Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Sunday Morning
Coast Guard Rescue Mission; Calls For Zimmerman's Arrest; Explosions Rock Syria; Wall Street's Link to Sex Site
Aired April 01, 2012 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN Center, this is WEEKEND EARLY START. It's 6:00 a.m. in the East, 3:00 a.m. in the West. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Here's what's happening.
An around the world yacht race is interrupted by stormy weather. And now a rescue operation underway 400 miles off the California coast. I'll get details from the Coast Guard.
Also --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy, where's mom? What's she stopping for?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Terrifying moments for one family trying to escape a Colorado wildfire. Can you imagine driving through this inferno?
And the party is just starting from sweet 16 to the final four and now the National College Basketball Championship. Two teams are in it to win it.
News doesn't take the weekend off, and neither do we. CNN WEEKEND EARLY START begins right now.
And let's get right to that developing story off the coast of San Francisco. The U.S. Coast Guard trying to reach injured crew members aboard a crippled racing yacht. It is the Geraldton Western Australia. The boat was hit by a massive wave that swept away most of the ship's steering and communications equipment and injured four crew members as well. They're around 400 miles off the coast of San Francisco. The bay area was supposed to be the next stop in this 40,000 mile round the world yacht race. Levi Read, Petty Officer 2nd Class from the U.S. Coast Guard, joins me now from San Francisco.
Thanks for joining us this morning. What is the latest? Where are rescue crews right now?
LEVI READ, U.S. COAST GUARD: Well, currently, the Coast Guard cutter Bertholf is en route of the vessel, Clipper Venture Six, and they are expected to be in range about 8:00 Pacific Time this morning. In range means it's going to be close enough where the helicopter, which is aboard, will be able to fly to the crippled vessel and the injured people and be able to perform the rescue operation.
KAYE: So is that how this is going to work? The rescue chopper is going to drop someone in from above or take me -- walk me through this rescue.
READ: Yes, that's correct. Once the Coast Guard helicopter makes its way to the vessel, it will lower a rescue swimmer, just as any rescue closer to shore would, and it would be -- they train for this kind of thing. Not so far off to sea all the time, but they will lower somebody on to the boat. He is an EMT trained person. He will do a medical evaluation, check the injuries, treat the injuries as much as he can, and make a decision on what he needs to do at that point, whether they need to be evacuated or not.
KAYE: Tell me about those injuries. What do we know in terms of the conditions of those who are injured on board.
READ: Well, we haven't been able to do a physical assessment yet, so all we are going on is by reports. And so the reports we have is that there are three injured people. Two people with injured ribs and a person with an injured pelvis. They are reported to be serious injuries and so we're not taking those reports lightly. We want to get to them as soon as possible and get them a medical evaluation.
KAYE: And in terms of the conditions for your team to get out there, what are they facing?
READ: Well, it's been a tough evolution. We've tried -- our first evolution was to fly a Coast Guard C-130 aircraft from Sacramento, California, and we took along some Air National Guard parajumpers. And the plan was to -- that those parajumpers jump off of our aircraft and land in the vicinity of the vessel that way they could do the medical check for us. That way we could see what we needed to do to evacuate them.
We were able to drop of medical supplies to them, but they were not able to complete the jump because of the weather. And so they had to return to base, to shore. And so plan b came in. And that's when we decided to bring in the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf and use a helicopter to do the rest of the rescue.
KAYE: Petty Officer Levi Read, thank you very much for your time this morning. Appreciate that.
READ: Thank you.
KAYE: The Republican presidential candidates are focusing on Wisconsin today with the primary coming up on Tuesday. Some analysts say a victory by Mitt Romney in Wisconsin could all but seal his nomination. Rival Rick Santorum says, not so fast. He's urging religious conservative voters to stick with him.
A new NBC/Marist poll shows Romney leading Santorum in Wisconsin by seven points. The former Massachusetts governor is sounding confident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got a ways to go before I get 1,144 delegates. So I'm not counting the delegates before they hatch, but I'm going to keep working very hard and hope I get a good, strong sendoff from Wisconsin. I've got a good boost from the folks in Illinois. And if I can get that boost also from Wisconsin, I think we'll be on a path that will get me the nomination well before the convention. Sure hope so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Wisconsin is just one of three contests we'll be watching on Tuesday. Maryland and the District of Columbia are also holding primaries as well.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says now is an urgent moment for Syria. She is in neighboring Turkey for the Friends of Syria Conference. Clinton said President Bashar al Assad's regime faces serious consequences if it continues to kill anti-government activists. She also announced an additional $12 million in humanitarian aid to Syria's people.
The Secret Service is investigating a massive data breach that may affect millions of credit card users. Credit card processor Global Payments says it was hit by hackers. It plans a conference call tomorrow with more details. Both Visa and MasterCard say they're alerting banks across the country about specific accounts that could be at risk.
We may never know who two of the three mega millionaires are. Kansas and Maryland, where two of the winning tickets were sold, don't require winners to come forward publicly. The third ticket was sold in Illinois. But even though we don't know the winner's names, we do know they'll each get $218 million apiece. That's before taxes. But, still, pretty cool return for $1 ticket.
From Florida to Massachusetts to the nation's capital, people seeking justice for Trayvon Martin marched, rallied and repeated their calls for officials investigating the shooting of the Florida teen to take action. Ben Jealous, head of the NAACP, talked about the message he and others are trying to send.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAACP: We are all united in our call for justice to be done here in Sanford. As many of you know, I spent over -- I spent all of the last week -- not this past week, but the week before here listening to people in this community, and it's clear that this community is coming together around this call for Mr. Zimmerman to be brought to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Let's bring in George Howell now. He's in Sanford, Florida, for us again this morning.
George, has there been any progress on the investigation front?
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At this point, the investigation is now in the hands of the state attorney's office. Obviously she will look into the case, look into all of the details and determine whether George Zimmerman will be arrested. And really, Randy, that's the chorus that we heard with these thousands of people they came together here in Sanford. People who came to listen to speakers from the NAACP and also from the National Action Network. It was also interesting to see a shift. A shift from this political -- rather this protest movement to more of a political movement. We heard members with the NAACP suggesting to people that it's time to change their anger into constructive actions, to register and vote to make a difference in this state in laws that are passed.
But a lot of people came together here, Randi. Also in Washington, D.C. And also in Massachusetts. Fiery protests there. But all of these protests, peaceful. People demanding that George Zimmerman, here in Florida, be arrested in this case.
KAYE: And, George, any word this morning on Zimmerman's whereabouts?
HOWELL: It's really the big question. No one really knows where George Zimmerman is at this point. He has indicated, through his attorney, that he will be in hiding. Rather his attorney has indicated that. His attorney, the person who's represented him, has said that, you know, there have been threats on his life, that he should remain out of the public eye.
