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CNN Sunday Morning

Main Street is a Disaster; Woman Fined Over Garage

Aired April 10, 2011 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING for Sunday, April 10th. Eight a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia; 7:00 a.m. Mapleton, Iowa; 5:00 a.m. in Williams, Arizona -- wherever you may be, glad you're right here with us.

Take a look at this. Can you imagine the surprise on your spring break at the Lincoln Memorial and running up the steps toward you comes the president of the United States? We'll tell you why he decided to just drop by the Lincoln Memorial. Also, you'll hear the behind-the-scenes of how this all went down with reporters who were in the dark about where they were going.

Also, you may be getting ready for church this morning. Is it possible you would dare pass on the collection plate?

Yes. Keep your money in your pocket. There's a new survey out that says 10 percent -- you know tithing, that income you give to the church -- may not be needed, may not be required by the Bible. We will explain that.

But we do need to start with some nasty weather overnight. Main Street is a disaster. That coming to us from the Red Cross in Mapleton, Iowa. This town was torn apart by a tornado last night.

Listen now to what it sounded like and also see what it looked like from a storm chaser vantage point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big tornado, real damage. Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- that town.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes, Mapleton. Mapleton is in big trouble.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And you heard the line there. You see the ominous sight by the ominous words, "Mapleton is in trouble." Yes, the town was in trouble and it is a mess this morning. Apparently, these storm chasers were following the twister.

The town there, the Main Street and residential streets are littered with debris now. Some homes are destroyed. We're told there's no power there either. But we're also being told this morning that there are no serious injuries or deaths to report. Iowa's governor declared a state of emergency. You're seeing some of the scene, the aftermath what have it looked like last night in Mapleton.

Also, some video we're getting in. A lot of storm chasers oftentimes turn out for these. Some of the video you are seeing comes from someone -- one of the storm chasers out there. It was shot by a friend of Doug Kiesling. He's on the line with me now from Mason City. That's about an hour and a half away from Mapleton.

You were out there last night. Describe some of what you saw.

DOUG KIESLING, STORMCHASINGVIDEO.COM (via telephone): Yes. One of our stringers or freelancers that works with me, Brandon Sullivan, shot the stuff that was in Mapleton. There were like six of us that started out just to the southwest of Mapleton.

And I can tell you I've been chasing for a year, the storm hit Mapleton. And the storm was a prolific, tornadic producing storm. I counted at least a dozen tornadoes after Mapleton, all the way up towards just to the west of Mason City.

HOLMES: What are you seeing this morning? You described kind of what you saw last night. But have you been out to survey some of the damage this morning?

KIESLING: I haven't been out yet this morning. We were wrapping up video up until like 4:00 this morning here.

HOLMES: I certainly understand the kind of night you guys had. But you're telling me you counted maybe up to 12 -- 12 you saw yourself?

KIESLING: Yes. After the sun went down, basically the storms fired and I went through from Mapleton, headed up towards the town of Ida where a very large tornado just west of town it formed, and it kept producing more, a cone tornado, a wedge tornado, multi-vortex tornado. I went to a part of the town called Early, and I went through (INAUDIBLE) through town, just a half-mile in front of me, you could see a tornado forming just west of the town of Early and produced damage and debris flying through there.

And just in the north there, we saw a multi-vortex tornado with hail that did some damage to the vehicle. And it just kept producing more and more tornadoes, just kept on going toward Pocahontas and keep on going over towards Mason City. It just kept producing one after another.

HOLMES: Well, Doug Kiesling, we appreciate you getting up and hopping on the line -- certainly a long night for you guys, but a dangerous night as well. It's amazing to see some of the stuff you guys get. But thank you so much for giving us, our viewers, a vantage point of what was there last night. Thank you so much.

And, certainly, Doug wasn't the only weather chaser out shooting storm video. Here's something we don't usually see.

This is what the funnel cloud looks like in night vision. That's the top left of the screen there. If we could possibly take that full. There it is there, night vision. You see that in the distance? It's so ominous when you just get those flashes of it like that.

This is coming to us from another storm chaser by the name of David Casper. But just a remarkable -- this is something Bonnie Schneider, who we're about to hear from, was sharing with us a little earlier, some of the newest video we're getting in.

Also some other weather taking place around this country. We just got a smorgasbord of stuff here, folks. We're talking about further west. We got snow in some of the higher elevations. This is in Arizona -- yes, Williams, Arizona, saw nearly a foot of snow there yesterday.

Also, in the Upper Midwest, folks along the Red River on flood watch right now, hoping to save their homes from rising floodwaters.

