hello, everybody, from the cnn center in atlanta, georgia, this is your "cnn sunday morning." i'm t.j. holmes. a special good morning to our military men and women who are watching us right now on the armed forces network around the world. thank you for being here. thank you for what you do. we do have three major stories we are following this morning. among them libya, the government is claiming that moammar gadhafi narrowly escaped a nato air strike. >> this was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country. >> a direct hit by nato air strikes and the libyan government is outraged, claiming

that mechanics of gadhafi's family were dleliberately kille, among them, reportedly one of his sons and a couple of his grandchildren. nato is disputing that claim. we'll give you much more in a moment. also a major story and amazing pictures out of the vatican. pope john paul ii is now the blessed john paul ii, the former pope now moved a step closer to sainthood in a ceremony that started a couple of hours ago at the vatican and continues right now. we'll take you there live in a moment. also in this country in the south being declared a day of prayer in alabama, a response to that massive damage and loss of life from tornadoes that tore through the south just a few days ago. right now, 339 people are confirmed dead. many more still unaccounted for. crews are digging through the rubble looking for survivors and

victims right now. we want to get you back, though, and let's start with the blessing of pope john paul ii, a major undertaking at the vatican and also at rome. a live picture of the ceremony that continues at st. peters basilica this morning. there you see pope benedict beautifying his former pope, a step closer to becoming a saint. hundreds of thousands of people crowded into st. peter's square to witness this blessing. pope john paul is credited with one miracle, the nun he reportedly healed is there, she's a part of this ceremony. even though we have so many people who pushed into the square there and you see these live pictures that we can show you, an estimated million people or more are in the streets around st. peter's basilica and also in rome, there's a shot of the dignitaries, heads of state,

royal families around the world who have come for this event for today. the ceremony continues as we speak. we do have our own john allen, who is there for us, cnn senior vet khan analyst, there in rome. good morning to you. to our viewers here, explain what you saw this morning, and just the outpouring of emotion and response in the streets today. ♪ >> reporter: good morning, t.j. first of all, i want to remind you that i told you on your air yesterday that despite the rainy, gloomy weather in rome yesterday that the sun would be out this morning and that's indeed what we have. we have a sun-splashed roman sunday. listen, the crowd here is just enormous, as you say the estimate is more than 1 million people in and around the vatican. there was a vigil ceremony for john paul ii that got more than 200,000. you hear in the streets all

languages, all cultures, there are flags from every point of the compass, i mean, in some ways, t.j., this is a cross between a solemn mass own a high school pep rally. this is a pumped up crowd that came here this morning for one last, probably not the last but for one more chance to celebrate the life and legacy of this pope, who meant so much to so many millions of people around the world. >> to our viewers, explain one more time, and i had you do this, sometimes we say okay he's a step closer to being a saint, what is the significance of that to catholics around the world? >> reporter: well, by the declaration of beautification saying someone is now a blessed means that they are officially, if you like, in heaven with god, and able to respond to requests for help when presented to them in prayer so if you like, if i could put it colloquially, what a beautification means to

catholics around the world, the 1.2 billion around the world, is, you've got a new friend in heaven. it's not a new friend, but more of an old friend and it's like a reunion for catholics, the pope part of their lives for more than 27 years and once more part of their life here today. >> even though he's a step closer to becoming a saint and this process has moved fairly quickly, certainly one of the fastest in modern times, it still could be a while before that second miracle is confirmed, or do we believe that the church is going to try to push that up and try to rush that process through as well? >> reporter: well unfortunately, t t.j., a miracle isn't something you can manufacture. you have to wait until it happens. the odds are it will happen quickly. part of the delay in waiting for a miracle sometimes is somebody has to pray to the saint to

intercede with them with god to get a miracle. if there aren't very many people around the world doing that, it will happen quickly. with john paul ii this is a pope near and dear to the hearts of hundreds, tens of people over the world, 1.2 billion catholics and so i think there will be a vast thrall praying to john paul for his help and therefore the odds of one of the prayers being answered in the affirmative and that happening quickly are good. >> john allen for us in rome, amazing pictures, the overwhelming response that we're seeing at the vatican and in the surrounding areas. john allen will be with us throughout the morning, we'll talk to you plenty this morning. we appreciate it. thanks so much. as we keep a live look there on pope benedict, the one today who was part and oversaw the beautification ceremony of his predecessor, something you don't see that afternoon. a gorgeous ceremony and

overwhelming outpouring in the streets for pope john paul ii. we'll get along as well with the knock against john paul, should he be becoming a saint, a man who, in some people's eyes, didn't respect innocent children with some of the sex scandals happening within the vatican, the catholic church. we'll hit on that part of his life as well. we'll leave this for a moment. we now return to libya. the government is threatening retaliation for a nato air strike that reportedly killed his son, and it was reported three of his grandchildren were killed in an attack in a civilian area in tripoli. ga ddhafi and his wife were supposedly at the house but escaped the strike. the claims are disputed calling it a desperate attempt to get

