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"Time" Mag Breastfeeding Cover Shock; "Attachment Parenting" Doctor Speaks Out; Teen Romney: "Prank" Or Bullying?; Sisters Now Out Of Hospital, Suspect Dead; U.S. Obesity Rate To Swell By 2030; POW's Parents Reveal Talks With Taliban; Own an iPod? You Might Be Suing Apple; First Lady Speaks to Virginia Tech Graduates
Aired May 11, 2012 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. They are found alive. The manhunt is over. The dramatic moment, the SWAT teams rush in saving two Tennessee girls held captive for almost three weeks.
High school high jinks, Mitt Romney apologizing for a prank nearly half a century ago, but says he doesn't even clearly remember what happened.
He's known for his wild hair, even wilder tats and his antics on the court. But it's what's happening off the court that's getting attention this morning. The bird man's bird's nest is being combed through by cops from the internet child porn unit.
Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. We start this morning with the man at the center of a "Time" magazine article that sparked a lot of controversy over the cover.
The article is about attachment parenting. Here you see a 26- year-old mother breast-feeding her 3-year-old son. "Time" says it shows this image to symbolize and mark the 20th anniversary of a book based on the subject.
"The Baby Book" was written by Dr. William Sears. It focuses on breast-feeding into toddler hood, sleeping in the same bed as your child, and other means of attachment parenting.
It's a very popular book. It sold 1.5 million copies, but many are against this type of parenting. So joining me now is Dr. William Sears. Doctor, welcome.
DR. WILLIAM SEARS, AUTHOR, "THE BABY BOOK": Good morning, Carol. It's good to be with you.
COSTELLO: It's nice to have you here. Let's first take on the cover of "Time" magazine. I'm sure you've seen it by now. They didn't feature you on the cover, but they featured this blond mother with her 3-year-old child breast-feeding. So as you look at this cover, what do you think? SEARS: Well, it got a lot of attention, Carol. I want to make a point that attachment parenting is not extreme. It's a very natural, instinctual, beautiful way of mothering and fathering your baby.
It is not indulgent. It's not extreme. In fact, how I explain it to parents is, if you are on an island and there were no experts around to advise you how to parent your baby, attachment parenting is what you would naturally do.
COSTELLO: Well, I have to say, Dr. Sears, looking at the cover of "Time" magazine, breast-feeding a 3-year-old seems extreme to many parents.
SEARS: Well, actually it does, but the World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for at least two to three years, not months, but years.
And in my 40 years in pediatric practice, some of the healthiest, most well behaved, brightest children I have ever seen are those who are breastfed well up until the second or third year.
COSTELLO: OK, so I'm thinking that older parents who have grown children are watching you and saying, are you crazy, because we didn't even breast-feed our children.
They are happy, for the most part, well adjusted adults. So, come on, you're just making mothers feel guilty about either not being able to breastfeed because some mothers can't or forcing mothers to breastfeed well beyond what they're comfortable with.
SEARS: Well, you do the best you can with the tools you have. Attachment parenting really is a list of tools, not rules. I call it the seven baby Bs, birth bonding, breastfeeding, when you can, as long as you can, baby wearing in the sling, carry your baby as much as you can, bedding close to baby, belief in baby's cry.
Avoiding the cry it out crowd, beware of baby trainer and finally a bit of balance, knowing when to say yes to your baby, when to say no, when to give to yourself and when to give to baby.
COSTELLO: OK, so other parents might say because I know you said you should sleep with your child until what age?
SEARS: Until -- until baby and child are ready to leave close to your bed. Now you can sleep in the bed, next to the bed, in a bedside co-sleeper. But the best arrangement, the best sleeping arrangement for every family is the one that gives every family member the best night's sleep.
COSTELLO: I don't know it if that's possible with the baby in your bed, but maybe I'm wrong.
SEARS: Actually it's much easier.
COSTELLO: What if the child doesn't want to leave the parental bed? SEARS: They always leave. They always leave. Again, I've been seeing this for 40 years and, in fact, the other day a schoolteacher, a mother told me -- a schoolteacher said to her, whatever you're doing, tell me what you're doing with your child?
He's so happy and healthy and connected. And, in fact, I have never seen a school bully who has been attachment parented. They are empathetic. They care.
COSTELLO: Come on, how do you know that?
