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CNN Sunday Morning
St. Louis Cleaning Up; Dolphins' Player Stabbed
Aired April 24, 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: Good morning, everybody. Happy Easter to you on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 8:00 a.m. here in Atlanta.
It's 2:00 p.m. at the Vatican. That is where tens of thousands of people gathered this morning for the pope's traditional Easter Sunday mass. You're seeing pictures of it here. We will take you back to Vatican City live here shortly.
Also, this morning, we are still getting new and even more compelling video from inside -- took at that, folks -- the St. Louis airport. This was Friday, just as that tornado was hitting. The airport is open this morning but not at full capacity just yet. We will have the very latest for you.
And there has been severe weather that's been affecting this country. Not just in certain spots, not just in St. Louis, really from the Midwest to the South to the Northeast. The latest is that powerful tornado that did hit St. Louis and the surrounding area.
Again, this is the very moment when the tornado hit the city's main airport. Look at listen to this.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
HOLMES: Again, this was last Friday night. They had up to a thousand of people at the airport at the time. Some people were even on their plane sitting out on the tarmac, sitting at the gates when their plane started rocking. They had to be evacuated.
But just -- can you imagine that scene? A lot of people inside, a lot of these folks are visitors. They're not even up really on the weather necessarily or how serious it may have been. Didn't know they needed to seek shelter. They were just going about their business, some of them in the airport when that all of started happening.
We were told that half the windows in the main terminal were blown out, the winds that were whipping around were close to 170 miles an hour. Some substantial damage was done to that airport, but it's now expected to be operating at 70 percent capacity today. Amazing.
Also on the severe weather front, we take you to Texas now. Firefighters are getting a break from wildfires that have burned more than 1 million acres and also torched a number of homes. There is concern that drier weather in coming days could spark more flare-ups.
However, also, along Lake Champlain, this is in Vermont to New York, concern over rising levels there. The lake now is a foot-and-a- half above flood level. Also in Louisville, Kentucky, the Ohio River is expected to rise three to four feet above flood stage by tomorrow.
Now, it was right here yesterday when we started to get a better idea of just how devastating that storm was in St. Louis. We are starting to get the first daylight pictures right here yesterday morning. You were watching that with us.
Now, the city's main terminal got the most damage there. You see a lot of the work going on. Parts of the roof were torn off of that airport. Now, this powerful tornado hit homes in the St. Louis suburb. It wasn't just at the airport, but this is in the same vicinity of the airport, just north-northwest of downtown St. Louis. But about 750 homes either destroyed or damaged.
I spoke to one lady this morning who hid in her basement during the storm. She says she came out, look up, saw nothing but sky. Roof was gone.
Despite the damage, the debris, the dangers, nobody was killed. Also, no reports of anyone being seriously injured.
Well, after Easter sunrise services, a lot of people in St. Louis are going to be changing into work clothes. They've got work to do. The clean-up is going on this morning. It will be going on for some time.
Our Dan Simon is in the St. Louis suburb of Bridgeton, Missouri.
Dan, good morning to you. Can you put in perspective what you've been seeing?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, T.J. I just want to give you a sense of the kinds of things that you're seeing everywhere you drive within a few miles of the airport. We are at sort of an industrial complex here. You can see this car that's overturned, this trailer that's also overturned.
And if you come this way, you can see some damage right in front of me. This was a small auto shop just totally leveled.
We're told the guy who owns this shop was here at the time and if you can believe that -- look right in front of me. You can see the top of that small roof there. Most of it is gone. We're told that the owner was huddling right under that roof and that's what saved his life.
This is what we're seeing all throughout the town. You can see uprooted trees, just like this. We're told that 27 homes -- 2,700 homes, T.J., took some kind of damage. Right now, they're still in the assessment phase. They're going through various streets, trying to clean up power lines, trying to get power restored and make some of these streets passable. And for the first time today, we're told that some of the homeowners are going to be allowed back in to start going through the rubble and see if they can claim some of their belongings - but really an enormous task in front of them.
You have two themes are emerging here with the story. You have what happened at the airport and the impact on travelers and they're trying to get the airport open today. As you said, they think they can get 70 percent open today because they got the power back on. So, they feel like, you know, they can sort of get things back to normal with travelers.
And then you have the impact on the community, all the homes and businesses that have been damaged or destroyed trying to get a sense of things in terms of how bad it is and allow some of these homeowners back in today -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Dan, thank you for that -- giving us even more perspective on what's going on there and again, another view from ground level.
Now, Dan Simon -- we'll be checking in with him on CNN throughout the day.
