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CNN Sunday Morning
One Killed in Tent Collapse; Vatican Cracks Down on Nuns; Big Year for the Duchess
Aired April 29, 2012 - 08:00 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 strategy. Dozens of Cardinals fans are hospitalized this morning after a massive burst of wind ripped this tent right off the ground in St. Louis.
Also the word 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.
Plus, he was discharged under "don't ask, don't tell." Now a former marine proposes to his current marine boyfriend -- making history on a U.S. military base.
And there was a little bit of Hollywood, a little bit of politics, and a whole lot of fun.
JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: Mr. President, do you remember when the country rallied around you in hopes of a better tomorrow? That was hilarious.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It is 8:00 on the East Coast, 5:00 on the West.
Lots to tell you about, so let's get straight to the news.
We begin in St. Louis where as many as five people are in serious condition this morning They were hurt during a postgame party near Busch Stadium when strong winds tore off a tent at a sports bar. One person was killed. As many as 150 were packed under the tent celebrating the Cardinals win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Well, the tent was supposed to be able to withstand 90-mile-per- hour winds. The winds that tore off the tent were about 50 miles per hour.
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican navy are searching for a missing crew member from a racing yacht this morning. 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 the yacht.
A federal judge is reviewing new evidence in the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. That evidence comes from Nina Rhodes-Hughes. Take a picture here -- take a look here at this picture. That's her on the left with Robert F. Kennedy.
She was there at the Ambassador Hotel the night that Kennedy was shot. And in an exclusive interview with CNN, she said there's part of the story the FBI has ignored all these years. Listen to what she said.
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NINA RHODES-HUGHES, WITNESS TO RFK ASSASSINATION IN 1968: What had to come out is that there was another shooter to my right and Robert Kennedy was also to my right where Sirhan Sirhan was almost straight ahead and is at to my left standing on some steel plat -- you know, raised platform and there were two shooters.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KAYE: As you know, Sirhan Sirhan was sentenced to life as the lone shooter in the 1968 murder. But his attorneys are hoping for a new trial. Nina Rhodes-Hughes was never called as a witness in the original trial.
Newt Gingrich has picked a dropout date. A source close to the former House speaker tells CNN that it will be Wednesday. In his farewell speech, Gingrich is expected to back likely nominee Mitt Romney.
They call it the Washington prom. It's the White House correspondents' dinner. A chance for the president to poke fun at himself and his political rivals. Pretty much nothing was off limits.
Check out this crack from host for the night, Jimmy Kimmel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMMEL: You know, there's a term for guys like President Obama. Probably not two terms, but there is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The president had quite a few zingers as well and you can see them all at CNN.com.
A quiet day with friends, that's how Prince William and Catharine are spending their first anniversary. Remember, it was very different one year ago today. That's when the world tuned in to watch the royal wedding.
It was a fairy tale moment. We'll have more on the anniversary and how things have gone in their first year together, coming up in just a few minutes.
The central U.S. could see another round of severe weather today. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is tracking all of that for us.
Good morning, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Randi.
Unfortunately, you're absolutely right. It looks like a great deal of the Central and Southern Plains, as well as parts of the Ohio Valley and the mid, Mississippi Valley might be dealing with a slow risk of storms. All the factors are there -- we've got the warm mass coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, you've got the dividing line, the cold air to the North, the mild air to the South. You now have the lifting mechanism in terms of the daytime heating in that area of low pressure. So, yes, certainly a chance of strong storms.
We've had some strong thunderstorms this morning in parts of Kansas City and even to Oklahoma. You see the scattered showers right around Kansas City.
And check out the lightning, quite a bit of electricity with this particular storm. In fact, as we put this into motion, you'll notice we can expect the warm air as we were talking about flowing its way into parts of the Southern Plains. That muggy air and the colder air in the North, you've got all the factors. Like I've said, pretty rough day.
Plus, any flights you might have, maybe taking you to Dallas, maybe Memphis, right near the dividing lines, things could be bumpy, especially into the afternoon.
To the West, plenty of sunshine, nice and beautiful for much of the Great Basin, even into West Coast. For much of the Southeast, a mix of sun and clouds, very muggy. But in the Northeast, it's going to be very fantastic for you. It won't be fantastic in terms of your travel especially in St. Louis. Thunderstorms are a possibility.
Kansas City, same deal. Right now, we're expecting delays to be under an hour. But should the storms really intensify, well, you can expect those delays potential delays to really extend. Miami, also the rain could give you some ideas. And San Diego and San Francisco, you have some fog.
