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Syria At "A Tipping Point"; Blitzer Versus Birther: Trump, Wolf Spar; Democrats Slam Florida Voter Poll Purge; Ravi Apologizes, Will Head To Jail Thursday; No Verdict Yet In Edwards Case; Texas Primary Puts Romney Over The Top; Hearing For Sandusky Today; Charles Taylor Gets 50 Years In Prison; From Bloody Sock To Bloody Mess; Apple CEO Wants iPhone "Made in the USA"; FDA Warns about Fake ADHD Drugs; Princes Prepare for Diamond Jubilee
Aired May 30, 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 now.
And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello.
Just ahead in the NEWSROOM, adding a little drama to deliberations. Reports of the jury in the John Edwards trial coordinating what they wear to court and not following the judge's orders.
Game over. Rhode Island gambled on a video game company founded by Curt Schilling that was supposed to bring in jobs, but the company went bust. Now, taxpayers are stuck with a $112 million tab they cannot afford.
It is the biggest tech company in a world and there are rumors of a new product from Apple. Hear what the new CEO of the company said about apple TV and the future of Siri.
Right now, the U.N. Security Council is meeting on the crisis in Syria. They're focusing on scenes like this, which have dominated the country for the last 15 months. And after a weekend massacre in Houla that left more than 100 people dead, nearly half of them children, small children.
The international envoy Kofi Annan says Syria is now quote, "At a tipping point." ITN's chief foreign affairs correspondent Alex Thompson went to Syria. He has more on the violence there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX THOMPSON, ITN CHIEF FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): One eyewitness told Channel 4 News he hid in a pile of hay and had seen men in black and army uniforms surrounding the town. He said at first, they were welcome in this city town surrounded by largely sheer and otherwise large areas.
Another villager said they went building to building shooting people in the head and then looting. The U.N. confirms 49 children, 34 women were killed on Friday.
Amateur video shows tanks still surrounding the town today and I certainly witnessed them in action here two days ago. President Assad of course blames what he calls terrorists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Ivan Watson joins me now from Istanbul, Turkey. And Ivan, the United Nations has had tons of meetings and nothing has really changed. So what's going to be different this time? What can the United Nations really do?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, part of the problem is that there is a close ally of Syria that has a seat on the United Nations Security Council, that's Russia as well as China, and they've made it clear that they do not want an increase of sanctions against the Syrian regime.
They definitely do not want use of outside military force. They are saying this is an internal problem that needs to be solved internally. So that pretty much blocks an effort to get use this as a mechanism to put more pressure on the Syrian regime.
We've seen a growing number of countries that are trying to show their revulsion at the massacre of at least 109 people in Hula last Friday, the Syrian village where at least 49 children under the age of 10 were killed, some of them with axes.
And we have a growing number of countries including the U.S., Japan and Turkey, about a dozen countries or more, that have expelled Syrian ambassadors and diplomats.
But have been criticizing the Syrian regime for close to 15 months and that clearly has not stopped it from doing things like firing at Syrian cities.
COSTELLO: Well, Ivan, there is now talk from some U.S. lawmakers about possible U.S. military involvement. Here's what Senator John McCain said on Fox News Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Horrible things are happening in Syria. This administration has a feckless foreign policy, which abandons American leadership. I know because I visit with these people.
That they are ready to help these people and they are already helping them some. But it cries out for American leadership. American leadership is not there.
(ENDV VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, Ivan, some U.S. lawmakers say, we should implement a no fly zone over Syria. We should arm the rebels. Are those things possible? WATSON: Well, theoretically, yes. It does seem that the Obama administration has no interest whatsoever in using force in getting embroiled in another messy Middle Eastern conflict in Syria and it is messy over there.
There is the Syrian government. There's the opposition that's increasingly weaponized. I meet with these rebels all the time. I talk to them every day. They are desperate bands. They're not united under one leadership group.
Sometimes, they have conflicts and arguments in between them, so it's difficult to coordinate with these guys. For now, it does not seem that Washington wants to put boots on the ground in Syria when it's still trying to wind up wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
COSTELLO: Mitt Romney's got the delegates now. He's going for the dollars. Texas voters put him over the top. He's clinched the Republican nomination. No surprise there. Romney will not be the official nominee until the GOP convention later this summer.
