Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Iranians Denounce U.S. in Protests; Israel Blames Iran for Golan Heights Missile Attack; Giuliani Says Trump Denied TimeWarner- AT&T Merger Deal; Trump and Kim to Meet in Singapore; Teen Bride's Death Sentence Sparks Global Outrage; A Royal Match: Harry & Meghan; SpaceX Launches Newest Rocket. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired May 12, 2018 - 04:00   ET

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


[04:00:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The scenes of outrage in Iran as protesters hit the streets after the United States backs out of the Iran nuclear deal.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Also ahead, while trying to defend President Trump, Rudy Giuliani suggests Mr. Trump personally tried to block the AT&T-TimeWarner merger.

HOWELL (voice-over): And the royal wedding now one week away. We'll take you inside the chapel will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will tie the knot.

ALLEN (voice-over): I know you're a guy but are you getting a little excited?

HOWELL (voice-over): I kind of am.

ALLEN (voice-over): How could you not?

Welcome to our viewers around the world. We're live in Atlanta.

HOWELL (voice-over): I'm George Howell at CNN World Headquarters. CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ALLEN: Just days after U.S. President Donald Trump rejected the historic nuclear deal with Iran, anti-American emotions were on full display in the Iranian capital. The fate of a nuclear agreement now hangs in the balance.

HOWELL: The nation's foreign minister heads to Brussels next week, Javad Zarif, to meet with his counterparts from Germany, France and the U.K., seeking ways to keep the deal alive without the U.S. involved.

ALLEN: And if that last ditch effort fails, Tehran warns it may restart its uranium enrichment program on a, quote, "industrial scale."

Complicating the situation is the potential for military clashes between Iran and Israel. CNN's Ian Lee is in the Golan Heights. Israel says it was attacked by Iranian rockets earlier this week. We'll talk with Ian in just a moment.

HOWELL: But let's first start with our senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen, live in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Fred, let's talk about the mood of those people there. We saw the images at the top of the show.

Has this move by the U.S. president in any way tipped the balance between moderates and the hardliners?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't think it's done that yet. The moderates and the hardliners seem to at least be moving together forward politically.

You have the foreign minister, Javad Zarif, trying to go to China, Russia and European capitals to speak with the leaders there, to try and salvage the deal. That is something that is actually sanctioned by Iran's supreme leader even though they are being more critical of Hassan Rouhani and the moderate government.

So there is some tension there but it seems as though they at least have a common position on how to move forward.

As far as the mood on the ground here in Tehran, there are certainly a lot of people who are extremely concerned about the situation, especially the fact that they see that their country might be even more isolated economically than it has been in the past.

And then you have the conservatives, the hardliners, who really unleashed their anger at President Trump and at Israel yesterday. We were at those rallies. Here's what we saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): After Friday prayers, thousands of Iranians marched through Tehran, burning the American flag, stepping on the American flag, unleashing their anger.

Many of those taking part in the demonstration waving signs, ripping into President Trump.

PLEITGEN: Iran's hardliners want to send a clear message to President Trump. No matter how hard the U.S. is on Iran, they will not back down.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Protesters also lashing out at Israel after the exchange of fire between Iran and Israel in the Golan Heights and Syria, even though Tehran still has not acknowledged its forces were involved.

But most of the anger was directed at President Trump after he pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear agreement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have came here to say to all the people of the world and to Mr. Trump that we stand against Mr. Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We -- I want to say to American people that we are very sorry that they have elected such a president.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I hope we become so strong that nobody can threaten us and that my country will not fear anything or anyone.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): At Friday prayers, the hardline prayer leader vowing a tough stance against the U.S. and Israel, calling them "enemies of religion."

AHMAD KHAMENEI, MUSLIM CLERIC (through translator): We are not interested in the atomic bomb but we are increasing our missile capabilities in other fields so that Israel cannot sleep well. If she gets crazy, we will turn Tel Aviv and Haifa to dust.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): While Iran's government and diplomats are busy trying to salvage the nuclear agreement, the hardliners already appear to be gearing up -

[04:05:00]

PLEITGEN (voice-over): -- for confrontations to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: And George, it really was quite a week here for Iranians with the U.S. pulling out of that nuclear agreement. Then, of course, that altercation that happened in the Golan Heights, which the Iranians still have not acknowledged they were actually a part of.