Bonnie, I don't even know where to start.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Let's start with the severe weather, T.J.

HOLMES: OK.

SCHNEIDER: Those pictures out of Iowa are just incredible. And, you know, yesterday, we had -- we had the risk for, obviously, tornadoes and we saw them in Iowa. We saw 27 reports of severe weather in terms of tornadic activity in the Iowa area. However, it was also a big day yesterday for hail. We had over 272 reports -- a lot of that happening in the eastern half of the country, in Kentucky and in North Carolina.

Now, today, the threat continues and, unfortunately, the threat is even worse today than it was yesterday -- a larger area, more widespread and more damaging.

Let's take a look at the storms that are rolling through areas of Wisconsin right now. And watch out, there are some flood warnings in place for Green Bay because this rain is falling over this same area repeatedly. Heavy rain is sweeping across northern Michigan as well.

And unfortunately, this is just the beginning. We are looking at a large setup for severe weather -- and part of the example as you can see here is the temperatures. Notice the contrast. Look out back towards Rapid City, it's 41 degrees. And then when you head a little bit further to the east, the temperatures is in the 60s.

So, it's this part of the country here, Wisconsin, Minnesota, down through parts of eastern Iowa and certainly through Illinois, we are looking for moderate risk in many of these locations for severe storms. That means that today, we could see widespread tornadoes breaking out. There will be large and long lasting.

This will start to get going into the afternoon, but also into the evening and overnight hours. A lot of the video that you saw was shot into the overnight hours. For example, in Pocahontas County, we had tornado warnings overnight.

So, just make sure you have your NOAA radio turned on all day today and tonight. Just you can hear of a warning. You may only have minutes to take cover -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Bonnie Schneider, we appreciate the update. We'll check in with you again. Thanks so much.

Tomorrow, also, the one-month anniversary of Japan's natural and nuclear disasters. And with that, we are getting a sad new milestone this morning. The latest casualty count issued by Japan's national police agency is just under 13,000 people killed, more than 14,500 still missing, more than 4,600 were injured as well, and a little more than 150,000 people had to be evacuated.

The search for the victims is intensifying today. Twenty-two thousand Japanese troops have been brought in this a new effort to find those still missing in three prefectures that were hard-hit; 100 American troops also joining them in this effort.

Also, some fierce fighting to tell you about in eastern Libya, between forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi and Libyan rebels. The rebels appear to have stopped troops from taking over the all-important city of Ajdabiya. NATO conducted airstrikes yesterday on pro-Gadhafi ammunition stockpiles east of Tripoli, the capital, that were supplying troops shelling in Misrata and other cities. NATO also hit several armored vehicles near Misrata and Ajdabiya.

All this comes as representatives from the African Union meet with leaders authorities in Tripoli and later with opposition members in the stronghold -- the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

Also, in Egypt's famed Tahrir Square, the aftermath of demonstrations against the ruling military council. About 1,000 protesters were in that square early yesterday when military forces pushed them out. Protesters set fire to a bus you saw on some of this video that was carrying security forces. But so far today, we are told the square is quiet.

Well, President Obama's aunt taking on Donald Trump? Calling him a liar for questioning where the president was born. Her name is Zeituni Onyango. She says there's no question that President Obama was in fact born in Hawaii.

Trump, of course, as you know by now, has jumped on the birther bandwagon, saying he thinks the president may have been born in Kenya.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're saying Donald Trump is lying.

ZEITUNI ONYANGO, PRES. OBAMA'S AUNT: A naked lie, in the name of the Lord.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you like to say to Donald Trump?

ONYANGO: That I respect him and I respect his wealth, but I only demand him to respect us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, she is actually inviting Donald Trump to come talk to her about it. Trump meanwhile says he has investigators in Hawaii taking a closer look at President Obama's birth records.

Well, there are some new protests this weekend we're seeing in the state of Wisconsin. It's called the "Wisconsin People's Assembly." Protesters are calling for an end to corporate influence in that state. Among the speakers, someone from the International Socialist Organization.

Wisconsin was the site of those contentious protests earlier this year over the governor's law to restrict collective bargaining for union workers.

And we want to show you now what can happen when you have a gas leak. You probably already know, don't you? Take a look at this house. This is out in Placer County, California. This was a house. You can't make out much now.

The sheriff's department says a propane leak appears to have triggered an explosion that destroyed that home. This is the same neighborhood where gas leaks were recently found in other homes.