sympathy. despite the skepticism, rebel supporties filled the streets of benghazi celebrating. r are they celebrating the news, reza sayah? >> reporter: they're eager to see hard evidence this is true, if it is true that saif was killed. we're talking to a lot of people here in rebel-held benghazi. they want to see a picture of saif al arab gadhafi's head. they said this is probably a lie by the gadhafi regime in effort

to win sympathy from the public. despite the skepticism there was a lot of celebration in benghazi around midnight, singing, dancing in a major square in benghazi, lots of gunfire. it's not unusual for us to hear gunfire every day here in benghazi but i don't recall seeing anything like we saw last night, a good two hours where we saw continuous heavy gunfire, artillery fire, explosions, hundreds of people celebrating, very interesting. one opposition supporter leaned in to our crew and suggested the rebel fighters should save their ammunition, his way of saying that this fight is not over even if saif al arab gadhafi has not been killed. >> this is not the sob, a lot of people hear the name, might sound familiar, this is not the son who has done some interviews, defending his father so how big of a blow would it be to gadhafi, do they believe if this is true that this son was

killed? >> reporter: as far as the opposition is concerned, first and foremost, they want colonel gadhafi gone. they want him ousted but they despise all members of his family, so if nato takes out any of his sons, they will welcome it and i think they will welcome any indication that nato is escalating this operation and if indeed it is verified that in a coconducted a strike targeting a building where they know colonel gadhafi's family members were located, this would certainly be something that's welcomed to the rebels but it won't be without controversy. it certainly has the potential of creating rifts within the western alliance countries that certainly don't support a more aggressive approach to this air operation. >> reza sayah in benghazi we appreciate you as always. we turn back to the u.s. and help is poring into the straits.

several more counties in alabama have been designated for federal disaster assistance. the death toll continues to rise, it's up to 339. 238 of the fatalities in alabama alone. today in alabama it's been declared a day of prayer. my partner here on "cnn saturday morning" and "cnn sunday morning," bfl wfl is live for news tuscaloosa, alabama. good morning to you once again. what is road to like? >> reporter:ed it today a lot of the faces and a lot of the shock and some of the things you'll see. for example this parking lot, this vehicle which actually tells an amazing story, t.j., what i'd love you to know about this and our friends from across america, this vehicle was owned

by a nurse, a local nurse with two children, she showed up here moments before the tornado struck and she got shelter inside the church. what's amazing about this particular nurse is that her home was destroyed by a tornado just a few weeks before. she showed up at this church, gets shelter, she's safe and then in the ensuing hours was able to treat hundreds of people that came here with a variety of wounds, so she potentially saved lives. another amazing story we'll explore later this morning is what happened inside the church, they started a food bank about a month ago and that food bank, got food, water, canned goods will now be helping other people throughout the community. it's just an amazing story, many of them personal stories about people's faith being tested and how the resolve and strength of their faith will help them through. >> we'll be checking with plenty on our friends in the south and reynolds talk to you again,

buddy. while you were sleeping, 3,000 people in illinois were forced to leave their homes. they'd like to go home but the only way that can happen right now possibly is for them to fwlblow up a perfectly good levelevee. in 60 seconds, details of this story that's pitted one state against another. of course not. we broke up 6 months ago. but i don't think she'd go for a guy like -- [ ping! ] she says she'd love to. [ ping! ] she can't wait to see me. [ ping! ] she's wanted me to ask her out for over a year now! [ ping! ] she just sent me a video. [ girl's voice ] hi stephen, can't wait for our date! oh, can i see that? aah! [ male announcer ] in the network, sparks fly faster. at&t is getting faster with 4g. rethink possible. you want that? you want a warm, super-delicious strawberry toaster strudel yeah but now i have nothing to eat sure you do.

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missouri, so this matter has gone to court, and cairo's mayor couldn't wait to issue the evacuation order. >> i'm here to try to protect the citizens of cairo. i care about them and i don't want them in harm's way. i would much father issue a mandatory evacuation and nothing happen than not to do it and people lose their lives. >> so the corps of engineers still trying to make up their minds whether or not they blow up the levee, but it would flood hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland in missouri. you see the issue, illinois and missouri going head to head and head to head in court and the people of missouri have been, frankly, losing in court. a judge actually okayed the corps of engineers to blow up that levee if need be but that decision has yet to be made. floodwaters swallowed up parts

of missouri, engineers releasing water from the dam and lake to relieve flooding in hollister, missouri, and parts of downtown branson. bonnie schneider is here keeping a close eye on weather. we were talking about blitzarbl yesterday, and floods today. >> the levee is really right in the center between areas of illinois and missouri, and this area here in the new madrid area into sykesston, it's flooded on both sides. the mississippi river weaves between the two states. there's cape gerardo, also been flooded. the levee will impact either state whether they decide to blow it up or relieve the pressure, because both states are under the risk for flooding as we go forward.

