot himself. It wasn't clear where the mother was at the time of those shootings.
LUI: Across the country in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, investigators are on the scene where three officers were shot to death during a standoff yesterday. Two other police officers were also wounded in this. Officials say the gunman, who was wearing a bullet- proof vest, ambushed police as they responded to do a domestic dispute. The suspect took a bullet to the leg and eventually surrendered. He now faces several charges including three counts of homicide.
Now, one of the officers killed yesterday had been on the force for 14 years. These are the first police fatalities in Pittsburgh since 1995.
NGUYEN: People in Wheeler, Texas, have been told to return home after fleeing from a wildfire. About 1,300 people live in a small town near the Texas/Oklahoma border. It's about 90 miles east of Amarillo. And officials say 11,000-acre fire continues to smolder across the county's fields and brush lands.
They say low visibility because of smoke caused several accidents along Interstate 40. You can see all that smoke right there. Well, authorities shut it down temporarily just to clear up those accidents.
And Alaska's Mount Redoubt isn't quite finished putting on a show. The volcano erupted again Saturday after being relatively quiet for about a week. Now, Redoubt is about 100 miles southwest of Anchorage.
Saturday's eruption shot ash 50,000 feet into the air and forced officials to cancel plans to transfer oil from a facility near Redoubt. Mount Redoubt became active again on March 22nd after being dormant for 20 years. So, it stays silent for quite a long time and now, well, it's blowing off a little steam.
LUI: Certainly is.
Hey, let's take a look at weather right now, talking about what's up in the air, a lot of steam there. Let's go to Reynolds Wolf who's watching it for us. Right now, it's happening -- a lot of stuff happening in the Midwest unfortunately for some place, huh?
NGUYEN: Fires -- all kinds of things going on.
LUI: Yes.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The Midwest and the southeast where you could see storms erupt later into the afternoon.
Right now, though, let me give you a great shot that we have outside here in Atlanta. It's a beautiful morning. And as you look outside, you see the sun, you see a few buildings here in the foreground, you can even see, if you look right towards the middle of the screen, notice that is the Westin Building and notice there is still -- it looks like there is a little -- some holes in the building. Those are still some of the windows that I think some of the damage from the tornado just last year.
But the sun is coming up, it should be a pretty day. However, as we get to the afternoon, more clouds and with it a chance of storms.
Take a look at what I got on the map for you. Scattered snow showers are back across parts of the nation's midsection. But here it's like (ph), you watch this area of low pressure and that frontal boundary, that's going to be interacting with moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. And into the late afternoon hours, we're going to see more cloud cover and with a chance of storms. At least a slight risk for much of the southeast and into the Ohio valley, including portions of Louisville, back into Nashville and perhaps even Cincinnati and Indianapolis, even parts of St. Louis.
To be more specific, we're looking at the potential, at least a slight risk of damaging winds, large hail, heavy rain and maybe even some isolated tornadoes. Flash flooding is not out of the question in low-lying areas and spots with poor drainage.
If you happen to be waking up in New York, you got a great day ahead, 63 degrees, plenty of sunshine early, but into the afternoon, more cloud cover and possibly a round of showers later on into the evening. Sixty-two in Dallas and much cooler in the 80s you had just yesterday; Las Vegas with 71, 77 in Los Angeles, 81 in Phoenix, Seattle with 67.
All right. You're up-to-speed. That's your forecast. Let's send it back to you, guys.
NGUYEN: Very good. Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: We want to talk about Detroit for a minute, because you know, Richard, they have been hard-hit by the economy.
LUI: Absolutely, yes.
NGUYEN: Absolutely need a moral boost these days, maybe they're going to get a little bit of that.
LUI: That unemployment, too, there; carmakers are drowning in debt, too.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LUI: Just what will it take to get buyers back into those showrooms?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LUI: And welcome back to SUNDAY.
President Obama is putting some faith in G.M. by giving it 60 days to restructure. Now, as the clock ticks, some car dealers are saying they are optimistic.
CNN's Elaine Quijano explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With General Motors teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, G.M. dealer Maury Wilkins believes luring customers back to his showroom boils down to this.
MAURY WILKINS, G.M. DEALERSHIP OWNER: I mean, everything is confidence and perception.
