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Weekend Early Start

Nuclear North Korea Unacceptable; Background Check Bill Proposed; Chinese Teen Makes Masters Cut; Airliner Skids Off Runway, Ends up in Water; Jodi Arias Trial; Fitness Expert Provides Arm-Toning Tips

Aired April 13, 2013 - 06:00   ET

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

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is EARLY START WEEKEND.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: At home, temperatures run high with talk of North Korea, but Americans in South Korea have a different feeling. How a military wife in the region is preparing for a potential strike.

KOSIK: He wasn't even born when Tiger Woods first won the Masters, but now he's the veteran's newest threat. Meet the youngest player ever to make the final cut and find out why he's already sparking controversy.

BLACKWELL: And for the first time in its history, the National Spelling Bee is getting new rules. We'll tell you what they are and we have a little competition of our own.

KOSIK: Good morning. It's Saturday, April 13th. I'm Alison Kosik.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thank you for starting your day with us.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLACKWELL: And we are starting this day with breaking news overseas. A Lion Air flight, carrying 101 passengers and seven members of the crew, overshot the runway at the Bali International Airport and ended up in the water. If you look here, you can see a crack in the plane's fuselage in one of these photographs. We're told it skidded off the runway and into the water. Here's the good news. Everyone on board survived this accident, though 51 of the people onboard were sent to the hospital. Of course, we're going to have much more on this story as we get more details.

KOSIK: Really incredible pictures, aren't they?

BLACKWELL: Yes. And amazing everyone survived this plane crash.

KOSIK: I know.

BLACKWELL: It could have been so much worse.

KOSIK: All right, let's go to North Korea now and the response to the missile threats. The U.S. and its allies in the region have defense systems ready to go if the North Koreans fire a missile. BLACKWELL: And North Korea could test fire a ballistic missile at any time. Now, this week we learned during a congressional hearing that North Korea may be able to fire a nuclear-tipped missile. But while they may have the ability, no one knows if they can actually do it or if they've actually built one. Either way, the U.S. is taking the threats seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Anytime somebody like this who has capabilities to launch a missile makes those threats, you have to take them seriously. So, yes, I think U.S. forces are on posture to deal with that, same with the Japanese, same with the South Korea. And the unpredictable part of this is you see a little bit of a different behavior with the Chinese. Now, they've got this on again, off again relationship with the North Koreans over time, but they're their biggest benefactor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Now, China is a big part of the equation. That's where Secretary of State John Kerry is right now and he's talking with his Chinese counterparts about North Korea and what China can do to stop the threats. One option is stopping the flow of money from China to North Korea. Before heading to China, Kerry was in South Korea, where he reiterated the partnership between the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: The rhetoric that we're hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable by any standard. And I am here to make it clear today, on behalf of President Obama and the citizens of the United States and our bilateral security agreement, that the United States will, if need, defend our allies and defend ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Kerry also said that any missile launch by North Korea would be, quote, a big mistake. CNN International's Jim Clancy is in Seoul, South Korea, right now.

South Korea and the U.S. have both said they expect a missile launch, but has North Korea actually said they would?

JIM CLANCY, ANCHOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL: In a word, no, Alison. The North Koreans never said they plan to test fire one or multiple missiles. All of that has come from the United States and from the South Koreans.

Now, the North Koreans did say they were activating their rocket forces, putting them on the highest state of alert, and it's only assumed that satellite imagery gave the U.S. and Seoul the hints that something was afoot, that they were moving around missiles. They quoted that day by day and then they escalated it saying this was going to be a multiple missile launch, that some of the Musudan medium range missiles, that are really heavier missiles that are thought to be able to carry bigger warheads and had not been tested in public, that those were being moved as well.

But in the end, people here today do not think that they're moving ahead with that. Kim Jong-un does not have to climb down on that one. He never told his people he was going to do that.

Alison.

KOSIK: So, Jim, the threats and the rhetoric, that all started when the joint U.S. and South Korean military exercises started. Had those been changed at all?

CLANCY: Well, we haven't announced change. We heard from Secretary Kerry when he was here in Seoul just 24 hours ago that President Obama had ordered that some elements of those exercises be cancelled. Now, which ones? That's the question. We talked with the U.S. military here today and they could not tell us which specific elements might be cancelled.

And the key one here that we're really talking about is the joint amphibious landing scheduled for about two weeks from now at the end of the month. That last years, for instance, 13,000 American troops participated with 2,000 South Korean troops. It was a major, major maneuver and it was something that really upset the North Koreans. Kim Jong-un was just into power at that time. He was caught a little bit on his back foot on it. And it is known that is one event that he loves to hate.