Also, in another California town, small California town of Camarillo, four people survived to this. This is their small plane after it crashed into a storage facility near the city's airport. They got out before the plane burst into flames. Witnesses say the flame's engine was coughing and running rough when it stalled and came down.

Well, it was wrong to sit around with your friends drinking coffee this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARILYN WEBER, HOMEOWNER: I'm not lonesome anymore. I'm 70 years old and they're all my family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We complain here. We laugh here. We treat each other as best of friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes, they are being told that sitting around enjoying their coffee is not what you should be doing this morning. One of their neighbors doesn't like their morning ritual. You'll understand why in a moment.

Also, Jay-z gets his basketball team a pretty hefty fine from the NBA. What did he do?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Fourteen minutes past the hour.

Always good to have a good friend, Carlos Diaz of HLN Sports is here with us.

And there's a good reason to have you here.

CARLOS DIAZ, HLN SPORTS: Yes.

HOLMES: Yesterday, everybody holding on to see if Tiger could do what Tiger is usually known for, which is making a move.

DIAZ: Yes.

HOLMES: Didn't happen at the Masters.

DIAZ: Didn't make that move. It kind of reminded me of a bunch of gunslingers. They're both like this. They're waiting. Nobody was fired; no one shot themselves in the foot.

Tiger went two over yesterday to drop to seven strokes back of Rory McIlroy, who is gunning to become the youngest person to win the Masters since Tiger did it at 21 back in 1997.

Tiger just -- he just kind of struggled all day long. He didn't have a bad round but didn't have a great round. His putting kind of did him in.

But Rory, of course, picked up two extra strokes. So, he's four strokes in the whole field right now. He's paired with Angel Cabrera who is almost twice his age today. And Angel, of course, won the Masters two years ago.

HOLMES: Isn't that something? That was Tiger all those years ago, the 21-year-old kid.

DIAZ: There was one moment when Rory McIlroy sunk a birdie putt on 17 and Tiger had to back away from his second shot on 18. It was almost like a reversal of fortune. Tiger did that so many times to the older players.

Now, Tiger's older and here's the putt on 17 where Rory sinks this amazing putt, curves right in. And he gives the first pump. And it's a very emotional moment. Tiger had to back away from the shot on 18. So --

HOLMES: Boy, times have changed.

DIAZ: It makes you feel a older when Tiger's the old man on the course now, you know?

HOLMES: All right. Let's turn to this other story now. We reported this when it firsthand. It seemed innocent enough. You know, Kentucky Wildcats they just want to go to the final four. A celebrity's in the house, he comes to congratulate the team. That should be no problem.

DIAZ: Yes. Jay-Z hanging out, he wants to say congratulations to the Wildcats. He walks in to the locker room, says hi, says congratulations, but the big problem is -- he is kind of running things with the Nets. He's part owner of the Nets and the NBA said, no, no, no, you cannot go into a locker room if you're part of an NBA team with a bunch of kids who might be drafted into the NBA, tampering.

HOLMES: It makes sense.

DIAZ: So, a $50,000 fine has been levied. So, Jay-Z now has 100 problems.

(LAUGHTER)

HOLMES: Pretty good! Y'all didn't know my man listens to Jay-Z, did you?

DIAZ: (INAUDIBLE)

HOLMES: All right. We'll have to leave it there.

Carlos, good to see you as always, my man. We hope to see you a lot more on CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING.

Well, coming up as well, a little boy who has a big health challenge -- a big health challenge. But he gets his wish with the help of a pro hockey team. What this kid got will certainly make you smile this morning. Some good news to pass along to you.

Also, a neighborhood in Mumbai catering exclusively to laundry. We're not talking washing machines here though, guys.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Nineteen minutes past the hour.

Nadia Bilchik is back with this "Morning's Passport."

We were talking about this last hour. I certainly wanted to hear more about it. But, a city that essentially dumps all of its laundry into one neighborhood, is that kind of fair to say?

NADIA BILCHIK CNN EDITORIAL EDITOR: Well, it's interesting. It's called Dhobi Ghat. It's an area of Mumbai that has basically concrete squares or tubs, and a great deal of the city's laundry is done there.

And what you have is dhobi who are actually washermen. And inside of these concrete tanks is a kind of stone and they literally pummel the laundry with the stone so it gets cleaner than clean. Any stain they say they can get any stain out of your clothing.

HOLMES: OK. How worrisome a process? I assume that's pretty hard to do. That's serious physically labor.

BILCHIK: It is. You know, it's passed down from generation to generation. So, it's something that's been in families and very much part of the culture in Mumbai.