QUIJANO: Confidence in G.M., exactly what President Obama hopes to restore, even pledging a high-level guarantee.
OBAMA: If you buy a car from Chrysler or General Motors, you will be able to get your car serviced and repaired just like always. Starting today, the United States government will stand behind your warranty.
QUIJANO: That's a good thing, Wilkins says. Still, as the second generation caretaker of his family's business, he's concerned about slumping sales figures.
(on camera): Nationwide, auto sales dropped by a whopping 37 percent in March compared to a year ago, and Maury Wilkins business was not immune. Yet, despite G.M.'s troubles, Wilkins says he's not in crisis mode though he does have contingency plans in place.
WILKINS: Our business model is what if, what if, what if. And if all of these things are outside of our control, how do we make sure that we maintain our profitability.
QUIJANO (voice-over): That means extra attention on other parts of his dealership besides new car sales.
WILKINS: We need to make sure that we do as much service business and as much parts business and as much in the body shop as we can to offset the amount of business that we may lose.
QUIJANO: Already, though, Wilkins believes car sales have turned a corner. February was one of his dealership's best months ever, and he says credit for car buyers is now just beginning to loosen. One of Wilkins potential customers, Jim Lally, says that's what drove him into the showroom.
JIM LALLY, CUSTOMER: I heard about the zero-percent financing and the exceptional deals that are being offered right now.
QUIJANO: Hopeful signs as Maury Wilkins decades-old business tries to weather the economic storm.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, Glen Burnie, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, the new head of General Motors, Fritz Henderson, will be John King's guest this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION." We're also going to talk to John about North Korea's rocket launch.
LUI: Plus, since many of you may have missed President Obama's speech at 4:00 a.m. Eastern this morning, we will air parts of it for you in just 15 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING" is coming up at the top of the hour.
LUI: That's right. North Korea's rocket launch, President Obama series of summits across Europe -- are just some of the things that he'll be covering.
John, let's talk about that. North Korea is certainly at the top of the list right now. This is just happening, that rocket launch over the last nine hours.
JOHN KING, "STATE OF THE UNION" HOST: And, Richard -- and I hope Betty is treating you well, Richard.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: President Obama is now going to get a taste of what so many of his predecessors have had the difficulty of dealing with a reclusive regime that frankly, in many cases, doesn't care what the rest of the world thinks about it. The president is condemning the rocket launch this morning along with Japan and other nations. They will go to the United Nations Security Council this afternoon and demand sanctions.
The question is: What can you do? There are already sanctions in place against North Korea and even the food aid that goes into North Korea, most governments and nonprofit organizations will tell you Kim Jong-il takes a lot of that food aid, gives it to himself and to his military, and denies it to the starving families of North Korea.
So, it is one of the most difficult foreign policy challenges for any president. This president had hoped to follow on some diplomacy at the end of the Bush administration. It had some breakthroughs but a defiant North Korea today essentially thumbing its nose at the president on a very important day of his overseas trip.
NGUYEN: Well, John, let me ask you that. As the U.N. Security Council has an emergency meeting today, sanctions as we've seen in the past, you just mentioned there, don't always work. What else is on the table? What else can they do?
KING: The question is, that this administration, the end of the Bush administration, President Bush took North Korea off the list of states -- countries that sponsored terrorism. Many conservatives didn't like that. The question for the Obama administration is they could put North Korea back on it, but we expect more likely though is that they will try to get back to the bargaining table. They would condemn this at the United Nations, seek some additional sanctions.
But the true test will be: Will North Korea come back to the bargaining table in the so-called six-party talks mostly designed to get rid of its nuclear program which North Korea has promised to do, and is this -- does the U.S. come in with more leverage or does North Korea get more leverage in proving it has this technology?
Now, the satellite did not make it into space. So, some would say this is a failure. But North Korea tests these missiles for one reason -- it likes to sell them around the world. That is a rare source of income for the North Korean government to sell its missile technology to Iran, to Pakistan, to Syria. And so, as we watch the rocket launch itself, the ramifications from a national security standpoint is quite complicated for the president and other nations.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LUI: And, John, also, President Obama is heading to Turkey right now, winding up his European trip. What are some of the wins that he can take home here?
