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British Parliament Says Murdoch Unfit; Babies Suffer Withdrawal from Mothers' Addictions; Mormon, Africa-American Female Could Make Congressional History; Obama Campaign Touts bin Laden Kill; Sherry Young Testifies in John Edwards Trial.

Aired May 01, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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


KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Philips. It's 11:00 on the East Coast, 8:00 out West.

We begin with attempted anarchy in Cleveland. We're sorting through the details of a federal case filed this morning against five men accused of plotting to blow up a bridge.

The FBI and federal prosecutors say there was never any real threat to the public and they say the suspects were closely monitored and their would-be explosives were duds controlled by an undercover FBI employee.

The feds say that three of the five men are self-proclaimed anarchists and that's why they were busted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN DETTELBACH, U.S. ATTORNEY: The FBI and Department of Justice are not conducting an investigation of any group and have not and will not conduct an investigation of any group. Today's charges should not indicate anything different.

This was an investigation of specific, five specific individuals based upon specific actions and predication. They're now charged with a specific crimes as alleged in the complaint.

And the FBI and the Department of Justice are not and do not investigate movements. We investigate crimes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, so, the five were arrested last night and are due in federal court some time today. We're following that.

We're also hearing of new and urgent precautions against so- called body bombs on airplanes. These are the explosives that are implanted inside people and, thus, at least theoretically, hard to detect.

CNN's Susan Candiotti is on that story for us. I've got her on the phone. Susan, what exactly do we know right now?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra. We're learning about a new threat involving body bombs, as you pointed out, planted inside passengers that would be - the worry is -- on flight that originate overseas and heading toward the United States.

This is according to an official who asked not to be identified, given the sensitivity of this. However, the official tells CNN that this information originated within the last two weeks and was shared among American and other intelligence agencies, including in the U.K., as well as other entities in Europe and the Middle East.

Now, this is not a brand-new threat in terms of a problem that authorities have been aware of in the past. This has come up back in 2009, for example. There was an attack on a Saudi prince.

However, the body bomb was planted inside the brother of the bomb maker and the bomb went of inside the person that was carrying the bomb. He was killed instantly. However, the target, the Saudi prince, only received minor injuries.

This, of course, you have to consider the timing here. This is a new threat that has come up surrounding the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Osama bin laden, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You mention 2009, too. Remember, wasn't that Christmas Day? The underwear bomber was caught. Is there any link to this guy?

CANDIOTTI: Well, the bomb maker who originated that bomb that was meant to target the Saudi prince also is the bomb maker who is believed to be behind this latest threat or could be behind this latest threat, as well.

And he did create the bomb involving Abdulmutallab that was involved in that Christmas Day attack that you're talking about.

PHILLIPS: Got it. All right, Susan. Keep us updated. Susan Candiotti, we'll continue to talk throughout the morning.

Now, a remarkable view of al Qaeda from the inside. CNN has actually seen a trove of al Qaeda documents from a highly encrypted memory chip that was discovered in the underwear of a terror suspect that was arrested last year in Berlin.

Those files were actually hidden inside a porn video. U.S. intelligence calls them, pure gold. They cover strategy, tactics, lessons learned and future operations.

CNN's Nic Robertson joining us now from London on this. Pretty intriguing, Nic, especially the mode of transportation. These documents suggest that al Qaeda is under tremendous pressure, but determined to adapt, right?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I mean, the documents here, 141 of them, some of them look back and provide, for example, our first insight from al Qaeda's perspective, from the guy that handled the attacks in London, the 721 bombing attack that killed 52 people on 7/7, a follow-up attack two weeks later, the liquid airlines plot. That's the plot that means today we can only carry 100 milliliters of liquid on the planes.

It looks back at everything he learned -- this is his document - to what they're trying to do now. What we can see is they're very concerned about Western intelligence agencies getting better. They try to do their own kind of counter-surveillance to throw off Western intelligence agencies. They have been successful doing that.

They're very concerned and demoralized about the number of people that are being killed, operatives that are being killed in the Pakistan border training region. They want to get as many of them back from there as they can to Europe and the places that they've come from.