flood warnings exist across arkansas, tennessee, indiana, illinois. we're also tracking severe weather this morning, a tshd watch is in effect and it's really for more of the eastern half of the suburban dallas, texas, and this is going to go until 12:00 today. this one cell i've been watching here, frequent lightning strikes, weakened since it passed to the south and east of dallas and something to keep in mind. tracking very strong thunderstorms from lexington, kentucky, down through memphis. unfortunately the storms will clip northern alabama later this morning, the last place we want to have severe weather as people continue to clean up and go through the debris across much of the tornado damaged area. this is working its way into eastern tennessee and georgia, too. i don't think we'll see tornadoes from this system but we are going to see severe thunderstorms that contain lightning and also strong winds. that's going to make it dangerous. any wind coming through an area

barely hanging on from the tornado damage could cause more damage. we'll talk about that later. >> bonnie schneider thanks so much. our viewers you probably saw last week these two men were sparring from afar, but last night, they were in the same room. >> donald trump. is here tonight. >> yep, the president and the donald go at it. but only one of them actually had the microphone. in 90 seconds, you will hear the president just lay in to donald trump. funds, iras, or annuities. back then, he had something more important to do. he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement solutions for our military, veterans and their families. from investments... to life insurance... to health care options. learn more at usaa.com/retirement

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20 minutes past the hour now. washington a serious place and serious issues to tackle. every once in a while they take pause and poke fun at themselves, the annual white house correspondents association dinner. seth myers hosted the show. the president made fun of himself but also in the room, donald trump. at one point myers said "donald trump owns the miss usa pageant, great for republicans because it will streamline their search for vice president." he said it, not me, but that was just one of a number of zingers. listen to this. >> and then of course there's donald trump. donald trump has been saying

that he will run for president as a republican, which is surprising, since i just assumed he was running as a joke. >> my fellow americans, the state of hawaii released my official long form birth certificate. but just in case there are any lingering questions, tonight i'm prepared to go a step further. tonight, for the first time, i am releasing my official birth video. ♪

i want to make clear to the fox news table, that was a joke. that was not my real birth video. that was a children's cartoon. call disney if you don't believe me. they have the original long form version. >> okay, that's pretty good. and again donald trump was in the room. the president spent, quite frankly, a surprising amount of time talking to donald trump about donald trump. you saw a couple shots there, the donald didn't look too pleased with some of the jokes but the president talking directly to him, said that "now that this issue is over with donald trump can focus on more important issues that matter including how we faked the moon

landing, what really happened in roswell and where are biggie and tupac." it wasn't all fun and games. at the end, he took a moment and touched on a serious topic close to the hearts of journalists, many of them of course in that room. listen to this. >> and on last months we've seen journalists threatened, arrested, beaten, attacked, and in some cases even killed, simply for doing their best to bring us the story, to give people a voice, and to hold leaders accountable, and through it all, we've seen daring men and women risk their lives for the simple idea that no one should be silenced, and everyone deserves to know the truth. >> so the president ended it on a serious note there, on what was, no doubt, a funny night in washington, d.c. 23 minutes past the hour now.

we have been watching live picture this is morning, going on the past several hours, but the beautification ceremony for pope john paul ii. he is now one step closer to sainthood. he is the blessed john paul now, the ceremony, the mass now wrapping up. the estimates are that up to 1 million people, maybe even more have filled into the streets or filed into the streets of rome and st. peter's basilica, it gives you a good idea of it right there. the pope died in 2005, john paul, and now he is one step closer, only one step left before sainthood, seems like this is moving fairly quickly, well, it is, certainly from an historical standfoint. be we'll tell you about that in two and a half minutes and another case in sainthood that got a similar boost. [ female announcer ] can you define radiant skin?

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27 minutes past the hour now. you're seeing some of the pictures coming to us out of the vatican and out of rome as well. it's been remarkable to see the outpouring for that man, the late pope john paul ii, who is now the blessed john paul ii, his beautification ceremony

taking place this morning, he was beautified about two hours ago, but the mass associated with it continues right now, but they expected this to be maybe the biggest event to take place in and around rome since his death and his funeral service back in 2005 and looks like it did deliver. it gives you a good idea of people shoved in there, elbow to elbow. we've seen people crying and smiling and enjoying the ceremony which has no doubt been a gorgeous ceremony. here is another shot of it, people, many of them coming from his native poland made the trip down to rome and vatican city to be a part of this. the vatican he's most one step closer to sainthood. we keep this picture up, but i'll bring in nadia bilchik. the vatican waived the five-year waiting process, part of that

was he was so beloved. >> absolutely at his funeral they said santo subico, "sainthood now" they wanted it quicker. there is a process that needs to take place. one understands there is a congregation for the causes of saints so an entire congregation that gets together to decide first of all there's an investigation, then there's an acceptance or a veneration, and beautification, and only with the second miracle is canonization. >> we talked to john allen, vatican analyst, earlier. people have to pray to john paul ii and then we have to wait for a second miracle and historically, this has taken a long time for that second miracle. >> reporter: exactly, except with padre pio, one of the most famous catholic priests and he had many, many miracles that

