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CNN Sunday Morning

Irish Exchange Student Killed, Two Americans Arrested in Tokyo; Storm Warnings in the Southeast; From Sierra Leone to the U.S.

Aired May 27, 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 CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

Two American men are being questioned in the murder of an Irish student in Tokyo. Now, an international investigation is under way.

Plus, planning to hit the beach this holiday weekend? Might want to have a plan B. Part of the country is bracing for a tropical storm that could hit just hours from now. We'll have a live report.

And later, an incredible story about a girl who survived the horrors of war to become an icon of hope. "New York Times" columnist Nick Kristof explains.

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KAYE: Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. It is 8:00 on the East Coast, 5:00 on the West.

A lot to tell you about this morning. But first, we start with the arrest of those two American men in Japan. Police picked them up after the body of an Irish exchange student was found in one of their hotel rooms.

CNN's Kyung Lah joins me now on the telephone from Tokyo.

Good morning, Kyung.

What can you tell us about this woman? We're looking at a picture of her. She is the victim in this case. Tell us how she died.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, we know her name is Nicola Furlong. She's an exchange student from Ireland. She was studying here in Japan and that she had just recently celebrated her 21st birthday.

What Tokyo police are telling us is she died by something called suffocation by cervical compression, and that does sound like it's strangulation. Kyoto News Agency is reporting that she and a friend went to a Nicki Minaj on Wednesday night here in Tokyo, when she was approached by two Americans. She and her friend ended up with these men at a hotel in a party area here in Tokyo. The police confirm that she was hours later found dead in the hotel room and that in that hotel room was one of these Americans. And at this point the police say they are trying to figure out how these two men fit in with this woman's death.

KAYE: And do we know anything more about who these two men are?

LAH: We do know that they are American. The U.S. State Department does confirm that two Americans, that these men have been arrested. They would not release their names, but the Tokyo police say that they are both entertainers. There is a 19-year-old. He is a musician, he's a minor under Japanese law.

And a 23-year-old dancer named James Blackstone. We don't know if they are part of the Nicki Minaj concert group or if they were simply attending. But we know at that concert is where they met.

KAYE: And they have been arrested. Have they brought any charges against them yet?

LAH: And this is where it really does get a little tricky. What the police tell us is that, yes, they have arrested them, but not for the -- any connection, direct connection, to the Furlong's death. They are holding these men for fondling her friend in the back of a taxi.

Now, presumably that's so they can fully investigate this because one of the men was found in the same room with the woman when she died and that they perhaps are concerned they may be a flight risk and they're just trying to figure out again how these men fit in with this woman's death.

KAYE: Certainly, still a lot of questions, definitely needed some answers there.

Kyung Lah, thank you very much.

Nicola Furlong's death has rattled her small community back home in Ireland. Joining me now on the phone is her pastor, Father Jim Fitzpatrick.

Father, tell me first how her parents are doing?

JIM FITZPATRICK, ST. MARGARET'S CHURCH (via telephone): Good morning.

Everybody is a little bit devastated in the local area because this section parish to which Nicola belongs is very small, rural end of the parish in which there are only maybe 300 or 400 families in the total. So, I mean all of these 300 or 400 families would know each other quite well.

When something of any nature happens, it has a huge impact, the death of a young person especially. Everybody knows and everybody is in some way involved or concerned. And when it happens in tragic circumstances and so far away from home, it has a double impact on people, Randi, you know?

KAYE: Yes. What was Nicola like?

FITZPATRICK: Nicola was an outgoing, bubbly sort of girl and very well-liked. She celebrated her 21st birthday party last December and was really looking forward to being finished, her course in Tokyo, which would have been the last days of July. So she was according to text messages ready to come home. In recent days even she was looking forward to going to the concert, but she was also looking forward very much so to getting back to her local community.

KAYE: And can you tell us when the last time her parents had spoken with her was?

FITZPATRICK: My understanding is they had spoken with her on the same day as this Nicki Minaj concert took place. Obviously given the time difference, they had last contact at the crucial moments.

KAYE: And what does the family plan to do in terms of getting answers? Are they in touch with investigators or authorities there in Tokyo?