But again, I did hear from the city manager a while back that police know where he is. If police need to get in touch with him, they are able to do so.
KAYE: All right, George Howell for us this morning. George, thank you.
To college basketball now. And the final is set. The University of Kentucky lived up to their number one ranking by beating instate rival Louisville. They'll match up against Kansas in the final. Kansas beat Ohio State in their semi final match-up. They'll tip off Monday night to decide who is the best.
And one guy we know who probably stayed up late watching all those games, Reynolds Wolf.
Good morning.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No.
KAYE: No?
WOLF: Believe it or not, I didn't. I did not.
KAYE: You got some sleep? I was worried about you this morning.
WOLF: You know, I watched the first one. The second one, I saw the tipoff and then -- yes, come on.
KAYE: Y Es.
WOLF: The big game is -- what happened last night was certainly big, but the big game is really going to be Monday night.
KAYE: Oh, yes.
WOLF: That should be really exciting.
Hey, the weather might be kind of exciting today in parts of the country, especially in the Ohio Valley, where we do have a chance of severe weather.
Other stories we're following. Another storm system that was along the California coast yesterday, now pulling into the mountains. And right along parts of the Sierra Nevada, we could see some heavy snow. Same deal for parts of the central northern Rockies. And the dry conditions still kicking up with the strong winds across the central and southern Plains.
We'll give you the full enchilada coming up in a few moments. Let's send it back to you, Randi.
KAYE: The full enchilada. You're making me hungry.
WOLF: The whole deal. Absolutely.
KAYE: All right, thanks.
WOLF: You bet.
KAYE: And here's a rundown of some stories that we're working on this morning as well.
A documentary is taking us inside the lives of bullied children. We'll share one teenager's painful story.
Plus, people are still being killed in Syria despite new cease- fire talks. Ben Wedeman live in (INAUDIBLE) for us with the latest.
In Colorado, at least two people were killed after a controlled burn sparked an out of control wildfire. We have the frightening story of one man's escape.
And finally, there's a saying, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, right? Unless you're trying to have a modeling career in Israel, where underweight models, well, now against the law.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: And time, once again, to say good morning to Reynolds.
Hey there, Reynolds.
WOLF: Hey. We're looking at a pretty nice day across parts of Atlanta this morning, where, I'll tell you, we have maybe a few clouds out and about. A lot of the rain is pulling away. We are going to see some strong storms develop. Not here, but rather into the Ohio Valley.
Here's the big kicker that we have. We have this area of low pressure that's going to bring a combination of rain, sleet, and snow to portions of the northeast. Also some cooler temperatures can be expected, but it's going to be right here in the Ohio Valley, including spots like Cincinnati, where we could deal with some rough storms as we make our way through the midday hours.
Let's do a little bit of a radar tour for a bit. And if we do take a peek at the national perspective, you can see already we've got some tell tale signs of that storm system developing. Back towards Chicago, towards St. Louis, right in this region. We see a rumble of thunder here and there. Also some heavy precipitation. That will really enhance -- be enhanced later on today as those temperatures begin to rise.
Back out from the Pacific Northwest and into the northern Rockies, it is all snow biz for the time being. Yes, you'll see a few raindrops in the interior valley along the I-5 corridor and back over to the 405, but it's going to be up slope in parts of the Cascades where you're going to see the snow. And in Donner Summit, right across parts of the central Sierra Nevada, we're going to see also the chance of some snow piling up. Some places possibly up to a foot.
As we wrap things up, take a look at one of the big stories we have. The temperatures very warm today. Three degrees shy of 90 in Kansas City, 90 degrees in Dallas, 87 in Memphis. And the other side of things, Boston and New York back into the 50s. Salt Lake City with 48 degrees and San Francisco 58 your expected high for the day.
There's a look at your forecast. Let's send it back to you, Randi.
KAYE: All right, Reynolds, thank you very much.
Listen to this. OK, come over here, I've got to tell you this, because this is pretty good.
WOLF: OK. Bring it on.
KAYE: Yes, this is good.
WOLF: OK.
KAYE: Karma. I love stories about karma, right?
WOLF: Karma's good.
KAYE: Listen to this. In Oakland, California, all right, some sixth graders they -- every time they go out, they clean trash and they try and help, you know, make the place look good. Well, usually they just find some empty potato chips bag and maybe some tossed out clothing and other trash. But last Thursday, guess what they found, they found treasure. Real treasure. WOLF: Unreal.
KAYE: A bag stuffed full of jewelry, coins, silverware, and even candlesticks. It was apparently stashed next to a wall.
WOLF: Bizarre. Wow.
KAYE: And they were pretty excited.
WOLF: How can you not be? That is really -- and no idea where it came from? It's still kind of a mystery?
KAYE: Yes, yes, it kind of is. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard screaming. So I ran over and I saw what was in the bag and I was just like, oh, my God, is this really happening?
JOHNNA WATSON, OAKLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT: Hopefully through investigations, we can determine if this was illegally obtained or what the mystery is behind these items being left in the lake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were most excited to think that we were part of trying to solve a robbery, because we thought it was stolen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: Nice.
KAYE: They really stumbled upon something serious it sounds like. That police officer was pretty intense.
WOLF: Very much so.
KAYE: But they do say, though, if nobody claims the items within 90 days, that the students get to keep them.
WOLF: Unbelievable.
KAYE: Yes. I guess, you know, you look at -- you look at that and maybe they won't need to have like a bake sale or something this year. They can sell off this stuff.
WOLF: There you go. Exactly. We found stuff in a bag, in a bag under water at a park and that's --
KAYE: Who needs a bake sale, right?
WOLF: That's a fundraiser. Done. Very nice.
KAYE: All right, See, I knew you'd like that.
WOLF: Yes, interesting stuff. KAYE: After the break, we're taking a look at a new film that is taking on bullying. So why is it stirring up so much controversy? I'll explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone.
If you or your child have even been the victim of a bully, you'll understand how Alex Libby feels. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX LIBBY, 15-YEAR OLD BULLY VICTIM: They knock things out of my hand, take things from me, sit on me. They push me so far that I want to become the bully.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Bullying is a painful situation that many families are dealing with. In a documentary film just released this weekend called "Bully," director Lee Hirsch takes on the battle against bullying through the eyes of five families. Alex Libby is just one of those. Here's CNN's Kareen Wynter with much more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALEX LIBBY, 15-YEAR OLD BULLY VICTIM: I feel kind of nervous going to school because I like learning, but I have trouble with making friends.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lee Hirsch also knows how hard it is to fit in. As a boy, the filmmaker says he was relentlessly beaten up and picked on, and that's why he wanted to make a movie like "Bully."