Speaking of fog, as we wrap things up, take a look at this great shot that we have in Atlanta here. You barely see the tops of the buildings due to the low clouds and fog we have in the area. We expect that to stick around through mid-morning and things should burn off. It should be a fairly nice but muggy day.
That's the latest, Randi. Back to you.
KAYE: All right. Reynolds, thank you very much.
WOLF: You bet.
KAYE: The Vatican's cracking down on American nuns. It's trying to rein them in. But my next guest says that he's putting his bet on the sisters. We'll talk with him. But, first, look at this beautiful picture out of Washington, D.C. The sun is up, no fog there, that's for sure.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERICAL BREAK)
KAYE: The Vatican's blasting one of the most influential group of nuns in the United States and my next guest says that the battle between the two, his money is, quote, "on the sisters".
Joining me now is "New York Times" columnist Nick Kristof. He writes the paper's "On the Ground" blog.
Good morning to you, Nick.
NICHOLAS KRISTOF, NEW YORK TIMES: Good morning, Randi.
KAYE: I don't think that I have never heard anyone say, nuns rock. But that is the first line of your column. So, tell us why -- I mean, why do you think that nuns rock?
KRISTOF: Well, you know, I travel around the world great deal and I just kept noticing in the most remote places with the greatest need, time and time again, I would run into these extraordinary nuns.
I think the first time this really blew me away was in eastern Congo, in a town that was notorious for killings, for mass rape and all the aide groups had fled. And there was this little nun, this Western nun who was single-handedly running an orphanage, running an emergency feeding center, trying to keep the warlord at bay. And I was just blown me away. And I've seen things like that over and over.
KAYE: Yes.
KRISTOF: To me, they are just the best part of that church.
KAYE: You certainly have a soft spot for nuns, citing their roles, as you just did in everything, from uncovering church scandals, to the recent Kony 2012 campaign, I mean, there is a real history there, right?
KRISTOF: Yes. And I think in recent years, you know, the bishops have managed to do a great deal to discredit the church, partly because of the pedophile priest scandals, and the attempts of cover up there, while at the same time, it has been the nuns who I think have single-handedly redeemed the church. The bishops have come across as all about the power, and the nuns about the powerless.
KAYE: The Vatican, of course, has some pretty specific complaints against the Leadership Conference on Women religious, saying that the U.S. nuns have a, quote, "Prevalence of certain radical feminist themes incompatible with Catholic faith and that the Catholic Church's biblical view of family life and human sexuality are not part of the group's agenda in a way that promotes church teaching, and that occasional public statements that disagree with or challenge positions taken by the bishops are not compatible with its purpose."
I mean, the Vatican says that these nuns aren't speaking out enough against things like gay marriage or abortion and shouldn't support the health care law's contraception mandate. What's your take? I mean, are the nuns out of line, or are they in keeping with their traditional role?
KRISTOF: I think one can argue, Randi, that they are out of line to some degree with the Vatican today. But think it's hard to say that they're out of line with the gospels. If you look through the document that came out of the Vatican, really the underlying text is that these women religious are spending too much time fighting poverty, working on social justice, and not enough time battling homosexuality or battling abortion.
And, of course, in the gospels there isn't a word about homosexuality, there isn't a word about abortion. And in contrast, it is full of themes of poverty, of social justice, and working with the marginalized.
To me, those nuns, boy, they are just at the forefront of what the gospels are all about.
KAYE: And what has some of the responses been to the Vatican's comments? What have you heard?
KRISTOF: Well, it's been sort of fascinating to watch. And there's been this outpouring of support for them. I think, you know, from a lot of people I meet who just see them as the heart and soul and the best side of the Catholic Church, said there are four petitions right now that are being circulated to support them. One on Change.org -- well, as of last night it had 16,000 signatures. I bet it's a lot more now.
And there's also an effort or discuss of a campaign that would reallocate some donations that currently go to one's own parish to support the nuns.
KAYE: And so this bishop has been appointed to oversee this group that we're talking about. I mean, do nuns really need reining in?
KRISTOF: Well, it is true, I think, that they haven't been as active fighting abortion, for example, as the bishops would like. On the other hand, you know, I think the bishops see the way to fight abortion is passing laws and making speeches right and left, and I think that many of the nuns indeed are in the life can't, but they see the way to do this as to work with the poor, to get them through school, to support them when they need it the most. And it's a kind of grassroots initiative.