And they're going to want to try to do simpler, easier to mount attacks, like the Mumbai gun attack where ten gunmen in India in 2008 attacked people in three hotels, killed 164.

But perhaps the most scary of all the tactics that they want to put into practice is to take down a cruises ship, is to get on board a cruise ship, take control, dress captives in orange jumpsuits similar to those used in Gitmo, and then execute people and upload them to the Internet.

So, there's a range of plans, but they're all modified based on the fact that they are just not as able to attack in the same big way as they used to, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: So, Nic, what do we know about this suspect and why he was carrying this on him. Was he just some sort of low-level carrier?

ROBERTSON: This is really interesting. We really know very, very few details right now from German authorities and he's on trial right now and the trial's expected to probably come to conclusion in June. We may know more then.

But the bottom line is that what we do know is he does appear to be part of this future project's document, this Mumbai-style attack. If we remember just under two years ago, there was a warning to travel in the whole of Europe, unprecedented.

This seems to be because there was a threat at that time. There were arrests in connection with a Mumbai gunman-style attack. These people arrested in Germany seem to be connected, a year later, with a similar type of attack and they had with them a list of people to recruit to become suicide attackers in this attack.

Those are the details we have, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Nic, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Now, before we move on, I want to share some interesting numbers we came across. The Pew Research Center actually did a poll in several Muslim countries and found that al Qaeda is widely unpopular.

Take a look at Pakistan where Osama bin laden was found and shot dead. Only 13 percent of Muslims have a favorable view of al Qaeda. The majority, unfavorable.

Well, buses and ferries, just a few of the services coming to a screeching halt today. Are the May Day protests disrupting your city? We'll take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: We're keeping a close watch on protests for you today. They're erupting around the world.

Today is May 1st, so the masses are making it clear that they're fed up with unemployment, cutbacks and the sluggish economy and making sure that no one forgets it's International Workers Day.

May Day events under way as we speak. Thousands of people taking to the streets in Asia, Europe and right here in the U.S. We have rallies, demonstrations. They're popping up coast to coast.

Labor unions, immigration activists and also "Occupy" protesters, all uniting, calling it "a day without the 99 percent."

Well, we're on the ground all over the world to bring you the latest. Poppy Harlow is in New York and Dan Simon out on the West Coast there.

Let's start in New York, ground zero of the "Occupy" movement which is playing a big part in today's protest. Occupiers determined to show that 1 percent what life was like without the 99 percent.

Poppy Harlow, give us a feel for what it's like in New York.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: They are certainly. They're trying. Let's play the video for you so you can get a sense of what is amassed here in Bryant Park.

Not a lot of people here. It has gotten bigger since we started here at about 7:00 a.m. Maybe about 100, 150 people gathering. They are waiting to march down to Union Square and then later today and this evening on down to Wall Street.

Of course, they're a little more organized. I'll pull this up for you. This is what we were given when we got here. I never got this covering Zuccotti Park. This is basically a schedule of the strike here, along with the unions.

There have been some protests in front of the big banks. I want to take you now to some video of Bank of America, big headquarters, just a few blocks away from where we are in Midtown Manhattan.

You had maybe about 25, 50 protesters out there this morning chanting, "Bank of America, bad for America." Obviously, the backlash continues against the banks from this group.

At the same time, I spoke to a lot of members of Occupy Wall Street this morning and asked them, are you more organized than you were in November because you don't have that sense of location and, mainly, has your message changed at all?

They said, "Our message has not changed. We want to keep people in our homes, get affordable health care. We want to change laws, not just the conversation."

I will tell you I did speak to one Occupy member, Aaron Black and I asked him, are you still sending this message that it's not OK to be wealthy. It is not OK to make money and really achieve that American dream?

Here's his answer. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON BLACK, OCCUPY WALL STREET : it's OK to make money. Having money is not a crime. What's immoral is when you use money to hurt people. This thing is not going to get any better until the 99 percent becomes 100 percent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: And that, Kyra, is the key I think so far today. The groups aren't that big. We're told they're going to get a lot bigger this afternoon. There's a group of about 200 marching over from Brooklyn into Manhattan over the Williamsburg Bridge right now.

