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World Leaders Descend on South Africa; Bono Speaks Out; Korean War Vet Freed from North Korea after Month in Captivity; Jordan Graham on Trial for Killing Newlywed Husband; Mandela Family Photographer Remembers the Legend

Aired December 9, 2013 - 22:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone.

As one official here in Johannesburg put it, the world is coming to South Africa, coming to pay tribute to Nelson Mandela, the father of modern South Africa. It's the single largest gathering of heads of state in generations. And it begins in just a few hours.

Among them, President Obama and three ex-presidents from the United States arriving this morning, the president, former President George W. Bush and Hillary Clinton sharing Air Force one, former Presidents Clinton and Carter flying separately, along with presidents, prime ministers and princes and kings from nearly 100 countries, and no less significantly ordinary people from all across South Africa all converging on a soccer stadium here in Johannesburg.

It's built to hold 94,000 and may not be big enough, and certainly too small to contain all the people who want to thank the man who led them to freedom. And how many other figures can you say that about, that they led a country to freedom and showed the world a better way?

I had the privilege today of spending time with Bono of the band U2. He knew Nelson Mandela over the years, knew him very closely, and has been a voice for justice here since the late 1970s.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: When you first heard that he had died, what went through your mind?

BONO, MUSICIAN: Stubborn until the end. You know, it was like he was playing this big sort of -- he was trying to outstare God, and finally God blinked.

COOPER: His leadership was -- was in part his ability not only to get consensus, but also his ability to overcome the natural anger and bitterness and resentment he would have for being in prison for 27 years. He saw the need that he had to overcome that. He had to put that aside.

BONO: Yes.

He refused to hate, not just because he hadn't experienced rage, lived with rage, but that he thought, I think, that love would do a better job of liberation, of -- of emancipation, because, you know, what sort of country would they inherit if they -- if people were further embattled against each other?

I mean, this is -- this is the gift of vision, I guess, into the future. being able to see a future before it exists. I mean, that's probably his gift, isn't it?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: We will have more tonight with Bono, Christiane Amanpour and others here from Johannesburg.

But, first, I want to toss it back to John Berman -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Anderson, thanks.

What a terrific interview and what an amazing scene it will be there in just a few hours.

As for all of you at home, please repeat these words as we play this next video. It's not even winter yet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: No, that's not the sky falling outside Dallas. That's sheets of ice. One guy said the apocalypse was starting. He was wrong, so far at least. But he was not alone. People across the country are slipping, sliding, getting snowed under or just plain freezing.

Others are cooling their heels, stuck in airports, facing a wall of flight delays and cancellations.

In a moment, Chad Myers on what's causing all this and what's next, but, first, here's 360's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): In Texas, the trouble is ice, and lots of it. At this apartment building in Plano, look out below.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holy freaking moly.

KAYE: Huge sheets of ice puts passersby in the danger zone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God.

KAYE: And where it isn't ice, it's snow creating problems. In Nevada, the search is on for two adults, James Glanton and Christina McIntee, along with Glanton's two children and McIntee's niece and nephew. They all went to play in the snow Sunday and still have not returned. Search-and-rescue teams are looking for their Jeep. The children range in age from 3 to 10 years old. Freezing temperatures have officials on high alert. In the Midwest, wind chills are 40 below zero. Even Dallas-Ft. Worth is in a deep freeze. About 20,000 customers are without power. And the airport, it's a mess. More than 2,600 flights were canceled Sunday nationwide, about 400 of them at DFW.

This man from Canada is documenting it all on YouTube.

JAMES ARCHIBALD, STRANDED TRAVELER: This is day four Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport. Times are getting desperate.

KAYE (on camera): And if you think getting around by car is the answer, think again. In Arizona, 300 vehicles got stuck in an enormous chain reaction. And, in Pennsylvania, a 50-car pileup left one motorist dead. It took them so long to clear the road there, that some stranded drivers had pizza delivered.