So I don't actually think that the nuns by and large are radical feminists at all. But I think they have a fundamentally different view of the world and how to bring about change in it.
KAYE: Well, Nick, it's been another fascinating conversation. We love having you on on Sunday mornings with us. And I have tweeted out and posted your columns from "The New York Times," "We're All Nuns" -- really great stuff. Thank you so much.
KRISTOF: Thanks, Randi.
KAYE: One year ago today, Kate Middleton became Catherine, duchess of Cambridge. We'll look at how she's become a global superstar and who's profiting from Catherine's success.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: This just in to CNN: there's a report now about an attack on church services at a university in Kano, Nigeria. "AFP" is reporting that at least 20 people were killed in the gun and bomb attack. Officials aren't confirming any casualties. We'll continue to follow this. And as we get more information, we'll bring it to you.
Well, it was a fairy tale wedding. One year ago today, the world watched Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton tie the knot. But did you know, since the two were engaged, Kate's style has been having an effect on fashion all around the world.
Nadia Bilchik joining me now for much more on this.
I mean, every time I pick up "People" magazine, there's another photo of Kate in another new dress. I guess people really like what she's wearing.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENT: They really like what she's wearing. In fact, it's called the Kate effect of the duchess of Cambridge. Effect, that is the impact it's had. And just this week, she came out wearing a Rebecca Taylor tweed blue suit and the jacket.
KAYE: Sounds really nice.
BILCHIK: It's really nice. I hope the picture will come up have very shortly of the very lovely Rebecca Taylor tweed suit.
But the jacket of the suit -- there indicate is, in fact, in completely other fashion. There she is wearing her beautiful hats.
So, before we get to Rebecca Taylor, let's talk about her hats for the moment. The hat industry has bloomed and blossomed.
KAYE: I'm sure. She's great for the hat business and she wears them well.
BILCHIK: She really does. (INAUDIBLE) who's the famous hat designer of Kate, as well as Vivien Sheriff. And I spoke to Vivien Sheriff recently. She said she went from this little business in Wilshire in rural England and now has a multi-national hat business. It's not only the brimmed hats, it's also brimless hats as you can see that Kate wears so well -- all kinds of hats.
KAYE: She's never really without a hat, very rarely at least.
BILCHIK: Hats are so good for the hair because your hair doesn't get messy under a hat.
KAYE: All right. She's also apparently really popularized one New York designer as well.
BILCHIK: Yes, Rebecca Taylor. And I started telling you about the famous blue tweed suit that she wore this week. And it's extraordinary, because Rebecca herself is a New Zealander who's based in New York.
And she literally wore it on Thursday. She was very surprised, Rebecca was, and within literally minutes, the jacket sold out.
KAYE: Wow.
BILCHIK: That's the impact on the fashion world.
KAYE: That's not surprising. I mean, it really isn't. And her fashion, I guess has become so popular which we also see happened often. But now, there are knock-offs and copy cats out there trying to make it.
BILCHIK: Very much so. And one company based in the U.S., JS Designs, has sold so many copies. I mean, they sold -- just off the wedding dress itself, around 3,000 units. Pippa's dress, around 10,000. The lacy cocktail dress that she wore, around 5,000 units. And this is just one company making copies off knock-offs.
So, you can imagine throughout the world how many knock-offs there are.
KAYE: That is a royal effect on fashion.
BILCHIK: I want to talk about the LK Bennett pump. This is as close as I've come to the nude pump. But she has absolutely popularized the concept of the nude pump and she has brought stockings back.
KAYE: Not for me.
BILCHIK: But you wear them well.
KAYE: Very nice.
BILCHIK: And this LK Bennett has named a shoe after her. They call it The Kate.
KAYE: Wow.
BILCHIK: So, you know --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: I want a shoe named after me one day. BILCHIK: The Randi.
KAYE: All right. Nadia, thank you very much. I appreciate that.
Well, he was found stuck in a cactus, and now thanks to a little help from the strangers, "Cactus Jack," that little guy right there -- well, he's out of that sticky situation. An update on this courageous little pup next.
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KAYE: Hope (INAUDIBLE) you hard in L.A. this morning. Maybe they're sleeping. But even better yet, maybe they're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Glad you're with us, everybody.
Time to check out the favorite stories this week. Reynolds has joined me for that.
We have a few favorites, don't we?
WOLF: We do. The first is cool and disturbing at the same time. It really is.