SEARS: I've been studying it for 40 years, Carol. They have empathy. They are connected kids, and I tell parents, raise kids who care, and those are attachment parents.
COSTELLO: OK, so some might say you're really not teaching your child independence. You're not teaching them to tackle things on their own. If you're constantly attached to your parent through the age of 5 or 6, how do you ever learn independence?
SEARS: And I get this criticism a lot. This has been well studied, carol, really, that the kids who are most attached early on, who learn the concept of trust. These kids actually grew up to be the most independent and naturally secure children.
COSTELLO: You know, I've talked to a lot of educators who have a terrible problem with parents who are overly involved in their child's life. They just will not let go.
If a parent raises their child in this manner where they're always with the child, doesn't it affect the parent as well? Isn't it difficult for the parent to let go? Doesn't it -- isn't there a danger that this kind of parental behavior will continue through adulthood?
SEARS: That extra "B" for balance, knowing when to let go. The good news is, see, attachment parenting is an exercise in child rearing --
COSTELLO: I want to talk about being able to let go because it's a big problem.
SEARS: You should let go, yes.
COSTELLO: In our schools right now, parents simply cannot let go. Not only that, they can't -- they can't determine when their child is in the wrong. They just can't believe their child would do something wrong because they've raised this child and they've been with them so closely.
SEARS: Yes, you're correct. You have to know when to let go and that's why I added balance, knowing when to pull in, knowing when to let go. But when you do attachment parenting ride, you read your baby and you instinctively know it's time to let out the line a bit and let go. COSTELLO: I would argue some educators say there are many parents who never come to that conclusion, who never know when to let go, and it's a big problem in our culture right now.
SEARS: Well, in some respects they're right. But I see as a pediatrician, and most of my colleagues do. We see problems of under attachment a lot more than we do over attachment. And over attachment is a lot easier to correct. In fact, I think if all babies were attachment parented, we'd put a lot of psychotherapists out of business.
COSTELLO: Dr. Sears, thank you so much for coming on today. We appreciate it.
SEARS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: This is the high school high jinks that won't go away. Mitt Romney has apologized, but he can't quite move past an incident that has haunted some of his high school classmates for decades.
They're dredging up an incident from 1965 when Romney was 18 and the governor's kid. Supposedly Romney and some of his buddies chased down a fellow teenager, held him down and cut off chunks of his hair.
One former classmate, now an attorney, says the boy was terrified and this was not only bullying, but criminal assault. Romney's staff dismisses any talk that the incident speaks to his character and the candidate himself will only say that he apologizes for any childhood prank that went too far.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't recall the incident myself, but I've seen the reports. I'm not going to argue with that. There's no question, but that I did some stupid things when I was in high school and obviously, if I hurt anyone by virtue of that, I would be very sorry for it and apologize for it.
KERRY HEALEY, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: What people really want to hear about is does he care? And I can tell you that he cares deeply. He's a deeply compassionate person and bullying is not something that he has ever knowingly engaged in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Romney's campaign has released statements from former classmates say Romney was never mean-spirited, certainly never a bully. The alleged victim in the case, he died several years ago.
Now to that grizzly kidnapping story out of Tennessee. This morning Alexandria and Kyliyah Bain are safe and sound and out of the hospital. The girls turned up in a wooded area in Mississippi after a nationwide manhunt.
The FBI says their kidnapper, that man, Adam Mayes, is dead. He shot and killed himself as police closed in. Mayes is also suspected of killing the girls' mother and their older sister in a bizarre case of violence and obsession that first exploded three weeks ago.
Martin Savidge is in Alpine, Mississippi to tell us more. Where are the girls now, Martin?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, we've been told that they've been reunited with family members. We don't know if that means specifically their father or whether it's extended family members.
But, of course, that is wonderful news. That is the optimal thing you could hope for at this particular point because it means, one, that they've been to the hospital. They've been checked out and at least physically, they are all right and they have now been released.
Let me tell you how this all happened. It really started around 5:30 local time about 100 yards down the dirt road that you can see behind me here, and it all came about because of a tip.
Somebody in the public notified the authorities that there was a cabin up here. Now they didn't necessarily say they'd seen Adam Mayes, it was just that they thought that could be a good place to hide for a person who was on the run.
Now federal authorities said they had been through the area a couple of times before, but it's extremely rural and heavily wooded. So this time, they had another SWAT team come in, special operations people, 31 members, divided into two teams.