FITZPATRICK: Well, my understanding is that the Irish embassy are looking after all of that, and they are keeping the family very much updated with any developments that are ongoing.

KAYE: How long had she been there?

FITZPATRICK: She was there since last October. It was part of an exchange with Dublin City University, her year three of a four-year course.

KAYE: And I'm curious how this is impacting the community there. This is a small town, as you said, so I'm sure everybody there as you were talking about is aware of this. What will you do to help the community get through this?

FITZPATRICK: About all we can do is try to be there for them in whatever way we can, and I know that's the underwhelming wish of everyone is to be as supportive as they can possibly be in a very, very difficult situation, and the wish of everyone is to be whatever support or encouragement they can be to everyone involved.

KAYE: How is her sister doing? I understand she had posted just I believe that day or recently some pictures of Nicola on her Facebook page. How is she holding up?

FITZPATRICK: She's holding up OK. You seem to know more about her Facebook page than I do because some of your reporters have already mentioned to me you had been on the Facebook page already. So, I mean, when there's only two sisters, they're obviously very close siblings, and that's an important thing in all of this as well. They are very close and, as I say, the community is small. So something like this impacts greatly on all involved, and most especially, of course, Andrea, her sister.

KAYE: We're so very sorry for your loss. Father Jim Fitzpatrick, thank you very much for your time this morning.

FITZPATRICK: No problem. Thank you.

KAYE: Back here at home it's a holiday weekend. Tomorrow is Memorial Day, and you're looking at live pictures of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington. There are several special events planned in the nation's capital and around the country to remember our fallen soldiers.

President Obama will honor those soldiers at an event at Arlington National Cemetery tomorrow. Volunteers placed more than 260,000 American flags on the graves in Arlington, in preparation for Memorial Day.

To Syria now and a massacre blamed on government forces may have also killed any chance for peace in the country. United Nations observers say at least 85 people were killed in the town of Houla -- as many as 32 of them were children. Members of the opposition forces say they are ready to retaliate and say the U.N.-backed peace plan is dead.

Here is the head of the U.N. observer mission.

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MAJ. GEN. ROBERT MOOD, U.N. SUPERVISION MISSION IN SYRIA: We have through our observers counted 85 corpses, and the tragedy is elevated by the fact that 34 of the dead were children under the age of 10, and 7 women. The circumstances that led to these tragic killings are still unclear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The Syrian government says regional and western enemies such as the U.S. are responsible for the massacre. A spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, the leading voice of the anti-government opposition, says it's time for U.N. allies to launch air strikes against the Syrian military.

New pictures this morning from the International Space Station. They were taken inside the Dragon spacecraft. Astronaut Don Pettit said it still had that new car smell. The Dragon carried more than 1,000 pounds to the space station. The SpaceX mission is the first fully commercial flight to the station.

From an international symbol of tragedy to an inspiring story of resilience. "New York Times" columnist Nick Kristof shares the triumphant story of a survivor of the Sierra Leone civil war.

But first a very good morning to Washington, D.C. I'm glad you're with us.

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KAYE: I'm tweeting away here, so if you want to keep me company, feel free to send me a tweet.

It is shaping up to be a pretty nasty holiday weekend in parts of the Southeast. So let's bring in meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. She's keeping an eye on it for us.

Bring us up-to-date, Bonnie, on Beryl.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Beryl is going to make landfall sometime later tonight or even early Monday somewhere along the southeast coast.

Let's take a closer look at subtropical storm Beryl. You can see much more organization today than yesterday. Maximum winds are still at 50 miles per hour, and the storm is now moving to the west- southwest at 10 miles per hour.

So the movement is a little bit more fast than it was before, but we are going to see it slow down as it gets closer to the coast.

So we have right now tropical storm warnings in effect from South Carolina all the way down to Brevard County in Florida. It's quite an extensive area that could see winds of 39 miles per hour or stronger. And, remember, even before the storm makes landfall, we're likely to see the rain come in and the winds pick up as well.

We're also monitoring not only the bands of rain, but the threat for heavy surf, and that's going to be a concern as we go into the afternoon today and so many people are headed to the beach we had some concerns with rip currents yesterday. And it's more of that will be likely today as you can see the landfall looks like somewhere in the coastal areas of Florida or Georgia. Of course, the cone of uncertainty is pretty far and wide.

