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CNN Saturday Morning News
Santorum Slams Anti-Obama Comment; Operation Fast and Furious Leaks; Protests, Rallies for Florida Teen; Banking versus Bartering; Heart Disease: Number 1 Killer of Women; Storybook Healthcare; Casey Anthony Defamation Case; FDA Reviewing Antibiotic Order; Storybook Healthcare
Aired March 24, 2012 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's March 24th. Good morning. I'm Randi Kaye.
The attorney for the neighborhood watchman who shot Trayvon Martin speaks. What he says about allegations that race played a role.
100 years after the Titanic disaster, thousands of items salvaged from the wreckage are up for grabs.
And in the race for Twitter supremacy, which political party comes out on top, Democrats or the GOP. The 2012 Tweet states right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Big day in Louisiana today, Republicans are casting their votes as we speak in a closed primary, 20 delegates at stake. And a recent Louisiana poll says presidential hopeful Rick Santorum is ahead with 43 percent with the others trailing far behind -- you see it there.
Santorum and Gingrich are in Pennsylvania today addressing a leadership conference. The former Senator will also attend a couple of rallies later in the day.
We'll now show you a video of Senator Rick Santorum shooting a rifle at a range as part of his campaign stop. Listen carefully with me to what someone is saying in the background.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(RICK SANTORUM AT A FIRING RANGE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: All right. It might not have been very clear for you to hear at home but the woman is actually saying "Pretend its Obama." Santorum was quick to slam that comment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No. We're not pretending (inaudible) shooting pistols and yes -- that's a horrible, terrible remark. I'm glad I didn't hear it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The Secret Service has confirmed it and is investigating that incident.
A new twist in the investigation into the so-called Operation "Fast and Furious". A top justice official says someone is leaking information to the media. Assistant Attorney General Roland -- Ronald White blames staffers from Representative Darrell Issa to Senator Charles Grassley's offices.
Now the Department of Justice is refusing to hand over further documents. "Operation Fast and Furious" involved the tracking of illegal gun sales along the Mexican border. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder got into some hot water after hundreds of guns went missing. One was used in the murder of a border patrol agent.
Pope Benedict XVI speaks out against the drug war in Mexico calling it "evil and destructive of mankind especially of our youth". During his six-day swing through Mexico and Cuba, the Pontiff also criticized Marxism saying it no longer reflects reality. Cuba's foreign minister responded by saying, "It respects the Pope's opinion" and he added "Cuba is still perfecting its system".
New York is the first all-crimes DNA state in the nation. Governor Andrew Cuomo's bill signing allows investigators to collect DNA samples in both felony and misdemeanor convictions. Civil liberties groups are concerned about human error, possible fraud and oversight as well.
Coming up one crime victim explains how this law could have saved her six years of fear.
The shooting death of a Florida teen has rocked the country. Thousands have come out to protest Trayvon Martin's death including folks on Capitol Hill. Trayvon was shot and killed by a neighborhood watchman. George Zimmerman said he was acting in self-defense but the teen was armed with only Skittles and some iced tea. Even the presidential candidates are talking about this tragic death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We hope that justice is done in this case as in all cases. But very, very tragic and our hearts go out to his family, his loved ones, his friends. It shouldn't have happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Even the President spoke out about the shooting only to be slammed by the other GOP candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon. And you know, I think they are right to expect that all of us as Americans are going to take this with the seriousness it deserves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is he suggesting that if it had been a white who had been shot that would be ok because he doesn't look like him? That's just nonsense. I mean, dividing this country up -- it is a tragedy that this young man was shot.
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And then, his, again, politicizing it. This is -- this is again not what presidents of the United States do. What the President of the United States should do is try to bring people together, not use these types of horrible and tragic individual cases to try to drive a wedge in America.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KAYE: There are protests scheduled today as well. We'll bring you much more on that later on in the program.
And is it possible for George Zimmerman to get proper justice?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG SONNER, GEORGE ZIMMRMAN'S ATTORNEY: I hope there's a way to rein things in so it doesn't become an issue of a racial battle. I hope that --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Zimmerman's attorney talks with CNN for the first time. What he has to say about the Trayvon shooting right after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Now more on the tragic death of Trayvon Martin. More people are coming out in protest of the shooting death of the Florida teen. The latest to pay tribute is basketball player Lebron James and the Miami Heat. They tweeted out a photo of the team wearing hoodies like Trayvon the night that he was killed and he wrote messages for him on their shoes as well during the game.
