the airport is open this morning but not at full capacity just yet. we will have the very latest for you. there has been severe weather that's been affecting this country. not just in certain spots, not just in st. louis. really from the midwest to the south to the northeast. the latest is that powerful tornado that did hit st. louis and the surrounding area. again, this is the very moment when the tornado hit the city's main airport. look at listen to this. this was lay friday night. thousands of people were at the airport at time the, some even sitting on the plane on the tarmac. they had to be evacuated. imagine that scene, a lot of these folks inside, a lot of them visitors, not really up on the weather necessarily or how serious it may have been. didn't know they needed to seek shelter. they were just going about their business in the airport when that all started happening. we were told that half the windows in the main terminal were blown out. the winds up to 170 miles an hour. substantial damage was done to that airport but it is not expected to be separating at 70% capacity today. amazing. also on the severe weather front, we take you to texas now. firefighters are getting a break from wildfires that have burned more than 1 million acres and also torched a number of homes. there is concern that drier weather in coming days could spark more flare-ups. in vermont, new york, lake champlain, concern over rising levels there. over a foot above flood level. the ohio river expected to reach three or four feet above flood stage tomorrow. we are getting an idea of how devastating that storm is in st. louis, getting the first daylight pictures right here yesterday morning. you were watching that with us. now the city's main terminal got the most damage there. you see a lot of the work going on. parts of the roof were torn off of that airport. now this powerful tornado hit homes in the st. louis suburb. it wasn't just at the airport but this is in the same vicinity of the airport, north-northwest downtown st. louis. about 750 homes either destroyed or damaged. i spoke to one lady this morning who hid in her basement during the storm. she says she came out, look up, saw nothing but sky. roof was gone. despite the damage, the debris, the dangers, nobody was killed. also, no reports of anyone being seriously injured. well, after easter sunrise services a lot of people in st. louis are going to be changing into work clothes. they've got work to do. the clean-up is going on this morning. it will be going on for some time. our dan simon is in the st. louis suburb of bridgeton, missouri. dan, good morning to you. can you put in perspective what you've been seeing? >> reporter: yeah, t.j. i want to give you a sense of the kinds of things you're seeing everywhere you drive within a few miles of the airport. we are at sort of an industrial complex here. you can see this car that's overturned, this trailer that's also overturned. if you come this way, you can see some damage right in front of me. this was a small auto shop just totally leveled. we're told the guy who owns this shop was here at the time and if you can believe that, look right in front of me. you can see the top of that small roof there. most of it is gone. we're told that the owner was huddling right under that roof and that's what saved his life. this is what we're seeing all throughout the town. you can see uprooted trees, just like this. we're told that 27 homes -- 2,700 homes, t.j., took some kind of damage. right now they're still in the assessment phase, going through various streets trying to clean up power lines, trying to get power restored and make some of these streets passable. for the first time today we're told some of the homeowners will be allowed back in to start going through the rubble and see if they can claim some of their belongings. but really an enormous task in front of them. two themes are emerging here with the story. you have what happened at the airport and the impact on travelers and they're trying to get the airport open today. as you said, they think they can get 70% open today because they got the power back on. so they feel like they can sort of get things back to normal with travelers. then you have the impact on the community, all the homes and businesses that have been damaged or destroyed trying to get a sense of things in terms of how bad it is and allow some of these homeowners back in today. >> dan, thank you for that, giving us even more perspective on what's going on there. another view from ground level. now dan simon will be checking in with him on cnn throughout the day. when you see these pictures and see homes destroyed like that, it is hard to imagine what it was like inside one of those homes when the storm hit. again we told you, no one reported killed by these storms. just minor injuries. again, not even serious injuries to report. but i spoke to one woman. you're seeing what's left of her home there. brianna mcintyre was actually inside in the basement when all this was going on