(voice-over): This pileup late Sunday night in Yonkers, New York, involved 20 cars; 40 people were injured, none serious. Out west in Milwaukee, more than 100 cars got caught up in yet three more pileups.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was bad. Like, you could barely see out the road, just swerving through cars, dodging cars and we ended up in the ditch.

KAYE: From state to state, plows are out in full force trying to prevent more deadly chain reactions.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Randi for that.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

BERMAN: Now let's go back to Anderson Cooper in South Africa -- Anderson.

COOPER: John, thanks very much. We are going to go back to John. We are going to get a lot more news from the United States.

But people have been coming here to the Mandela compound behind me -- This is a former house of Mandela's -- ever since his death was announced. They're solemn at times, joyful at times.

This is, after all, the act of remembering someone what helped them open their eyes to see a world beyond his lifetime, even if tonight those eyes are sometimes full of tears.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER (voice-over): More than four days on, South Africa is a nation mourning and a nation celebrating. Those who knew him best are retelling stories not always about the icon, but about the friend.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He really was like a magician with a magic wand, turning us, turning us into this glorious multicolored rainbow people.

COOPER: There have been formal memorials , but impromptu ones are everywhere. This giant poster board has been set up outside Mandela's former home in the Soweto section of Johannesburg. People come to scrawl messages of thanks and appreciation.

(on camera): Why did you want to be here today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here to remember Tata, just to be where he was, you know, when he came out, just to be with the people, you know. I think that's what is most important about today, is being amongst the people that love him the most.

COOPER (voice-over): These three young South Africans were babies when Mandela was released from prison in 1990, but they say the lessons he taught then still apply today.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a beacon of change. He came just at the right time. And there's so much that we have learned from the man. He had to suffer and endure so many personal sacrifices and he still came out and he taught us, all of us, black, white, all across to reconcile and just think about our future and where we want to go.

COOPER: Outside of another Mandela home in Johannesburg, there are flowers, notes and music.

(on camera): While the memorial is tomorrow, for many people, Mandela's house in Johannesburg has been the place to come to congregate, to express their love for the man they know as Madiba.

(voice-over): At Tuesday's official memorial, more than 90 heads of state will join at least 90,000 people at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. It's the site of Mandela's first major speech after being released from prison. Now it's the site where people will say goodbye.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, memorial service gets under way here at 11:00 a.m. local time.

Covering it with me will be chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. She is the host of course of "AMANPOUR" on CNN International. She is also joining us, along with Brianna Keilar, who is joining us at the White House.

What struck you as you have been walking around and talking to people here?

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just one thing.

One of those notes out there says, "Thank you, Madiba. Without you, we probably wouldn't have been able to get married." So, that's obviously a multiracial couple there who could never have had a family or been together under the old regime.

So, that is just a stark example. But I think what is so incredible is that people are joyful. I think everybody expected the country to fall apart once Mandela died. But it really is a celebration and I think that's such a great motif of this place. You talked about music, and we recall that music was something that sustained him in prison and it kept his name alive in the worst and darkest hours of apartheid.

And people all over the world were having big celebrations and big parties for his birthday through music. And I think we will see a lot of that at the memorial today.

COOPER: Yes. It will start with the national anthem sung I think by the Cape Town Choir, which is a beautiful choir.

Bono will be there as well. And I'm going to have more of my conversation later with Bono in this hour.

Brianna, the American delegation, including, I mean, a lot of former presidents, former President George W. Bush, Mrs. Bush, Secretary Clinton all aboard Air Force One with President and Mrs. Obama. I want to talk about security in a moment. But what do we know about that group all together on Air Force One? How exactly does that work? Do they all hang out together?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, actually they did, Anderson.

We're told by a White House official that the Bushes and the Obamas and Secretary Clinton were in the private conference room there on Air Force One around the table hanging out and actually exchanging stories about their encounters with Nelson Mandela.

It would have been a fascinating conversation, because between sort of the three contingents there having these experiences with Mandela that spanned three administrations, but then after that, you know how it is on a long-haul flight. Even if you really like the person you're traveling with, I think you need a little downtime and a little alone time. And so the Obamas retired to their cabin and the Bushes took the medical office right behind their cabin and Secretary Clinton retired to the senior staff cabin.