Then you had Iran's supreme leader ripping into President Trump shortly after President Trump made his move to pull out of the agreement. The supreme leader then actually visited a book fair later and he then apparently did some reading there on his arch nemesis.

He was seen in a picture reading "Fire and Fury," reading a copy of that. Unclear what he thought of the book and what he thought of the contents. But certainly an interesting picture that we saw, seemingly the supreme leader reading up on his arch nemesis sitting in Washington, D.C. -- George.

HOWELL: An interesting picture indeed. Fred Pleitgen, live for us in Tehran, thanks for the reporting, Fred.

ALLEN: Ian Lee is in Golan Heights. That strip of land between Israel and Syria the international community considers Israeli- occupied territory.

Ian, Israel supports the U.S. pulling out of the Iran deal.

But what is that doing to tensions there? We've already seen the Iran rockets fired there this week.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you do have tense times especially this last week here in the Golan Heights and with Israel saying that they are maintaining their red lines inside Syria. And one is that they don't want Iran to have a large presence there.

Then with the United States pulling out of the nuclear deal, that just raised the tensions in the region. It has calmed down for now.

But this is a cycle that we've been seeing, where, every few months you see these tensions rise; last February, notably, we had that Iranian drone that infiltrated airspace. Israel retaliated by going after Iranian targets inside Syria. Now Syrian air defense shot down an Israeli F-16.

And then you saw another round of Israeli strikes inside of Syria. And now this last week, you have dozens of Iranian targets that were hit, the defense minister saying that almost every Iranian site was hit during that raid.

Right now, you have likely Iran trying to rebuild what they lost. But the key thing is Iran says that they will stay in Syria. For Israel, that is something that they just do not want to have. So expect to see this upflare of violence again.

ALLEN: And we'll have more about this next issue in a moment. But the U.S. will also move its embassy to Jerusalem this week.

What is that doing to perhaps elevate already high tensions?

LEE: Yes, the tensions are really moving from the Golan to Gaza. The Palestinians are furious about this move.

And over the past month, month and a half, we've been watching these weekly demonstrations, called the March of Return. And this is where Palestinians inside Gaza say they want to return to lands that they lost during the 1948-1949 war with Israel, which are now in Israel.

Many of these people are refugees or descendants of refugees. And this has created a lot of tension on that border with Israel and Gaza, where you have thousands every weekend coming to that border, trying to cross over, many of them trying to cross over and Israel responding with tear gas as well as live ammunition.

Dozens of people have been killed by Israeli soldiers. And some of those include children and journalists. Israel has been condemned for that. Talking to Israeli officials, they say that they will investigate it.

But really it comes down to that line, that border. They say they do not want anyone crossing over. That is a red line for them. And they say that they won't allow anyone to try to cross it.

And so with this next -- on Monday, when they will move the embassy, expect the largest demonstrations we've seen which will probably mean expect some of the largest violence that we've seen so far, too.

ALLEN: All right. Ian Lee, we thank you for your reporting. We'll continue to stay in close touch as this week progresses.

HOWELL: Back here in the United States, the president's new attorney is again making statements that put his client, well, in a tough spot.

ALLEN: Rudy Giuliani tells the "Huffington Post" the president, quote, "denied the merger" between AT&T and CNN's parent company TimeWarner. And that flies in the face of everything the Trump administration and the Justice Department have said publicly about the merger.

For more now, here's Hadas Gold.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rudy Giuliani is causing another headache for the White House and now also the Justice Department this weekend. It is all because of comments he made in an interview with the "Huffington Post."

Giuliani told the "Huffington Post" that whatever lobbying Michael Cohen did on behalf of companies like AT&T, who paid him for consulting, as we've -

[04:10:00]

BROWN (voice-over): -- recently learned, did not work. Giuliani used the example of AT&T's proposed merger with TimeWarner.

Now the Justice Department blocked that merger. They sued to try to stop it because they said that it would harm consumers.

But Giuliani said in his interview with the "Huffington Post" that it was the president who denied that merger. Now that matters because the Justice Department is supposed to operate independent of the president.

And they said that they sued to block the merger without any sort of interference from the president or any sort of political bias.

Rudy Giuliani's comments fly in the face of that and, in fact, there was even a sworn affidavit from the head of the antitrust division for the Justice Department, saying that he was not influenced at all by the president or the White House or anybody involved.