But Kim Jong-un has a bigger decision to make right now because Secretary Kerry made it clear, that was the U.S. walk back by canceling some of these maneuvers. The big walk back for Kim Jong-un is going to be his nuclear weapons program. Secretary Kerry made it abundantly clear that that would have to be on the table if there was going to be a chair there for the North Koreans.

Back to you.

KOSIK: OK, Jim Clancy live for us in South Korea this morning. Thanks.

Coming up, live for an American living near the North Korean border. We're going to talk live to one Army wife who has a gas mask, an emergency go bag and she's been told she may have to evacuate with her toddler at a moment's notice. All that's coming up in 30 minutes.

The re-trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak started this morning, then quickly came to a halt. The judge has withdrawn from the case, which has put the trial on hold for now. Mubarak is being tried for his role in the killing of the protesters during Egypt's uprising in 2011. He watched the short proceedings from a cage in the courtroom. An appeals court overturned the life sentence he received in his last trial.

The strain of bird flu blamed for 11 deaths in China has the right genetic makeup to spread easily among humans. That's according to a report in "The New England Journal of Medicine." Researchers say the H7N9 strain is evolving so quickly, they're no longer calling it the bird flu. That said, there is no evidence so far that the virus has spread directly from person to person.

BLACKWELL: Back here at home, police are trying to figure out why this man allegedly started shooting at his community college in a shopping mall not far from Virginia Tech. Two women were hurt before 18-year- old Neil Allan MacInnis was arrested. Now, an online message was posted under that name just minutes before the shooting and it urges readers to tune in to the local police scanner and adds, quote, "I'm a bit nervous because I've never really handled a shotgun." The poster's identity had not been confirmed.

In Texas, authorities investigating the murder of two local prosecutors have searched the home of this man. His name is Eric Williams. And he used to be a justice of the peace in Kaufman County. Well, that's until last year when he was convicted of stealing public equipment. Here's the video. Well, prosecutors who were killed, Mike McLelland and Marc Hasse, they handled his case. Both were shot this year. Now, Williams' lawyer says he's innocent and that a gun residue test Williams took hours after McLelland and his wife Cynthia were killed came back negative.

Let's go to Washington now and the next chapter in the gun control debate. Today, we will see a very different White House radio address on guns. It's actually a video address. For the first time during the Obama administration, neither the president, nor the vice president will be taking part. Instead, the call for gun control will come from Francine Wheeler. Her six-year-old son Ben was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary. We'll bring you some of that message later in the show.

The Senate will start full debate on a new gun control law next week. At the center of that discussions are background checks and mental health. CNN's Athena Jones has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): James Holmes in Colorado, Jared Loughner in Arizona, Seung-Hui Cho at Virginia Tech. All with mental health problems and all able to buy guns to kill. Would proposed new background checks stop others like them?

SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R), PENNSYLVANIA: The common ground rests on a simple proposition, and that is that criminals and the dangerously mentally ill shouldn't have guns.

JONES: But it's not simple at all. For one thing, who's considered dangerously mentally ill? Under federal law, it's someone found by a judge to be, quote, "a mental defective or someone committed to any mental institution." But state standards vary widely and their mental health records often don't make it into the database used to make federal background checks. Among the concerns, privacy protection. The Senate bill makes it clear that sharing these records won't violate federal law.

JOSHUA HORWITZ, COALITION TO STOP GUN VIOLENCE: What we need to do is we need to get all the records from the states into the federal system. Today, over 30 states barely report any records. JONES: Take Tennis Maynard, suspected of killing a West Virginia sheriff 10 months after being released from the mental hospital. He could buy a gun because the state was slow in sending his record. A judge deemed Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter, mentally ill, but that didn't stop him from buying a gun because those records weren't in the system. Holmes and Loughner fell through the cracks too because no court had deemed them dangerous and ordered them committed. Advocates worry this debate is stigmatizing the mentally ill.

RON HONBERG, NATIONAL ALLIANCE OF MENTAL ILLNESS: Our concern is that the way this discussion has taken place, mental illness is being equated with violence, and that has a very, very negative impact on people. It's very -- not only feeds right into the negative stereotypes about people, but it could even serve as a deterrent to people willing to seek - being willing to seek treatment.

JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: The nation's tough-talking sheriff, he is at it again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: I will continue being the sheriff. I am not going to be intimidated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: He is serious. And all this comes after someone sent Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio an explosive device through the mail.