KAYE: Oh, it's kind of cute, though. Watch this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Became a symbol for organ donation and is celebrating he her 21st birthday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: You got to love it, right? You bring your dog to work. This guy did, and you don't expect it, right, Reynolds, to show up on TV?
WOLF: That's very true. Stormy the weather dog, you know, he's supposed to stay underneath the desk during this Toronto newscast, but obviously did not obey orders.
KAYE: And apparently he belongs to the weather man. So, what do you have to say for yourself on that one?
WOLF: I mean, collars work well. Leashes work pretty well. But thank heavens it was a dog.
I mean, can you imagine, it could have been like, you know, muskrat, some kind of -- maybe an otter.
KAYE: A child.
WOLF: Chinchilla. You know, there are a lot of ways you could have gone with that. so, dog is probably the least harmless. KAYE: A lion or a bear or something.
WOLF: That's true. That's very true.
KAYE: All right. We're going to stick with adorable dogs and puppies, because we like them her on the show.
But check out this little guy. Yes. He stole our hearts this week. His name is Cactus Jack. He was found this week stuck in a contact was covered in spines. Turns out someone rescued him.
And he was found last week stuck in a cactus, hence the name, covered in spines. Well, it turns out somebody rescued him. He's an 8-week-old Yorkshire terrier. And then they had to auction him off at a -- well, they had a lottery, not really an auction, because everybody in the community wanted him. How cute is he?
WOLF: He's cute. But, I mean, first, he's covered with these giant thorns in his head and then he has the indignity of being auctioned off. Why Cactus Jack? Why not pinhead? Why not call him anything?
Well, you saw, look at him. It's a face that only a mother could love. But you see the futility that they obviously had with a cactus, not a good moment there, but certainly a happy, happy result.
KAYE: No. You know, my dog that I used to have, he got into a roll of sticky stamps, you know, the self adhesive ones, and I came home and he had stamps all over him. Kind of like Cactus Jack.
WOLF: But you didn't want to auction him off.
KAYE: No way.
WOLF: You didn't call him sticky, did you?
KAYE: No.
WOLF: All right. Well, there you go.
KAYE: Kept him for 14 year after that little incident.
WOLF: Well played. There you go.
KAYE: All right. So, one more, we have this pizza that's now come out. It's Pizza Hut's royal masterpiece. And guess what is in the crust? It's actually made of mini cheeseburgers. Are you drooling?
WOLF: A little bit, a little bit. You know, some people would probably see this and say, you know what, I'm still trying to get my appetite back after seeing a gorgeous puppy with the thorns in its head, but looking after seeing this incredible, high fat, crust of this pizza, it's --
KAYE: I think it looks really good. WOLF: I do, too. It's football food. It's Super Bowl food. It's like watching some athletic events in the evening --
KAYE: They've actually done this once before. They put hot dogs in the crust. Cheeseburgers or hot dogs, which way would you go?
WOLF: Why not both?
KAYE: Oh!
WOLF: Expand the horizon.
KAYE: Half and half.
WOLF: Exactly. You know, you remember, the earth curves a little bit. Do know it's flat, just go beyond. I'd say do both, do hot dogs and do burgers. Maybe ribs, maybe?
KAYE: All right. You're over the top.
WOLF: OK, I've gone a little too far.
KAYE: Vegetarian, remember?
WOLF: You're a smart lady.
KAYE: All right. That was fun. We'll get you pizza next week.
WOLF: You bet.
KAYE: OK. So, why some groups thrive on mixing religion and politics. Just ahead, I'm going to talk with one Christian who says churches on the left and right should not be embracing partisan politics.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
You've heard of groups like the Moral Majority and the Christian Coalition, two Christian groups that generally embrace a conservative view on politics. But my next guest is challenging not just the view from the right but the left as well.
Jonathan Merritt is the author of "A Faith of Our Own," and he's joining me now for this morning's "Faces of the Faith" segment.
Good morning to you.
JONATHAN MERRITT, AUTHOR, "A FAITH OF OUR OWN": Good morning.
KAYE: So, you write about culture wars, political power and religion and this new generation of evangelicals. What has influenced the shift in attitude to create this new generation? MERRITT: Yes, I think it's probably two things. First of all, they've seen the way that the last 30 years of Christian political engagement has influenced public perceptions about Christianity. Young adults today see Christians as judgmental, hypocritical, anti- intellectual, anti-gay -- and they don't see themselves that way. So, they want to present themselves in a way that's accurate.