above her. listen to her describe what was happening. >> the first thing that went out were the lights. the lights flickered. and then it was complete darkness. and then you could hear like -- when you're on the plane and your ears pop. your ears popping. it was like a suction noise. and all of a sudden we just heard the roof ripped. and me and my friend daniel we just ran as quick as we could to the basement bathroom. we got into the tub and just held each other, you know, comforting me because i was crying. and then you could just hear this loud ripping noise, sounded like a train was running over the top of my house. >> now there is going to be, as you could imagine, a need there in the st. louis area, at least 750 homes destroyed or damaged in some way there. a lot of those people need a place to stay right now. the red cross mobilized, even on friday night, just after this storm was hitting, we've been checking in with them getting regular updates but they are there on the ground. i was checking in again this morning with one of their representatives. >> our first response in the red cross is to make sure people have a safe place to stay and have food to eat and they have their basic needs met. and then once we know that they're safe, then we move in to damage assessment and actually going into the neighborhoods with trained volunteers to assess that. of course all this is in cooperation with emergency management officials. but our goal is to get people the help that they need by determining how much damage is there. let me turn to our bonnie schneider, our meteorologist, who's here with me this weekend. bonnie, st. louis not done with nasty weather just yet. >> no. in fact, just to the south of st. louis, if you were to drive just a few hours south in cape girardeau, we are gating reports of flooding. some roads according to the missouri department of transportation are impassable. unfortunately this is just the start. look at what's happening. we have flood watches and warnings posted across much of southern missouri into western kentucky, and this is likely to extend over the next couple days. flood watches and advisories posted northward across much of central illinois and certainly for st. louis because the rain continues. in fact, on our radar picture now, you can see heavy bands of rain have been passed to the south of st. louis but are working their way into southern indiana and parts of kentucky. that's where we're seeing some of the worst of it in terms of heavy rainfall. if we open up the scope, you can see that in evansville a lot of heavy rain is working into louisville, kentucky and sweeping across lexington. we'll likely see it hit eastern kentucky into the ashland area where we had severe weather yesterday. you're likely to get hit with some very heavy downpours. these thunderstorms are likely to get more intense throughout the rest of the afternoon especially with that heating of the day. watch out for this flood threat throughout easter and over the next few days. it is going to be intense. some computer models are forecasting a foot of rain over a five-day period from the heartland all the way into the ohio valley. >> bonnie, we appreciate the update. happy easter to a lot of you. a lot of people going to those services today, church services. some people attending sunrise services. one of them taking place this morning at arlington national cemetery. this was the scene just a short time ago at the memorial ar amphitheater. it happened at 6:30 this morning, the sunrise service. they also do memorial day veterans services at this amphitheater. also today at the vatican, the catholic faithful flock to st. peter's basilica to celebrate sunday mass with the pope. the pope held morning mass on the steps of the basilica, he'll deliver his traditional easter address from the balcony overlooking st. peter's square after mass. he delivers his address in several languages. just a few days away now. you know the whole world will be watching. next we're heading over to london for a look at the last-minute presence for will and cate's big day. also, the bookies in london are taking bets about this wedding, betting on just about everything having to do with the wedding, including -- exactly what color cate's wedding dress. what color is it going to be? you may be surprised that the betting favorite is not white. what do you think is the 100-1 color long shot and we'll let also you know the favorite in a couple of minutes. right now, all over the country discov customers are gettinfive percent cashback bonus at home improment stores. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. time to face the pollen that used to make me sneeze. but with zyrtec® liquid gels, i get fast, 24-hour allergy relief. so i feel better by the time we tee off. zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air®. so i feel better by the time 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[ male announcer ] wells fargo. with you when you're ready to move. curtis: welcome back to geico it's savings, on the radio. gecko: and the next caller is doug from chico. doug: oh...hey thereey...! gecko: you sound like a happy n. i wrote a song about it. gecko: alright, let's hear it! curtis: yeah jam session! doug: one, two... ♪ (singing) i got my motorcycle ♪ ♪ and my rv now i gotmore money. ♪ vo: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. ray d'alessio, from hln sports, this one threw a lot of people off and it was kind of scary when we first heard about it. the miami dolphins wide receiver brandon marshall back home from the hospital now two days after allegedly being stabbed by his wife. she's now charged with domestic violence in this incident. she's out of jail on bond. this is her as she was leaving jail. now marshall, his wife, told police that it was in self-defense. now originally brandon, you see there, he told police he fell on a glass piece. officers didn't buy that story. he had surgery friday expected to recover fully but this was a disturbing story here. i guess to ask about the miami dolphins is one thing. what can their involvement be with this lockout right now? >> not much. that's the problem. they're trying to get to the bottom. details are very sketchy. but as the lockout continues, teams cannot have contact with these players. now the doctors can so the dolphins do know right now brandon marshall is going to be fine. they were able to converse with the doctor, the team doctor, who spoke to doctors at the hospital and they said it was minor surgery that brandon marshall had on friday night. he actually wanted to go home early yesterday which he did, he went home yesterday. he was released from the hospital yesterday afternoon. minor surgery. they say he should make a full recovery in a few weeks. but again not much is known. all we know is what police are saying, is that they got to the residence and it ateerd to be a domestic situation. and his wife has been charged as a result. >> remind our viewers who may not know the name that well. this is one of the top receivers in the league. this is a pro bowl caliber athlete. >> very good receiver. spent some time with the denver broncos, traded to the miami dolphins last year. this is not the first time that these two, marshall and his wife, have been involved in a domestic violence situation. a few years ago here in atlanta they were arrested, charges later dropped, because both refused to testify against each other. again nobody knows who -- all police are saying is that brandon marshall was the victim in this case. >> you all brought a story to my attention. these sports guys send out a note every morning. this one you all really brought to my attention. talking about the new orleans hornets, chris paul doing something nice for a young man. >> people may know the story with chris paul, when he was a senior in high school he lost his grandfather 60 years old. few days later he scores 61 points in a game. here is brad rose, 14-year-old high school freshman from new hampshire. in february he tragically lost his mother? a snowmobile accident. she was 46 years old. a few days later brad goes out and scores 46 points in a game in honor of his mother. chris paul hears the story, contacts the family, says hey, i want to bring him to a game. he brought him to the game on friday night. there you see brad rhodes had the hornets gear on. chris paul signed some shoes for him and now these two have developed a very special bond. >> it is unfortunate the circumstances that brought those two together but what a nice gesture. >> brian rhodes admitted is he a celtics fan but he says he will root for the hornets. >> ray d'alessio, thank you. it is easter. you may be heading out to easter services right now. there might be a bunny rabbit or two in your future today. but do you know why? why is the easter bunny, the bunny rabbit, such an endearing symbol of this day? for centuries this big-eared bunny has been child's companion during the season but you might be surprised at how it got to where it's gotten. did you know prilosec otc can stop frequent heartburn before it begins? heartburn happens when stomach acid refluxes into the esophagus. prilosec otc uses a unique delayed-release system that protects the medicine as it passes through the stomach's tough acid. then it gets absorbed into the body, turning off many acid-producing pumps at the source. with just one pill a day, you get 24-hour heartburn protection all day and all night. prilosec otc. heartburn gone. power on. you can't have easter here in the u.s. without the easter bunny. kids love tryinging to find those easter eggs. but as americaning a the tradition has become now, where did it come from? could you answer that question? we had to get our producer nadia on this one. she's here with me now. we got a couple of props here. >> i have the fluffy pink easter bunny. pink is a very important spring color and a very important easter color. also a color of renewal and hope. >> this is not just all fun and games. because now it just seems like the easter