Journalist Mike Wallace Dead; Obamas Attend Easter Services; Pope Prays For MidEast Peace; Tim Tebow Holds Easter Service; Gingrich: Romney "Likely Nominee"; Two Arrested In Tulsa Shooting Spree; Racist Slur On Suspect's Facebook Page
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM this Sunday, April 8th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin with the passing of a TV legend, with a seven-decades-long career. At 93, the man CBS called its "60 Minutes" pit bull reporter, Mike Wallace, passed away last night in Connecticut. His name is synonymous with tireless reporting, interviews that pulled no punches, and a nearly 40-year run on the program, "60 Minutes." Joining me by phone now from New York, Tom Johnson, former chairman and CEO of CNN, he was also a good friend of Wallace for 30 years. Tom, first of all, of course, many of us are sorry about the loss, but what an incredible life, what an incredible career. Did -- I understand that he passed away in a care facility. Did you and many others know that his condition or his ailment was, you know, he was waning?</s>TOM JOHNSON, FRIEND OF MIKE WALLACE (via telephone): Yes, we knew that Mike was not doing well in recent years. But he had fought a very gallant battle for some time as much as he had been an extraordinary force throughout much of his professional and personal career.</s>WHITFIELD: So many remember him for these kind of dogged interviews, but at the same time, they remember the kind of softness, the gentler side. We saw early this morning his good friend, Morely Safer gave a beautiful tribute to him on "Face the Nation" this morning, and he talked about how for Mike Wallace. One of his most famous interviews actually was of a pianist, Vladimi Horowitz. What was it about that softer side of Mike Wallace that most people didn't seem to be as accustomed to seeing?</s>JOHNSON: There was a major, just decency about Mike. I got to know him in several ways, one of which was that he and I battled depression during our lives, along with others, including Bill Styron. That really had been something that he had battled, as I have, and he showed tremendous interest in those who were confronting that illness, but it didn't keep him from continuing with his career and doing uncommonly well.</s>WHITFIELD: Well, that is extraordinary, because even Morely Safer, you know, talked about, did an interview with him many years ago and talked to him in a very candid manner about that depression, about how he kept it inside for so long, and how Mike Wallace actually considered killing himself. Did you all share kind of those parallels of experience together, in a way that you felt, perhaps, other people wouldn't be able to understand or connect with you on?</s>JOHNSON: Well, we shared it usually each summer at Martha's Vineyard, where four of us, Art Buckwald, Mike Wallace, Bill Styron and I had the same experiences. Yes, it got so tough for Mike, as it did for all four of us, at some deep, deep point in our battle, we did think about it. Mike always reminded me that, really, it's one decision in life. If you were to take it, that you can't reconsider and also that, you really -- if you got the right medication, the right physicians, that most of us who deal with it, could come out of it. And all four of us did.</s>WHITFIELD: And through it all, you know, how does one try to kind of wrap their arms around the notion of this is a man who had a seven- decades-long career. He did commercials, he was once a reporter for "The Chicago Sun Times," and then he would come to epitomize this television magazine reporting. How did he make those turns in his career and become such a mainstay for "60 Minutes" for so long?</s>JOHNSON: Well, first of all, he was very competitive. Second, he was very professional. Third, he surrounded himself with producers and with talent of the very highest caliber. And then he really drove them toward excellence and everything. I mean, Mike had a very low tolerance for mediocrity. He expected the best of the show and everybody concerned with it.</s>WHITFIELD: Do you feel like he was kind of the leader of the pack in the "60 Minutes" family, particularly among the reporters?</s>JOHNSON: He was the leader of the pack and yet he always realized that it was a team effort. That he needed to be one of the most senior reporters on the show. And of course, I also dealt with him as a competitor during my years at CNN. So I saw up front and personal, just what a tremendous guy he was in securing the interviews and often breaking major news.</s>WHITFIELD: What an incredible range of interviews. We're looking at a picture right now where it shows a good number of the other "60 Minutes" reporters. You know, Mike Wallace took a break from "60 Minutes" back in 2006. The late Andy Rooney and the late Ed Bradley, they seemed to work right up until their dying days. All of their dedication really speaks to the kind of commitment, you know, to the real honor of being part of that "60 Minutes" family, doesn't it?</s>JOHNSON: Well, it does. It was a terrific family. He also just believed that in our free society that the public had a right to really look at what its government was doing, at what business was doing, what institutions were doing? And, you know, perhaps he earned the reputation of somewhat of an attack dog during that, but I've always thought of Mike as a great watchdog. It was good to have Mike out there, looking out for us.