LEE HIRSCH, DIRECTOR, "BULLY": For someone that's a victim of constant and frequent bullying, it's akin to torture. You know, you start to connect the suicides.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kids have told him he is worthless, to go hang himself.
DREW BREES, NFL QUARTERBACK: It's going to be so tragic to see some of our young people, you know, taking their own life because, you know, their self-esteem and everything was beat down by bullies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Perkins boy, just 11 years old, believed to have been desperate enough to take his own life.
BEES: This is how bullies treat people. This is what they say. And kids need to see it.
WYNTER: For the children who have seen the film, Hirsch says the response has been remarkable. HIRSCH: And we have had thousands of kids writing in. This movie has given them like confidence and made them feel like they belong and that they're not alone. And on the flip side, there's been lots of kids that have written in and have said that I am now stepping up to bullying.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The Libby family, who are featured in the film, join me next hour around 8:15 Eastern Time, along with one of the film's producers. And we'd like you to join our conversation. If you'll like to ask the family a question, including Alex Libby, who was bullied, you can tweet me. Have a question for the film's producer, Cynthia Lowen, we'll ask her your questions as well. Tweet me @randikayecnn.
Up next, why U.S. marshals put spring break on hold for thousands and seized this cruise ship headed to Mexico.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Time right now, about 23 minutes past the hour, and time to check out some stories making news around the nation.
U.S. marshals in Galveston, Texas, briefly seized a Carnival cruise ship. A judge ordered the Carnival Triumph held in port as part of a $10 million lawsuit filed on behalf of a woman who died aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship in January. The ship was forced to sit in the port for several hours. Both sides did reportedly reach a deal, allowing the ship to go on a scheduled five-day cruise to Mexico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our spring break from college. Yes, so, I mean, this is us and all of our friends and everything. We're just trying to have a good time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: In Charlotte, seventh grader Maria Brooks is probably wishing she was on vacation this week. She was caught skipping class. Her school didn't suspend her. Instead, they had something else in mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She told us that we were going to have to clean the bathrooms. Start basically scrubbing the toilet with these gloves on and an apron.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said we are very aware that there were three children that were made to clean the rest rooms. She said, but, again, she said the only thing I'm going to tell you is I'm sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KAYE: And take a look at this. A fun way to spend a spring day in Atlanta. People and their dogs in the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge. It was an opportunity for everyday dogs to run, jump, and swim in Olympic-like challenges.
Well, Syria's regime promised a cease-fire, but fierce fighting continues to rage. Now urgent talks are underway in neighboring Turkey, but can the international community stop the violence? A live report straight ahead. You're watching WEEKEND EARLY START.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back and thanks for starting your morning with us. I'm Randi Kaye. It is about half past the hour.
Gunfire and explosions are echoing through Syria again today, even as top officials gather in neighboring Turkey to try to stop the violence.
This is armature video from the city of Homs, which has been under siege for months. Earlier this week, the U.N. said at least one million Syrians desperately need humanitarian assistance. That's about as many people who live in Vermont and Wyoming combined. As the fighting rages, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meeting with regional leaders in Istanbul to ramp up the pressure on the Syrian regime. CNN's Ben Wedeman is following developments for us in Beirut.
Good morning to you, Ben.
President Bashar al Assad's regime promised a cease-fire. People there are still being killed in Syria. Doesn't sound like a cease-fire to me.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, there is no cease-fire on the ground in Syria, despite the fact that last Tuesday the Syrian government did accept the U.N. Arab League peace plan being pushed by Kofi Annan. You just have to look at the numbers, Randi. According to the opposition local coordination committees, at least 70 people were killed in fighting yesterday, including children. And the Syrian government has made it clear, it's not going to, for instance, pull out its troops from towns and villages until what one spokesman said, it establishes peace and stability in those towns. It appears, however, Randi, it's establishing that peace and stability by utterly crushing this uprising.
Randi.
KAYE: Yes, it certainly seems that way. Will the talks in Turkey help, do you think, Ben?
WEDEMAN: Well, certainly they do represent sort of a consensus -- sort of a world consensus on the need to push the Syrian regime to stop the crackdown and to begin some sort of reforms. But we had a similar meeting a month ago in Tunis of the so-called Friends of Syria and very little actually was done that made a difference on the ground, and this is the complaint we're hearing from the opposition within Syria is that international diplomats are meeting in these very low - high profile summits, but very little is changing for those who are under fire.
KAYE: And now we have the U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton announcing more humanitarian aid, possibly as much as 25 million now. Will that make a difference?
WEDEMAN: It's really a drop in the bucket. I mean, the United States and Britain have said that they are - or that they are providing communications equipment to the opposition within Syria. Britain announcing that it would provide $800,000 in communications equipment. But the problem is that there is the opposition in Syria is facing a very well armed regime with some of the latest Russian weaponry and the opposition has very little when it comes to fighting back. They have small arms, AK-47s, RPGs, but very little to defend themselves in what is a war. Randi.
KAYE: Ben Wedeman for us watching the happenings in Syria. Thank you very much.
Getting a check now of your top stories.
A crippled racing yacht will soon be aided by the U.S. Coast Guard. Their mission? To rescue injured members of the crew after the race around the world was interrupted by stormy weather. Race organizers say the yacht was hit by a large wave that swept away both steering and communications equipment. The Coast Guard expects to reach the yacht around 8:00 a.m. this morning.
Chaos breaking out at a Miami funeral home. A mass shooting there killed two people and injured 12 others. Police say the shots erupted while funeral services were taking place. A five-year-old girl was among the wounded. She's now in stable condition this morning.
The body of a U.S. soldier who died in Afghanistan while saving a little girl's life is now back home. Specialist Dennis Wyfell was riding in a convoy that stopped to remove some children out of its path, but when one of the children ran back into the road, Wyfell rescued her and was hit by a 16 ton truck in the process. Wyfell who is survived by his parents, his fiancee, and three children was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.
All right. Reynolds here now. I know that you're keeping a close eye on the Colorado wildfires, right?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. We have an amazing story coming out over there. This was supposed to be a controlled burn, right? So what happened? CNN's Brian Todd has much more on one family's close escape.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The hellish scene and the child's voice tell the story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daddy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to be fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is mom? What you stoppin' for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's down there. It's down there. She was not (INAUDIBLE).
TODD: In two vehicles the (INAUDIBLE) family is scrambling for their lives. The late afternoon sky is black and orange. Fire lapping the edges of the road as the family hurdles down it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is. Right here. Right here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We're out. We're out.
TODD: This scene on Monday videotaped on a cell phone by the (INAUDIBLE) 13-year-old son as they successfully escaped the lower north fork wildfire near Denver. At one point Doug (INAUDIBLE) wife, Kim, in the lead car put on her brakes thinking they may need to turn around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then our neighbor passed her, and he knew that there was only about a half mile of that to drive through, and he went in front of us, and we got out. It was terrifying obviously.
