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CNN SUNDAY MORNING

Chicago Terror Plot Foiled; New Anne Frank Letters Discovered; Firefighter Saves a Family; Lockerbie Bomber Dies

Aired May 20, 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.

A terror plot uncovered in Chicago. Three self-proclaimed anarchists accused of planning an attack on today's NATO summit are under arrest. Wait until you hear what police call their other targets.

And there's a new Mrs. Social Network. Mark Zuckerberg marries just one day after an anti-climactic IPO.

And, "I'll Have Another," well, had another. The winner of the Kentucky Derby does it again at the Preakness Stakes. Will he break the Triple Crown drought?

And what's lurking in your furniture? Safety precaution or death trap? "New York Times" columnist Nick Kristof breaks it down live.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

A lot to tell you about this morning.

A major anti-war rally planned today in Chicago, at the same time that leaders of the NATO nations are set to begin their summit.

For several days now protesters have crowded the streets of downtown, but yesterday was their biggest gathering so far. Police say there were only a handful of arrests during the protests even though things got pretty tense at times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN PRODUCER: Look, look, look. Come on, come on. Shoot, roll, roll. OK. So things are getting -- things are changing a lot here. This had been a very peaceful march for a long time, and then this police van tried to come through, knocked a person down right here, and they're calling out for a medic. They're calling out for a medic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: That was our Jim Spellman reporting from the middle of the chaos last night.

Police say the NATO summit also attracted three men planning attacks on the city. They're being called domestic terrorists.

CNN foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott joins me now from Chicago.

Elise, so these guys, they have pretty big plans to create some chaos there. What are police saying they actually wanted to do?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: They did, Randi. An investigation that's been going on for some time actually, and apparently, these three men that traveled from Florida, part of the Occupy movement in the so-called black box, were planning to attack the mayor's house, Rahm Emanuel, of Chicago, and President Obama's campaign headquarters. And also, several police stations. They were found with Molotov cocktails, hunting bows, mortars, all kinds of incendiary devices that could be used to wreak havoc at the summit.

Their attorneys say that they were -- it's entrapment, they were set up, and this is a real peaceful group that someone infiltrated and set them up, Randi.

KAYE: All right. So, let's talk about the business of the NATO summit, which is really key here. We know Afghanistan certainly front and center with talk of withdrawal dates. Where does that date stand right now?

LABOTT: Well, Randi, by the end of 2013, all Afghan provinces will be handed over to Afghan security lead. So Afghan security forces handling security, and the U.S. and the NATO allies will be in some kind of train and assist. By the end of 2014, all NATO troops will be out of Afghanistan.

But in order to do that, they have to train up the Afghan security forces. President Obama is really going to have his hat in hand looking for allies to try to make up some of the $4.2 billion cost for Afghan security forces. U.S. officials are telling us they're pretty close to that.

And then also, Randi, today that meeting on Afghanistan is tomorrow, on Monday. Today they're going to be talking about in this time of tight budgets, everybody, how do we do more with less? So today, NATO is going to get together to try to talk about shared resources. NATO is going to be purchasing joint drones so all the countries can use them. You know, those drones have been really popular for use in Pakistan, Yemen, a lot of other places.

And they're also going to be talking about how can they work with other countries, partnerships. You saw in Libya, it wasn't just NATO. It was Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, some other countries. So, they want to leverage how everybody can do more with a lot less resources right now. And everybody is facing a real budget crunch, Randi. And getting back to Afghanistan, Elise, I mean, do we expect any type of announcement now that we have a new French president on his own time table for that country?

LABOTT: Well, he kind of alluded to it in his meeting with President Obama and over at the G8 summit. During the campaign, he did say he wants all French troops out of Afghanistan by 2012. And, now, interestingly, Randi, the province that the French troops were in, that was one of the provinces where President Karzai announced just recently would be handing over to Afghan lead.

So, he is going to keep some trainers in there, some people to support and assist. They will be out of a combat role. What U.S. officials are telling me is, look, we're not thrilled that the French are leaving, but they're going to do it in a way that's consistent with what NATO agreed to, which is to hand over he's provinces to Afghan security lead and then remain some training and assisting in the process, Randi.

KAYE: Yes, certainly, a difference of opinion there.

Elise Labott, thank you very much, from Chicago this morning.

LABOTT: Exactly.

KAYE: Hurricane season seems to be getting a head start off the East Coast. Tropical storm Alberto spinning near the Georgia and South Carolina coast. It's not a really strong storm, but it still is a tropical storm with winds at 50 miles per hour.

Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf says it could break up soon. What's odd about the storm though is hurricane season doesn't actually start until June.

While many of you were sleeping, Italy was shaken by a deadly earthquake. At least six people were killed in the quake centered in northern Italy, 50 others were injured. There are fears more victims could be found when search crews reach remote villages in the region. You can see some of the damage caused by the 6.0 magnitude.

Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the devastating tornado that tore through Joplin, Missouri. One hundred sixty-one people died, but their neighbors were determined to carry on and rebuild. But a year later, there is still a shortage of housing -- a sign of hope and normalcy. High school seniors graduating now after having spent the past year in a temporary school because theirs was destroyed.

You can see much more on how Joplin is recovering and how you can help. Just go to CNN.com.

In New York, the home of the Mets, will become 40,000 members of the ultra orthodox Jewish community today. Sold out event at Citi Field is uniting them in protest against the Internet. This is not the first time they've done something like this. In fact, in 2000, a powerful legislative committee representing several sects decided to prohibit Internet access or owning a computer even.

Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton and Maya Angelou will honor Andrew Young for his 80th birthday today. They are celebrating the civil rights activist, former congressman, and U.N. ambassador for his life's service. The Andrew Young Foundation is hosting the event in Atlanta. The group carries on his legacy, promoting education and supporting human rights. He turned 80 in March.

And Oprah sure has a busy day. The so-called the queen of all media is giving the commencement speech at Spelman College in Atlanta. She received an honorary degree from there in 1993. Spelman is a historically African-American liberal arts college for women. Graduation is at 3:00 Eastern.

They are supposed to keep us safe, but some of the materials found in your sofa may actually pose a risk to your health. I'll talk about this with "New York Times" columnist Nick Kristof.

But, first, a very good morning to Washington, D.C. It's going to be a lovely day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, everybody.

It is a popular spot in pretty much every home where everything from kids to cats find a seat. I'm talking about your couch. Maybe you're sitting on it right now watching this program this morning.

But some of the products used to make that couch, specifically flame retardants, may pose a risk to your health.

Joining me now is "New York Times" columnist Nick Kristof.

Nick, good morning to you.

This is the focus of your column out just today in "The New York Times". Most of us probably think of flame retardants as critical to our safety, not actually a threat. You cite new reports that show the tobacco industry, whose products are the focus of numerous health concerns, is a responsible for the widespread use of these chemicals.

Why and how they do they get involved?

NICK KRISTOF, NEW YORK TIMES: It's a fascinating story. And I really relied a great deal on some awesome reporting by "The Chicago Tribune." And essentially what they found was that the reasons we have flame retardants in our couches and other things is not so much to protect us from fires, because they don't really work. In fact, what happens if there is a fire is there is toxic smoke that is more likely to harm us.

The reason we have them is that, first of all, the cigarette lobby was under pressure years ago to reduce house fires caused by smoldering cigarettes, dozing smokers. And they didn't want to go to a fire safe cigarette, so instead they surreptitiously backed a move toward furniture that was less likely to ignite in theory.

And then on top of that, the chemical lobby, in particular three company that is make flame retardants, they got behind this and organized a series of small groups like Citizens for Fire Safety, which sounds like it's a public advocacy group, and in fact the only three members of that are the three manufacturers of flame retardants. And they ended up pushing these laws through that require us to have flame retardants -- useless flame retardants in our couches even though there is a lot of concern about their toxicity.

KAYE: So, the risks of one of these chemicals that talk about, chlorinated Tris, has been documented in medical studies. It's also been labeled a health hazard by several agencies, including the World Health Organization. So, why is it still being used?

KRISTOF: Well, it was -- this was a great surprise to people because it had been taken out of kids' pajamas a generation ago and we pretty much thought it was out of things. Then a Duke University scholar tested a bunch of materials and found chlorinated Tris kind of all over. It's found in baby mattresses. It's found in nursing pillows.

And there's no way even a very educated consumer can find out about it. I talked to one toxicologist who was buying things for her granddaughter to arrive shortly and she couldn't tell what nursing pillow, for example, would have flame retardants like that.

KAYE: So, I'm curios. How do manufacturers actually decide? I mean, when they look at the products, how do they decide which products get the flame retardants and which ones don't? I mean, are there certain criteria they have to look at?

KRISTOF: Well, one of the problems has been that there are some states, and California was the first, that required flame retardants in upholstered furnitures. And this was originally done by legislators who are genuinely trying to reduce household fires. But the upshot of that was if a manufacturer wanted to sell in California, then they would just put flame retardants in all of the foam in all their cushioning so they could sell it in California as well as other places and didn't have to have multiple lines.