Later today, Mr. Romney will attend a fundraiser at this modest little fixer upper. It's the historic Carolyn Chateau right outside of San Francisco. Some tickets reportedly are going for $50,000 bucks a piece.
Governor Romney is hoping Donald Trump's birther baggage won't saddle his campaign. Trump might be brash, but he's sure got the cash. And while Romney might disagree with Trump over the president's birthplace, he still welcomes Trump's support.
Trump and CNN's Wolf Blitzer got into a verbal battle royale over the birther topic that just won't die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": Donald, have you seen the actual newspaper announcements within days of his birth in Honolulu? For example, the "Honolulu Star Bulletin" will put it up there. You see the birth announcement back in 1961. Listen to me, Donald -- Honolulu -- can I ask a question --
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: Sending Obama --
BLITZER: Donald, Donald, you're going beginning to sound a little ridiculous. I have to tell you.
TRUMP: I think you are, Wolf. And let me tell you something. I think you sound ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Romney says he doesn't always agree with the people who support him. Trump will still be a supporter of his campaign. The Blitzer versus birther though, conversation, it generated a lot of buzz online. Check out what the left leaning "Huffington Post" said about it. Trumped. Wolf mauls the Donald and the right leaning "Politico." It says Donald Trump takes aim at CNN ratings.
Now let's go in depth on a battle brewing in Florida. A military hero from World War II gets a letter from the state saying basically, prove you're an American.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL INTERNICOLA, WWII VETERAN: I was amazed when I got the letter. I have to tell you, I've been voting since -- I was 18 years old. And I never had any trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This is part of an attempt by Florida's governor to purge voter rolls. Democrats are slamming him for it. John Zarrella is on the story. So basically, what is the Florida governor trying to do?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, here's the story, Carol. Initially, the Division of Elections in Florida identified what they thought were about 180,000 people who shouldn't be allowed to vote because they weren't U.S. citizens.
They went back. They double checked, used other data bases. The number was whittled down to about 2,600 state-wide, big difference. Then they notify the county supervisors of elections who sent out letters telling people that you've got to prove your citizenship within 30 days or we're going to purge your names from the voter rolls.
Democrats say, look, we don't have any problem with cleaning up the voter rolls, but they charge that the bulk of these letters are targeting minority groups, Hispanics and African-Americans.
And they are saying that the timing is awfully suspicious coming just a few months before the November election. Now, I talked this morning with Mitch Caesar, who is the chairman of the Democratic Party in Broward County.
And he said to me, quote, "It appears Republicans have political goals and have created a legal fiction to justify those goals." Now, Florida Senator Bill Nelson is screaming foul.
Several members of the Democratic Congress out of Florida, they sent letters to Rick Scott's office charging him, that this is wrong and wanting an explanation.
We talked to the governor's office this morning. They said look, this is absolutely not politically motivated. And in fact, the Republican Party chairman said of Bill Nelson that Nelson wants public servants to ignore electoral integrity.
The State Division of Elections told us today, look, we just want to make sure people who aren't eligible to vote don't vote.
COSTELLO: OK, so going back to our poor World War II veteran who we heard from just a short time ago, is he qualified to vote? Should he be able to vote in Florida? He has for a very long time.
ZARRELLA: Yes, and all he had to do he said was he sent in his papers. So he should very likely be allowed to vote and many of these people who have gotten these letters saying, we need you to verify that you're eligible to vote, have sent their paperwork back to their counties and the issue's been clearing up.
But the bottom line for Democrats is they believe that Hispanics and other minority groups are being targeted in this and that's what has them really upset.
COSTELLO: John Zarrella reporting live for us from Miami this morning.
Dharun Ravi says he's ready to face his punishment. He is appearing in a New Jersey courtroom right now and will report to jail tomorrow to start his 30-day sentence for bias intimidation.
Yesterday, he apologized for being thoughtless, insensitive and immature when he used a web cam to watch his roommate's gay sexual encounter in 2010. That roommate, Tyler Clementi, later killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge.
The jury in the John Edwards corruption trial resuming their eighth day of deliberations. Yesterday, a possible indication of why it's taking so long.