KOSIK: And this guy, he's just 14-years-old and he's a phenom. He just made the cut at the Masters. We're live from Augusta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: This morning, investigators are trying to find the person behind a suspicious package addressed to the man known as America's toughest sheriff. The package was intercepted before it ever reached Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Arizona. He says, despite the threat, though, he's not backing down from anything.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: I will continue being the sheriff. I am not going to be intimidated by anyone. And that's a promise. That's a fact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: And here's what's scary. Investigators say if someone had opened it, they could have been seriously hurt, burned or even killed. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department is on high alert and has stopped opening mail. Arpaio is known for his hardline stance on crime and illegal immigration. The debate over guns has reached the racetrack of the Texas Motor Speedway. As lawmakers in Washington debate new gun legislation, tonight's NASCAR Sprint Cup race is being sponsored by the NRA. That's why Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut wants Fox Sports to not broadcast the race. NASCAR says it has no position on the gun rights debate and says, quote, "this situation has made it clear that we need to take a closer look at our approval process moving forward as current circumstances need to be factored in when making decisions."

BLACKWELL: Is it over? Is it over for Kobe Bryant? That's what the fans and the Kobe haters are asking, what is the chance that we will never see Kobe Bryant on an NBA court again? Look at this. Last night he may have torn his Achilles tendon. Now, if this is an Achilles injury, I mean it could sideline Bryant for up to a year. He might miss all of next season, which Bryant has previously said would be his last. And, you know, his team, the L.A. Lakers, they're fighting for that final playoff spot in the west. Could this be the end?

Hey, that base brawl that sent pitching ace Zack Greinke to the DL with a broken collar bone could also keep Carlos Quentin out of the game for more than a week. Thursday night in San Diego, let's go there. Greinke hits Quentin with a pitch. Quentin charges the mound, runs out there and the benches clear. Well now basketball is suspending Quinton eight games for that. He's also facing a fine. Now we say could take him off the field because Quinton is appealing the punishment.

Today in Augusta, Georgia, is extra special for a teenager from China. This 14 years old. He's 14. He made the cut in the Masters. He's the youngest ever player to do so at a golf major. Patrick Snell joins us live from Augusta.

Now, he did this despite getting a late penalty for slow play, Patrick.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS: He did. Good morning to you, Victor. Yes, absolutely. Real talk of the tournament really. I can tell you what was happening was the 14-year-old from China, great in Masters history, coming into this event as a 14-year-old. He's now the youngest ever to make it through to advance from the cut at a major. Quite incredible stuff.

Now, that controversial penalty was assessed on hole number 17. He had a warning. He'd been put on the clock, to put it in layman's terms, a little earlier. And then he just basically took more than 40 seconds, the allotted 40 seconds. The official came out, broke the news to him. He took it in good faith. He was remarkably composed about it all.

Reaction, of course, has been absolutely dynamic in coming forward, not just in social media circles, but people out on the course just having their say. Here now the views, interesting ones too, of a former champion, a 53-year-old veteran, Freddie Couples.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED COUPLES, TIED FOR SECOND FOLLOWING 2ND ROUND: I feel bad, but I also feel like, you know, they just don't go around handing out one- shot penalties here. I don't even know of anyone who's ever gotten one. So, you know, it feels hard to give a 14-year-old a penalty, but he's in the field, he beat a lot of guys yesterday, whatever the hell age he is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: So the views there of Freddie Couples.

I just want to remind you, the top of the leaderboard is the Australian, six under par, Jason Day, leading the way, and then Couples, as I say, at five under par. What a story Couples potentially is. He's won this tournament before. He knows exactly what it is to conquer this monster course here and he would love to get his hands on another green jacket. He's so popular. The energy of the crowd, they just feed off of him and he has them eating out of his palm. There would be few more popular winners than Freddie Couples. He's really well placed at five under par.

And people talk about horses for courses, Victor, when it comes to this particular competitor. At 53, he knows exactly what he's doing. He doesn't have to length (ph) of the tee as he said last year, for example, compared to the younger young guns, as he calls them. But he knows - he's got the knowhow, he's got the savvy and he feels he's in really good shape going into Saturday play.

BLACKWELL: All right, something, that 14-year-old can learn from the 53-year-old. Patrick Snell live from Augusta. Thank you, sir.

KOSIK: Changes to the National Spelling Bee? Say it ain't so, because it could spell big trouble for some kids. Some details on this coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: A dramatic rescue off the coast of Key West, Florida. Look at this. Two cruise ships came to the rescue of 21 people in rafts in the middle of the ocean.