And so that has really been the problem. The federal government hasn't regulated these and we have a patchwork of state regulations, and some of those like California are still pretty rigorous.

KAYE: And I know you point out in your column that Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency -- I mean, she's really trying to do something on her own. She's been hindered in her efforts to improve regulation in Washington. You also have New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg, whose own legislation was introduced over a year ago.

Everything is just stalling out. I mean, the White House has yet to OK Jackson's plan.

So, where do we go from here? KRISTOF: Well, this is really frustrating I think for consumers because you have these flame retardant chemicals, some of them do raise real concerns about safety, especially for small children who are more likely to wander around in the dust on the floor, and for pregnant women, especially in the first trimester. Yet there isn't much consumers can do. I think the only real solution is to address this at the federal level.

And I think -- I mean, most of the toxicologists think Senator Lautenberg's legislation, Safe Chemicals Act, is the way to go. But the chemical industry has been very, very aggressive in blocking it, and it really seems to me they're adopting exactly the same tactics that cigarette lobby adopted a generation ago.

KAYE: And for anyone watching from home right now, if they're wondering if their product as home has it, or they're sitting on their couch, they want to take a look, you're saying there's really no way to know, right?

KRISTOF: Yes. Unless you are incredibly well-versed in chemistry and household chemistry, you're not going to get very far trying to figure out whether you're own couch, whether the nursing pillow you're using has these chemicals.

KAYE: That is really frightening. It sounds like we definitely need to get something done on this.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Nick Kristof. Thank you very much.

KRISTOF: Thank you, Randi.

KAYE: And we want viewers to stay connected to CNN even on the go. Yes, we make it so easy for you. Grab your mobile device, logon to CNN.com/TV, and you can take us with you anywhere you go. You can watch CNN. It's that easy.

Now, to Anne Frank's life like we've never seen before. I spoke with her cousin who found a treasure trove of letters and post cards in an old attic. We'll share them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back.

Anne Frank's closest living relative is sharing never before published stories and photos of the family. You know the story. Anne Frank and her family went into hiding during World War II. She kept a detailed diary until she was taken away to a concentration camp where she died at the young age of 15. That diary was published and helped the world understand the true horror of the Holocaust for Jewish families.

Frank's cousin, Buddy Elias and his wife, Gerti, helped write the book "Anne Frank's Family" after finding letters, drawings, postcards, and poems written by Anne. I want to welcome both of you to our show this morning, Buddy and Gerti.

Nice to have you on.

BUDDY ELIAS, ANNE FRANK'S COUSIN: Thank you.

KAYE: So, tell me, Buddy, I want to start with you. How did you stumble upon these letters and poems, and where were they found?

B. ELIAS: Well, they were found by my wife, actually. She wanted to clean up in the attic. In our attic there are lots of suitcases and closets from my grandmother and mother, and Gerti went up to clean up, and she got nosey, and she opened a trunk or a closet.

Come on, tell us about it. How did you find it?

KAYE: Gerti, what did you think then when you found all of this?

GERTI ELIAS, BUDDY'S WIFE: It was amazing. I could not -- I couldn't believe it because there were so many letters and photographs and more than 6,000, can you imagine? And I had to read all this archive. It was -- it was amazing. I had to do -- had to read and work with it for two and a half years.

KAYE: What do you think all of this says? I mean, is there something, Gerti, that really stood out to you that it says about your -- about the family and the times in which they were living?

G. ELIAS: Yes. They talked about like when Otto was in Auschwitz and he was -- he could come home and when he wrote from Amsterdam after the war and before the war -- maybe you can tell a little bit about.

B. ELIAS: Well, what about --

KAYE: I have another -- I actually have another question for Buddy. I mean, Buddy, what are the earliest memories of Anne, because you're first cousins, and I'm just curious, ands I'm sure a lot of our viewers are, what was she like as a child?

B. ELIAS: Well, she was a normal child. She was not a wonder child at all. Her talent for writing, that came out when she was in hiding.

I mean, she was always writing before. She loved to write letters to us every time. We received letters almost every week from her during her time they were in Holland.

But as a child, she was a normal child. We had a wonderful childhood together, as long as we were able to play together. She was a wild little animal -- girl, and we have a wonderful time, play time, together.

We played normal things. We played hide and seek and she loved the theater. She wanted to get dressed up with me all the time and play theater, play actors. That's what she loved the most.