bunny, the eggs, but there's real symbolism here. >> many different explanations. one is that the germans who came to pennsylvania in the 1700s brought with them the easter hare. it dates back to ancient egypt because the hare became the symbol of the moon and it goes further than that, because they say the moon was synonymous with women's cycles and fertility. hence the hare becoming the symbol of fertility. some europeans celebrated easter, the god es dess of spri. a rabbit can conceive while pregnant and we know that they do produce prolifically. >> and they brought this here. they be what do we do with these traditions? >> we see the rabbit as this beautiful creature as a symbol of fertility, of birth, of christ's rebirth, so the two seem to be very well connected. and if you think of christ giving birth spiritually to so many, the rabbit gives birth. there's a lot of symbolism with the rabbit. >> the eggs as well. >> the eggs, always a symbol of life. but what's really fascinating is today is not only easter, but it is also greek easter. let's put our rabbit back. so it is also greek easter and greek easter has red eggs. when they do on the thursday known as blood thursday or red thursday, they will dip their eggs in this beautiful rich red dye and this becomes synonymous with christ's blood. >> you said there is a competition you were explaining to me. >> you crack the eggs. you take your two red eggs. the idea is whose smashes first loses. you've got to go head-to-head with the eggs. >> then the loser what? >> well, you both eat your eggs. but it depends on who has the stronger shell. >> see? now you know, folks, it is not just about kids, fun and games. there's real symbolism behind the easter bunny and the eggs. >> and we'll be eating chocolate soon. >> thank you. we needed that on easter. nadia always educating us. 22 minutes past the hour on this easter sunday. quick break. we'll be right back. a strong tornado hit friday night, it was on the ground for quite some time in st. louis. winds up to 170 miles an hour. all of this struck just northwest of downtown st. louis. you know about the airport being hit but this is another neighborhood. these are pictures we are just getting this. but a number of neighborhoods. it appears some people are starting to put those blue tarps over their houses trying to cover up roofs blown off in some cases. in some cases whole homes were destroyed. but some neighborhoods appear -- you hear people say it, you hear it every time. it looks like a bomb went off. the reason they say that is because that's exactly what it looks like in many of these neighborhoods. we have seen scenes, some neighborhoods look like they have been level. others look like they haven't been touch which are right next door. look at those pictures, folks. you see some homes gone. some still standing. there is another up to the left or top left of the screen there, looked like not much damage to that buildinging at all. literally just feet away homes are destroyed. you see cars, vehicles, on the roads as well. people were coming out yesterday, coming out today as well trying to survey the damage. some people during the morning are going to pause, go to their easter sunday church services and, quite frankly, remember what they are thankful for and they're thankful they are still alive because we reported that no deaths -- no deaths -- after this storm and only minor injuries. that is remarkable after one of the strongest storms to hit the st. louis area in some 40 years. we're keeping a close eye on what's happening to our friends there in the st. louis area, as well as another weather situation that's affecting them right now. a flood watch in effect in some areas surrounding st. louis. they might not be out of the woods yet when it comes to nasty weather but still a blessing in some ways after friday night. 25 past the hour now. nails used to crucify jesus said to have magical powers. coming up db a filmmaker says he may have found the coveted tools solving a 2,000-year-old mystery. of course there are some doubters out there. that will be in our "faces of faith." excons and the homeless get a second chance, skills in the kitchen that could help turn their lives around. there's another way to minimize litter box odor: purina tidy cats. tidy cats premium line of litters now works harder to help neutralize odors in multiple-cat homes. and our improved formula also helps eliminate dust. so it's easier than ever to keep your house smelling just the way you want it. purina tidy cats. keep your home smelling like home. 