But the key is that they're trying to attract the masses. They didn't do that in Zuccotti Park. Some people, frankly, in the 99 percent felt alienated from the movement. They are now reaching out and organizing with unions and labor and trying to attract the masses.

A message from one Occupier this morning said, we just want a sensible middle class existence in this country.

We'll head out with the camera with the group, march with them all day downtown all day and see if this movement gets bigger. I'm told it will, but they need a lot more people if they want to send that message today.

PHILLIPS: All right, we'll be checking in with you, Poppy. Thanks so much.

Meanwhile, we'll head over out west now to San Francisco where commuters are definitely feeling the impact there. The May Day protests have actually shut down ferry service and bus workers are picketing.

Dan Simon is there in San Francisco, watching all that for us. So, Dan, what's the situation for commuters right now? We're looking at, what, 8:13 on the West Coast.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in terms of the morning commute, things seem to be moving OK. You can see the traffic. These are folks getting off the golden gate bridge and this is the traffic coming from Marin County. And, Kyra, you can just imagine what would have happened if protesters had actually made good on their threat to shut the Golden Gate Bridge down. There would have been tremendous grid lock.

That's why you're seeing police officers here. There's a heavy police presence here off the bridge, just in case protesters do, in fact, decide to shut the Golden Gate Bridge down. We're not seeing any evidence of that at this point.

The only real confrontation we've seen thus far, if you want to call it that, are folks who went to the Mission District last night and started vandalizing the local police station there, busted out windows at various businesses and, so, that's really the only flash point at this point.

You did mention that there has been a disruption to the ferry service in Larkspur which is across the bridge in Marin, but service is expected to be restored some time this afternoon.

Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right, so, it looks like there's protests in Oakland, as well. Is that right?

SIMON: Well, there are actually expected to be protests all throughout the San Francisco Bay area today. There's going to be a rally in Oakland later this afternoon and, of course, we all remember what happened a few months ago when the Occupy protests first got going in Oakland.

There was that violent protest or confrontation with police and, so, we don't want to see a repeat of that tonight. So, I would expect, again, to see a lot of police officers patrolling the streets making sure that we don't see a repeat of what happened.

Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Got it. Dan Simon, all right, we'll talk to you on the West Coast, also, Poppy Harlow in New York. So, we've got coast- to-coast covered for you.

Now, if you have a problem with Facebook's newest change. Don't blame Mark Zuckerberg. Blame his girlfriend. The idea actually generated on a dinner date. We have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ZUCKERBERG, FACEBOOK FOUNDER: Even if this doesn't touch everyone, I hope that this can make a real impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That was Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg on ABC's "Good Morning America" talking about the site's new lifesaving feature, organ donation. Now, you can change your Facebook status to show that you're a donor and you can show that information with anyone.

So we're wondering what kind of impact that that could have because, right now in the U.S., there are actually 157 million Facebook users and 114,000 people on transplant lists. So, how did Zuckerberg come up with the idea?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZUCKERBERG: Recently, you know, when the tornadoes came through in Missouri, a lot of people were using Facebook to organize and return items that were lost. In Japan, people were using Facebook to help locate their friends and family.

So we figured, OK, could we do anything that would help people solve other types of issues like all of the people who need organ donation?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, that was just one of the inspirations. The others? Friend, Steve Jobs, who had a liver transplant and a dinner conversation with Zuckerberg's girlfriend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZUCKERBERG: She's going to be a pediatrician, so our dinner conversations are, you know, often about Facebook and kids and the kids that she's meeting and she'll see them getting sicker and then all of a sudden, an organ becomes available and it's like she comes home and her, I don't know, it's like her face is all lit up because someone's life is going to be better because of this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Digital tech expert Shelly Palmer joining me now. So, Shelly, is there a downside to this?

SHELLY PALMER, TECH EXPERT: I don't think so. I think it's outstanding in every way.

There's an interesting question that comes up which is, if you decide you're going to be an organ donor on Facebook and you haven't elected that on your driver's license and you end up in the hospital, which comes first - your driver's license or your Facebook profile.

I think in the information age that will set us up for a great set of questions and a great dialogue we should all have, but on balance, you have to applaud the effort by Facebook. What a fantastic thing to do. What a great gift to offer people.