KAYE: You know, I have been to the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam, and it's so interesting to hear these stories from you because it really does paint a very different picture of what I think we've all thought about, Anne Frank, and your mother, Buddy, actually once wrote that you and Anne had a lot in common.

Did you see it that way?

B. ELIAS: Yes. We had a lot in common. We were both mad about the theater and films. I mean, I became an actor after my schooling, and the last thing she saw -- she got a letter, she got informed, that her cousin, Buddy, me, started acting school.

And she -- the last thing she has in her diary and one of the last pages is that she heard from Basel, which was my home, that I finished drama school, and that was a big thing for her.

KAYE: That's great that she knew that.

I know that she talks about the troubles of being occupied there, but she's also pretty chatty just about everyday life. So, I'm curious, Gerti, how much do you think she really understood about the situation for the Jewish people and what they were facing at that time?

G. ELIAS: I think she understood a lot. She knew she's a Jewish girl, and she couldn't do what the other children did, and it must have been for her very, very sad that she could not skate anymore, that she could not go with bicycle anymore.

And I think for her she was such a lively, lively, sweet girl, and then she was locked in, and I think it was very, very sad.

KAYE: Buddy, what do you understand, Buddy, about the time when your family hadn't heard anything from Anne and her family? What was the thought? I mean, what did you think happened to them?

B. ELIAS: It was a horrible time. We knew that they were in hiding somewhere, but we have no idea where. It was not possible for the family to let us know where they are. It was too dangerous because every letter or every postcard was censored by the German army, so their helpers were not allowed to let us know what they are.

And especially our grandmother -- I mean, the mother of father Frank which lived with us in Switzerland, she was desperate. She had no idea where her son and family was, and it was a horrible time for us not knowing where Anne and the family were. We have no idea. Not even when Otto Frank was liberated in Auschwitz. We knew then what happened.

KAYE: So now you have this book, Anne Frank's family. What would you like people to take away from it?

B. ELIAS: I didn't quite understand.

G. ELIAS: From the book, what people shall take away from it?

B. ELIAS: That this book is so informative about everything of the family, from the old ages on -- I mean, from our forbearers, up to the modern times. It's hard for me to say which part is the most interesting one because the whole book is so interesting.

KAYE: I'm sure it's all very interesting. Certainly, her diary was read by so many, and I'm sure this book will be as well.

Buddy and Gerti Elias, thank you very much for your time.

B. ELIAS: Thank you for inviting us. Thank you.

G. ELIAS: Thank you.

KAYE: And you can catch that interview and much more later on today. Check out my NEWSROOM blog. Just go to CNN.com/Randi for stories and guests that you may have missed or they were so good you want to see them again.

And, stargazers, get ready to view the moon and sun in a way that hasn't been seen this century. We are just a few hours away from it happening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: And good morning, Los Angeles. Wake up there just a little bit. Beautiful shot there.

Hurricane season is getting an early start. This morning, a tropical storm is brewing off the East Coast.

So, Reynolds, want to bring you back in here. How big of a storm is this and where might it hit?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's not a very big storm, but it is significant that the hurricane season hasn't even started yet in the Atlantic basin and yet we're already talking about the first one. This storm named Alberto with maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour. It's not stationary at this point. It is actually moving and doing so at the west-northwest at six miles per hour.

The latest forecast we have includes a bit of a warning that we have along parts of the coastline, especially into Georgia and then South Carolina, a tropical storm watch that will be in effect for those areas. What you can expect, enhanced rip currents, possibly some heavy rainfall. But I'm telling you, on radar it does not appear that impressive for the time being.

Latest forecast we have from the National Hurricane Center brings it farther to the north, right off the Eastern Seaboard interacting, of course, with that warm water from the gulfstream, but still a lot of dry air vectoring in from the west, and a little bit of shear could keep it limited in terms of its future development.

In fact, as we fast forward into Tuesday, into Wednesday, into Thursday, it is forecast to weaken the farther it goes north and eventually should die out. We'll keep a very sharp on it for you though.

Out to the west we've got a different story. That, of course, is the eclipse. The reason why I say out to the west, if you happen to be in the western U.S., it's going to be your really best chance to see it. Conditions there should be almost perfect, in parts of the Desert Southwest, if you can see through the smoke.

The moon is going to be passing between the earth and the sun. The best viewing will be in eastern Asia and the western U.S. It's a partial eclipse. Much of Asia-Pacific and the western two-thirds of the U.S. will have the best shot at it.