KING: It's an interesting trip -- mixed results in the sense that some action from the G-20 Summit on the international economy, France and Germany did not agree to stimulate their economy, to spend as much money as the United States would like. At the NATO summit, a modest commitment of about 5,000 troops from NATO countries into Afghanistan, but most of that, Richard, is temporary. They will go in to provide security around the Afghan elections, not to stay for the long haul like the more U.S. troops going in to Afghanistan.
Turkey is quite interesting. You know, the U.S. image in the Muslim world has suffered a great deal since 9/11. President Bush was viewed unfavorably. While in Turkey, the president will sit down for a round table with younger Muslims -- a building block, if you will, on his efforts to improve the U.S. image in the Muslim world, not a big policy achievement that would be, but an event worth watching today. And then, we'll look back on it two or three years to see if it's brought about any big changes.
NGUYEN: Well, let's bring it back home now, John -- because a lot of talk about the economy, no doubt, and we saw this week a big shake-up at G.M. In fact, don't you have an interview today with the new head of G.M.?
KING: A very interesting guy, Fritz Henderson. We sat down face-to-face with Fritz Henderson at the G.M. headquarters in Detroit. And, essentially, the president of the United States, Barack Obama, made Fritz Henderson the CEO. And he told the old CEO, Rick Wagoner, that he had to step aside.
And what did President Obama tell Fritz Henderson? You need to cut more jobs, you need to cut more factories and G.M. has to be bolder and deeper. That's painful. Fritz Henderson in the next week or so will start sitting down with the unions and saying, "Look, I know you've already given up some money, some benefits, you need to give more for G.M. to be viable."
A fascinating time for the U.S. auto industry and a controversial time when you have the president of the United States and senior government officials taking such a hands-on role and essentially telling a major corporation this guy is out and this guy is in, you better get about your business.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LUI: Yes, no doubt. OK, John, tell us -- lighten it up just a little. Let's talk about the NCAA Championship.
NGUYEN: Well, it depends on what your bracket looks like.
(LAUGHTER)
LUI: Yes, exactly.
KING: For most people, it is a lighter moment or needs to be a lighter moment. NGUYEN: Right.
KING: How are your picks doing based on all the fun that's going to be happening in Detroit tonight?
LUI: Let me try to help you understand my picks. Ready?
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Done. You are out.
LUI: Unless all the newspapers and all the television networks are wrong and Pittsburgh and Louisville are playing tonight, then I'm toast.
NGUYEN: Sorry. You're done.
KING: The president did -- the president did have North Carolina winning it all. So, President Obama still could win, although in the middle of the tournament a lot of his picks went off the trail. I think the president is going to win the White House poll, but he might be right about the winner at the end, not me.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: All right. You know, mine is doing OK. I still got -- I still have North Carolina in there. So, we'll see how that goes.
KING: Good to see you.
NGUYEN: All right, John, we are looking forward to the show. "STATE OF THE UNION WITH JOHN KING" is coming up at the top of the hour.
But, meanwhile, on this show, does religion have a place in public policy?
LUI: Well, President Obama, he thinks so. We'll talk with members of his new faith-based team about walking that delicate line between church and state.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: While you were sleeping, thousands of cheering people in Prague came out to hear President Obama speak to the people in the Czech Republic. However, his message was intended for the entire world. Mr. Obama touched on North Korea, nuclear power, war, also the economy.
And since many of you may have missed that speech, it was at 4:00 a.m. Eastern this morning, we're going to air parts of it this half- hour.
In the meantime, though, welcome back, everybody, to the CNN Center. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.
LUI: And I'm Richard Lui, in today for T.J. Holmes.
First off for you, the payload for North Korea's rocket never made it into orbit, that word from the North Atlantic Region for Aerospace Defense, instead, it reportedly dropped in the Pacific Ocean when the rocket broke up. Now, we wanted to know more about the technology involved, so, a short while ago, I spoke with former National Security Council Asia affairs advisor, Victor Cha.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF VICTOR CHA, FMR. NSC ASIA AFFAIRS ADVISOR: The technology that's used to launch a satellite for the North Koreans is the same technology that they would use to launch a ballistic missile. Most likely, what they did was launch a three-stage missile this time, that they tried to put the satellite in orbit with. And if they had been successful in terms of doing that, again, that would be the exact same technology that they would use to launch a ballistic missile, which they would then probably try to sell to other countries around the world.