They began focusing on a specific part of the wooded area. They came across one of the young girls laying on the ground and shortly they spotted Adam Mayes. Mayes spotted them. He jumped to his fee pulled a gun out from the waistband of his pants and shot himself once in the head.
So, again, these poor, young girls, witnessed another tragedy. But they were immediately rescued. Two federal female agents were there and drove the girls off to safety. They were dehydrated. They were suffering from exposure. But as we know they're alive and safe now -- Carol.
COSTELLO: That's the best news of all. Martin Savidge, live in Mississippi this morning.
There are new details on the only known U.S. soldier being held captive by the Taliban. His parents are now speaking out about the government's failed efforts to rescue him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 13 minutes past the hour. How do you tackle an epidemic so big it affects more than a third of American adults? We're talking about obesity.
Just this week, researchers said a whopping 42 percent of the U.S. population will be obese by the year 2030. Compare that to today, 35 percent of adults and 17 percent of children are considered obese.
A new HBO documentary, "Weight of the Nation," is part of an aggressive campaign to stop the expanding waist lines with information like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not so difficult to convince a family that soda really has no nutritional benefits. It's harder to try to convince families that juice can have almost exactly the same sugar content as a glass of soda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Joining us is someone who knows a lot about sugary drinks, Philip Marineau. He is the former president of Pepsi-Cola North America and he's now part of the Institute of Medicine, and he is featured in this HBO documentary. Welcome.
PHILIP MARINEAU, OPERATING PARTNER, LNK PARTNERS: Thank you, Carol. It's very nice to be here.
COSTELLO: It's great to have you here. So HBO is declaring war on obesity. There have been many others who declared war on obesity and lost. So what makes you think this could be successful?
MARINEAU: Well, I think the HBO documentary in combination with the Institute of Medicine report provides a blueprint, I would say, a systemic way that as individuals, family and community groups and society we can begin to change behavior and our attitudes towards obesity, but how we deal with it as well.
So it's a systemic approach that is not just individual initiatives, but one that's coordinated and synchronized that I think really can make a big impact on this problem.
COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about sugary soda and changing people's behavior. I have heard people say I love sugary soda. If I drink the diet stuff, it's taste terrible. You know, my kids won't drink anything else. How can you convince people it's harmful to drink sugary soda?
MARINEAU: Well, I think you do two things. Number one, you start to make people understand how many calories they're consuming and begin to focus on controlling their calories.
The Institute of Medicine report just really recommends trying to deal with overconsumption of sugary beverages and juices so people understand what good looks like in terms of how much they should consume.
But, also, as people become aware of that and concerned about that, have the beverage companies then begin to provide healthier alternatives.
COSTELLO: See, there you go. MARINEAU: Many of these diet drinks today taste better than what people expect them to taste like. So I do think a combination of education, awareness, and then the market will respond to that and change.
COSTELLO: You talk about companies providing alternatives to sugary soda, but every time any government out there, whether it's city government or a state government or the federal government tries to tax sugary soda.
Let's say, there's a big political wave of lobbyist that is come in and stop it. They do ads like it's taking your right as an American to take sugary soda away to add this tax so people get a lot of conflicting messages.
MARINEAU: Well, there are people who believe in a tax. I think the Institute of Medicine report says there is not conclusive evidence that it will reduce consumption. It's something that you can consider and examine.
And you don't want to get into a battle of the nanny state versus the individual's responsibility. You want everybody to say we have a problem with obesity. Let's begin to educate people with what good looks like in terms of calorie consumption.
And as they become aware and start to change their behavior, let's offer them different alternatives rather than getting into a battle or an ideological battle between those two points of view.
COSTELLO: So it simply comes down to convincing people that drinking too much sugary soda is the wrong move but, again --
MARINEAU: Well, it's more than that, though. I mean, the report is less than 20 percent of the people in the United States get the recommended amount of physical activity a week, which is a half hour a day for five days a week. We need to get people and enable people to really become much more physically active. We need to educate them. We also need to have the health insurers help us deal with obesity.
All the people in the work place and have a healthy work place in the documentary. We'll talk about that. It's really much more than just dealing with sugary beverages. If you make it the enemy, we missed the point.
COSTELLO: Well, it's great to hear your thoughts on this topic because something has to happen. Something needs to be done. Thank you so much for sharing.
