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Federal Government 'Open For Business', For Now; Libyan Rebels Retreating From Key City; Tiger Woods Close Behind Leader in Masters Tournament; Speculation Abounds About Pre-Nup Between Prince William and Kate Middleton

Aired April 09, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. The federal government is still open. A budget deal is in place and President Obama is expected at any moment to sign the deal that kept the lights on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm pleased to announce that the Washington monument, as well as the entire federal government will be open for business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: "Open for business."

From the CNN Center, we are open for business here at CNN on this CNN Saturday morning. Glad you could be here with us, I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta and 10:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C., where a lot of news is coming out.

But also, it's 4:00 p.m. in Cairo and we're there as a lot of news is happening and new developments in Tahrir Square. Protesters burn a bus. Police attack with tear gas. The struggle for democracy goes on. We'll have more from there in just a minute.

But we do need to start with that budget deal. No government shutdown we need to worry about for now. Democrats and Republicans came together with a compromise late last night, literally an hour before the deadline, a deal that now cuts some $40 billion in spending. But it doesn't touch Planned Parenthood. A lot of people wondering why this was part of the conversation in the first place.

But first up, a temporary short-term deal that has a one-week shelf life. CNN senior White House correspondent Ed Henry joins me, once again, this morning. Ed, hello. Tell me. Do we have this right, the president is expected to sign the short-term deal and it could happen any moment.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Sure. Sources close to the CNN is that the president will expect it some point this morning, as early as this hour and not locked in yet because it has to go through all the various last-minute procedural hurdles and the last cross the T's and dot the I's. The bottom line is it will get over here relatively quickly this morning and then signed very quickly by this president. I wouldn't expect a big show of it, some big signing ceremony. As you noted, this is just the bridge funding to get Congress through the weekend and keep the government open. The big signing ceremony, if there is one, will probably come next week when the president actually signs the base legislation that cuts spending, something the president certainly wants to celebrate.

HOLMES: All right and, Ed, also nobody seems to, why would they want to take credit or claim victory after this whole fiasco and everything we saw over the past 24 hours. But where is the president on this? Not necessarily claiming victory, so how does he like to come out of this?

HENRY: White House aides want to make sure they don't look like they're celebrating because, you're right, it was a long, messy process. Frankly, a lot of budget battles ahead that are bigger than this.

But they are privately saying, look, the president took a lot of heat for not getting his hands dirty earlier in this process they were saving him for the final sprint here to get this across the final line and they basically believe they've been vindicated because despite all the naysayers they believe they used the president effectively at the end to get this done.

Keep in mind, they also can't pat themselves on the back too much because of some of those bigger budget battles, I mentioned. This bill itself, while noteworthy it has $38.5 billion in spending cuts, a good first step for Congress, it is still far less than one percent of the entire federal budget. So, nobody should be, you know, be delusional to think that this is going to somehow magically solve the U.S. debt problem. This is just a step, an important step, but a step.

HOLMES: All right, Ed Henry, we appreciate you this morning. Thank you so much.

HENRY: You, too, T.J.

HOLMES: Let's give our viewers some of the highlights of this big budget deal. Let's start off here, that it calls for $38.5 billion in spending for the rest of the fiscal year. Republicans originally called for $61 billion in cuts, and Democrats called that a little too much.

One huge issue the two sides were fighting over was over funding for Planned Parenthood. Republicans dropped their demands to change funding for the program while Democrats agreed to bring the issue up for a separate vote in the Senate. Also Democrats in the Senate agreed to take up a Republican initiative to repeal president Obama's health care overhaul. Here's how the party leaders summed things up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRY REID, (D-NV) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: This is historic what we've done -- $78.5 billion below the 2011 budget that we've been working off of. We worked on many riders. What we've done has been difficult but important for the country.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: As you all know, this has been a lot of discussion and a long fight. But we fought to keep the government spending down because it really will, in fact, help create a better environment for job creators in our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: We'll turn now to our congressional correspondent Briana Keiler joins me, once again. Briana, explain why a short-term bill was needed.

