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Zimmerman Bonds Out of Jail; John Edwards on Trial; Secret Service Scandal Widens; Romney to Address Liberty Univ. Grads; Wal- Mart Shares Drop on Bribery Report; Robin Gibb Out of Coma; Northeast Braces for Snow; Meteor Shower Causes Sonic Boom

Aired April 23, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Soledad. And good morning to all of you. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM.

The family of Trayvon Martin says they are devastated as they watch George Zimmerman with a light jacket and a brown paper sack walk free this morning. But where is he now?

Eighty degrees six days ago and today snow from Washington to Boston. A nasty spring storm. Expects downed trees and power outages.

The Secret Service scandal even more salacious. Did an agent invite a prostitute into the very hotel where the president slept.

Loud booms, explosions in the sky, homes shaking, thousands saw it and felt it. What was that thing streaking across the sky anyway?

Greta Garbo, and Monroe, Deitrich and Nikki Haley? The governor of South Carolina is the latest of powerful women to grace the pages of "Vogue" magazine. We'll get into the top of the VP shortlist.

Mad at world peace, bust the move, and it's not remotely in the spirit of pacifism. How long will the NBA suspend Ron Artest, the man who so desperately wanted to change his image.

CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

And we begin with a new milestone in the Trayvon Martin case. This morning the man charged with his murder George Zimmerman is out of jail. Zimmerman's family posted bail and he walked out of bail just after midnight.

Martin Savidge is in Sanford, Florida, with the latest.

So, Marty, just a few minutes ago, Martin's family released a statement. What more are they saying?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, the statement that came out from them reads like this. It's say, "The family is heavy hearted to watch the killer of their child released from prison. They would have rather that he stay in jail until the criminal proceedings were concluded. However, it is the hope that his freedom is only temporary because the pain that he caused to their family is permanent."

You know, it's interesting, of course, that you have two families here and for one the Zimmerman family, they are pleased to see their son and brother that is now out of jail but, of course, for Trayvon Martin's family, just as their statement exemplifies, there is a new round of pain that they feel because they still believe they had not seen the justice they're seeking.

COSTELLO: Martin, do we know where Zimmerman is, where will he go?

SAVIDGE: We don't. And of course all of this was carefully orchestrated for security reasons in the middle of a highly controversial case like this one. It is, well, no surprise that George Zimmerman would step out of jail in the middle of the night. It was just after midnight last night when he appeared. And he was wearing a jacket and it appears the reason was not just because of the chill, but also that it may have been covering body armor or a bullet- proof vest.

We don't know who the person was that he came out with. That was not his attorney. He quickly got into a vehicle and then drove off. So the media, the general public, none of us know why George Zimmerman is but the state of Florida does, because he has to wear that GPS ankle bracelet that gives the telemetry revealing his position and then on top of that his whereabouts was carefully negotiated and worked out with authorities before he was let out of jail. And he will have to check in every three days -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Martin Savidge reporting live for us in Sanford, Florida.

You know you've been spoiled. Eighty degrees in March. So why not snow in late April? This morning, we're following the latest example of wild unpredictable weather. So so much for a mild winter. This is what it looks like in Dubois, Pennsylvania. Dubois is 91 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. It should be around, though, 61 degrees right now, instead they're covering up the petunias this morning.

The storm could dump up to a foot of snow in some parts of the northeast and strong winds could snarl air traffic from Washington to Boston.

Meteorologist Rob Marciano is here to break it all down. And we've been so spoiled.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we have been. You know what? The last time we were talking about a snowfall that might bring down trees was back in October. That's the last big snowstorm we had this winter really for the -- so yes, we've kind of bookended the season and it's already piling up, in some cases, over 10 inches of snow.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: OK. We'll check back with you.

MARCIANO: All right. You got it.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: Sounds good.

COSTELLO: Brian Todd, by the way, is in the heart of the storm. As the snow comes down concerns ratcheted up. And just about a half hour from now Brian will give us the view from Dubois, Pennsylvania.

How much further can John Edwards fall from grace? That's debate getting underway right now. You're looking at a live picture of the courthouse in Greensboro, North Carolina, where Edwards' trial is getting under way. He's accused of using more than $900,000 in illegal campaign contributions to hide an affair in which he fathered a child.