MARINEUA: This is a terrific documentary that people should watch. It's very compelling.
COSTELLO: I will be watching it myself. Philip Marineau, thank you so much for being here.
MARINEAU: Thank you. It's nice to be here. COSTELLO: There's more "Weight of the Nation" this weekend. Dr. John Hoffman talks with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on "SANJAY GUPTA MD" that will air tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 Eastern and Sunday morning at 7:30 Eastern.
Mitt Romney back to the future. His presidential campaign faces questions over some high school high jinks nearly half a century ago. We ask our "Political Buzz" panel, is that really fair?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 21 minutes past the hour. There are new details this morning on the only known U.S. soldier being held captive by the Taliban.
The parents of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl have broken their silence for the first time in over a year. They reveal their son is it at the center of secret negotiations between the United States and the Taliban.
And a possible prisoner swap with a Guantanamo Bay detainee. The Taliban captured the sergeant in June of 2009. Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon to tell us more. Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, the parents of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl are speaking out. Sergeant Bergdahl's father first, in an interview with "The New York Times," talking about the secret negotiations for the first time in public.
What we do know, now that he is talking about it, the administration is acknowledging that they did have conversations with the Taliban, that administration officials spoke to the Taliban about a possible prisoner exchange, five Taliban detainees in return for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl.
There would have been some sort of face transfer. All of it part of so-called confidence building discussions with the Taliban aimed towards reconciliation in Afghanistan. The talks fell apart.
The Bergdahl parents very frustrated about what has happened to their son and what they believe is not enough action. Not enough remembering by the administration to get him back. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke about this just yesterday. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL MARTIN DEMPSEY, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: I can assure you that we are doing everything in our power using our intelligence resources across the government to try to find and locate them and that -- I'll give you one vignette.
If you go to the Centcom Command Center, their conference room, there's a 4x6 foot poster of Bowe Bergdahl sitting in front of the podium to remind them and, therefore, us every day that he remains missing in action. I can assure you of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: But the facts remain that Sergeant Bergdahl is now coming up on his third year in captivity. The U.S. believes he is in Pakistan being held by Hakani Network, a network of terrorist operatives that act on both sides of the Afghan/Pakistan border and his parents want him home -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Barbara Starr reporting live for us from the Pentagon. Thank you.
Now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. The question for you this morning, what does attachment parenting mean for our kids? We have now moved beyond helicopter parenting and on to attachment parenting.
If you don't know what that is, take a look at the cover of "Time" magazine. You'll see it in a bit. Here it is. Yes, that is a 3-year-old breast-feeding. It's an image that's caused outrage, confusion and, if you're into attachment parenting, understanding.
See attachment parenting means breast-feeding into toddlerhood and sleeping in the same bed as your kid. It means never leaving your child alone, a tall order.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A single male parent supposed to do? They can't breastfeed? And then they say in the article, you should sleep with your children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really hard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about somebody like the Octo mom or the Duggars? Are they supposed to sleep with all their children?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK, so they're joking with about it, but according to "Time" magazine, attachment parenting's dogma is every baby's whimper is a plea for help. No baby should be left to cry. This mom who is breastfeeding her 3-year-old son says there's no harm in this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATHER MCFADDEN, BREASTFEEDING MOTHER: He still wants to. And, yes, it is a decision -- breastfeeding is a relationship between the mother and child. And so as long as both are happy doing it, then why not continue? It's only good for the child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: As for the baby, experts have long held that the benefits of physical closeness and affection between mother and child, but how much is too much? The talk back question today, what does attachment parenting mean for our kids? Facebook.com/carolcnn. I'll read your comments later this hour.
George Clooney, a leading man in Hollywood, but second billing in a posh fundraiser. Is President Obama really the celebrity in chief? Our buzz panel tackles that one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 30 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now.
This morning two young Tennessee girls are out of the hospital after a three-week kidnapping ordeal that led to a nationwide manhunt. Alexandria and Kyliyah Bain were found in a wooded area in Mississippi.
The kidnapper is dead. The FBI says Adam Mayes shot and killed himself as police closed in. Mayes is also suspected of killing the girls' mother and their older sister.
