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Pope Benedict's Final Papal Remarks; Benedict To Become Pope Emeritus; Senate Debates Forced Spending Cuts; Real Impact Of Forced Spending Cuts; Senate Studies Assault Weapon Ban; First Remarks As Defense Secretary; Missing Boaters Could Be A Hoax; Woman Sought In Vegas Shooting; Airports Clean Up After Snowfall; Parts Removed From Grounded Navy Ship; Crash Victims May Sue NASCAR; Three Dead In Switzerland Shooting; Senator Drops "Zero Dark Thirty" Probe

Aired February 27, 2013 - 10:00   ET

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


JOE CARTER, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: This video went viral last fall. The 48-year-old coach pleaded guilty to assault back in November.

For all of your entertaining sports news including more on the unranked Minnesota beating number one Indiana last night in college basketball, go to bleacherreport.com. What do you think, Carol, 15 days in jail too stiff for tripping a kid during a postgame handshake?

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: No. I think he deserves some more. That's insane. Joe Carter, thank you. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Happening now in the NEWSROOM, lost at sea, hours and hours and tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars spent searching for a family after this distress call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coast Guard, Coast Guard, we are abandoning the ship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now new clues that have investigators believing this was all a hoax.

Plus, for the first time we're hearing from victims injured in the big crash during a NASCAR race at Daytona.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was so loud. It was probably the biggest boom. Like you could hear the tire flying and you could hear the parts hitting everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Some have hired an attorney to take on NASCAR. We'll talk to that attorney live and see what the victims want. A Charles Manson follower convicted of murder could soon walk out of prison a free man, and the reason behind his parole would make history.

And interested in a vacation? This morning a new Endeavour that allows you to hitch a ride to Mars. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And good morning. Thank you so much for joining me this morning. I'm Carol Costello. Some amazing pictures to show you from the Vatican. Tens of thousands of the faithful filled St. Peters Square all to hear the pope one more time before he leaves the papacy tomorrow.

He took his final ride in that familiar pope mobile. You can see the pope waving to an emotional crowd as it slowly moved through a sea of people. Heavy security flanked the 85-year-old man, but he could feel the love.

People crying, many holding rosaries and signs, all of them straining to catch one last glimpse of the man who's led the church for nearly eight years. The pope tended to the youngest members of the church, kissing and blessing babies handed to him through the window. And in a switch it was the pope asking for prayers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE BENEDICT XVI, CATHOLIC CHURCH: I continue to accompany the church for prayers and ask each of you to pray for me and for the new pope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is in Rome. Good morning, Ben. The pope's final days has drawn huge crowds. It was just an amazing sight.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it did. Yes. In fact, more than 150,000 people were there, according to the Vatican, really filling St. Peters Square to capacity and certainly very emotional scenes. There were people from all over the world attending the last general audience by Pope Benedict.

I spoke with people from the United States, from Germany, from Ireland, from Africa, from India. There were people from the Middle East as well, Catholics and non-Catholics coming for this truly historic occasion. We also got a hint from Pope Benedict about how he sees his life when he steps down tomorrow evening at 8:00 p.m.

He said that he's not going to return to a private life. Now, we'd understood that he would dedicate himself in his retirement to prayer and contemplation, but when he says he's not going back to a private life, that would hint that he's going to have some sort of public role when his successor takes his place.

COSTELLO: And, Ben, what can we expect tomorrow because that will really be an emotional day for Catholics around the world? WEDEMAN: Well, tomorrow he'll be addressing the cardinals and saying his goodbyes to all those who worked closely with him, not only just over the last eight years, but really he's been in the Vatican since 1981. So he's got a lot of people he needs to say goodbye to.

Now, at 5:00 in the evening, he will take a helicopter from the Vatican City to Castel Gandolfo, which is the summer residence of the pope about 15 miles south of Rome. There from the windows of the papal residence he will one last time appear in public to greet the people who have come to see him off there, and at 8:00 p.m. officially he will no longer be the pope.

COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman reporting live from Rome. Thanks so much.

Also a note for you, tonight, at 8:00 Eastern, Anderson Cooper has more on today's big event. He'll also take a closer look at Cardinal Roger Mahony from Los Angeles who is in Rome at the Vatican to pick the next pope.