Things are changing though, T.J. More and more people are getting washing machines. There are dry cleaners now in Mumbai. But for some people, they say they really like the process because the clothes are washed in this water that they really lather. I mean, not only that it's totally clean, and yet, the clothes emerge absolutely pristine.

HOLMES: OK. Now, a lot of people here are used to dropping their stuff off at cleaners. Sometimes you can get it in the next hour. OK? How long does it take for this process?

I'm looking at it. It doesn't look that organized to the naked eye or someone who doesn't know what they're looking at. But they know what they're doing here.

But how long does it take to get your stuff up?

BILCHIK: You can get it in 24 hours.

HOLMES: Really?

BILCHIK: And they don't actually gather the clothes. What happens is you have hotels -- let's say you stay in a budget hotel. They'll take your entire suitcase of clothes and for about $2 or $3, they will clean it. They will hang it on those lines and they will iron it. Your clothes will never look as good, and as I said, only $2 to $3.

And what's remarkable is they don't mix them up. I mean, when you take a look at it, it looks so chaotic.

HOLMES: But they don't mix -- they lose anything out there.

BILCHIK: They don't mix it up. It is really an age-old -- dhobi meaning washerman. Ghat actually means the steps (ph) of river where the stone was and that's how the clothes we're actually cleaned.

HOLMES: But it might go away with technology moving, more and more businesses are popping up.

BILCHIK: An age-old tradition may just become a tourist attraction.

HOLMES: Well, it's good that we got to see it this morning at least.

Nadia, always something interesting in the "Morning Passport."

BILCHIK: Yes. Your laundry will never look the same again.

HOLMES: Thank you so much, Nadia. All right. Ahead on our rundown this morning:

A grandmother is taking on her homeowners association after they told her what she could not do in her own garage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: I know what you're thinking. Where is T.J. going with this?

OK. The wild thing we're talking about here is a wild animal. A massive black blob -- that's the way the people in Virginia Beach are describing a bear that was running around the neighborhood. The bear climbed up a tree.

Look at this guy! Climbed up a tree. They tried to get him out of there, ended up having to shoot him with a tranquilizer to get him down.

One person actually was injured when he fell down while running from that bear, told I believe he's supposed to be OK. Not sure how the bear is doing though, but don't you just hate it when the bear gets on the loose? But all worked out.

Also in California, a woman out there is in trouble with her homeowners' association because -- of all things -- she likes to talk to her friends. Over the years, Marilyn Weber's garage has become kind of a community center where neighbors just stop by, have a chat, maybe have some coffee, tea.

Reporter John Soderman with the story from San Diego.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN SODERMAN, KUSI REPORTER (voice-over): Seventy-year-old Tierrasanta resident Marilyn Weber loves to knit -- in her town home garage with her friends. And, boy, does she have a lot of them.

MARILYN WEBER, HOMEOWNER: I'm kind of like the grandma of the neighborhood.

SODERMAN: In fact, you could say Marilyn has enough friends to make Facebook blue with envy.

WEBER: Hi! Day off today?

SODERMAN: You see, over the years, Marilyn's garage has become a kind of community center in her town home complex for young and old alike, at all times of the day.

WEBER: I like in the morning if they call me, they say, at 6:30, I'm going to work, have coffee ready, I open the garage door, they come over and have their coffee, then they go to work. And then when the kids come by from school, they always come over and I have snacks in there for 'em, and they come and take whatever they want. And, then, sometimes, I'll come out in the middle of the day and I'll crochet and watch the news, then I'll watch like a TV program. Then I go back in the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We complain here. We laugh here. We treat each other as best of friends.

SODERMAN: But Marilyn has her non-friends -- like the person who surreptitiously snapped this photo of her sitting in her garage and fired it off to her complex's homeowner's association. The next thing you know, Marilyn gets this letter from HOA, slapping her with a $120 fine breaking HOA rules as in using her garage as a living space.

Marilyn refused to pay the fine.

(on camera): Marilyn's husband passed away seven years ago. And she says after that, she started coming out here in the garage more so she could socialize more with her friends and kind of get through her tough time.

WEBER: And if I didn't have it, it'd be like I'd be lonesome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For them to take this away from a 70-year- old woman who, if she closed her garage with her gate locked, would have no outside interaction -- I think it's a crime.

WEBER: I'm not lonesome anymore. I'm 70 years old and it kind of -- they're all my family.