And I think the second thing, which is probably the most important is that the religious right strategy has been shown largely to be a failure. Thirty years ago, the religious right formed in the public square to make abortion illegal and turn back the tide of same- sex marriage and to reduce the size of government and all of those -- we're still having those debates today.
In some ways we've spent millions and millions of dollars and man hours as a movement in order to make -- affect very little change in the public square.
KAYE: Has this been a slow shift would you say or pretty rapid?
MERRITT: I think it's been a -- a slow shift. Because you're having a generation now that's coming of age and -- and I would say you've seen it really mature in probably the last 10 or 15 years or so. I would say probably in 21st century you've seen this generation really rise up.
KAYE: Religion and politics in the U.S. go hand in hand. We've seen quite a bit of it certainly in this year's primary. What is your solution then for separating them?
MERRITT: Yes well, my solution is to let this generation be who they want to be because I love the shifts that are happening. There are really three shifts that are going on among this generation. They are shifting from being partisan to being largely Independent.
I was at gathering of young Evangelicals at the Q Conference in Washington D.C. recently, 61 percent of those gathering -- of those participant said they don't affiliate with the left or the right. I think there's a shift from divisive rhetoric to civil dialogue.
So we want to be able to have conversations with those that we disagree with to work on common ground agendas and then there's a shift from a narrow agenda to a broader agenda. In the last 20 or 30 years the -- the conservative Christian movement was almost exclusively focused on one or two issues, abortion, gay marriage and maybe religious liberty thrown in for good measure.
But now you have a generation of Christians who are concerned about waging peace, about caring for the environment protecting the poor, advocating for the immigrant and yes even caring for those who are not yet born.
KAYE: You also talk about embracing, you know, this broader agenda of Christianity instead of focusing on just a few issues. Where have you witnessed this in your own life I'm curious? MERRITT: Well, I'll tell you. I became an environmentalist at a Southern Baptist Seminary, so I have a really unique journey. But, you know, I've worked with the largest adoption agency in the U.S., I've gone overseas to serve on mission trips and I've about seen the needs in this world that Christians have largely been silent on in America in the last 20 or 30 years and so there is a discrepancy I think between the issues that would invigorate Jesus if he were still alive here on Planet Earth right now and the issues that we find Christians almost completely obsessed with.
KAYE: I'm glad you brought Jesus up. Because I'm curious what you would say I mean, if -- if Jesus was a member of a political party do you -- just work with me here -- do you think he would be Democrat, Independent, Republican?
MERRITT: Yes, I -- you know that's -- I've -- you're not the first person that's asked that. And the easy answer is I don't know. I don't know what party. My -- my gut tells me Jesus would probably eschew affiliating with either party. I think Jesus would be the ultimate values voter.
In other words he would advocate for the things that are right regardless of whether the liberals or the conservatives, Republicans or Democrat claim -- claimed the moral high ground on those issues and I think that's the lesson for us as followers of Jesus Christ that we would do the same. That we wouldn't be the hand-maiden of the Republican Party for example as many conservative Christians have been over the last 20 years.
KAYE: Yes. So do you have a blanket message say for -- for the candidates who are looking to -- to get into the White House again?
MERRITT: Yes well I would say this. The -- the American Evangelical community can no longer be treated as a monolithic voting bloc. And so to pander to us -- Christians are something of a cheap date in America really when you think about it. They -- they come to us, they pander to us as a community just like they would a teachers' union or senior citizens and then they spend four years apologizing to us for why they didn't keep any of their promises.
So it's time that we quit allowing ourselves to be treated like this, to be reduced to a voting bloc and instead vote our morals, vote our convictions but do it in a way that is nonpartisan, that's not divisive.
KAYE: Jonathan we'd love to have you back to discuss more about this as we get closer to the election as well. So thank you.
MERRITT: I'm happy to do. Thank you.
KAYE: Enjoy your Sunday.
For more stories on faith be sure you check out our widely popular belief blog at CNN.com/belief.
A judge may decide any day now whether to let Andrea Yates go to church but that church is outside the mental hospital that she's been living in for the last five-plus years. It is a place that she has been in and has called home, put there because she killed her five children.
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KAYE (voice-over): She is a woman in search of redemption; nearly 11 years after filling a bathtub at her Houston area home and methodically drowning her five children.
GEORGE PARNHAM, ANDREA YATES' ATTORNEY: She is a very spiritual person, reads the Bible constantly.