Police have not arrested the man who shot Trayvon Martin because George Zimmerman said he was just defending himself. Florida also has a law that allows a person to use deadly force if he's threatened. But Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush who signed the "Stand your Ground" law as it's called says it doesn't apply to this case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEB BUSH, FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: It appears to me that this law does not apply to this particular circumstance. "Stand your Ground" means stand your ground. It doesn't mean chase after somebody who's turned their back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: But the Sanford City Web site has a statement on how the attack happened. "Zimmerman's statement was that he had lost sight of Trayvon and was returned to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by Trayvon.
Holly Firfer, joining me now from Sanford, Florida watching it all there. Holly, what is the latest that you're hearing about this on the ground there?
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, it's actually pretty calm this morning here in Sanford. But we do hear that there's a rally planned by the New Black Panther Party outside of police headquarters this afternoon. We will be covering that.
But for now everybody is pretty quiet. There are a lot of questions about George Zimmerman. We've been hearing a lot about support for Trayvon Martin. But what about George Zimmerman, the shooter? Who is he, is he a racist, where is he right now?
We had an opportunity to speak with his attorney Craig Sonner last night. And he says that George Zimmerman is still here in town. He's not left the state, he doesn't know exactly where he is but he has advised him to lay low because he's been receiving death threats and he's concerned, Randi, for his client's safety.
KAYE: Also the -- the lawyer, George Zimmerman's lawyer was actually on CNN last night as well. And listen to -- to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SONNER: I hope there's a way to rein things in so it doesn't become an issue of a racial battle. I hope -- I hope that things come back so that there can be a time for justice and for healing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Holly what are you hearing there? I mean, are authorities saying anything yet about possible charges and whether or not this might be considered a hate crime? Because if so, it gets bumped up to some federal charges.
FIRFER: Right. Well, when we had asked Craig Sonner if his client was a racist, if this was racially-motivated he said to us absolutely not. But the special prosecutor assigned to look into this investigation did arrive in town yesterday and is looking at that right now.
We know that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has asked the FBI and the Justice Department to take a look to see if this is a civil rights issue. If there might be federal charges forthcoming. But right now we're just waiting. They say that they're looking at every piece of evidence and even Craig Sonner says he doesn't have the details. He's not really discuss it in detail with George Zimmerman yet until he finds out if charges will be brought. So now we're just going to wait -- Randi.
KAYE: And what, if anything, are we hearing from Trayvon's parents and -- and their lawyer as well today?
FIRFER: Well, basically they're still claiming and standing strong that this was a murder in cold blood. They're still asking for an arrest of George Zimmerman. They're still going to rallies. They're asking people to rally around the family as you saw the hoodies and the Skittles have become sort of symbols of Trayvon Martin. There are rallies planned across the country today -- in New York, in Washington, D.C., Charlotte, North Carolina, even Norfolk, Virginia. There's rallies planned tomorrow.
So they're asking people to keep this on the forefront. Keep pressure on law enforcement to bring charges against who they call a killer, George Zimmerman.
Holly Firfer there watching it for us. Holly, thank you very much.
A new kind of bank where you can deposit and withdraw not money but get this, your time. Yes you heard me right it is called "Time Banking". We'll explain the growing trend and we'll show you how it works in just about four minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Time now for top stories.
The U.S. Army staff sergeant accused of going on a shooting rampage could be sentenced to death. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales now faces 17 counts of murder. He's accused of killing Afghan civilians in a remote village. Bales also faces six counts of attempted murder and two assault charges. Officials say if he's convicted of even one charge of murder, the minimum sentence would be life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Rebel forces are dropping their differences and uniting under the command of the free Syrian army. Dissident army officers announced their decision yesterday in a video posted it to YouTube. This is who they're fighting. This YouTube video, you're watching there, purports to show Syrian military forces breaking into a store during Friday prayers. Opposition groups say at least 54 people were killed including three children.
Pope Benedict XVI is on a mission to unmask the evil of drug trafficking in Mexico. He started off his first full day in Mexico by celebrating a private mass. It's part of a six-day of Mexico and Cuba which will culminate in a huge mass tomorrow. Hundreds of thousands of people expected to attend.
Well, got a lot of time on your hands but no money, now there's a way to use that free time almost like cash. It's called time banking, an alternative to bartering. I talked with financial expert Clyde Anderson to find out just how this works.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: We can say that, "Hey, I need your services, you need my services." And you mention it's different from bartering because bartering (inaudible) the dollar value. My services may be $500, yours may be $200 so it's not an even exchange. Here it doesn't matter, it's just time for time.
KAYE: So you're trading service and your banking time and then you go back and you get that time back? Or you get another service or --
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: You can withdraw the time -- so you get another service. So when you're withdrawing the time, you get another service.