The judge reminded jurors not to talk about the trial in small groups or outside of the courtroom. Joe Johns is following developments in Greensboro, North Carolina. This jury, it just seems to be a different kind of jury than we normally hear about, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, and it's also a different kind of case, if you think about it, Carol. It's a very unusual case. Novel has been one of the words used to describe this case.
And they've got a lot of evidence and they got a lot of instructions, 45 pages of instructions from the judge. So that's going to take them a long time to go through.
At the end of the day, there's also the issue of political lines. You know, this is a very political case and North Carolina is one of those places that's had some deep political divisions over the years.
Body language, we've seen all kinds of it, people staring down at the ground. One woman juror coming in with a big sigh every time she sits down on her chair, but who knows what's going on in the jury room. A lot of people predict it could go on into next week though.
COSTELLO: Yes, but let's just talk about the jury discussing the case in small groups. So is that never done? Shouldn't they all be talking about this together to come up with some sort of consensus?
JOHNS: Well, yes, that's interesting and she said that actually, twice. Yesterday, she told the jury that and again on Friday, she told the jury that. So it seems there may be some concerns about them breaking off into groups or coalitions or what have you.
But what it sounds like she's most concerned about is people outside the courtroom and sort of dividing up into teams. Say the A team for conviction versus the nay team for acquittal and going at it that way.
I mean, I've been a jury foreman before and I know that that kind of thing does happen. You can still get a verdict one way or the other, but it can be more difficult because each juror isn't individually approaching the issue by themselves and on the merits. So, yes, it can happen.
COSTELLO: Joe Johns, you're destined to be there for a very long time. Thanks so much.
JOHNS: Yes, I hope not.
COSTELLO: Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling goes from hero to goat in Rhode Island. Schilling's video game company is forced to lay off its staff while taxpayers are stuck with a huge bill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 15 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now.
Mitt Romney now has enough delegates to become the Republican nominee for president. Last night, he won the Texas primary, putting him over the top, but it's still not official, of course, until the Republican National Convention. That will take place in August in Tampa. Romney will be the first Mormon to become a presidential nominee for a major party.
We are waiting to see if any big news comes out of a pre- trial hearing for Jerry Sandusky today. Last night, the former Penn State assistant coach met with the judge behind closed doors. He is not expected to be in court today.
Sandusky's charged with sexually abusing at least 10 boys over a 14-year period. Some of the alleged victims are asking the judge to keep their identities a secret.
This morning, one of the most notorious warlords in the world was sentenced to 50 years behind bars. The judge said Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia benefitted from a steady flow of blood diamonds in return for supporting a rebel group. Those rebels slaughtered thousands of people, raped women and enslaved children.
Curt Schilling, a legend. Who could forget the bloody sock? Bloodied when Schilling, a baseball hero pitched on an injured ankle and pushed the Red Sox to game seven in the American League Championship series.
But today, Schilling has gone from hero to goat in Rhode Island, accused of sticking taxpayers with a $75 million bill and hundreds of lost jobs.
It all has to do with Schilling's post baseball dream, to build a video game publishing house, which would produce video games for Xbox 360 and whose products would one day rival World of War Craft.
Well, that didn't happen. Schilling's company, 38 Studios, went bust, and there are a lot of angry taxpayers in Rhode Island. Mike Stanton and Andy Smith spoke exclusively to Curt Schilling for their "Providence Journal" story on 38 Studios. Welcome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning. We're glad to have you here. Rhode Island's governor alerted Schilling's company to Rhode Island with a $75 million loan guaranteed funded by taxpayers, what happened to that money?
MIKE STANTON, STAFF WRITER, PROVIDENCE JOURNAL: Well, Carol, that money was spent on developing this massive game that Curt Schilling envisioned when he started this company back in 2006.
And of the 75 million, about 47 million went directly to his company in the proceeds of bonds sold and are guaranteed by the taxpayers. The rest of the money was set aside in reserve accounts by the state to pay interest in case of problems with the loan.
In addition to this, Curt Schilling told us that he's got about $50 million of the money he made in baseball, all of what he has left, basically, into this company, $38 million in cash and $12 million in personal loan guarantees.
COSTELLO: Before we get to that, I just want people to understand the $75 million is in essence taxpayer money. Is it just gone?