BRIANA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, so, you had negotiators, Democrats and Republicans coming to an agreement, we heard from a democratic aide, T.J., last night at 10:30. That's when they shook hands and the wind down to the shutdown of the government would have, according to this aide, began at 11:00 p.m.

So, the short-term measure, because if they're shaking hands at 10:30 and agreed on parameters and details, you are not going to be able to draft an entire bill and have members of Congress really see what's in it in the next 90 minutes. So this short-term measure buys them time and that's why it passed the Senate very quickly and passed the house at 12:45 a.m. last night.

It goes until next Friday, T.J., and the timeline that we're going it be seeing for this larger bill that will take us through the entirety of 201 of this budget year, we're going to see the house, it will be filed in the house on Monday and then it gets to be online for 72 hours. This was a Republican pledge that it would be online for three days so that members of Congress could read it so that the public could read it before the vote, which would then be on Wednesday and then the Senate follows suit, T.J.

HOLMES: Briana Keilar, thank you so much.

I want to turn to some breaking developments we are watching out of Libya where the opposition forces continue to battle Gadhafi forces, and now it seems that the all-important city of Ajdabiya is up for grabs once again. Our Ben Wedemen is on the line reporting for me. What can you tell me about what is happening in this all-important city now?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., a battle ongoing for control of Ajdabiya. It started earlier this morning after a fairly intense artillery barrage on the western edge of the city and enter the town and what ensued was a massive battle within the city and now we're told that there were several NATO airstrikes also just short while ago on both Eastern and western edges of this town.

Opposition forces are now regrouping in the hopes of entering in force but, at this point, it's not clear whether they will go in soon or wait u until the situation clarifies.

But this is part of the gradual advance by the Libyan army which has pushed back the opposition fighters. This is the last town, really, before you go on the long, straight and empty highway to Benghazi, the capital of Eastern Libya and the headquarters and the transition of national council. T.J.?

HOLMES: Ben, it sounds like you said this is an ongoing battle and you hit on it at the end, what this would mean if Gadhafi forces were able to take this city back from the rebels.

WEDEMAN: It would be a huge symbolic victory, for one thing. This town was occupied for ten days by Gadhafi's army. It was eventually driven out after intense round of coalition air strikes that took panics and other heavy armor belonging to Libyan army and that led to massive advance by the opposition forces. But they essentially were driven all the way back here.

If Ajdabiya falls to the Libya army, there's not much to stop it from advancing to Benghazi. And we haven't seen much in the way of -- when you're using that kind of war fare, they go as fast as their cars can take them. Advances can be very dramatic. T.J..

HOLMES: Our Ben Wedemen reporting for us, again, outside of Ajdabiya. Our viewers, you certainly heard and we apologize for that signal there, but is right there as Ajdabiya that Gadhafi forces could be taking back that all important city.

Meanwhile, I want to take a look now and I want you to take a listen at this video and listen to and watch it, as well. This will probably look familiar to you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yes, I say it may look familiar because this is Cairo, Tahrir Square, where, once again, we see protesters clashing with police forces and others there. But this isn't from months ago when initially they were there calling for Hosni Mubarak to step down. These demonstrations now are against Egypt's governing military council. These turned violent overnight.

Our Ivan Watson is in Cairo for us, and he said the military swept into the area last night. Protesters burned several military trucks and buses used to move troops. They are protesting the military ruling calling for the criminal prosecution of former president Hosni Mubarak.

Also this morning, an attack on shoppers at a mall outside of Amsterdam. This is in the Netherlands. Dutch officials say at least five people were killed and nine others wounded. Witnesses say the shooter, who was in his 20s, fired on people with an automatic weapon before using a pistol to shoot himself. Also more firefighters and equipment have been sent to west Texas to try to bat a fast-moving wildfire. The blaze is moving across three counties, more than 7,500 acres have burned so far. The fire destroyed two homes and threatens at least a dozen others.

That budget battle went down to the wire last night and a lot of people had paychecks riding on the outcome. Listen to this message one of those people had for members of Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERICA ROACH, MILITARY WIFE: Their job is to serve the American people and what's going to be best for them. Not what's going to be best for their political party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: That's Erica Roach, she's a military wife. I'll have more of her reaction to the budget deal just ahead.