So, this storm affects a large area inland. It will bring heavy rain, possibly three to six inches on the high side, maybe one inch on the low side. You can see our forecast precipitation model shows some of the heaviest rain just to the west of Jacksonville, Florida, along I-10. Many of you are still driving to travel for today for this holiday weekend. You may be dodging some heavy rain and strong winds in that region.

Dangerous swimming conditions. You know, rip currents are a huge concern. I know the surfers are all excited to get out there and hit the waves, but please know that trip currents can always see them and they're very dangerous. Never swim on a beach that doesn't have a lifeguard. That could be very dangerous.

Let's talk about the rest of the country. We still have a threat for severe storms, but this time it's right in the center of the nation. Cities like Minneapolis, you will be impacted by strong thunderstorms later today.

Also a big story today is the heat. The temperatures are soaring today, and we're going to be facing some temperatures into the 90s across parts of the mid-south and even right here in Atlanta. Airport delays are something we're watching. This is a concern for travelers for today.

Also Florida, a lot of thunderstorms across the state. Be careful if your driving or expect airport delays if you're flying.

KAYE: All right, Bonnie. Thank you very much. Appreciate that.

A decade of civil war ravaged the west African nation of Sierra Leone in the '90s, but one little girl not only survived the tragedy that killed her mother and grandmother, she has now recreated her life right here in the U.S. with the help of her adoptive parents and she's thriving. I spoke with "New York Times" columnist Nick Kristof about the amazing story of Memuna.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Nick, you write in your column this week about the atrocities of years past in Sierra Leone in west Africa, but in doing so somehow you make us smile with one of the most uplifting story that is I have read in a long time about a little girl who was once the symbol of such atrocities. Tell me first what happened to her there.

NICK KRISTOF, COLUMNIST, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, this girl was -- she had had her arm amputated on the right side just below the shoulder, and she was photographed all over the world. These images of this 2-year-old girl as a victim of this militia in Sierra Leone that was going around killing people and most famously amputating people's arms and feet.

For me, it was really a reminder of the power of images to fight atrocities and the power of that narrative.

KAYE: Her grandmother and mother both tried to save her but as you write they were both shot right in front of her. It was her brother who was just 11 at the time that got her to safety.

KRISTOF: They had a good upper class lifestyle in the capital of Sierra Leone, about you then her father fled. Her mother and grandmother hid her with her in a mosque nearby, and by some accounts it was this girl crying that led the fighters to look inside that mosque for people, and when they entered, the grandmother tried to run away holding this little girl in her arms.

These fighters opened fire. They shot the grandmother dead. Some of the bullets hit the girl on her side, and they also shattered her arm.

Her mother ran toward her to try to rescue her injured daughter, and the militia fired on the mother and mortally wounded her. It was her 11-year-old brother who scooped up this girl, scooped up his 2- year-old sister, and carried her across town to a hospital, but there were so many people needing help that it was three days before a doctor could see her, and at that point they need to amputate her arm. They couldn't save it.

KAYE: So how did she end up in the United States?

KRISTOF: She came to the attention of the rotary foundation, which brought her and a group of other amputees to the United States for medical treatment. When she was here, they thought it would really be very difficult to send her back, and they began to look for an adoptive family, and there is this family in Washington, D.C., the woman, Kelly McShane, had been a peace corps volunteer in Sierra Leone, spoke the Sierra Leone language, Creole, and they already had a daughter and a son.

And they thought, boy, they could use one more member of the family, and so they adopted this girl.

KAYE: Wow. And so you mentioned she's a basketball star now with one arm. How is she doing?

KRISTFO: She's amazingly well-adjusted, and she -- you know, I sort of was asking to what extent not having an arm slowed her down, and she let me know in no uncertain terms that she can do absolutely anything that a person with two arms can do with the sole exception, she allowed, of maybe monkey bars.

KAYE: Wow, her attitude, just even reading your column, it's so refreshing. It really comes through. She does believe she can do anything. And really considering what she's been through, it's an incredible attitude to have, isn't it?