were approved and one of them being an 18-month-old child who was severely burnt and he goes to the child and the parents are about to send the child to the hospital, and the child at 18 months, again this is the miracle, says "i am cured, i have had the hand of padro pio." mother teresa, another beloved figure, who was beautified, and one looks at the extraordinary relationship she had with john paul ii, but also more people were beautified and canonized under the papacy of john paul ii in history and this is why, because with the congregation for the causes of saints there was always a group that went against that became known as the devil's advocate, so the devil's advocate looks at the miracle. the miracle of an indian woman who had a cancerous tumor in her abdomen. she prayed to mother teresa, wore a locket around her neck,

radiating light from the locket and she was totally cured. normally there would be devil's advocate to look into the miracle. pope john paul ii eliminated that. the whole concept, and you've heard the name devil's advocate so as a result, more and more people were beautified and canonized than in the combined history of any other papacy. >> and these healings, these miracles they don't have to be, but they're specific, they investigate these, have to be permanent, they have to be instantaneous and they have to be confirmed. >> exactly. >> that's not easy to do. again, picture this is morning, remarkable out of vatican city and rome as well, beautification one step closer. we could be waiting for some time. >> it will be interesting to see this young construction worker in chicago whose mother prayed to john paul ii and to see if he

was cured and if that passes, then we will see, but the world certainly welcomes and needs miracles. >> nadia bilchik we appreciate you as always. also coming up we'll turn back to the south and all that devastation right now, they could certainly use a miracle, could use one wednesday night when the storms rolled through. several communities lost so much but they're already coming together, coming together today on this sunday, giving thanks for what they actually have left. also this morning, a major development out of libya, where the government there is claiming that moammar gadhafi and his family were targeted and they claim that several members of gadhafi's family have been killed. the latest on all that in two and a half minutes. ♪ [ female announcer ] the irresistible taste of cinnamon toast crunch.

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disputing the claims. frederik pleitgen got to see the house supposedly hit by the nato air strike. >> reporter: after a massive air strike in downtown tripoli international journalists were taken to the scene, a residential compound that belongs to saif al arab. a short while after the government made this announcement. >> the attack resulted in the martyrdom of brother saif al arab gadhafi, 29 years old, and three of the leaders' grandchildren. >> reporter: the libyan government claims moammar gadhafi himself was at the compound with his wife when the bomb struck but escaped unhurt. >> this was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country. this is not permitted by international law. it is not permitted by any moral

code. >> reporter: nato confirmed an air strike on tripoli but says the target was what it called a command and control facility. the alliance says it's only going after gadhafi's military infrastructure and not targeting senior members of the regime. the libyan government says this is a residential complex struck here, struck by massive ordinance, this entire building was flattened. it appears there's several layers that go down here, which might be something like a bunker. we're just not sure what was underneath this building. saif al arab is moammar gadhafi's second youngest son and one of the most low profile children of the libyan leader. there's no way to verify if he was killed in the strike. the only sid yo purportedly showing him is from 1986 when he was 4-year-old, shown on libyan tv after war planes bombed mow gar gadhafi's compound. the news of his possible death

led to demonstration but people in benghazi celebrated, even though some said they believe the libyan government is fabricating reports of saif al arab's death. the truth might be hidden somewhere under the rubble of the compound but in the hours after the air strike there are more questions than answers. fred pleitgen, cnn, tripoli, libya. help is pouring in to the tornado-stricken areas of the south, still trying to get a good handle on the enormity of the cleanup job ahead. seven more counties in alabama have been designated for federal disaster assistance. the overall death toll has gone up again, 339 confirmed dead, 250 of the fatalities in alabama a alone. the governor has declared a day of prayer. good morning to reynolds wolf once again, who is there, survivors still working. where are you, reynolds?

explain to me. >> reporter: i'm inside of forest lake baptist church. the last couple of days we've been talking about the death and destruction of many people, not just in alabama through throughout the region. now we're going to talk about the rebuilding process and that process starts in places like this church. take a look. we've got this incredible amount of water that's all over the place, all along this wall, here along the table, all kinds of goods so people who have been displaced, homes no longer exist can come in, pick up a plate, get a couple items, apple or an orange and like this, a bag of funyons. when you have funyons you've got a complete breakfast. things that may seem trivial but it's part of getting back to normal. people have got to eat and this church has taken steps to help people out. believe it or not these steps started months before. this is a food pantry and in

this room you see stuff everywhere from shampoo to things like toiletries, baby food, kids' coloring books, on this side, peanut butter and what's really incredible about this is, well, this is our new friend, lori mcdaniel. this stuff came from everywhere, didn't it? >> it did. we started opening a pantry in a little plaza in the room down the hall, wanting to serve our community. >> reporter: wait, you didn't have some huge blinking sign outside that said please bring food here. it started showing up. >> it was a ministry that god let out of one of our women's hearts and we took the ball and rolled with it. >> reporter: just by chance, you started stockpiling all this food and now your community is desperate for it and you had people from many states that have stopped by. >> we have. trucks just show up, a couple come from little rock, arkansas.