SODERMAN (voice-over): And while Marilyn's own family includes no grandchildren of her own, there are probably a lot of people who wished she was their grandmother. A woman they say with a million dollar smile and a backbone of steel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: She is refusing to pay down or pay the fine at all. But neither is the homeowner's association not going to be backing away. We'll see what comes of that one.

Also, I want to pass along some sad news this morning for fans of folk music. Gil Robbins has died. He was one of the members of the successful group The Highwaymen. Their hits include "Michael Row the Boat Ashore." He's also the father of actor Tim Robbins. But, word is, Gil Robbins now dead at the age of 80.

Well, it is written in the Bible's Old Testament, you offer 10 percent of your earnings to God. It's called tithing. But a new survey finds most evangelical leaders agree that it's not required by the Bible. So, what are you going to do in church this morning? A debate in our "Faces of Faith."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. We're at the bottom of the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING taking a look at some stories making headlines. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): The search for victims of March 11th's earthquake and tsunami in Japan intensifying today and Japan sent about 22,000 troops to the devastated northeast coast to look for victims beneath all that debris.

This comes as the death toll officially rises to almost 13,000, nearly 15,000 missing and thousands of others still in shelters. About 100 American service members also involved in some of these search efforts.

Also Libyan rebels have been able to push back attacks by pro- Gadhafi forces on the city of Ajdabiya. NATO conducted air strikes on pro-Gadhafi ammunition stockpiles that were supplying troops shelling Misrata and other cities.

All of this comes as representatives from the African Union meet separately today with Libyan authorities as well as some opposition members.

And take a look at some of this severe weather in Iowa. This is some night vision. You see that? That's a tornado in the distance there. Several of them swept across parts of that state knocking out power and damaging businesses and homes. No reports though of deaths or any serious injuries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: If you are heading off to church this morning, here is something for you to think about. Many Christians believe strongly in tithing. That's giving often times at least 10 percent of your income to the church.

But a new survey says a majority of Evangelical leaders believe that tithing is not required by the Bible. The survey was conducted by the National Association of Evangelicals and among its 100-member board of directors, and you see here that 58 percent believe tithing is not required and 42 percent believe the Bible does require church members to do so. You can imagine this survey created a bit of a stir.

So joining us this morning, Leith Anderson who's president of the National Association of Evangelicals, there he is. He's with the group that conducted that survey. He's also senior pastor of Wooddale Church that's in Minnesota. Sir, good morning to you.

Also joining us, Brian Kluth, he's also a pastor and strong believer in tithing. He's also written a best-selling book "A 40-day Spiritual Journey to A More Generous Life."

Gentlemen, thank you both for being here. Mr. Anderson, let me start with you. What does the Bible say about tithing?

LEITH ANDERSON, SENIOR PASTOR, WOOODDALE CHURCH: Well, in the Old Testament tithing was frequent and it was popular. It was actually required. But in the New Testament, there really isn't much of any mention at all about tithing and it is the New Testament that is the primary giving guide for modern day Christians.

HOLMES: So it sounds like if we go by that, then tithing necessarily is not required by the bible. Am I hearing you correctly?

ANDERSON: Well, the key word there is "required." Actually 95 percent of those that responded to our survey said that they at least tithe. They give 10 percent or more. So they do tithe even though they think that it's not a requirement.

HOLMES: All right. Let's put up for our viewers here a particular scripture, this one comes from Malachi. I'm going to read it as I come to you here, Mr. Kluth.

It says, "Will a man rob God, yet you have robbed me. But you say in what way have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings." Now you are a strong believer, Mr. Kluth in tithing. So how much would you say should one give to the church?

BRIAN KLUTH, AUTHOR, "40 DAY JOURNEY TO A MORE SPIRITUAL LIFE": Well, the reality for me is I've just discovered that in our society, giving has been going down for 40 years.

And so I just think we're at a time when people need to be called to giving 10 percent or more of their income to God's work and I believe that's the church, ministries, charities and the needy.

HOLMES: All right, I guess a lot of people say 10 percent, but can people give to the church and tithe in ways that aren't monetary? Does it also count if you give of your time in some way?

KLUTH: Well, the reality is, we're supposed to be giving our time, our talent, our treasure. But I don't really think that you can separate out the whole idea of giving to God and not do it financially.

People do give their time and that's so important, but when they don't give of their income and their finances and their financial blessings, I think they miss out. And I think they are missing what God would really have for them.

HOLMES: Now Mr. Anderson, let me bring you back in. A lot of people do this, forgive me for saying it this way -- but they do it religiously. They really do tithe and they think the way that Mr. Kluth described.