Your bank stocks are probably taking a hit this morning reacting to JPMorgan Chase's $2 billion blunder. The firm announced it had lost that much money in trading in over six weeks. The CEO blamed bad strategy badly executed. The big losses may increase calls for greater federal regulation on banks' investments.
Detectives in Colorado are investigating Denver Nugget center, Chris Bergman Anderson. The team says the investigation deals with internet crimes against children. Authorities searched Anderson's home and took certain items out of it. Anderson has not been arrested or charged. He is cooperating in the investigation.
"Political Buzz" is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day, three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing with us today: Pete Dominick on the left, he is host of "Stand up with Pete Dominick", a political show on Sirius XM Radio. He's also a comedian.
PETE DOMINICK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST/COMEDIAN: Hi, Carol.
COSTELLO: Hi.
And on the right Crystal Wright, editor and blogger for ConservativeBlackChick.com. Hi, Crystal.
CRYSTAL WRIGHT, CONSERVATIVE BLACKCHICK.COM: Hey, Carol. Hey, Pete.
DOMINICK: Hi, Crystal.
COSTELLO: Hi, everyone.
DOMINICK: This is going to be a good one.
COSTELLO: I can feel it.
WRIGHT: It is.
COSTELLO: First question, Mitt Romney is apologizing for a high school prank nearly half a century ago. Witnesses say he and some buddies pinned down another student and forcibly cut his hair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't recall the incident myself, but I've -- I've seen the reports. And I'm not going to argue with that. There's no question but that I did some stupid things when I was in high school. And obviously if I hurt anyone by virtue of that, I would be very sorry for it and apologize for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So is it fair to judge someone by what they did in high school? I mean, he was 18 years old. Crystal?
WRIGHT: No, it's not fair. I mean, going back 50 years, we all -- and I'm sure Pete, being the comedian he is today, probably was a prankster in high school, I would venture to guess. And I'm sure you know we all did things that we're not proud of in high school.
But I think what's really interesting about "The Washington Post's" expose on Mitt Romney's high school years at a boarding school is that it came out a day after the President said, "Oh, yes, after evolving, I support same-sex marriage".
I mean, it's just a coordinated smear campaign. And I guess the next thing we're going to do is go back to Mitt Romney's mom when he was in Euro and see what he was thinking then and doing.
COSTELLO: Pete?
DOMINICK: It's -- it's not fair for him to be judged on this. I mean, we should only judge presidential candidates on, you know, whether or not they are perhaps a citizen of America. We should judge them on where they lived or who they maybe hugged at what point, what they ate or said when they were six or seven, who their neighbors were.
We should judge them on the relationship with their -- their parent that they really never knew. I mean, it's -- it's ridiculous. The whole thing is ridiculous. I mean, the -- but the -- what I -- what I take from this is that maybe, whether or not this is true, the bullies -- the bullies might forget but the bullied really never do.
WRIGHT: Well that's true. Yes.
COSTELLO: All right on to -- on to the second question.
A Hollywood blockbuster, as George Clooney -- George Clooney fundraiser starring President Obama, raised $15 million in a single night. That's a record. Republicans scoffed that this proves Obama is really the celebrity-in-chief. Is that true? Pete?
DOMINICK: Yes. He's definitely a celebrity. He's the most famous man in the world. He is the first black president. He's going to absolutely take the endorsements of really wealthy, high-profile celebrities that people like. Republicans do the same thing. Sadly they get endorsed by actors who haven't worked since "Texas Walker Ranger."
I mean, they take Chuck Norris and Ted Nugent and they put them all over the place. They do the exact same thing. Everybody does this. He is a celebrity to some extent. He's also the president. It's a weird strategy for any critic to take. I can't wait to hear how Crystal attacks him on this.
COSTELLO: Go, Crystal.
WRIGHT: I -- I agree with Pete. He's more of a celebrity, President Obama, than he is a president. And right before he went to L.A. to Clooney's house to whoop it up where people paid $40,000 a ticket, which is more than most middle class people make in a year, he was in Seattle.
And you know what he told the crowd, guys? Sometimes I forget how bad the economy is because I'm so busy fundraising and doing late night TV appearances because I think I'm the celebrity-in-chief rather than the president-in-chief.
I think if he spent more time trying not to be the celebrity, that Pete said, the economy would probably be a little better.
DOMINIC: Yes I mean, good luck -- good luck with that. I mean, good luck with that attack. I mean, make all you want, nobody cares.