PHILLIPS: I know you're not a doctor, but if you look at the number of Facebook users and then the number of people who need some kind of transplant, this could save lives.

PALMER: It's unquestionable that it could save lives. And, more importantly, it's gets a gigantic issue and it puts it forefront in the national dialogue.

We are talking now, you and I, about organ donation and organ transplants. What a wonderful thing to talk about and, if Facebook just started that conversation with the 800 million people on Facebook, that would be enough.

I do think it will save lives and I also think it's very, very important for us to now talk about privacy, now talk about how this really affects us because this is one of the very first episodes in our new digital lives.

We're going to make an election to do something on Facebook that is going to impact our lives in the real world. It's no longer just our virtual Facebook friends. We're talking about having an impact on people's real lives.

By the way, if 20 years ago, I said there is going to be a computer program that will end one in five marriages, you would have laughed at me. That's Facebook.

PHILLIPS: Well, you brought something up about driver's license. You know, we check whether we're a donor or not. I've checked it on my driver's license. My guess is you have, too, but I don't Facebook.

So, for those who Facebook and say that they'd be a donor, but they don't have it on their driver's license, is there one that take precedence over another?

PALMER: That is to be determined. You know, it's interesting. Five, ten years ago, I decided to become an organ donor, but I didn't feel like changing my driver's license. In New York, a driver's license is good for 10 years.

The last time I had a birthday - I won't say which birthday that was -- I checked the box and my new driver's license says that. My wife said to me, wow, you're an organ donor when she saw my license like six months later.

I said, yeah, I've talked about it for years. She goes, "But I didn't know." So, it's very interesting to see how this will impact us in our daily lives. And, again, I think what's fabulous about this, well, there's a couple of things.

One, that Mark Zuckerberg and company put this in place because it's a wonderful thing to have put in place, but two and from my perspective as a guy who spends a lot of time in tech, this is a great opportunity for us as a society to start thinking about which does take precedence? My driver's license, my Facebook profile? What information is going to be published and what's going to take precedence? What does my living will look like? Is that going to be digitized? You know, where is the utilitarianism of Facebook versus other tools?

PHILLIPS: This is just the beginning.

PALMER: It is just the beginning. PHILLIPS: They're going to have many more dinner dates and many more discussions and probably many more ideas.

PALMER: I hope that they are this productive. I really do.

PHILLIPS: Yeah, no kidding. Shelly Palmer, thanks so much.

Well, Delta Airlines is getting into the oil business, looking to cut its jet fuel bill by $300 million a year. Will they pass the savings on to you?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, so with jet fuel prices soaring, what is an airline to do? Well, maybe just take matters into its own hands.

That's exactly what Delta is doing. It's actually going to buy an oil refinery in Trainer, Pennsylvania. Christine Romans went there to learn more about this deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What will come out of here in Trainer, Pennsylvania, will keep these in the air. It's jet fuel.

Delta Airlines has secured 80 percent of its jet fuel needs, cutting out the middle man, buying this idle refinery from ConocoPhillips for $150 million. Delta Airlines is entering the oil refining business.

TOM KLOZA, OIL PRICE INFORMATION SERVICE: When we first heard about it two months ago, I said no way in the world.

ROMANS: Tell me what's happening with Delta and the Trainer refinery.

KLOZA: Delta is going to try something really interesting. I think they're looking at it and they're saying we're tired of paying $10 or more over the price of crude, which is very expensive for jet fuel.

ROMANS: What Delta has secured is the delivery network for jet fuel, reaching throughout the Northeast, including its hubs at New York's JFK and La Guardia airports.

KLOZA: The refinery might cost $150 million, $200 million, from the perspective of an airline like Delta, that is less than they would pay for a modern 777 aircraft.

PHILLIPS: The state of Pennsylvania added $30 million to the deal for job creation and Delta plans to spend an additional $100 million to upgrade this facility to produce as much jet fuel as possible.

It's jet fuel Delta wants. It will trade the gasoline and diesel that comes out of here with other refiners for more fuel for its planes.