>> reporter: unbelievable. >> and a pickup truck full of water. they were like can you use the water? well, yeah, we were just starting, yeah, we needed the water. we got low on feeding meals the other day and ran in to start pulling peanut jelly to make sandwiches for the workers and a truck pulls up from a restaurant in birmingham with hot plate lunches. >> reporter: unbelievable. >> just any time we get low, somebody's coming in with what we need. >> reporter: t.j., the thing that's amazing about that, that's not an easy task in tus ka loo is a. it's difficult to get through different road blocks to get to a place like this church. this is incredible. little rock, arkansas? >> we've had people also from chicago, illinois. i mean just -- >> reporter: unbelievable. >> -- columbus, mississippi. >> reporter: amazing, just am e amazi amazing. >> alabama, that's close. >> reporter: everybody helping

out. gosh. >> they're just showing up. >> reporter: t.j. it is incredible. selfishly i enjoyed the idea people from little rock, arkansas, your home state, were helping people in my home state here in alabama. we owe you guys bun. >> no, you guys have helped us out plenty over the years i'm sure, no matter what rivalries back and forth states have and schools, when it comes to something like that, we've been there, you all have been there and we know what you are going through, reynolds. good to see you everybody. we'll check in with you again. reynolds sharing one of many stories coming out of the south. stick around for two more minutes because in two minutes, after this break, i want to introduce you to angela and clayton. they have a story as well. because just one week ago, they got married, and you know what the first challenge of their marriage is going to be? rebuilding their home after a

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well, we're a quarter at the top of the hour here on this "cnn sunday morning." we've been showing you so many stories coming out of the south, people forced to rebuild literally in some cases start their lives over. i want to introduce you to a couple just starting their new life together, angela and clayton. clayton smith, angela kelso coming to us live from birmingham, a couple that just got married a week ago, but, guys, the weather had other plans for you. first of all, tell me what happened to your home, and is there anything left? >> no, there's nothing left at all. really the only thing left is about two interior walls and the

closet that she was able to crouch down in, and that's really it. the roof, everything inside is gone now. >> guys, i have to ask just what that's like. you're starting, as we know, married couples who were together 50 years, you have challenges. this is going to be a pretty big one pretty early on in your marriage. ange angela, what is your reaction and your thoughts to having this happen just days after getting married? >> well, you know, you're married, this new life and now it's all new beginnings from every aspect of life. we'll pick up the pieces and keep moving with it. sometimes things are planned the way they're supposed to. >> you have to help me now and help some of our viewers. it is so striking to be sitting here talking to you guys and you all seem to be, quite frankly, more upbeat and stoic and almost

able to keep it together better than i can this morning, just hearing your story, because it's heartbreaking. how are you all able to do that? what is it in your character, upbringing or religious background that makes you able to do that? >> it definitely, i can't tell you how lucky, first of all, for my wife to be alive. second of all, we're just, we're staying positive because you know, god has blessed us with a great family, and lots of friends who as soon as this happened, they were calling us, trying to get in touch with us, just to help us. i know that we're, even though we did lose our house and everything we're a lot more fortunate than some other people in tuscaloosa and other places in alabama, because like i said, god has blessed us with great family and great friends who just reached out and we're having all kinds of other people just come up to us and they recognize us and heard our situation and they're trying to

help us, too, and we've never even seen them before. >> guys, i have to ask as well, you just got married, oft oftensometimes people get married and want to give gifts. did you have a lot of stuff in your house that was part of building a new life together, maybe some of those wedding gifts? that? stuff gone? >> a lot of it is gone. we were able to save a few things, a few clothes, most important our pictures but those are just material things, they can be replaced. we're just happy to be here more than anything. >> and i see, i think i'm seeing a picture, you were able to salvage the wedding shoes, angela? is that what i'm looking at? >> those are my wedding shoes. they have made it dirty and all. >> that is incredible, and one other thing, guys, before i let you go, i was asking you during the commercial break, honeymoons. people get married and it's

honeymoon time. what were your plans and have those plans changed? >> we were planning on going to hawaii. we were going to leave may 15th for approximately a week, but we were waiting, having to wait a couple weeks because i'm a student at the university of alabama and i was having to wait for the week to go or school to finish and then we were planning on, you know, taking our trip to hawaii. >> guys -- >> now we just got to find a new house, put a roof over our heads. >> guys, i'm sure you will. i absolutely appreciate you taking the time. we are trying to make sure your story and other stories like yours are top of mind for people right now. it's going to take some time to recover there in the south. to both of you, congratulations on the marriage, clayton and angela and good luck going forward. i hope to stay in touch with you as you rebuild and get to that

honeymoon as well. thanks so much for being here. you take care. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> all right. we're ten minutes to the top of the hour, amazing how people are able to keep it together and be so sure that they are going to be just fine in the wake of such tragedy. we'll be right back.

