Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Osama Bin Laden: One Year Later; William and Kate Mark 1st Anniversary
Aired April 29, 2012 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
What began as a celebration ends in tragedy. Dozens of Cardinals fans are hospitalized this morning after a massive burst of wind whips this tent right off the ground in St. Louis.
Plus, it was history in the making.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world, the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda.
KAYE: Now as we approach the anniversary of the killing of America's enemy number one, we look to the future of security here at home.
Also, the world was watching a year ago today, a real life royal fairy tale. How the duke and duchess of Cambridge have changed the world of weddings.
And there was a little bit of Hollywood, a little bit of politics, and a whole lot of fun.
JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: Mr. President, you remember -- you remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow? That was hilarious.
KAYE: Funny man Pete Dominick was there, wait until you hear his take.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It is 7:00 on the East Coast, 4:00 a.m. on the West.
Let's get straight to the news this morning.
We start with that tragic post-game party in St. Louis. One person was killed, 16 others sent to the hospital when strong winds tore up a tent at a sports bar. As many as 100 others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF DENNIS JENKERSON, ST. LOUIS FIRE DEPARTMENT: Then I got hit with the metal pipes, the standards that hold these things down, the wire. We've got electric inside this tent. So, it's -- we had a mechanics of about everything that could have happened here. We had live wires laying on the ground. We've got some severe injuries to quite a few people.
DEPUTY CHIEF JOHN ALTMANN, ST. LOUIS FIRE DEPT.: We understand there was about 100, 150 people under the tent the time the weather came in. The music was loud. People had been, you know, in attendance at a ballgame all afternoon, and I don't think they were really aware of the seriousness of the situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The fans had gathered there after the Cardinals win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The tent was supposed to be able to with stand 90-mile-per-hour winds. The winds that tore up the tent were about 50 miles per hour.
The bunker standoff near Seattle that you just first heard about here is now over. The SWAT team blew a hole in the underground mountain bunker looking for Peter Keller. They found his body. Keller is accused of killing his wife and daughter.
Here's what they found inside the bunker -- a whole lot of guns. They feared he was heavily armed and well-prepared. Police say that Keller had been dead for some time. He hadn't been seen for a week sense the death of his family. Police believe that he died from self- inflicted gunshot.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican navy are searching for a missing crewmember from a racing yacht. Three other crew members were found dead after the boat went missing during a race from California to Mexico. Other boats saw debris in the water, but there's no word on what actually happened to that yacht.
"The New York Times" is reporting that a government investigation has found that Google didn't break any laws when they mined thousands of emails, passwords and other personal information. The investigation also found that Google's claim that it was a work of a rough engineer or that it was mistake was untrue. It was all part of Google's, quote, "Street View Project," between 2007 and 2010.
Newt Gingrich has picked a drop-out date. A source close to the former House speaker tells CNN that it will now be Wednesday. In his farewell speech, Gingrich is expected to back likely nominee Mitt Romney.
The Republican race was a hot topic at last night's White House correspondents' dinner. Host Jimmy Kimmel got in a few shots at the candidates, as did the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Any way, it's great to be here this evening in the vast magnificence of the Hilton ballroom, or what Mitt Romney would call a little fixer-upper.
I know at this point many of you are examining me to go after my likely opponent, Newt Gingrich. Newt, there's still time, man.
KIMMEL: It's great to see that Gingriches is here tonight because I guess that means the check cleared.
I guess it just wasn't Rick's year. Rick's year was 1954.
You know, it's one thing to oppose gay marriage. It's another altogether to do it in a sweater vest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Yes, it was a funny night.
And Pete Dominick is also pretty funny. He'll join me later in the show with his highlights from last night. And I understand he is still in his tuxedo, so we'll see.
So, Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden. Senior government officials say his terror organization, al Qaeda, is still in disarray.
Joining me now is retired Lieutenant Colonel Robert Maginnis to talk more about this.
Good morning, Bob.
LT. COL. ROBERT MAGINNIS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Good morning, Randi.
KAYE: First of all, how has al Qaeda changed, do you think, since bin Laden's death?
MAGINNIS: Well, the core al Qaeda, Randi, which has been in Pakistan the last number of years, you know, is not as strong. But what has happened, it's franchised out. You have al Shabaab in the Horn of Africa. You have AQAP in Yemen, AQIM in northern Africa. So, they really dispersed.
Their capability in terms of major attacks is diminished, as the president said recently. But they're really using a strategy of death by 1,000 cuts. That's their philosophy, and we'll see if it works.