LUI: This is a region of the world that is a powder keg. You have Japan to the west. You've got South Korea just to the South of North Korea, obviously. What sort of win is this for North Korea, both politically and technologically?
CHA: Well, it's hard to say. I mean, I think on the one hand, they probably feel as though they've taken another major step in the advancement of their missile technology, even though this may have been a failed satellite launch. I'm sure they learned a lot from this launch. And it probably gives them the feeling they have more bargaining leverage if they decide to come back to the negotiation table.
I think for the rest of the world, it shows that, you know, this is a country that still does things that are quite unpredictable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: The U.N. Security Council is holding an emergency meeting over the launch in just a few hours. That starts at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll be watching that.
NGUYEN: President Obama is calling North Korea's rocket launch a provocative act speaking before thousands at Prague Castle earlier today. Mr. Obama called for the elimination of nuclear weapons and he pointed to North Korea's rocket test as another reason to eliminate such weapons.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Just this morning, we were reminded again of why we need a new and more rigorous approach to address this threat. North Korea broke the rules once again by testing a rocket that could be used for long-range missiles. This provocation underscores the need for action, not just this afternoon of the U.N. Security Council but in our determination to prevent the spread of these weapons. Rules must be binding. Violations must be punished. Words must mean something. The world must stand together to prevent the spread of these weapons.
Now is the time for a strong international response. Now is the time for a strong international response and North Korea must know that the path to security and respect will never come through threats and illegal weapons. All nations must come together to build a stronger global regime. And that's why we must stand shoulder-to- shoulder to pressure the North Koreans to change course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The President is in Prague for the European Union Summit and talks wrap up within the hour.
Well, fresh from his summit with NATO members on Saturday, Mr. Obama called on the military alliance to develop new plans to deal with new dangers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: No alliance can afford to stand still. We must work together as NATO members so that we have contingency plans in place to deal with new threats, wherever they may come from. We must strengthen our cooperation with one another and with other nations and institutions around the world to confront dangers that recognize no borders. And we must pursue constructive relations with Russia on issues of common concerns.
Make no mistake, as long as these weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary and guarantee that defense to our allies, including the Czech Republic.
But we will begin the work of reducing our arsenal, to reduce our warheads and stockpiles. We will negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty with the Russians this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And we are waiting for an appearance by President Obama and other leaders. We are going to bring that to you live when it happens. Meanwhile, though, we'll have more of the President's speech coming up in 15 minutes.
LUI: No other President has ever had a faith advisory council but Barack Obama promised change and tomorrow that group meets for the first time in Washington. Sixteen members have been named so far and the remaining nine are expected to be announced within the next 72 hours.
Well, we have three of the sitting members with us this morning here on CNN. Evangelical Minister the Reverend Jim Wallis joins us, the only Muslim member of the council right now, Eboo Patel also joins us and the man usually considers the most influential Rabbi in the country, David Saperstein also with us this morning.
Gentlemen, a very good morning to all three of you.
And before we get going in our conversation I do want to start though, by setting up our discussion with this statement from President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The goal of this office will not to be to favor one religious group over another or even religious groups or secular groups. It will simply be to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities and to do so without blurring the line that our founders wisely drew between church and state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: Well, let's start with Reverend Jim Wallis. Reverend Jim Wallace, he mentioned the line between church and state, but are we not getting closer to that line by creating this council?
REV. JIM WALLIS, PRES. AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SOJOURNERS: Well, I don't think so. We all believe in the separation of church and state. That doesn't mean the segregation of moral values from public life or the advantaging of religion from the public square.
How can he use the faith community as a resource? Who knows the kids in the streets, in the poorest neighborhoods of our country better? Who knows all these conflict situations around the world? Even this morning, a number of us in the faith community have called for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
This is a religious and moral issue. It's right on the front burner of your show today. So the faith community is an advisory group with on the ground expertise and he wants to use that expertise to serve the nation. So we're honored to be on council.
LUI: This expertise, Eboo Patel, is new in terms of how close it will be to the President as an advisory council. What are some of the priorities that you know of as a sitting member of this council?