KAYE: For more than five years Andrea Yates has been locked up inside a Texas mental hospital but now her doctors say she's made such progress that they'd like to grant her request to attend church outside the facility once a week. Her defense lawyer George Parnham says the congregation has agreed to let her come.
Long before that awful day in 2001 Andrea appeared to be a healthy, happy mother.
ANDREA YATES, KILLED HER FIVE CHILDREN: They're mine.
KAYE: She home schooled her children. But in the years leading up to the murders, Andrea became delusional. With each birth it got worse. She hardly made sense when talking with a psychologist before her trial.
YATES: The cartoon characters were talking to us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cartoon characters?
YATES: Saying, hey, kids, stop eating so much candy.
KAYE: Before the murders Andrea had been hospitalized four times, attempted suicide twice and was on and off anti-psychotic medications. Her defense team claims she suffered from severe post partum depression. She thought she was a bad mother and that her children were doomed to spend eternity in hell. The only way to save them, she thought, was to kill them.
PARNHAM: What loving mother would want their children to burn in hell?
KAYE: On June 20th 2001, Andrea waited for her husband Rusty Yates to leave for work, then filled the bathtub, holding each child one by one under the water. The oldest, Noah, was seven; the youngest, Mary, just six months. When she was done, she calmly called 911.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you having a disturbance? Are you ill or what?
YATES: Yes, I'm ill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you need an ambulance.
YATES: No, I need a police officer. Yes, send an ambulance.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KAYE: Andrea later confessed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After you drew the bath water, what was your intent? What were you about to do?
YATES: Drown my children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bring up your right hand, please.
KAYE: At her 2002 trial, she was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison but after it was discovered a key prosecution witness had lied on the stand, Andrea got a new trial. At her 2006 retrial, a jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity. She and Rusty divorced in 2005.
(on camera): As part of her divorce settlement Andrea Yates was given permission to be buried next to her children here at the cemetery outside Houston. In all these years she's never been able to visit their graves and even if she is allowed out to attend church, she still won't be able to come here.
But her attorney told me that he comes to visit the grave site every year on the children's birth date because their mother can't.
(voice-over): Her attorney says Andrea has been treated for depression and still takes medication for her bipolar disorder. It will be up to a judge to decide if he's well enough to attend church.
(on camera): This is a woman who drowned five of her children.
PARNHAM: I understand that.
KAYE: I mean, why on earth should she be allowed to do anything, let alone attend church?
PARNHAM: It's my belief is that if you're not mentally culpable, then you're not responsible criminally for those acts.
KAYE: But Andrea has a dark history with religion. Her defense team claims her delusions got worse after the couple befriended a traveling preacher named Michael Warnicky (ph) he convinced them to give away their possessions and move their children into a 340-square- another bus.
KAYE: Are you at all concerned that she might be negatively influenced by the scripture sitting in church again?
PARNHAM: No, because Andrea was ill at the time that these -- the parameters of her delusion, which happen to be in the images that Warnicky and his group would foist upon her ill mind. She's not that way now.
George Parnham says all she wants is a stable church where God and Christianity can have a role in her life.
KAYE: I'm just curious. Does she feel any guilt?
PARNHAM: She mourns and she feels a great deal of remorse. And perhaps she can equate that in the guilt.
KAYE: Try as she may, all the prayers in the world may not be enough to assuage the guilt of such a horrific crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And a decision by the judge could come at any day now. We will, of course, keep you posted on what is decided on Andrea Yates' future.
President Obama getting some fund-raising help from former President Bill Clinton. Just ahead, how much people are paying to have dinner with the two of them today.
But first, a lovely shot there of Columbus Circle in New York City just off Central Park south there, the fountains are going. Good morning, New York. We'll be right back.
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KAYE: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Later today Bill Clinton is going to appear with President Obama for a campaign fundraiser. It's going to be in Virginia at the home of former DNC chairman Terry McAuliffe. About 80 donors are paying $20,000 to have dinner with the two presidents -- Presidents Obama and Clinton. More than 500 supporters will attend the reception. Obama and Clinton will be doing two more fund raisers together in the future.
Let's go to Washington now. CNN's STATE OF THE UNION with Candy Crowley is coming up at the top of the hour. Candy, good morning do you.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Good morning.
KAYE: I understand you have an exclusive interview with House Speaker John Boehner this morning.
CROWLEY: We do indeed. It's been a while since we talked to him so we wanted to get sort of the lay of the land really politically for the House. As you know, the Speaker said earlier this year that he didn't see any way that Democrats would become the majority in the House and then more recently he said, well, maybe there's a one in three chance they might.