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[ male announcer ] engine light on? come to meineke now for a free code scan read and you'll say... my money. my choice. my meineke. we're at the bottom of the hour here on this easter sunday. welcome back to this cnn sunday morning. i'm t.j. holmes. some of the stories we are keeping a close eye on, the national weather service saying in fact it was a tornado that hit south central oklahoma. these are some of the pictures of the damage left behind. this is out of oklahoma. no injuries reported there. this was all a part of those storms that hit on friday night. also wildfires in north texas have burned more than a million acres. it is quieter today, thank goodness. but firefighters fear drier weather in the coming days could spark more flare-ups. st. louis still trying to clean up after the tornado that hit friday night. that's the airport where workers are replacing a lot of windows in the main terminal at the city's airport. parts of the airport roof were torn off by winds of 170 miles an hour. 750 homes were also damaged or destroyed. ♪ they are celebrating easter sunday mass at the vatican. pope benedict held mass for thousands gathered at the steps of st. peter's basilica. there's a much different story in beijing where police were standing guard outside a church waiting to arrest people who came to worship. in the past month alone police have arrested more than 200 people of the so-called home churches which the government considers illegal. stan grant now with the story. >> reporter: over here you can see the police that have turned out today. this is where one of the home churches, the so-called illegal churches, in china was going to hold a service, an easter sunday service. now this church has been part of a crackdown by authorities over recent weeks. hundreds of members of the church have been rounded up and detained. the leaders of the church are in fact still under arrest, still being held somewhere. the church members have said that they would hold this service anyway in defiance of the threat from police. we haven't seen any of them yet turn up but we have seen plain-clothed police coming towards us, turning towards us, even turning their cameras on us. he's filming us. film him filming us. now this guy over here is now filming us filming him. which is -- okay, we should just get out of here. just keep shooting here. he's shooting us. i'm going to try to walk up the stairs now to where the service was meant to be held. let's see how far we can go. happy easter. happy easter. joe, we're trying to get through to -- we have to go another way? >> he says that there is an event being held upstairs and we're not able to go. >> okay. okay. no, no. okay. move back, brett. move back. okay, okay, okay. we leave. okay. let's go. let's go. let's go. clearly we're being chased out of here. these people don't want us here. we're not going to be able to see the church service today so we're going to leave. stan grant, cnn, beijing. 33 minutes past the hour. we turn to our "faces much faith." on this easter sunday we have the story of a filmmaker that believes that two nails found in a jerusalem tomb could have been used in the crucifix of jesus. archaeologists in israel certainly have their doubts. but our cnn jerusalem bureau chief kevin flower lays out the arguments and you decide. >> reporter: tucked away inside a tel aviv university safe sits a small and unremarkable wooden box. it's sat in this anthropology lab for years. documentary filmmaker here says they are a hugely significant archaeological find. >> this could very well be two of the nails that were used in the cruicifixion of jesus. >> reporter: it is a theory he pos sits in a soon to be released film "nails of the cross." in 1990 construction here in this now jerusalem park uncovered a 2,000-year-old underground tomb that some believed was the burial place of a man named kyfus, a jewish high priest of jerusalem who tradition holds was a central figure in the crucifixion of jesus christ. >> you found the tomb of the man who's known in history for one thing and one thing only. that is sending jesus to pilate who crucifies him. you find two iron nails and you don't mention it to the world or ask the question -- >> could they be the nails that crucified jesus? >> reporter: jewish tradition, he maintains, hold the crucifixion nailed held magic properties explaining why the high priest might be buried with them. >> how is jesus connected here? >> if in 2,000 years you find the tomb of muhammad ali and there are two boxing gloves in his tomb, you would think they're not his training gloves. they're the gloves that he won the heavyweight championship of the world. it wouldn't be a crazy thing to think that if a guy takes these particular gloves to his death they might have some important significance. >> reporter: modern analogies aside, it is a theory the archaeological establishment in israel is not buying. steve greenhunt was the man who excavated the tomb and calls that theory imaginary. >> no chance that the nails of -- which are in the laboratories of the tel aviv university are nails which i haven't found in the extra vags of the caiaphas tomb in 1990. i think i've put together a compelling journalistic sound hypothesis and now it the up to the scientists, do the science. >> reporter: the film is only likely to add to the mystery surrounding the death of jesus. kevin flowers, cnn, jerusalem. more on this story at cnn.com/belief. we