EBOO PATEL, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIR., INTERFAITH YOUTH CARE: Well, the priorities range from strengthening families to advancing interfaith cooperation. The interfaith cooperation area is the one that I'm going to be focusing on.
I'm particularly excited about doing what the Reverend Wallis has talked about which is helping bridge Muslims and Jews, Christians and Buddhists, Seculars and Hindus across America and the world to help those kids in the streets, to help strengthen families, to help make sure people are in homes.
I think that this is the time to build a real interfaith cooperation movement, focused on service and understanding. And I'm delighted that President Obama is going to be highlighting that and I'm going to be a part of moving it forward.
LUI: Rabbi David Saperstein, let's talk about your congregation and all congregations for that matter. What does this mean for those who are religious at this moment?
RABBI DAVID SAPERSTEIN, DIR. & COUNSEL, RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER OF REFORM JUDAISM: It conveys two things.
First, how seriously the administration takes the voice of the faith community. And I think that permeates the entire country down to the grassroots level.
And secondly, so many of our churches, mosques, synagogues, temples are on the front lines of providing vital social services to the neediest people in our community.
As Jim said, they really know the grassroots. They know the needs and being able to advise the administration how to go about that work more effectively and more efficiently, while at the same time, respecting the restrictions on separation of church and state, I think makes for a healthy relationship in America that will be felt by every church and every house of worship.
LUI: Ok, the three of you are sitting members and there are nine more to be named as of yet.
Tony Dungy, the former NFL coach is one name that has been circulated quite widely. What does this mean for your council, Reverend Jim Wallis?
WALLIS: Well, we don't know who will be named, who will be named; the council will be filled out the rest of the week. But the priorities of the council, I think, are really exciting.
I'll be working in the area of making sure that the economic recovery includes serious poverty reduction. I mean, 10 million more people are about to become poor in America; 52 million more around the world. This is a biblical crisis, a moral crisis. And so it's appropriate that we take on this task.
And so the President has said poverty reduction is going to be a central priority of this council, but also of this administration. And we're very excited about that.
LUI: You know, I was looking through a "Newsweek" article and it had some -- well, very interesting statistics, shall we say, about religion in the United States.
And I'll start with one right now, Eboo Patel, that Christianity in America -- that has dropped. Those who have self-identified themselves as Christians have gone down by 10 percent.
PATEL: Well, America is still the most religiously devout nation in the western hemisphere. And we also happen to be the most religiously diverse country in the world. And I think a big question for America moving forward is how we're going to engage the religious diversity and religious devotion so that it moves towards cooperation instead of conflict.
There's a lot of forces in the world who are invested in religious conflict. We, right now, need to have more forces focusing on interfaith cooperation. That's what my organization, the Interfaith Youth Course, has been doing for ten years and that's what I'm really excited about working with this council on in the future.
LUI: All right, we finish you Rabbi David Saperstein. We have just heard the statement at the top of this interview with President Obama. How does this compare with the former administration in terms of dealing with religion and that of government?
SAPERSTEIN: Well, clearly, the President has indicated he is going to be more responsive to some of the constitutional constraints. But he believes, as did the president before him, in the power of religion to be transformative and to be a force for good, a moral goad for the conscience of the country and the world.
And he wants to harness that in a way that can provide helpful advice to the government to do its interface with the religious community more efficiently and more effectively, and to work together in a partnership to create a better country.
So he has created this extraordinarily diverse -- religiously, politically diverse council. Some religious, some social service providers who are not specifically religious, to give him the kind of advice that can make a difference. I find that very encouraging.
LUI: Rabbi David Saperstein, thank you so much, along with Reverend Jim Wallis and Eboo Patel. All three of you talking about President Obama's brand new faith advisory council. There are 16 sitting members and nine to be named and their first meeting is tomorrow.
NGUYEN: Well, in other news, millions of Catholics around the world, they are celebrating Palm Sunday today. Take a look.
At St. Peters Square, thousands celebrated mass with Pope Benedict and most of them holding palm fronds or clutching olive branches. The Catholics regard them as symbols of faith on this holy day. Palm Sunday is remembered as the day Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey to mirror what had been written in the scriptures.
It marks the start of Holy Week which runs through Good Friday and ends on Easter Sunday.