The cardinal is accused of protecting pedophile priests though here in the United States. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" investigates tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

Back here in the United States, the Senate talks and the clock ticks. CNN has learned the president has invited Republican congressional leaders to the White House on Friday just hours before the four spending cuts are due to kick in.

It's worth noting that some GOP lawmakers are already dismissing the meeting as being more about show than real negotiations. But as the negotiations continue, there are real life consequences looming for people all across the country.

Every day this week, we're looking past the politics and focusing on how these four spending cuts will impact everyday Americans. Today we're focusing on contractors losing government business.

Mark Masters is a former firefighter who now runs a firm that combats wildfires. He joins us live. Good morning, Mark.

MARK MASTERS, FOUNDER, CHLOETA FIRES: Hi, Carol. Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: We're glad you are here. So you say 90 percent of your business comes from government contracts. So if these spending cuts go into effect on Friday, this will not mean many good things for you.

MASTERS: It's definitely going impact our small business, Carol. One thing that's going to help us is that a lot of our businesses were emergency response services, however for those services we have that are not necessarily emergency response, they're more preparedness and preparation-oriented. I'm sure we're going see cuts on those services.

COSTELLO: Like what might it mean for you? Will it mean you have to lay off workers? Will it mean you'll use dollars? Describe to us the impact.

MASTERS: It could certainly impact the revenue and impact the opportunity for individuals to have employment. You know, for us on the emergency response side, like we said, we're pretty insulated because the federal government has an obligation to response to an emergency incident. On the preparedness side, however, the budget dollars are much more discretionary. We've already seen major cuts on those, on the preparedness side of things.

COSTELLO: So when you hear the president has invited congressional leaders to the White House on Friday, the very day these spending cuts are supposed to go into effect, what goes through your mind?

MASTERS: I'm hopeful that a deal can be reached. If the sequestration bill takes effect, there's going to be real-life consequences for us, you know, folks who rely on federal contracting for our businesses.

COSTELLO: It's interesting that both parties talk glowingly of small businesses and small business owners and we don't want to hurt them because they're the fuel that runs the middle class. So when you see this sort of stuff going down, does it make you feel special?

MASTERS: Well, I don't know if special's the word, Carol. We just hope that, you know, Congress can get their act together and hopefully avoid the sequestration issue on Friday.

COSTELLO: I think I meant that facetiously. You would think if the government really cared about small business, they would get their own house in order so you don't have to worry about these things.

MASTERS: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Mark Masters, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

MASTERS: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: We're following a couple of other events unfolding on Capitol Hill this morning. Later today, later this morning Senator Dianne Feinstein holds a hearing on her proposal to ban assault rifles. The testimony could get emotional.

Among those set to speak to lawmakers, the father of a Sandy Hook Elementary School victim. Now Feinstein's bill faces several obstacles in the Senate and House lawmakers are just about to vote on their own version.

Also later this hour, Chuck Hagel is due to make his first public remarks as the new defense secretary. Earlier this morning, he was sworn in during a private ceremony. It comes after a bruising fight over his nomination. Many of his fellow Republicans blasted some of his previous statements and positions on foreign policy, but eventually he was indeed confirmed.

Hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars may have been wasted over what could be a prank. We're talking about a possible hoax call that led to a massive Coast Guard search. Rescuers spent days looking for a family of missing boaters off Monterey, California, but the story wasn't adding up.

CNN's Dan Simon is in Sausalito where he's been talking to the Coast Guard. Good morning.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Carol. The Coast Guard is now officially prepared to call this a hoax, but they say it's a real possibility. If it was, you're talking about a whole bunch of money gone right down the drain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON (voice-over): They sent out numerous boats and aircraft to rescue four people, including two children allegedly on a sinking boat. This was the last radio transmission from the vessel operator.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coast Guard, Coast Guard, we are abandoning ship. This is the Charm Blow. We are abandoning ship.

SIMON: Is that the voice of a hoaxster? Was this whole thing, a search that spanned an area the size of West Virginia and cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars just a prank? The Coast Guard said it's a possibility. First the name of the boat, Charm Blow. Don Montoro is the Coast Guard sector commander responsible for the search.