KRISTOF: Yes. I mean, to me there's really an object lesson here in that you have this girl who was a symbol of the human capacity for evil, and now the person who had been presiding over those atrocities in Sierra Leone, Charles Taylor, is now convicted by an international court. Sierra Leone has moved on and Memuna has moved on, and she seems to me a symbol of the extraordinary human capacity of resilience.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: My thanks, of course, as always to Nick Kristof who adds that Memuna is viewed as an icon in her native Sierra Leone.

And a note for our viewers this morning. We want you stay connected with CNN, even when you're on the go. So grab your mobile device, log on to CNN.com/TV, and we'll travel along with you.

One of America's most iconic landmarks is turning 75 today. We'll tell you about the celebrations going on at the Golden Gate Bridge.

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KAYE: Good Sunday morning, everyone. Checking stories cross count now. It is the diamond anniversary for one of the nation's most iconic symbols, the Golden Gate Bridge, celebrating its 75th birthday. Family events, music, fireworks, and an appearance by the USS Nimitz will help mark the celebration. More than 2 billion vehicles have crossed the bridge since it opened in 1937.

You know it's Memorial Day weekend when the rolling thunder rolls into the nation's capitol in a tribute to POWs and MIAs. Bikers will ride from the Pentagon to the National Mall, waving flags and revving their engines for the troops.

The parents of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, a POW in Afghanistan, are expected to lead the way in a vintage Model T.

And Ft. Hood has kicked of their week-long celebration to honor Vietnam vets. The highlight of the week is a homecoming ceremony for those vets who did not get a warm reception when they first returned home from the Vietnam War.

In Washington state, Ft. Lewis soldiers enjoyed a day of celebration and remembrance. Families were reunited on this Memorial Day weekend. CNN affiliate KOMO covered the homecoming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK MILLER, KOMO REPORTER: Marching in, it's the first time most of these soldiers and their loved ones have seen each other in a whole year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First thing you do is look for your family.

MILLER: That moment can be overwhelming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was more emotional than I thought it was going to be.

MILLER: No longer separated by a war so far very far away, you want the embrace to last forever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like a smile over your entire body.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel complete. I feel like I can relax again and I feel like I can finally be happy.

MILLER: Major Joseph Holland had no idea he'd be posing for a family reunion picture.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was so amazing. I didn't know anybody was going to be here. I just thought it would be my wife and family. And to see my extended family here was amazing.

MILLER: It was supposed to be a surprise for Sergeant First Class Johnnie Moore's two boys, but kids can be pretty intuitive.

SGT. 1ST CLASS JOHNNIE MOORE, U.S. ARMY: Did you know dad was coming home?

UNIDENTIFEID GIRL: Yes.

MOORE: Oh, you knew?

MILLER: Nobody mentioned this until I did, but the fact that this homecoming falls on Memorial Day weekend is not lost on these soldiers.

MOORE: It reminds me of those that went before us, those that sacrificed so that we can be here so that we can come home. And that's why Memorial Day is special to us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And once again that was Mark Miller for CNN affiliate KOMO reporting.

Remembering our fallen heroes this Memorial Day. We'll talk with one man who has turned his search for his father's remains into an inspiration for others. And an organization dedicated to preserving their memories.

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KAYE: This weekend, we remember those who have fallen in battle, but I want to take a moment to talk about Vietnam.

Last week, President Obama issued a proclamation asking Americans to remember the war. He declared May 28th, tomorrow, as the start of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, saying, "We reflect with solemn reverence upon the valor of a veneration that served with honor. We pay tribute to the more than 3 million servicemen and women who left their families to serve bravely, a world away from everything they knew and everyone they loved.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: Tony Cordero lost his father in Vietnam in 1965. He's now dedicated himself to honoring his father's memory and to helping other Gold Star children do the same.

Thank you, Tony, for joining us this morning.

TONY CORDERO, FATHER KILLED IN VIETNAM WAR: Thanks for having me.

KAYE: First, tell us a little bit about your dad.