BLACKWELL: A Carnival Cruise ship, along with a Disney cruise ship, each picked up a group in rafts trying to get to the U.S. Now those aboard the rafts were given food and water and medical attention. The group aboard the Carnival ship is from Cuba, the origin of the group aboard the Disney ship, that's not yet been confirmed.

Find out the country of origin. Have it used in a sentence.

KOSIK: And then you spell it out, of course.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: O-q-s.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: As if the Scripps National Spelling Bee is not hard enough. And it is. It's about to get much harder.

KOSIK: So, beginning this year, superlative spellers, they're now also going to have to define some of the words.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KOSIK: Good luck with that?

BLACKWELL: Yes, good luck with that. So here's how it's going to work. The vocabulary test, they're not going to happen on stage. Instead, the test will be held - those are in a private room.

KOSIK: OK. So how the kids perform on those tests, that accounts for 50 percent of their total score. And it's that total score that determines who makes it to the final rounds.

BLACKWELL: So instead of just telling you about the changes, oh, no.

KOSIK: We're going to make fools of ourselves in front of a national audience.

BLACKWELL: We're going to show you ourselves. Alison has some questions and so do I. so let's start with Alison. Here's an example. I'm going to go first.

What does it mean to winnow? We've got the multiple choice here.

KOSIK: Oh, God.

BLACKWELL: A, expel through an opening in the side of a building. That sounds disgusting. B, swim quickly. C, take out undesired parts. Or, D, play a game with chance for money or other stakes.

KOSIK: I have no idea. I don't know. I don't. I'm going to say - I'm going to say A.

BLACKWELL: A?

KOSIK: Yes.

BLACKWELL: OK. That would be wrong.

KOSIK: Surprise.

BLACKWELL: OK. This is how - this is why we love pop quizzes. It's C, take out undesired parts.

KOSIK: (INAUDIBLE).

BLACKWELL: I'll have to admit, I didn't know that either. But I'm sure there's a fourth grader somewhere in the country who knew that.

KOSIK: OK. Well, let me try to pin one on you're here.

BLACKWELL: All right. All right. KOSIK: OK. Something described as refulgent is, A, tending to move toward one point, B, demanding immediate action, C, rising from an inferior state, or, D, giving out a bright light.

Now, I hope you didn't cheat.

BLACKWELL: I did not. I did not. Because we had - I was up on the - refulgent. I will go with a complete guess. In elementary school I always guessed C. So I'm going with C.

KOSIK: Aaa, aaa.

BLACKWELL: No. OK.

KOSIK: Want to try again?

BLACKWELL: No, but I guess I'll take this, giving out a bright light. They highlighted it. OK.

KOSIK: Oh, well, there you go. OK. So we look brilliant on TV right now.

BLACKWELL: Yes, that's why I never really passed those guessing tests.

All right, three, intestate. What does it mean to intestate? A, be under strenuous circumstances, B, without valid will, be in the middle of a test in school, or be in possession of a large amount of money?

KOSIK: I'm going to go with D.

BLACKWELL: Intestate?

KOSIK: Could it be D? Yes.

BLACKWELL: OK. That was intestate. What one - which one did you go with?

KOSIK: I went with D, and I clearly was wrong. Forget this.

BLACKWELL: OK.

KOSIK: I - this is why I would never, ever -

BLACKWELL: B, without valid will.

We are going to try to quiz Alison a little later in the show to see if she remembers what intestate or intestate means. Somebody please pronounce that for me later.

OK. Most everyone has a fire alert system in their home, but if you're an American living near North Korea, especially now, you also have an alert that tells you to leave the building. Next, we talk to one Army wife about living with the constant threat that she and her toddler may have to leave at a moment's notice.

KOSIK: And no one say this coming. In a matter of seconds, one man decided to jump into the water in the Everglades and wrestling a python? Yes.

BLACKWELL: No.

KOSIK: Uh-huh. Oh, look at that. Oh.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: It's half past the hour. Welcome back. I'm Alison Kosik.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Thanks for starting your day with us.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLACKWELL: We want to push forward on this breaking news overseas. It's a Lion air flight carrying 101 passengers, seven crew members. It skidded off the runway at the Bali International Airport, ended up in the water. Look at these pictures. What does this remind you of? The pictures here you see, there's a crack in the fuselage.

KOSIK: And the good news about this is that it so far looks like everybody onboard survived the accident. At least since when it hit the water --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KOSIK: Fifty-one people, though, who were onboard they went to the hospital, and you are seeing some pictures, some video of people, we're about to show you of them, (inaudible) hospital. There is -- we don't know what caused the plane to skid off the runway at this point. Once again, the good news, because whenever you hear about a plane crash like this and you see that plane sitting in the water --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KOSIK: -- your biggest fear is that everybody -- everybody died. And it's just amazing to see the pictures and amazing to know that all of them survived.

