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Ellen DeGeneres Fans Could Win Money; Teen Accused Murderer Faces Judge; Court Considers Amanda Knox Retrial; Teen Accused Baby Murderer Faces Judge; Winter Won't Go Away; Courts Tackle Same-Sex Marriage; Obama Hosts Naturalization Ceremony; Cyprus is Bailed Out; The American Reality; Tom Clements Laid to Rest

Aired March 25, 2013 - 13:00   ET

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

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SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I want to take a look at what is trending around the world right now.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: People on Twitter are talking about the talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres. Why? Well, she's smart and she's gone to Australia to tape her shows.

MALVEAUX: Right, your home county of Australia.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: You just got to love it. So, Ellen, she loves the graffiti there, especially in Melbourne. So, she is actually having a contest for the best dressed folks -- the person in the audience --

HOLMES: Or undressed.

MALVEAUX: Or undressed, oh, look at that. We said that at the same time. Spray painted clothes. Here's what she tweeted. If you've got talent, Melbourne, for my event tomorrow, I want you to spray paint an outfit. The best outfit's going to win $5,000.

HOLMES: Oh. And her wife, Portia de Rossi, is a --

MALVEAUX: She's from there, right?

HOLMES: From Melbourne. All right, that'll do it for me.

MALVEAUX: They're yelling at us, so you've got to get off.

HOLMES: Yelling at us. I've got to go. You carry on.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Michael. See you tomorrow.

HOLMES: See you tomorrow.

MALVEAUX: Amanda Knox facing a court fight again. Why Italian prosecutors want to retry the American student once convicted of murdering her former roommate. Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You killed an innocent human life, and that I hope you die for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: A mother's message and an accused murder just 15 years old facing a judge in the shooting death of her toddler. Newtown residents getting calls asking them to oppose gun control. And the NRA tells New York mayor Michael Bloomberg to butt out.

This is CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Suzanne Malveaux. A 15-year-old boy who is accused of killing a 13-month-old baby made an appearance before a Georgia judge a couple hours ago. He's the younger of two teens charged with first-degree murder in the baby's death that happened last Thursday.

CNN's Nick Valencia, he is outside the court in Brunswick where the teen was arraigned. What is the very latest? What do we know?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're trying to figure out, Suzanne, whether that 15-year-old boy will be charged as an adult. We've put in multiple calls to the courthouse. The judge, in fact, didn't say anything at all or address that. That 15-year-old juvenile entered the courtroom, looked back at the back row full of journalists, there were no family members or really anyone else in that courtroom. He was wearing an oversized jump suit -- orange jump suit. His hands and feet were both shackled. He didn't say much. The judge asked him if he had any procedural questions, at which point he said, no, sir. He didn't answer a guilty or not guilty plea either, Suzanne. He's got a preliminary hearing in 30 days if he does not set bond. Now, afterwards, I exited the courtroom and ran into his mother, and asked her a few questions. Listen to what she had to say to CNN.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's innocent. My feelings go out to the mother and the baby and my baby.

VALENCIA: Do you think that they -- this is a race issue that your son was a (INAUDIBLE)?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they handled this wrong. They handled the investigation wrong and the truth is going to come out.

VALENCIA: How did DeMarquez and the 14 year old know each other?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't know -- they don't know of each other.

VALENCIA: Are they in gangs?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, they're not. My son walking one way and he's like a witness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Now, there are a lot of theories being floated around here by the local residents, but police have not released a clear motive. It's worth noting as well, the 17-year-old suspect, DeMarquez Elkins, I asked his attorney, just after that court appearance for the 15 year old, how his client knew the 15-year-old suspect? He did not want to answer that question. He has a court appearance in about an hour from now at 2:00 p.m. We'll be going into that as well -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. We'll be watching that very closely. Thank you.

We also want to let you know the mother of the baby killed just last week is now speaking out. You can actually hear her talk about all of this, what this has meant to her with our own Piers Morgan. That is happening at "PIERS MORGAN LIVE." That is at 9:00 Eastern tonight. You're going to want to watch that as well.