COOPER: And President Clinton, former President Carter, they're coming separately on different flights.

So many world leaders, it's going to be very interesting not only from a security standpoint, but just logistically. You have world leaders that do not communicate with the United States.

AMANPOUR: Yes, you do. And I think that's extraordinarily.

And, by the way, these guys are making a 17-hour flight all the way from the Western Hemisphere. So, it shows you how much they want to be here. The president of Brazil is here and she will speak, and President Obama will speak. The representative, the highest official from China will speak. And, remember, China has a huge influence now in Africa, almost taking over America's involvement in Africa right now in terms of economic development.

COOPER: The Dalai Lama could not get a visa here.

(CROSSTALK)

AMANPOUR: Yes. You can imagine he is always very sensitive. And if the Chinese leadership were coming, there's no way the Dalai Lama will be coming.

COOPER: Raul Castro is also going to be here.

AMANPOUR: Raul Castro, who Mandela was very close to, Fidel Castro and some of these global freedom fighters who stood up for him when everybody was not.

We spoke to the American ambassador here, Patrick Gaspard, who told me about all the stories when he was a young man, activist, anti- apartheid in the United States getting arrested and active on campus and all that. America played a big role.

COOPER: And he is now the ambassador to South Africa.

AMANPOUR: That's right.

COOPER: So, Brianna, former President Clinton and Carter, they are also going to be here. How does this work just logistically? They all have Secret Service details. How confident are American authorities about security here?

KEILAR: Well, I think they are confident, Anderson, because if they weren't, quite frankly, President Obama would not be coming.

But for President Obama, this is a little bit of a repeat. He was in South Africa just this past summer. And at that time, Nelson Mandela's health was so poor that it was really touch and go. And so you have had Secret Service in touch with their South African counterparts for some time now. A preliminary plan was in place here.

I actually spoke today with former administration officials to Presidents Clinton and Bush who were instrumental in planning their trips to the funerals for Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and also to the funeral for Pope John Paul II. They say within four to six hours of Nelson Mandela passing away, there would have already been a support plane en route to South Africa. You would have had Secret Service very quickly casing out the areas where President Obama would be.

But, that said, Anderson, it's still, they tell me, a monumental undertaking, especially because some of the security issues are sort of outsourced to the host country, and that can be very nerve-racking for Secret Service.

COOPER: Well, we will be there to cover it all starting at 3:30 a.m. Eastern time in the United States, Christiane and I. I hope you join us for that.

Let us know what you think about Mandela. You can follow me on Twitter, of course, @AndersonCooper. Tweet us using #AC360.

Coming up next, more of my exclusive conversation with Bono.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Hey. Welcome back. I'm live in Johannesburg.

Sometimes, meeting one of your heroes can be a disappointment, sometimes, not for Bono, who wrote a touching tribute in "TIME" magazine to his one-time hero and longtime friend -- quote -- "He had humor and humility in his bearing," Bono wrote. "And he was smarter and funnier than the parade of world leaders who flock to see him. Laughter, not tears, was Madiba's preferred way."

Bono recounts the damage done to his eyes by years of hard labor in a limestone mine. He could not actually form tears. In 1994, he had surgery to fix it and then, Bono writes, "His old friend could finally cry." "Now," he writes, "so can we."

Here is more of our exclusive conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Do you remember the first time you met Mandela?

BONO: You know, I worked for him way longer than I -- than before I met him.

I think it was in Dublin in the Four Seasons Hotel. It was not a very auspicious meeting. We then had many, many, many meetings over the years.

COOPER: What was he like?

BONO: A lesson in humility, humor, and, of course, patience, but would always make you laugh.

COOPER: One of the things I find extraordinary about him is that, as a young man, you know, the white regime used divide and conquer to keep black South Africans apart, to emphasize, well, you're a Zulu, you're a Xhosa, whatever your ethnic group might be.

And he early on started to see the importance of viewing himself as an African, not just as from the group he was born into.