Could face up to 30 years in prison. The defense is expected to argue that Edwards' personal aide used the money to help build his $1 million dream home.

Opening statements are set today, too, in the trial of the man accused of killing relatives of the singer Jennifer Hudson. The Chicago trial comes more than three years after Hudson's mother, brother, and nephew were killed. William Balfour, the estranged husband of Jennifer Hudson's sister, is accused in the shooting. He denies the charges. Jennifer Hudson is expected to attend and she might testify.

The new search for the remains of Etan Patz resumes in lower Manhattan today. Authorities are acting on old and new information and launching an investigation nearly 33 years after the boy disappeared. Investigators discovered a possible blood stain on a concrete wall while they were tearing apart a basement. That stain will be tested.

We're going to take you live to New York for more on the case in the next half hour of NEWSROOM.

Also this morning, the scandal involving Secret Service members and Colombian prostitutes is growing wider and steamier. Yet another member of the elite detail is under investigation and no shocking of all, the security breach appears to inch closer to the president. Listen to what one powerful senator had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: It's clear to me now that he's interviewing everybody from the Secret Service who was in Cartagena. What is -- what was striking to me and significant is that the 12th agent now put on administrative leave as of Friday was not staying at the Caribe Hotel where the other agents were but at the Hilton, and the Hilton is significant because that's where President Obama was going to stay.

Now we don't know at this point what that 12th agent is being charged with and why he's been put on administrative leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So we have our senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash. She's digging on Capitol Hill.

So, Dana, the actual accusations against this 12th member of the Secret Service?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We don't know yet but it is interesting that there is -- was an additional member, not only as we reported last week put on administrative leave, but that also as we were discussing late last week, that that particular member was staying at the Hilton Hotel.

Now, as you heard from Senator Lieberman, it's really not clear what exactly the Secret Service is looking into that he possibly did, but, obviously, more broadly we do know that the major investigation is the fact that they were -- they were bringing prostitutes and not just prostitutes just plain foreign nationals back to the hotel.

But secondly, the key thing is that this wasn't just the Hilton Hotel, it was the president's hotel. We understand that this happened allegedly well before President Obama came down there, but still, as you heard from Senator Lieberman, just the idea that somebody who is a member of the Secret Service would bring a foreign national of any sort to the president's hotel is very, very disturbing.

The second thing is two senators, Carol, are asking -- this is actually an independent Republican -- asking the White House whether or not any White House advanced staff was involved in any of this. I know unclear at the beginning whether or not fishing expedition or whether they have some tips. And actually I talked, Carol, to an aide to one of the senators, Grassley, who said that he got a couple of tips to pursue this particular investigation.

And then lastly, I think you'll find this interesting. Two female lawmakers, one Democrat and one Republican, they said that they wonder if this would have happened if there are more women in the Secret Service. One said right now only 11 percent of the Secret Service is female.

COSTELLO: Interesting. We're going to be talking a lot more about that later. I would only say that the head of the GSA was a woman so I don't know if they have an argument --

BASH: GSA.

COSTELLO: GSA. Right.

BASH: Not Secret Service, though.

COSTELLO: Not Secret Service, though, but GSA and there was a scandal there, too. I'm just saying, but we're going to discuss that a little later.

Dana Bash, live at the White House for us this morning.

BASH: Thank you.

C; The VP guessing game is at a fever pitch. Who will Mitt Romney choose? Will it be Florida senator, Marco Rubio, to help attract the Latino vote? Will it be Ohio Senator Rob Portman to help snare middle American voters? Or will it be South Carolina's Governor Nikki Haley? We know Romney needs women, and Haley is hot right now. She's featured in "Vogue" magazine. The first female governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley joins an elite women of powerful women in politics to be featured in the fashion magazine and yes, "Vogue" did ask her if she would accept an offer to run on a Romney ticket. And this is what she said, she said, quote, "No, I won't take it. I'm not going to leave the people that just gave me this chance." But you never know.

"Newsweek" and the "Daily Beast" special correspondent Robin Ghivan joins me later this morning at 10:45 Eastern. She'll talk about the importance of profiling powerful women in politics and magazines like "Vogue" and if it will really make a difference.

Also this morning Mitt Romney hasn't even set foot on campus yet but some students at the nation's largest evangelical university are already expressing outrage over his planned visit. Just ahead, I'll talk to a Liberty University graduate who has a lot of pull in the evangelical community.