And, of course, when you see these pictures, you see homes being destroyed like that -- it's hard to imagine what it was like inside one of those homes when the storm hit. Again we told you, no one reported killed by these storms, just minor injuries. Again, not even serious injuries to report.
But I spoke to one woman. You're seeing what's left of her home there. Brianna McIntyre, that's her name. She was actually inside in the basement when all this was going on above her. Listen to her describe what was happening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIANNA MCINTYRE, HOME DESTROYED BY TORNADO (via telephone): The first thing that went out were the lights. The lights flickered. And then it was complete darkness.
And then you could hear like -- when you're on the plane and your ears pop.
HOLMES: Yes.
MCINTRYE: Your ears popping and it was like a suction noise. And, all of a sudden, we just heard the roof ripping. And me and my friend, Daniel, we just ran as quick as we could to the basement bathroom. We got into the tub and just held each other, you know, comforting me because I was crying.
And then you could just hear this loud ripping noise, sounded like a train was running over the top of my house.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Now there is going to be, as you could imagine, a need there in the St. Louis area -- at least 750 homes destroyed or damaged in some way there. A lot of those people need a place to stay right now.
The Red Cross mobilized -- even on Friday night, just after this storm was hitting, we've been checking in with them getting regular updates. But they are there on the ground. I was checking in again this morning with one of their representatives. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA WILLINGHAM, RED CROSS SPOKESMAN (via telephone): Our first response in the Red Cross is to make sure people have a safe place to stay and have food to eat and they have their basic needs met. And then, once we know that they're safe, and then we move in to damage assessment and actually going into the neighborhoods with trained volunteers to assess that. Of course, all this is in cooperation with emergency management officials. But our goal is to get people the help that they need by determining how much damage is there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. Let me turn to our Bonnie Schneider, our meteorologist, who's here with me this weekend.
Bonnie, St. Louis not done with nasty weather just yet.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No. And, in fact, just to the south of St. Louis, if you were to drive just a few hours south, in Cape Girardeau, we are getting reports of flooding. Some of the roads according to the Missouri Department of Transportation are impassable.
Unfortunately, this is just the start. Take a look at what's happening. We have flood watches and warnings posted across much of southern Missouri into western Kentucky, and this is likely to extend over the next couple days. Flood watches and advisories posted northward across much of central Illinois and certainly for St. Louis because the rain continues.
In fact, on our radar picture now, you can see heavy bands of rain have been passed to the south of St. Louis, but are working their way into southern Indiana and parts of Kentucky. That's where we're seeing some of the worst of it in terms of heavy rainfall.
And if we open up the scope, you can see, I kind of slide this a little bit farther off, you can see that in Evansville, a lot of heavy rain is working its way into Louisville, Kentucky, and sweeping across Lexington. So, we're going to likely see it hit eastern Kentucky into the Ashland area where we had severe weather yesterday. You're likely to get hit with some very heavy downpours.
These thunderstorms are likely to get more intense as we go through the rest of the afternoon, especially with that heating of the day. So, watch out for this flood threat, T.J., throughout Easter and over the next few days. It is going to be very intense.
Some of the computer models are forecasting a foot of rain over a five-day period. That is a lot of moisture and the ground is saturated already. So, this will be across the heartland, all the way into the Ohio Valley.
HOLMES: All right. Bonnie Schneider, we appreciate the update. We'll check in with Bonnie again here shortly.
Of course, happy Easter to a lot of you. A lot of people are going to those services today, church services. And some people attending sunrise services. One of them taking place this morning at Arlington National Cemetery.
This was the scene just a short time ago. This is at the memorial amphitheater. They do three different services here annually. And the Easter service is one of them. But they get about 5,000 people to attend this thing. It happened at 6:30 this morning.
So, again, the sunrise service. They also do Memorial Day veterans services at this amphitheater.
But, again, just a beautiful scene there in the backdrop of the Arlington National Cemetery.
Also today at the Vatican, the center of the Catholic faith. The faithful flock to St. Peter's Basilica to celebrate Easter Sunday mass there with the pope. The pope held morning mass on the steps of the basilica. He'll deliver his traditional Easter address from the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square after mass. He delivers his address in several languages.
Well, just a few days away now. You know, the whole world will be watching. Next, we're heading over to London for a look at the last-minute preps for Will and Kate's big day.
Also, the bookies in London -- they are taking bets about this wedding, betting on just about everything having to do with the wedding, including -- exactly what color Kate's wedding dress. What color is it going to be? You may be surprised that the betting favorite is not white. What do you think is the 100-1 color long shot and we'll let also you know the favorite in just a couple of minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Thirteen minutes past the hour. I got my guy Ray D'Alessio here from HLN Sports.