Christine Romans, CNN, Trainer, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right, Ali Velshi will weigh in on this. Why? Because he and Christine wrote the book on all things economy, gas, airlines and, where there's Christine, there's Ali.

So let's weigh in on this, Ali Velshi. What does Delta actually know about running a refinery or does it not know and this is going to be the time to hire a bunch of experts?

ALI VELSHI, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They have. They actually have a refinery operator who is going to run it. It was my first question when I talked to Delta to say, is this a little bit weird that you're running an airline and now you're going to run a refinery?

But it is their biggest cost. And, you know, as Christine said, they're getting this thing for 150 million bucks and they'll spend $100 million renovating this. This refinery couldn't have been bought for a billion dollars ten years ago.

So they are getting it at a deep discount. They think they'll save $300 million a year on fuel by doing this, so they make their money back very, very quickly. They sell, as Christine said, the excess that they don't use and jet fuel is the highest margin of all the things you can make in great quantity out of a barrel of oil.

So I have to tell you, Kyra, I think this is quite innovative. I don't know what this will hold for them a few years down the road, but it's interesting thinking.

PHILLIPS: Well, and that's what we want to know. Will we see a discount now or will it cost us more? How is it going to impact us overall as a flier?

VELSHI: So, Delta is going to pay less for its fuel, in theory. If this works out well, Delta pays less for its fuel. It also sells some fuel, so this brings down costs for Delta versus United Continental and versus American and USAir and the other main line carriers.

What they do with that savings is still to be seen. Do they take it to the shareholders? Do they increase wages? Do they pass it on to the consumer? Who knows?

But one way or the other it likely makes them more competitive. This is not obviously going to cost you more, let's put it that way. There's some chance it could cost you less, but it's somehow going to make Delta a healthier airline.

What they do with the money is anybody's guess.

PHILLIPS: So do you think other airlines are going to sort of sit on the sidelines and see what happens and if, indeed, this works or do you think other airlines are already thinking, I think I'm going to do that, too.

VELSHI: This works in certain places. The northeast has some good refineries and the spider web network that goes out to other major cities and this is outside of Philadelphia which is not a big city for delta, but New York is. And they've got pipelines. Delta is also big and it's got a lot of cash. It's not the kind of thing that anybody can figure out doing. But I guarantee you al the airlines are sitting around and watching this very closely to see whether it is worth it. A lot of stars came together on this one. An available refinery that was being idled and being sold for very little money in the northeast where delta needs access to fuel. I'm going to follow it very closely and I'll let you know if anyone else is thinking of doing the same thing.

PHILLIPS: Sounds great. Thank you so much, Ali.

VELSHI: Good to see you -- Kyra?

Stocks are rallying on Wall Street after closing down yesterday. Dow industrials up 96 points. That is good news for us.

We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM WATSON, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: These people corrupted our country. They brought shame on our police force and our parliaments. They lied and cheat, blackmailed and bullies, and they should all be ashamed when see how we cowered before them for so long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Scolding for the Murdochs from the British parliamentary panel investigating phone hacking by "News International." The committee today found Rupert Murdoch not to be fit and a proper person to run a major international company.

CNN's Dan Rivers standing by in London, he has been monitoring everything that has been happening there for us for days.

Tell us exactly what that means, Dan.

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they found that he wasn't a fit person to run an international company. Basically, that is implying that or sort of second guessing really what the TV regulator here has to rule on. At the moment which decides whether you're allowed to have a license is trying to weigh up whether the Murdoch empire is a person to have a broadcast license. The selection committee in this report came up saying he was not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major international company was their exact wording. If they also agree with this report, it could potentially be disastrous for Rupert Murdoch. It would mean that he's unable to able to hold his 39 percent stake in the British broadcast, which is a cash cow for News Corp. In terms of their global earnings and also increase pressure on Rupert Murdoch from shareholders and the board of News Corp. To possibly step aside because they would argue perhaps that he and he alone is the main obstacle to not being able to broadcast in the USA.

PHILLIPS: Are they saying that mentally he's not all there?