Also Britain's Prince Harry has shown his commitment to helping wounded vets resume civilian life? Now he'll receive an award from Washington for his efforts. We'll take you to London for that story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is set to deliver next month's commencement address at the nation's largest evangelical university, Liberty University. Romney is a hoping to win over evangelicals but his visit is already stirring up controversy. Students are flooding social media expressing their outrage. One writes, "Liberty University should have gotten a Christian to speak not someone who practices a cult." And here's another post. "I'm glad I'm not graduating this year. I would not want to end my studies at a Christian university by being sent into the world at a commencement by a Mormon. We came to Liberty because of our faith in Jesus not for political reasons.

Joining me now is the president of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins.

And Tony, I know you're also a Liberty grad and you received an honorary doctorate from the school recently ,so welcome.

TONY PERKINS, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: Good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. Well, let me start by asking, do you agree with your alma mater's decision to invite Romney?

PERKINS: I mean, Liberty has a long history of having political figures speak at their graduations. When I graduated in 1992, it was Pat Buchanan as the speaker. I was on campus. In fact, I received my honorary doctorate when John McCain spoke back in 2006.

So, there's a long history of this -- of having political figures come to the campus and speak. I think it's full of potential for Mitt Romney. I think it's going to be educational and for the evangelical community and it's an opportunity for him.

And I think it's not a complete surprise. There's a strong connection between him and the university with one of the few evangelicals that's been supporting him from the very beginning, has strong ties to the university and is on the board of trustees. So, it's not a big surprise he is invited to speak there.

COSTELLO: But what if Romney is booed? What if some students decide not to walk during graduation?

PERKINS: I don't think they will do that. Look. This is -- these students are very mature. They may not agree with it and that's certainly their right. And there may be some that might pass on graduation but I doubt it. They will be very respectful probably more so than any campus across America. You'll find a very -- I think a very warm reception for Mitt Romney there --

COSTELLO: I don't know, Tony. Young people nowadays, they know what they are doing and they are strong minded. It could happen.

PERKINS: Liberty is a little bit different. The character -- look, as Christians we can disagree strongly but we show respect. And I think they will show respect for Mitt Romney. They may not warmly applaud him and may continue to express differences.

And clearly there are differences theologically between Mormons and Christians. But here's an opportunity for Mitt Romney to talk about what he has in common with evangelicals and that's on the value issues. And I think that's where he is going to make grounds, as he talks about the shared values because clearly, those of us who work in public policy know that there are strong shared values between those in Mormon religion and Christianity. Again, clear differences theologically, but a lot of shared values.

COSTELLO: I think -- you know, let's move on to the adult world now.

I think a lot of evangelical Republican voters say they're going to support Mitt Romney but the passion isn't there. And the important thing about that is evangelical voters, they like to get out and they get active. They go door-to-door. They do phone calls for the candidates.

And they don't appear to want to do that for Mitt Romney. They may support him but they're not so passionate about him.

PERKINS: You're absolutely right, Carol. In fact, I was back in my home state of Louisiana last week and I was in the grocery store and a man came up to me and said, hey, Tony, if you get an opportunity, will you tell Mitt Romney to give me a reason to be enthusiastic for him?

I mean, look. I know Barack Obama is not the answer. I know he has bad economic policies. I know his social policies and domestic policies are a disaster but I want to be excited about Mitt Romney and I'm not. Help me get there.

And so I think that is a message I've heard over and over and I think Mitt Romney is the only one that can solve that.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: What can Mitt Romney say? I know he's been playing at the war on women, and he's talked a lot about his wife Ann Romney and her decision to stay at home and raise her children. And that strikes a chord with evangelical voters.

But what would you say -- what can you say right now to stir up the passion for Mitt Romney among evangelical voters?

PERKINS: Well, he's got to reach out to the youth vote. He's got to reach out to the women vote and he has to reach out to the social conservative vote, and as you mentioned earlier, the Hispanic vote, trying to crossover.

And there are some links between those. And a lot of those come back to the social issues. As you mentioned, talking about stay at home moms. That speaks to evangelicals and that speaks to women as well. It also speaks to some degree to the youth where he is challenged as well.