There was a story of an elderly woman who needed work on her home. She had put several hours into the bank and so when she needed some assistance, they were there to work on her home, she saved lots of money.
KAYE: In a way it sounds like almost like it's paying it forward in a way, you know. You do something and then you have to do something back, right?
ANDERSON: Exactly. Exactly.
KAYE: That's how it works.
ANDERSON: It's charitable. So it's really doing charity. So it's not so much about the money. It's about the time and the energy and also the reward, you know. You're reciprocating something and people get a benefit from that.
KAYE: So, is there any limit to the type of services? I mean what kind of services besides baby-sitting or lawn care?
ANDERSON: Well, I've all kinds. I've seen tax services. I've seen people that do hair cut. I've seen people that do yard work. I see people do painting, house repair, roofing. There's all types of things. No matter what you may do, it's just a matter of what do you need.
KAYE: So where do you go? I mean it's not like there's a physical time bank building, right? How do you make this work?
ANDERSON: And it's interesting. Anybody can really set up a time bank. There's a Web site called timebanks.org. You can go on and learn how to set it up. It maybe a community who wants to set up a time bank. You can have maybe 100 to 300 people in there and make sure everybody is contributing. They'll tell you how to set it up and also tell you where some are existing around the country. And you may want to get involved and want to start with an existing.
KAYE: And what's a little different from bartering is because there really isn't any value, right, placed on the service.
ANDERSON: Exactly. Exactly. So there's no value. So it's easy. No -- nothing that we have to look back on as far as taxes and say, ok well, I gave you $500 worth of services and you only gave me $200. It's just again, you painted my house, I cut your hair. KAYE: Sounds like a pretty good deal. And anyone can do this? Anybody can become a member of the time bank?
ANDERSON: Anybody can become a member of the time bank. The main thing is that you want to make sure that you're contributing. So if you're not contributing, the time bank doesn't work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Cocaine and heart disease, that's what contributed to Whitney Houston's death, but did you know heart disease is the number one killer of women around the world? We'll find out why and how you can prevent this killer, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The Los Angeles coroner said heart disease and cocaine use contributed to Whitney Houston's death. She drowned in the bathtub. Many people aren't aware that heart disease is the number one killer of women around the world.
Earlier we talked to Dr. Sujatha Reedy about Houston's death and the risks other women may face when it comes to heart disease.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SUJATHA REDDY, PREMIERE CARE FOR WOMEN: The coroner found that it was a cardiac or heart event that was complicated by cocaine use. So the cocaine contributed to existing heart disease.
KAYE: So the drugs that were found in her system especially the cocaine, that obviously can make something worse. Is there anything else that can contribute to heart disease?
REDDY: Yes, there are lots of factors to heart disease, but in this case, you know, the narrowing of her coronary arteries, the atherosclerosis as people heard that term this week, probably was survivable. But when you add cocaine to it, it can cause high blood pressure, which makes your heart work harder. And it can also narrow already narrow arteries and your heart is not going to get enough blood and you can have a heart attack or an irregular heartbeat.
So there is no question that cocaine contributed to what was probably survivable but pre-existing heart disease.
KAYE: Yes and we certainly don't know if Whitney Houston had any symptoms or had any awareness that she might have had heart disease. But what symptoms should -- should other women look out for?
REDDY: Yes and this is important. Because symptoms in women are actually very different than they are in men. Women aren't going to have this crushing chest pain that we often hear about. Women may have more a discomfort in shoulders or neck or even in the upper abdomen or in their upper back. They can also feel some nausea, some vomiting, possibly be a little bit dizzy but they may not have that classic, crushing chest pain. So it can be very subtle. KAYE: You know, we hear this and it's described as the number one killer of women but there has to be something that we can do to prevent heart disease.
REDDY: You're exactly right. You know you can't fight your genetics but you sure can control your environment because family history is a big risk factor.
But a lot of things we can control. One thing is maintain a healthy weight, like Whitney did. If you're at a healthy weight that's going to decrease your risk. Exercise 30 to 60 minutes a day, that's going to help decrease your risk. Have a healthy diet, one low in saturated fat. Definitely don't smoke. Limit alcohol.
And you know, you may be a candidate for aspirin therapy. It's good to contact your health care provider to find out and we heard a lot about aspirin this week that it might even help prevent certain kinds of cancers. So an aspirin a day may help prevent heart disease in this case as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Good advice from Dr. Reddy there.