RIVERS: No they're saying -- they used the word "fit." They didn't say fit and proper, it is important because that is slightly different. They said he was not a fit person to exercise the stewardship of a major company. All that basically means is that they feel he has presided over a culture in which it is acceptable to lie to parliament and to blackmail people and to cover up wrongdoing and have a company in which it is perfectly acceptable to break the law by hacking into people's phones and pay off policemen and so on. They're all saying the corporate governance and the tone that they set at the very top of the company is down to Rupert Murdoch and he has failed to set the proper tone of corporate governance.

PHILLIPS: We'll follow it. That's for sure.

Dan Rivers. Thank you so much.

If you think drug addicts are the only ones that go through withdrawal, you're wrong. Every hour one baby is in prescription drug withdrawal. That's roughly, 13,500 babies a year. Nearly triple the number since 2000. The main reason, the number of pregnant women addicted to powerful prescription pain killers. These findings are in the "Journal of the American Medical Association."

CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is joining us for more.

Explain it me -- you and I have had kids. You don't take prescription pain killers. It's just a no-no. Why are these moms taking it? Are they being prescribed these? What's the background?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: These women for the most part are coming into pregnancy already addicted. They're already addicted to pain killers and they get pregnant and they're addicted, so they keep taking it. This is not -- I think we all have this image of an addict of someone in a gutter somewhere or something. Some of these are like suburban mommies who you and I know and they are --

PHILLIPS: What, chronic back pain and just always taking them and kept taking them through a pregnancy.

COHEN: Could be they had a surgery and were legitimate prescribed a pain killer like a vicodin or something like that and they got addicted. You and I heard those stories and reported those stories and then they get pregnant and they are really stuck because they just can't stop taking it when they're pregnant. That could harm the baby. There is not a lot of great options. Obstetricians are stuck trying to manage this, you know, addicted woman with a baby and it's hard to know exactly what to do.

PHILLIPS: How sick are these babies?

COHEN: These babies, when they're born, are pretty sick. They are irritable, they have these piercing screams. You can see them here CNN shot this video in Knoxville, Tennessee, recently. They can't be comforted. They have trouble eating. They don't suck well, they vomit a lot, they have seizures and they have to be sort of, it could take months to sort of get them off of this and to withdraw them and sometimes they have to be given small doses of morphine to withdraw them from the prescription drugs.

PHILLIPS: That's the solution? That's the most common solution?

COHEN: Yes.

PHILLIPS: There has to be long-term effects?

COHEN: This is a relatively new phenomenon. They're not sure about the long-term effects. They see the kids go through withdrawal and then they go on to be fine. We don't want to say these kids are doomed to a terrible life of drug addiction, because that doesn't seem to be the case.

PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

A story we told you about yesterday. 6-month-old Avery has died. She had a rare genetic condition called spinal muscular atrophy. Doctors gave her two years to live, so her parents put together a bucket list for her. Things to do before she died. Well, it was their way to make every day count for their little girl. And this past weekend, she got to go to her first baseball game. And it was in her father's loving arms as he threw out the first pitch. Crossing more things of the list, another thing they can cross off making us all smile.

Well, conservative, Mormon, African-American -- if elected, GOP sensation Mia Love will make history, becoming the first black Republican congresswoman. She joins me live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It is unusual, rare combination, especially in politics, a conservative Republican, who is Mormon, African-American in Utah. Yet, Mia Love is all those things and she is making huge waves in the grand old party. Love is the mayor of Saratoga Springs in Utah and she's pulled off a major upset, winning the Republican Party's nomination for the state's fourth Congressional district. If Love wins the general election, she could make history as potentially the first black Republican woman in Congress.

Mia Love joining us now live.

Mia, great to see you.

MIA LOVE, (R), UTAH CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, thank you for having me.

PHILLIPS: I tell you what, you fascinate me. Conservative, Mormon, African-American woman living in Utah. You're a daughter of Haitian immigrants. Anything else that you want to tell me that makes you even more unbelievably unique?

LOVE: Well, I don't know if it's unbelievably unique, but I run also and I enjoy running because it just keeps my head straight and keeps my priorities and makes sure my body is healthy. I love running.