BLACKWELL: And, you know, the last time we saw a picture like this, at least the last time I saw one on national news, it was the miracle in the Hudson.

KOSIK: Oh, definitely.

BLACKWELL: 2009.

KOSIK: Remember this (inaudible), sitting -- walking along the wing of the aircraft, incredible.

BLACKWELL: They are on the wing, on the rafts, wearing those vests, you know, Sully Sullenberger who became a celebrity after this. The flight hit a flock of geese, and he landed it safely. Everyone survived. We don't know what caused this just yet --

KOSIK: Right. BLACKWELL: Of course, we said there is this crack in the fuselage. But we do know that everyone survived. We also waited to get more information on the severity of the injuries of the 51 people, but I am sure as the minutes and hours and days go on, we're going to learn more about the story. But good news here, yes, this plane is in the water, but everyone is alive. All 101 passengers and seven crew members.

KOSIK: And I know I have been reading my Twitter feed. There's been a huge reaction. Not it's just -- you see this pictures, but a huge reaction on the outcome of this, which is good news.

BLACKWELL: And we will figure out how it happened and why. All right.

Let's get to five other stories we're watching this morning. I'll start with three teenage boys in California. They were pulled out of class, arrested and now they are facing sexual battery charges. They are accused of raping 15-year-old Audrie Pott, photographing it and sharing the photos in September. She committed suicide after learning the photos were posted online. Pott wrote on Facebook that her life was ruined. And people are outraged that it took so long for the boys to be arrested. CNN is not identifying the accused boys because they are minors and have not been formally charged.

Number two now, more than 600 passengers were pulled from a high speed train in Taiwan, they were forced out of the train, rather, after explosives were discovered onboard. Listen to this. A passenger found two suitcases in a restroom, they were smoking and it smelled like gas. Police say the timer on the detonator was activated. An investigator say, if the bags had not been found they would have taken out an entire train car

KOSIK: And number three, comic legend Jonathan Winters died on Thursday at his home in California. Winters may have been best known for his roles on TV's "Mork and Mindy." And the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." But one of his greatest achievements was as the father of improvised comedy, Jim Carrey tweeted that Winters quote, did God's work. Jonathan Winters was 87.

At number four, the president's tax return was released on Friday. Interesting stuff here. The Obamas earned 608,000 last year, and paid a little more than $112,000 in taxes. That put their tax rate at about 18 percent. The first family also -- they've donated $150,000 to charity, that's 24 percent of their income.

BLACKWELL: Number five now, Secretary of State John Kerry is in China this morning. He is talking with his Chinese counterparts, of course, about what to do with North Korea and what the Chinese can do to stop these threats. One option should have come up, is stopping the flow of money and support from China to North Korea. China is North Korea's biggest trading partner.

Did you watch this week the Jodi Arias trial? And there was a real fireworks in the courtroom this week. Prosecutor Juan Martinez, he really went after the defense's domestic violence expert. At one point, he was able to get that expert Alyce LaViolette, to admit that the victim in the case, Travis Alexander actually feared Jodi Arias. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN MARTINEZ: Isn't it true that Mr. Alexander was extremely afraid of the defendant, Jodi Arias based on her stalking behavior?

ALYCE LAVIOLETTE: He was afraid of her, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, earlier I asked HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell what she thought about this moment in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, HLN'S JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL: That was perhaps her greatest admission. And essentially, she was talking about a message that Travis Alexander sent to a friend saying he was scared of Jodi because of her stalking. But this defense expert went on to say, well, he couldn't have been that terrified of her because he continued to communicate with Jodi Arias and indeed, he continued to have sex with Jodi Arias, and who would have sex with their stalker, which is one of the many conundrums and riddles of this case.

BLACKWELL: And we typically don't see this back and forth, at least this type of back and forth between the expert and the attorney like we saw this week. Let's watch part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAVIOLETTE: Do you want the truth of this, Mr. Martinez?

MARTINEZ: Yes or no?

LAVIOLETTE: Mr. Martinez?

MARTINEZ: Yes or no?

LAVIOLETTE: I discuss (inaudible) stalking.

MARTINEZ: The person in the blue shirt over there moved over to Mesa, Arizona, correct?

LAVIOLETTE: It is not a yes or no. I cannot give that a yes or no.