But now Rudy Giuliani is saying that in fact Donald Trump himself was the one who denied this merger. The question now is what AT&T will do with this information. A judge is currently taking his time deciding whether this merger can go through or not. We're expecting that decision from him on June 12th.

But AT&T could issue new filings on appeal; they could try to bring up this political bias defense. It's really giving them another part of their arsenal that they can bring forth in this defense. But at the end of the day, it is just another Rudy Giuliani headache for the White House and the Justice Department -- this is Hadas Gold, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: For his part, Donald Trump wants to make sure everyone knows the Justice Department has been against the merger from the beginning.

HOWELL: On Friday, Mr. Trump tweeted "The Trump administration's antitrust division has been and is opposed to the AT&T purchase of TimeWarner in a currently ongoing trial. The Justice Department is currently trying to block the deal in court."

Let's get some perspective now on these developments. We're joined by Leslie Vinjamuri, an associate professor of international relations at SOAS, University of London, and an associate fellow on the U.S. program at Chatham House.

Always a pleasure to have you on the show, Leslie.

LESLIE VINJAMURI, SOAS, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Thank you, George.

HOWELL: Let's start with Rudy Giuliani's comments that the president denied the merger, very important words here, clearly contradictory to what we heard from the White House.

But the comments are in line with what we heard from the president back on the campaign trail.

What do you make of it?

VINJAMURI: It is difficult to know what to make of it, of course, without an internal investigation. The independence of the Justice Department is crucial. And denying that -- or issuing statements that undermine the integrity and the independence of the Justice Department on this is got good.

But nonetheless it's perhaps unsurprising that Giuliani might be wanting to create the perception that there is distance between the president and Michael Cohen right now, given the investigation into Cohen that Mueller is conducting.

So I think some of this is clearly politics. But it is politics with an implication, whether it is intended or not, which is going to create some internal problems within the executive branch for the Justice Department. So not a healthy response, I would say.

HOWELL: No doubt. Giuliani has drawn a lot of attention here. And as we have seen in the past, surrogates who take too much spotlight eventually get shown the door.

Do you think Giuliani is at risk here?

VINJAMURI: Well, that is something that is beyond the scope for guessing. I think what we've seen is that nobody can assume their resilience within Trump's inner circle. HOWELL: Let's pivot to the Iran nuclear deal, President Trump's

decision to abandon that deal and Europe's efforts, along with Russia, along with China, to try to save it.

Can this deal still work without the United States involved?

Or does it draw Iran closer to China and Russia?

VINJAMURI: Well, there is no doubt that there is a tremendous amount at stake for Europe, for Iran, for the entire world in trying to keep this deal alive. And that has been made very difficult by Trump's decision to take the United States out, in the face of what has been claimed to be compliance on the part of Iran with the terms of the deal.

Remember, this is the most intrusive inspections regime that any country has ever acceded to. But the stakes are very high. Europe clearly wants to stay in the deal; the French, the Germans, the U.K., the E.U. have been very committed to this.

They are now put in a tremendously difficult position. Their companies, of course, face the threat of sanctions, very costly. The business between Europe and Iran is very important.

But the broader geopolitical incentives for staying in that deal, for maintaining a degree of peace for balancing politics in the Middle East is crucial. And what is interesting to see here is that the diplomacy that will be taking place over the next several days between the Iranian foreign minister -

[04:15:00]

VINJAMURI: -- is with the Europeans. It is with the Chinese and Russians but it's not with the Americans. And so what we're seeing, of course, is that the rest of the world is trying to move forward to maintain what it sees to be a very much vital deal. And the United States is having a very significant effect but being marginalized.

HOWELL: It's so much to talk about. Another big thing looking ahead this week, the U.S. poised to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Monday, the first nation to do so.

How does this controversial move, in your opinion, affect the U.S. role in promoting peace within the region?

VINJAMURI: Well, you can't now think about this move outside this very immediate context of the U.S. pulling out of the Iran deal and the increased tensions in the region as a result.

It wasn't a decision that was broadly accepted by many people very expert in the region, who worked in the region, even within the United States. So I think this decision is very controversial, not only in the region; it is very controversial within the United States.

I think the best that one could hope would be that it would have a neutral effect on whatever peace process might take place. That seems unlikely. But remember that there wasn't a robust peace process in place before this decision. There isn't one in place now, despite the fact that Jared Kushner was really tasked with pushing the peace process forward.