I'm going to be checking in with you on this story -- this is one that threw a lot of people off and it was kind of scary when we first heard about it.
And what we're talking about here is the Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall back home from the hospital now two days after allegedly being stabbed by his wife. Michi Nogami-Marshall is her named. She's now charged with domestic violence in this incident. She's out of jail on bond. This is her as she was leaving jail.
Now, Marshall, his wife, told police that it was in self-defense. Now, originally, Brandon, you see there, he told police he fell on a glass vase. Officers didn't buy that story. He had surgery Friday, expected to recover fully.
But, Ray, this was a disturbing story here. And I mean -- I guess to ask about the Miami Dolphins is one thing. What can their involvement be with this lockout right now?
RAY D'ALESSIO, HLN SPORTS: Not much. And that's the problem, T.J. They're trying to get to the bottom of this. Of course, right now, details are very sketchy, all we know was what the police were saying. But as the lockout continues, of course, teams cannot have contact with these players.
Now, the doctors can. So, you know, the Dolphins do know right now that Brandon Marshall is going to be fine. They were able to converse with the doctor, the team doctor, who spoke to doctors at the hospital and they said it was minor surgery that Brandon Marshall had on Friday night.
He actually wanted to go home early yesterday which he did, he went home yesterday. He was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. A minor surgery. They say he should make a full recovery here in a couple of weeks.
But again not much is known. All we know is what police are saying, is that they got to the residence and it appeared to be a domestic situation. And as you said, he was charged with -- his wife has been charged as a result.
HOLMES: And remind our viewers who may not know the name that well. This is one of the top receivers in the league. This is a pro bowl caliber athlete.
D'ALESSIO: Very good receiver. Of course, spent some time with the Denver Broncos, and was traded to the Miami Dolphins last year. And this is not the first time that these two, that Marshall and his wife, have been involved in a domestic violence situation. A few years ago here in Atlanta, they were arrested, and the charges were later dropped, because both refused to testify against each other.
Again nobody knows who -- all police are saying is that Brandon Marshall was the victim in this case.
HOLMES: All right. We'll see what happens there.
But you all brought a story to my attention. You guys send out -- these sports guys send out a note every morning. But this one you all really brought to my attention to say, hey, this is a good one, T.J. We should do this.
This is talking about the New Orleans Hornets, and Chris Paul actually doing something nice for a young man.
D'ALESSIO: Yes. And a lot of people may know the story with Chris Paul. When he was a senior in high school, he lost his grandfather who was 61 years old. Few days later, he goes out and scores 61 points in a game.
Well, here we go with Brad Rhoades, 14-year-old high school freshman from New Hampshire. In February, he tragically lost his mother in a snowmobile accident. She was 46 years old. Well, a few days later, brad goes out and scores 46 points in a game in honor of his mother.
Chris Paul hears the story, contacts the family, says, hey, I want to bring him to a game. So, he brought him to the game on Friday night. There you see Brad Rhoades had the Hornets gear on. Chris Paul signed some shoes for him and now, these two have developed a very, very special bond.
HOLMES: That is very cool. It's unfortunate, the circumstances that brought those two together -- but what a nice gesture.
D'ALESSIO: Yes. And, of course, Brad Rhoades admitted that he is a Celtics fan, but he says he will root for the Hornets.
HOLMES: All right. Ray, good to see you as always, buddy. Thanks so much.
D'ALESSIO: Thanks.
HOLMES: Ray D'Alessio right here.
Well, coming up, you all know, it's Easter, of course. A lot of you may be heading out to those Easter services right now. There might be a bunny rabbit or two in your future today.
But do you know why? Why is the Easter Bunny, the bunny rabbit, such an endearing symbol of this day? For centuries, this big-eared bunny has been child's companion during the season, but you might be surprised at how it got to where it's gotten.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it's 19 minutes past the hour on this Easter Sunday.
You can't have Easter here in the U.S. without the Easter Bunny, right? Kids just love it. They love trying to find those Easter eggs.
But as American as the tradition has become now, where did it come from? Could you answer that question?
Well, we had to get Nadia Bilchik, our producer, on this one. And she's here with me now.
We got a couple of props here. You got the Easter Bunny. NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Yes, I have the fluffy pink Easter Bunny. By the way, pink is a very important spring color and a very important Easter color, and also a color of renewal and hope.
HOLMES: OK. This is not just all fun and games because now it just seems like an afterthought, the Easter Bunny, you got the eggs.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
HOLMES: But there's real symbolism here.