CORDERO: He was typical soldier from the Vietnam Era. He graduated from Loyola University in Los Angeles, was an ROTC student, was a Hispanic officer in the Air Force in the late '50s and early '60s which was unique, and was the navigator in a B-57 that was lost on the Vietnam-Laos border in 1965.

KAYE: And you founded the Sons and Daughters in Touch. That's the name of the organization. Tell me a little bit about it in what your mission is.

CORDERO: Well, in the late '80s, many of us were growing up, we were young adults, and wondered were we the only ones who had lost our dads in the war? And we quickly found that we were not. There was no organization that would bring us together. And so, we formed this national coalition that became Sons and Daughters in Touch.

And now, we have members from every corner of the country. Our dads served in every branch and literally every rank in the military during the war, and we were one of the standard bearers with the Gold Star families organizations.

KAYE: And I would imagine that a lot of you are still having trouble finding out what really happened to your fathers in Vietnam.

CORDERO: Correct. A number of our members still are searching for answers to the fate of their father. They're listed as missing, and the joint POW/MIA accounting command in Honolulu is searching for those answers, but our members still are asking those questions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And you can catch that entire interview and more later today. Just check out my "NEWSROOM" blog. Go to CNN.com/Randi, and there you can find the stories and the guests that you might have missed on the program or guests that you might want to see again. It's always there for you.

Earlier this morning I told you about what may be a landmark legal decision. A New Jersey judge has ruled in favor of a woman facing a lawsuit over her text messages. David and Linda Kubert each lost a leg when they were hit by a distracted driver in 2009 and that driver admitted he was texting at the time.

Along with suing the driver though, the couple also sued the then-17-year-old girl who was sending the text to that driver. But the judge ruled that she isn't liable.

So we asked what you thought, and here are some of your tweets. Ann says, "Absolutely not. It's the responsibility of the driver to wait until it's safe to text."

Alexander says, "It's called self-control on the driver's side. If it's that important, call or pull over."

And Alex says, "It's like someone who is walking on the side of the road with a sign. It's not their fall if the driver looks."

You all seem to agree with that judge it turns out.

A pastor's shocking message on mother's day has a lot of people buzzing. The pastor said gays and lesbians should be left to die surrounded by electric fences so they can't escape. But his supporters insist he's got a big heart. We're getting into the controversy in "Faces of Faith," straight ahead.

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KAYE: Welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye. Bottom of the hour now. Here's a check of our top stories.

Japanese police have arrested two American men in Tokyo. They're investigating the death of a 21-year-old Irish exchange student. Police say Nicola Furlong was found dead in a hotel room with one of the men. It's believed she was strangled.

In the U.S., the TSA is easing security screening for older flyers. Passengers 75 years and older won't have to take their shoes, belts and jackets off when they go through security checkpoints at New York airports on this Memorial Day weekend.

The modified security measures were test run at Chicago, Denver, Orlando and Portland, Oregon, airports. They're now being rolled out across the country through the summer.

It's one of the most watched events in the world. The Eurovision Song Contest is the multinational talent contest that's viewed by around 125 million people. This year's winner comes from Sweden.

That's her right there. Her name is Loreen. She follows in the footsteps of past winners like Abba and Celine Dion. That group we showed you earlier, those were singing grannies from Russia, and they actually finished second.

Time now for today's "Faces of Faith." You may have heard about the North Carolina pastor who called for the elimination of all gays and lesbians, but it wasn't just his plan that got eyes popping, it was also how he wanted to do it. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR CHARLES L. WORLEY, PROVIDENCE ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH: Build a great big, large fence, 50 or 100 mile long, put all the lesbians in there, fly over and drop some food. Do the same thing with the queers and the homosexuals, and have that fence electrified till they can't get out. Feed them and you know what? In a few years they'll die out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE (voice-over): That pastor's name is Charles Worley. He's a preacher at the Providence Road Baptist Church, just outside Charlotte. CNN's Gary Tuchman traveled there this week. And listen to what some of Worley's supporters had to say.

JANIE BEARD, WORLEY'S NEIGHBOR: He would give you the shirt off his back. He would do anything he could for you.

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, he said in church that he wants to put gay people behind electric fences and have them all die out. I mean, what do you think about that?