BONO: Oh, you're -- this is the piece we should really dwell on because -- in his passing. Who are the figures now for Pan- Africanism? And why is that so critical?

Well, the only thing that can stop Africa's dramatic rise to be the dominant continent over the next century is tribal tensions. You know, African trade within Africa is really low and corruption. Unfortunate. All of these must be tackled by a sense -- this is what Africans tell me -- of togetherness.

COOPER: And Mandela also talked a lot about poverty, which is obviously an issue very close to your heart. I think he said without the eradication of poverty, there can be no true freedom.

BONO: Yes. Overcoming poverty is not the gesture of charity. It's an act of justice.

COOPER: That's what he said?

BONO: Yes.

And this -- like slavery, like apartheid, he said, poverty is not natural. It is manmade, and so it can be overcome by the actions of human beings. And he said to some generations falls the chance to be great. You can be that great generation.

And I have been working for this man since I was a teenager, and he has turned my life upside-down, or right-side up, you know, you know, working on this struggle, as a justice struggle.

It's not about charity, justice, the same with HIV/AIDS. You know, later when he lost his son to that disease, it became a very big deal for him. And so I have been working for him. It's strange. The other -- his partner, Archbishop Tutu, the Arch, as we call him.

COOPER: Is that what you call him?

(CROSSTALK)

BONO: We introduce...

(CROSSTALK)

BONO: This is the Arch.

So, he is amazing. If I don't do what he says -- Mandela is very persuasive, but the Arch is an extra level. If I don't do what he says, he says, if you don't do that, I will personally see to it that you do not get to heaven.

(LAUGHTER)

BONO: The Arch, I can't wait to see him tomorrow. I love him so much.

Think of these two men. They came out of the same neighborhood. It is extraordinary, God's provision for this country, because you can't explain how this tinderbox did not go off. It is miraculous.

COOPER: People, especially young people, today don't remember what apartheid truly was like, don't remember the reality of what life here was for the majority of the population, the black population.

BONO: That's -- yes, that is true. And it is -- it is worth remembering. And perhaps this is why this moment carries with it such gravitas. There is a lot at stake. It's worth -- I think it's worth -- I think South Africa is being reminded that its DNA means one community moving out of the way for the other, that they are somehow -- their progress is inextricably linked.

COOPER: Is there an image of Mandela that you have in your mind's eye? I think of him being released from prison in 1990, leaving those prison gates with his arm up, Winnie Mandela by his side, that extraordinary moment when the world saw him for the first time.

Is there -- you knew him personally. Is there an image you have in your mind?

BONO: There's so many.

But I think open face, open mind, and big laughing mouth, more that than the big -- than the fist in the air actually for me.

COOPER: And, you know, I have gotten some e-mails from people say, why are you -- why are we paying so much attention to this man's passing? Why is this so important?

What do you say to somebody who maybe does understand, who doesn't -- hasn't been here, who doesn't remember?

BONO: He represents, in a way, the fist turning into a handshake.

That -- I think that is why he is so important to understand right now, because, in a strange way, he wasn't Dr. King, he wasn't Gandhi. He was a -- he was a boxer. He was a fighter, and that he wanted to stop fighting to make peace with his enemy and risked his -- everything to do so. In fact, he gave up his -- his wife and his family.

He put everything on the line. He won everything with that, except -- as he says himself, the only thing the enemy took from me was my marriage. But now, with Graca, if you spend time with her, she is another one. I don't know where they get them around here.

(LAUGHTER)

COOPER: Was there -- did you believe that this fight would in the end prevail, that justice would prevail in South Africa?

I mean, in '79, in '80, in '85, when you working for the anti- apartheid movement, did you -- you knew right was on the side of black South Africa, but did you know that justice would be on the side of...

BONO: Yes, we couldn't -- I mean, it was -- I thought it was extraordinary that there was support for apartheid.

This is probably worth -- this is worth remembering. Our -- a lot of governments, our governments in different phases kind of supported apartheid.

COOPER: The United States.

BONO: You know? And it is -- so it looked like they had a lot of support.