COMMANDER DON MONTORO, U.S. COAST GUARD: We go through our databases. We went through Customs databases. We also went through databases of local law enforcement agencies to search for the vessel and try to identify it.

SIMON (on camera): What did you find?

MONTORO: Unfortunately, we haven't found anything at this point.

SIMON (voice-over): And what about a missing persons report.

MONTORO: We haven't received any notifications of any missing persons.

SIMON (on camera): Is that unusual?

MONTORO: I haven't experience that before.

SIMON (voice-over): This isn't the first time the Coast Guard has turned up empty in a high profile search for missing boaters. Last May, it searched for six people in the waters off Galveston, Texas after a mayday call from a sinking boat. A few weeks later, a caller claimed there were three people dead and 20 people in the water off Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have 21 souls on board, 20 in the water right now. I have three deceased on board. Nine injured because of the explosion we've had. SIMON (voice-over): Authorities later determined the call came from land and was a hoax. As for the radio transmission in California --

(on camera): Based upon what he's saying over the radio, you thought that was real.

MONTORO: Absolutely. And we treated it as such. We treat every call as if it was our own child out there and we're searching for them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIMON: So making a false distress call is considered a felony. It's punishable by up to 10 years in prison, $250,000 fine plus the cost of that wasted search effort -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Dan Simon reporting live from Sausalito this morning.

NASCAR fans wanted to get close to the action, but almost 30 fans became -- really became part of the action at Daytona. We're going to talk track safety with an attorney who's now representing some of those injured fans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 15 minutes past the hour, time to check our top stories. Police releasing photos of a woman wanted for questioning in last week's deadly shooting and fiery crash on the Las Vegas strip. They say the 22-year-old was inside a black SUV when shots were fired. Her mother tells CNN the suspected shooter the young woman's boyfriend. Harris is still at large.

From the Midwest to the north east, millions are getting hit by a blast of wintry weather. Air travel has also come to a screeching halt in much of the nation's midsection. In Chicago alone, more than 1,000 flights were canceled yesterday, and hundreds more will be canceled. That's pretty likely today.

Salvage crews have started removing parts of a former U.S. Navy ship that ran aground in a reef in the Philippines. Local coast guard say a smoke stack was lifted by a crane and transferred to a barge. Salvage efforts are expected to continue through March.

A major milestone for the photo sharing site app Instagram, the company says it now has 100 million monthly active users. Instagram made the announcement in a blog post on Tuesday.

Fan safety at the center of a potential lawsuit by three crash victims at a NASCAR race. Nearly 30 fans were injured at Daytona Saturday when debris from a crash went over -- actually went through and over a fence.

Civil Attorney Matt Morgan is representing three people who were injured in that mishap. He's attempting to reach some kind of settlement with NASCAR. Welcome.

MATT MORGAN, CIVIL ATTORNEY: Thank you, Carol. COSTELLO: Well, first of all, your three clients, I just want you to take us through what that felt like as they were sitting in the stands that day.

MORGAN: Well, ultimately it was devastating for them. Two of our clients were actually right up on the fence when this car came into the stands. One of our other clients was sitting up in the stands, and a piece of debris actually hit and fractured her fibula and split right through her Achilles tendon. So for them it was a truly traumatic experience and a true tragedy for them for the recovery.

COSTELLO: Did they realize the risk because they were sitting very close to the action?

MORGAN: Well, Carol, you've raised a good point and a lot of people have been talking about that. But ultimately no fan sitting in the stands assume that a race car is going to come flying into the fans. I myself I'm a NASCAR fan. I've been to many, many in my life. Never when sitting in the stands do I consider it foreseeable for a car to come flying into the stands that's something that the entities responsible have to see for their fans.

COSTELLO: We'll accept the back of the ticket. There's a warning. We're going to show folks the warning right now. Let's look at the ticket. It's a waiver on the back of the sporting event tickets warning about possible injury to fans.

It says, quote, "The holder of this ticket expressly assumes all risk incident to the event." If you go to the baseball game and get hit by a foul ball, you don't sue because on the bath of a baseball ticket it says the same thing. If you sit in the stands, you assume risk and you really can't sue. So what exactly are you asking for?

MORGAN: Well, Carol, that's called an adhesion contract and essentially that means that one party sets all the terms and the other party has to either take it or leave it. Ultimately, the judge is either going to enforce that contract or declare it unenforceable.