So we want to go back and take a look at the House because as we know everybody there is up for re-election as well as a third of the senate, and of course, just get his lay of the land now that Republicans have a nominee, what he thinks of the nominee, how they'll work together, that kind of thing.
KAYE: Do you think he's going give you any thoughts on a possible short list for a vice-presidential candidate for Mitt Romney, the likely nominee.
CROWLEY: Well truth in advertising, we've already done the interview, so I can tell you that we did, indeed, talk about that, and so, you know, I think you'll just have to stick around next hour.
KAYE: Oh. Such a tease there -- ok. I'm sure you also then talk about whether Mitt Romney's wealth, which a lot of folks are talking about, could hurt his chances with blue collar voters. What do you think?
CROWLEY: Sure. Well, I'll tell you what's also interesting about this is that background-wise. John Boehner and Mitt Romney could not be more different. John Boehner came from a very modest, to put it mildly, background. He talked about sweeping and mopping the floor in his father's bar. He was a bartender, put himself through college.
And up against Mitt Romney, that certainly is a very different background. As you know, Mitt Romney's father had a privileged background and also went on to make multimillions of dollars. And I did ask him about whether he thought that would be a problem for Mitt Romney as he moved forward.
The short answer is no, he didn't think that Romney's wealth would get in the way of people voting for him. His explanation for that is pretty interesting.
KAYE: I also want to talk to you about Osama bin Laden because it's hard to believe but it's been nearly one year since he was killed. Is the White House still worried about al Qaeda? I know that you're going to be talking with the former -- actually the President's top counterterrorism advisor on the show today.
CROWLEY: Yes, John Brennan is with us today, the President's advisor in counterterrorism and homeland security. And yes, I mean the administration still knows that there are al Qaeda elements out there that certainly even if they have weakened them which they believe they have and have proof that they have, they know that they have what a recent alert said aspirational plots.
They would still like to attack the U.S. and in particular, right now, they really feel that they have weakened al Qaeda in Afghanistan, if there really are any al Qaeda left there and in Pakistan. Their attention is on al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula particularly in Yemen.
KAYE: Well, Candy it sounds like once again you have a great show lined up for all of us. Thank you very much.
CROWLEY: Thank you. KAYE: We'll see you shortly here. Keep it here for "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley. It starts in about 14 minutes from now at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, 6:00 a.m. Pacific right here on CNN.
Just ahead, we'll run down some of the big events happening in the coming days, including an announcement from one of the presidential candidates.
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KAYE: And welcome back.
Let's take a look at our week ahead on our "Week Ahead" calendar. It's going to be a somber start to the week actually. On Tuesday which is actually the first day of May, a memorial will be held for "60 Minutes" icon Mike Wallace. As you may recall, he died earlier this month.
On Wednesday, as we've mentioned to you a couple of times here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING, Newt Gingrich is going to end his bid -- officially end his bid for the White House.
On Friday we'll get the April jobs report. It was kind of mixed last time. We'll see what this will all mean for the unemployment rate, coming up on Friday morning. So keep it tuned here.
And on Saturday -- well, here we go, come on, there we go. Saturday, let the celebrations begin because it is Cinco de Mayo commemorating the Mexican army's victory over France. And also On Saturday, May 5th, we have the Kentucky Derby. I don't know about you but I checked out. I know nothing about horse racing at all but I do have my eye on a horse named "Daddy Long Legs" just because I thought the name was kind of cool.
All right. Well, this could be a first. A gay war vet discharged under "don't ask, don't tell" proposed to his boyfriend when he got back from Afghanistan on a military base. The newly engaged couple joins us in just a moment.
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KAYE: This is likely a first on a U.S. military base; a gay Navy veteran proposed to his boyfriend, a Marine returning from Afghanistan; Cory Huston served in the navy but was discharged under "don't ask, don't tell".
Now that the policy banning gays in the military has been repealed, Huston decided that he would pop the question without fear of anyone else seeing. You can tell by the look on his face, Avarice Guerrero was pretty darn shocked and, yes, he said yes. The newly engaged couple joins us now from San Diego.
Good morning to the two of you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning. KAYE: So less than a year ago, I mean you look at the history here. You could have been court-martialed for this. How does it feel knowing that you're breaking through the barriers, Cory?