BILCHIK: And many different explanations. But one is that the Germans who came to Pennsylvania in the 1700s brought with them the "Oschter Haws" or the Easter hare. Now, it dates back to ancient Egypt because the hare became the symbol of the moon and it goes further than that, because they say the moon was synonymous with women's cycles and fertility. Hence, the hare becoming the symbol of fertility.
HOLMES: All right.
BILCHIK: And then some Europeans celebrated Ostara, or Easter, to the goddess of spring and the symbol was the rabbit, because the rabbit -- the good rabbit is the symbol of fertility, abundance, fecundity. And a rabbit can conceive while pregnant and we know that they do produce prolifically.
HOLMES: OK. And they brought this here.
BILCHIK: Exactly.
HOLMES: These traditions come here. And then, what do we do with them?
BILCHIK: We see the rabbit as this beautiful creature as a symbol of fertility, of birth, of Christ's rebirth. So, the two seem to be very well-connected. And if you think of Christ giving birth spiritually to so many, the rabbit gives birth. So, there's a lot of symbolism with the rabbit.
HOLMES: OK. The eggs as well.
BILCHIK: Now, the eggs --
HOLMES: Yes.
BILCHIK: -- always a symbol of life. But what's really fascinating is today is not only Easter. It's Easter, but it's also Greek Easter.
HOLMES: Oh, we just lost the rabbit. It's OK.
BILCHIK: Oh. Rabbit, let's put him back. We want him comfortable.
HOLMES: OK.
BILCHIK: So, it is also Greek Easter, and Greek Easter has red eggs. Now, what they do on the Thursday known as Blood Thursday or Red Thursday, they will dip their eggs in this beautiful rich red dye and this becomes synonymous with the Christ's blood.
HOLMES: And you said there's a competition you were explaining to me. To crack the eggs?
BILCHIK: Yes, you crack the eggs. You take your two red eggs. And the idea is whose smashes first loses. You've got to go head-to- head with the eggs.
HOLMES: And who the loser, what? What happens to the winner?
BILCHIK: Well, you both eat your eggs.
HOLMES: You just eat your eggs.
BILCHIK: But it depends on who has the stronger shell.
HOLMES: All right. See? Now you know, folks, it's not just about kids, fun and games. There's real symbolism behind the Easter Bunny and the eggs.
Thank you. It's very necessary.
BILCHIK: And we'll be eating chocolate soon.
HOLMES: Yes. And thank you. We needed that on Easter. A little -- it's Nadia always educating us. Thank you so much.
Well, it's 22 minutes past the hour on this Easter Sunday. Quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty-three minutes past the hour in the CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
We are bringing you more of these pictures. We were bringing you this yesterday, the first daylight pictures. And now, we are getting more. Thanks to our affiliate KMOV.
This is just outside of St. Louis. Neighborhoods there had been devastated by the storm that hit on Friday night. This was a strong, strong tornado that was on the ground for quite some time, we're told. Winds went up to 170 miles an hour. But all of this struck just northwest of downtown St. Louis.
You know about the airport being hit, but this is another neighborhood. These are pictures we are just getting in.
But a number of neighborhoods, you see, it appears some people are starting to put those blue tarps over their houses, trying to cover up roofs that were blown off in some cases. In some cases, whole homes were destroyed.
But some neighborhoods appear -- and you hear people say it, you hear it every time. And there's a reason they say it. It looks like a bomb went off. The reason they say that is because that's exactly what it looks like in many of these neighborhoods.
And we have seen scenes. Some neighborhoods look like they have been level. Others look like they haven't been touched, which are right next door.
And look at those pictures, folks. You see some homes gone, some still standing. And there's another up to the left or top left of the screen there, it looked like not much damage to whatever that building is at all. And then just literally feet away, homes are destroyed.
You see some of the cars, the vehicles on the roads there as well. A lot of people are coming out. They were coming out yesterday, coming out today as well, trying to survey the damage.
We're hearing reports, you know, some people, during the morning, they're going to pause. They're going to go to their Easter Sunday services, church services, and, quite frankly, remember what they are thankful for. And they're thankful they are still alive because we reported that no deaths -- no deaths -- after this storm and only minor injuries. That is remarkable after one of the strongest storms to hit the St. Louis area in some 40 years.
We're keeping a close eye on what's happening to our friends there in the St. Louis area, as well as another weather situation that's affecting them right now -- a flood watch in effect in some areas surrounding St. Louis. So, they might not be out of the woods yet when it comes to nasty weather. But still a blessing in some ways after what happened on Friday night.