Also, Bonnie Schneider is in for Reynolds Wolf today and you have nasty stuff you're tracking this morning.

That's right, T.J. a strong line of thunderstorms that is working its way into Kentucky, Ohio and northern Tennessee right now. These storms are intense. It's just a beginning of a rough ride for this weekend in terms of severe weather. I'll tell you all about it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER BREAK)

HOLMES: A lot of military families were closely watching the arguments over the federal budget. Among them, Erica Roach, wife of Ryan Roach, an aviation mechanic in the Navy. I talked to her earlier on the phone this morning. Take a listen to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROACH: I very much am relieved that there is no shutdown, that we're going to get our paychecks. But in the same aspect, is it going to be OK on Thursday? I mean, are we going is to have to go through this again?

HOLMES: So, you feel like you're still on edge. You don't trust them until it's done, if you will.

ROACH: Exactly. I mean, have two kids that I need to take care of with this paycheck. And I work a part-time job, but it's not enough. It doesn't compensate for what my husband makes. And to know that that's at risk if Congress can't agree on everything, that's scary.

HOLMES: Ma'am, what was your reaction or what is it to hear, frankly, that the back and forth and some of the things that are being argued about and you know people, so much of this is politics, but you're a real person with a real family and we can hear your real children in the background as we talk to you here.

ROACH: Yes.

HOLMES: What is that like for you to be, to listen to your situation almost and your family and your husband being used as some kind of political pawn almost and what is, quite frankly, a political game?

ROACH: It hurts, I mean, to know that, you know, the military members in general and their families we sacrifice so much, you know, our husbands and wives go on deployments, they don't get to see their significant other. They don't get to see their kids. I have friends, you know, who have missed the birth of their children. And to know that we can just be, you know, a pawn to see who's going to fold their cards faster, it's just unfair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Ms. Roach says members of Congress need to do what's best for Americans and not what would be best for their political parties.

Well, speaking of politics here still, South Carolina a place to be today, you're considering a run for president. Many will tell you that man is certainly considering a run. That is a picture of former speaker Newt Gingrich speaking at an all-important event today in South Carolina. We'll tell you what it is and why he's there and he's being joined by a couple other pretty high profile presidential candidates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 21 minutes past the hour now. In Santa Monica, California, a synagogue appears to have been targeted by a bomber? Police officers as you're seeing here actually examining a hole in the roof of a home that is next door to that synagogue. The explosion, though, outside the synagogue, Thursday, sent a large pipe slamming through that roof.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. JAY TRISLER, SANTA MONICA POLICE: All the information I have is that something caused that explosion and we believe that it was an intentional act.

RABBI ELI LEVITANSKY, CHABAD HOUSE SYNAGOGUE: We heard that now the police are looking for some type of suspect, that they believe now it will deliberately set off. And, as a result, it has made us all a little more nervous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Police say they are now searching for a homeless man, 61-year-old Ron Hirsch. They describe him as, quote, "extremely dangerous." no one was hurt in that blast.

Also this morning, sketches of two men suspected in the beating of a San Francisco Giant's fan at Dodgers stadium being distributed by the Los Angeles Police Department. Police have stopped tailgating at that stadium and increased security after the march 31st beating of paramedic Bryan Stowe. He is now hospitalize would brain damage. The L.A. mayor is having a plea for these two.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, LOS ANGELES: Turn yourself in. What you did was wrong. It was despicable and senseless, unprovoked. But make it a little better by coming forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: There's also $150,000 reward for information leading to the attackers' arrest and conviction.

Crime and gang violence often run rampant in Chicago's south side. When one mom worried that her own daughter might fall into trouble she opened her front door and invited gang members in. Now, they call her Ms. Diane. We call her this week's CNN's hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANE LATIKER, CNN HERO: Guns, guns and more guns. These are our young people. These stones represent them. We're losing a generation to violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, when they start shooting you have to grab the kids and run in the house.

LATIKER: Police run in the house and close their doors. They don't want to talk about it. But there are some people who are not scared to go outside and I'm one of them.