But I think we all knew that freedom, you know, and justice is a right, is a human right. And no human wrong could contain that.

COOPER: So is it sadness you feel today?

BONO: Both.

I'm feeling -- I just felt -- I did feel a bit at sea there for a bit. But now I'm seeing the people in the streets outside the house. They're dancing. And I'm thinking, oh, yes, they're doing it the African way. Irish, of course, full of melancholy. We go to the pub, all this keening and stuff. It's like, the Africans celebrate the life.

COOPER: Thank you so much.

BONO: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: And we have certainly seen a lot of celebration here.

We're going to have more from South Africa ahead. We're just hours away from the Mandela memorial ceremonies, a major event for this country and around the world.

Also ahead, one American freed from North Korea, another still in prison. I'm going to talk with the sister of Kenneth Bae, who is still being held captive. We're going to get her thoughts on the release of the 85-year-old American Merrill Newman.

Plus, a newlywed on trial, accused of killing her new husband, pushing him off a cliff. The jury is seated -- the latest developments on that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, 85-year-old Korean War veteran Merrill Newman is now letting the world know about his ordeal when he was held captive inside North Korea. The Korean War vet is home now. He arrived in San Francisco this weekend after a visit to North Korea turned into more than a month in captivity.

North Korean state media reporting Newman had been deported after entering the country with, their words, the "wrong understanding of it" and perpetrating -- again, their words -- quote, "hostile acts against it." That act was apparently to reminisce a little too much and to the wrong person about his time during the war, inquiring whether he could speak to any surviving North Korean counterparts.

Newman, through a statement, explains, and I quote, "North Koreans seem to have misinterpreted my curiosity as something more sinister. It's now clear to me the North Koreans still feel much more anger about the war than I realized. With the benefit of hindsight, I should have been more sensitive to that."

He also disavowed that so-called confession and apology that North Koreans made him videotape, saying he was threatened with a long prison sentence if he did not cooperate.

He's fortunate to be home. There's no doubt about that. A tour operator and missionary named Kenneth Bae was also accused of hostile acts against the regime. Like Newman, he also entered the country entirely lawfully on a visa. Unlike Newman, he was detained more than a year ago, was tried, convicted and sentenced in May to 15 years hard labor. He is still there in prison.

His sister, Terri Chung, joins us now.

Terri I certainly cannot imagine what is going through your mind right now. I know you're clearly happy for the Newman family; still obviously, deeply concerned about your brother. Do you have any expectations that the North Koreans might release your brother, Kenneth, at the same time they release Mr. Newman?

TERRI CHUNG, SISTER OF KENNETH BAE: You know, we can't -- we -- we were happy for the Newman family, but it was a bittersweet moment for our family to see the happy reunion and something that we've been fighting for, for the past 13 months. And Kenneth still remains in prison in North Korea. So that was a sad moment for us in that way.

COOPER: I know you recently got a letter from Kenneth. What did he say?

CHUNG: He reiterated his desire to just be home and to be reunited with us. And you know, he knows the holidays are coming up. And he'd hoped to be home by the end of this year. And something that we've been praying for, as well. And he reiterated that he would need help from the U.S. government to bring him home. That it's not something that we can just do on our own.

COOPER: So he believes he won't be released without some kind of intervention by -- by the United States. Do you have any -- I mean, have you been following this with the United States? Has the government been in touch with you? Is there a sense that there may be some sort of attempt to send an emissary there?

CHUNG: Nothing -- nothing that we're aware of specifically. I'm not sure if something is being planned or if we're not just being told because of the sensitive nature. But from where we sit, it is very frustrating. It has been 13 months, so you know, I'm not sure what it's going to take. But we do want to see Kenneth home now. It's far past time.

COOPER: How is your brother's health? I know your mom was able to visit him not long ago when he was actually hospitalized. How is he doing, do you know?

CHUNG: I think he has been hospitalized for the past three months, and I think that has contributed to some improvements in his health. But he has chronic conditions that require constant treatment. I think he has a severe back injury that, I think, cannot -- doesn't allow him to stand for more than 30 minutes at a time. So I think that is part of the problem, along with some of his other chronic conditions.