Well, 25 past the hour now.
Nails used to crucify Jesus said to have magical powers. Coming up, a filmmaker says he may have found the coveted tools solving a 2,000-year-old mystery. But, of course, there are some doubters out there. That will be in our "Faces of Faith" just coming up next.
Plus, it's more than just a White House Easter egg roll. The annual tradition helps hundreds of ex-cons and the homeless get a second chance -- out of prison and into the kitchen to learn skills that could turn their lives around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We're at the bottom of the hour here on this Easter Sunday. Welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes.
Give you a look at some of the stories we are keeping a close, close eye on.
The National Weather Service saying it was in fact a tornado that hit south central Oklahoma. These are some of the pictures of the damage left behind. Again, this is out of Oklahoma. No injuries reported there. This was all a part of those storms that hit on Friday night.
Also wildfires in north Texas have burned more than a million acres. It's quieter today, thank goodness. But firefighters fear drier weather in the coming days could spark more flare-ups.
Also St. Louis is still trying to clean up after the tornado that hit this weekend this was on Friday night as well. You're looking at the airport; workers are replacing a lot of windows in the main terminal at the city's airport. Parts of the airport roof were torn off by winds of up to 170 miles an hour, 750 homes were also damaged or destroyed.
And they are celebrating Easter Sunday mass at the Vatican. Pope Benedict, you're seeing there, held mass for thousands gathered at the steps of St. Peter's Basilica.
But there's a much different story in Beijing where police were standing guard outside a church waiting to arrest people who came to worship. In the past month alone police have arrested more than 200 members of the so-called Home Churches which the government considers illegal.
Our Stan Grant now with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Over here you can see the police that have turned out today. Now, this is where one of the home churches, the so-called illegal churches, in China was going to hold a service, an Easter Sunday service.
Now this church has been part of a crackdown by authorities over recent weeks. Hundreds of members of the church have been rounded up and detained. The leaders of the church are in fact still under arrest, still being held somewhere.
Now, the church members have said that they would hold this service anyway in defiance of the threat from police. We haven't seen any of them yet turn up but we have seen plain-clothes police coming towards us, even turning their cameras on us.
Brett -- he's filming us. Film him filming us. Ok, this guy over here is now filming us filming him. Which is -- ok, we should just get out of here. Let's just keep shooting him; he's shooting us. I'm going to try to walk up the stairs now to where the service was meant to be held. Let's see how far we can go.
Happy Easter. Happy Easter. Yes, Joe, can you just come, we're just -- we're trying to get through to -- so we have to go another way?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He says that there is an event being held upstairs and we're not able to go.
GRANT: Yes. Ok. Ok. Ok. No, no. Ok. No Brett move back, Brett. Move back. Move back, ok, ok, ok. We leave. Ok. Let's go. Ok, let's go Brett. Let's go.
Now, clearly we're being chased out of here. These people don't want us here. We're not going to be able to get to see the church service today so we're going to leave.
Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, 33 minutes past the hour.
We turn to our "Faces of Faith." And on this Easter Sunday we have the story of a filmmaker now who believes that two nails found in a Jerusalem tomb could have been used in the crucifixion of Jesus; archaeologists in Israel certainly have their doubts.
But our CNN Jerusalem Bureau Chief Kevin Flower lays out the arguments and you decide.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN FLOWER, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Locked away inside a Tel Aviv University safe sits a small and unremarkable wooden box. It's contents have sat in the University Anthropology Department for years. Two small and rust encrusted pieces of metal that until recently were a largely forgotten bit of laboratory detritus (ph).
Documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici says they are a hugely significant archaeological find.
SIMCHA JACOBOVICI, FILMAKER: This could very well be two of the nails that were used in the crucifixion of Jesus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the secrets of Christianity.
FLOWER: It's a theory that Jacobovici posits in a soon-to-be released film called the "Nails of the Cross." In 1990 construction here in this now Jerusalem Park uncovered a 2,000-year-old underground tomb that some believed was the burial place of a man named Caiaphas, a Jewish high priest of Jerusalem who tradition holds was a central figure in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
JACOBOVICI: You found the tomb of the man who's known in history for one thing and one thing only; that is sending Jesus to Pilate who crucifies him. You find two iron nails and you don't mention it to the world, you don't ask the question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could they be the nails that crucified Jesus?
FLOWER: Jewish tradition, Jacobovici maintains, holds the crucifixion nails held magic properties explaining why the high priest might be buried with them.
(on camera): How does Jesus connect here?