TODD (on camera): With that fire so close burning on both sides of a steep mountain road, did the (INAUDIBLE) family make the right call in trying to drive through it? We asked an expert.
(voice-over): Gregory Cade was head of the U.S. Fire Administration in charge of preventing and dealing with wildfires. He says people who live in those areas have to have defensible open space around their homes, have to get out early. If that's not an option -
GREGORY CADE, NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION: If you find yourself out on the road and the fire is coming you really don't have very many options at all.
TODD: Just keep going.
CADE: Let's just try and get out of the way. My understanding was they were in kind of a dead-end situation. They couldn't go back the way they had come.
TODD: The (INAUDIBLE) are among dozens of families displaced by a wildfire that Colorado authorities are now apologizing for. These fires were set by a so-called controlled burn last week that quickly got out of control, killing at least two people. Colorado's governor has launched an investigation and says this about a controlled burn.
GOV. JOHN HICKENLOOPER, COLORADO: We asked to suspend something on all state land, wherever the state park service operates. Just to evaluate and, again, look at these procedures, processes, and protocols, do the best job we can of assessing the conditions.
TODD: One thing the governor says they're looking at is whether there is enough moisture on the air and on the ground at the time to manage a controlled burn. There may not have been, and Greg Cade says in those areas there's so much fuel on the ground fires can explode quickly even if there's moderate wind.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: That was pretty amazing. That family escaping out of that. But I mean, you have covered a lot of wildfires.
WOLF: Absolutely.
KAYE: You can only imagine what they were thinking as that was closing in on them.
WOLF: No doubt and you heard in Brian's story that there is a little bit of controversy about this as to the prescribed burn. Should they have had the burns? The dry conditions. Well, you know this, Randi. A lot of viewers might not. Prescribed burns, controlled burns are something that happens all the time. It's part of forestry management, but in this situation it just so happened they were trying to move a little bit of that timber out of there with the controlled burns, but the conditions were just very, very bad in terms of very, very low humidity and strong winds. As you know, that can really push the embers and cause basically a crowning effect where the fire goes from treetop to treetop and can move very rapidly, and, of course, with very detrimental effect.
KAYE: How risky - I mean, you have been so close to a fire. How risky do you think it was for this family to try and get out of it in their car? Obviously, they made it but that was a tough call, I bet.
WOLF: No question about it. I mean thank heavens they made it through the fire. But I mean, what a frightening prospect. I say they are very fortunate.
KAYE: Yes.
WOLF: Because I mean certainly the flames can move very quickly.
KAYE: Right.
WOLF: When you've got temperatures -
KAYE: You wouldn't want to be there and be a sitting duck.
WOLF: Absolutely. And a lot of times it's not unusual to have these fires, temperatures go up to about 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. Trees can literally explode in a situation like that. The trees, the sap are very flammable, and it's a natural process. Not, of course, to have people in danger like that, but we've had wildfires as long as the planet has been here.
KAYE: Right.
WOLF: I mean, it's not something that just started yesterday.
KAYE: No.
WOLF: But certainly when you have people that live in wooded areas and you have a natural - when you have a fire that pops up like this, you're going to have some issues.
KAYE: Yes.
WOLF: But they're very fortunate.
KAYE: They sure are. Incredible video.
All right. Coming up, last minute plea for campaign cash. You could even win a date, a date, with Mitt Romney. But why were the candidates begging for midnight money? Patricia Murphy joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: To politics now and we have some more primaries coming up this week. Wisconsin, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Joining me now is Patricia Murphy, founder and editor of "Citizen Jane Politics" and contributor to the "Daily Beast."
All right. We mentioned these contests. Wisconsin, Maryland, District of Columbia, which has the most - which is most important?
PATRICIA MURPHY, FOUNDER "CITIZEN JANE POLITICS": Wisconsin is by far the most important. Wisconsin is just a classic battleground state. That's the state that democrats and Republicans both think they have a good chance in the fall, and so every candidate, every Republican candidate, wants to show that they can pick up battleground states.
Mitt Romney has done much better in these battleground states than Rick Santorum has, and Rick Santorum's time is running out to change that dynamic. It's up to him to change the storyline, and he has to do that in Wisconsin. So that's why it's so important on Tuesday.
KAYE: So if Mitt Romney takes Wisconsin, is he going to firm this up?
MURPHY: Well, you know, for him it is all about these delegates. Can he get to 1144 before the convention? We don't know the answer to that. Right now there's a chance he couldn't get quite that far. It's going to be up to him to start to pick up not only Wisconsin, but every single one of these.
KAYE: Right.
MURPHY: For Rick Santorum, Wisconsin will be tough because it's a lot less evangelical. Less than 50 percent evangelicals. He has not won an evangelical state, (INAUDIBLE) with less than 50 percent evangelicals so far. So it's an uphill climb for him, but he needs to start picking up these states if he has not done well.
KAYE: Let's talk about this mad dash for cash at midnight last night. Everyone was asking for money. You have President Obama and the first lady are sending e-mails asking supporters for $3. Ann Romney telling donors they could win a date with Mitt.
MURPHY: I know.
KAYE: I don't know what that's about, but OK. Why this late run for cash?
MURPHY: Well, this is the last quarter going into this next quarter. This is the last quarter of the primary season essentially, so for Republicans, it is essential to bank your cash going into these last three months before June. For the president also he wants to start - he is lagging, actually, from his 2008 totals. He needs to start kind of banking a lot more money than he has so far. So votes are sort of the lagging indicator. We know how people have done so far in the primaries. Money is the leading indicator. It shows how well you're prepared to do in upcoming elections. That's why money is so important for these candidates.
KAYE: Romney had a strong week in terms of endorsements. You got George H.W. Bush, Senator Marco Rubio, Congressman Paul Ryan. Does any one of those carry a little more weight than the other?
MURPHY: All three are great endorsements for him to have, very important. I would say Jeb Bush is probably the most important when you look ahead to the fall. Jeb Bush is very well known nationally. He is also very well liked by independent voters. There is actually a poll out that shows if Mitt Romney picked Jeb Bush as his running mate, he would beat President Obama. Without Jeb Bush, he is tied or losing to President Obama. So a Jeb Bush endorsement is a big, big pickup for him when he look ahead to November.
KAYE: What about with Marco Rubio? Could that help him with the tea party?
MURPHY: Absolutely. I mean he and Paul Ryan are both beloved by the Tea Party. Marco Rubio in particular is very well liked among the Latino community. So all three are very important. Rubio has only been in the Senate for a year and a half. He is less well known nationally so he is very important for the Republican base, but when you look ahead to November, he doesn't have quite the broad support that somebody like Jeb Bush has.