Voters in Louisiana are heading to the polls as we speak. What it could mean to the GOP presidential race if Rick Santorum solidifies his grip on the south. We're taking you live to Louisiana in just a few minutes.
And now for some political trivia. Whose secret service code name is "Javelin". Be the first to tweet the correct answer to me @RandiKayeCNN. I'll give you a shout-out right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
Before the break I asked who has "Javelin" as their secret service code name. And the answer is Mitt Romney. The candidates get to pick their own code name. Santorum chose Petrus, the Latin word for "rock".
A big congrats to AdamCD1 for tweeting me the right answer. It's supposed to be secret, though. I don't know how we know this stuff, but somehow we do.
All right. It's about 11:26 here on the East Coast. Now time for some news at the half hour.
Here, the death of a Florida teen has shocked the nation. Thousands are protesting the shooting of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watchman. George Zimmerman hasn't been arrested. And former Florida governor, Jeb Bush says the Florida law "Stand Your Ground" doesn't apply to this case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEB BUSH (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF FLORIDA: It appears to me that this law does not apply to this particular circumstance. "Stand Your Ground" means stand your ground. It doesn't mean chase after somebody who's turned their back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: But the Sanford City Web site has a statement on how the attack happened.
"Zimmerman's statement was that he had lost sight of Trayvon and was returning to his truck to meet the police officer when he says he was attacked by Trayvon. Trayvon was coming home with a bag of Skittles and iced tea when he was killed.
A decision on whether a civil defamation lawsuit against Casey Anthony will go forward is now on hold. The "Orlando Sun Sentinel" reports after three hours of argument yesterday, a judge decided against ruling on duelling motions from either side.
The lawsuit claims Anthony damaged Zenaida Gonzalez's reputation in 2008 when she told authorities a nanny with the same name kidnapped her then missing daughter, two-year-old Caylee. Caylee was later found dead. Casey Anthony was acquitted of her daughter's murder last July.
The FDA says it's reviewing a federal judge's order to consider stopping the use of two antibiotics in livestock. The judge didn't issue the ban outright because he said drug makers should be given a chance to state their case in the hearings.
The Natural Resources Defense Council originally brought the suit. It argued the FDA allowed livestock producers to use penicillin and tetracycline in feeds for more than 30 years for purposes other than treating illnesses. The NRDC said the indiscriminate use of those antibiotics can lead to the growth and spread of drug-resistant bacteria that can then infect people.
Tragedy today in Charleston, West Virginia. That's where eight people have died in a house fire. We're told that six of the victims are children. They were reportedly sleeping over after a birthday party. The fire chief says it's the most tragic event he's seen in 26 years. No word yet on how the fire started.
The Obama administration's sweeping health care reforms have been under fire since they were signed into law two years ago. And Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments from 26 states on the constitutionality of some key provisions of the law. But do we really understand how it all works?
Lizzie O'Leary explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN AVIATION & REGULATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet Jack and Jill. They're married with two kids and together make $49,000 a year, about the middle American income. (on camera): But like 15 million people with similar incomes, they don't have health insurance.
(voice-over): Not good if you're worried about falling down the hill.
Under the new law, Jack and Jill are winners. They can buy private insurance from what's called an exchange starting in two years.
(on camera): The idea is that lots of people buying at the same time would get a better price, and the plans have to meet minimum standards set by the government. Jack and Jill would also get a subsidy to help them buy their plan.
(voice-over): Mary only make $13,000 selling little lambs. She's also a winner. She can get insurance under an expansion of Medicaid, 17 million Americans like her will be eligible for that. And about 51,000 kids with pre-existing conditions, like Hansel and Gretel are also winners. They can't be denied coverage and all kids can stay on their parents' insurance until they're 26.
(on camera): Where does the money come from? Well, that brings us to the losers, including the roughly 19 percent people who have high cost gold plated health care plans, like Prince charming, here.
(voice-over): Starting in 2018, that fancy plan he gets from his job at the castle would be taxed at 40 percent. He will see his payroll taxes go up, like the three million other Americans who make more than $200,000 a year.
Also on the losing end, companies like Fairy Godmother Industries. It employs more than 50 people making glass slippers, so it has to offer insurance or pay a fine.
(on camera): Ninety-four percent of similar sized companies already do, so only a small number would pay more under the new law.
We end this story with a toss-up. Insurance companies would both win and lose. They'll have to pay the government more than $8 billion a year, but they get up to 40 million new customers, like Jack and Jill who by law must get insurance or pay a penalty.
Lizzie O'Leary, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
I love that explainer.