I think -- here's what he needs to do. John McCain showed this in 2008 when he picked Sarah Palin to give some, you know, a bridge into the social conservative -- conservative Tea Party community. He got enthusiasm. He received enthusiasm as a result of that pick.

Mitt Romney has got to pick a strong conservative running mate.

He also needs to talk about, again, those shared values. I think one of the issues that should prominent in his decision is the court. Most evangelicals, social conservatives, fiscal conservatives, understand the importance of Supreme Court. The next president next term will probably pick two justices and we see how important the court is. It's debating health care right now.

COSTELLO: Tony Perkins, thank you for joining us and I hope we talk to you after Mitt Romney gives that commencement speech. So, we'll see what happens. Thank you so much.

PERKINS: I may be there.

COSTELLO: I bet you will, actually. Thanks, Tony. We appreciate it.

Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning: who is to blame for the Secret Service scandal? There's one shocking allegation after another. Twelve agents implicated so far.

Already, the long finger of blame is pointing in all different directions. Sarah Palin is blaming the White House. Senator Joe Lieberman says he is troubled that one agent involved was staying at the same hotel, supposedly, where the president was going to stay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: They ought to be launching their own internal review of all White House personnel, advance teams and the rest, who were in Colombia to make sure that no one working for the White House was involved in any of the same kind of inappropriate behavior that the Secret Service agents were.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Secret Service's director, Mark Sullivan, there are calls for him to step down, it's his fault. So far, Sullivan's Secret Service housecleaning may have deflected that.

But is the scandal deeper than that? Is it a cultural problem? Maybe say, some women lawmakers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), MAINE: I can't help but wonder if there had been more women as part of that detail, if this ever would have happened.

REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D), NEW YORK: It's only 11 percent of the agents are women and if -- we agree on this. If there were more agents on the ground, maybe we would not have had this and I can't help but keep asking this question, where are the women?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Or is the scandal just a blip in the proud history of the Secret Service? A once-in-a-millennium embarrassment for the people who vow to take a bullet for the commander-in-chief.

So, talk back question for you today: who is to blame for the Secret Service scandal?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

It all started as a joke. Prince Harry talking about future plans for Will and Kate but it's probably going to mean a lot of work for them.

We got the story right after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Prince Harry makes a joke and his brother and Kate better get in shape fast. Oh, yes, Harry is coming to Washington. But I confess, I just love Kate. I do.

Our Max Foster is going to talk Harry and hopefully, Kate.

Hi, Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, Kate is a big part of the story actually, because what you got a charity which is run by William, Kate and Harry, and they have made as their priority the rehabilitation of war veterans. You saw last year, actually Kate and William in California at a jobs fair called Mission Serve. This was about getting American war veterans back into society, get them jobs again.

Then, again, more recently, you saw Kate and William out in London at a war horse premiere, again, raising money for war veterans. It's their big cause.

And Harry is very much part of this. He's a member of the military, of course, as well. He really wants to look ahead apart from looking after young children. He wants to look after people who have been in the services and help them get back into society. They have been given a massive award actually, a very reputable award -- the Atlantic Council's Award for Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership.

Just and put it into context here, the other awards received this year are Ban Ki-moon, the secretary general of the United Nations, and all of the enlisted men and women of the United States Armed Forces. It's right up there. He is thrilled and he is coming over, Carol, to the United States, when is it? Seventh of May. So he's coming back to the U.S.

COSTELLO: Oh, did you talk about the joke?

FOSTER: The joke? Marathon? Is that what you're talking about?

COSTELLO: Yes.

This is something that happened yesterday. You have the London marathon yesterday. Harry was the finishing line, welcoming winners come across the line and they announced in the TV interview that William and Kate will be running the marathon next year. Which made a bit of a story, but only for about 10 minutes, because palace aides say actually he's making it up. It's just a joke.

But this is the strange thing about this. I mean, no surprise he is making jokes and dropping his brother in it. Since then, sort of campaign has built up that Kate and William should be running the marathon next year, and betting companies are taking odds on it. So maybe they will.

COSTELLO: Maybe they will. Set a fine example for everyone worldwide. We'll see.

Max Foster, thank you.

The Tea Party movement helped shake things up in the White House two years ago, but will it shake up -- actually the Tea Party shook things up in a 2010 midterm elections and it's hoping to shake things up in the White House this year. But an establishment Republican is looking like the one to challenge President Obama.