To give you a quick timeline of when can you anticipate, the best times for Lubbock, Texas, best around 7:30; Albuquerque, 6:28 or so, Mountain Time. As we sweep our way a bit more towards the Northwest, Grand Canyon at 5:25, and then back over to Reno, 5:15 p.m. And then as we get back over towards California and Redding, the best time to view it is really getting under way around 5:12.

And it's not going to be a quick moving process. It's going to be kind of slow. The thing that sets this apart from other types of solar eclipse is -- is that the ring, the ring of fire, is going to be very, very distinct with this one and Randi, as we've been telling people all morning long, you don't want to view this with the naked eye.

You want something like welder glasses, some kind of protection for your eyes. Your standard sunglasses aren't going to do it -- Randi.

KAYE: All right, Reynolds that is excellent advice. We'll make sure not to stare right at it. Thank you.

WOLF: You get it.

KAYE: "I'll Have Another" and another. I know that sounds a little funny, but now just one more race to go for the Triple Crown but it's been awhile.

Plus, she made a name for herself Saturday nights but on this Sunday morning, it looks like Kristin Wiig is saying goodbye to her "SNL" cast mates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back to CNN Sunday morning. I'm Randi Kaye.

Bottom of the hour now here is a check at some of our top stories this morning. Forget the newspaper, here are your morning headlines. At least six people are dead following an earthquake centered in northern Italy; 50 others were injured. There are fears that more victims could be found when search crews reach remote villages in the region. It was a 6.0 magnitude quake, by the way. The leaders of the NATO nations meet today in Chicago for several days now protesters have crowded the streets downtown. But what is expected to be the biggest demonstration of all is scheduled for later this morning in the Grant Park area. It's billed as a major anti-war protest.

The war in Afghanistan, of course, is going to be front and center on the agenda for President Obama and the other NATO leaders.

What a week for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. First, he made billions off the IPO on Friday when he took his company public. And now an even bigger change and of course, it comes through a status update on Facebook from Zuckerberg and his long-time girlfriend, Priscilla Chan. And the status update was very simple, "married". Yes, it was announced on Facebook.

And here is the wedding photo we have for you. Zuckerberg actually wore a suit and not his signature hoodie.

An off-duty firefighter was in the right place at the right time, he spotted a house on fire and now a Colorado family is calling him their hero. Here is Nelson Garcia with CNN affiliate KUSA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD REEVES, FATHER: 10:00 this lightning struck, 11:00 Superman showed up.

NELSON GARCIA, KUSA (voice-over): Chad Reeves looks inside his home thinking it could have been much worse. His wife, sister, and friends were hanging out at the house when the night got exciting.

AIMEE REEVES, CHAD'S SISTER: Scariest sound I think we've both ever heard.

GARCIA: Chad had just gotten home.

C. REEVES: Like girls always do, I thought they were making it up a little bit.

GARCIA: What they didn't know lightning had struck their rooftop and a fire started. That's when Nate Kelly drove by, saw the flames and like Superman hopped over this fence in a single bound.

NATE KELLY, FIRE FIGHTER: At that point you kind of -- your instincts just kick in.

GARCIA: A guy dressed in regular clothes.

A. REEVES: The first thing I thought was that there were a couple of kids trying to mess with us.

C. REEVES: Some kid with a flannel shirt, jeans, and a ball cap jumps over my fence asking where my hose is.

KELLY: The fire was venting out the side of the house. GARCIA: They didn't know Kelly was an off-duty Denver firefighter.

C. REEVES: At one point Nate was fighting it without the nozzle on it.

KELLY: See I just wanted to at least try to put some water on the flames.

GARCIA: Flames which burned.

C. REEVES: You can see where the ceilings --

GARCIA: -- right above where 5-month-old Jackson was asleep.

C. REEVES: My 5-month-old lives right up there in the room on the right, and the fire literally burned out the trusses above him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few more seconds they would have toppled on top of him. So he saved his life.

GARCIA: And their home -- flying across the rooftop like the man of steel.

KELLY: I thought I could make it so I just kind of jumped over --

GARCIA: Nearly putting out the flames single-handedly until the Thornton Fire Department arrived.

C. REEVES: I believe without God putting Nate in our path that my son would be gone.

A. REEVES: What's the chances of an off-duty fireman hopping a fence to tell us that we need to get out of that house?

C. REEVES: He's amazing and he's going to tell you that he's not amazing, but he is amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We think that he's Superman. He literally appeared and disappeared just within an instant.

KELLY: I don't view myself as a hero. I don't -- I just -- I'm just there to help.

GARCIA: Mild mannered, fast as lightning.

KELLY: I never thought I would come across something like that off duty.