So I think it will make things harder, not easier, despite the fact that Trump has said that this does not affect the position, which is that the status of Jerusalem is one that should be determined through negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

HOWELL: This is a president who prides himself on being unpredictable. But there is a pattern here emerging. The president giving Israel what it wants, with this embassy move, something that previous administrations would have withheld as the final carrot to push the peace process along.

Mr. Trump also prepared to give North Korea what it wants, a meeting, a direct conversation with the U.S. president.

President Trump speaking on it before. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hopefully I mean for all of us, for the world, hopefully something very good is going to happen. They understand it is very important for them, it is important for everybody.

So Japan, South Korea, China, everybody I think it's going to be a very big success. But my attitude is and if it isn't, it isn't. OK?

If it isn't, it isn't. But you have to have that. Because you don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Again, the president there, speaking to his base at a rally. But the question here, this is a very different approach toward negotiation, Leslie.

VINJAMURI: It is a very different approach and there is momentum right now leading up to the summit, the release of the hostages. One hopes that there are serious pre-negotiation talks and planning going on.

But there's very heightened expectations of what the outcome of that meeting will be. It is interesting just there that Trump said if it isn't, it isn't, the stakes are, I think, much higher than that.

And the real question here is what will denuclearization mean, what steps will North Korea take, will it be willing to submit to the kind of inspections regime that Iran was willing to submit to?

Will it believe that the United States would accept and would comply with the terms of the deal in lights of the recent decision to withdraw from the Iran deal? And what will the United States and this president accept short of denuclearization, which it has previously defined as North Korea getting rid of its nuclear weapons?

It is not clear that that is what North Korea has in mind. So there are a lot of open questions. Nonetheless, there is significant momentum right now. And, of course, there are questions about whether or not there will be a peace treaty negotiated.

None of those specifics have really been set out, certainly not in the public domain. But the devil really is now in the details and the stakes couldn't be higher.

HOWELL: Among his supporters in the United States, he's getting the reputation of getting things done, is what you his supporters say. But again many lingering questions about these decisions the president is making, from the Iran nuclear deal to what is happening in Israel. Leslie Vinjamuri, live for us in London, thank you for the perspective today.

VINJAMURI: Thank you, George.

ALLEN: Protesters are calling on Sudan's president to pardon a teen sentenced to death for murdering her husband while he allegedly raped her. We'll have more about it in a live report ahead here.

HOWELL: Plus teamwork and training, that is how the hero pilots of Southwest Flight 1380 say they got their disabled plane back -

[04:20:00]

HOWELL: -- to safety. Hear what happened as CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ALLEN: Time is running out for the woman you see here, a teenager from Sudan, sentenced to death for murdering her husband while he allegedly raped her.

Noura Hussein's legal team has less than two weeks to appeal the court's sentencing decision. Her case has shined a spotlight on marital rape, for which there is no concept in Sudanese law.

Our Isha Sesay has been following the story. She joins us now from London.

Hello to you, Isha.

Do we know what her chances are that the government may have mercy on her and save her life? ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, to be clear, the judiciary is completely independent in Sudan. So as we look for a reprieve for Noura Hussein, this is something that will be done entirely within the judicial sphere.

I'm actually just off the phone with one of the lawyers on her team and had an extensive conversation with him about the chances of basically Noura's life being saved. He is basically pinning his hopes really in two different spaces, one on the appeals process. As you mentioned, she has basically less than -

[04:25:00]

SESAY: -- 15 days now for her legal team to lodge an appeal. That appeal would be heard by three judges and essentially they would look at the evidence and they would look at the law, the technicality of the law. So he is looking at that.

It's important to tell our viewers that this lawyer, as tells me, on several occasions and many instances in Sudan, the death penalty has been handed down and overturned, so there is precedent. So there is that one track.

He is also pinning hopes on the family of the husband. They have the power to grant Noura amnesty, right up until the very moment, to use his words, the noose is placed around her neck. They could still stop this from happening.

So people are appealing to the family as well: NGOs, women's groups, civil society are reaching out to the family in the hope that they will change they mind and grant her amnesty and her life can be spared.

ALLEN: I hope so.

What are the other instances surrounding her story and her marriage to this man?

SESAY: Well, Noura was 15 years old when her family married her off to this man. And she was against it right from the very beginning. She wanted to go to school; she wants to be a teacher. She ran away from home and ran to her aunt's and she lived there for about three years.