That they are missing out on something from God or they're not doing what's required by them, quite frankly, by law that's in the Bible. What would you say to someone heading to church this morning besides making their own personal choice?

But some people might, frankly, be fearful that they are missing out on some blessings from God if they don't do what they believe Mr. Kluth has told them they should do. ANDERSON: Well, I would say for those that tithe and are going to tithe to the church today, good for you! That's just great. In second Corinthians it says that we should give as we have been blessed and we've been blessed a lot.

I'm absolutely convinced that in many cases we should give far more than 10 percent. I know a friend who decided early in marriage that he would increase his family's giving one percent per year and they've been married now for 30 years so way beyond any 10 percent.

That's really great, but it is out of delight and joy and generosity and gratitude to God who gave to us first.

HOLMES: Well, Mr. Kluth, let me ask you as well because we have seen and I've read in reading up on this, some people out there say that they always give to God first at the first of the month and then they deal with the bills of the house the rest of the month.

Do you believe it's OK or would you even recommend or say, you know what? It's just part of the deal that even if it means a hardship in your house or your family you should still tithe and give to church and to God first.

KLUTH: Well, a lot of people don't give because they think they're going to have less. They think I don't have enough, if I give I'll have less. But I believe giving is God's crazy math and when we learn to be givers, we experience more of God's wisdom, more of God's guidance, more of God's direction, more of God's provisions in our life.

So when I first began to give 10 percent, I was scared to death. I had a shaking hand when I wrote that first check, but I decided God, you know what, this doesn't make sense to me. I have more a month than I have money.

But God, I'll begin to honor you with what you've given me and over the years I've increased and give far beyond that, but what a joy to learn that practice and to see God work in your life.

HOLMES: Well, one last thing to you -- and people have this question, an honest question people have -- is that 10 percent before or after taxes, Mr. Kluth?

KLUTH: The question is gross or net. When I started I was too scared to do it off the gross so I started off the net. I then grew it past the gross, then I grew it past the financial blessings in my life and now I give six figures and I live on five. So the idea is to excel in the grace and the joy of giving. What a thrill in a person's life giving can be.

HOLMES: Well, Mr. Anderson, last thing to you here. You certainly hear Mr. Kluth. He sounds like he certainly gives a lot to the church, but for folks who are having a real spiritual and religious debate within them about this.

What would your advice be to them this morning and also do you think with the New Testament and just over time we might see tithings start to fade?

ANDERSON: Well, let's encourage tithing and especially encourage generosity, but don't steal from grandpa's prescription fund in order to give 10 percent to the church.

Sometimes there are emergencies in situations that take up priority, like providing for your family, but stick with that guideline. Try to be generous and 10 percent is a good guideline but it's not a legal requirement of the New Testament.

HOLMES: All right, gentlemen, this is a really interesting topic and debate. We all know some people who certainly want to give and do give to the church, but many stick to that 10 percent like I said religiously.

But Mr. Anderson, Mr. Kluth, I appreciate you all spending some time with us on what I know are always busy Sundays for you guys, but you all enjoy the rest of your weekend. Thanks so much.

KLUTH: Thank you and God bless you.

ANDERSON: Thank you, T.J.

HOLMES: Isn't that something? "Faces of Faith" this is the only segment I get where someone actually says "God bless you" at the end of it. I love it.

Well, if you want to explore more about your faith or other things, you can go to CNN's belief blog at cnn.com/belief.

Can you believe what some of those visitors to the Lincoln Memorial saw yesterday? They saw President Obama. He had a surprise for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes. There he is, running up the steps, but they weren't the only ones in the dark about his visit. Some behind-the- scenes when we come back.

Also, Kate Middleton may be marrying the future king of England, but for some she'll always be that little hometown girl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, my favorite part of the morning now. You know, it comes after that statement. Candy Crowley, "STATE OF THE UNION" host.

Candy, I understand you have a co-host this morning, Donald Trump is that right?

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, CNN'S STATE OF THE UNION: I'll tell you, we've actually - that interview is already in the cam. We shot it Friday, but he is - he really is - I described him as kind of an oncoming Mac truck.

You can stand in front of him and wave your hands all you want to try to get him to stop. He just plows right on through. It's an interesting interview.

HOLMES: Is he talking politics, but is he just messing with us all right now and he's saying the thing that gets him publicity or is he really thinking about making a shot for the White House?

CROWLEY: Look, I can only tell you what he's saying and that is, people around him are saying that he's serious about it, that he's willing to put real money behind a presidential bid.