And according to the calendar, right, it's been spring. You wouldn't even know it, right? Since last week. But winter didn't get the memo. Folks in a dozen states from Missouri to New Jersey down to North Carolina, Tennessee, all under winter storm warnings. That has prompted flight cancellations, delays across the Midwest and mid- Atlantic states. Today, more than 350 flights have now been canceled. Airlines say there could be more.

Martin Savidge in Pittsburgh. The show hasn't stopped, has it? And we've got Shannon Travis covering the storm outside of Washington, D.C. in Potomac, Maryland. Let's start with Shannon first.

SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, winter meets spring here in Potomac, Maryland. We're getting wowed by this wintery mess. But we're keeping track of just how much snow has been falling. I've got my handy ruler right there, Suzanne. Let's just take a look and see where we are right now. I stick it in and it looks like, Suzanne, just above four inches. Just a short while ago, it was at three inches. That will give you a sense of how much snow has been falling. We're right here on Interstate 270. This is a main artery into the nation's capitol for people from surrounding areas.

There's good news and bad news. The bad news is that it's slushy, there's low visibility, it's slick out there. The good news is that it's been moving pretty steadily possibly because Congress is in a recess so less cars on the road. Meanwhile, people are not letting this storm stop them from going to the Supreme Court. They've been ling up outside waiting to hear the arguments over same sex marriage over the next two days. Here where we are, we've also been monitoring the snow removal. Take a listen -- take a listen at one of the snowplow operators when I asked him about how long he thinks he'll be out here.

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ZECH ZERNER: It's been tough because the last couple weather calls haven't panned out the way -- the potential they could have, so.

TRAVIS: About how much snow do you think you're plowing, like, already?

ZERNER: It looks like about an inch or so. But it's pretty slushy and we didn't have the chance to get some salt on it before we hit it, so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS: Suzanne, one other concern is the weight of the snow on the trees possibly bringing -- snapping to the tree limbs and bringing down power lines. But as we've been out here watching some of the snow accumulating on tree limbs, we've been seeing that some of the snow has been melting -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Shannon, thank you. He's just outside of Washington.

I want to go to Ohio Valley. Martin Savidge live in Pittsburgh. Martin, I've never seen anybody so happy as Shannon Travis in the snow. He's love -- he's loving this stuff.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Weather will do that.

MALVEAUX: It will make you a little crazy, too. How's it -- how's it going where you are?

SAVIDGE: Well, you know, spring's here. You're just going to have to dig to find it here in Pittsburgh. Fortunately, the snow has sort of changed over to rain, so that's going to reduce the snow amounts. Let me show you this real quick here. Look, this is what -- this is what we're dealing with here, Suzanne. This is -- I can sell this for good money at a convenience store. It's slush. It's just plain slush. It's that really thick, heavy, wet.

And so, the going on the streets is actually very easy. That's the good news. They thought they were going to get three to six inches. It turns out it's probably about one to three. They have had a lot of delays in the morning hours. That's all easing off now as we're heading into the afternoon. There were about 400 schools got either delayed or canceled today. But for the most part, it's really just been a miserable kind of reminder that the calendar says spring, but the weather forecast doesn't seem to reflect that at all. I'll point out that, by the way, opening day for the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball, --

MALVEAUX: Yes, right.

SAVIDGE: -- a week from today.

MALVEAUX: Oh, goodness. Well, we'll see if the weather's still --

SAVIDGE: Go figure.

MALVEAUX: -- if it still is cold as it is and snowy. Mother nature does her own thing. Mother Nature does her own thing. All right, Martin, thanks. Good to see you. Stay warm. Here's what we're working on as well for this hour. What's a little snow, of course, when you've got a cause? And we're talking about the lines outside the Supreme Court as the justices are preparing to tackle the issue of same sex marriage. That debate up next.