BEARD: Well, that's not really what he said. He said, yes, he said some of that, but he was going to feed them and everything else, and you know that --

TUCHMAN: But you're saying that it's OK if you feed them?

BEARD: Well, I'm not saying it's OK one way or the other one. I'm saying that is his opinion.

JOE HEFFNER, CHURCH MEMBER: Probably the most compassionate man I have ever known. I don't know. He's just got a -- he's just got a big heart for people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Joining me now to talk more about this, faith and culture writer Jonathan Merritt, he's the author of "A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars."

Jonathan, good morning to you.

JONATHAN MERRITT, AUTHOR: Good morning.

KAYE: Obviously, there's more at play here than just the pastor's comments. There's the issue of preaching politics at the pulpit as well. We'll get to more on that in a moment. But I want to ask you your reaction to his comments?

MERRITT: You know, when I hear those comments on there -- and I can't hear what his congregant calls compassion at all -- but when I hear his comments or even the comments of the other North Carolina pastor a few weeks ago, who advocated for physically abusing limp- wristed children, I mean, a host of words come to my mind: inappropriate, inexcusable, ignorant.

But I think the word that really sticks out in my mind is un- Christian, because if you take this clip that you just showed and you put it up next to the teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ we find in the New Testament, there is a chasm between the two of those things that I can't quite frankly find a bridge long enough to cross that divide.

KAYE: Several Christian commentators say that the pastor is -- he's just -- he's on the fringe, he's a fringe radical, he's not representative of the mainstream. Do you think that that's the case?

MERRITT: Well, I think that in one case that is right, because I think he is probably out of step with most Christians in America, but in another sense, that's very untrue when you think about mainstream Christian leaders. There's still a faction among Christian leaders of hateful and even homophobic individuals in America.

You take a person like Judge Roy Moore in Alabama; you remember he was famous a few years ago for the Ten Commandments debacle in that state. He has toured in mainstream Christian churches all across this country and is on record as saying that homosexuality is an abhorrent crime, a detestable crime against nature, that should be punishable by law. Or you take a person like David Barton, who has been making his rounds on the mainstream media outlets recently for -- he's got a book out now with one of the largest evangelical publishers in the United States, with Thomas Nelson.

He says that homosexuality should be regulated and even compares it to things like salt and cigarettes and transfats and has apparently laudable policy points to Thomas Jefferson who he claims -- and I can find this nowhere on the Internet or in any books -- but says he authored a bill that would punish sodomy by castration.

So I think that it's time that the mainstream Christians who are out of step with this guy stop listening to the leaders who are in step with them.

KAYE: Well, let's talk about this notion of loving the sinners but hating the sin, because for Worley, at least, we hear a lot more hating than anything else, not much of the love, right. So is this whole thing really just a facade?

MERRITT: Well, I don't know that I can judge his heart. So I don't know that I can say it is a facade or that there's some sort of loaded motive. I can only take him at his word.

What I do think is, is that we do a lot more hating sin as Christians in America than we do loving anyone, and so that can be frustrating, especially when it comes to this conversation.

I do believe that I'm a part of a new generation of Christians who are rising up, who say enough is enough and we are increasingly intolerant of this kind of hate speech, which I think doesn't reflect very accurately on the message that Jesus promoted.

KAYE: I want to talk to you more about what you just mentioned, but let's play just one more snippet from the sermon that Pastor Worley gave, where he starts talking specifically politics and President Obama. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WORLEY: I'll tell you right now, if somebody said who are you going to vote for? I ain't going to vote for a baby killer and a homosexual lover!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: I mean, you listen to this, this clearly violates the church's tax exempt status. I mean, it's mixing politics and religion. What do you think should happen here?

MERRITT: Well, Randi, get ready, because in the fall when Pulpit Freedom Sunday campaign comes around, we're going to be having lots of conversations about this. Church pastors are going to come out in droves.

This is a real problem. And what a lot of people don't know, is it's not just a problem on the Right. It's actually a problem on the Left.

A 2010 study showed that 44 percent of conservative evangelical pastors say they publicly endorsed a candidate. But what's interesting is 40 percent of more liberal mainline pastors said they did the same thing.