WRIGHT: Ok.
COSTELLO: Ok. Calm down, people. We have to move on to your "Buzzer Beater" 20 seconds each. We already had a political fight over stay-at-home moms, but this is a 3-year-old nuzzled up to mom and breast-feeding.
DOMINICK: Oh.
COSTELLO: It's called attachment parenting. Think any first lady-to-be will touch this one, Crystal?
DOMINICK: Oh.
WRIGHT: You know -- you know what as MC Hammer famously said, if I were Michelle Obama or any first lady, you can't touch this, and won't touch it. I mean, it's gross. What are you going to do, nurse your kid in kindergarten in between classes? Mommy is going to be like, here, baby, let me whip it out. I mean, come on. Pete?
COSTELLO: Pete?
DOMINICK: Well, we -- we know Ann Romney said being a stay-at- home mom was difficult but not this difficult. I mean, this is -- this is, I mean I can't --
WRIGHT: Thank you.
DOMINICK: I have a 4-year-old daughter and I know she has a full set of teeth.
WRIGHT: There you go.
DOMINICK: I mean, I think any kid who gets done breast feeding and walks away. Maybe that's not a good idea. Here is the problem, we know why "Time" magazine did this, we know the woman believes what this is good. But some day this kid's buddies are going to look to his mom, who is by the way -- look at her, she's beautiful and say, hey, let's go over to your house and have a glass of mommy's milk. That's what's going to happen to this kid. This poor kid.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: This isn't a good time --
WRIGHT: Yes, mommy is -- mommy is too attached to baby is what that is. Parental attachment.
DOMINICK: Well, mommy -- mommy put baby on the front of "Time" magazine and mommy is smoking hot.
WRIGHT: I know. Yikes.
COSTELLO: Ok, we must end this although I am enjoying it. Thanks for playing today.
WRIGHT: Thanks.
DOMINICK: Romney -- Romney 2012, giving America the haircut they didn't want. Cheap shot. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
COSTELLO: That was a cheap shot.
WRIGHT: It was good.
DOMINIC: I'm sorry. Thanks, Crystal.
COSTELLO: All right, remember the -- remember the hologram performance featuring the late Tupac Shakur? Well now Janet Jackson says she supports that amazing video act.
We'll tell you what's next for her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A hologram of Tupac that stunned crowds at a Music Festival had us all wondering is this something we could see other big stars perform? Like hologram stars, Janet Jackson seems to think so.
With us A.J. Hammer, host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," so what did she say? A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" caught up with Janet Jackson last night, Carol. She came out to an exhibit of fashion photographs in New York City and we wanted her take on the use of holograms in live concerts. They recreate performers who have passed away like they did with Tupac Shakur.
Here is what Janet Jackson told us about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET JACKSON, SINGER: I guess if the people like it and they want -- the audience who is craving for it, then go ahead do it. I did it back in -- in 2010, but I did it with myself, just of myself, I should say, on a concert that I did, one night particular, one night only. So if the people are clamoring for it, then why not?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: Why not indeed? Obvious question here is would somebody bring back Michael Jackson as a hologram, and since Janet didn't address that specifically we're kind of left to wonder if the Jacksons might consider that down the road.
Certainly it would be interesting to see, though, Carol, and it's certainly something that came up a lot when the Tupac hologram was first released and revealed to us. Maybe would be a Michael Jackson kind of a thing.
COSTELLO: Yes. It would be interesting and eerie, but interesting.
HAMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about country star Loretta Lynn. Because she's -- they're going to do a play on Broadway about her?
HAMMER: Yes, they are. Well, "Coal Miner's Daughter" is on Broadway and now we have a new star. It's going to be Zooey Deschanel for the adaptation of "Coal Miner's Daughter". Loretta Lynn made the announcement on stage during an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry last night in Nashville.
She brought Deschanel up on stage during her concert there and the two of them actually performed together. They did the song "Coal Miner's Daughter" as a duet.
Now back in 1979 Loretta Lynn announced that Sissy Spacek would play her in the movie the very same way with an onstage duet and, of course, Spacek went on to win an Oscar for that role.
The production isn't supposed to interfere with Zooey's work on her sitcom "New Girl". And Carol, you might not know this about Zooey Deschanel but she has a terrific resume, musically speaking in addition to her film and TV work. She has released three albums as part of a folk/rock duo, "She and Him" is the name of that duo. And she has also appeared on some movie soundtracks, so she has the credentials to appear on Broadway. I think she would be great in this role.