is it time for a presidential debate? cnn deputy political director

paul steinhauser tells us what you need to keep an eye on this week. >> good morning t.j. congress comes back to town this week, number one on the to do list for lawmakers, dealing with extending the nation's debt ceiling. expect tough talk over that and what to do about skyrocketing gas prices. wednesday the spotlight on governor mitch daniels, weighing a bid for the republican presidential nomination. he gives a speech in washington on education, words closely watched for any hints on whether he'll run. the next day the first presidential debate in the race for the white house. the big question mark how many probable republican candidates will be on the stage at the debate in greenville, south carolina. >> thanks to our paul steinhauser. can you imagine this moment, when a soldier's wife has to hear that her husband did not survive? >> what i really wanted was for it to be a mistake, and for them to say no, that's not your

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afghanistan have been returned to the united states, their caskets arrived at dover air force base in maryland yesterday, gunned down earlier this week by an afghan pilot at kabul international airport. among the eight, major jeff osborne who volunteered to train afghan pilots. he considered that somewhat safe duty. so did his wife. cnn's chris lawrence spoke to her. >> reporter: the eight american troops should have been returning to hugs and kisses, balloons and signs saying "welcome home" and some of the families wanted that to be possible. >> i wanted to come to dover to see my husband or feel his presence one last time. i wanted to salute him one last time. i wanted, what i really wanted was for it to be a mistake and for them to say no, that's not

your husband there, sorry. let's undo this, but that didn't happen, and so as we got closer to his casket coming off the airplane, reality set in that it really is. it's him. he's never coming back. >> reporter: suzanna and jeff ausborn met in kuwait. >> he was so kind, compassionate and loving and patient. that's what made him such a good instructor pilot. he embraced all cultures. i've never met anyone like him before. >> reporter: she knew the risks when jeff volunteered to deploy but thought this sounds as safe as you can get in afghanistan. >> he was going to instruct pilots how to fly their airplane. he wasn't -- he wasn't in a job where he was out in shooting at people. he was training them.

and he enjoyed it, and so we really felt that he was safe, that he would make it home. >> reporter: the eight air force trainers and an american contractor were meeting with an afghan officer at the kabul airport. some sofficials used two guns t kill the u.s. troops he was working with. one of the airmen may have wounded him because he staggered out of the room and died. >> we were afraid, but we also felt like this assignment he was going to be safe. >> reporter: jeff ausborn is one of the latest victims numbering in the dozens of nato troops killed by afghans they were working with and trusted. >> never in a million years did it enter my mind that he wouldn't make it home. >> reporter: chris lawrence, cnn, washington.

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good morning to you all from the cnn center in atlanta, georgia, this is our "cnn sunday morning." i'm t.j. holmes.

we are following three major story this is morning, one of them in libya, where the government there is claiming that moammar gadhafi narrowly escaped a nato air strike. >> this was a direct operation to assassinate the leader of this country. >> a direct hit by nato air strikes? the libyan government outraged saying members of gadhafi's family were killed and killed deliberately. nato is disputing that claim. a lot more detail in just a moment. also, a story we were watching this morning, just an outpouring for john paul ii, who is now the blessed john paul ii. the former pope is now a step closer to sainthood after a ceremony at the vatican, that is just wrapping up. we'll take you live there in just a few moments. also it is a day of prayer

in alabama, people coming together, trying to deal with the loss of life and massive damage from tornados that tore through the south. now 339 people confirmed dead, many more still unaccounted for. crews are digging through the rubble today, still looking for possible survivors, looking for other victims as well. let's get you back to and get you caught off on libya. the government is threatening retaliation for a nato air strike that reportedly killed one of moammar gadhafi's sons. a libyan government spokesperson says three of gadhafi's grandchildren were killed at an attack in tripoli. crews were not able to confirm the desks. nato responded saying all targets are military in nature. cnn's reza sayah is live in benghazi. how is this news being greeted there? >> reporter: it's interesting, t.j., a lot of people here in

rebel-held benghazi are skeptical. they want to see hard proof that saif al arab gadhafi has been killed. that didn't put a dapper on celebrations last night. it's not unusual to hear celebratory gunfire, but this was two hours of heavy gunfire, sounded as if we were in the middle of a war. here's what some of it looked like. it was pandemonium late on saturday night at the opposition capital of benghazi, reports came that saif al arab gadhafi, once of colonel gadhafi's sons was reportedly killed in a nato air strike. hundreds of people waving the revolutions flog, honking their horns, singing, dancing, lots of gunfire. of course, the man they want gone first and foremost is colonel gadhafi, but saturday