My name is Diane Latiker. We are known as KOB, kids off the block. There are kids that are in gangs, homeless, some drug dealers. They have a lot of issues going on. I tell kids, this is a peace place. This is a safe place.

We have leadership workshops, easy preparation, music. It's a range of things that goes on in here. We started out with ten young people, and the next thing I knew, I had 15 and then I had 25 and at one point I had 75 young people in three rooms of my house. And that's how kids off the block started, in my living room.

We opened the doors to the new KOB center in July. Last year we served 301 young people. When they knock on that door, they can come in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Robbing people, stealing. Ms. Diane, she changed my life. I love her for that.

LATIKER: I'm no different from anybody else. I just opened up my door. Why can't we go outside and see what is going on in our neighborhood. There are people here who care and I'm one of them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Last year Diane's center helped more than 300 kids stay off the streets and stay out of trouble. Remember, every one of this year's CNN heroes come from people you tell us about. To nominate someone you know is making a big difference in your community, you can go to CNNheroes.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We are at the bottom of the hour now on this CNN Saturday morning. Welcome back. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could spend some of your weekend here with us.

Let's get you caught up. A lot of people still waking up this morning to the news that, yes, in fact, Democrats and Republicans have come to an agreement and the U.S. government is still in business, open for business. They gave their OK to a short-term plan that keeps the government running for the next week. The president is expected to sign that plan some point this morning.

This is the scene in Cairo's Tahrir Square. This was happening overnight where Egyptian troops were forcing protesters to get out of that square. Thousands had rallied there yesterday calling for the prosecution of ousted President Hosni Mubarak. That rally was peaceful, but protesters remained into the night, and they were cleared out by Egyptian troops. Protesters set several military vehicles on fire.

Also, there's been a shooting in a mall in the Netherlands. This happened in an Amsterdam suburb. At least five people killed and nine wounded. Witnesses say the shooter fired on shoppers with an automatic weapon before using a pistol to shoot himself.

Well, with budget compromise we saw late last night, negotiators also agreed to a second budget deal. That one funds the federal government through September. That's the end of the fiscal year. This one calls for almost $40 billion in cuts from the president's original budget proposal. Republicans originally wanted $61 billion in cuts, Democrats thought that was too much.

One huge issue that the two sides were fighting over left a lot of people scratching their heads saying, hey, I thought we were talking about money, but they were fighting a lot about funding specifically for Planned Parenthood, and a relatively small amount of money.

People thought this was an ideological fight. Republicans dropped their demands in the end to change funding for that program. Democrats did, however, agree to bring the issue up for a separate vote in the Senate. Democrats in the Senate also agreed to take up a Republican initiative to repeal president Obama's health care overhaul law.

Now, hear how the final hours played out live last night if you weren't able to stay up and watch it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "JOHN KING USA": It appears they are close, very close, I am told, to a one-week Band-Aid budget, keep the government running because they will agree to this that one week because they believe they are very close now to the bigger deal to fund the government for the next six months.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're close to figuring something out and, you know what, they don't have a choice because look at the clock. I mean, we have three hours left before the government or at least parts of the government will shut down.

REP. JAMES CLYBURN, (D) ASSISTANT MINORITY LEADER: We are close enough on the big stuff for us to feel comfortable voting for something, maybe another week, so that all the particulars can be worked out.

BASH: The speaker is telling his conference, telling his fellow Republicans that there is a framework of final deal. I just got an e- mail from a source very close to the negotiators, the leadership aides who have been crafting every single word and every single comma, and this source says they just shook hands and they have a deal.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: I'm pleased that Senator Reid and I and the White House have been able to come to an agreement that will, in fact, cut spending and keep our government open. And I expect that the House will vote yet tonight on a short- term continuing resolution in the next week to allow for time for this agreement to be put together in legislative form and brought to the floor of the House and Senate for a vote.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This agreement between Democrats and Republicans on behalf of all Americans is on a budget that invests in our future while making the largest annual spending cut in our history.