KAYE: So would you say we are any safer than -- now than when Osama bin Laden was alive? I mean, you look at al Shabaab, they're certainly very dangerous, and certainly al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
MAGINNIS: Well, I think the major attacks, like we saw in 9/11, are something that is really beyond the capability of some of these groups, unless something happens in the near term. It's these little tiny attacks like we saw in Uganda and that we have seen threatened in Kenya, that we've seen even in Nigeria with an affiliate of al Qaeda.
So these are the types of things we are concerned about. And also the lone wolf type of thing that is energized through ideology over the internet. This is something I think law enforcement in the United States is more concerned about and we tend to be able to track them down. We foiled at least 50 of these types of plots here at the homeland over the last 10 years. But, you know, it's always hard to predict whether or not one of these is going to get through.
KAYE: How concerned do you think we should be about a lone wolf attack? I mean, that sounds pretty scary -- somebody who is just inspired by some of these crazy groups.
MAGINNIS: Yes. Well, we've had a couple this year so far. And, of course, we had the Times Square issue. We have had the major down at Fort Hood. We've had others spun up on this ideology.
Even this terrible alleged killer in Norway, you know, said he was really radicalized through, you know, studying bin Laden's ideology.
So, it's hard to know what people do in the secrecy of their homes and what they read on the Internet and what goes through their minds. These are the types of things law enforcement really grapples with and it's hard to stop.
KAYE: Bob Maginnis, appreciate your time this morning -- thank you.
MAGINNIS: Thank you, Randi.
KAYE: We are watching some severe weather as it crosses through the midsection of the U.S. Reynolds Wolf is in the CNN weather center with an update in just a moment.
Though, there he is right now. You want to give it to us now?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There you go. Yes, why not? Why not?
KAYE: OK, I'll take it.
WOLF: Absolutely. We're all casual here.
You know what? Unfortunately, Randi, we might be seeing a bit deja vu. What we had yesterday and what we have today it looks similar. Or at least the atmosphere setup is very, very similar. We're expecting that frontal boundary to be very close to parts of the Midwest. In fact, what's going to show you right there crossing portions of the Midwest. The mid-Mississippi Valley, and we have that slight risk of severe storms.
Now, keep in mind, some of that is going to be right over St. Louis where we had the rough weather yesterday. So, yes, round two may be on the way. More on that coming up in a few moments, Randi.
KAYE: OK. Reynolds, thank you.
And even in his death, beloved Boston Red Sox player Ted Williams is worth some big bucks. Hundreds of his personal items were auctioned off, and you got to hear what people paid for them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
The same storm system that brought strong winds causing a deadly tent collapse in the St. Louis area -- we've been showing you that this morning -- well, it also left behind huge chunks of hail.
Wow. You can just hear that. Listen to how loud it is, and you can see it bouncing off the pavement. Storm chasers in southern Illinois took this video. Some hail was as large as baseballs. Yes.
More powerful storms rolling through the central U.S. today, apparently, Reynolds. You think we're going to see more of that hail?
WOLF: Unfortunately, it's very possible. A lot of strong updraft with the storms that help produce a lot of the large hail stones. Those were in O'Fallon, Illinois. Not to be confused with O'Fallon, Missouri. The name so nice they named it twice.
What we're going to be seeing today is going to be another area of low pressure. We've got that frontal boundary which is basically the demarcation point of two very different air masses, and one side very dry and very cool. On the other, very humid and at the same time fairly warm. And that's where you have the dividing line.
Now, if you had a warm up, it would make that increasing will he unstable. Well, we've got that. If we add the jet stream kicking in, it might make it more unstable than that. Well, that could maybe a player, too.
So, we've got this area from parts of the Ohio Valley back into the Midwest, and into the Southern Plains where it might be dealing with a slight risk of severe storms, including large hail, damaging winds, and possibly tornadoes, which right now among I-35, back to I- 44, we've got the scattered showers and storms. A couple of severe thunderstorm watches are in effect. Not warnings, but watches in both the Jay Harbor and back into Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, as those are heating up, we've got things cooling down across parts of the Great Lakes and into the Northeast where we have freeze warnings that are in effect actually for parts of western New York and northern Pennsylvania where temperatures, as we wrap things up, going to 33 degrees as we have right now in Syracuse, 34 in Albany, a beautiful morning in New York with 45 degrees.
But look where we're headed in terms of highs, 71 in Washington, D.C, 89 degrees in Atlanta, 79 in Albuquerque, 71 in San Francisco, and New York with 63.