have a belief blog. do you think these nails could have been linked to jesus' crucifixion? here are a couple of comments. one writing -- another set of nails? what does this make? 30 or so? another person -- finding or not finding relics has no impact on my faith. we'll turn back to easter now. the easter egg roll in particular. at the white house. it is an annual tradition. always fun to see those kids go at it. what you probably didn't know is those 6,000 eggs have another purpose. dozens of ex-cons get out of prison and into the kitchen to learn life-changing skills. we'll have that story for new a moment. also, senator john mccain made a surprise trip to libya. he's telling our candy crowley why he did it and what he thinks of moammar gadhafi. a preview of her interview next. but first, back to the royals. we were telling you earlier that london bookies are taking bets on anything royal wedding related. a favorite topic, would you believe, is what color will cate's wedding dress be? i just thought it would be white. actually, that's not the odds-on favorite. right now ivory. 4-6 odds. white second at 5- 2. if she steps out in red, somebody's going to get paid. it's 100-1 because there's no way she's stepping out in a red dress. two minutes, i'm right back. breathes easily. it flows with clean water. it makes its skyline greener and its population healthier. all to become the kind of city people want to live and work in. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest questions. and the over sixty thousand people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. 40 minutes past the hour now. time for my highlights of my sunday mornings because i get to chat with candy crowley, "state of the union" host. coming up in about 0 minutes. candy, congratulations to you. what is this i hear about you speaking to john mccain? >> well, as you know, he showed up in libya on friday. and it certainly was a picture that i think put a lot of pressure not just on nato, but on president obama. i mean this -- john mccain has always been kind of in the forefront of a more muscular western approach to libya. he was out there early on saying let's start this flyover. once it did start he said it's too late but i'm glad it started. now he's saying we need to do more, we need to do more. we want to know what is that exactly. >> he, of course, would have had to, the way these things go, have gotten the white house blessing to go over to make this trip in the first place, would he not? >> he would the not have had to have had it. but it would have been -- certainly i think it is in the character of senator mccain to find someone to say, yeah, go ahead and go and he says the vice president and national security advisor knew he was going. obviously that means the president did. so they knew that he was planning on doing that and i would bet that had they said bad idea, we don't want you over there that he would not have gone. so yes, administration blessing on this. >> how could this be some kind of a game changer? because to see this man, yes, he is a u.s. senator but this is not just any u.s. senator. you mentioned some of the clout he has, background he has, he's very high profile. he wan for president just a couple of years ago. so everyone knows this name an background. how can this change -- to see him now giving legitimacy in a way to the opposition that we really haven't seen before? >> well i think first of all, just for those on the ground, for the libyan rebels who obviously know the reputation of senator mccain, this was a huge deal. because overseas lots of times when a high-profile senator come, even some that you wouldn't consider high profile, it is considered an honor particularly given the state of what's going on in libya. so they took heart from that, for sure, and they took it as a sign of continued u.s. support. and again, i think senator mccain is a voice on military affairs in particular that white houses either listen to or have trouble sort of going up against, because he does command the microphone and i think, for sure, that senator mccain, as he came out for no-fly zone, trying to pressure the president is trying to pressure the president, in this case to recognize the rebels as legitimate government of libya and perhaps to find a way to arm them. >> all right. and we will see the interview right at the top of the hour? is that right? >> not quite at the top but very close to the top. >> that works for us anyway. all right, candy crowley, good to see you, as always. to our viewers, stay right here because in about 17 1/2 minutes you will see candy crowley and "state of the union." 