Some of the cuts we agreed to will be painful. Programs people rely on will be cut back. Needed infrastructure projects will be delayed. And I would not have made these cuts in better circumstances. But beginning to live within our means is the only way to protect those investments that will help America compete for new jobs, investments in our kids' education and student loans, and clean energy and lifesaving medical research. We protected the investments we need to win the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: All right, so, that deal is done. A lot of people wondering, who came out on top, wondering who the winners and losers were. We were asking you that question this morning, as well, on social media, on our blog and on Facebook.

We got a ton of response, and we'll share a few more right here. One coming from Brandon saying "I am not happy with either side. As a federal government employee, I feel this was completely unfair and avoidable. Nice dramatic ending to make it look as if Obama saved the day." Kirk says "It has to be a win for President Obama. Once again he has to take a break from running the country to sit down with the children and help them get their homework done."

Another from Eric from my Twitter page, which is @tjholmes, says "The Tea Party won fiscal, the president and Boehner won public perception, tie between the two parties, and the losers were the extremists on both sides."

Thank you to you al for sending those in. I have been absolutely reading those there but a few we were able to share.

For you folks in Boston, calm down. Your beloved Red Sox finally won a game. Also, we are live in Augusta. Tiger Woods making a move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We're at 36 minutes past the hour. Take a look at this. That's not what I wanted to show you. This is what I wanted to show you. This is the Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington, D.C., live pictures as our affiliates help us bring these pictures to you. This is one of the largest springtime festivals and parades in the country.

But, of course, the Cherry Blossom Festival, a lot of people wondered if this whole government back and forth and shut down possibility would put rain on the parade, if you will. But the festival folks say whether the government shuts down or not, we will do this. Thank goodness they didn't have to consider that.

But this still going on, and everybody likes to enjoy those cherry blossoms. The big parade takes place today happening right now. So a nice event taking place.

Meanwhile, I want to turn now to you folks in Boston. It's going to be OK. A zero and six start for your beloved Red Sox. They finally won a game. This shouldn't be a big deal, right, but they did, but hey finally won a game. I believe the stat is no team has started zero and six and tone on to win the World Series or the playoffs. I need to check my facts, but it took last-minute heroics for them to get the first win of the season.

Also, on this note, on a baseball note. This was nice to see. Look at this, 109 years old, and she gets to throw out the first pitch. This wasn't at the Red Sox game, but this was for a different team at a smaller stadium here. But that is Violet Smith. She's 109 years old. She was invited to throw out the first pitch at the Great Lakes Saloon's season opener. So when you turn 109 years old, will you still be able to get out there and do that? Certainly hope so. But congratulations to her on getting to 109 and still being able to toss that baseball out there.

But maybe one of the biggest sporting events every single year, the Masters at Augusta. The third round teed off just moments ago there. And we have someone there. Patrick Snell joins me there now live. He's with CNN Sports to give us an update. Good to see you. It's always gorgeous. The weather is cooperating out there. Two big stories and you can pick on which one we start with. The young guns at the top of the leaderboard or Tiger Woods right behind them on that leaderboard?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS: T.J., you're absolutely right. Wonderful weather here, beautiful conditions, minimal breeze. The players are going to absolutely love it. No doubt about it.

Let's kick off with Tiger for me, T.J. the undisputed talking point about Friday's day two play here at the 75th Masters. A lot of people kind of writing him off in the buildup to this master but that was very naive. He shot a sizzling 66, 31 shots only on the back nine holes and three straight birdies. He had nine birdies overall, three bogeys. And the player who's had no major since June of 2008 seven on the par and three shots behind another, the young talent from northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, GOLFER: I was just staying patient. That's all I was. I was trying to stay patient. I was just trying to make sure I was even par for the day and under par for the tournament at the turn and, as I said, just put 200 par on the back nine. I would have been right there in the ball game. And I got hot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: Well, T.J., you mentioned those young guns at the top then. Let's dwell very briefly at Rory McIlroy. He's leading this tournament. Only his ninth major and a really big question, is he going to be handling the pressure later on? It's going to get really tough, intense. He's going to go out there and with a Tiger pounding away behind him. He'll be hearing Tiger Woods and the roars that Tiger Woods generates when he's out here on the course. So a huge test for Rory McIlroy, no doubt about it.