KAYE: So when you and I, when you return next Sunday to talk politics with me, what will we be talking about in terms of Newt Gingrich? Will he still be -
(CROSSTALK)
MURPHY: Oh my goodness. KAYE: I just want you to make a prediction, and then we'll see what happens.
MURPHY: The question will be whether Newt - this is what I ask myself every morning. What's he up to?
KAYE: Will he still be in?
MURPHY: I don't know. I think he will still be in - he has this internal fighter spirit that really nobody in America or the world can quash or extinguish or expire, but the most important and the worst news for him this week is that his main donor Sheldon Adelson, who has really bankrolled the PAC that had been supporting Newt Gingrich has said that Newt Gingrich is at the end of the line. So when your big donor says that you're at the end of the line, you're probably at the end of the line.
KAYE: And that he is ready to bankroll Romney as well.
MURPHY: Yes, the other piece of that. Yes.
KAYE: Not good. Patricia, nice to see you. We'll see what happens next Sunday.
MURPHY: Yes, we will. Great to see you.
KAYE: All right.
Just ahead, a massive security breach. Ten million credit and debit card owners could be in danger of identity theft. We'll tell you what we can do to protect yourself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Time for what we like to call a little R and R. Yes, some stories that caught our eye. A little Reynolds and Randi time.
WOLF: Oh, yes.
KAYE: So this one, Reynolds, I know you're going to be broken- hearted, but it turns out - I do have a little bad news, according to Reuters come the summer Olympics, female beach volleyball players will have the option of wearing long-sleeved tops, Reynolds, and shorts, instead of those bikinis.
WOLF: But it's just an option. They don't have to go that route. We do have options here.
KAYE: Are you going to hold a protest?
WOLF: You know, my thing is if you are going to make this change, why stop there? I mean, in the NFL are they going to start (INAUDIBLE) and grass skirts? I mean where does this end?
KAYE: Well, it actually has a little something to do on a more serious note, some countries for religious and cultural reasons they require this flexibility. But it is an option, as you say. I don't know. I think the cover-up is probably unlikely. Don't you think?
WOLF: I would think so. Yes.
KAYE: All right. On to our next story that caught our eye this morning.
This Batman story. We've been talking about Batman a little bit. You know, I guess, we're going to talk about Quaker Oats first.
WOLF: That worked.
KAYE: The Quaker Oats guy, in case you are having oatmeal or you're a fan of oatmeal, he got a little bit of a makeover. I don't know if you've noticed but the guy on the can now, Larry, he is - his double chin is gone. They put him on somewhat of a diet, I guess, to convince people that oatmeal really is healthy.
WOLF: Quaker is a wonderful company. But you take a look at the guy on the left. Let's hang on the image a little bit. You look at him, and it's a guy you can trust. Try, partake of my delicious cereal. It's great. It's wholesome. It's wonderful. The guy on the right says, "Hey, I'm here to party, and I take breakfast food to a whole new sexy level. We're going to have a great time."
KAYE: You've said that you actually like him kind of plump.
WOLF: I do. I like the heavy guy. I'm a traditionalist. I like volleyball players to wear what they're supposed to wear. But what about him? Should he be wearing - do you think he should have a bikini rule on the left, on the right?
KAYE: Larry, the Quaker man in a bikini? Maybe on the right side.
WOLF: I'm not saying that he needs to sport the banana hammock, I'm just saying he's just kind of (INAUDIBLE)
KAYE: Oh my goodness.
WOLF: I know, it's just a little visual for you.
KAYE: That is way too early for that visual. Thank you.
WOLF: OK. Let's just go from the shoulders up. Which one do you personally like? You know that I like the heavier guy. Which one do you like?
KAYE: I don't - I don't even know where you went with this this morning. I'm at a loss. I still got banana hammock on the brain. All right. Moving on, shall we?
WOLF: Absolutely. For safety's sake, yes.
KAYE: OK. Let's do that. We like to keep our jobs.
WOLF: Yes. KAYE: The Secret Service has stepped in to investigate a hacking that could affect 10 million credit and debit card accounts. I spoke with finance expert Clyde Anderson who explained how the hackers can use your information to make new cards and what you can do to protect yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL EXPERT: ... middle man and they actually process the payments, and so all this data is going out there, and what happens is when it's out there, people can take that data, pull it down, and actually create a new card, and they can go off and charge.
KAYE: And is there any way to know if somebody has created a new card with your information?
ANDERSON: Well, what you really have to do is check your information, and that's why credit cards - they often and fraud is so big because a lot of times we don't pay attention to the details. So we really have to go back and pay attention to the details. We're in the information age where it's so easy to go online and we pull that information down, and we really got to go in and look at each charge. Now don't even discard the little charges. Look at everything.
KAYE: And you said, what, 10 million.
ANDERSON: Yes, 10 million people are at risk.
KAYE: Are at risk. Is there any way to avoid that risk? I mean is there any way for us to protect ourselves?
ANDERSON: Well, it's hard to really protect yourself on the front end. That's why laws have been put in place to actually make sure that you're only responsible for a small amount. So $50 generally is what you are responsible for, and a lot of credit card companies will wave that. And so really you have to go in and report it as soon as possible. So it's up to you to go ahead and make sure that the information on your report, the information on your credit card statements is accurate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Visa and MasterCard have already started alerting customers.
Being too skinny is now a crime in parts of the fashion industry. We'll tell you where new law is changing the game, next.
You're watching weekend "Early Start."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. Today our "Morning Passport" takes us to Israel. It has become the first country to pass a law banning models who are too thin. The goal is to fight the spread of eating disorders. Nadia Bilchik is here to tell us a little bit more. This is the first time. It's incredible.
NADIA BILCHIK, EDITORIAL PRODUCER: It is groundbreaking law. In essence, what the new Israeli law is saying is that models have to have a BMI of at least 18.5 percent.
KAYE: Body mass index.
BILCHIK: Body mass index. Weight over height ratio, or they cannot work. It also says that if photographs are photoshopped in any way, there has to be a disclaimer, and, finally, if a model is naturally very, very thin, she literally has to have a doctor's certificate.
KAYE: She has to bring in a doctor's note? Because I mean there are some people that are just naturally thin, right?
BILCHIK: Yes. There are people who naturally have a very low BMI, but the law was championed by a fashion photographer, Adi Barkan and I wanted you to hear from him why he feels this is so important and why now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADI BARKAN, FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER: Something happened in the last 20 years. Always the model was skinny, but not too skinny, and I found that the difference between skinny thin or too thin, it's a little different between life and death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So how do you think - how do you think it's going to be received?