COSTELLO: I do, too. That's great.
A.J. Hammer, thank you.
HAMMER: You got it.
COSTELLO: Want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world? A.J.'s got it tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.
If you own and iPod, you might be suing Apple but not even know it. We will explain.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clarence Otis Jr. has a lot on his plate. He is the CEO of Darden Restaurants which owns brands like Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Longhorn Steak House and S52. Since the first Red Lobster opened in 1968 Darden has grown to become one of the largest full service restaurant companies in the world.
Otis stepped into the CEO role in 2004 with no previous restaurant experience. His background is in law and theater. He is one of only five African-American CEOs on the Fortune 500 list.
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COSTELLO: 45 minutes past the hour.
This just in to CNN. We have an update on the kidnapping case of those three girls -- or two girls, rather. Just hours after Alexandria and Kyliyah Bain were found safe in a wooded area in Mississippi, police made three more arrests connected to the accused captor Adam Mayes.
Two people are now charged with giving Mayes the handgun that he used in the suicide last night. The third is charged with lying to investigators.
Also new today a law enforcement source says his other apparent victims, the girls' mother and older sister, died by strangulation.
Also this morning John Edwards' defense team is expected to ask the North Carolina judge to dismiss the corruption case against him. Federal prosecutors wrapped up by detailing how hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on Edwards' former mistress and the mother of his child.
They allege Edwards illegally used donor money to cover up the affair. Prosecutors did not call the mistress, Rielle Hunter, to testify.
Turns out the Mayan Calendar does not predict the end of the world in 2012. I know you must be feeling relieved. Scientists in Guatemala discovered what could be the oldest known Mayan calendar. They said their research shows Mayans measured time in cycles of 13 parts, each representing 400 years -- got that? We're just at the end of one of those cycles. And the Mayan Calendar will continue for trillions of years.
If you own an iPod, you might be suing Apple and not even know it. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. So does this mean money?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could, so, yes. A big surprise for you if you do have an iPod. You could be part of a class action lawsuit, that's against Apple. Now, this is -- if you have an iPod that you bought between the following dates, September 2006 and March 2009. How are you going to know? You're going to get an e-mail from Real Networks about this lawsuit.
What this lawsuit is all about, Carol, it's all about competition. You know the little guy going after the big guy. This all goes back to 2004. Real Networks created this service that let people download music from Real Player Music Store and then you could play it on your iPod.
But you know what; once Apple caught wind of it, it created a block for that because they only wanted iPods to play music that was downloaded from iTunes. But real network said, no, no, no. Apple, you unfairly blocked competition. We are going to sue you -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I think I bought three iPods within that time because they change them --
KOSIK: Like door stops now, right?
COSTELLO: I know. But what if you don't get the e-mail?
KOSIK: If you don't get the e-mail, that means you're not a part of it. And keep in mind that if you do get the e-mail, that means you're part of the lawsuit but you can opt out of it.
Here's how, you can send in a letter by July 30th. Once again, Real Network is out the e-mails this week with more information. So really check your e-mails. Some are already out. My producer, Amanda, got hers. She gleefully e-mailed it to me earlier. Or you can go to ipodlawsuit.com for more information. Keep in mind though, if you opt out, you're not going to get any of the award money if Apple loses -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know but you're only going to get like $2.50 probably anyway.
KOSIK: Yes.
COSTELLO: But still, it's worth it. You never know.
KOSIK: Go buy a pack of gum.
COSTELLO: Alison Kosik thank you. An AIDS treatment drug is a step closer to being approved for preventing the deadly disease. An FDA advisory panel has recommended the agency approve Truvada, saying it is safer, men and women and effective in preventing HIV infection.
The decision came after more than 40 people argued against approval. Those people worried about possible side effects and this approving the drug would lead to less condom use. The FDA does not have to follow the panel's recommendations, though it often does.
In just about an hour the first lady, Michelle Obama, will give the commencement address at Virginia Tech. She'll speak to the first graduating class that applied to the school after the 2007 shooting massacre. We'll hear what motivated these students to go there.