C. REEVES: Superman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And once again that was Nelson Garcia reporting for CNN affiliate KUSA. And we want viewers to stay connected to CNN even on the go. So grab your mobile phone and go to CNN.com/TV if you're on a desktop or a laptop, you can also watch CNN Live so you don't miss a thing.

Well, it is one of the rarest feats in sports. Up there with that four homerun games in baseball; 60 point nights in basketball and Super Bowls are actually more exciting than the commercials. It's horse racing's Triple Crown. And we are so close right now.

HLN Sports guy Joe Carter here with us to talk a little bit about this. I saw the finish last night. It was something.

JOE CARTER, HLN SPORTS: You know I was out doing stuff as well, enjoying my Saturday. It was a beautiful day here in Atlanta and then it's like 6:15. Oh my God turn on the race. Wow, wow.

KAYE: Yes.

CARTER: What an exciting finish.

KAYE: It was amazing yes.

CARTER: You know so many people thought this horse could not win again and he did. And it was so exciting because you know what he was able to do two weeks ago at the Kentucky Derby I think got a lot of attention. Got a lot of people thinking --

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: That was the first time for him, right.

CARTER: Well, the first time winning the Kentucky Derby.

KAYE: Yes, yes.

CARTER: He had won other races, smaller races before, but what he did yesterday I think turned people into believers. This horse is incredible because not only once did he beat the favorite twice.

Yesterday down the stretch, as they say, he went from fifth place to second place. Then in the final 100 yards he made his move to beat Bodemeister, the favorite, by a nose -- an incredible finish.

KAYE: It really was.

CARTER: And you know I love the back stories to this horses. His name came actually came from the fact that his trainer loves cookies. You see every time his wife would break out the cookies, he'd take one and then say, "I'll Have Another".

KAYE: "I'll Have Another" -- that is great.

CARTER: And his owner, Paul Reddam, actually picked this horse up on the cheap, if you will. He scooped the horse up for $11,000 at an auction a few years back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL REDDAM, OWNER I'LL HAVE ANOTHER: You know, when Seattle Slew, when I read he sold for $17,000, I thought that was unbelievable. Now we're in modern times $11,000, I actually -- I actually went back to YouTube which I never watch and saw that auction at $11,000 and just imagined those poor folks that were sitting in the seats going if I bid $12,000 I could have had the Derby winner, I could have had the Preakness winner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARTER: It's so true. When you look at the math on it, I mean obviously it takes a lot of money to -- to stable these horses and take care of them, but even this -- between the two races alone $2 million this team has now earned based on an $11,000 investment.

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: That's a pretty good return.

CARTER: I know a lot of people are hoping Facebook returns as well.

KAYE: Yes exactly.

CARTER: Just like that but "Affirmed" is the horse that was the last to win the Triple Crown back in 1978. There's the horse "Affirmed" right there. Now "I'll Have Another", needs to win the Belmont which is in three weeks from break that streak. And it's so long we've been waiting for that streak to be broken. And this is big news. Bodemeister the favorite in the Kentucky Derby, the favorite in the Preakness is not going to race at the Belmont.

KAYE: Really?

CARTER: That's according to his trainer Bob Baffert. He said you know the bus stops here. That's huge, huge news for "I'll Have Another". And I would seem -- assume that for the first time in seven races we're going to see "I'll Have Another" probably up there in the favorite category.

But "Big Brown" was the last horse in 2008 to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown, so here we are, one race away from this horse making history.

KAYE: Yes even if you don't like racing --

CARTER: Yes.

KAYE: -- horse racing, you cannot -- you can't turn away from this.

CARTER: Yes and it makes it relevant. You know it makes exciting for all of us.

KAYE: You know what, yes but what's interesting though isn't the Belmont is longer, too right.

CARTER: It is, it is.

KAYE: So it's going to be interesting to see if he can -- if he can do it again in a longer race.

CARTER: And it's a quarter mile longer than the Kentucky Derby track, it's a test for all horses. That's what makes this Triple Crown so incredibly hard to win.

KAYE: Right.

CARTER: Because most horses after they win in the Kentucky Derby falter. Only 11 horses in the history of the sport have been able to win all three races.

KAYE: I loved what you said yesterday, that the Preakness is like the Jan Brady of the race.

(CROSSTALK)

CARTER: The middle sister.

KAYE: The middle sister. What is the Belmont, Marsha?

CARTER: Yes it's the very popular, a very tough sister.

KAYE: A beautiful older sister.

CARTER: Yes there you go.