Well today, we cannot forget though, we've got a little extra credit for our viewers in the form of Carl Azuz. He's going to be talking to us about how students are reacting to all of this news out there and how we're breaking it down so they can understand it.
Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Again, that is the coolest introduction.
LUI: It is.
NGUYEN: We need something like that on this show.
LUI: It's a great animation.
CARL AZUZ, ANCHOR, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Like the best part of my segment.
NGUYEN: And you know why (INAUDIBLE), right? Because you're the Jonas Brother of CNN, right?
LUI: The Zac Efron of CNN?
AZUZ: I'd rather -- I prefer Axl Rose of CNN...
NGUYEN: He's so old for students.
AZUZ: But he might be a little bit dated...
NGUYEN: Yes, you have to understand Jonas Brothers.
AZUZ: I'll take what I can get.
NGUYEN: How do you break down the news of the day? We're talking North Korea, rocket launch; we're talking all kinds of heavy and hard news. How do you break that down to students?
AZUZ: Well, one thing we like to do on Student News is to give them a little more background information than you might find in a regular newscast. We might give them some fast facts about North Korea. We might discuss some of the recent tensions that a lot of your viewers are up to speed on. They're watching the news all the time.
We don't assume that our student audience is rushing home after school to watch the news. So one of the things we do and you can see there at cnnstudentnews.com is we provide them a lot of the background information they need and hopefully get them up to speed on why stories are important as well as what is in the headlines.
NGUYEN: Something in the headlines, obviously, scholarships, trying to get into colleges, applications and acceptance letters or maybe not.
LUI: Or rejections.
The thin versus thick letters I guess is what it is.
AZUZ: Absolutely. And there was a very uncomfortable situation recently for a bunch of applicants to the University of California-San Diego. They were rejected. There was a group of people rejected who were sent out acceptance e-mails shortly afterward, about two weeks afterward.
This was very much sort of an emotional rollercoaster for them as you are going to see in these comments. We have a couple of blog comments from cnnstudentnews.com.
Here we go. Cynthia wrote in saying, "To get such a joyous e- mail would probably be the highlight of their day, but then they tell you, 'Oops, sorry. That's not for you.' It's just plain not fair."
And then Courtney wrote in, "I think that the University of California-San Diego owes more than just an apology because they could have sent thousands of hopefuls on an emotional rollercoaster they just don't need right now."
Of course, it puts the university in a difficult position. They have apologized but they can't very well accept all those people who previously had been rejected. It's one of those things that a lot of students who are struggling right now with the economy and college concerns, where they're going to go, where they're going to get the money, another thing they have to deal with.
LUI: So elation and then no elation, unfortunately.
NGUYEN: What do we do now?
LUI: Exactly.
Speaking of what is happening; you're doing a little something fun on Facebook. What is that all about?
AZUZ: Oh, yes, always. We try to use Facebook to have sort of a conversation with our audience and we always like to have a little fun with it. What you're about to see right here, there is a picture of me and mini-me.
NGUYEN: Mini-you, yes.
AZUZ: They are going to put a little cut-out like that at the Turner Store. Of course, the real one's on the left.
What we are doing on Facebook is we're going to be putting together a video featuring both me and mini-me to kind of extend that conversation to our audience and have a little fun.
NGUYEN: It's getting a little weird. What does mini-me do?
AZUZ: Mini-me, he does what he is told unlike the real me. Not really. I wound up in a detention hall more than once or more in high school.
LUI: Perfect guy to be doing student news. Perfect guy.
NGUYEN: All right, quick shout-outs?
AZUZ: Absolutely. We've got a couple of shout-outs to Mr. Taylor's and Mrs. Voigt's classes in Milaca, Minnesota who are watching early on a Sunday morning. We thank you; we give you a shout-out. We look forward to seeing you from the other side of the screen this week.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, thank you, Carl. You and mini-me have a great day.
AZUZ: We will do our best. Thank you all for having me.
LUI: Bring the poster next time.
NGUYEN: Yes.
We are going to be right back with more of President Obama's comments from Prague this morning.
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NGUYEN: Well, the number of people out of work has broken a 25- year record. It's an absolutely sobering statistic. The unemployment rate is now 8.5 percent. We have lost 2 million jobs since January; more than a quarter of those layoffs happened in March. And a total of 5 million jobs have been lost since January of 2008.