9:00 a.m. eastern, 6:00 pacific right here on cnn. you know the annual holiday tra significance at the white house. the kids come out to the white house for the easter egg roll. but coming up, there's a story behind those thousands of eggs involving ex-cons. we'll explain in a couple of minutes. about a quarter to the top of the hour now. easter in washington, d.c. and the president is expected to attend easter services at shiloh baptist church there. this is the congregation by originally led by freed slaves. congregationists were told there might be a special guest this morning. church has hosted reagan, clinton before, as well. something else in washington, d.c. you see this every year. it is the easter egg hunt. it's happening on monday, this time. but this is always fun to see the little ones out there running around the yard -- the lawn, i should say, at the white house hunting for those eggs. now all those eggs will be rolling around the white house lawn, they all had to be boiled by somebody. didn't they? well, cnn's sandra endofound out how many of these egg chefs are enjoying their own rebirth. >> reporter: chefs at d.c. central kitchen preparing for what may be their most important order of the year -- 6,000 hard boiled eggs going to 1600 pennsylvania avenue. colorfully served up for the annual white house easter festivities. >> this is some of the stuff that was made earlier today, yesterday it will be going out tomorrow. >> reporter: the chef explains how his life and the lives of many of his co-workers have broken pasts. what were you doing that made you hit rock bottom? >> drugs. alcohol. illegal activity. >> reporter: for years he was in and out of jail. at one point homeless with nowhere to turn. what was it like for you? >> desperate. figuring out how i'm going to survive day to day. escaping death, one bad situation after another. but things aren't like that anymore. >> reporter: he applied to d.c. central kitchen's culinary job training program which gives formerly incarcerated and homeless people a chance to learn new skills. >> i've been working with the kitchen for almost a year now. >> reporter: he worked his way up to a shift supervisor for the program working with volunteers. >> it makes you feel good to know that you're part of an organization that does so many good things for the community and to be recognized by the white house is -- it doesn't get much better than that. >> reporter: jeff is one of hundreds who have come through this program and is now thriving. there are so many different stories to be told here, and a lot of workers say this is the one place where they feel understood. >> there's a lot of people who would like some training but we really look at ex-offenders, men and women who are suffering from substance abuse recovery. we found the ones we screen and get to the beginning stage of the program are really ready to change their lives. it is a life changing program, not just a culinary job training program. >> i know what it is like to go through struggles. they say you can only keep what you have by giving it away. >> reporter: giving away some easter spirit just a little example of their rebirth. sandra endo, cnn, washington. as we have been reporting, there was a ban on western journalists in syria. cnn not able to get in and report from there but that is not stopping some pretty intense images from getting out. we'll share them with you. one day, i'll park this in a spot reserved for me. it's got 26,000 miles on it now, but i'm gonna take it to a thousand million. 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"i will always love you." and sometimes a gift says, "you mean more to me than anything else in the world." life insurance from new york life ensures your loved ones will always be taken care of, with 166 years of financial strength -- it's the most selfless gift you can give. new york life. the company you keep. another deadly day for protesters in syria as they keep pushing for change there. the syrian government pushing back. at least ten people were killed saturday when syrian security forces opened fire on the crowd. it happened in the suburb just outside the capital there of damascus. people gathered for funerals. witnesses say government forces fired from rooftops. thousands of people were marching through the streets at the time. months after protesters took to the streets in yemen, the president there, president saleh, has agreed to step down as a deal brokered by neighboring nations. he's supposed to leave office in 30 days and in return he'll get immunity. saleh's been in power more hand 30 years. he and opposition leaders still have to sign that agreement. witnesses now telling us that hundreds of thousands of people now in the streets this morning to protest that deal and the president's possible immunity from prosecution. libyan government forces leaving the key city of misratah. a spokesman for the military says they'll leave it to tribal leaders to battle rebels for control of the city. rebels say moammar gadhafi's forces are still shelling the city as of last night. misratah is a key for rebels in libya since it has one of the country's largest ports. in tripoli, nato planes continue to hit key targets there looking to weaken gadhafi's regime. nic robertson was bringing us big stories are from the front lines there. he is now out of libya, made his way back leer to atlanta here, stopped