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COSTELLO: In just about an hour the first lady, Michelle Obama, will give the commencement address to a very special class. It is the first graduating class that applied to Virginia Tech after the April 2007 shooting there. A gunman shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others on campus.
Brianna Keilar is at today's ceremony. Hi Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Carol.
Well, you know, as far as commencement speakers go, it's a pretty big deal to have a first lady. So Lane Stadium behind me here at Virginia Tech already packed with people, members of the community and, of course, students as they await the commencement ceremony.
So what's on their minds, these graduating seniors? Well, for the most part, it's what's on the mind of graduating seniors all over the country.
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KEILAR (voice-over): It's time to graduate at Virginia Tech.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to throw this, and it's going to be great.
KEILAR: Kathleen Whitley (ph) and Rebecca Clayton were high school juniors when the April 2007 shootings shocked this campus and the nation. Now they're part of the first graduating class that applied after the tragedy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The shooting does not reflect any part of my four years here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could have happened anywhere.
KEILAR: For these graduates there's distance from the event that has become synonymous with their school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like every year there's a little bit less connection for every class.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good.
KEILAR: Rachel Webb had second thoughts about applying, but ultimately decided to follow in the footsteps of her brother and sister.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do flag football.
KEILAR: And come to tech. She did not know the victims but, like many students told us, she remembers them often.
RACHEL WEBB, VIRGINIA TECH GRADUATE: It's a reason to come out to school every day and be excited to be at school because others can't.
DR. CHARLES W. STEGER, VIRGINIA TECH PRESIDENT: Virtually no student that's here today was here on April 16th, 2007, but it's still a powerful memory.
KEILAR: And it had a surprising effect on the students now graduating.
STEGER: Actually our enrolments went up. It was quite amazing.
KEILAR (on camera): Really?
ALEX FULDENHOUR, VIRGINIA TECH STUDENT: I was at the stage where you pretty much needed to make up your minds.
KEILAR (voice-over): Alex Fuldenhour (ph), an engineering student, is one of only a few still here who five years ago had already been accepted to Virginia Tech. He committed to going in the days following the shootings. Now he's graduating.
FULDENHOUR: We have a little bit to pack but not too much. It's bittersweet but we're excited for the next chapter of our lives.
KEILAR: Alex will spend the next six months in the Philippines volunteering with his wife Candace before he starts an engineering job but, first, it's time to move.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you get the newspaper?
KEILAR: And here in Blacksburg, Virginia, it's also time to move on.
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KEILAR: You know, Carol, we're expecting first lady Michelle Obama here at Virginia Tech in a little over an hour to address members of the community and, of course, the students and their family here for the big day. The White House says that she was touched by the resilience of the community so no doubt she'll be talking about that in her remarks. But, as you know, Virginia is also a battleground state so there's also certainly a political element to her appearance here.
COSTELLO: I'm sure. But politics aside, I covered that shooting in 2007, and I wasn't surprised by your story because I've never seen students come together like they did after that shooting. They had candlelight vigils. They still had pride in their school. None of them went home. Their parents probably wanted them to go home, but all of those students stayed, drew together, and said this is not what this university is about.
KEILAR: That's right, Carol. And I think Virginia Tech is a pretty amazing place. I think it has a lot of school spirit if you compare it to other schools and certainly that was on overdrive following the shootings. And it's something that especially as April and spring comes around here students remember.
They had a vigil this last month for the fifth anniversary and there were more than 10,000 people in the middle of campus to honor the 32 victims.
COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar, live at Virginia Tech, thanks.
We asked to you talk back on one of the big stories of the day. What does attachment parenting mean for our kids? Weigh in. Facebook.com/CarolCNN.
I'll read your responses just ahead.
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COSTELLO: We asked you to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you, what does attachment parenting mean for our can?
This from Mark, "It works for my daughter who has experienced divorce and multiple moves. She feels secure and confident because of the strong bond with both parents that developed through attachment parenting.
This from Daisy, "I both breast-fed and co-slept with all three of my boys. But when they turned one-year-old and started walking and talking, they got a sippy couple and their own bed. If we do everything for our children, they will never learn how to deal with issues they encounter in the world. When they need a hug, my arms are always open."
This from Panit, "I just graduated from college. I've been back for one week and I think I'm experiencing some attachment parenting. Jobs, please find me."
Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/CarolCNN and thanks, as always, for your comments.
I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Fredricka Whitfield.