She was living there, carrying on with her studies, when she was told that the marriage was off It had been canceled and she could come back home. She returned home only to find out, in fact, it had been -- it was a trap and that the marriage was still on and she was married off and handed over to her husband.

And it is during that period of time for six days he tried to consummate the marriage; she refused. And six days later, with the aid of family, relatives, a brother and his cousins, we're told that she was held down and raped by her husband.

When he attempted do it a second time a day later, that is when Noura grabbed a knife and stabbed him.

ALLEN: Just a horrendous story all around. We know you'll be covering what happens next for us. We appreciate it, Isha Sesay, thank you.

HOWELL: The United Nations Agency is reporting that North Korea's government has promised to stop carrying out unannounced missile tests and other activities hazardous to commercial aviation. Pyongyang also saying that its nuclear arms program is, quote, "complete."

Meantime U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo says his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un this week were warm and good. In fact, he says they share the same vision as the U.S. and South Korea for the Korean Peninsula's future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If Chairman Kim chooses the right path, there is a future brimming with peace and prosperity for North Korea, North Korean people. America's track record of support for the Korean people is second to none.

If North Korea takes bold action to quickly denuclearize, the United States is prepared to work with North Korea to achieve prosperity on the par with our South Korean friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump also set to meet on June 12th in Singapore.

ALLEN: Mr. Trump says that he hopes an agreement can be reached but he also warned if the conversation with Mr. Kim doesn't go well, he will walk away from those talks.

HOWELL: In just one week, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are going to the chapel and they are going to get married, as the song goes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: This whole area will be filled with seats, 600 people in total. And whilst it looks vast and spacious, it is actually quite intimate.

ALLEN (voice-over): Max Foster there. We'll get details of their big day just ahead here. Stay with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00] (MUSIC PLAYING)

ALLEN (voice-over): Welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM at 4:30 in the morning our time. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL (voice-over): And I'm George Howell.

(HEADLINES)

ALLEN: All right. Let's talk wedding bells, shall we?

The wedding of the year just one week away, when Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of the United States will tie the knot.

HOWELL: The world will be watching this very important moment. Our Max Foster got inside the historic St. George's Chapel and walked the path that the bride will take from America with this celebrity marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER (voice-over): Windsor Castle, homes to kings and queens for nearly a thousand years. And within its grounds, St. George's Chapel, where many members of the family have been baptized, married and, yes, buried.

When Meghan Markle is driven into these hallowed grounds packed with special guests, she will mark a new chapter in this most famous of family histories.

FOSTER: The car will come into what will be a quite eerily quiet cloister. It will stop here. And the first thing that will confront the bride is some 20 steps leading up to the chapel.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

FOSTER (voice-over): As Meghan Markle enters the church, the guests will turn around and see her at the west door beneath that spectacular stained glass window. This whole area will be filled with seats, 600 people in total.

And whilst it looks vast and spacious, it is actually quite intimate at this level. And quite a narrow aisle as we move up from the nave into the choir. And a few more steps.

As she enters the choir, wherever she looks, she will see a nod to the Knights of the Garter. It's the highest order of chivalry in the land, the oldest in the world. High up on the ceiling, a bust of Henry VIII, who completed this church 500 years ago.

Flags represent all the current Knights of the Garter -

[04:35:00]

FOSTER (voice-over): -- including the best man there, Prince William, his flag, and below it, the seat where he would normally sit. So all of these plaques represent a Knight of the Garter.

A gray marble slab sunken into the aisle, another reminder of Henry VIII, as Meghan Markle will literally walk over his grave toward her fiance. Past the royal family, who'll be seated on this side, the bride's family on the other side and she will eventually settle up there by the steps, where she will meet Harry.

And with the words "I will," an American celebrity becomes British royalty -- Max Foster, CNN, Windsor, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: Well, that story is enough to give us goose bumps. And now our royal commentator, Richard Fitzwilliams, will add to that.

Hello, Richard.

How are you?

RICHARD FITZWILLIAMS, ROYALTY COMMENTATOR: Well, I'm absolutely fascinated by Max's sublime report from Windsor Castle, looking around that wonderful St. George's Chapel.

Because it is interesting that he mentioned Henry VIII. And one of Meghan's ancestors was, in fact, beheaded by Henry VIII for leading a revolt against the crown. And also Meghan has a link, descent has been proven with King Edward III, who founded in 1348, the Knights of the Garter, which is our premier order of chivalry.