night's news was good enough reason for these people to celebrate. >> colonel gadhafi and his regime have so little credible held in benghazi, that some don't believe the news, they want to see hard evidence, perhaps a picture of saif al arab gadhafi's remainses. one senior operation official saying this is another desperate attempt by colonel gadhafi and his regime to win sympathy. it didn't put a damper on the celebration. a lot less gunfire and people eager to see the verification this is true. >> reza sayah in gaza we appreciate you as always. pentagon correspondent bore bra starr is on the live. how is this news going to be greeted or are you getting reaction already? what does the united states

think about possibly being viewed as targeting and trying to assassinate mow gar gadhafi? >> t.j., what you have said since last night when this news emerged is first and foremost they remind everyone this is a nato separation. the u.s. is probably the most prominent member of nato but this is a nato operation and overnight nato issued an extraordinary statement saying it was "aware of unfirmed reports that members of the gadhafi family were killed." it's really the same thing they're saying in benghazi, we need to see some proof this has happened. we are aware that's what the libyans are saying last night they targeted military areas in tripoli. what's been going on, of course, for the last many days now is

they are targeting command and control, communications, if you will, of compounds and targets in tripoli, but these are targets that have multiple areas in them, and have been known to be areas where gadhafi and his family frequent and gadhafi and his family know that these areas are targeted for their military utility. i think it still remains to be seen, number one, is this man dead, and the three grandchildren, and did the nato war planes hit precisely the target they were aiming at, on that compound? they say, of course, again, they do not target individuals, that they were only targeting a military compound, if you will. t.j.? >> barbara, like you mentioned the u.s. tries to stress every chance the u.s. gets that yes, this is a nato operation but many people see this as u.s. led or the u.s. being a prominent member, so back to, are they

concerned about how this could be viewed at least? are they concerned about how it might be viewed inside of libya and around the world if the u.s. or nato tried to take out gadhafi? >> right. i think there is no question about that. u.s. officials told us last night when we started asking questions about this, that they were very concerned it would be seen as a propaganda victory for kernel gadhafi, it would be seen as the u.s. was engaging in targeting and, you know, perceived as murder, that they were very, very concerned about the perceptions here, and of course you know, perceptions, whatever they are, will have a way of becoming reality in certain parts of the world to some people, so that is something that the u.s. will have to deal with because as we're saying, this is a nato operation but there is no question that it is seen very

kig antly as being led by the u.s., britain, france, the u.s. and its western allies in europe, that's the perception regardless of what the technicalities are of course. >> barbara starr, we appreciate you hopping on the line with us this morning. thank you so much. we want to turn back to the south here. reynolds wolf has been reporting from tuscaloosa, alabama, a really hard-hit area, joining me once again. you're in one of those spots that's trying to help out right now, and a lot of people need it. >> reporter: absolutely, t.j. we've been talking, we spoke about this the last time we were on together about the need for food. when you lose your home, lose your place, they provided so many great things here at forest lake baptist church, given by donations. food is a tremendous thing. water is, too. you have tons of that. out of the last couple of days we've been walking through the

debris you'll see all kinds of things and one thing you'll see is clothing everywhere that people no longer have. missing a shirt, pants, jeans, they've got to find a place to answer some of the questions, they've got to find solutions. this is terri heburn. maybe you ought to come over here. there you go. let's see. tell me about this place. when someone comes in, this is not for sale. it's donated. >> this is all donations, brought in from other churches and family members come and brought the items, just the public, peeping coming in off the streets, college kids, and some have gone in, purchased items, brought shoes, clothing, bedding shoes. >> reporter: not just hand-me-downs but new stuff, too.

>> they wanted to participate in fashion. a lot of people home has been totally wiped away. they have literally nothing. we give them sack and boxes, pick out what they need for their children and family members, anything they need and we also have baby food, baby clothing, diapers, we are a relief center to get things that they need. >> reporter: check this out, hold on a second. i was sifting through the stuff looking around and let's say you've got a young kid, a few months old and trying to get things started, we've lost everything. you can get a bib, a onesie and bam! you got a bear. how about that? you got a bear, the world is your oyster. you'll be in great shape. if someone wanted to donate some of the clothes how do they do that? >> walk in. people are walking in. we never know when they're coming. the lord provided for us. >> let me ask you something

different from the clothing. when someone goes through a situation like this, when you have a community like this and a horrible event, it sometimes, you would think, would shake your faith. has this solidified your faith? >> definitely. we've seen the lord provide when we totally run out of food, shipments are pre-made and ready to go. it's the lord's hand on what's going on here, no advising, there was no way to get advertisement out, people's cell phones are out, cell towers are down. it's word of moul. people who are coming are services to give us information and bring things to us and letting the community know what's going on here. >> reporter: i'll throw another 90-mile-per-hour curveball here. where are these people staying? >> the national guard has an area set up, hopedale elementary hars an area, central high school has an area and those are