COOPER: Well, I know you're aware that there are things seen globally. And it's very possible that the regime in North Korea is watching it. What do you want them to know about your brother? What do you want everybody to know about your brother? What kind of a man is he?

CHUNG: Kenneth is a man of compassion and love. One of our friends described him as an ambassador of peace and light in the world. That is the kind of man he is. And he was in North Korea to make a living as a tour operator to support his children. Three children and his wife.

But he was also there because he felt compelled to help, and he thought he could bring economic development through tourism. And he had the -- he had no ill will towards the country and the people in North Korea. And he still bears no ill will, which is something he made clear in his communication with his letters and during my mom's visit to North Korea.

So he is somebody who just has a heart of gold and a compassion and a people lover. And somebody who really wants to really -- the love for the people of North Korea. And that's why he was there, to -- to contribute in some way to make a positive contribution.

COOPER: Well, Terri, I'm so sorry that you and your family are going through this, and I wish -- I hope it gets resolved quickly. I wish you the best. Thank you, Terri.

I want to get you caught up on some of the other stories that we're following tonight. Susan Hendricks has a "360 News & Business Bulletin."

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, residents of Newtown, Connecticut, are pleading for privacy on Saturday, the one-year anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Twenty students and six staffers were killed in that attack. CNN will honor the request and won't be in Newtown on the anniversary.

The Senate voted unanimously to renew the 10-year bans on guns made mostly of plastic that can't be picked up by metal detectors. The bill now goes to President Obama for his signature.

America and British spies have infiltrated the online video game World of Warcraft and others, according to the newest documents released by NSA leaker Edward Snowden to "The Guardian," "New York Times" and Pro Publica. World of Warcraft is the most popular roleplaying game ever, with more than 7 million subscribers.

Princeton University has started vaccinating thousands of students to try and stop an outbreak of meningitis B. The vaccine has only been approved for use in Europe and Australia, but the CDC is allowing limited use of the vaccine at Princeton, where eight people have fallen ill.

And scientists have extracted the oldest human known DNA from bones found in northern Spain. Scientists say the 400,000-year-old remains belong to an early human-like species that could be an ancestor of both Neanderthals and another group called Denisovans. Really a fascinating find there.

BERMAN: We should all look so good at 400,000 years old, you know, I think.

HENDRICKS: It makes you feel young.

BERMAN: I feel all so young.

All right. Appreciate it.

Coming up next, "Crime & Punishment" and a horrible end to a honeymoon, however this murder trial comes out. It's just getting under way. The bride that offended, accused of pushing her husband off a cliff. We'll have details straight ahead. Now back to Anderson.

COOPER: And we'll also have more here -- here in South Africa. My conversation with David Turnley, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning photographer who took pictures of Nelson Mandela and his family for more than 30 years. His thoughts and some of his amazing photographs when we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: We're going to have more from here in South Africa coming up, including some amazing photographs and insight from a photographer who was close to the Mandela family. First, John Berman has other news from back home -- John.

BERMAN: Thanks so much, Anderson. Those photos truly are stunning.

But first from us, "Crime & Punishment." The trial begins for a woman accused of killing her husband just eight days after their wedding.

This is Jordan Graham just a short time ago leaving court in Montana after the first day of the murder trial that could send her to prison for the rest of her life.

Now, just before this was filmed, Graham listened to her best friend testify for the prosecution. One of the first witnesses to be called in this case.

Back in July, Graham pushed her new husband, Cody Johnson, and then he fell off a cliff in Montana's Glacier National Park. That's when investigators say she told police in opening statements today the prosecution and the defense painted two very different pictures of Jordan Graham. One as a calculating murderer and the other as a young and naive woman who made a terrible mistake and got scared. Now, earlier today 12 jurors and two alternates were seated, eight men and six women. Now, it will be up to them to decide whether this was murder or the worst accident imaginable.