There'll be arguments to both sides. As you reported earlier, we're going to attempt to resolve this case without the need for a lawsuit. So hopefully we won't need to gets before a judge because these claims will be resolved outside of the courtroom.

COSTELLO: So you are just asking for medical bills? I mean, isn't NASCAR paying for injuries? I mean, what's happening there?

MORGAN: Not to my knowledge. What happens is they're going have to go through numerous procedures to have their injuries repaired and then ultimately they're going have medical bys they're going to be responsible for as a result of this. They're going to be going through a long and extensive rehabilitation process.

That's expensive. What we're going to ask NASCAR to compensate them for is for the medical bills like you said, but also something for their pain and suffering as a result of getting hit by debris and causing significant and serious injury. COSTELLO: We reached out to NASCAR. NASCAR has no comment at this time because no lawsuit has been filed. Have you talked with NASCAR yet?

MORGAN: We have not. Not at this point. We're going the reach out to them soon. Our goal first is to assess our clients' injuries and investigate the liability on the case. After we come to a determination on both of those factors, we're going to approach NASCAR and the responsible entities and hopefully like I said come to some kind of amicable resolution of this.

COSTELLO: Matt Morgan, attorney, thanks so much for being with us this morning.

MORGAN: Thanks, Carol. I appreciate it.

COSTELLO: Talkback question this hour, should the Republicans embrace Chris Christie? Facebook.com/carol.cnn or tweet me @carolcnn.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Today's talk back question, should Republicans embrace Chris Christie? Mitt Romney is going, so is Sarah Palin and Jeb bush. But Chris Christie the popular New Jersey governor was not invited to the high-profile Conservative Political Action Conference.

Perhaps it was that image of Christie embracing President Obama after Superstorm Sandy, you know, right before the election. Some Republicans cannot seem to forgive him. Others say Christie's got presidential timber. Don't punish him over a momentary Obama lapse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I would call it unfortunate, although I think he could explain the incident, the Sandy embrace. I thought it was more than an embrace. It was kind of a lap dance, although I'm not sure I like the image.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I'm not sure I do either. Seriously though, CPAC told "Politico," Christie he was not invited because he criticized the House leadership's actions on Sandy. That tough talk is exactly what endears Christie to the public. He was at it again yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: It's time for Washington to get its act together that. That will take two things, bipartisanship and leadership and unfortunately both seem missing in Washington today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And with a whopping 73 percent approval rating his take-no- prisoner style is not likely to change any time soon. So the talkback question today, should the GOP embrace Chris Christie?

One of Charles Manson's followers is up for parole. He's convicted as a murderer, but he could be free in a matter of days because of his good behavior, that story coming your way next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for being with me. It's about 30 minutes past the hour. Let's check our top stories. Police investigating a deadly shooting in Switzerland, they say an employee killed two people before turning the gun on himself. Seven other people were injured, four of them critically. The shooter's motive unknown.

A great white shark has killed a surfer off the coast of New Zealand. Police officers in boats actually opened fire on the great white as it chewed on the body of its victim. Witnesses at the scene say it was a horrible scene.

A Senate panel dropped its investigation into the movie "Zero Dark Thirty" after talking to the CIA. The film chronicles the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. The Senate Intelligence Committee was worried CIA information might have misled filmmakers. Some lawmakers also said the film glorified torture.

Any moment now Chuck Hagel is due to make his first public remarks as the brand-new defense secretary. Earlier this morning, Hagel was sworn in during a private ceremony. It comes after a bruising fight over his nomination. Many of his fellow Republicans blasted some of his previous statements and positions on foreign policy. When Mr. Hagel begins speaking, we'll dip in for you.

At any time in the next five days, we could find out if a convicted killer and Manson follower will be released on parole. Bruce Davis would be the first Manson follower freed solely based on good behavior.

CNN's Kyung Lah is following the story from Los Angeles. Good morning.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Any time you hear the name Charles Manson, it certainly sends chills down people's spines especially here in Southern California. Now California's governor has that very difficult decision on his desk whether one of Manson's closest followers deserves to be freed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAH (voice-over): The face of evil, Charles Manson, who unleashed terror in a murder spree in 1969. The face you don't know.