</s>WHITFIELD: That's so great. A nice watchdog. And you know, CBS itself is calling him the pit bull reporter, you know, for that "60 Minutes" team. Tom Johnson, thanks so much for helping to shed light on the memory and the legacy of Mike Wallace.</s>JOHNSON: Thank you. Thank you, Fredricka. All right, it is Easter Sunday, and the Obama family walked to church on a sunny Washington, D.C., morning. The president, first lady, Sasha, and Malia all attending Easter services at St. John's Episcopal Church just across Lafayette Park from the White House there. And at about the at the same time, half a world away, Pope Benedict XVI delivered his annual Easter mass in Vatican City. The pope prayed for a renewed peace effort in the Middle East, specifically an end to the violence in Syria. And he's not drawing a Vatican mass numbers, but NFL quarterback, Tim Tebow, is delivering an Easter message to a crowd near Austin, Texas. The New York Jets quarterback is known as much for his religious devotion as for his performance on the football field. A big crowd turned out to hear Tebow speak at the outdoor Easter gathering. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says campaign frontrunner Mitt Romney has the nomination all but locked up. Speaking on Fox News Sunday, Gingrich said Romney is, quote, "far and away the most likely Republican nominee." Gingrich vowed to support Romney if he is nominated, but says he's staying in the race to push for his personal platforms. And join me today at 4:00 Eastern Time for a special hour dedicated to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election. All right, disturbing new developments surfacing in just the last few hours concerning the shooting spree in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two men are now under arrest for the shootings of five African-American men. Three of those victims died. Both suspects are white and today Tulsa authorities are sorting through the suspect's Facebook pages, where they are finding racist comments and a personal anniversary. Let's bring in Susan Candiotti. She's following the story in Tulsa. So, what you have you learned about the suspects and what was going on in their lives?</s>SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, some very interesting, and as you indicated, disturbing information about his background. Family and friends of one of the two suspects in this case, 19-year- old Jacob England, tells us that he has been undergoing psychiatric counseling and taking medications ever since his father was murdered, was killed, almost two years ago to the day of these shootings that happened here in Tulsa. We understand, CNN has learned from police and according to documents as well, and from relatives, that a couple of years ago, England's father was responding to his daughter, who was asking for help when her house was being broken into. He went after the suspect in this case, he, the father. The two had a fight. Mr. England's father was not armed, but the other man was. Turned around and shot him. That man, evidently, according to court documents that we have found, indicate that he was not prosecuted for that crime. Now, this, according to relatives, has troubled him ever since and CNN has also discovered what police have. There was a Facebook posting made just the other day, written by the suspect in this case, that police are examining. And it reads like this, "Today is two years that my dad has been gone, shot by" -- and please excuse the language, it's very sensitive, "shot by a -- nigger." It's hard not to go off between that and Charon." Charon is a, we have to pause and say is England's girlfriend who according to family members committed suicide in front of the suspect in this case just last December in front of him and in front of their baby. The Facebook posting goes on to say, I'm gone in the head. Dad and Charon, his girlfriend, I love and miss you, I think about you both every second of the day. Now we have learned that this is something that police are taking a very close look at, to see whether this might be a motive in this case -- Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: OK and then, what happened, Susan, when trying to reach out to those who know these gentlemen? Did any neighbors have anything to say about them?</s>CANDIOTTI: Well, there -- yes, everyone is trying to make some sense of this. A woman who lives across the street who has known the family since they were children said that she can't get over what happened. She said that she heard some gunshots fired there at the night of the shootings over at the house where he was living, and heard some disturbances the other night, but says she finds it hard to fathom this arrest. Listen.</s>SYNITA BOWERS, SUSPECT'S NEIGHBOR: He's just a nice young man. I can't even imagine him in this, now drugs, yes, but a killing? I can't imagine it. Not Jake.</s>CANDIOTTI: Now, again, police are trying to figure out more about the suspect in this case. Certainly, the community is very relieved that two people have been arrested and we expect a news conference in just a couple of hours -- Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: All right, Susan Candiotti in Tulsa. We apologize to our viewers for such profanity being used on our air. And we'll be right back with much more in the NEWSROOM.