ANDY SMITH, STAFF WRITER, PROVIDENCE JOURNAL: No one really knows. They've spent the money except for the money that's been set aside in the reserve fund.
But the way the guarantee works, if Curt's company, which is called 38 Studios, and that's named after the Jersey number he wore as a Red Sox player, if he cannot repay those bonds, then it's up to the state.
COSTELLO: OK, so more than one critic out there suggests Rhode Island officials were simply dazzled by Schilling's star power and they made a bad decision. Is this an example of a huge star blinding public officials with his celebrity?
SMITH: Well, of course, the officials in Rhode Island who brought him here notably our former governor will deny that. They just think it was good business. But an awful lot of people feel that if his name had been Curt Smith, none of this would have happened.
STANTON: And what Schilling told us and said elsewhere, he certainly acknowledges his celebrity got him in the door, but as he would go to venture capitalists looking for funding, he says after about 10 minutes, he would have to really rely on his video game expertise and he did bring in some top people.
Todd McFarland, a famous author. He had some other really well-known people in the video gaming industry and in fact, now that his company is in trouble, a lot of top video game companies have come to Providence recruiting his people.
So, it wasn't the people that was the problem, it was the game plan and that's really what we're wrestling with right now.
COSTELLO: I do want to read a quote from your article, from Curt Schilling, quote, he says, "I have done whatever I can to create jobs and create a successful business with my own income, $50 million."
"Everything I ever saved has been put back into the economy. I've never taken a penny and I've done nothing, but create jobs and create economy. And so how does that translate into welfare, baby? I've tried to do right by people."
So is Curt Schilling, I mean, is he busted personally because of this?
SMITH: That's an interesting question. We asked him that. We asked him if he was going to lose his house, for example, if he had enough money to support his family. And he declined to comment specifically on that. So I don't actually know.
STANTON: He basically said that if this all goes down and the company fails that his financial distress will be quite evident to the public at large.
And he said one of the problems he was dealing with is he went to the State Economic Development Corporation Board in recent weeks and has been seeking state assistance, which has been quite controversial and opposed by our current governor is that there was a lot of scepticism.
People looked at him and said, you're Curt Schilling, can't you just write a check for the million dollar payment that you owe the state on May 1st?
SMITH: And Curt says he is quote, "tapped out." He can't write a check he says.
COSTELLO: Well, I'm sure this story will go on and on for both of you. Thanks for sharing with us this morning. Mike Stanton and Andy Smith, thank you so much.
STANTON: Thank you. COSTELLO: One day you may see made in the USA printed on the back of an iPhone. But Apple's CEO doesn't seem to think that will happen any time soon. We'll tell you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, should the United States get militarily involved in Syria?
It can't get much worse, 49 kids, some of them babies, executed allegedly by Syrians loyal to President Bashar Al Assad. Some U.S. lawmakers are calling it a tipping point, a call to action for the United States.
As Republican Senator Lindsey Graham tells "The New York Times," quote, "maybe the kids will make the difference. We live in a visual world. When you see the slaughter of children, it reminds us of who we are."
Mitt Romney seems to be urging some kind of U.S. military involvement, too. Calling President Obama's Syrian strategy a policy of paralysis. Romney suggests arming the rebels, but the Obama administration suggests we don't know who the rebels are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The concern is that further militarization of the situation in Syria could lead to greater chaos. Could lead, could make it harder to achieve the political transition with the Syrian people deserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Some Republicans also worry about arming the rebel, saying al Qaeda could be a part of that so-called opposition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPRESENTATIVE MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN: I'm not sure arming is the right answer here. Mainly because of just not exactly sure who the bad guys are, who the good guys are right now in Syria, so you don't know who you're giving weapons to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Rogers says although the United Nations plan appears to be dead in the water, there is still room for American diplomacy. For one thing, step up pressure on Russia to stop supporting the Al Assad regime and work more aggressively with our Arab league partners.
But the talk back question for you this morning, should the United States get militarily involved in Syria? Facebook.com/carolcnn. I'll read your comments later this hour.
U.S. presidents have been to be natural born U.S. citizens and at least 35 years old, but at least one voter thinks the constitution should add another requirement, business experience. That's in our "Political Buzz" today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: One day, there may be an iPhone or iPad manufactured within the United States and not in China. At least that's what Apple CEO Tim Cook says he'd like to see happen, but that may not be so easy.