MARTINEZ: Isn't that stalking behavior? I am over here. You keep looking to your left.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A lot of people have criticized prosecutor Juan Martinez for being too aggressive, but the question is, is it working? And in Arizona jurors can ask questions of the witnesses, and it would appear it is working based on the jury questions. They asked about 150 questions of this defense domestic violence expert who is arguing that Jodi was a victim of Travis Alexander, that he abused her emotionally and physically. And most of those questions, the overwhelming majority were very hostile toward the defendant indicating that they don't buy her story, that they don't think she is the victim, that think she's a manipulative, pathological liar. So I would think based on the jury questions that they like the prosecutor's style.

BLACKWELL: I want to get to something else that happened over the past few days. An interrogation that we are going to watch. Let's take a look and then we will talk about it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I don't know what this is all about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's about an incident that took place yesterday.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know for a fact that you were in Central Park yesterday.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know for a fact that I was in Central Park yesterday?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Jane, how did you get involved in all of this?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I wanted to find out what an interrogation felt like because the interrogation tapes are very crucial to this case, and what I learned is, A, these seasoned detectives who did a mock interrogation with me, and I actually --

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: It's a Jodi Arias head stand.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. I reenacted the Jodi Arias head stand. They felt that Detective Flores, who interrogated Jodi Arias, did an incredible job. And that he remained very professional. They pointed out some of the techniques. For example, there are techniques like what if. What if I told you that it was all caught on cell phone camera? So, the suspect here thinks oh, my gosh, well maybe they got me, maybe I should then try to spin it and admit what I did and try to put a good spin on it. There is also the either -or technique. Are you a monster? Well, of course I'm not a monster. Well, then maybe you just had a bad day and you did something you now regret? Tell us about it. So, I learned some of these great techniques that these detectives use to extract confessions. And it really is a chess game, a three dimensional chess game and a head game.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: And a head stand. That was impressive. Hey, stay up to speed on the Jodi Arias trial with Jane Velez- Mitchell. You can catch the program on our system network, HLN, weeknights at 7:00 Eastern. Listen, there was a lot that happened this week. A hermit is out of hiding, a clerk brings a baseball bat to a gun fight. Here is your week in crime in 60 seconds.

In Suwanee, Georgia, four firefighters were held hostage by a man with a gun when they responded to a fake emergency call. Police say Lauren Brown was having financial problems and demanded help. He was killed in a shoot-out with law enforcement. The firefighters had only minor injuries.

A woman in Chicago was accused of recruiting her grandson to kill his grandfather while he was waiting for a bus. Janet Strickland and her grandson William have been charged with first-degree murder.

A man who lived as a hermit in the woods of Maine for 27 years and is accused of hundreds of burglaries, has been caught. A state game warden says he caught Christopher Knight as he was burglarizing a camp for disabled people.

Two men tried to rob a Chicago sports store at gun point only to be attacked by the store clerk wielding a bat. The clerk Luis Quizhpe keeps swinging after being shot in the leg, while his family members fight back with a chair and a fire extinguisher. Police have caught one of the suspects. And that's your week of crime in 60 seconds.

That man --

KOSIK: You've got some crazy videos.

BLACKWELL: -- was not giving up.

KOSIK: I thought that kept (inaudible) on coming back for more, even though he's backing them with the bat.

BLACKWELL: It took him a few swings to learn his lesson.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: But he got out of it -- hey, we're just getting started. A lot more to come on earlier start weekend. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Living with an emergency go bag, in case they have to leave in a moment's notice. Can you imagine that? Well, that is life for some Americans in South Korea. Particularly, military families stationed near the DMZ, the incredibly tense demilitarized zone, separating North and South Korea. Well, that's life for Americans like the Rivers family. Chris Steven, Kris Rivers (ph) have been stationed in South Korea for three years now, their daughter was born there, here she is. Cute. With blue eyes, and if tensions escalate, Christine will have to grab her daughter and leave the area as quickly as possible. Kristine Rivers joins us now on the phone from South Korea. Christine, good to have you with us. Now, here in the states it feels like tensions have reached the boiling point. What does it feel like there?

KRISTINE RIVERS, STATIONED WITH HUSBAND IN SOUTH KOREA: You know, this might sound crazy, but it doesn't feel that intense over here, not as intense as it feels over there, I think. Our families email us every day and they want to know how we are doing, and we're doing fine.

BLACKWELL: Well, you live on a base, and this is near Pyong (ph), roughly 85 miles from the -- this DMZ. Do you think about that on a daily basis how closer you are to -- although it's the demilitarized zone, it is the most militarized real estate in the world.