That is your forecast. We're going to have your travel weather coming up very soon -- Randi.
KAYE: OK. Reynolds, thank you very much.
And I'm sure that you remember, of course, that auction at Fenway Park in Boston that we talked about, right?
WOLF: I do remember it. Not only do I remember it -- my bids were unaccepted, unfortunately.
KAYE: Oh, really?
WOLF: They weren't taken.
KAYE: That is too bad because apparently 800 items from the Red Sox legend Ted Williams' personal collection were sold off.
WOLF: Wow.
KAYE: We're talking about, of course, jerseys, baseballs, plaques, paraphernalia from his time in the military, and we added up the selling price of just a dozen items sold. It was over -- get this -- $1.5 million.
WOLF: Wow, unbelievable.
KAYE: You want to share some of the highlights?
WOLF: Yes, absolutely. Take a look at it. Someone paid almost over $300,000 for William's 1949 MVP plaque, a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth that was given to Williams, and Williams adds sold for nearly $200,000. To me that's a steal.
And Saints quarterback Drew Brees bought World War II and the Korean war flight logs for nearly $36,000. Wow.
KAYE: It is amazing. And some of the proceeds actually from the auction, they benefit the Jimmy Fund, a charity for Boston Cancer Institute. It's a really great cause. And Williams, of course, died in 2002.
WOLF: Amazing.
KAYE: We're going to take a collection, remember? That didn't really work out.
WOLF: I want to fly (INAUDIBLE) that was in the Wolf family budget.
KAYE: Yes. Oh, well. All right. Thank you.
A royal anniversary. Britain's Prince William and Catherine are celebrating their first anniversary as husband and wife. So, how do you top a wedding watched by billions of people around the world? We're taking you to London, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GUPTA: Where were you one year ago today? Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton were sealing their wedding with a kiss on the palace balcony, and a thrilled audience of 2 billion people around the world celebrated along with them. It is believed the royal couple is marking their one-year anniversary much more quietly today, though, with friends.
CNN's royal correspondent Max Foster joining me now from London.
Good morning to you, Max.
This really has been an incredible year for the duchess of Cambridge. She's really grown into being a royal. Wouldn't you say?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The royal family is thrilled with her. I mean, often comparisons are made with Diana, of course, but it's a very different story because Kate is 10 years older than Diana was when she entered the royal family, and also the royal family did learn some pretty harsh lessons about their handling of Diana and the monarchy was at risk at one point because of the unpopularity of the queen as a result of the way she handled many public, at least, Diana's death, for example.
So, this time around with Catherine, you've got a situation where Prince Charles has been getting full support to her, helping her in her training, as has the queen. And she's got her own private secretary just a year into the job as well. So, it's a different story, and she's had huge amounts of support, Catherine, and she's also grown into the job.
KAYE: She just looks so comfortable and really they look so comfortable as a couple. I mean, they have lived together. They were at university together. They have a dog now. You know, it feels like they have really grown into their life together.
FOSTER: Yes. They were together for nine years, remember, before they actually got married. So both of them were very sure that she could handle the pressure by the time she hit the spotlight, as she is in now.
There is a technique to her composure. She researches everything to death before she turns up to any event. She thinks very carefully about what she wears, so she's very comfortable.
And she ignores the cameras. She blocks them out, allowing her to connect with people that she speaks to and meets. So, she looks composed and comfortable because she is. She's fully prepared.
KAYE: They have made a few memorable moments over the years -- over the year, but one of the big moments really was when they were in the spotlight for last year's trip to the U.S. and Canada. That was a big one for them.
FOSTER: Yes. Kate, that was her highlight of the year, I'm told. Visiting Canada. It was interesting. By the time she reached L.A., there was such a frenzy, media frenzy around her. I'll never forget this. There was a particular moment when she hit the red carpet in Los Angeles. You had the likes of Nicole Kidman and Tom Hanks literally sort of pushing to meet her. It was quite bizarre, but this is someone who is just a couple of months into the job and who is being sort of bombarded by requests from studio execs and Hollywood A-listers, and it really did show how she was the biggest star in the world at that point probably.
KAYE: So all that palace training they gave her has certainly paid off, it seems.
FOSTER: Yes, absolutely. And William has very much led this. He is completely paranoid that she will experience what Diana experienced. He has been very careful. That hasn't been the case.
So, he has taken most of the training hands-on. Her first speech, he was in the Falkland and he was training her on the phone while he's on military service. That's how involved he is.
KAYE: That is love. Max Foster, that is very much. Appreciate that.