And an incredible story of survival, a nine-year-old girl frees herself from an overturned car, claws her way up to a steep ravine desperate to find help for her father who is still trapped in the car.

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MALVEAUX: President Obama making a push for immigration reform. This is at a ceremony and it was for new American citizens. The president hosted a naturalization ceremony today for active duty service members and civilians, this was at the White House. The president has made immigration reform one of the top priorities of his second term. Now, he says, if the U.S. wants to keep attracting the best and the brightest, the country needs to make sensible changes to fix its immigration system.

And the president is expanding the country's parks and historic sites as well. So, today, he is designating areas in five states as new national monuments. So, the sites include the First State National Monument in Delaware. A site commemorating Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad, that's in Maryland. The Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument in Ohio. The San Juan Islands National Monument in Washington State and the Rio Grande Del Norte National Monument in New Mexico.

And now, the stage set for the U.S. Supreme Court to take up one of the biggest social justice issues facing this country. We are talking about same sex marriage. Crowds, they are already lined up outside the court hoping to get a seat when arguments begin, that's going to happen tomorrow in the first of two cases. Now, the court takes up the issue at a time when public opinion on same sex marriage has undergone a major shift. In an "ABC News" "Washington Post" poll, 58 percent of Americans say it should be legal for gay and lesbian couples to marry compared to 41 percent, that was back in 2004. I want to bring in our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger to talk all about this. And, Gloria, explain to us how this works because, clearly, you have a major shift in public opinion.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You do.

MALVEAUX: But you have the Supreme Court at the same time. Do they act independently or could this actually influence the court's thinking?

BORGER: Well, I think we always like to think that the Supreme Court acts independently on everything, but the justices are part of this country and they see what's occurring in the country. What's interesting to me, Suzanne, is when you talk to people fighting both sides of this case, they see it differently. People who oppose same sex marriage who are fighting in the courts say, you know what? Since public opinion is shifting, now we're up to nine states in the District of Columbia that have approved same sex marriage, they say, since public opinion is shifting, you do not need to have the Supreme Court come down with a large decision. And people on the other side say, you know what? Maybe the court -- this would help the court decide to come down in favor of same sex marriage because they will realize they won't be so cataclysmic if they do in the country which is already heading in that direction.

MALVEAUX: Gloria, talk a little about the politics of all this because it's very interesting. You have kind of an odd couple, if you will -- a legal odd couple --

BORGER: Very odd.

MALVEAUX: -- who support same sex marriage. And tell us a little about these two individuals because you spent a lot time with them.

BORGER: I have. And they're an interesting couple. One of them is Ted Olson, former solicitor. The general Republican fought against David Boies, now who's on the same side with him. A liberal Democrat, they were opposed to each other in, of course, the famous case you know, Suzanne, and I know, because we covered it, Bush versus Gore. And here they are finding themselves on the same side of the issue of same sex marriage. Ted Olson, icon of the conservative movement, talking to him about this. You know, he's been ostracized by many on his side of the aisle and he says he's doing it because it's a matter of human dignity. And both men believe that this is kind of the last civil rights fight of their generation. And so, you're going to be seeing them together. Ted Olson will be the one arguing the case. He's argued 60 times, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Wow.

BORGER: Sixty times before the court. He's won 44 of those times. So, it'll be interesting to watch.

MALVEAUX: That is going to be a fascinating case.

BORGER: It will.

MALVEAUX: And, Gloria, tell us a little about -- you've got a special coming up as well.

BORGER: We do.

MALVEAUX: You've spent a lot of time with these guys. Tell us a little bit about that as well.

BORGER: Well, it's really a story of how this case all got started. I mean, you'll recall, Suzanne, when President Obama was first elected in 2008, you covered that race, he was elected. But then Proposition 8 also passed in California. And that outlawed the right for same-sex couples to marry, took it away from them in that state.