And also in 1856, one of Meghan's paternal ancestors apparently worked in the royal household at Windsor Castle. So there are all sorts of fascinating links between Harry's future bride and the location, historically fascinating, where they are to marry.

ALLEN: It gets more and more fascinating with every little tidbit that you give us. There is certainly absolute mania over the Harry and Meghan love story. He has struggled openly in coming to terms with his grief of the loss of his mother and expressed that to the world.

She is biracial.

Might they redefine the royal family?

FITZWILLIAMS: There is absolutely no doubt that the message is going out, that the royal family is so much more inclusive with this marriage because I think persons of color -- and Meghan, of course, is so proud of being biracial -- have often felt that the royal family is somewhat remote.

And this is a sign that it is extremely inclusive. But also in the commonwealth, that will be particularly significant. Also given in previous decades the problems with divorce. The Church of England came to terms with this in 2002 by allowing divorced couples whose spouses were still alive to marry in church if they can get a priest to do it. And, of course, the Archbishop of Canterbury will only be delighted to

perform this rite.

ALLEN: And are they going to be debunking somewhat royal tradition with their nuptials?

FITZWILLIAMS: I think that they will be certainly making some alternatives. Meghan will be, as Max pointed out, arriving with her mother. We know her father, Thomas, will be walking her up the aisle; that is very traditional.

But we also know that there will be very unconventional aspects to the ceremony. I mean, Harry has made sure that Diana's family will be included, Lady Jane Fellows, one Diana's sisters, giving the reading.

And also, of course, a gospel choir will be performing. Now that links with Meghan's past; gospel choirs go back to the evils of slavery. And we know that this is an area where Meghan is especially proud of what she's called herself, something of an ethnic comedian, whereby, whereas an actress she wasn't white enough to get the white roles, black enough to get the black roles. It is an area that she understands.

And I think that will also be very significant in the way that people relate to her. And also the way that she and Harry intend to become a dynamic charitable duo, who will be able to do good works, not only in Britain and the commonwealth, but internationally.

ALLEN: She really is an outstanding young woman. We had the huge wedding of Kate and William and that was mesmerizing.

But now this is -- I don't know, something about Harry and Meghan, they have a dynamic that is generating, I don't know, maybe as much buzz as the wedding of Harry's brother?

What do you think?

FITZWILLIAMS: Well, I think Meghan and Harry have a very special chemistry because they fell in love immediately. And also they went for, getting on for two years now -

[04:40:00]

FITZWILLIAMS: -- they've made sure that there hasn't been two weeks where in some way or another they haven't seen each other. And also it is a special relationship because Meghan is articulate. She's cerebral. We know her history as an activist.

Since the age of 11, she was able to campaign against sexist advertisement. But also while at the (INAUDIBLE) school, she was able to help the homeless in hippie kitchen (ph) and subsequently her work for the United Nations on gender equality and also for World Vision Canada in London, India, has been so significant.

What will help I think is the fact that Harry is inspired by Diana in everything that he does. And also Meghan having to give up her acting career, for which she's fought so hard, I mean, it was very hard work, as we know from her anonymous blog at the time and then subsequently her work for the teage (ph) on Instagram.

She is changing her life but she is changing it also to be a member of the world's most high-profile royal family. And as such, she will be able to help so many people.

Diana was able to do this because she was a member of the royal family but, of course, that was deeply unhappy. Harry will see to it that Meghan is happy and also, of course, you've got an extremely independent person.

You have someone who is extremely articulate and cerebral but you've also got somebody who is deeply committed. And I think that this, as Shakespeare said in one of his sonnets, is indeed the marriage of true minds.

ALLEN: Well, that is very lovely put. Thank you, thank you to Shakespeare for that and yes, this is all very exciting. And it's interesting that Prince Harry has picked someone that seems to mirror what his mother stood for.

We thank you so much, Richard Fitzwilliams, and we will talk with you again. Look forward to it.

FITZWILLIAMS: Great pleasure.

HOWELL: Always good to have a mention of Shakespeare in the show, isn't it?

ALLEN: You and I haven't done that.

HOWELL: No, we haven't. But before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were even thinking about tying the knot, the British royal had his own adventures.