So both sides in America are actually guilty of reducing their congregations to a voting bloc, of using their pulpits as platforms for partisan politicking, and it is time that we in America decide that the church should not be used this way, that this is an abuse of our sacred calling.

KAYE: You wrote in your book quite a bit about this new generation of Christians and you mentioned it here. So what is the goal of this new generation?

MERRITT: Yes, there is a new generation that's coming of age in America and they are engaging the public square differently. They're still theologically orthodox. They're still politically involved in the public square. They're not leaving politics altogether, but they're engaging differently with a broader agenda, more civilly and less partisan.

And this is a good thing because the Christian church in America is in serious trouble. Church attendance is declining or in some denominations is simply failing to keep up with population growth.

The Christian movement in America is exerting less influence over the public square and even the broader culture than it was even a decade ago. Part of the reason for this is many sociologists have shown is because the church has become so partisan that it is literally turning away nonbelievers in record numbers.

KAYE: So do you think that the new generation can really redefine or take back Christianity?

MERRITT: You know, I don't know that any generation is ever going to get it right. If we could, maybe we would have gotten it done in the last 2,000 years of Christian history.

But I do think this generation now has an opportunity that perhaps no generation before it has had in quite the same way, to show not just America, but to show the world that following Jesus is not hateful, it's not judgmental, it's not hypocritical, but that it -- that following Jesus transforms a person into being more loving and more compassionate.

And if we can do that, I think we will finally show the world that this thing we call the gospel of Jesus Christ really is good news.

KAYE: Jonathan Merritt, great to have you on again.

MERRITT: Oh, my pleasure.

KAYE: Nice to see you. Enjoy your Sunday. For more stories on faith, be sure to check out our widely popular "Belief" blog at CNN.com/belief.

The Obama campaign is putting Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital front and center, but could that strategy backfire? Still to come, a rundown of the week's political news with "STATE OF THE UNION" host Candy Crowley.

But first, a very good morning to New York City. A great shot there, Columbus Circle, right on the edge of Central Park South. Glad you're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING.

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KAYE: We are loving our music this morning. Let's go to Washington now. CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" coming up at the top of the hour. Host Candy Crowley joining us.

Candy, good morning to you.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST: Morning.

KAYE: So for the past seven days the presidential race has turned into this battle of Bain Capital. It seems the Democrats and the Republicans, of course, taking sides.

What do you think? Is Bain resonating with the voters?

CROWLEY: Here's what -- Bain is not really about Bain, this fight, it's about who is Mitt Romney. It is part of the Obama re- elect struggle to portray Mitt Romney as, you know, this is a guy that actually doesn't care about the economy in so far as the other 99 percent are concerned.

This is about -- he's wealthy, he's greedy, he had this job where middle class people lost their jobs but he made a big profit. This is the time in the campaign where Mitt Romney needs to define himself lest your opponents do it for you. So this is their attempt by the Romney re-elect campaign to fill out the blanks that people have about who is Mitt Romney before Romney can get to it.

And I think that's why you see Romney responding with let's talk about the economy, because what the Romney folks want to do is keep the focus on the economy. They think that's their winning formula, 24/7, all about the economy.

What the Obama people are trying to do is to knock him off that stride and to say to the American people, he actually doesn't get you, he doesn't understand you, this is what he's all about. So it's not so much about Bain per se as about who is Mitt Romney.

KAYE: Right. And so will the backlash, do you think, from the Democrats, over the Obama campaign strategy then force them to change course here?

CROWLEY: I don't think so. I mean, I think they will change course in due course in the sense that they have a plan that they lay out. I think you will hear from the Obama campaign a little bit more about Mitt Romney, what did he do in Massachusetts? He was governor of Massachusetts. Well, let's look at his record.

I think they have a plan that will unfold throughout the summer. I know they do, that goes at various aspects of Mitt Romney's resume. They wanted to get at Bain Capital first simply because of the strength that Romney shows in the poll numbers. When you ask people what do you think -- who could best handle the economy, it's pretty much tied.

And if this election is going to be about the economy, what the Obama team decided they had to do was to undercut what they saw as Romney's fiercest argument, which is, hey, I know business, I was a businessman, I can fix this economy.