Let's sum up for you, if you like, the leaderboard here at the masters. This is one of golf's first major and it is that man McIlroy leading the way. He tees off in a few hours from now. He's leading the tournament at 10 under par.

And then another young talent, the Australian Jason Day at eight under par. It's going to be a thrilling weekend of golf, I can assure you, T.J., as I send it back to you.

HOLMES: It is gorgeous out there. You have a good seat for it. It should be a good weekend. Good to see you, thank you so much.

To our viewers, we didn't talk about it in that report there, but there is someone we think you should know who is out at the Masters right now. His name is Ryo Ishikawa. There he is. He's 19 years old, and he is from Japan. And he says he will donate all the money he earns on this year's PGA tour, including at the Masters, to earthquake and tsunami ravage regions back in his homeland. He has made the cut for today's third round. He will be teeing off today with some pretty good company with defending champion Phil Mickelson, but, Ryo Ishikawa, just somebody we thought you should know about this morning.

One issue at the center of the budget battle, but the fight may be more about future election than just this one budget bill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: About a quarter to the top of the hour now. The budget deal, as you know, is done, at least for now. One of the major sticking points in getting the deal done was Planned Parenthood. But why?

CNN deputy political deputy Paul Steinhauser joining me once again. Paul, good morning, again, to you. A lot of people, I thought they were talking about money, and then yesterday it seemed like the only thing they wanted to talk about was Planned Parenthood.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: On the Democratic side, T.J., just about Democrat from Senate majority leader Harry Reid on down was talking about Planned Parenthood. You heard it again this morning. They were talking to Congressman Steve Israel from New York.

Why? Because the Democrats were highlighting a part of that budget plan from the Republican side that would strip funding, federal funding for Planned Parenthood. And Democrats were saying, you know, women of America, the Republicans are trying to take away your rights, your reproductive health care rights and that's what they were trying to highlight.

Why, T.J.? Maybe campaign politics is part of it. One of your producers and I put this together. This is exit polls from the last couple of elections. Women voters, they went from Democrats 55 percent in 2006 and 56 percent. Look at that drop in 2010. T.J., Democrats are reaching out to women voters.

On the flipside, the Republicans were saying just the opposite. Not about Planned Parenthood but spending and cutting more. Look at this from the last election, just last November. People who said cutting the deficit was the most important thing, they voted for the Republicans big time.

And, T.J., those tea party activists, they helped the Republicans win back control of the house and that's why the Republicans are emphasizing spending.

HOLMES: Paul, I asked this question to a couple guests this morning. Should we be encouraged or discouraged to buy what we saw took place over the past 24 hours? And even in the past six months, again, reminder, folks, this budget that they're now getting done is six months overdue, quite frankly. But should we be encouraged or discouraged given that we have, frankly, a couple bigger battles to come? STEINHAUSER: I think we should be both cases. Encouraged, why? Because both sides were able to strike a deal last year. Remember at the end of last year on the tax cuts and now on this budget. It took a while, but it happened.

T.J., as you just said, this is just the appetizer. The debt ceiling for the country, that is a huge showdown. And just as big, if not bigger, the budget for next year, and that battle is looming soon. These are much bigger deals than what we just dealt with over the last couple days T.J.

HOLMES: All right, our Paul Steinhauser, buddy, always good to see you. Thank you so much.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

HOLMES: The British royal family has weathered a string of failed marriages. In fact, three of Queen Elizabeth's four children have been divorced. Will there be a royal pre-nup for Prince William and Kate Middleton?

First, though, the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton has sparked a royal wedding souvenir frenzy and a lot of businesses trying to cash in. Take a look at some of the items being sold. Seven British designers and stylists teamed up to create a Princess Katherine engagement doll. You can own the mini Middleton for just $57.

For those of you who can't get enough of the royal love story, you can now buy the novel. Or to toast the happy couple, Castle Rock Brewery created "Kiss me, Kate" beer. What souvenir may be the craziest of all? Yes, there are more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, ten minutes to the top of the hour here. Before the break, we were talking about the royal wedding, the souvenir frenzy that is growing more intense as their nuptials get closer. April 29th is the day.