KAYE: As I mentioned, starting Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the constitutionality of parts of the health care law and tomorrow morning, here on CNN, we'll break down the case with a constitutional law experiment and take a closer look at the politics of the issue as our main bar, on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Time now to check the only numbers that matter in the GOP race for president. Mitt Romney heads into tomorrow's Louisiana primary with more delegates than his three rivals combined, but he's still less than halfway to 1,000, 1,144 needed to clench the nomination.
Folks in Louisiana are casting their votes, as we speak. Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum Is expected to win big, but that still won't help him catch up to Mitt Romney in the delegate count.
So, could this be Santorum's last stand? Joe Johns joining us from New Orleans.
Hi, there, Joe. So what's the latest from there?
JOE JOHNS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the truth is a lot of people are suggesting that if you look at the math very closely, Randi, it's very hard to see how a Rick Santorum catches up, simply because Mitt Romney, frankly, is leading by more than 2 to 1 in the delegate count. I think, also if you take a look at the latest national poll, that's sort of indicative of where this thing is headed.
The latest national poll by Gallup showing Mitt Romney ahead 40 percent to about 26 percent by Rick Santorum. That 40 percent is important because it's the first time Mitt Romney has actually gotten over the 40 percent point.
So, clearly people here going to the polls. We're told, actually, they're expecting very low turnout in this primary, in Louisiana, and I think that's also a reflect of the fact that the only thing being really award here is about 20 delegates in the state of Louisiana for this primary election. The other 26 delegates will be awarded down the road, especially, Randi, in a -- in a convention in June, sometime in June. So, it's going to be a while before we know how all of the delegates in the state of Louisiana are assigned.
Back to you.
KAYE: What about voter turnout, Joe? Do you think we'll see big voter turnout, there?
JOHNS: Very slow. We're in the Jefferson Parish area, at a precinct. And we've been watching. Actually, there's a vote counter, over here, who tells us 35 maybe 40 people or so since the polls opened. They're not expecting a lot of turnout at all, here in this state, and I think this poll is very indicative of that.
KAYE: What about Santorum's plans after Louisiana. I know he's in Pennsylvania, today. We had some video of him earlier speaking at this leadership conference. Where does he go after this?
JOHNS: Well, he's going to Wisconsin tonight, at least, so we're told. He's going to watch the Louisiana results from Wisconsin, which could be another important state for him. And you talked about the last stand of Rick Santorum, if there's going be one, Pennsylvania's clearly very important for him, Wisconsin too. Pennsylvania, certainly, because it's his home state and if he can't win big there, where can he win? But the bottom line, really, is Rick Santorum would just have to win a lot of delegates, more than 50 percent, quite frankly, in all of the big states, going forward, if he were to actually catch up. And that seems very hard to do, given the kind of momentum Mitt Romney appears to be building.
KAYE: Joe Johns for us there in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Joe, thank you.
And just a reminder, join Fredericka Whitfield every Sunday afternoon at 4:00 Eastern for a special hour dedicated to the presidential contenders in the 2012 election.
The movie captured hearts and minds. Coming up, artifacts from the real Titanic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Almost exactly 100 years after the Titanic sank, more than 5,000 items from the doomed voyage are now up for grabs, and all of it will be sold off in a single lot, next month. It's the first time that items from salvage expeditions have gone on the auction block, and as you're about to see, I was allowed to look at the stuff, but not touch it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
I notice you're wearing gloves and I'm not, so I'm not allowed to touch any of these?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you're not.
KAYE: OK, against the rules. All right, well, why don't you walk us through some of them. Why don't we start with this, the mug, here? What's that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This mug is a third-class teacup that was on the ship. It was a type of ware that they purchased for the ship. They -- he Harland and Wolff furnished the entire ship with all the china service products, designed the rooms, the cabins and this has the white star line logo on it.
KAYE: OK. And they didn't put the "Titanic" on it, right? So always just the white star.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the china and there are about 10 different types of service on there, but never "Titanic."
KAYE: OK, and how about this -- the money, right there?
The money is part of a large collection of coins and currency that was recovered inside a leather bag and that's the only reason that the currency survived. This one is a bank note, and it represents the banks of America, because it was not federal currency, at that time. It was only later that the federal government took over the printing of all money.
KAYE: Now, I don't see the Heart of Ocean, here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, you don't. KAYE: That's the big piece that of jewelry that we saw in the movie. But, you have some other interesting pieces. How about this one, right here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a beautiful little necklace. It is made actually with gold nuggets. So, it's designed to show off the gold nuggets, and then there are tiny little nuggets on the chain, as well.