JACOBOVICI: If you find in 2,000 years the tomb of Muhammad Ali, and there are two boxing gloves in his tomb, you would think they're not his training gloves. They are the gloves that he won the heavyweight championship of the world. It wouldn't be a crazy thing to think that if a guy takes these particular gloves to his death they might have some important significance.
FLOWER (voice-over): Modern analogies aside, it's a theory the archaeological establishment in Israel is not buying. Zvi Greenhut was the man who excavated the tomb and calls Jacobovici's theory imaginary.
ZVI GREENHUT, ISRAELI ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY: No chance that the nails of that which -- which are in the -- in the laboratories of the Tel Aviv University are the nails which I haven't found in the excavation of the Caiaphas Tomb in 1990.
JACOBOVICI: I think I've put together a compelling journalistically sound hypothesis and now it's up to the scientists, do the science.
FLOWER: Credible or not the film is likely only to add to the mystery surrounding the death of Jesus.
Kevin Flower, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And more on this story at CNN.com/belief -- we have a belief blog. And do you think these nails could have been linked to Jesus' crucifixion? You can join the discussion. Here are a couple of comments that people already shared with us. One writing: "Another set of nails? What does this make, 30 or so?" Also another person writing in, "Finding or not finding relics has no impact on my faith."
We'll turn back to Easter here now and the Easter egg roll in particular at the White House. You know, it's an annual tradition. Always fun to see those kids go at it. But what you probably didn't know is those 6,000 eggs have another purpose. Dozens of ex-cons get out of prison and into the kitchen to learn life-changing skills. We'll have that story for you in a moment.
Also, Senator John McCain made a surprise trip to Libya. He's telling our Candy Crowley why he did it and what he thinks of Moammar Gadhafi. A preview of her interview next.
But first, back to the royals. We were telling you earlier that London bookies are taking bets on anything royal wedding related. A favorite topic, would you believe, is what color will Kate's wedding dress be? I just thought it would be white. You would think that was the case.
Well, actually, that's not the odds-on favorite. Right now ivory, 4-6 odds if that could be the case; white is second at 5- 2. And if she steps out in a red, somebody's going to get paid. But it's 100-1 odd and the reason that it's 100-11 because there's no way in the world she's stepping out in a red dress.
Its 37 minutes past the hour. Two minutes, I'm right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, 40 minutes past the hour.
Now time for my highlights of my Sunday mornings; that's because I get to chat with Candy Crowley, "STATE OF THE UNION" host, she's coming up in just about 20 minutes.
Candy good morning to you. What's this I hear about you -- you speaking with John McCain?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Well, as you know, he -- he showed up in Libya on Friday. And it certainly was a picture that I think put a lot of pressure not just on NATO, but on President Obama.
I mean this -- John McCain has always been kind of in the forefront of a more muscular western approach to Libya. He was out there early on saying let's start this flyover. Once it did start he said look, it's too late but I'm glad it started. And now he's saying we need to do more, we need to do more. So we want to know: what is that exactly.
HOLMES: Now, he of course, would have had to -- the way these things go -- he would have gotten though, the White House blessing to go over to make this trip in the first place, would he not?
CROWLEY: He would not have had to have had it. But it would have been -- certainly I think it's in the character of Senator McCain to find someone to say, "Yes, go ahead and go", and he says that the -- the vice president know he was going and national security advisor knew he was going. And obviously that means the President did.
So they -- they knew that he was planning on doing that and I -- I would bet that had they said bad idea, we don't want you over there that he would not have gone. So yes administration blessing on this.
HOLMES: Now what is that -- how could this be some kind of a game changer? Because to see this man, I mean, yes, he's a U.S. senator but this is not just any U.S. senator. You mentioned some of the clout he has, the background he has, he's very high profile.
He ran for president just a couple of years ago. So everyone knows this name and his background. So how can this change -- to see him now giving legitimacy in a way to the opposition that we really haven't seen before?
CROWLEY: Well I think first of all, just for those on the ground, for the Libyan rebels who obviously know the reputation of Senator McCain, this was a huge deal. Because overseas lots of times when a high-profile senator come and even some that you wouldn't consider high profile, it is considered an honor particularly given the state of what's going on in Libya.
So they took heart from that, for sure, and they took it as a sign of continued U.S. support. And again, I think Senator McCain is a voice on military affairs in particular that White Houses either listen to or have trouble sort of going up against, because he does command the microphone and I think, for sure, that Senator McCain, as he came out for no-fly zone, trying to pressure the President is trying to pressure the President, in this case to recognize the rebels as legitimate government of Libya and perhaps to find a way to arm them.