ALLEN: CNN takes an inside look at the couple's past and future in our special, "A Royal Match: Harry and Meghan."

Here is a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): In 2007, a secret deployment to Afghanistan gives Harry a taste of the front lines.

HENRY, PRINCE OF WALES: As far as I'm concerned, I'm out here as a normal JTAC on the ground and not Prince Harry. Sort of nice to be a normal person. For once, I think it's about as normal as I'm ever going to get.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was pretty much a turning point in his life. But I think he realized the seriousness of life, really rose to the responsibilities.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): But after 10 weeks on the ground, his mission is leaked. And Harry is immediately evacuated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was very angry. To use the words of his private secretary, he was boiling mad. And he sort of headed for the gutter.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He started drinking very heavily. He was fed up with who he was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he came to see me, he rather slumped in the chair and said, the trouble is I can't be like a normal young man.

But that time in Afghanistan had given him 10 weeks to be a normal young man and he desperately wanted to replicate that again. And he accepted it and his private secretary accepted that probably the only way that he could go back was within the anonymity of being inside a helicopter. And he therefore needed to learn to fly a helicopter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): After two years of training, Harry not only becomes an apache pilot, he is the top gun on his weapons course.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He got it on his own. It wasn't because he was a prince. He actually had to fight really hard for it. He was one of the very top Apache attack helicopter pilots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Harry returns to Afghanistan in September 2012.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I actually believe that his success on those Apache aircraft was the making of Harry. I think Harry, who had spent all his life being second best to his brother, being the spare, suddenly found something that he could do and could do better than anybody else.

And that gave him confidence that he had never ever had before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: How cool is that story?

That's just a short snippet of our special report, "A Royal Match: Harry and Meghan." It will air several times this weekend. Watch it as many times as you want, George, including Saturday at 8:00 pm Eastern and Sunday evening at 7:00 in London.

HOWELL: I will be watching. These formidable moments are just so interesting to learn about.

Still ahead here, lava, explosions and falling rocks from the sky and these are not the only threats posed by the volcanic activity in the U.S. state of Hawaii.

ALLEN: And also imagine getting this back on the ground safely, the pilots who saved Southwest Flight - [04:45:00]

ALLEN: -- 1380 are talking about how they did it.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ALLEN: Trouble is still bubbling beneath the surface for residents of Hawaii's big island as President Trump has declared a major disaster there. It's been just more than a week since the Kilauea volcano's violent eruption.

HOWELL: There haven't been new lava emissions since Wednesday but the threat of more explosions has again forced the closure of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

(WEATHER REPORT)

[04:50:00]

HOWELL: Still ahead, a plane full of passengers and a blown engine. How two pilots become heroes. That story ahead.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(SPORTS)

[04:55:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Three, two, one, zero. Ignition. Liftoff.

HOWELL (voice-over): That was the scene in the U.S. state of Florida on Friday as SpaceX's newest Falcon 9 rocket roared into the cosmos. The spacecraft company has dubbed it "the block 5 (ph)" It was designed with human space flight in mind but the payload this time was a communications satellite.

ALLEN (voice-over): The mission was a success; the rocket's first stage booster detached after launch and landed on an ocean platform. That is just so cool that it does that. That means that it could be used, of course, for a future mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: Recycling, repurposing. For the first time since last month's deadly engine failure, the

pilots who safely landed Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 are now talking about what happened. One woman, of course, was killed when she was partially sucked out of one of the windows while the plane was in the air.

Tammie Jo Shults and Darren Ellisor say teamwork and training helped get them through that nightmare flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARREN ELLISOR, SOUTHWEST PILOT: We had a very severe vibration from the number one engine. It was shaking everything. And it all kind of happened all at once.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you think had happened?

ELLISOR: My immediate reaction was a seizure of the engine.

TAMMIE JO SHULTS, SOUTHWEST FLIGHT: We knew that something extraordinary had happened pretty quickly.

Southwest 1380 has an engine fire, descending.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Southwest 1380, you're descending right now?

SHULTS: Yes, sir. We're single-engine descending, have a fire in number (INAUDIBLE).

ELLISOR: She was just so calm. She really had nerves of steel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, (INAUDIBLE).

SHULTS: (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Under a great deal of pressure, those pilots made an incredible emergency landing.

ALLEN: Nice to hear from them. We're back with the day's top stories just ahead here.

HOWELL: NEWSROOM right back after this.