KAYE: And what's -- what's this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a leather wallet. And lots of times we found them in the leather suitcases and lots of times the papers were still there and still readable. So those have been taken out and preserved.
KAYE: You know, we look at these, but certainly are personal stories behind each and every one of them. Have you been able to link any of these back to some of the passengers?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I was talking with Molly Brown's great granddaughter, last week, and we sort of think that this is the type of jewelry that she would have worn because her husband had the biggest gold strike in the world and so what would you commemorate that with but with a gold nugget necklace.
KAYE: And how much would you expect that this would all to go for at the auction?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The entire collection, as well as intellectual property and other parts of the -- not the artifacts -- that has been estimated at about $190 million.
KAYE: Who buys something like this? I mean, $190 million on Titanic artifacts. Who buys that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. I'm anxious to find out.
(LAUGHTER)
KAYE: Certainly not me. I'm not even allowed to even touch it. Where does all the money go when you do auction these items off?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's to be determined. As yet, we are a public company, so we have shareholders that we have to respond to.
KAYE: What do you think it is about the Titanic? I mean, certainly somebody's going to spend almost $200 million on artifacts. Why are we so enamored with it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just an incredible story. It's the ship in the world, maiden voyage, disaster strikes, and everyone has to make a choice of what they're going do and so it's something that resonated with everybody. They had representatives of almost every country on the ship, and so it really touched everybody's heart.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KAYE: She never did let me touch those. I needed those gloves like she had. Oh, well.
Sunshine, snow, a little bit of rain, quite a mixed bag of weather going on this weekend. Meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf is here to tell us what's happening, weather-wise going on across the country.
Hello, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, I can't let you go. You know, I bet if you asked very nicely she would have let you touch something.
KAYE: She came right in between when I tried to reach for one.
WOLF: If I got within 20 feet she would have pulled out a taser, because I break everything I touch. You're gentle, you're smart. I'm the bull in a china shop. She wouldn't have let me close by.
I'll tell you one thing that we don't have to handle with kid gloves today is some of our travel. Some of it's going to be great in parts of the nation, other places it might be a little bit more stop and go, especially along the Eastern seaboard.
In Washington, D.C. we got the showers giving us some delays there, just under an hour. Same deal in Raleigh, Cincinnati, across the Midwest you have not only some rain drops but possibly some thunderstorms. And then out to the west in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, we have some issues, there, mainly some rain and fog. But in the high elevations of Sierra, Nevada, it's going to be issues with some snow.
But here in Atlanta, my goodness, take a look at that, just a picture- perfect shot that you have of Centennial Park. It's just beautiful. One issue we have had in parts of the southeast has been just the unbelievable amount of pollen, but thankfully over the last 24 hours or so, we had some rain that came through, knocked a lot of those pollen levels down. So, things are considerably more bearable. Pollen and necessity, but that sure doesn't make it a lot of fun to deal with. And say, again, as I mentioned, should be a better day.
Should be a better day across parts of the nation's mid section, but along the eastern seaboard, it's going to be a rainy event for you, mainly just scattered showers for the time being in parts of the mid- Atlantic. In the southeast, though, we have some strong thunderstorms.
This yellow box, you have in this area shows where we have a severe thunderstorm watch that will be in effect through early afternoon. Next 30 seconds shows you we've got a couple of severe warnings in effect, especially near Lake City along the I-10 corridor, over near Waycross, Georgia. I would expect more of that developing through the afternoon hours.
Out to the west, the situation is going be rain along the coast. Up in the higher elevation, as I mentioned, snow, but for the nation's mid section, just fantastic. Beautiful condition today in Dallas, where highs are going up into the 80s. Kansas, 76. 73 in Minneapolis. 74 in Salt Lake City, 51 in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Sitting pretty here in Atlanta with 73 degrees. Looks like the nation's capital is going be around 66, but again, there's scattered showers, kind of hit or miss. So, make (INAUDIBLE) tomorrow afternoon, Randi.
KAYE: Yeah, that map looks pretty good, I think.
WOLF: Not bad.
KAYE: No. No. Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet..
KAYE: New York is pioneering a new expansive, some say, intrusive method to capture criminals and it could involve your DNA. You don't want to miss this, so stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: New York is now all-crimes DNA state. That means that DNA is collected from anyone convicted with a crime, including most misdemeanors. Civil libertarians say that the new law isn't regulated enough and that it goes too far, but had the law been in place earlier one woman says the man who attacked and tried to rape her would have been jailed sooner. Here's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jessica Reyes is wise beyond her years in ways she wishes she wasn't. Eight years ago she was brutally attacked in her apartment building. Just 15 years old at the time, she recalls everything vividly.