And so you have a story that really starts in Hollywood with Rob Reiner, of all people, deciding, oh, my God, this can't occur. And he and his friends recruiting Ted Olson and Ted Olson recruiting David Boies to work with him on this case and making it through the California courts, and now to the Supreme Court.

MALVEAUX: Yes. It's a fascinating story. Gloria, thank you so much. Appreciate it as always.

BORGER: Sure.

MALVEAUX: The crisis might have been averted in Cyprus. The tiny European country with big banking trouble made a deal for about a $13 billion bailout. So that, of course, should be good news. We'll see if it's good or not.

Zain Asher in New York, Zain, so take a look at the Dow here. I understand it's down. Investors not all that happy with the deal. Back and forth a little bit.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, yes, that seems to be the case. U.S., the stocks here started out strong initially, but they're now lower. We're seeing triple-digit losses now on the Dow. Cyprus is the fourth European country to get bailed out. And it's a reminder that Europe isn't necessarily out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination just yet.

As one analyst tells CNNMoney, once you deal with Cyprus, you need to address the rest of the periphery in Europe. Investors are also spooked after the head of the Eurogroup said that what happened in Cyprus could be a model for other bailouts throughout the E.U. So European bank stocks are taking a hit today.

But one thing that's important to note is that earlier the Dow did hit an intraday high, 14,563, and the S&P got within one point of its record high as well. But take a look. The last time we hit a record was in 2007, October, in fact. And now it's up 9 percent in just three months. That would be a great return for an entire year, let alone just three months, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And also I know, Zain, you're doing double duty today. You're covering another story as well. And it is about this ad that an agency was commissioned to do for Ford. And people take a look at that ad and it's very controversial. Tell us about that.

ASHER: Yes. It's hugely provocative, these ads, very offensive. You've got women bound and gagged in cars. But Ford's saying now that they never approved these ads, that they were never intended for paid publication.

Let's take a look. I want to show you them. One ad shows Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian prime minister, billionaire media mogul, driving a Ford Figaro (ph) with three young women bound and gagged in the trunk. And this ad seems to be sort of alluding to Berlusconi's past sex scandals. He was charged in 2011 with paying a minor for sex.

And people are saying this is offensive, this is hugely sexist, very demeaning to women, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And I understand that they have apologized and they said that this certainly is a case where they did not sign off on something like this.

ASHER: Right. Exactly. Both Ford and the ad agency, WPT Group saying they regret this incident, WPT saying, quote, "this was the result of individuals acting without proper oversight and appropriate actions have been taken;" Ford also coming out with a statement saying that it is reviewing the approval and oversight processes to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Good thing. Zain, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Good to see you as always.

So Hollywood chiming in on the same-sex marriage debate.

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BRAD PITT, ACTOR: What makes this nation great is our freedoms and the idea of equality.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We must demand full equality for all.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): From George to Gaga, they're all weighing in on same-sex marriage. Hear from them, coming up next.

But first, the jury is out on whether college or real-life experience better prepares you for a job. One thing is sure: an apprenticeship can actually make you stand out in a pretty tough economy. And that is why some young people and young companies believe that learning by doing model actually pays off. Christine Romans takes a look at all of this in "Smart is the New Rich."

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): This is the American dream. But for too many college graduates, this is the American reality, an average $27,000 in debt when they leave college and a job market where one in every seven can't find full-time work.

But there's a new model that could change the way students learn the skills they need to make it in the work world. It's a little less Ferris Bueller.

BEN STEIN, "ECONOMICS TEACHER": Anyone, anyone? The Great Depression.

ROMANS (voice-over): And hopefully a little more Carter Deria.

DENNIS QUAID, ACTOR, "DAN": You're my new boss.

TOPHER GRACE, ACTOR, "CARTER": I guess so.

"DAN": How old are you?

"CARTER": I'm 26 years old.

ROMANS (voice-over): This is where future 26-year-old bosses are currently learning the skills they need to be successful, not in a college classroom, but on the job.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to be joining in on the kickoff call with Ben and Jerry.