BILCHIK: It's going to be very interesting, and there is some controversy because as you say, some people are naturally very thin, and you don't want to discrimination against thin models, but Adi Barkan himself speaks about one of Israel's most famous models, and what happened to her was there was so much pressure to be thin that she got anorexic and she died of a heart attack related to anorexia in his arms.
And for that he has championed this law and for anybody who wants to check out their BMI, there are so many web sites who do it. The World Health Organization says your BMI should be between 18.5 percent and 24.9 percent. And I know looking at you who is so slim there's probably less, but, again, one can check it out. Go on to a web site and have a look. Again, there may be some controversy over it, but certainly a step in the right direction about saying are we distorted in the way we look at models?
KAYE: Well, just reading about it, I mean it says a six foot tall model must weigh no less than 136 pounds. Six feet tall. No less than 136 pounds. I mean, of course.
BILCHIK: One would think, but what's happened is the pressure to be thin is so extreme and they're saying that young girls are becoming increasingly anorexic and bulemic. I have two daughters, and just looking at magazines, the pressure to say we need to be so thin. And that's what Adi Barkan and this law is saying. That it is passed by the Israeli government, and it is now legislated. What's interesting, Randi, is to see how it will be enforced. That will be our next passport.
KAYE: And I was wondering if it was ever enforced in this country how many models wouldn't be able to be working right now? All right. Nadia, thank you very much. Very interesting.
And keep it right here on CNN in our next hour. I will be joined by a special guest, Nick Kristof of the "New York Times." We'll discuss his latest column, Sex Trafficking, the Internet, and a very large Wall Street company. How are they related. That's coming up at 7:00.
Plus -
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and I'm going to be answering your questions about the health care law. A lot of questions about this. How is it going to affect you, your family? What happens if the Supreme Court throws it all out? You got it, 7:30 Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. Let's get you caught up on news that may have been off your radar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): Honda is recalling more than half a million SUVs because the headlights could go out without warning. The automaker says there could be problems with the wiring systems. They're sending letters to the owners of 2002 to 2004 CRVs, and the 2003 Honda pilot SUV.
A modern day ultimatum. Cancel your Facebook account or get kicked out of school. The school administrator of Beth Rivkah Girls in New York explains.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want them to be in the real world with real friends
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you don't feel Facebook is the real world?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not the real world
KAYE: Students who have Facebook accounts had to fork up $100 to the school. They can get that money back as long as they stay off the social network for the rest of the semester. It's a two-year-old rule at the school and students have to sign no Facebook pledge at the beginning of the year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They knew it was a rule, and that's it. KAYE: Prince Harry have left home. The 27-year-old prince has moved out of his dad's place and in his big brother's home. He's actually moving to a small apartment at Kensington Palace, a place Prince William and his bride, Kate, calls home. Kensington Palace is also where the boys lived with their mom, Princess Diana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: From the CNN Center, this is "CNN Sunday Morning." It is 7:00 a.m. in the east, 4:00 a.m. in the west. Good morning everyone. I'm Randi Kaye and here's what's happening. An around the world yacht race is interrupted by stormy weather and now a rescue operation under way 400 miles off the California coast. New details from the Coast Guard.
Also --
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
KAYE: Taking his anti-bullying message straight to high school kids. Meet the scary guy.
And the party is just starting from sweet 16 to the Final Four, and now the national college basketball championship. Two teams now in it to win it.
ANNOUNCER: From CNN's world headquarters, bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe. Live from Studio 7, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
KAYE: More now on that Coast Guard yacht rescue. The yacht was headed from China to San Francisco during the race around the world when stormy weather swept away the vessel's communication and steering equipment. Now, the Coast Guard is coming to the aid of the crew. Four of which have injuries.
Moments ago, I spoke to an agency official about exactly what that means.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEVI READ, U.S. COAST GUARD: Once the Coast Guard helicopter makes its way to the vessel, it will lower a rescue swimmer just as any rescue closer to shore would. He is an EMT trained person. He'll do medical evaluation, check the injuries, treat the injuries as much as he can, and make a decision on what he needs to do at that point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And that official says the Coast Guard should reach the yacht in about an hour.
The Republican presidential candidates focusing on Wisconsin today, with the primary coming up on Tuesday. Some analysts say a victory by Mitt Romney in Wisconsin could all but seal his nomination. Rival Rick Santorum says not so fast. He is urging religious conservative voters to stick with him.
A new NBC/Marist poll shows Romney leading Santorum in Wisconsin by seven points. You see it there. The former Massachusetts governor sounding pretty confident.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've got a ways to go before I get 1,144 delegates. So, I'm not counting the delegates before they hatch, but I'm going to keep working very hard and hope I get a good strong sendoff from Wisconsin. I got a good -- a good boost from the folks in Illinois, and if I can get that boost also from Wisconsin, I think we'll be on a path that will get me the nomination well before the convention. Sure hope so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Wisconsin is just one of three contests we'll be watching on Tuesday. Maryland and the District of Columbia are also holding primaries.
Hillary Clinton says the Syrian regime will face serious consequences if it does not stop killing its own people. The secretary of state is in neighboring turkey for the Friends of Syria conference. She also announced an additional $12 million in humanitarian aid to Syria's people, bringing the total to nearly $25 million.
From Florida to Massachusetts to the nation's capital, people seeking justice for Trayvon Martin marched and rallied, and repeated their calls for officials investigating the shooting of the Florida teen to take action.
Ben Jealous, head of the NAACP, talked about the message that he and others are working to send.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAACP: We're all united and our call for justice to be done here in Sanford. As many of you know, I spent all of last week -- not this past week, but the week before here, listening to people in this community, and it's clear that this community is coming together around this call for Mr. Zimmerman to be brought to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Let's bring in George Howell. He is in Sanford, Florida, for us this morning.
George, any progress in terms of the investigation? Anything we can expect this week?
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we heard recently from the attorney general here in the state of Florida that the case is in the hands of state prosecutors. They are looking at the case, looking at all the details to determine whether there is enough evidence to arrest George Zimmerman in this case.
But again, that's the chorus. That's what you hear from thousands of people who came together here in Sanford just the other day -- people chanting that they -- that "I am Trayvon Martin," and people that wanted to see George Zimmerman arrested. They came together to hear leaders of the NAACP and also the National Action Network.
Also interesting to point out how this movement, this protest movement, it may be becoming more of a political movement. We heard members of the NAACP urging people to go out and register and vote, to make sure that they are able to change laws here in this state.
But a lot of people came together here in Sanford. We saw big crowds here. Also in Washington, D.C., there were rallies. And also in Massachusetts, fiery rally there, but all these rallies, Randi, had been peaceful rallies and marches, everyone basically making the point that they want to see an arrest in this case.
