freeman and ernie banks all in the same room and i try to get them to stop selling themselves short. plus this morning -- we're talking about politics. presidential politics in france. why? because one of the people, the man you are looking at there, who is believed to be the front-runner to be the next president of france is now sitting in a jail cell in new york. scathing details of how all of this played out. we'll have that for you. but welcome to this cnn sunday morning. i'm t.j. holmes. thank you for spending part of your weekend here with us. let's start now with the case of saving new orleans at the cost of others. the latest on the historic flooding along the lower mississippi valley. now take a look at this. you see that picture? this happened yesterday. the army corp of engineers opened just one of the 125 gates at that huge morganza spillway north of baton rouge. this is something that has not been done since 1973. they could open two more of those gates today. the idea here is to flood south central louisiana slowly in order to relieve pressure on levees downstream in places like baton rouge and new orleans. to give you an idea of how much water we're talking about right now, in the last hour alone, 269 million gallons have gone through that gate. meanwhile, several homes near the mississippi river in greenville, mississippi remain flooded. the river hasn't even crested there yet. the crest is expected tomorrow morning, expected to be just under six inches below the all-time record high that was set back in 1927. the floods across central louisiana in 1927 led to the building of levees that people hope will save their homes today, homes that today are in the path of millions of gallons of water now flowing out of the morganza spillway. >> if you look at some of the history from 1927, if these levees and reservoirs and floodways would not be in there, it was an 80-mile width of water covering five states. >> the flashlight, the mirror, a life jacket, water, my pets, and a pistol. >> all right. look at this. it's just a mess for these folks downstream as i bring in reynold wolf here now. we keep calling this this slow-moving disaster. it is rare you have this kind of a heads-up of what's coming. literally, they have had a couple weeks now. >> that's the whole point. you want everyone to get word about this. isn't it amazing when you think about the heavy snow we had in the upper midwest in october, november, december, january, february, march, and now all of that had to go someplace right into the mississippi river. with heavy rainfall, about 600 times the amount they normally have, 600% the amount they normally have, all flowing right into the basin and we're now dealing with it today. >> no more rain today or nothing significant in these areas will have an effect. >> thankfully the weather will cooperate today but it still doesn't take away that tragic story. despite the amount of water coming out of the flute gates it will still take while to make its way down to morgan city. later this afternoon, into monday and tuesday eventually getting very close to morgan city. can you see in this map the location of baton rouge in the banks of the mississippi river. the objective is to keep heaviest floodwaters away from that area but still affecting some 25,000 people that call this area home. some 11,000 structures, roughly 3,000 square miles that could be in some spots below 20 feet of water by the time this is all said and done. we need the weather to cooperate. rain not in louisiana and mississippi, but mostly out toward the east, some of the heavier showers forming in parts of south florida. in parts of the northeast basically the same situation. scattered rain showers from michigan back into new york city, even into the keystone state of pennsylvania. mainly a rain story but in the higher elevations of mountains, you could see a foot of snow before the day is out. namely the sierra nevadas. chicago, perhaps major airplanes in new york, could face delays. in l.a., 63 the expected high temperature. >> reynolds, we appreciate you. check in with you again shortly. other news now, keeping a close eye on the overnight arrest of the head of the international monetary fund. dominic strauss khan is his name. you may not be familiar with his name, face or the imf but we'll give you details. he was pulled off a plane headed from new york to paris, pulled off the plane just moments before takeoff. right now he's charged with a criminal sexual act and attempted rape of a maid at a luxury hotel where he was staying in new york. let me let our susan candiotti fill in some details. >> reporter: it was saturday afternoon at the hotel sophietelle at the times square motel in manhattan. the chamber maid had just come into the room of dominique khan. she said he was completely naked when she walked in and the police said that he attempted to force himself on her sexually. she was able to break away. she ran to the hotel staff. they in turn tried to find him. when the police arrived on the scene, mr. khan had already left the hotel. police quickly got word out to jafk airport where he was set to leave on an afternoon flight from new york to paris. just before they closed the door police were able to hold the plane, they went on-board, they said he was seated in the first class section of the flight -- of the plane. he did not offer any resistance but they did lead him off the plane and turned him over to the new york police department. >> exactly who are we talking about here and what does he do? he is the head of the imf. the imf consider it kind of the world savings and loan, if you will. they've got about 360 billion ito lend. the u.s. contributes $70 billion for that fund. strauss khan has been the head of the imf since 200737 also of note here -- he's considered a cop tender for the french presidency in next year's election. many even thought him to be the front-runner. again there he is right now, the man many consider the front-runner for the presidency in france, now sitting in a jail in new york. let's move to a story we were watching out of south florida yesterday. the fbi making arrests, arresting two muslim clerics yesterday, both were indicted on charges they funneled thousands of dollars to the pakistani taliban over the last three years. one is imam of the flagler mosque there. his son as well, an imam as a nearby mosque expected in federal