So what are some of the crazy souvenirs we're seeing? If you're like me and you're sick of hearing about the upcoming nuptials, look at this. They have royal wedding barf bags. One souvenir that seems to outdo them all, there are condoms. Yes, there are condoms out there. A company called Crown Jewels is selling a box of royal wedding condoms in a box imprinted with the picture of the couple. You know you've made it when they put your face on condoms.

Also, I'm told about those condoms, from Katie here who is joining us -- she is one of our entertainment editors at CNN.com -- those condoms are not to be used. They're just a novelty, you say.

KATIE CAPERTON, ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR, CNN.COM: They are a novelty. Disclaimer on the box of the Crown Jewels and the logo is, "Lie back and think of England."

HOLMES: They have a disclaimer not supposed to be used.

CAPERTON: It's a novelty, not really supposed to be used.

HOLMES: This is amazing. But good to have you here with us. We're talking about Prince William and Kate Middleton, they are to be married in 20 days. People around the world are sending their best wishes, but British attorneys are sending another message. Not all fairy tales have a happy ending.

And a case in point is in William's family. Prince Charles, Diana, Prince Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, Princess Ann, Prince Philips, three royal weddings and then three royal divorces. So again, Katie Caperton here with us here, pre-nup. In this country we hear pre-nup and that is maybe an American thing. But over there is there a chance he might get one?

CAPERTON: It's a bigger deal in America and it's not as common to get married and have a pre-nup in England. All this buzz this week. Let me tell you this, we're not going to know what dress she is wearing until she hops out of the car, and there's no way they're going to tell us whether or not they're going to sign a pre-nup.

HOLMES: Historically, have royals done it?

CAPERTON: It's not a very royal thing to do. It's probably not going to happen, and even if it does happen, we're never going to hear about it.

HOLMES: What does he stand to lose, but again, he has significant wealth?

CAPERTON: Yes. Estimates in the range of $45 million. He has a lot of money. And this comes with a title. She is HRH, Her Royal Highness. And then all the jewels. The things we care about, all the jewels. She gets a lot of Prince Diana's jewels, the rings and everything. There is a lot to be lost in this.

But, again, I just can't imagine that they're going to sign a pre-nup, and if they do, it's never going to be public.

HOLMES: He came out and made a statement to this, as well. He says I'm not getting married to get divorced. He came out and said some things I'm not going to go that direction anyway.

CAPERTON: This is a couple. They didn't just meet. They've been together for a long time. They are very much in love and handle themselves well in the press. She's had a lot of time to get used to this. So, we wish them the best.

HOLMES: What have we seen in other royal divorces when the, forgive me for the word, they call them commoners, what have we seen in other royal divorces. Particularly in England there, what does the commoner end up getting? Do they get a significant amount from the royal family once they split?

CAPERTON: Reports that Princess Diana walked away with $20 million. She had a different title. Again, the royal family is very quiet about these things. A lot of it ends up in the press and you can't escape it.

HOLMES: So, no royal pre-nup this time around. And we certainly wish them the best, but, again, divorce, royal divorces have been all around this young man.

CAPERTON: Not a great track record in that family.

HOLMES: Katie, so great to have you here with us.

CAPERTON: Thank you.

HOLMES: To our viewers, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, her office has a big announcement. She is planning to attend the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour later this month. This and other stories that are making news across the country in just a moment.

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HOLMES: We want to give a look at some of the stories that are making news across the country right now. Her office is saying that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is in fact planning to attend the April 29th launch of space shuttle Endeavour. Doctors will have to give the final OK. She is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head. Her husband, Mark Kelly, is commander of the Endeavour's final mission.

Movie mogul Tyler Perry has given a Georgia woman a new home after a fire gutted 88-year-old Rosa Lee Ransby's home the week before Christmas. She is struggling to raise her seven grand and great- grandchildren and didn't have the money to rebuild. Perry was inspired by her strength and will.

Also, it may have been a school day, but some students in Pennsylvania had Sunday on their mind. Yesterday they set a new record for the world's longest ice cream dessert, 155-foot-long sundae with sprinkles, hot fudge, cherries, you name it, and 45 gallons of ice cream.