KAYE: George Howell for us. George, thank you very much.
Well, many of you who are probably thinking right now, you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than winning the lottery. Well, one of those things happened to a Mega Million tickets buyer in Kansas, and he is telling us all about it.
Plus -- hi, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey! It's time for weather, I guess.
KAYE: It is. Are you ready?
WOLF: Yes. Actually, absolutely.
Hey, what we're going to be seeing today is going to be a chance of severe weather across parts of the Ohio Valley. Severe thunderstorms are all but a certainty, and maybe an isolate tornado. Also, very dry conditions across the Central and Southern Plains. And more snow in the mountains of the West, including the Sierra Nevada. All that and more, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Look at that, Reynolds. A little bit of sunshine poking through already in Atlanta.
WOLF: It's going to be lovely. You know, the only thing that's good in Atlanta is we're going to see temperatures go up very close to 90 over the next several days. So, unseasonably warm, and, you know, I'm all about warm weather.
KAYE: Oh, yes.
WOLF: But when it is supposed to happen. That's supposed to be that -- KAYE: Oh, no. Bring it on. Bring on the heat.
WOLF: OK. Well, you know what, because you asked, that's exactly what we're going to do. We're going to talk about other places around the country, too, where we're going to see temperatures go up a little more than normal.
Today, though, the big weather story is going to be this region, the Ohio Valley, where there will be a chance of severe storms. Most will occur in the mid to late afternoon hours because that's when the atmosphere will be becoming particularly unstable. Strong storms are all but certainty. But possibly a few isolated tornadoes.
Let me show what else we're going to be seeing. Some temperatures above normal. Randi says she likes the heat. We're going to see plenty of it in spots like Dallas, 90 degrees the expected high, 87 in Kansas City, 75 in Minneapolis, much cooler in parts of the Great Lakes and the Northeast. Now to the West in Salt Lake City. Very breezy today, but 48 degrees the expected high.
But it's going to be the Upper Midwest where you're going to see a big contrast in temperatures. You take a look at the numbers that are in white like Bismarck or back over to Sioux Falls or even in Minneapolis. The white numbers is where we should be this time of year, that's on average.
But if you look at the yellow, that would be your expected high. So, places like Omaha, Nebraska, 89 is what we expect by the afternoon. Kansas City, 87; Wichita, 88; Louisville at 85; and 79 in Indianapolis.
But remember, we are talking about the chance of storms across the Ohio Valley. We have some thunderstorms that pop up, that rain- cooled air will come to end of the surface, and temperatures will drop quite a bit. Not to the freezing point, but certainly might be far more comfortable as we make our way to the rest of the day.
And speaking of the winds, we still have it for you in the West, the Great Basin. Especially tropical storm force winds at times and even anywhere from 30 to 60-mile-per-hour gusts can be expected even back over towards the (INAUDIBLE) and into parts of southern California. So, that could be really tough, especially if you are flying into LAX, things are going to get really bumpy on that approach.
For your forecast, snow fall -- still some snow expected for portions of the Cascades. And even into parts of the Sierra Nevada, and into the Central Rockies. Even towards Yellowstone National Park and into the Tetons. Yes, the snow is going to be falling again.
Let's wrap it up. Delays expected in New York, Chicago, Miami, Salt Lake City, and Las Vegas. Everything out West towards the wind, that's going to be your issue. Chicago, thunderstorms might keep you grounded for just a bit.
All right. That's your forecast. Randi, back to you. KAYE: Sounds like I need to schedule a trip to Dallas to get some heat, too.
WOLF: I think you're going to be a happy camper if you go.
KAYE: All right. Reynolds, thank you very much.
WOLF: You bet.
KAYE: So, there were three big winners in Friday night's lottery, splitting $640 million, but we may never know who two of the three new mega millionaires are. Kansas and Maryland turns out, were two of the winning tickets were sold, don't require winners to come forward publicly.
The third ticket was sold in Illinois, but even though we don't know the winner's names yet. We do know that they will each get 218 cool million dollars a piece before taxes -- a pretty cool return for $1 investment in a lottery ticket.
But for one Kansas man, his quest to be the nation's newest millionaire included a brush with Mother Nature. After buying three lottery tickets, Wichita, Kansas resident Bill Ailes (ph) joked with his friend that he had a better chance of being struck by lightning than winning the Mega Millions. I mean, really, how many times that we all said that, right?
Well, that's exactly what happened to this guy in his backyard later that night. Ailes was kept overnight in a local hospital for observation. It says it wasn't a direct flight. In case you are wondering, Ailes he was not one of the winners.
March Madness time. Well, it's down to the final two. Stick around for the highlights of yesterday's big games.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: It is sometimes called a form of modern day slavery -- the victims including girls as young as 12 years old. I'm talking about sex trafficking. My next guest says one major Web site that's blamed by some for perpetuating this horrific crime has some surprising ties to Wall Street. The Web site is called Backpage.com.
And joining me now via Skype from Cambridge, Massachusetts, is "New York Times" columnist and author of the "On the Ground" blog, Nick Kristof.
Nick, good morning.
NICK KRISTOF, NEW YORK TIMES: Good morning.
KAYE: So, let's talk about this. Let's start at the beginning.
This is incredible. I mean, I've read your column. How does Backpage.com work and why has this particular site become so prominent with people talking about sex trafficking in the U.S.? KRISTOF: Well, Backpage sells all kinds of things, but it has also an escort ad section. And the trade (INAUDIBLE) they pull out 70 percent of ads effectively from prostitution.
Now, plenty of those are by consenting adults, but there are also a lot placed by pimps for underage girls they control, and there have been arrests in 22 different states linked to Backpage -- 22 arrests of people for the trafficking underage girls linked to Backpage.
Many attorneys general around the country to get Backpage out of this business, but it's never been entirely clear who is the ultimate owner of Backpage. We know it's owned by Village Voice Media, but the owners of that is a private company haven't been clear, and what is new is that it turns out that Wall Street has owned almost half of it, and Goldman Sachs has owned 16 percent of the company.
KAYE: So is that extensive? I mean, it's incredible when you find out that Goldman Sachs is one of the owners -- one of the owners of the media company that owns Backpage.
Was this pretty extensive involvement, do you think, this 16 percent?
KRISTOF: Well, it's clearly a minority interest, and they weren't in control of the company. On the other hand, they had a board seat. I mean, they -- Goldman Sachs has been telling how completely horrified they are, and obviously this wasn't a high ranking decision. On the other hand, they didn't have -
KAYE: What happens when you went to them and told them what you discovered?
KRISTOF: Well, they were completely mortified. They had actually heard -- I had been sort of poking around asking other people about it before I called them on Tuesday, and so, they already knew that I would be calling, and they had all guns ready, and, you know, their point was this wasn't a high ranking decision. They own a lot of companies. It's a big company.