PHILLIPS: We're going to throw that in, too. The next thing I need to look for is how you're going to win the Boston Marathon. I'll keep my eye on that. What folks have been saying about you. Your win for the fourth congressional district is getting a lot of attention and bigwigs like Eric Cantor and budget chair, Paul Ryan, are endorsing you, giving money to your campaign. What are these GOP insiders saying to you, Mia? What do they expect from you? What do they want to see from you? Why are they supporting you?

LOVE: I don't think they came in with an agenda. I came in and talked to them, I talked to them about Utah's principles and belief and they were just right there and they said, you know, we'd love to have your help. We'd love to have you in the U.S. House and they came out early to help with the campaign and I appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: You had to face some challenges. Tel me what has been the biggest challenge so far and do you feel conflicted about anything that the GOP stands for and how do you deal with that?

LOVE: Well, challenges. There's always going to be challenges. You know, there are a lot of people who have tried to define me as a person and I don't allow -- I'm not a victim. I don't allow myself or myself to put me in a box. So, you know, those are things that people will try and they may be some challenges but Utah, I have to tell you, I love this place and I love the people that are here and I represent al their beliefs and those values and, so, I'm really excited to represent them and be the Republican nominee?

PHILLIPS: Let me ask you as Republican nominee, you're Mormon, do you think Mitt Romney should talk more about his religion and talking more about being a Mormon?

LOVE: Those aren't the issues that Americans really care about. Americans care about jobs and they care about the economy and they care about the debt and deficit spending. And those are the things that he's focused on and I think he should just stay on message. In terms of being who he is, it is part of who he is as being a person and I don't think it should deter as the issue.

PHILLIPS: You are not this atypical cookie cutter Republican. You're so diverse in many ways. Santorum was up and then down and then Mitt Romney was up and down and Mitt Romney in there and definitely the party is divided. What do they need to do, Mia, the GOP? LOVE: I think they need to get their messaging correct. I think what we need to do is find a cause and really get the people to rally behind that cause. They really need to take their messaging to the people. We need to remember who we represent and Saratoga Springs, being a mayor there. I've worked where the rubber meets the road and I meet with people. I make decisions and they directly affect people. And we have to remember, that's who we represent. We represent the people on the ground and that's what we need to do when it comes to the presidential elections, also. They still represent people.

PHILLIPS: And you are poised to break a major barrier. And I know this is the wrong party, but let me ask you about President Barack Obama because he did break many barriers. What were your feelings then when he won the presidency and how do you feel about him now?

LOVE: Oh, well, how do I feel about him now? The greatest honor I can do to the American people is to judge the president based on his policies and his actions. And I believe that his policies haven't been in step with what the American people really want. We've, I mean, we're losing jobs. We've got -- we're educating children on a federal level. We're controlling lands on a federal level. We are regulating each business and government has grown so out of control in terms of what it's supposed to do. And, you know, it's too bad. We really need to start turning the tide so that we can get this country back on its feet.

PHILLIPS: Mia Love, we'll be watching.

What do you kids think about all this, by the way?

LOVE: Oh, they're so excited. This is a family event. Everybody is in this and we're really excited to go and really make some differences and be a really good role model and represent Utah's values. So, my kids are really excited. My husband is incredibly supportive and we're ready.

PHILLIPS: We'll be watching.

Mia, thanks for talking with me today.

LOVE: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Osama bin Laden campaign warfare. Should it be of limits? That's "Fair Game."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's been one year since NAVY SEALs stormed the compound and killed the most-wanted man, Osama bin Laden. It was a big day for America and President Barack Obama. But should it have ended there? How do you feel about hyping this as a campaign pitch?

CNN contributors, Maria Cardona and Dana Loesch. Maria, "Fair Game?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Absolutely it's fair game. Because look. At the very beginning of the Bush administration right after 9/11 when they went in and did not find bin Laden it was the beginning of de-emphasizing the focus on bin Laden and going into the ill-conceived war in Iraq. It was the Bush administration policy, Romney agreed with it which is what came from his comment of not wanting to move heaven and earth to go after bin Laden.