Dan Simon is in California where the Apple CEO spoke at a tech summit about the company. Hi.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. It's an interesting phenomena. This question comes up all the time about whether or not you could manufacture an iPhone or iPad here in the United States.
I should tell you that this is really the first time since becoming CEO that Tim Cook has spoken publicly in front of journalists and executives and taking questions on a number of front.
So the question became could you do this in the United States and you'll hear what he has to say in a moment, but he says the problem is right now, the infrastructure does not currently exist where you could manufacture these items at a massive scale.
Because there aren't enough companies in this country that can make the tools and the products and the machines to assemble the iPhone, but here's what Tim Cook had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will there be an Apple product ever made again in the United States?
TIM COOK, CEO, APPLE: I want there to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, will it ever say on the back of an Apple product, designed in California, assembled in the United States?
COOK: It may and even though it doesn't say that today, you could put down there, several parts are from the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: But Tim Cook did note that there are certain things on the iPhone that are made in the United States such as the glass that you see. It's manufactured at a plant in Kentucky. He also talked about the app economy as a result of the iPhone. The thousands of app developers that you see making applications for the iPhone so I don't think you're going to see it anytime soon, but he did not rule out the possibility and it sounds like he'd like to see that happen someday -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well it's interesting he didn't mention you know cost because it's a lot cheaper to make products in China. You don't have to pay people as much.
SIMON: Well, that's exactly right. And I -- and I think you would actually see a higher price for the iPhone if that would occur, but the real problem is right now, you don't see an infrastructure.
Let me tell you about one more thing that was mentioned here at the conference. There has been a lot of rumors about a so-called Apple television. Right now, they make an Apple set top box for your TV, but there's no currently a television of course. And so the question arose about whether or not Apple would actually get into the TV business.
Tim Cook said the company is doubling down on secrecy, so he didn't talk about that, but he said there is an intense amount of interest within the company in the TV business, so I think you can read between the leaves there and say that maybe someday you'll be seeing an Apple TV -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Maybe so. Dan Simon many thanks.
Its 31 minutes past the hour.
Checking our "Top Stories" now.
Julian Assange has lost his bid to fight extradition to Sweden on sex abuse charges. But in a twist, the British Supreme Court is giving the attorney for the WikiLeaks founder two weeks to file an appeal of its decision. Two women accused Assange in August 2010 of assaulting them during a trip to Sweden.
This morning one of the most notorious warlords in the world was sentenced to 50 years behind bars. The judge said Charles Taylor the former President of Liberia benefitted from a steady flow of blood diamonds in return for supporting a rebel group in Sierra Leone. Those rebels slaughtered thousands of people, raped women and enslaved children.
Mitt Romney now has enough delegates to become the Republican nominee for president. Last night, he won the Texas primary. That put him over the top. Still not official though until the Republican National Convention that's set for late August in Tampa. Romney will be the first Mormon to become a presidential nominee for a major party.
"Political Buzz" is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, smart answers. Playing with us today: CNN contributor, Maria Cardona, she plays on the left side of the political field and CNN contributor, Dana Loesch. I think I'm talking too fast, Dana I'm sorry. Dana Loesch she plays on the right side. Welcome to both of you.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning Carol.
DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning. First question. Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota is urging the United States to do more in Syria. Ellison is also a Muslim. Here's what he told CNN's John King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINESOTTA: They were assassinated. This is the kind of government that we're talking about right here. I think the President is moving in a deliberate way, but I think that he's got to weigh various things.
I'm saying that the people of Syria need more focused attention and they need it now not only from President Obama, but from the whole world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So the question this morning, should the United States militarily intervene in some way? Maria?
CARDONA: Well, we certainly shouldn't take that off the table and we haven't taken that off the table Carol, but it's a very complicated situation. And there's no question that the massacre was unconscionable that anybody with a decent bone in their body thinks that the Assad regime should be taken out immediately.
But the problem is, is that we don't know who the opposition is, they are not organized like they were in Libya. We also need to continue to work with our allies in the region and then the U.N. Security Council to make sure that whatever the next steps are, are coordinated because we certainly can't go in there alone. And politically and certainly I don't think that the American people are there and wanting us to intervene in yet another war while we're trying to end two others.