So, what does that say about the Tea Party's clout now? We'll discuss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Wal-Mart shares selling off after allegations of bribery surfaced this weekend.

Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange, to explain it at all. How are they going to drop are you seeing?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is a pretty big drop for Wal-Mart. Shares of Wal-Mart right now, Carol, dropping more than 5 percent. Now, part of this is because it's a crisis of confidence after "The New York Times" broke this stunning story of alleged corruption at Wal-Mart.

The other part of it, you know, investors want to know what kind of legal ramifications, financially are there for Wal-Mart if this story winds up having legs. Now, what are this story of "The New York Times" over the weekend said, was that it alleged that there was widespread bribery and a huge cover-up at Wal-Mart.

"The New York Times" says Wal-Mart actually paid $24 million over several years in bribes to get construction permit in Mexico. So, I'm talking about zoning approvals and getting things to sort of move through the red tape much faster to get these Wal-Marts built.

Now, Mexico is seen as a growth area. In fact, sales there were up 25 percent in 2005. In fact, in Mexico, there are 2,000 Wal-Mart stores right now.

But here's the thing with this story, Carol. It allegedly didn't stop with just bribery. Walmart of Mexico told the headquarters in Arkansas about it. "The New York Times" says the Wal- Mart, the headquarters in Arkansas, concealed it from U.S. and Mexican authorities. So apparently what happened was higher up officials at the headquarters really just tried to make this go away and may have just had their hand caught in the cookie jar -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I know Wal-Mart has responded but it doesn't seem to be working if you look at the price of shares this morning.

KOSIK: No. Certainly not working if you look at the numbers on Wall Street. But Wal-Mart is coming out doing its own investigation they say. In fact, they say they've already met with the Department of Justice, with the SEC, and Wal-Mart is coming out and saying it won't tolerate these kinds of activities.

It also says, you know what? This happened a long time ago that, quote, many of the alleged activities in this "New York Times" article are more than six years old that if these allegations are true, it's not a reflection of who we are or what we stand for.

So, we will continue to watch these shares as they continue to fall. As for the overall market, yes, it's falling as well. The Dow is down 130 points. News overseas is dominating the trade today. Worries about the strength of the recovery weighing on the market -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange.

And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello.

Here are the stories we are watching right now in THE NEWSROOM:

This morning, George Zimmerman is out of jail and free on $150,000 bond, which translates to $15,000 cash bond posted by his family. Zimmerman is fitted with an electronic monitoring device, waiting for his trial for the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The attorney for Martin's family says they're upset over Zimmerman's release.

This is what it looks like in western Pennsylvania right now, where up to 12 inches of snow could fall. The powerful storm is packing high winds and, boy, it could affect many cities across the Northeast. Areas with snow could see widespread power outages and strong winds could cause flight delays from Washington to Boston.

It's not a big dip, but gas prices are going down a bit. AAA, which does a daily survey, put the national average at $3.86 for gallon of regular unleaded gas. That's down about 5 cents from a week ago, while the-by-weekly Lundberg Survey also shows prices dropped a nickel. That puts the national average at $3.91. Both are raising hopes gas prices might have already peaked.

There is no denying the Tea Party movement was a powerful force in the 2010 elections but what a difference two years can make. The likely Republican candidate for president is an establishment guy, hardly a Tea Party hero.

And take a look at a CNN/ORC poll from just over a week ago. More than 40 percent of respondents had unfavorable opinion of the movement.

So, what's going on here? Is the Tea Party done or is it just moving in a different direction?

Let's bring in CNN contributors Will Cain and L.Z. Granderson. Happy Monday to you both.

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Good morning. It sounds like a Monday! Pep it up, boys! Come on!

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: OK. So, is Tea Party still a player, L.Z.?

GRANDERSON: Yes and no. You know? Obviously, the person they wanted to be the GOP nominee is not that person. It's Mitt Romney. So they have to try and swallow their pride a little bit.

But with that being said, the biggest criticism about Mitt Romney is the fact he still hasn't appealed to conservatives, which most people correlate with being the Tea Party.

So, yes, they're a still a player and definitely when it comes down to like a vice president candidate, their voices is going to be heard and I think you're going to see that impact a lot more than the GOP's nominee, overall nominee's impact.