RIVERS: You know, I think -- I'm definitely aware of it every day, but I don't think about it every day.

BLACKWELL: So you've got -- I understand an emergency alert system in your home, right? Has it ever gone off?

RIVERS: No, thanks God, it hasn't yet.

BLACKWELL: OK. So you have got this -- this baby girl. What's your daughter's name?

RIVERS: Maria.

BLACKWELL: Maria. So, you've got Maria, your husband is there. You've got a gas mask. There's one for your husband and there's one for your baby. I couldn't imagine as a parent having to place that on my child's face and know that we've got to go. I mean how do you -- how have you prepared for the potential that you will have to leave other than just packing the bag?

RIVERS: Right. Well, I know that sounds really scary, but I really don't ever anticipate having to use that. I feel like over here we are definitely more prepared and I would much rather be over prepared than under prepared. So even though it -- that sounds weird and kind of scary to know that you have a gas mask and an alert system in your home and things like that, it's -- it actually kind of makes me feel better, because I feel like OK, if something does happen, then, you know, the military knows what is going on and they are going to get us out of here safely and quickly and then they will do their job here. So, it sounds scary, but it's not as scary as it sounds, really.

BLACKWELL: Well, you are much more calm than I am sure your family is when they call and ask how are you, how are things, especially over the past few months.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: Christine Rivers, thank you so much for speaking with us this morning.

RIVERS: Sure. No problem. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: All right, so we are coming up to summer and we're coming up to this summer outfits?

KOSIK: Oh, yes, time to get these arms, those summer arms in shape. So we have got some great tips for you coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: Wake you, wake everybody. It's spring, and that means in most places it is warming up. Not everybody, but it's when we start shedding our clothes.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KOSIK: Well, not really, we just go to short sleeves.

BLACKWELL: Yes, you start --

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: -- shedding our clothes.

KOSIK: I'm not going to be shedding clothes.

BLACKWELL: Good morning. Hey, joining us this -- there's a nutrition expert Desiree Nathanson. Desiree, I've got to tell you that the women in my family and my friends have been talking about toning arms, getting ready for prom or sun dresses and all that.

DESIREE NATHANSON, NUTRITION AND FITNESS EXPERT: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So, of course you are the person that I reached out to, to not only help my family --

NATHANSON: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Everyone -- yes.

KOSIK: Help me.

BLACKWELL: To help people tone up. Now, we talked a while ago about not being able to target weight loss. Talking about that.

NATHANSON: Because of spot train.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

NATHANSON: So, have you ever seen an extremely large person walking around with like a ripped six pack?

BLACKWELL: No.

NATHANSON: No, you can't spot train. It's total body conditioning, it's cardio, it's resistance and strength training. It's nutrition.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

NATHANSON: So, you've got to have a balanced, (inaudible) diet, lots of veggies, fruits, slim-needs, low-fat dairy products, whole grains.

BLACKWELL: Yes. NATHANSON: I know.

KOSIK: But if you say -- you say there is no targeting but you do have to work out your arms?

NATHANSON: Absolutely. Because you want to work the muscles that you want to tone and build. So, I know a lot of people get on these cardio machines, and they are like, I don't get toned arms by running on the treadmill. Well, no, you have to lift some weights to exercise those muscles. So, today we're going to be talking about arms.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and, you know, you brought some friends here that got to --

NATHANSON: I did.

BLACKWELL: -- to teach us, you've got Pier and Nancy here, who are going to show us some of these exercises. And this is the thing that makes people feel better.

NATHANSON: Yes.

BLACKWELL: That little giggly thing that a lot of people have.

NATHANSON: Well, let me tell you, Victor. It's going to jiggle. But it's muscle.

BLACKWELL: Yes. It's muscle.

NATHANSON: It's muscle moves.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

NATHANSON: Look at that. Hey.

BLACKWELL: So, if you have it, just tell people, it's muscle.

NATHANSON: Yes. Exactly.

KOSIK: Well, but you know, women, we have an issue with that wiggling tricep. I mean how do you -- what do you do about that? I mean I know that it's a muscle and it's going to wiggle --

NATHANSON: Right.

KOSIK: But you want to kind -- there's a way to tone it, right?

NATHANSON: Exactly, and to tone that, Nancy and Pierre are going to show us an exercise. So we're going to do an overhead tricep press. So, you want to bring your arms above your head. Elbows facing forward. Hold your chest nice and high and then you're going to bend your arms and then extend them, so we are working these muscle right back here. Remember, our triceps are three muscles, so just this exercise alone is not going to target everything. But this is an excellent exercise to work them. And also, you'll notice, we have lightweight today. BLACKWELL: Yes.