So very complicated; I think the Obama administration is doing exactly what they need to do.
COSTELLO: Time is up. All right, Dana.
LOESCH: Is this --
COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness. Her time was up in just seconds.
LOESCH: -- the massacre and what happened, it was -- it was truly horrible.
But I agree with her in that we need to really figure out who actually is behind this opposition. You know I talked to a political activist from Egypt. Born and raised in Egypt Nani Darwish (ph) and she was really concerned about a lot of the -- you know, who was involved in the Egyptian uprising and who was involved in the demonstrations there. So I think that there are questions to be answered because we kind of went into Libya without really knowing who we were kind of aligning ourselves with.
NATO commanders were saying well, we're kind of not really sure who exactly, you know, the opposition is, but that's not the time that you figure that out, after you go in. Plus, you know we have -- we have two other conflicts that we're -- that we're ending right now and can we afford it?
COSTELLO: It's a question. Ok, second question. Mitt Romney's campaign gurus say they don't regret embracing Donald Trump even though everyone is talking birther thanks to Mr. Trump. Listen to part of Wolf Blitzer's epic smack down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: Many people do not think it was authentic. His mother was not in the hospital. There are many other things that came out.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Donald you're beginning to sound a little ridiculous. I have to tell you.
TRUMP: No, I think you are, Wolf.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Just part of it. So Romney needs Trump's money and conservative support, but is it worth it? Dana?
LOESCH: We're not going to -- we don't Corey Booker our own side that's the one -- that's the one thing and I wish that Democrats would do the same. We really believe in a big tent on the right and you have to have a big tent especially if you're going to go forward and win in November and 2012.
I would be more interested in -- in figuring out you know maybe the President's start in some of his past relationships in Chicago before we start thinking of Donald Trump and his talk about you know birtherism and those kind of questions.
Here is what -- nobody -- nobody believes that the President wasn't born in Hawaii except for people like Phil Berg and the Clintons. Nobody believes that. So I think this whole issue is moot at this point.
COSTELLO: Maria.
CARDONA: Unfortunately, it's not moot because you have Mitt Romney basically embracing and being on stage and raising millions of dollars with the birther-in-chief -- in-chief, which is Donald Trump and I think what -- and so many Republicans, I think the Romney campaign is the only Republicans that believe that it's a smart strategy because so many other Republicans are shaking their head privately and saying what the "f" is he doing.
Why is he giving the Obama campaign an opening to underscore exactly what Mitt Romney's failures have been, which is being spineless, being a huge lack of courage and it underscores what Americans already believe about him, which is he'll stand up to no one. COSTELLO: Ok, on to the third question. A President must be born in the United States and be at least 35 years old, but one business owner told Mitt Romney there should be another requirement in our Constitution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was speaking with one of these business owners who owns a couple of restaurants in town. And he said, you know, I'd like to change the Constitution. I'm not sure I can do it, he said, but I'd -- I'd like to have a provision in the Constitution that in addition to the age of the President and the citizenship of the president and the birthplace of the president being set by -- by the Constitution, I'd like it also to say that the President has to spend at least three years working in business before he can become President of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So you think Mr. Obama would have been, would have had a better handle on the economy if he was required to have some business experience -- Maria?
CARDONA: I think that the President has done just fine. He rescued us from the second Great Depression. And then contrary to what Republicans love to say, he's actually been the President with the slowest growth in spending at 1.4 percent of any president in history. And he has implemented less regulations than his predecessor George W. Bush and by -- and -- and also, other presidents with business experience, Jimmy Carter --
LOESCH: Oh, my. Oh my.
COSTELLO: Dana.
LOESCH: Dodd-Frank, Obamacare, slowing the growth of spending doesn't mean you're spending less. Let's just be honest about that. I think it would have been helpful if Barack Obama would have business experience. He's lived his entire life in the public sector, changing the constitution to do it, no. I'm completely against that, I think any talk of that is absolutely silly. People should have common sense about the government mandating that they do.
COSTELLO: Dana Loesch, Maria Cardona; thanks for playing today.
CARDONA: Thank you so much.
LOESCH: Thank you.