COSTELLO: Well, I know we've been hearing this for a while. There's an op-ed in "The Washington Post" and it points to Indiana Senator Dick Lugar being the only Republican incumbent facing a serious primary challenge from a challenger to his right.

So, are we through with the so-called insurgent campaigns?

CAIN: No. I don't think we can say we're through. The Tea Party is not done. It's still here, maybe has lot a little bit of steam.

By the way, I think I would point to two incidents that kind of tarnish the Tea Party a little bit. I'll use myself as an example here. Extremely sympathetic to Tea Party principles and values, but between the debt ceiling fight and succession of presidential candidates that were embraced, from Michele Bachmann to Herman Cain to Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, those two moments seemed to tarnish the Tea Party movement a little bit. But it's not done.

And I think we can look, as Chris Cillizza said there, to some of the senatorial races and while Dick Lugar might be facing a legitimate challenge from a Tea Party candidate, some off the other races are tighter. Orrin Hatch, by the way, just got pushed to a primary by Tea Party challenger. So, you're seeing across the senatorial level and congressional level some influence from the Tea Party, it's just not what it was two years ago.

COSTELLO: You know, I've read some articles that say that, you know, traditional Republican super PACs, let's say, are sort of squashing the Tea Party because the Tea Party has damaged the Republican brand. I mean -- has it, L.Z., or is this just a passing phase?

GRANDERSON: No, it has damaged it. You know, I wrote a piece for CNN.com last year where I talked about John Boehner looked absolutely weak because it seemed as his actions were being dictated by a bunch of freshmen coming in with the Tea Party.

And I couldn't imagine a more horrific scenario than watching your party being kidnapped by a bunch of people who didn't know the heck what they were doing. And I think part of the reason they lost steam is because they found the same thing that President Obama found three years ago, that changing Washington from the outside in sounds good, but once you actually get there, it's a lot more difficult. It takes a lot more effort and you actually have to play a little bit more as Rick Santorum would say, team ball, in order to get things done.

And that's what they really faced, was the reality that the establishment is the establishment and that if you're going to be a part of change, you have to first get with the program.

CAIN: Let's note forget, the purpose of the Tea Party was to damage the Republican brand. They saw the Republican brand at that time as someone who essentially sold out to their principles, wasn't living up to do that which they preached. So, they went into these primary elections in 2010 and said, if you're not going to do this, if you're not going to live up to what we require of you, then we're going to change your party and we are going to challenge you in every single primary.

So, I don't think you should hold them to the standard of did they damage the Republican brand. That was kind of the purpose -- to damage and rehabilitate. And to some extent, you can say they have been successful to that and moved the party to the right and rehabilitated the party in many ways.

COSTELLO: So, to make a prediction --

GRANDERSON: But they also have --

COSTELLO: Oh, go ahead. I'm up and listening now. Go.

GRANDERSON: But also through that process, Will, I mean, congress has had some of the worst rating among the public in its history. So during that process of trying to change the GOP, they took a lot of blame, the party took a lot of blame in terms of things going wrong with the economy. And people talk about President Obama's polls.

I mean, last year and even this year, their poll numbers are just abysmal. So, I'm not quite sure if damaging the GOP brand was as successful as they wanted to it to be, because now, the public doesn't care for them at all.

COSTELLO: L.Z. Granderson, Will Cain, thanks for the discussion this morning. We appreciate it as always.

CAIN: Thanks.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Good news for Robin Gibb and his family. He survived his coma. He actually came out of his coma. Doctors thought he wouldn't. It was kind of a miracle.

A.J. Hammer and "Showbiz Headlines" are coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: I'm telling you, it's nothing short of a miracle. Singer Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees, he's no longer in the coma. He came out of it.

A.J. Hammer is host of "Showbiz Tonight." He's live in New York.

And this has baffled history doctors, A.J.

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes, the word they are using, Carol, is confounded. Just days ago, these doctors were warning Gibbs' family to expect the absolute worse. We know he was in a coma. He was battling pneumonia in a London hospital.

And now, the doctors say he's breathing on his own, with an oxygen mask. He is conscious. And best of all, perhaps, he's able to speak with his loved ones. They do hope to move him out of the intensive care unit.

The doctors are calling him an extraordinary human being saying his recovery is, in part, due to as they put it his courage, iron will and deep reserves of physical strength. And, of course, we hope this recovery continues.