court tomorrow. more violence in a cairo neighborhood to tell you about involvi. violence erupted turg a sit-in at the state tv building. the group demanded greater rights for the religious minority when they were attacked by several men. we hope this is not a sign of things to come. a rough way to get your presidency started but the lights went out just moments before the inauguration of haiti's new president, michel martelly. it may be a sign of the challenges ahead for the former pop star known as sweet nicky. he promises to offer free education to young haitians and promised to fight government corruption. mike huckabee is not running for president. the former arkansas governor and 2008 republican presidential candidate was considered to be one of the favorites for the nomination. but now that is not going to happen. he made the announcement last night on his fox television show. >> all the factors say "go!" but my heart says no. and that's the decision that i've made. and in it, i finally found some resolution. >> he says his heart says no. lot of people say it is his wallet that says no as well. he's making some good money now that he's out of public office. has a show over there and also speaking engagements. but look at this here. this is why a lot of people thought maybe he would give it a go. huckabee was doing well in some recent polls, including a cnn/opinion research poll which found he was at the top of the list. the poll also find that the majority of huckabee supporters would turn to mitt romney or even donald trump at replacement candidates. i want you to take a look at i assume you have never seen before. the world has never seen before. new photos of pop star michael jackson. they are from 33 years ago. he was 19 years old. they were taken by reginald garcia. he happens to be an inventor. he is now selling the 130 previously unpublished photos to help launch an electric motor he claims generates more electricity than it uses. president obama just released his long-form birth certificate not too long ago hoping to put to rest the whole birther controversy about where he might have been born. now we've got something else to throw into the mix. is the president actually irish? yes. he has irish roots here and he's going to ireland for a visit. and now one small village is just geeked up about it. also, is he the true home run king? some certainly think so. i got to sit down and hear what he thinks about people still labeling him the guy who should be at the top of the list. my conversation with hammerin' hank this morning. 11 minutes past the hour. building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. better than any other luxury brand. ♪ intellichoice proclaims that lexus has the best overall value of any brand. ♪ and j.d. power and associates ranks lexus the highest in customer satisfaction. no wonder more people have chosen lexus over any other luxury brand 11 years in a row. see your lexus dealer. from "i like you." "i really like you." "i love you." "i will always love you." and sometimes a gift says, "you mean more to me than anything else in the world." life insurance from new york life ensures your loved ones will always be taken care of, with 166 years of financial strength -- it's the most selfless gift you can give. new york life. the company you keep. glowing. -smooth. -flawless. [ female announcer ] it's more than just one thing. now aveeno brings all five factors of radiance together with positively radiant spf 30. with active naturals soy, it's now proven to visibly transform all five factors of radiance; tone, texture, blotchiness, dullness and brown spots. so now the definition of radiant skin... you're looking at it. [ female announcer ] positively radiant. and try skin brightening daily scrub, only from aveeno. discover the power of active naturals. 14 minutes past the hour now. major league baseball is celebrating this weekend with its fifth annual civil rights game being played here in atlanta. what they're doing this weekend is looking back to the past. and really acknowledging some of the contributions made by many influential african-americans. among them -- jackie robinson, of course, but also hank aaron. hank aaron is one that i had the chance to sit down with and have a conversation about what it meant for him at the time to be that guy in major league baseball. some of them were out there before you. but when you kind of got into the mix, is that something you wanted? did you ever consider yourself kind of a leader being out front, a leader in the civil rights era, or did you just want to play baseball? >> i wanted to play baseball and i never felt like i was a leader but i felt like jackie robinson had paved the way for -- and i wanted to be a baseball player. let me put it that way. jackie robinson had paved the way for all of us. when i say all of them -- myself, willie and some of the other black whose came before him and was a little bit younger than he was. had paved the way. and i felt like it was my responsibility not only as a baseball player but to carry myself in such a way that other blacks would be able to look at me and say, oh, i not only want to be the same kind of ball player that hank aaron was but i want to carry myself off the field the way that he did. >> do you ever look back and think, you know what? i could have done without it, without the record. >> no, i never did. no. i felt like it was my responsibility. god had given me the ability and -- to play baseball. i had the world on my shoulders. i knew that i could do most anything i wanted to do if -- out on the baseball field. and i always felt like i was it may sound kind of silly but i always felt like i was surrounded by angels on the baseball field. i just felt like there was absolutely nothing could happen to me. >> hank aaron is just one of the legends being honored by major league baseball this weekend. also ernie banks. also a hall of famer himself. morgan freeman this weekend, carlos santana, they're being honored as well. i had a chance to get all three of them in the same room. you don't want to miss my conversation with them coming up a little later at this hour. wachbt nt to bring in our g friend at hln sports ray d'alessio. >> you are the stud if you were interviewing all of those three men. >> i was so severely out of place. grammy winner, oscar winner, hall of famer, then t.j. but i'm back in proper company