KAYE: Given that it's Memorial Day weekend, Candy, I know you're issuing your veterans' report card. What issues are you looking at?

CROWLEY: Well, we're looking at veterans' benefits from the VA, we're looking at soldiers who no longer are able to serve in the military because of injuries of one sort or another, but are still kind of caught in the bureaucracy of getting out, and, of course, we're looking at health care for veterans coming home.

KAYE: All very important issues, certainly for veterans. Candy, thank you very much. Nice to see you.

CROWLEY: Thanks (inaudible).

KAYE: A look at the week ahead next.

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KAYE: Welcome back. Here is a look at some of the big news coming up in the week ahead. We're going to kick things off on Monday, tomorrow, which is Memorial Day. OK. There we go. Sometimes it gets a little sticky, first day with the new week ahead, calendar. Memorial Day, the official start to summer, of course.

On Tuesday we have, oh, boy, this guy just doesn't want to play with me. OK. Here we go.

Tuesday it's the Texas primary. Voters in Texas get the chance to make their voices heard in the Republican presidential primary.

Also on Tuesday, by the way, the U.S. nuns will meet in Washington, D.C. This is the most influential group of Catholic nuns. They will begin a week-long meeting in Washington, and on the agenda is the Vatican's recent decision to appoint a bishop to keep the nuns in line with the church's teachings.

On Saturday, here we go, OK. This just doesn't want to play.

On Saturday we're expecting a final verdict and sentencing in the cast against former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. He's accused, of course, of corruption and ordering the death of those opposed to his regime. Mubarak has denied those charges.

And one week from today we have the Diamond Jubilee. Royal watchers will ring in a historic occasion as Britain's Queen Elizabeth marks 60 years on the throne. Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee celebration kicks off with a special flotilla on the River Thames and CNN will bring you the whole event live, right here.

With the Queen's celebration fresh on everyone's mind, meet one of her closest friends, first cousin and confidante, Margaret Rhodes. CNN's Nick Glass makes the introduction.

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NICK GLASS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The photographs on the side table tell their own story. Margaret Rhodes is, as they say, royally connected.

MARGARET RHODES, QUEEN'S COUSIN: I do see the Queen most Sundays. We go to the same little church in the park here on Sunday. And if she's very busy she comes in and has a drink after church here. So it sort of keeps up the relationship.

GLASS: Gin and tonic or what?

RHODES: Gin and Dubonnet is her booze in the morning.

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GLASS: Of Scottish aristocratic stock, she is the Queen's first cousin and her childhood companion. It was a friendship that resulted in much high jinks. This is how she remembers VE Day -- Victory in Europe Day -- in 1945.

RHODES: So it was a wonderful moment for the two princesses. I mean, they were out in the crowds with everybody and we all surged up to Trafalgar Square and everybody was kissing everybody and putting policemen's helmets on their heads. It was that sort of thing.

And it went on for about four nights' running. We came back to Buckingham Palace and started yelling for the King and Queen to come out on the balcony.

GLASS: Including --

RHODES: Well, including their two daughters, who were yelling, you see, which was also for the first time they had ever seen the balcony from down below.

GLASS: (Inaudible).

RHODES: So it was a magical moment in a way, you know.

RHODES (voice-over): She was a bridesmaid at Princess Elizabeth's wedding. A framed photograph hangs in the loo of her house in Windsor and she speaks highly of the groom that day.

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KAYE: That was Nick Glass reporting. We'll be right back.

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KAYE: One last look at a couple of our top stories before we go.

In Tokyo, Japan, police have arrested two American men in connection with the death of an Irish exchange student. Police say 21-year-old Nicola Furlong was found dead in a hotel room with one of the men. It is believed she was strangled.

In the U.S., the TSA is easing security screening for older fliers. Passengers 75 years and older won't have to take their shoes, belts and jackets off when they go through security checkpoints at New York airports on this Memorial Day weekend.

The modified security measures were test run at Chicago, Denver, Orlando and Portland, Oregon, airports. They are now being rolled out across the country through the summer.

Thanks, everyone, for watching today. "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley starts right now.