JESSICA REYES, VICTIM OF VIOLENT CRIME: The first thing he did was punch me in my face and threw me against the wall.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Did you say police don't kill me?
REYES: Yeah and there was blood coming everywhere, like coming from my face and I was still asking, "Please don't kill me."
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The attempted rape left Jessica with a scar on her lip and on her psyche. Her attacker wasn't caught.
REYES: He could be living in another country. He will never be caught. And for all I know he could be behind me. That's how I felt.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): That fear never left you.
REYES: No.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Then out of the blue, a break.
CY VANCE, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTY: Six years later, the individual who committed the 2004 case was charged, indicted and convicted for an attempted burglary and a push-in robbery of an elder gentleman, also in Manhattan.
CANDIOTTI: Curtis Tucker's DNA was put in a database for convicted felons. It matched DNA left at Jessica's crime scene. Tucker was convicted and sentenced to 20 years.
(on camera): But New York's new law could have caught Tucker six years earlier. Now DNA of anyone convicted of a crime, including most misdemeanors, even as minor as jumping a subway turnstile, goes into a state database. Jessica's attacker had a string of misdemeanors.
VANCE: The disturbing point was to learn that in the intervening six years he had been in and out of our courthouse having been arrest and convicted of misdemeanor offenses which were not edgeable for DNA collection.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Under the new law, they are. Civil libertarians say the expanded databank lacks enough oversight, leading to mistakes and abuse. The Innocence Project, which uses DNA to exonerate wrongly accused, says the law doesn't go far enough.
STEPHEN SALOOM, INNOCENCE PROJECT: If you want to prevent wrongful convictions, what you need to do is enact eyewitness I.D. reform, improve forensic practice, record interrogations to identify false confessions, understood better what's happening with informant testimony and things like that.
CANDIOTTI: Jessica Reyes wishes the new law had been passed sooner.
REYES: This is truly amazing. Like, science doesn't lie, and they're finally brought me peace.
CANDIOTTI: Peace she hopes can come to other crime victims.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Prosecutors and other supporters of the new DNA law say they expect the $30 test to solve thousands of crimes and prevent thousands more.
NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour with Fredricka Whitfield, she's joining me now to tell us what you have coming up.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Hi. Good to see you.
KAYE: Good to see you.
WHITFIELD: Well, per usual, we're going to have Avery and Richard along with us, they are fantastic.
KAYE: The boys.
WHITFIELD: That's right. The boys. The great legal minds. They're going to be delving into a series of cases, including one that really is pretty extraordinary out of California. A woman who was raped by her husband, her now ex-husband, files for divorce, gets a divorce. However, in the end because she was the breadwinner of the family, she has to pay him alimony even though he was convicted, sentenced for rape.
KAYE: That is unbelievable.
WHITFIELD: It is a pretty unbelievable case and now that young woman is also part of a bill to try and change the law in California. Our legal guys are going to be delving on that one.
KAYE: I assume you're also going to be talking about Stand Your Ground...
WHITFIELD: Absolutely. That law, that case, of course, still getting a whole lot of attention. We're going to be talking to one of the Florida lawmakers who voted against the Stand Your Ground. And you talked someone who was an advocate of...
KAYE: One of the co-sponsors, yeah.
WHITFIELD: That's right. Well, we're going to be joined by a gentleman who going to says this is exactly what he had feared and why he worked so hard against the passage of Stand Your Ground. Now, we're going to be talking about what efforts would have to be underway in order to repeal that law.
And then, of course, that incident, with Trayvon, has incited an awful lot of discussions, especially around the kitchen table, at homes. We know that there's already the conversation that takes place often between a parent and a child, particular in black communities. We're going to be joined by L.Z Granderson, who's going to talk about the conversations he had with his teenage son before this incident and now and how, you know, so many parents are struggling what to tell your child. You want your child to feel free and confident about doing their thing, but then, of course, there are lots of, I guess, red flags and safety measures.
KAYE: Right, that was one of the first things that I read yesterday was L.Z.'s column on CNN.com about this.
WHITFIELD: It's powerful.
KAYE: And how he feels and why so many are afraid of police. And it was fantastic. I tweeted it all over the place.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, we're going to talk about throughout the day, beginning at Noon Eastern Time, but L.Z.'s going to be joining us at 2:00.
KAYE: OK, I'll be tuning in. Thanks, Fred.