Secondly, he also said Romney said that he disagreed with Obama's policy of wanting to go into Pakistan if they had actionable intelligence without the help of the Pakistani government. He called those comments ill-conceived and misguided. So right there we have proof that Mitt Romney would not have, according to his own words, would not have acted under the same circumstances that President Obama did. And Gates, Robert Gates, his defense secretary, and everybody that was part of his defense team has called it the most courageous move they have seen a president make. And Biden actually advised against it. It was a 50/50 proposition, not a slam dunk. It was a very courageous move on his part so absolutely it's fair game, one of his greatest accomplishments.

PHILLIPS: Dana?

DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think Maria misunderstands what taking credit for something that happened on your watch and being proud of something that happened on your watch, then opening yourself up to political attack by using it in a political attack ad that is so embarrassing the navy seals themselves come out and say, yes, that was a really bad move. Not only that but there was that memo that "Time" magazine got from Leon Panetta that shows it was Admiral McGraven (ph) that made a lot of the decisions.

I'm not someone saying that Barack Obama shouldn't get credit at all. I was super happy, I was like every other American the night that we heard bin Laden was captured. I did a victory lap around my house for America, I was so happy.

But at the same time, seeing this a year later come in a political attack ad against Mitt Romney, and disingenuously using an edited quote from Mitt -- this quote from Romney, they cut it in half. Romney wasn't saying they shouldn't have gone after bin Laden. That bin Laden is the figure head and the war on terror doesn't stop just because bin Laden is captured and he went into how he would have a plan to execute this plan to combat global jihad. It's telling that the Obama campaign left that full quote out of that campaign ad.

PHILLIPS: Ladies, let's see if I can get one more question here. 90 seconds. Hey, you know. Two ladies, go.

(LAUGHTER)

CARDONA: You got it.

(LAUGHTER) PHILLIPS: A key adviser said that Mitt Romney now has around 20 names on his V.P. list.

OK. Maria, 20 names on a list. What does that say to you?

CARDONA: I think that says that right now they are all over the place but I think that's fine. He's got time to make this decision. I think they certainly have not really focused on the kinds of character -- the characteristics or the background or the type of person that they want as the vice president, from everything I read and I know nothing as the insider and Dana might, but what I have heard is that Mitt Romney is probably going to go for somebody who is safe, not a game changer, not somebody who is flashy, he can't afford anybody --

PHILLIPS: Dana, you agree?

(CROSSTALK)

Do you agree and what's interesting --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: -- is Chris Christie is not necessarily saying no.

LOESCH: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

I do kind of agree with Maria. I don't think they know what they are going to do. I don't think Chris Christie would be a good choice because you lose regional diversity with Chris Christie on the ticket. There is the chance that Romney would be completely overshadowed with Chris Christie because he has such a big personality. This man is a sound bite factory. He is not afraid of a camera, and he'll tell people what he thinks. And I think that would scare the Romney campaign. Please, Condoleezza Rice, consider.

PHILLIPS: Dana, Maria, thank you. Appreciate it.

Disgusted, that's how the wife of a campaign aide feels about things when she claims she was asked to specifically deal with money donated from a 101-year-old woman. We've got more on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: John Edwards' legal team can't wait to grill Sherry Young. She's the wife of Edwards' former aide, Andrew Young, the man who hid the mistress. She could be cross-examined today.

Joe Johns is in Greensboro, North Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Sherry Young expected back on the stand in Greensboro for another day of testimony in the John Edwards campaign finance trial. She was excused early on Monday because she said she wasn't feeling well. Sherry Young controlled the bank accounts where she deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars from a wealthy John Edwards donor. She's important to the prosecution's case because she says Edwards told her this was all legal and instructed her to, quote, "get the money in the bank."

She also explained why she agreed to allow her husband and the father of her three children to take credit for fathering a child with Edwards' mistress. She said she went along with it because her husband said it was the only way to cover up the truth and she said she did not want to be responsible for exploding the presidential campaign of John Edwards.

In Greensboro, I'm Joe Johns.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: She also testified she felt disgusted after being asked to endorse and deposit checks from a 101-year-old heiress, Rachel Bunny Mellon. She says she knew the funds were intended to pay Rielle Hunter's expenses.

Thanks for watching, everyone. You can continue the conversation with me on Twitter @KyraCNN, or on Facebook. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Suzanne Malveaux.