CORY HUSTON, DISCHARGED UNDER DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL: It feels good, especially being someone that was discharged under don't ask, don't tell. And right before he got deployed he was outed to his command and that was right before the repeal of don't ask don't tell so it was all kind of -- we were worried about everything that was going to happen then. And then when he came home, I was -- you know, I wanted to have one of those romantic kisses that everyone sees between like the service member and their partner, you know, when they come home, all the statues they have pictures of and stuff.
I wanted to do it and I was planning on proposing anyway because everything you through on a deployment. You realize if you make it through this, you can make it through anything. So I decided to pop the question and his answer was, are you serious?
KAYE: And then he said yes.
HUSTON: Yes, eventually.
KAYE: So Avarice, how did you feel? I mean here you are. You're on the military base and Cory drops down to one knee.
AVARICE GUERRERO: Well, it's kind of hard to explain because of the fact that before that he had originally asked me to take off my promise ring, and I literally started freaking out because I thought he was breaking up with me. And once he got down on one knee, I literally started thinking like is he serious? Is he really going to ask me to marry him out of everything we've been through?
KAYE: And Cory, you were discharged in 2006 and you met Avarice in May last year. Was it hard dating a man in the military and keeping the relationship a secret because, of course, before "don't ask, don't tell" was repealed.
HUSTON: Right. It was hard at first but I knew how it was for me, you know, being in the -- when I was in the military and I was discharged I was active duty dating an active duty person and it was understandable. I told him, I said, I know how it is in the military and I know it's going to be difficult but I'm not going to not date you because you're in the military.
KAYE: And Avarice, how did it feel? I mean were there people around during the proposal? I mean what kind of reaction did you get then and even now?
GUERRERO: I was so into the moment when he proposed to me I kind of just blocked everyone out, but apparently from what he tells me, they kind of gave him some stares but we didn't get no comments or anything but -- like whatever.
KAYE: Is there a wedding plan, Cory? And I guess the question would be where right? Because same sex marriage isn't legal in California. So what's your plan?
HUSTON: Well we talked about it and we kind of want to wait until I finish my bachelor. I'm working on Bachelor of Science in Nursing now. I used to be a corpsman. And so I'm working on my nursing degree right now.
In the next year or so, we want to get everything ready. I don't think we're going to do it in California because hopefully he's getting reassigned somewhere. I'd like to have a New York wedding or Vermont.
KAYE: And were you -- I mean was this -- I know this was about love, but was this also about sending a message here, Cory?
HUSTON: Originally, no. You know, originally I just wanted to pop the question and, you know, have -- locally in San Diego, people are like, oh, that's cool. I thought it was going to be on Facebook and be local. But then once -- now that the -- I mean now it's been picked up by so many media sites and the original site has been shared on Facebook like over 11,000 times.
And I talked to him about it, last night. And I just explained, I said it's important to us because we got engaged but it's also important because there's young gay people coming out of boot camp who, you know, even though it's ok to be gay in the military, there's still a stigma, and I want -- and I want, you know, them to be like, ok, well, other people have done it so I don't have to be ashamed of who I am.
I spent too many years being ashamed with who I was and trying to be someone I wasn't. So in a way we are trying to send a message saying that it's ok.
KAYE: Well, I'm sure that this was a life-exchanging experience for the two of you and for many others in the future. Cory, Avarice -- It's so nice to chat with you both. Congratulations on your engagement.
HUSTON: Thank you so much.
GUERRERO: All right. Let's share some more of our top stories with you now.
In St. Louis as many as people are in serious condition this morning. They were hurt during a post-game party near at Busch Stadium when strong winds tore up a tent at a sports bar. One person was killed. As many as 150 were packed under the tent celebrating the Cardinal win over the Milwaukee Brewers. The tent was supposed to be able to withstand 90-mile-an-hour winds. The winds that tore up the tent were about 50 miles per hour.
Washington State police say a man who killed his wife and teenage daughter has been found dead inside a fortified bunker following a 22 star stand-off. Police say Peter Keller shot himself and may have been dead for some time. A SWAT Team found his body yesterday after using explosives to blow the underground bunker's roof right off. A quiet day with friends, is how Prince William and Catherine are spending their first anniversary. Remember it was a very different day one year ago. That's when the world tuned and watched the royal wedding.
It was a fairy tale moment. We'll have much more on the anniversary and how things have gone in their one wedded year throughout the day on CNN.
Thanks for watching today. You can always continue the conversation with me on Twitter @randikayeCNN. Candy Crowley's exclusive interview with Speaker John Boehner starts right now land will -- will begin in just a moment. Thank you.