Kyung Lah has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jordan Graham, slipping into court before dawn, on day one of her highly-publicized murder trial. Twenty-two-year-old Graham is charged with premeditated first degree-murder of her husband of just eight days.

Their young marriage began with such promise. Or so it seemed. This was June. Jordan Graham and Cody Johnson's wedding, their first dance. A custom song composed for them by Elizabeth Shea.

ELIZABETH SHEA, OURSTORYOURSONG.COM: I used words like "You helped me to climb higher for a better view. You're my safe place to fall." And so now when I hear those words, it's a little creepy.

LAH: Creepy, she says, because of what followed. Prosecutors believe Graham was having second thoughts about her new husband. Eight days after the wedding, prosecutors say Graham texted her best friend, "Oh, well, I'm about to talk to him."

Her friend replies, "I'll pray for you guys."

Graham then texts, "But dead serious, if you don't hear from me at all again tonight, something happened."

In a police interview, Graham says she got in a heated argument with her new husband to where "he tried to hold me down." Prosecutors say they tried to cool off, going after dark to the Glacier National Park. In a police interview, Graham says the couple hiked this steep trail, where the fight continued. She says, "He went to grab my arm and my jacket, and I said no. I said, 'I am not going to let this happen to me. I am going to defend myself.' So I kind of let go, and I pushed, and he went over."

When prodded by the officer, Graham says the push was two hands on the back. Twenty-five-year-old Cody Johnson fell 200 feet face first to his death. His new bride could have called park rangers, but instead, she left.

LEVI BLASDEL, JOHNSON'S FRIEND: She went home, and she fabricated this lie. And she lied to all her friends and all of the family.

LAH: Multiple friends say Graham lied to them, saying Johnson was simply missing. Prosecutors say Graham then lied to investigators several times, and she even tried to cover up the crime by creating a bogus Gmail account from a made-up friend named Tony, writing fake e- mails to support her lies to police.

Police say she led friends and family to the cliff and then, feigning surprise, suddenly discovered Johnson's body.

Then, came the funeral and behavior that raised serious red flags. Friends say Graham was unemotional and was actually paying more attention to her phone than the eulogies.

(on camera): Was she texting during the funeral?

CAMERON FREDRICKSON, JOHNSON'S FRIEND: She was on her phone, whether it was texting or a mobile app.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew right then and there something was not right.

LAH (voice-over): After multiple interviews, Jordan Graham eventually told police the truth. Prosecutors say Graham planned the murder and have raised the possibility that she may have blindfolded her new husband before pushing him off the cliff.

(on camera): You believe this was an accident.

MICHAEL DONAHOE, DEFENDANT'S ATTORNEY: You know, I'll just stand on what we discussed in court.

LAH: Graham's attorney has blasted the prosecutor's claims, calling the cliff push a terrible accident. Graham's lies? Post-event mistakes, he told the court. He calls the murder charges "a gross case of overcharging."

The defense says Graham was just 21 at the time of her husband's death, that she is naive, deeply religious and not capable of murder.

Just about the only place where both sides can agree is that something so bizarre and tragic happened at all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: And this wedding video just eight days -- eight days before the death of Cody Johnson. Kyung Lah joins me now.

Kyung, the prosecution is now calling witnesses who say that they believe Graham was regretting getting married. So how is the prosecution using this to try to prove their case about what happened on that cliff?

LAH: Well, state of mind is going to be the key for prosecution. What the prosecutor was saying is that they're going to make sure that the jury understands this is a young woman who regretted her choice. She was distraught. She was texting multiple people. She was having suicidal thoughts.

She had a problem. Her problem was her new husband. And so she wanted to take care of it. And so she calculated this plan, John. That's what the prosecution is going to say.

What the defense is going say is that yes, she regretted it. But this is not a calculating person. This is simply a young woman who was lying to try to get out of a serious mistake -- John.

BERMAN: Quite a case. Just the first day. Kyung Lah, thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

Now let's go back to Anderson in South Africa.