the only ones i'm aware of. shelters are trying to be established that roads are, traffic can get to those areas so throughout alberta city, they're starting a shelter there, north port is working on something to get areas there as well. >> reporter: got you. one last thing. we've got to wrap things up. you've got america right there. if there's one thing that you think the community really needs in terms of help, what is the key thing you want people to send, water, food, clothing? >> we need food items, prepackaged, pre-made sandwiches, food already served. our working crew, workers out on the field, we're taking people food and water but gatorade, they're tired of water. they need a little more substance. >> reporter: got you. thanks so much. if we can let's stretch out. you have an amazing story what

you dealt with through the storm. it's an amazing morning, the community, starting to get things going and it's happening not just here in tuscaloosa but across the state of alabama and the region. back to you in the studio. >> great last question. a hope a lot of people are getting that message. we'll check in with you again. it's 14 past the hour. take a look at this scene, a live picture inside st. peter's basilica in the vatican. this is the coffin, that is pope john paul ii, and this is where we're expecting thousands upon thousands of people to walk by and pay their respects on a day in which he has now become the blessed john paul ii, moving him one step closer to stanthood. we're going to take you back live to talk to the vatican analyst in three minutes and you'll hear what this day means.

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18 minutes past the hour. you are seeing a live picture inside saint peter's basilica, where thousands upon thousands are expected to file past the coffin of pope john paul the ii, now the blessed john paul ii as i bring in john allen, vatican analyst in rome. as i talk to you, john, we're seeing him move one step closer to sainthood. this is something the people

demanded, is it not? >> reporter: absolutely right. t.j., it's supposed to be a democratic process, starts with the grassroots conviction that someone lived a holy life. this surnout turn out is proof of the point. >> proof of the point there, so many people, so much outpouring. john how much have we seen in the past few days, maybe weeks of people who are bringing up, hey, wait a minute, this is the same guy who didn't move quickly enough or do enough when it came to the catholic church's abuse scand scandals. how much of it has been out there in the lead up to today? >> reporter: there's been quite a bit of it actually. john paul was pope over many years. people will debate where he made the right choices. i think in some ways that's a debate for another day. people in and around the square

are here to celebrate his life and legacy. >> one miracle down, he needed one to get to this point to be beautified but getting to miracle two is not always an easy thing. >> reporter: no, that's right. you can't manufacture a sirical. you have to wait for it to happen. there are tens of thousands if not more people around the world praying for another miracle from jan paul 2:00 and praying, too, it may come soon. >> john allen one of the best things i heard you saying, being futurified mean people have one more friend in heaven. i think that's a good way to put it. we'll talk to john allen throughout the morning, to give us a saintshoot 101 this morning as well. we'll talk to you here in a little bit. 20 past the hour. stick around because we have tornado watches that are in effect right now. bonnie schneider with that in just a minute. funds, iras, or annuities.hearl back then, he had something more important to do.

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good morning everyone. i'm meteorologist bonnie schneider in the cnn severe weather center, we are tracking the risk for tornadoes once again today, this time in northeast texas, a tornado watch in effect right now, straight through noon local time. it's just to the east of the dallas area but it is impacting cities like garland and areas well into just to the area of louisiana and clipping parts of arkansas as well. we're seeing severe weather rolling through texas right now, strong storms work their way through the dallas area and look for more just north of the city with frequent lightning strikes and heavy downpours of rain. as you head to the east, a long line of thunderstorms are rolling through the nashville area right now into lexington, kentucky, this will also bring unfortunately more rain to the flood-ravaged area of the midwest and that's what we're tracking as well. i'll talk more about that later on, t.j., but this rain is the last thing feekz olks in this pf the country need now. >> bonnie schneider we appreciate you. thanks so much. it happens more often than you think. can you imagine? operating on the wrong body

part? no, doc, it's this eye, not this one. you'll hear how you can prevent something like this from happening to you or a family member. the rare, the hard to . to those who'd climb mountains or sail across seas for the perfect vanilla or honey from bees. to the lovers of orchards where simple is grown, who treat every bite as a world of its own. to those always searching for what's pure and what's real from we who believe we know just how you feel. haagen-dazs. that's how it is with alzheimer's disease. she needs help from me. and her medication. the exelon patch -- it releases medication continuously for twenty-four hours. she uses one exelon patch daily for the treatment of mild to moderate alzheimer's symptoms. [ female announcer ] it cannot change the course of the disease. hospitalization and rarely death have been reported in patients who wore more than one patch at a time.

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before his 4th birthday he went in for surgery to correct a lazy eye and it was supposed to be on his right eye but instead the surgeon did it on his left eye. she came out and told the family what had happened and explained she had become, in her words "disoriented." the hospital is now investigating the situation and not quite known what's going to happen to jesse's eye, both the one that was supposed to be operated on and the one that did end up getting operated on. here at the "empowered patient" we have a few tips so this doesn't happen to you or someone you love. before you go in for surgery ask your surgeon what are your strategies for making sure a wrong-sided surgery doesn't happen. they should have specific things they do to prevent these mistakes. also request a time-out just before arns theeshia. surgeons should be familiar with the term time-out. it means all of the action stops and the surgical team openly discusses