NATHANSON: You don't have to have crazy heavy weights.

KOSIK: So, how many rep stands is it --

(CROSSTALK)

NATHANSON: So, since it's light, you probably want to start out with maybe three sets of 15 reps.

BLACKWELL: OK.

NATHANSON: And then you can work your way up from there with the weight. But you want to make sure that you are not sacrificing your form for weight, which a lot of people do and you can get hurt that way.

BLACKWELL: So, show us some biceps moves?

NATHANSON: Bicep, I have an awesome biceps burnout that I love doing, this is probably only good maybe two or three times a week.

BLACKWELL: OK.

NATHANSON: So we are going to do 21s, and it's call back, because you are going to do seven, seven and seven --

BLACKWELL: All right.

NATHANSON: That equals 21. So we're going to start with going halfway up, all the way down, so (ph) down then we go halfway up. That we do seven of those --

KOSIK: And you have to go heavier for biceps, right?

NATHANSON: Well, again, you want to start light. Because we want to work on our form here. A lot of people you noticed here, Nancy, have their shoulders back, a lot of people you'll see at the gym, they are like this.

BLACKWELL: Hunched over.

NATHANSON: So, we're training our muscles improperly. You want to be doing it like this.

BLACKWELL: So, this is the first step, isn't it?

NATHANSON: So, yep, we go up half way up, all the way down. Then we go all the way up, halfway down.

BLACKWELL: OK.

NATHANSON: Seven of those. Then all the way down and all the way up.

BLACKWELL: All right. NATHANSON: Seven. And you do that twice through, and you'll see they have lightweights, but you can still get sore from this.

BLACKWELL: Only two to three times per week?

NATHANSON: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right.

KOSIK: Thank goodness.

BLACKWELL: Getting this ready for spring and summer. Desiree Nathanson, thank you.

NATHANSON: Thank you, all.

Thank you, Nancy and Pierre.

BLACKWELL: All right, in Florida a family on a boat tour gets a lesson in python wrestling, and it is caught on tape.

KOSIK: Look at this. The tour guide Tommy Owens told our affiliate WBBH his instincts kicked in when he saw this ten-foot python slithering through the Everglades. He could take that. He ambushed this and held it long enough for his partner to make the kill. Burmese pythons are an invasive species in south Florida.

OK, the tax deadline coming Monday.

BLACKWELL: And wait until you hear some of the things people have tried to write off. It is unbelievable. We'll have that in our next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Oh, it is never too early for "Late Night" laughs.

KOSIK: Never, never. Let's get started with Bill Maher.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL MAHER: Now, I'm on the other side of the aisle, Anthony Weiner is making a comeback.

(LAUGHTER)

MAHER: You're hearing about that? Yes Congressman Anthony Weiner, remember him? He wants to come back, maybe be the mayor of New York. There are only two things standing in his way. An unforgiving public and Instagram.

(LAUGHTER)

JAY LENO: A new strain of bird flu has surfaced in China. Since some Chinese (ph) are claiming it was made in the United States and released in China. Which is ridiculous. Everybody knows we don't make anything in the United States anymore.

(LAUGHTER)

LENO: Couldn't afford to make it here.

JIMMY FALLON: This is interesting. A new study found that social networks like Facebook, Twitter, have made people less polite to their friends.

(LAUGHTER)

FALLON: Yes. That's just one of the ways social networks have made our friendships different. Here's a few more. Before social networks, you might say, oh my God, can I see a photo of your baby, after the social networks, you say, oh my god, you have to stop posting photos of your baby.

(LAUGHTER)

FALLON: Before social networks, you waited a week to ask that cute guy at work his name. After social networks, at the end of the week you know his name, where he went to college and every ex-girlfriend he's had going back to ninth grade. And here is one more. Before social networks you might say, oh, yes, Jeff from high school, I wonder whatever happened to that guy? After social networks, you're like oh, yes, Jeff from high school, he is triple-divorced and posted photos of his bald cat every day.

(LAUGHTER)

That guy, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: TMI.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the baby pictures, I think, they go really far.

KOSIK: Snap chat is the latest.

BLACKWELL: Snap chat?

KOSIK: Yes. Do you know about it?

BLACKWELL: No. I'm not on the cool kids team here.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: I am trying to be hip.

Thanks for starting your morning with us.

KOSIK: We've got much more ahead on "CNN SATURDAY MORNING," which begins right now.