COOPER: John, thanks. Up next from here in Johannesburg, my conversation with Pulitzer-Prize-winning photographer David Turnley. He spent three decades inside Nelson Mandela's inner circle, capturing some of the most important moments of the struggle. He shares his memories next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Well, everyone here in South Africa, of course, has memories of Nelson Mandela and what he meant to this country. But hardly anyone has had the extraordinary access of David Turnley, a Pulitzer- Prize-winning photographer, author of "Mandela: Struggle and Triumph." He's taken pictures of Mandela and his family for more than 30 years and was invited to photograph some of the most important events in Mandela's life, including the day he was released from prison.

We spoke with David Turnley earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: When you first came here in 1985 in this community in Soweto, I mean, the humiliations, the day-to-day humiliations that people faced, it's sort of hard to understand now.

DAVID TURNLEY, PHOTOGRAPHER OF MANDELA FAMILY: In South Africa, where we're standing, in Soweto right now, in 1985, there was a state of emergency, which meant there were -- there was absolutely no jurisprudence for people of color in this country. None. You could be arrested at any given moment, taken and detained with no charges and held for an infinite amount of time.

And the way this system operated was that they would -- in every neighborhood like this, they would find somebody that they could effectively buy as a -- as a stooge, as an informant, who would recount to the local police authorities every single teenager and every single adult in the neighborhood that would attend any kind of political rally. Those people would get picked up in the middle of the night.

And this happened systematically. You could go to any family's house in this neighborhood, and they would have had someone for whom this happened. And so in communities like this, it became very challenging, because given the fact that there was no due process, people would have to -- communities would take on a sort of kangaroo- court justice, and they would deal very harshly with these informants.

COOPER: The importance of Mandela and of Winnie Mandela also, in this -- in this community at that time?

TURNLEY: Together, they both just emanated such a sort of strength, a humanness, a compassion, but also a sense of being of the people. They were -- they have always been of the people.

COOPER: You took a really iconic photograph, in 1990, the day that Nelson Mandela was released. What was that moment like when the gates opened and you saw Nelson Mandela?

TURNLEY: Well, the first thing to understand as a photographer, you're always working sort of in reverse of what can go wrong. And my biggest concern was that I would get one frame in focus. That I would have time before the crowd would break.

And in fact, I always thought I only had two or three frames in time. I went back and just looked. I had actually 26, and they were all in focus. In those days it was film. So the next thing you're doing is unrolling it to make sure that it's back in the canister and that light hasn't been exposed to it. And putting it in your front pocket. So I put that roll of film in my front pocket, jumped in a car, raced to follow the motorcade into Cape Town to be in front of the city hall to find...

COOPER: You ended up inside city hall in the meeting room with Desmond Tutu and Jesse Jackson and others who were waiting for -- for Mandela. I mean, that's hustle.

TURNLEY: Yes, I had -- Serendipity was on my side. And actually, I believe in that. This is where I do get actually quite emotional, because you could hear the crowds still outside. Of course, they didn't know we were inside.

And Archbishop Tutu picks up the phone and he says, "Tata, you have to come. If you don't show your face, they're going to tear the town down tonight."

COOPER: He was talking to Mandela?

TURNLEY: To Mandela. And suddenly, the door opens, and in walks 6'3" Nelson Mandela. The room was euphoric, as you can imagine. He was in complete command. I mean, already you just saw this -- this sort of grace and this charm. And he just seemed to know everybody's names, which I couldn't figure out.

And then Archbishop Tutu takes a glass and he clings it with a stone like at a wedding when you want someone to be quiet so you can make a toast. And he was literally this close to Madiba. And he looks in his eyes, and he says, "I have to tell you what your life has meant to me." And the room went quiet. And I -- I could never repeat to you the eloquence of what he said. It was -- we were all just sobbing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: David Turnley, remarkable photographer. Remarkable career here.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: That's it for this edition of 360 from South Africa. Later, join Christiane Amanpour for live coverage of the Nelson Mandela memorial. It starts at 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time. I hope you join us. Thanks for watching.

"THE 11TH HOUR" hosted by Don Lemon starts now.