But as you see, I'm smiling as I report the story because it's not very often when we first report about someone going into a coma that we get to tell this type of news. So, everybody is remaining optimistic here.

COSTELLO: Definitely so. A.J., thanks.

COSTELLO: If you're a Neil Diamond fan, we've got some news for you. He got married again! A.J. is back in the next hour with all of the juicy details.

Also coming up, the snow comes down and the power outages add up. We'll take you to DuBois, Pennsylvania, for the latest on this powerful storm that is pummeling all of the northeast and reminding us all how weird our weather has become.

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COSTELLO: Checking our "Top Stories" now.

George Zimmerman has posted bond and he walked out of jail just after midnight. The family of the teenager Zimmerman fatally shot is upset with his release which requires the use of an electronic monitoring device. Fight over Arizona's controversial immigration law lands before the Supreme Court. Justices are set to hear oral arguments on four provisions blocked by lower courts. Perhaps the most controversial is whether it's constitutional for police to check the immigration status of anyone they detain and suspect to be in the country illegally.

President Obama is just about to speak at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. He will be commemorating the great tragedy that left six million Jews dead at the hands of Nazi Germany. He'll also be outlining new steps the United States will take to prevent and respond to mass atrocity so nothing like that ever happens again. We will be monitoring the President's remarks for you.

Also more than a month after a mild winter officially ended much of the northeast is bracing for a powerful and dangerous storm. Wet, heavy snow is already falling and emergency crews are on alert for widespread power outages.

CNN's Brian Todd is in Dubois, Pennsylvania, which is about 90 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol take a look at this. This is the snow building up on the foliage of the trees. This is the main concern here in northern central Pennsylvania with a lot of this heavy wet snow just accumulating on the foliage of the trees. Now that it's April 23rd and most of the trees have full foliage or at least close to it, a lot of this snow is going to be packed on to that foliage it's going to make the trees heavier the trees are going to start to collapse and bring down power lines. It's already started to happen.

We just spoke with someone from one Penelec one of the main power and electrical providers in this area and he just told me that about 15,000 customers in this area are already without power. Most of them in this general region around Dubois and Clearfield County where we are. Center county next to the east and also Indiana County to the west. So 15,000 people without power as of now and that number is going to grow throughout the day.

As I mentioned, heavy wet snow along this I-80 corridor; that's going to be a major concern because these are major truck routes these arteries that go east-to-west. The Pennsylvania turnpike is about an hour and a half south of here that's going to get pounded today as well.

Because of the temperatures right now, the snow has not accumulated on the roads so much yet, at least not on this road because there's a lot of heavy traffic but it is going to start to accumulate, truck routes -- routes could be disrupted. They are really concerned about that right now.

So a lot of heavy wet snow coming down. It's going to set records we are told, the record for the period past April 15th in this region is about four inches. And right now where we are they are expecting maybe four to eight inches at the very least to come down in the coming hours -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Brian Todd reporting.

Rob Marciano will be along in the next hour of NEWSROOM to tell us when it'll get warm again. It won't last long, we promise.

A test aircraft hit more than 13,000 miles per hour when something went very wrong and it plunged into the Pacific Ocean and that was months ago. And now we're find out what went wrong. It turns out Mach 20 was just too much. All the details for you coming up.

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COSTELLO: A meteor shower is usually a spectacular site to see but it inspired more than awe out west. It inspired a lot of fear because people from northern California to Nevada reported hearing a very loud boom yesterday morning. That was about the same time as a meteor shower which happens every year on the same day. Some thought that big boom was a satellite or other space junk falling to earth. Others say they had no idea what it was.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, it was enough to shock me into man, what was that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard a big boom. It sounded like my daughter fell out of bed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I kind of felt it, didn't you? Almost like felt something.

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COSTELLO: The meteorite was probably about the size of a washing machine when it struck the earth's atmosphere. Hence, the loud sonic boom.

And from sonic boom to hypersonic bust. We now know what went wrong with a super fast test aircraft last year. It reached speeds of about 13,000 miles-per-hour before it crashed. Investigators say it was going so fast its skin came off. The glider was unmanned, thankfully. The goal was to create an aircraft that could fly anywhere in the world in less than an hour to strike a target. Obviously we're not there yet.

We asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, "Who is to blame for the Secret Service scandal?

This is from Kay. "Maybe, just maybe, it's the fault of the individuals who entertained the ladies in their hotel rooms? I know it sounds crazy but maybe responsibility of self is something that should be back in style.

This from Barbara, "Duh, the Secret Service and how this administration has led them to believe that they are entitled." This from Kurt, "Do you have to ask? It's Obama's fault, of course. Cancer? Obama's fault. Rains on your picnic? Obama's fault."

This from Patrick, "Leave these guys alone. They have a tough job. Let the Senators or Congressmen that have not done the same thing cast the first stone." Ouch.

And this from our friend Arthur, "We need to get Congress and the Senate to hold an individual hearing on each participant. What we need is bigger government and more hearings." Wow.

Please keep the conversation going on Facebook.com/carolCNN. I'll read more comments in the next hour of the NEWSROOM.

We are following a lot of new developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Martin Savidge.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol. Martin (AUDIO GAP) down here in Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman got out of jail in the middle of the night. Now the family of his young victim is speaking out. I'll tell you what they had to say.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. You saw the pictures just a few minutes ago from Brian Todd out in the snow zone. That's right. End of April and a big snowstorm has already dropped a foot of snow in some parts of the northeast and it's affecting more people than just the folks getting snow. We'll talk about that in the next hour.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And here in Soho, movement to the site of the scene of a missing boy, six-year-old Etan Patz. A dumpster containing concrete slabs and earth removed just a short while ago -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you.

Also there are many powerful women in politics including South Carolina's governor, Nikki Haley. She appears in "Vogue" magazine in May. Will it help her? Will it propel her to the top of the VP ticket? And why do so many politicians, men and women, pose in fashion magazines? We'll ask Robin Givhan from "Newsweek" and "Daily Beast". She's in our next hour.

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COSTELLO: Ok. Sports fan waiting to see what the NBA does about the latest violence from Lakers' star, Meta World Peace. Jeff Fischel is here. He did not leave up to his name.

JEFF FISCHEL: No, you know, if you followed his career, you know, his name feels like an oxymoron, right? But the troublemaker formerly known as Ron Artest has actually been well-behaved since getting therapy and changing his name in a symbolic move, to Meta World Peace. This sure looked like Ron Artest though yesterday after this dunk for the Lakers in their double overtime win. He celebrated and Oklahoma City's James Harden a huge elbow in the back of the head.

World Peace was ejected. That's a pretty (inaudible) -- saying it again -- World Peace was ejected. Harden has a concussion. Remember, World Peace when he was Artest in 2004 went to the stands during a game between the Pistons and Pacers. He was suspended for the rest of that season.

In all he's been suspended 111 games in his career but just one since joining the Lakers. By all accounts a model teammate. Here's what he wrote on Twitter last night. "I just watched the replay again. Oh, my celebration of the dunk really was too much. Didn't even see James. OMG, looks bad." He's saying it was an accident, I guess.

COSTELLO: So he was celebrating?

FISCHEL: He was celebrating perhaps a little too much. We'll see what the league does. Playoffs start this weekend. So the Lakers could be without one of their key cogs going for another tie. We shall see what the league does.

COSTELLO: Wow.

FISCHEL: All right. Well, you know, we try to bring the stuff you really want to see -- bring you into the sports. Here it is, drag racing. 21-year-old Lizzy Musi, she goes airborne and right at you -- right into the camera.

COSTELLO: Oh, my God.

FISCHEL: Let's check it out again. Not only right at a camera -- at a camera man who was right there. Luckily he ducked behind a divider wall just in time. He's ok. So is Musi.

Bubba Watson may have started a new tradition for a Masters' winner. Got a miniature version of his green jacket made for his newly adopted son, Caleb. Watson then tweeted a picture of the replica mini green jacket saying, "Caleb has matching Sunday outfit. Awesome." Look at him. Caleb is actually not exactly his father but it's good enough. They'll have the matching green jacket.

And finally, what's a greater thrill for a young baseball fan than to catch a foul ball? Well, I guess he didn't get to keep it. And I guess I'm not getting my -- there it is.

COSTELLO: Ok. I'm waiting, I'm waiting.

FISCHEL: He gets the (inaudible) and what did he do with it?