HOLMES: All right. And we will see the interview right at the top of the hour? Is that right?
CROWLEY: I -- not quite at the top but very close to the top.
HOLMES: Ok but -- oh, that works for us anyway.
CROWLEY: Yes.
HOLMES: All right, Candy Crowley, good to see you, as always.
CROWLEY: Thanks.
HOLMES: To our viewers, of course, you're going to stay right here because in about 17 and half minutes you will see Candy Crowley and "STATE OF THE UNION" 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 Pacific right here on CNN.
Well at the White House, you know the annual tradition, the holiday tradition. Look at that, the kids come out to the White House for the Easter Egg roll. But coming up, there's a story behind those thousands of eggs involving ex-cons. We'll explain in just a couple of minutes.
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HOLMES: Well, about a quarter of the top of the hour now. Easter in Washington, D.C. and the President is expected to attend Easter services at Shiloh Baptist Church there. This is the congregation that was originally led by freed slaves. Now church members have been told that a special guest would be there this morning. They might figure it out once they have to go through metal detectors getting to church this morning. But the church has hosted Reagan, Clinton before, as well.
Something else in Washington, D.C., you see this every year. It's the Easter egg hunt. It's happening on Monday, this time. But this is always fun to see the little ones out there running around the yard -- at the lawn, I should say, at the White House hunting for those eggs.
Now all those eggs will be rolling around the White House lawn, they all had to be boiled by somebody. Didn't they? Well, CNN's Sandra Endo found the cooks; she found out how many of these egg chefs are enjoying their own rebirth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chefs at D.C. Central Kitchen preparing what may be their most important order of the year -- 6,000 hard-boiled eggs going to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, colorfully served up for the annual White House Easter festivities.
JEFF RAGSDALE, CHEF AT D.C. CENTRAL KITCHEN: This is some of the stuff that was made earlier today, yesterday; it will be going out tomorrow.
ENDO: Chef Jeff Ragsdale explains how his life and the lives of many of his co-workers have broken pasts.
(on camera): What were you doing that made you hit rock bottom?
RAGSDALE: Drugs. Alcohol. Illegal activity.
ENDO (voice-over): For years Ragsdale was in and out of jail; at one point homeless with nowhere to turn.
(on camera): What was it like for you?
RAGSDALE: Desperate. Figuring out how I'm going to survive day to day, escaping death, one bad situation after another. But things aren't like that anymore.
(voice-over): he applied to D.C. Central Kitchen's culinary job training program which gives formerly incarcerated and homeless people a chance to learn new skills.
RAGSDALE: I've been working with the kitchen for almost a year now.
ENDO: Ragsdale worked his way up to a shift supervisor for the program working with volunteers.
RAGSDALE: It makes you feel good to know that you're part of an organization that does so many good things for the community and to be recognized by the White House is -- it doesn't get much better than that.
ENDO (on camera): Jeff is one of hundreds who have come through this program and is now thriving. There are so many different stories to be told here, and a lot of workers say this is the one place where they feel understood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of people who would like some training but we really look at ex-offenders, men and women who are suffering from abuse recovery. We found the ones that we screen and get to the beginning stage of the program are really ready to change their lives.
This is a life changing program. It's not just a culinary job training program.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know what it is like to go through struggles. They say you can only keep what you have by giving it away.
ENDO: giving away some Easter spirit just a little example of their rebirth.
Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, as we have been reporting, there was a ban on western journalists in Syria; CNN not able to get in and report from there but that is not stopping some pretty intense images from getting out. We'll share them with you.
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HOLMES: Another deadly day for protesters in Syria as they keep pushing for change there; the Syrian government pushing back. At least ten people were killed Saturday when Syrian security forces opened fire on the crowd. It happened in the suburb just outside the capital there of Damascus. People gathered for funerals. Witnesses say government forces fired from rooftops. Thousands of people were marching through the streets at the time.
Also a (INAUDIBLE) change may be coming to Yemen. Months after protesters took to the streets, the president there, Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to step down as a deal brokered by neighboring nations. He's supposed to leave office within 30 days and in return he'll get immunity. Saleh has been in power more than 30 years. Both Saleh and the opposition leaders still have to sign that agreement.
Witnesses now telling us that hundreds of thousands of people now in the streets this morning to protest that deal and the president's possible immunity from prosecution.
Libyan government forces leaving the key city of Mesrata; a spokesman for the military says they'll leave it up to tribal leaders to battle rebels for control of that city. But rebels say Moammar Gadhafi's forces are still shelling the city as of last night. Mesrata is a key for rebels in Libya since it has one of the country's largest ports.