On the other hand, they did have a managing director on this company board four years while it was a leading sex trafficking Web site. As far as I can tell, they never raised internally with the company the idea that maybe it should get out of this business. In their defense, they say that if they had, that it wouldn't have had any impact, that the company wouldn't have listened to them.
KAYE: Does it surprise you at all that Goldman wasn't even aware of this?
KRISTOF: Yes, it does. There has been a lot of publicity on Backpage, on Village Voice Media on this issue, and because the company was on the board, it seems to me that, you know, at least at that level of the managing director level, people must have been aware of it and embarrassed by it, and why they held on to it all these years I have no idea.
KAYE: Any other companies that you found that were involved as well?
KRISTOF: Yes. There are three other private equity companies. One of them Turner Rand (ph) told me that it has no voice in the company, that it will try to sell its stake. Two others, Alta Communications (ph) and Brentwood just would not talk to me. They would not return my phone calls.
Goldman Sachs, as soon as I began calling, they began to try to unload the shares and in about four days, they reached an agreement to sell those shares back to management. So, they were desperate to make that -- arrange that sale by the time my column appeared.
KAYE: Yes. When Nick Kristof comes calling, you lit a fire under them, I'm sure.
Nick, it was great to have you on the show this morning.
And for anybody who would like to check out your column, you can find it at NewYorkTimes.com.
Thank you very much, Nick.
KRISTOF: Thanks, Randi.
KAYE: A former tattoo artist is using his life experiences to help schools eliminate bullying. His unique way of teaching, very unique way of teaching is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back.
Schools across the country are struggling to handle the difficult problem of bullying. Some schools are paying big bucks for so-called experts. I visited a middle school in Minnesota to meet one of those experts. He calls himself the scary guy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THE SCARY GUY, BULLYING PREVENTION GURU: I am in charge of the brain of Zach.
KAYE (voice-over): This is the Scary Guy, a former tattoo artist. He entertains the students by playing the bully.
THE SCARY GUY: Check out that geek in the wheelchair, dude.
KAYE: This is supposed to be bullying prevention. He calls it edutainment.
THE SCARY GUY: Stop taking on other people's rotten, horrific negative words as energy and putting them back out on this planet thinking you're defending yourself.
KAYE: His message may sound -- but his delivery is unconventional -- to say the least. Tattooed from head to toe, the Scary Guy commands as much as $6,500 a day for his performance. And a curriculum that goes with it. For those looking to wake up a community with shock and awe, he delivers.
DEWEY SCHARA, MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: I just love his approach.
KAYE: Austin, Minnesota, principal Dewy Shara.
SCHARA: It's not perfect. It's not, you know, some would say not beautiful, maybe a little shocking to look at. It gets everyone's attention.
THE SCARY GUY: I role play my behavior based on my young adult years where I would find fault with people no matter what -- their height, short, tall, skinny, fat, blondes and bald guys.
KAYE: Scary has no formal academic credentials, but he makes no apology for that or his looks. Instead, he touts his last 13 years speaking to tens of thousands of schoolchildren worldwide. Never mind he never finished college -- a fact that some school administrators are willing to look past.
(on camera): No matter what his training is, you do see him as an expert.
SCHARA: He is. Absolutely. In our world, an academic world, in the schools, you have to have a degree, but that doesn't make you a good teacher.
KAYE: So for anyone who might say, look, this guy has a great program, but what are his credentials?
THE SCARY GUY: I would say that my credentials are that I'm doing something to help people that's based on love and it's me on the street learning it for my whole life, and I don't know where else you can go to get this kind of information and training.
KAYE (voice-over): But we discovered some of his customers have begun to question whether he has any real lasting impact -- once the flashy performance is over.
KERRY JUNTUNEN, MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: You can have these kind of folks come in, and they're in a sense a bit of a mercenary. A one- time one-shot deal. Is that really changing kids' lives? My answer is no.
THE SCARY GUY: You get the message across, OK? You know what, I'm leaving.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Pretty unique guy there and a pretty unique approach. You can catch the rest of my story on The Scary Guy tonight on a special "CNN PRESENTS". That's 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. And next hour, a family who is featured in the film -- the new film "Bully" joins me along with one of the film's producers.
And we'd like you to join in on that conversation. If you'd like to ask the family a question, including Alex Libby, who was bullied and featured in the film, you can tweet me. And if you have a question for the film's producer -- well, we'll ask for your questions as well. Tweet me at RandiKayeCNN.
March Madness, it is now down to the Final Two. Stick around for highlights of yesterday's big games from the big east.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: March Madness. And then there were two. Kansas and Kentucky set to battle for the NCAA title. OK, not exactly any Cinderella teams.
Here's HLN's Carlos Diaz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARLOS DIAZ, HLN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Randi.
Kentucky took the bluegrass battle beating Louisville by eight points. That's actually the smallest margin of victory the Wildcats have enjoyed in the tournament. That's how dominant they've been.
Kentucky is going to face Kansas who knocked out Ohio State in a thrilling come from behind fashion, and that sets up for the Monday night championship game, a battle between U.K. and K.U.
ANTHONY DAVIS, KENTUCKY FORWARD: We've fought all game. And to go to a national championship with the team that we had, starting three freshmen and two sophomores, it's just great. You know, we have a great team, and we just want to obtain our dream and our goals.
DORON LAMB, KENTUCKY FORWARD: It was a great feeling. (INAUDIBLE) throughout the season, it paid off. We're finally here. We want to show the world we're the best m country and to try to win another game.
BILL SELF, KANSAS HEAD COACH: It's a dream for these kids to play in the biggest stage that college basketball has to offer this year and get to play, you know, the best team in the country hands down from day one to now, most consistent. And it's a thrill.
TYSHAWN TAYLOR, KANSAS GUARD: Any foul that we put out there can match up with any foul they put out there. So, I'm confident going into this game. And I'm really confident going to this game, understand they're really talented, well coached. They play hard. I think it's the same thing about us.
DIAZ: You would have thought tradition, Randi -- Kansas has the second most wins out of any other basketball team in the history of college hoops. Number one on that list? That would be the Kentucky Wildcats.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Carlos, thank you very much.
Kentucky and Kansas will battle it out in New Orleans. That's right, New Orleans tomorrow night.
Well, you may have seen the last of New York Knicks sensation Jeremy Lin. But the Linsanity has ended with a Lin injury. It turns out he suffered a knee injury that will require surgery. The Knicks say that he'll be out for six weeks, and that takes us through the end of the NBA's regular season.
Health care reform in focus. You asked lots of questions this week as the Supreme Court heard the argument. Well, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has some of the answers for you.
"SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." starts right now.