at our headquarters here in atlanta. i got a chance to ask him about his time in libya and about the story -- how the story is being seen here in the u.s. >> i'm privileged to have with us a rare visit from nic robertson, our international correspondent. so good to have you here in atlanta with us. i wanted to ask you, you've been here watching some of the coverage here in the u.s., reading the papers as well. are people getting the right -- is it possible even to get a good sense of what's happening in libya given the view that you've got now? >> i think if you read and look at everything then you'll get a good overall picture. but if you're there on ground you always feel it differently and sort of see it slightly differently because you're living it, breathing it, it is every minute of the day, not just when you pick up the paper or watch the television. i think perhaps the thing that people forget about libya is how big it is. 6 million people. about maybe 1 1/2 million in the east of the country, 4 1/2 million in the west where gadhafi is. if there were a wide conflict there, that would be pretty barbaric. tribal and it would involve a lot of people. when we watch it on tv i don't feel we can portray it sometimes. that's what happens what doesn't come across. >> this is another part that's hard to understand. there's no real sense of nationalism, if you will, in libya. this police is segmented and broken up and that tribalism you speak of, is it hard to get people to understand exactly what the rebels, the opposition, who they are and what they're fighting for necessarily? >> essentially just a change in regime and a chance to sort of call the shots on who might be the next leader of the country. historically the country was in three separate pieces, the sort of west, middle and east so you've got these historic differences, then tribal differences. but gadhafi united the country 40 years ago. that's another thing we forget because he's been a tyrannical leader and he needs to go. that's what everyone says and that's the reality on the ground. but he's a guy that's kept the country together, kept out italian occupation, forced out the americans all that time ago. he's seen as a unifying guy from a small tribe. he wasn't looking for tribal influence and all the big tribes that would worry who is going to get the power, he kind of held them all at bay and everyone's a little bit happy, no one tribe, no one big tribe is dominant. and that's the key to his success in the past. of course they've outlived that now. >> nick re robertson, great wor whether in tripoli or beyond. great to have you here. it's now. six weeks since the earthquake and tsunami devastated japan. still about 12,000 people are unaccounted for and tomorrow the government is taking major steps to find the missing. we'll tell you what they're doing. ever seen anything like it? 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[ woman announcing ] beneful incredibites. another healthful, flavorful beneful. now in a convenient bag. somewhere in america, there's a doctor who can peer into the future. there's a nurse who can access in an instant every patient's past. and because the whole hospital's working together, there's a family who can breathe easy, right now. somewhere in america, we've already answered some of the nation's toughest healthcare questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers. discov customersall are gettinfive percent cashback bonus at home improment stores. it pays to switch, it pays to discover. good morning, everyone. i'm meteorologist bonnie schneider in the cnn severe weather center tracking heavy rain working its way through kentucky at this hour. louisville just getting slammed with very strong storms and a lot of that is working its way into ohio. we're going to be watching this rain over the next few days accumulate. the problem is particularly into parts of missouri an southeast missouri we've seen some flooding and road closures in the cape girardeau area. flood watches and warnings are posted across a good portion of illinois, missouri and kentucky and even into parts of ohio as we watch the next few days, we'll see the storm system advance to the east. and unfortunately it is really going to bring about some changes. our computer models are forecasting a lot of heavy rain. notice the gauge here, 10 inches or more in some areas over the next five days. just be careful and remember when you're traveling at night particularly is when flooding is the most dangerous because you can't see the depth of the flooding. just advice to everyone, please stay safe this weekend. ♪ >> celebrating easter mass in vatican city. pope benedict there. thousands crowded in st. peter's square in his annual easter message, the pope urged an end to the fighting in libya. chinese police cracking down on christians during this holy period. stan grant is in beijing and tells us one church planned to hold easter services but many of its members and leaders were rounded up and detained. he tells us