But you can't help but look at a guy with a reality show, a guy who likes the limelight and say, you know, this is a guy that likes publicity. You know, he's been talking a lot about this whole -- President Obama's birth certificate.

And it's just been going on ever since President Obama arrived on the presidential scene and been pretty much debunked, but he's brought that up. If you look at it in some ways, you can understand that this is -- if you were going to run for president in the Republican Party, this issue has resonance among those Republicans who voted in primaries, the more conservative very hard-core Republicans.

So it could be a political tactic or it could be just a tactic to keep the limelight on you. So, you know, take your pick.

HOLMES: It's something to see when you see some of those polling that comes from Republican voters just how many huge numbers, percentages, still believe that there's some question about where the president was born.

Let's turn to -- I thought you might have an easy morning, be able to kick back since the 2011 budget was done. We can just kick back, but still we got the 2012 budget to look forward to. But we still got some things to talk about with just what happened over the past, what, 48 hours.

CROWLEY: We do indeed. In fact, we have David Plouffe, senior advisor to the president. One of the questions are liberals look at this and think the president sold out again. They're complaining that, you know, the economy can't withstand the kind of cuts that are in this budget so we want to talk a little bit about that, about what's in it. But guess what?

In addition to the 2012 budget coming up first, it is going to be the debt ceiling. The U.S. is running out of authority, can only borrow up to a congressionally set figure. Well, it is about to go over that. So now Congress has to go back and raise the amount of money the U.S. is allowed to borrow.

And that also brings up - you know, Republicans are saying, listen, unless we can attach more spending cuts or a balanced budget amendment or something to that debt ceiling we're not going to do it. That's also a big battle so, no, we're not done with the figures. HOLMES: Of course not, Candy, good to see you. And to our viewers, of course, Candy Crowley and the Mac truck himself coming up in just a few minutes, "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts in 15 minutes. Don't miss it. Good to see you, Candy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, Kate Middleton will most likely be the future queen of England, but in the little town of Buckleberry she's still just a hometown girl.

Kate and William made sure that several villagers were invited to their wedding. CNN's Max Foster now talking to a local of people, a local shopkeeper and his wife who are thrilled to be going to the big day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, your reaction when you got that invite?

HASH SHINGADIA, PEACHES STORE: Absolutely overjoyed. When you see the envelope with the "ER" on it, brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

FOSTER: You've known Kate for years now. Tell us about the Kate that you know.

SHINGADIA: The Kate we know really is a girl from the village who sort of comes in here to go shopping. Very, very friendly. Very, very approachable really and actually one of the things is my wife --

CHAN SHINGADIA, PEACHES STORE: No, don't say.

SHINGADIA: My wife actually made her a curry a little while ago, which she thoroughly enjoyed. I think she came in one day and my wife was cooking upstairs. She smelled it. She said this smells lovely. So I called my wife and my wife come down the stairs and we gave her some to take away.

FOSTER: She liked it.

SHINGADIA: She did, thoroughly enjoyed. Good response.

FOSTER: Tell us about William. What's he like when he comes in here.

SHINGADIA: Shocking the very first time I saw him because you don't expect him to walk in. But when he did, it was lovely. He came to the counter and talked to us, said how are you and everything else. He was fine. Again, very, very approachable.

FOSTER: William has a favorite product?

SHINGADIA: Ice cream.

FOSTER: You had some in the fridge for that reason.

SHINGADIA: Yes. We make sure. Very first time he came in there was actually one of the products he wanted. We make sure now we always carry in stock just in case he walks in again.

FOSTER: What are you first looking forward to on the big day then?

SHINGADIA: We can't wait. I mean to be amongst the crowd of 1,900 who have actually been invited, plus all the throngs of other people who will be there, it will be something a once in a lifetime chance really. I don't think it is ever going to happen again.

FOSTER: A moment in history.

SHINGADIA: Absolutely. Not only for us really but for the whole people here and for the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, a feel-good story we've got for you this morning about a young man, 11 years old, Zach Bennett. He lives in New York, but he's actually been travelling down south to North Carolina to see his doctor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): He has a rare genetic disorder that's made him so sick, doctors actually had to amputate both of these legs. During his treatment, he became the biggest Charlotte Checkers hockey fan you've ever seen.

The team now giving love right back to him by buying Zach and his family a house there where they are in Charlotte so they can be there near the team.

ZACH BENNETT, HOCKEY TEAM'S FAVORITE FAN: Really, really, really, really, really, really, really excited.

RANDY BENNETT, FATHER: What they've done is just way beyond anything I could imagine.