So, who tweets the most, Republicans or Democrats? The social media leader, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Batman, a nun, a strip club, and some scary moments for a helicopter pilot. It's time to check out what's happening around the nation. First to Maryland.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): We begin in Montgomery County, that's where police pulled over none other than the caped crusader himself, or a pretty good look alike with his very own Batmobile. Photos of the traffic stop have been posted on FaceBook. Police are not talking about the incident.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our main message is that we don't want this in our community because that does not only affect the small community, it affects the larger community.
KAYE: In Stone Park, Illinois, a group of nuns is trying to stop a new $3 million strip club from opening just a few feet away from their retirement home. About 300 neighbors joined the nuns to voice their concern. They're hoping to convince local leaders and the club's owner to move the club someplace else. But according to affiliate WGN, that's unlikely. The strip club is set to open in April.
And in western Palm Beach County, Florida, some scary moments for the pilot and copilot of this sheriff's department helicopter. They suffered minor injuries when the chopper was forced to make a hard landing. No word yet on the cause.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: It is a new finding that's got people all over the country talking. Members of Congress are using Twitter in some new ways and one party is leading the charge. Josh Levs is here to explain.
So, who is it?
JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a lot of people are surprised by the findings on this thing. The study is really big, Randi. It looked at 60,000 tweets over month from more than 450 lawmakers and the big finding that's getting the most attention, Republicans used Twitter more effectively than Democrats.
This study was done by Edelman, which is a PR firm that tracks all sorts of information about the digital word. So, to determine who's more effective, they looked at a long list of factors, including retweets and how many people amplify these messages that lawmakers put out over Twitter.
Also engagement, they found that Republicans in Congress received almost twice as many replies as Democrats, on average, to their tweets. Also some stuff I find, interesting, they found Republicans in Congress have more substantive tweets, they were 3.5 times as likely to mention actual legislation. And tweets in which lawmakers mentioned someone from the other political party, I think a lot of us would expect it would mostly be attacks, they're not. About half are collaborative and far fewer of those tweets mentioning the opposite party are critical of the other part.
This is something most lawmakers are seeking. They're trying to reach people and be heard and have their messages echo on Twitter. Edelman says that in 2011, Twitter became a political powerhouse and they point to the effect it's having around the world and U.S. politics, including President Obama having held a Twitter town hall.
And for any lawmakers listening, right now, or really anyone at all, a few key points from this study, take a look, here's what they found. The l\Lawmakers most mentioned on Twitter, tweeted earlier in the day, later in the week and were more likely to tweet sometimes on weekends.
One more thing, Randi, this is interesting. The study encourages lawmakers to tweet while in session. Obviously the people's work comes first, but Edelman says it's a great way of humanizing the legislative process and shedding light on it. And folks, you can you take a look at the whole report. I got it linked up for you at all my pages. That's on FaceBook and Twitter, Josh Levs CNN at the blog, CNN.com/Josh.
So Randi, some surprises in there and a really extensive study. I give them props for that.
KAYE: Yeah, tweeting while in session, our tax dollars at work. I love that.
LEVS: I know. Right?
KAYE: So, which lawmakers, Josh, are really having the biggest impact, do you think, on Twitter?
LEVS: Yeah, so I asked them for the absolute up to date list so I could share it with you all ,right now and the folks at Edelman crunched brand new numbers and here it is: They're saying the most influential Twitterers, and this combines all sorts of factors, Senator Bernie Sanders, who's and Independent out of Vermont, House Speaker John Boehner, Republican, then Representative Keith Ellison, who's a Democrat. And then the next two to finish out the top five, Representative Darrell Issa, Republican from, California, and then Senator John McCain. And the whole list is up there, as well.
I will tell you, I encourage you all to check it out and see how they're coming up with those numbers. Look, in the end, it's not necessarily that definitive, but lawmakers are really trying to use social media to reach people and this is the best study I've seen of how well they're doing at that, right now. So, we'll just see where things go from here.
KAYE: Yeah, I do follow, actually, a lot of them on Twitter, those that you mentioned. And McCain, I will say, I get a lot of tweets from McCain. Not personal tweets, of course, just tweets that I get to read.
LEVS: OK.
KAYE: So, Josh Levs thank you very much. LEVS: Thanks, Randi.
KAYE: And thank you everyone for watching. As always, I'd love to hear what you think. You can find me on FaceBook or Twitter @Randi Kaye CNN. And CNN NEWSROOM continues, right now, with Fredricka Whitfield.
FREDERICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right.
KAYE: And now your day begins, in another way.
WHITNEY: Ah...
KAYE: Part two of your day.
WHITNEY: OK, yes. (laughs)
KAYE: You have a good one.
WHITNEY: All right, Randy. Good to see you. Thanks so much.