The White House correspondents' dinner, it is the ultimate intersection of journalism, politics, and celebrity. And somehow our buddy, comedian Pete Dominick, got in there. Look at that's photos working his way in there.
Well, together we are going to review the night's most memorable moments, and Pete is going to dish with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It is one of the few nights a year when Washington gets to be funny on purpose. Last night, politicians, journalists, and celebrities gathered with the first family for the 98th annual White House correspondents' dinner in Washington.
And our buddy Pete Dominick was there, rubbing elbows with everyone. He is a comedian and the host of political talk show "Stand Up" on Sirius XM.
There were so many funny lines last night and he'd been listening to some of them.
But let's start off by getting a quick listen to the president showcasing his stand-up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Even Sarah Palin is getting back into the game, guest hosting on the "Today" show, which reminds me of an old saying. What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? A pit bull is delicious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So, as a guy with lots of stand-up you should your belt, what did you think? How did the commander-in-chief do?
PETE DOMINICK, SIRIUS XM RADIO: He did excellent, as he always does. I mean, the whole key, Randi, is to -- if he is going to make fun of people, you just saw him take a shot kind of at Sarah Palin, but he took shots at Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich, and, of course, Mitt Romney, but you get away with that as a comedian. But especially when you are the president, the commander in chief, if you self- deprecate, and he spent so much time making fun of himself and the mistakes of his administration. He opened with a whole open mike bit making fun of that, and he took so many shots of himself, gets away with taking shots at other people.
But the whole idea -- I mean, you got to give credit to the writers and even had graphics people putting together two videos, so he had a lot of people helping him. But he did a great job, and even timed his wink perfectly.
KAYE: Oh, wow. Sounds like you are impressed.
All right. But we know that the hosting honors, of course, went to comedian Jimmy Kimmel, who spared no one, even the president. Take a quick listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMMEL: It's an honor to be here. You know, you told me when I was a kid that I would be standing on the same stage as President Barack Obama, I would have said the president's name is Barack Obama?
Mr. President, you remember -- you remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow? That was hilarious.
(END VIDEO LICP)
KAYE: Oh, I have been laughing at this stuff all morning, Pete. How do you think Jimmy Kimmel did?
DOMINICK: He did fantastic. Jimmy is a hilarious guy and a great guy. Really nice guy. Class act.
And that joke was probably one of his most brutal. I read one Web site today said he went easy on the president. He didn't go easy on anybody. He took shots at everybody, and Jimmy did a great job hosting. Everybody was dying laughing in the room. It was a lot of fun.
KAYE: And I hear that you had some pretty great seats. You must have slipped somebody a 20 or something because I understand you had a chance to eavesdrop on a conversation between Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and director Steven Spielberg. What were they talking about?
DOMINICK: Well, of course, they were talking about "Star Wars" and raspberries. There were some raspberries being served. But, of course, they do have the "Star Wars" thing many common.
But it was surreal. At one point, you know, Jimmy Kimmel I think said something about the bin Laden raid which was a year ago, and I literally patted secretary of defense on the shoulders because, of course, he was the head of the CIA and spearheaded. That was a surreal moment.
But, yes, I don't know how I got so close, but it was amazing for me and for my wife. We were looking at some of these pictures. I mean, my wife had such a great time, and it was really weird because George Clooney came up and said, please, Pete, let me get a picture with your wife.
KAYE: Oh, yes, right.
DOMINICK: We got a picture with George Clooney. I had to jump over Attorney General Eric Holder to get to Sandra Fluke. That was surreal.
And the greatest moment was when my wife actually had a conversation with the first lady and said, oh, I love you. My wife is a big fan, as many women are, of the first lady. She said, do you want me to wave or something? And she did. There's that picture right there.
KAYE: That was such a great shot.
DOMINICK: Yes. It was just -- that was a very special moment for my wife. You know, a picture with Michelle Obama who had a conversation with, and, of course, George Clooney begging me to get a picture of my wife. I mean, the guy was mobbed.
Kim Kardashian begging to get a picture with me was a little awkward. I ended up not taking the shot, Randi.
KAYE: Oh, well, listen. It looks like a lot of fun. I'm glad you're going to be able to wake up with us. I know you've got to get that rental tux back, right?
DOMINICK: Yes, yes. I got to get this back to the small men's warehouse. Yes.
KAYE: All right. Well, you better get on your way, Pete. Thank you.
DOMINICK: Thank you, Randi.
KAYE: And thanks for starting your morning with us. I'll be back at the top of hour.
"SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." begins right now.