COSTELLO: A private letter from Michael Jackson to ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley is uncovered. The unsettling message it contains.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Mary J. Blige's charity is hit with not one, but two lawsuits and now the Grammy winner is responding. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" A.J. Hammer joins me to talk about this legal drama. Tell us about it A.J.
A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST: Well, Carol, Blige issued the statement to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" saying she is trying to get to the bottom of what's happening here and she is acknowledging that she is ultimately responsible for whatever's gone wrong in this case. But on the surface, this looks like yet another well intentioned celebrity charity that was mismanaged.
Now the "New York Post" broke this story. They are reporting that the charity "Fawn" (ph) failed to file its federal tax returns for 2010 and it's also been by musicians claiming that the group stiffed them after a 2011 fundraising gala and they're reportedly also being sued for more than $100,000 there.
"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" can also confirm there's a second lawsuit from TD Bank. They're accusing the charity of defaulting on a $250,000 loan. Now Blige is telling "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" she had the wrong people working for her. They're now fixing it adding that Fawn is not closing down. She's working with lawyers and accountants. They're working to get the foundation back on track.
But this is not one of those any publicity is good publicity cases Carol. So it's obviously good to see that Mary J. Blige is stepping up and doing what she can to make this right very quickly.
COSTELLO: All right. Another story you're following. A private letter from Michael Jackson to Lisa Marie Presley, his ex-wife. I'm dying to know what it says.
HAMMER: Yes, this is interesting and I'm going to show it to you although it's hard to read. It's an item that's being auctioned off by Julian's Auction House. They're the same people auctioning off Elvis's temporary crypt.
Here's the letter from Michael to Lisa. It says "smell" and with the arrow here. And it says "Lisa, I truly need this rest. I haven't slept literally in four days now. I need to be away from phones and business people. I must take care of my health first. I'm crazy for you, love Turd."
The letter is attracting a lot of attention, Carol. Not just because of its childlike tone and these grammatical errors that you see here. But because of course it was Michael's difficulty sleeping that ultimately led to his use of pharmaceutical medications, which of course, led to his death and there is a new report by the way this morning that the letter may have been pulled off the auction block at the request of Lisa Marie.
We've reached out to the auction house looking for confirmation. They're L.A. based, so I'm not surprised we haven't heard back yet. What's also clear to me, I have to draw attention to this Carol -- is he calling Lisa Marie a love turd or is he signing it, "Love, Turd." I can't tell. There's not punctuation.
COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you that because it's so bizarre.
HAMMER: Yes. I'm crazy for you love turd. We'll just have to wonder, I guess.
COSTELLO: Yes, I guess.
HAMMER: There it is. Look, always a mystery with Michael Jackson, you know, even after he's gone.
COSTELLO: Yes. Ok. A.J. Hammer. Thank you so much.
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 Eastern on HLN.
The FDA has a warning about online deals for ADHD tablets. The agency says the drugs are fake. We'll tell you how you can tell the difference between the real pills and the counterfeit ones.
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COSTELLO: The FDA is warning consumers that some pills purchased online to treat symptoms of ADHD are fake. Senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen is following the story. So fake pills -- you can just buy them on line. Are they cheaper?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The problem is you can buy all sorts of things online. You can go online and you can buy drugs and the FDA says that they've had have reports of people going online and they think they're buying Adderall -- the generic form of Adderall which is a perfectly legitimate drug, but they're not getting that. They're getting something fake.
It doesn't actually have any Adderall in it. And so they're warning people to be careful when you go online and go shopping. The first thing you want to do is and as you can see here, the legitimate Adderall, that's what it looks. That's the way you should be getting and then the counterfeit is there. It's white.
There's also things like there misspellings. You have to wonder how smart these people are. Not the buyers, the sellers. The word single is spelled s-i-n-g-e-l.
COSTELLO: Now, you have to wonder about the buyers, too. I mean that's just --
COHEN: Maybe you do. Maybe you do. So you have to beware when you're buying drugs online. You want to make sure you're getting the right thing especially in this case because there have been at least two incidents where people got the wrong thing.
COSTELLO: Can you legally buy prescription drugs online?
COHEN: You know, sometimes you can. I mean there are legitimate sellers of drugs online. But here's the catch. They need to ask you for the prescription. If they don't, you should not be buying from them. Right. So you might think, oh, I want Adderall. Now, isn't it great here's this Web site where I don't have to have a prescription. Well, you know what, there's an excellent chance you're not going to get the drug you think you're getting.