In Tripoli, NATO planes continue to hit key targets there; they're looking to weaken Gadhafi's regime. Our Nic Robertson was bringing us the big stories are from the front lines there. He is now out of Libya, made his way back here to Atlanta here; made a stop at our headquarters here in Atlanta.
I got a chance to ask him about his time in Libya and about the story -- how the story is being seen here in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: I'm privileged to have with us a rare visit, if you will, from Nic Robertson, our senior international correspondent. A lot of people will recognize him for a lot of the work he's done internationally but as of late, particularly in Libya.
So good to have you here in Atlanta with us and I wanted to ask you, I mean you've been here watching some of the coverage here in the U.S., reading the papers as well. Are people getting the right -- is it possible even to get a good sense of what's happening in Libya given the view that you've got now?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think if you read and look at everything then you'll get a good overall picture. But if you're there on the ground you always feel it differently and sort of see it slightly differently because you're living it, you're breathing it, it is every minute of the day. It's not when you pick up the paper or watch the television.
I think perhaps the thing that people forget about Libya is how big it is; six million people, about maybe 1.5 million in the east of the country, 4.5 million in the west where Gadhafi is. And if there were a wide conflict there, that would be pretty barbaric, tribal and it would involve a lot of people.
And I think perhaps, when we kind of see it in the newspapers and watch it on TV we kind -- I don't feel that we can portray it sometimes. That's perhaps what doesn't come across.
HOLMES: Give people a sense as well because this is another part that's hard to get them to understand. There's no real sense of nationalism, if you will, in Libya. This place is segmented and broken up and that tribalism you speak of; is it hard to get people to understand exactly what the rebels, the opposition, who they are and what they're fighting for necessarily?
ROBERTSON: And essentially just a change in regime and a chance to sort of call the shots on who might be the next leader of the country. I mean historically the country was sort of in three separate pieces, the sort of west, the middle and east. So you've got these historic differences, then the tribal differences. But it's Gadhafi that united the country 40 years ago.
And that's I guess another thing that we forget because he's been a tyrannical leader and he needs to go; and that's what everyone says and that's the reality on the ground. But he's a guy that's kept the country together, kicked out the Italian occupation, forced the Americans out of the country all that time ago. And he's seen as a unifying guy from a small tribe. He wasn't looking for tribal influence and all the big tribes that would worry who is going to get the power, he kind of held them all at bay and everyone's a little bit happy. You know, the tribes; no one tribe, no one big tribe is dominant. And that's the key to his success in the past. Of course they've outlived that now.
HOLMES: Nic Robertson, it's good to have you in Atlanta. Good to see you. ROBERTSON: Thank you very much, T.J.
HOLMES: Great work as always that you do whether it's in Tripoli or beyond, really. Good to have you here.
ROBERTSON: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, it has now been six weeks since the earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan. Still about 12,000 people are unaccounted for and tomorrow the government is taking major steps to find the missing. We'll tell you what they're doing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, everyone. I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in the CNN Severe Weather Center tracking heavy rain working its way through Kentucky at this hour. Louisville just getting slammed with very strong storms and a lot of that is working its way into Ohio.
We're going to be watching this rain over the next few days accumulate. The problem is particularly into parts of Missouri, in southeast Missouri, we've seen some flooding and some road closures in the Cape Girardeau area. Flood watches and warnings are posted across a good portion of Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky and even into parts of Ohio. As we watch the next few days, we're going to see the storm system advance to the east.
And unfortunately it is really going to bring about some changes. Our computer models are forecasting a lot of heavy rain. Notice the gauge here, 10 inches or more in some areas over the next five days. So, just be careful and remember when you're traveling at night particularly that's when flooding is the most dangerous because you can't see the depth of the flooding.
So T.J. just advice to everyone, please stay safe this weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Celebrating Easter Mass in Vatican City with Pope Benedict -- you saw there. Thousands crowded in St. Peter's Square for the celebration. In his annual Easter message, the pope urged an end to the fighting in Libya.
Also Chinese police cracking down on Christians during this holy period; Stan grant is in Beijing and tells us one church had planned to hold Easter services but many of its members and leaders were rounded up and detained. He tells us plain-clothed police chased them away from one church.
Also six weeks after the earthquake and tsunami wrecked Japan's northeast coastline, the search for victims goes on. Many places still ghost towns. Nearly 80,000 left their homes to escape danger from that damaged nuclear plant. And the government now says once the nuclear crisis is over, it will decide if and when all those people will be allowed to return home. Right now, it's time for Candy.