Now, those economic numbers, they are on President Obama's mind during his trip overseas. And this morning he spoke to a huge crowd in the Czech Republic.
LUI: And Betty while the main focus of his speech was on stopping nuclear threats he also spoke about what it will take to pull out of the global economic tailspin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We share this time in history, but now this generation, our generation, cannot stand still. We, too, have a choice to make.
As the world has become less divided, it has become more interconnected and we've seen events move faster than our ability to control them. The global economy in crisis, a change in climate, the persistent dangers of old conflicts, new threats, and the spread of catastrophic weapons.
None of these challenges can be solved quickly or easily. But all of them demand that we listen to one another and work together, that we focus on our common interest, not on occasional differences. And that we reaffirm our shared values which are stronger than any force that could drive us apart.
That is the work that we must carry on. That is the work that I've come to Europe to begin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LUI: All right. You can see larger chunks of President Obama's speech on cnn.com.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
Meanwhile, though, the FDA tracks the safety of our food, our drugs, even our makeup. Well, now it could be adding one more product to its list; one that is killing hundreds of thousands of Americans.
LUI: Details on that when we come back.
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NGUYEN: Washington gets tougher on big tobacco. For the first time ever, the House has voted to let the FDA regulate the industry and as CNN's Jim Acosta shows us, there's other big news for cigarette makers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For big tobacco, it's a drag.
REP. HENRY WAXMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: The bill is supported by a thousand public health and other groups, including the Heart Association, the Lung Association, the Cancer Society, the American Public Health Association.
ACOSTA: Lawmakers in the house have passed a measure that would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco products for the first time. Despite objections from opponents who say Americans already know cigarettes are deadly.
REP. MIKE RODGERS (R), MICHIGAN: So what we're going to do is we're going to have them create this new whole government structure to approve or authorize or regulate a drug that, if used as directed, will kill you, for the first time in the history of the FDA.
ACOSTA: The FDA won't be able to ban cigarettes, but it will have control over cigarette advertising and ingredients including nicotine. Public health experts hope to get the bill over to President Obama who supported the measure when he was in Congress.
DANNY MCGOLDRICK, CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS: Unbelievable that the product that kills 400,000 Americans every year is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, whereas, our foods, drugs, even cosmetics are regulated by the FDA.
ACOSTA: After decades of cigarette ads, generations of smokers have gotten hooked on tobacco products. In 1994, big tobacco executives famously denied nicotine was addictive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't believe that nicotine from our products are addictive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe nicotine is not addictive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe nicotine is not addictive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that nicotine is not addictive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that nicotine is not addictive.
ACOSTA: But Philip Morris has jumped on the FDA band wagon saying to its parent corporation, it supports tough but reasonable federal regulation of tobacco products.
It's the second hit in one week on cigarette makers. Earlier this week, the federal tobacco tax on a pack of cigarettes shot up 62 cents, giving smokers second thoughts about their habit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't do it anymore. I'm done. I'm done and not smoking anymore after this cigarette.
ACOSTA (on camera): the FDA tobacco bill isn't law yet and has to get through the senate where one lawmaker from the tobacco-growing state of North Carolina may try to filibuster the bill.
Jim Acosta, CNN, Washington.
LUI: All right. John King "STATE OF THE UNION" that is up next.
But, first, a quick check of the headlines for you.
NGUYEN: Now in the news. Despite international pressure, North Korea launched a rocket late last night but NORAD says the payload crashed in the Pacific Ocean instead of going into orbit. North Korea says the rocket was carrying a satellite but the U.S. and other countries feared it may have been carrying a warhead.
President Obama says North Korea broke the rules by testing a rocket. That comment came during a speech in the Czech Republic this morning. He also called for international team work to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. The president is attending the EU summit in Prague. At noon he leaves for Turkey.
And Catholics across the world are celebrating Palm Sunday. It marks the beginning of the church's Holy Week which runs through Good Friday and ends on Easter Sunday.
"STATE OF THE UNION" with John King starts right now. He is talking North Korea. He has the head of GM. A lot on the table today; you don't want to miss it.
John King's "STATE OF THE UNION" right now.