So it's illegal to buy without a prescription. And there's a chance you're not going to get what you think you're getting. You should not be buying drugs without a prescription. It sounds so obvious. But people try to do it.
COSTELLO: Well, I'm sure it's much cheaper, too, and some people just feel they don't have a choice. Just to give them a little break here. But --
COHEN: No, I mean if you feel like you need -- I'll disagree with you there. If you feel like you need Adderall, go to your doctor, explain it and get a real prescription. It can sometimes be little cheaper when you buy it from these legitimate sites. But still, you should not be taking Adderall without being treated by a doctor.
COSTELLO: Message taken. Elizabeth Cohen thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Two princes talk to Katie Couric about life in the royal family. Some really touching talk about their late mother, Princess Diana. Details from London coming up.
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COSTELLO: This weekend, the U.K. is celebrating the Diamond Jubilee. It's Queen Elizabeth's 60th year on the throne and her grandchildren, Prince William and Prince Harry spoke with ABC's Katie Couric about this big moment and life as a royal.
Max Foster is in London. Good morning Max.
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi Carol. It was a very moving interview at one point where the two brothers, Harry and William, were talking about their mother, Diana. And both of them saying that they're so sad that she never got a chance to meet Kate. Harry saying that she would have really liked Kate. And about the royal wedding last year, perhaps Diana had the best view of the wedding.
So trying to be positive about things and William really saying that it did make him very sad that she couldn't be involved in the wedding in any way. This is the first time he really felt that she missed out on a big part of his life. So very moving words about Diana.
And also, inevitable questions about whether William is planning any babies and Kate. Wouldn't be drawn on it, only saying he does want a family at some point. He did talk about, Carol though, the difficulty of balancing his military career and his royal career at the moments. Some big questions ahead for him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE WILLIAM, U.K.: I really enjoy my time in the Air Force and I'd love to continue it. But the pressures of my other life are building. And fighting them off or balancing the two has proven quite difficult. More importantly, I'd rather like to have children, so that's the key thing, really.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The question there, Carol, is that in what sort of environment is it best to have children in. Some suggesting that actually if you're in a military family, you're quite protected on a base, so a family there will get more privacy than if he gave all that up and went straight into his royal role proper.
COSTELLO: It's really surprising to me that they've been so open about things, both princes. And they seem so down to earth and friendly.
FOSTER: You know, when you get them in an environment where they feel comfortable, they are quite open. And they've obviously made a decision. They didn't make any comment without really thinking about them. So they did plan to say these things. And there's a lot of interest in the royal wedding.
But they're really using all of this as a vehicle to promote their mother and her big weekend, this weekend. It's interesting though -- Grandmother, I'm sorry -- it's interesting thought that the queen has actually put William and Harry and Kate very center stage every single part of the four days of events coming up.
So she's almost suggesting that she's looking ahead to the future here as she marks her 60th year on the throne, Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. You don't see prince Charles out there too much. Thanks so much.
Max Foster reporting live for us from London. You can watch the celebrations marking 60 years of Queen Elizabeth's reign here on CNN. Our coverage begins Sunday morning at 11:00 Eastern.
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COSTELLO: We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning -- should the U.S. get militarily involved in Syria?
This from James. "The situation is complex, but the bottom line is innocent lives have to be protected. The U.S. needs to push for any multilateral plan and whether it's through NATO or cooperation with Turkey.
This from Brad. "We can't afford a war. We can't afford the ones we're in now. Yes, what they're doing isn't right, but let them deal with their own problems. We've got ours."
This from Ivan. "If the same thing were occurring in England, the U.S. government would not have the slightest hesitation to get involved and stop the massacre immediately. Why can't we do the same for the people of Syria?
This from Marge. "The slaughter of children should enrage the world. It's time we demand Russia take a stand and support NATO involvement."
And this from Tyson. "The death of innocent children is tragic, but what's also tragic is the hubris of America in thinking that we always know best and that more guns are always the best answer."
Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/carolcnn and thanks as always for your comments.
That does it for me this afternoon. I am Carol Costello. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Kyra Phillips.