KAYE: All right, that was fun. Thank you very much.

CARTER: You bet.

KAYE: And from France to the hallowed halls of studios 8H, here's a look at your entertainment minute. The Cannes Film festival is in full swing. Stars like Eva Longoria gathering in the French town for the 65th annual event. But there is a little bit of controversy at this year's festival.

All of the entries for the highest award are male. The festival will close one week from today.

And it looks like Kristen Wiig the comedienne know for her work on "Saturday Night Live" and the movie "Bridesmaid" may be leaving her spot as a cast member on the show. Here are some highlights from what was likely her final appearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got some great news. I'm planning on proposing to Kat tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She thinks this is just going to be a casual dinner and just with family and friends, and she has no idea that I'm going to pop the question, ok?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How romantic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I bet she's going to cry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Last night's "SNL" which was the season finale featured an emotional send-off to Wiig at the end of the show. We'll be sorry to see her go.

Define yourself or be defined by your opponent. That is the task ahead of President Obama and the man who wants to replace him, Mitt Romney. A preview of this week's "STATE OF THE UNION" coming next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: And let's go to Washington now. CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" is coming up at the top of the hour. Host Candy Crowley is joining us with a preview.

Candy, good morning to you; you have a slew of exclusives today, I can't even keep track. Let's start with the two men with very big stakes in this year's presidential election: Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod, of course, and RNC chairman, Reince Priebus; both sides engaging in this war of words. Who is resonating do you think?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Well, I think they're both resonating with their bases, and I think that that's part of what's going on. The folks they had like to resonate with now, both sides, are the independents, those kind of swing voters, maybe 6 percent, 7 percent, 8 percent of voters at this point.

And what they're trying to do really -- what they're arguing for is who gets to define Mitt Romney. This is the time when the lesser known candidate, which is Mitt Romney as opposed to President Obama, has to say here is what I'm about, here is what you can expect. We saw him come out with a new ad saying, here is what I'd do on my first day in office.

Meanwhile, the President's re-election committee would also like to help define Mitt Romney and they're defining him as this sort of corporate raider, private business guy that didn't care about the lives of the middle class people that lost their jobs in some of the companies that closed while Mitt Romney was working at Bain Capital, a company he founded.

There's definitely a struggle which I think came to the fore this week through the ads on trying to define who Mitt Romney is. We're kind of in that period right now of the election cycle.

KAYE: Yes. What about this bombshell this week, the "New York Times" reporting that this group of high-profile GOP strategists were planning on targeting Obama and bringing up once again Reverend Wright? How has this proposal, which has now been scrapped -- how do you think it's hurt the Romney campaign, if at all, and maybe Republicans?

CROWLEY: First of all, it is, as we like to say, a distraction for Mitt Romney. This was not something he knew about, not something he approved of. This was one of those sort of Super PAC things and it was even just a proposal to a Super PAC -- We could do this. But it just hit with such force, I think we learned a couple things.

First of all, the so-called Super PACs, which are basically very wealthy people who in this case is a man who says he's worried about all this government spending, who have a vested interest in one side or the other. They're not allowed to talk to the campaigns. So here you are, you're out on the campaign trail and you want to talk about jobs and you want to talk about what you did in the private sector and you're Mitt Romney and the next thing you know you're being asked about a "New York Times" story about whether or not you're going to bring up Reverend Wright. This is not what you want to be talking about.

And it has such an instantaneous reaction from people, particularly on the Democratic side who say this is racist, what does this have to do with anything? They're just bringing up old stuff, et cetera, et cetera that it just became toxic almost overnight.

It shows you, A, what it says about these outside groups that really can do some damage even to people they're trying to help, and, B, it shows you that no matter how much we talk about it, the race issue, which was always just kind of below the surface four years ago, remains there.

KAYE: Yes, it certainly does. Candy, thank you very much. We'll keep it here for the show. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: We have breaking news just in to CNN. The Lockerbie Bomber is dead. He has died. CNN cannot confirm this independently, but multiple sources are reporting this, that the Lockerbie Bomber has died. Abdel Baset al Megrahi was the only person convicted in the 1988 bombing that brought down Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. 270 people died in that tragedy.

Al Megrahi spent ten years in prison in Scotland before being released on humanitarian grounds in 2009 which was very controversial. He was released back to Libya. He had prostate cancer and wasn't expected to live much longer. He had been living in his home country of Libya for the past two years.

Our Nic Robertson had visited his family there and we got this video of him lying there apparently in a coma and being treated by his family in this palatial Tripoli villa, apparently. He was comatose, near death, and apparently now has died.