BENNETT: My room's decked out with checkers. My sister's is decked out with animals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Zach's strength and spirit inspires that team making them play harder when they're out on the ice. A nice story we can bring you this morning.

Turning back now to some politics. Getting re-elected is not easy to do. Apparently, it is not cheap either. President Obama's team has put the price tag at a billion dollars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Just a couple minutes to the top of the hour. Now that we have a deal on the 2011 budget, time to move ahead to the 2012 budget, which is expected to be a bigger fight. The president released his 2012 budget earlier this year.

House Republicans put theirs out last week and it calls for $6.2 trillion in cuts. Many critical programs would be impacted. The GOP budget plan pretty much leaves defense and Social Security alone. One cornerstone though of the proposal is repealing the president's health care law and would also end corporate bailouts and ensure that the government won't get involved in future bailouts.

The plan takes aim though it is on politically risky targets including Medicare and Medicaid. The government would provide vouchers to seniors instead of the Medicare program and to get government approved private health care plans. They could get those on their own.

Then Medicaid, which is for lower income families, the government would supply block grants to states to cover those health care costs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES (voice-over): Well, President Obama celebrated the 2012 budget deal with a little trip to the Lincoln Memorial. You see him there running up the steps. It would have been shutdown this weekend if they had not reached a deal on this budget.

Want to give you a little behind-the-scenes on this trip though. The White House, they have a pool of reporters that travels with the president, but they didn't know what was going on either. So at 2:08, one of the pool reporters sent out a note saying your pool has been asked to gather. No word yet on where we are headed.

Then 20 minutes later we get another one from the pool saying we are rolling out from the White House departing from the north lawn via Pennsylvania Avenue. Don't know where we're going, but we've been told it's not far from the White House. It is one of the president's favorite places.

He'll not be eating and it is not basketball, and that your pool should be ready to run. Ready to run. Yes so here is the announcement a few minutes later. We have arrived at -- drum roll -- the Lincoln Memorial. That's a little behind the scenes to how that whole trip came about

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, also on the presidential front, $1 billion. That is the fund-raising goal for President Obama as he tries for a second term and as CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser tells us, the race starts right now.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning, T.J. President Barack Obama helps bring in the big bucks for his re- election campaign this week. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEINHAUSER (voice-over): We expect Mr. Obama to be the main attraction at a fund-raiser his home town of Chicago on Thursday.

It's the first of a bunch of big-dollar high-profile events the president will headline for his re-election bid to the White House. You know, it was just six days ago that the president announced his re-election bid in an e-mail and video to supporters.

While Mr. Obama may rely on large donations a bit more this time around, his campaign was quick to point out that just about all the contributions they brought in, in the first 24 hours after his re- election announcement were donations of $200 or less from average Americans, they say, not from fat cats.

Now the president shattered all records in 2008 when he raised nearly $750 million. This time around their goal is to raise up to $1 billion. So why does Mr. Obama need so much money especially since he probably won't have to worry about a primary challenge?

Well, one reason -- expect conservative independent groups to begin running ads against the president as soon as a few weeks from now. The president will, of course, have to combat those with his own ads.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STEINHAUSER: It's been kind of quiet so far in the race for the White House, but it is starting to heat up right around now, T.J.

HOLMES: All right, thanks to our Paul Steinhauser.

Also we've been telling you about a lot of severe weather that's been crisscrossing the country. Tornadoes in Iowa, snow in Arizona. That was all yesterday and today the severe weather might be worse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Good morning, everyone. I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. You are looking at pictures from overnight, brand-new video. Pocahontas County, Iowa.

Look at the flashes of lighting illuminating a tornado. This video is just incredible because normally you can't see a tornado at night, but with all the lightning out there you can certainly see it in these pictures, devastating across much of Iowa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: We had 27 reports of tornadoes in much of the state. Now we are looking at a threat of severe weather a little bit further east throughout the upper Midwest, Wisconsin we'll be watching for there, parts of Michigan and then all the way to the south as far south as Texas.

Today is going to be a volatile day for severe weather so please be prepared and have your NOAA weather radio handy throughout the day and night.

Another threat for severe weather, well, this time in the form of fire danger across much of the west. Windy, hot and dry conditions. New Mexico, Texas, parts of Oklahoma, it is going to be very windy out there. Watch out for dust storms. T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Bonnie, we appreciate you. Thank you for being here with us this weekend in place of Reynolds Wolf. To our viewers, we appreciate you staying with us on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Right now, it is time for Candy.