now. >> yeah. oh, thanks. >> no. but this was a good one. we talked about this story yesterday. ocho cinco, people know his name by now, he's always doing something a little quirky. >> t.j., he makes for great tv especially during the nfl lockout. if we didn't have chad ochocinco. the latest publicity stunt, riding a bull on the pbr tour. a challenge issued by the pbr. if he got on the bull he would get $10,000. if he stayed on bull that required eight seconds he would win a pickup truck. as you saw he lasted all of 1 1/2 section. now fortunately, look at this. it's a very good thing his hand did not get caught there. could have gotten trampled on. he twittered later that was one of his biggest fears, getting trampled in the ropes. >> he makes $6 million a year! >> my goodness. i hope we can rerack that. it is officially 1.5 seconds. didn't even look like that long. >> that's being generous. i'd say more like 1.3, 1.4 seconds. he barely got out of the gate. i like the focus, the attention. he's like let's go. we're out of the gate and we're down! that's a 1,500-pound bull. these guys didn't ride motorcycles, can't drive race cars, it's in their contracts. some can't do skiing. but since there is no collective bargaining agreement right now, everybody's up for grabs. >> turn to this race in southern california. >> you're familiar with it. >> i'm familiar with it. it is a show. >> beta breakers race today celebrating its 100th year. it's been known for its mayhem. a lot of alcohol-fueled brutality. but this year they've banned the alcohol and they're warning people if you show up drunk, then they're going to send to you an alcohol tent to sober up. race organizers said we needed to do something last year. 26 people were sent to the hospital for alcohol poisoning and it was starting to get real hard finding sponsors for. so the organizers said we need to do something. they limited the entry to just 55,000 thing. normally there's 100,000 runners. they show up, wear costumes, get tanked and show up and room. this year they said if you show up intoxicate and are running in the race, you'll be arrested. >> you saw gorilla costume, people out there half-naked a lot of times. it is an event. >> you've never raced in it. >> i've been down there and i got out of there. >> but you wanted to race in it, didn't you? >> yeah. but it is a dry run now. ray, good to see you, as always. enjoy the rest your sunday. 19 minutes past the hour now. forget about kenya. forget about hawaii even. we have uncovered that the president is an irishman actually and his small irish village has gone wild. after an announcement that their favorite son is coming home. yes, we got the next birther scandal right here for you, folks. it's true. you never forget your first subaru. sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back to these invoices... which i'll do right after making your favorite pancakes. you know what? i'm going to tidy up your side of the office. i can't hear you because i'm also making you a smoothie. [ male announcer ] marriott hotels & resorts knows it's better for xerox to automate their global invoice process so they can focus on serving their customers. with xerox, you're ready for real business. britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable. one night britta told me about a tradition in denmark, "when a person dies," she said, "someone must open the window so the soul can depart." i smiled and squeezed her hand. "not tonight, britta. not tonight." ♪ 23 minutes past the hour. joined with our "morning passport." i was joking before the break and i probably shouldn't about the next birther scandal. i probably shouldn't do that because it will turn into something. but the president now talking about he is actually irish. >> well is of irish decent as are 22 of the 44 presidents in this country from, as the song we're about to hear, ronnie reagan from jfk. but the president himself spoke about his irish ancestry. let's hear from the president. >> in ireland that's where my great, great, great, great grandfather came from. >> yes, his great, great, great, great grandfather comes from a little irish village in ireland. now when the irish prime minister was with president obama earlier this year -- in fact on st. patrick's day -- you know st. patrick's day, 17th of march, everyone's irish on st. patrick's day. he said, "i am coming to ireland before gi to britain and that's going to be on the 23rd of may." so he has promised the people where his great, great, great grandfather originated that he will make a stopover there so this village has gone insane. a band from the village tip-off has written a song in honor of obama and his visit. ♪ ♪ >> "now you are the president in the white house you are resident." don't you love it. >> how long ago was that statement -- >> that was when he found out first in 2007 he had irish ancestry. it was found out by a parishioner at one of the churches, they found records. but rather extraordinarily that he has this irish ancestry. band leader says he was watching video of obama's grandmother in kenya. he says why are we celebrating his kenyan ancestry, let's celebrate his irish ancestry. the secret service were in ireland in april. there is a bit of concern given what's going on here he may not get there. >> to get there, how long would it take them? >> it's half-an-hour from ireland by helicopter to get to mone moneygall. there are busts of obama everywhere. there is great celebration for his irish ancestry. the great, great, great grandfather. >> everybody wants to claim him now, don't they? good stuff this morning. thank you so much. 25 minutes past the hour now. he is a 17-year-old high school student who just single-handedly organized a big rock festival. looks like my kind of party right there! coming up, we'll tell you about the virginia teenager who combines his passion for rock music and god. that is going to be in today's "faces muof faith." also what does the word minority really mean these days? i'm getting the definition from the legends of world, sports, music and acting. stick around. [ female announcer ] it's red lobster's festival of shrimp for just $11.99. combine two of our most tempting shrimp selections any way you like from favorites like crab-stuffed shrimp to special new creations like bbq-glazed shrimp or potato-crusted shrimp. create your own combination with unlimited cheddar bay bisc