ROMANS (voice-over): Working 40 hours a week in New York City as part of a pilot program for Institute, a nonprofit that co-founders Shyla Acheria (ph) and Caine Sarhan (ph) think can change how students get the skills employers need not only on college campuses but through full-time on-the-job apprenticeships.

(Inaudible) different skills, so both business skills and technical skills. So they can learn a coding language, they learn, you know, like ops and then they also learn marketing, business development.

It's about really taking whatever they learned and putting it into a life scenario.

ROMANS (voice-over): The first class has 11 participants chosen from a pool of 500 candidates living together in a 3,600 square-foot loft.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly, yes.

ROMANS (voice-over): Weezie Yancey Siegal (ph) is one of them and brings a unique perspective. She spent a year and a half at a Southern California college costing $58,000 a year before deciding it wasn't for her. She now apprentices at Flavorpill (ph), a digital media company getting paid minimum wage.

WEEZIE YANCEY SIEGAL (PH): At school you have a teacher that tells you here's what I need, here's what I need it by. If you need help, come talk to me. Being an apprentice, I do a lot of scheduling, I think, but I also get to see what's happening in different departments.

ROMANS (voice-over): So what's in it for Flavorpill? According to Weezie's (ph) boss/mentor/Louis (ph) --

SASCHA LEWIS, COFOUNDER, FLAVORPILL: The benefit that we're getting from the apprenticeship concept is that it's a longer-term relationship; there's a deeper commitment as opposed to an internship.

ROMANS (voice-over): Apprenticeships are hardly a new concept. There are 358,000 registered apprentices in the U.S., but the majority of those are in traditional skill trades, like electricians, carpentry, plumbing. If Institute's push into innovative new industries is successful, it could help make apprenticeship an attractive alternative to college.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've been trying the pure college route for decades. And we have not gotten good results.

ROMANS (voice-over): For Weezie (ph) and for Flavorpill, the apprenticeship has paid off.

LEWIS: Weezie (ph) would definitely have a full-time job here if and when that opportunity comes available for both of us. ROMANS (voice-over): Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

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MALVEAUX: To Colorado now, where a public memorial is being held for the state's prison chief, Tom Clements. He was gunned down Tuesday night when he opened the door to his home. Now officials say the suspect, this man, was a former member of a white supremacist prison gang. Evan Spencer Ebel, he was killed in a shootout with police in Texas last week.

Our Jim Spellman, he is in Colorado Springs.

So, Jim, tell us, I know that this community is in mourning. They're still in shock. And there is a memorial that is taking place.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Tom Clements' wife, Lisa, just finished speaking. She -- it was not announced she would speak. It's the first time we've seen her in public. She says she was watching TV with her husband last week; the knock came on the door and her life was changed forever.

It's really been stunning, Suzanne, to see how many people in his -- Tom Clements' professional life seem genuinely and emotionally moved to have lost him. He's only worked here two years in color, but he really seems to have affected a lot of people, including Governor John Hickenlooper. Listen to him speaking about Tom Clements earlier in the memorial.

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JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D), GOVERNOR OF COLORADO: He had two qualities that I think are all too often lacking in life. He had common sense. And he had -- he had courage. Right? He just faced up to every issue. He's the kind of person you'd want next to you in a foxhole.

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SPELLMAN: And even as this memorial's taking place, Suzanne, the investigation continues. Even though authorities seem fairly certain that it was Evan Ebel, this man who was in this shootout with police in Texas a few days ago that was the gunman who shot Tom Clements, their question is, were there other people involved?

Was this possibly a conspiracy involving people from this white supremacist prison gang? So the investigators are working inside the prison walls and outside to find out what he was doing for the seven or so weeks between when he got out and ended up on this apparent crime spree, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Yes, such a sad story.

Jim, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Jerry Sandusky talking and laughing behind bars. What the convicted pedophile found so funny.

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