On the phone with us we have Bert Ammerman. He's joining us by telephone. Bert, thank you for calling in; you lost your brother in 1983. He was on Pan Am 103. How is your family receiving this news that the Lockerbie Bomber has died?

BERT AMMERMAN, LOST HIS BROTHER IN 1988 (via telephone): Well, it was 1988, but for me I'm pleased. You referred to when he was released in 2009; that was when I was most angry in this 24-year journey. That's been tempered somewhat with the removal and death of Gadhafi from power. He was the big fish, and Megrahi as far as I am concerned became a minor actor once Gadhafi was killed.

What is not happening and should happen is the gentleman that was arrested a couple months ago, Murakami, the intelligence chief of Libya under Gadhafi, has the key to the truth of what happened in Pan Am 103.

And our government, the British government, and anyone in the free world should be interrogating him very, very aggressively to find out who else was involved because Megrahi was not the only one and Libya I firmly believe was not the only country.

KAYE: How did you feel though? I mean certainly he wasn't expected to live as long as he did when he was first released on humanitarian grounds back to die in his home country of Libya. Were you surprised that he lasted that long and how frustrating was that for your family?

AMMERMAN: Oh, yes. That was a true act of betrayal by our government and by the British government, in particular by the British government, because he truly was released just for oil and big business. Our government did not do anything to keep him confined in Scotland. On humanitarian reasons was a joke. He massacred 270 people, 259 at 31,000 feet.

When they said he was released just for three months, it's now almost three years later. That was a black page in the history of Pan Am Flight 103. But with the removal of power from Gadhafi and his death, that helps quite a bit.

KAYE: And do you believe -- what do you think he actually knew? Obviously now it appears he will be taking it to his grave according to these reports that he has died, but what do you think he knew and what do you think his role actually was?

AMMERMAN: He was a high level official in the Libyan intelligence agency. So he got his marching orders directly from Gadhafi or Gadhafi's top assistant. He knows who else was involved in Libya, but Gadhafi, he knew who he was dealing with either from Iran or Syria. I firmly believe that either Iran or Syria were involved in this also.

And this intelligence chief or the new (AUDIO GAP) knows exactly who is involved and that should be pursued so we get the other individuals that did this despicable act. KAYE: Give me an idea of what's been going on behind the scenes over these years for family members like yourself -- those who lost family members in 1988 to try to get answers.

AMMERMAN: It's been a struggle. It's been a 24-year struggle. No matter what we've done we've succeeded either by embarrassing government officials or pressuring government officials in all honesty with the help of the media. We've never really had many people come forward and just say you're right, we're going to do everything possible. It's always been political pressure.

Many times we've said we've met the enemy and it's our own government, but we've succeeded and we've done a lot of things. This is a better place today than it was 24 years ago for people traveling overseas.

KAYE: All right. Bert Ammerman -- hang with us here on the line, for just a moment. I want to bring in New York Senator Chuck Schumer who is also on the line with us. Senator, good morning to you.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK (via telephone): Good morning.

KAYE: What do you make of this news this morning that the Lockerbie Bomber is dead?

SCHUMER: Well, look, this man was a horrible man, al Megrahi. It would have been better had he not died in freedom, but died in prison. That's what he deserved. And I still believe that the Scottish government perhaps with the participation of the British government created a major injustice when they let him out.

Having said that, the only legacy we have is in the memory of all those who were lost, including a good number from New York, people from Syracuse University, a fellow from Brooklyn in the neighboring local parish, whose family I knew. We have to just make sure we continue this battle against terrorism on airplanes. We've made great progress and we have to keep it up.

KAYE: Will we ever know do you believe now with him dead, do you think we'll ever know what really happened aboard that flight and why?

SCHUMER: Well, you know, both the Scottish and British governments have not been forth coming. The whole deal smelled of a trade of oil for this man's freedom and that was almost blasphemy given what a horrible person he was and the terrible destruction and tragedy that he caused. But I don't know if we'll before get to the bottom of it now.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHUMER: Usually history does have a way of coming forward, and sooner or later I guess we will find out, but I hope it's sooner.

KAYE: Yes. Senator Chuck Schumer, we appreciate your time and our thanks, of course, to Burt Ammerman as well who lost his brother on that flight, Pan Am 103 in 1988.

Once again we want to let you know that the Lockerbie Bomber has died according to several media reports. CNN still trying to independently confirm that as well, but that is Abdel Baset al Megrahi who has been in a Tripoli villa in Libya for many years already.

And now "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley.