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Comparing Duchess Catherine, Princess Diana; O.J. Simpson Waits for Appeal Decision; House Flipping Makes a Comeback; Baby Fever of Royal Proportions
Aired July 23, 2013 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, thank you so much for being with me. I'm Carol Costello. Checking our "Top Stories" at 31 minutes past the hour --
A manhunt under way in Iraq for hundreds of al Qaeda militants who escaped from the Abu Ghraib prison in a violent breakout. Authorities say suicide bombers drove cars packed with explosives into the prison gates while gun men attack guards with mortar fire and rocket- propelled grenades. Between 500 and 1,000 prisoners are said to have escaped the prison.
There is a new assessment of just how much damage NSA leaker Edward Snowden inflicted on the U.S. intelligence community. CNN has learned that Intel leaders believe the American did not get his hands on the so-called crown jewels of the National Security Agency programs. Snowden faces espionage charges in the United States and he's still holed up in the transit area of Moscow's airport.
Katherine Jackson went back on the stand in her multimillion dollar lawsuit against concert promoter AEG Live. During her testimony, attorneys for AEG pressed her on whether she knew if Michael Jackson was dealing with a prescription drug problem. They also introduced a letter signed by Katherine Jackson where she called a 2007 magazine report on Jackson's drug abuse a lie. Court resumes today 12:30 Eastern.
Talk about getting a little too close for comfort. These scuba divers up the coast in central California -- you see they got a huge surprised -- when two humpback whale surfaced right next to them. The whales can weigh up to 80,000 pounds each. They were quickly coming to the surface to grab some of those delicious fish for dinner. Luckily those divers did not wind up being their dessert.
Kate Middleton's parents are now visiting with their daughter and son- in-law and their new grandchild. They arrived just a short time ago at St. Mary's Hospital, when the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to an eight-pound baby boy. He is now third in line to the British throne. You can see them coming out of the car. There's mom Carol, and dad Michael. They shook hands, they smiled at the crowd of reporters who shouted at them to say something, but they said nothing. They went into the hospital to visit their family. In many ways Kate Middleton has been compared to the mother-in-law she will never get to meet right down to her pregnancy. Kate Bolduan takes a closer look.
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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No doubt many were flashing back to June of 1982 when Princess Diana introduced the world to Baby Prince William for the first time. When this framed birth announcement was placed on a gilded easel outside Buckingham Palace, Will and Kate's tiny new addition officially became part of a family full of long-standing traditions, like that easel.
It's the same one that bore the announcement of Prince William 31 years ago. And the hospital -- dozens of news organizations have been staked outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital for weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May we see your son you're royal highness?
BOLDUAN: The same place Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William.
MICHELLE TAN, SENIOR EDITOR, PEOPLE MAGAZINE: What's really great is that Kate and Will are upholding tradition with the birth of their baby boy. They both went to the same wing that Princess Diana and Prince Charles welcomes William and so what we're seeing is just following tradition.
BOLDUAN: Every moment of their pregnancies was seen and scrutinize around the world from how they looked to what they wore.
TAN: They were actually starting trends. Whatever they wore, other people followed suit. And usually whatever -- whether it was Diana or Kate, those dresses sold out immediately.
BOLDUAN: So will Kate mirror Diana in motherhood? The new baby Prince will be raised in the same home at Kensington Palace where William and Harry grew up. And many royal experts believe Kate will try to give her child the same sense of normalcy Diana always strived for.
TAN: We're going to see probably them take the baby on official tours, the same way that Diana took Prince William and Prince Harry on official tours. She's very much to be a hands-on mom. They're really going to be a united front in terms of a family.
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COSTELLO: So many similarities between Kate and Diana. I'm joined now by CNN royal historian Kate Williams. Good morning Kate.
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Hi there.
COSTELLO: Hi.
WILLIAMS: Good morning to you. How are you? COSTELLO: I'm great. I'm happy along with all of Great Britain. It's just so awesome. It's funny to me that we always mention Kate Middleton, but we never mention the baby's father, which would be Prince William and the parallels that may or may not be drawn to his father, Prince Charles.
WILLIAMS: Yes, Prince William is very eager to be a hands-on father. He loved his mother, I mean Diana, actually saying she's an incredible mother. She was devoted, she was creative, imaginative, a very young woman and she was simply fantastic at being a mother. She was very exciting.
And Charles was a little bit more restrained, but he too tried to get into the idea of the childhood and William really wants to follow both of them. Diana is exciting, imaginative, love for children. And also Charles is a little more -- a little bit more restrained (inaudible). What William wants most of all is to absolutely give his children the life that Kate had. We see that as a normal British life, around these local schools, sleepovers, running around in the garden, that's what he wants. Whether or not he's going to get it -- that's a different question.
COSTELLO: Oh I hope they do. You know it's interesting when we see those pictures of Diana with the kids, you know on the roller coaster and having fun at the amusement park and things like that. Only Diana was seen with them. And I know you said Prince Charles was more reserved but it will be interesting to see if Prince William partakes in these kinds of things, along with Kate and his son.
I don't think Kate can hear me anymore. Kate can you hear me? I don't think she can hear me. You want to break away for a second Scottie and see if we can fix her audio problems? We're going to go to a break. We'll be back to talk more about -- is she OK now? No, she's gone.
OK. We'll be back. I'm sorry.
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COSTELLO: The waiting game continues for convicted robber O.J. Simpson. In 2008, the former football player and actor was sentenced to prison for his role in a Las Vegas armed robbery. And two months ago he testified at an appeals hearing. At any day now Simpson can learn if he will get a new trial and possibly win back his freedom.
Ted Rowlands is live in Las Vegas to tell us more. Good morning Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. A motion for a new trial is always a long shot, but O.J. Simpson's attorneys believe that he has a real chance here to gain his freedom.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't see any weapons being displayed?
O.J. SIMPSON: No, no I don't. ROWLANDS (voice-over): After almost five years in a Nevada prison, there's a chance O.J. Simpson may soon be a free man.
PATRICIA PALM, O.J. SIMPSON'S ATTORNEY: I have a really good feeling. I will be so disappointed if we don't get release because I think that he deserves it.
ROWLANDS: Simpson's attorneys Patricia Palm and Ozzie Fumo believe the evidence they offered during a week-long hearing this spring warrants a new trial for Simpson, who is currently serving a 33-year sentence for his role in what prosecutors say was an armed robbery and kidnapping over sports memorabilia.
Simpson's attorneys believe that O.J.'s lawyer at trial Yale Galanter had a conflict of interest and they think the murders of Simpson's wife Nicole and Ron Goldman also influenced the trial in Las Vegas.
OZZIE FUMO, O.J. SIMPSON'S ATTORNEY: Well obviously it did. Because the state in their opening and throughout kept mentioning the Goldman's name and so I think it had to have an adverse effect.
ROWLANDS: The before and after pictures show how much of a toll prison has taken on the former football star. There is speculation that Simpson is ill, but his attorneys say he's fine considering what he's been through.
FUMO: My personal opinion is every one year in prison takes an additional seven off your life.
ROWLANDS: There's also speculation that Simpson seen here in "Naked Gun" wants to revive his acting career. His pension reserves are gone, spent on his Vegas defense team according to court testimony while acting or a reality show might bring in some needed cash. His attorneys think if he gets out O.J. Simpson will do his best to stay clear of the limelight.
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ROWLANDS: And Carol, if he gets a new trial, he'll likely be released, because the odds of Clark County retrying him and getting the same results are astronomical. So if he gets this trial, if he gets this new trial it's likely that he'll be a freeman within weeks.
COSTELLO: OK so I know you mentioned the reality show thing. But if he does get out, what does Simpson do for money?
ROWLANDS: Well, he's going to need support or he's going to need to get a job. Both are going to be difficult and quite frankly the easy money would be to grant an interview, a paid interview or do something crazy like a reality show but his lawyers -- his lawyers believe that he would rather spend time with family and be out of the limelight, but he's going to need some cash.
COSTELLO: Wow. Ted Rowlands reporting live from Las Vegas this morning. The housing market is slowly recovering and guess what, it's recovered enough that house flipping is making a comeback. We'll talk about that with Alison at the New York Stock Exchange.
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COSTELLO: 46 minutes past the hour -- time to check our top stories.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked North Dakota's abortion law calling part of it, quote, "invalid and unconstitutional". The judge says the law would ban abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy and will prevent 90 percent of the procedures at the only clinic in North Dakota. The state's attorney general says his office will fight the judge's decision.
This was the scene at a Queens, New York subway stop this morning where Eliot Spitzer met the people he hopes would put him back in office. The event came as Spitzer released a new ad.
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ELIOT SPITZER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK: Look, I failed big time. I hurt a lot of people. When you dig yourself a hole, you either lie for the rest of your life or do something positive.
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COSTELLO: Spitzer is referring to paying prostitutes for sex -- a scandal that forced him to resign as New York governor in 2008. He is currently seeking the Democratic nomination for New York City comptroller.
In sports, former National League MVP Ryan Braun is suspended for the rest of the season without pay. He will miss the final 65 games this year and the playoffs for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy. He's one of 20 players linked by ESPN to a performance enhancing drug scandal at a South Florida clinic. Braun admits to making some mistakes.
In money news, Taco Bell is ditching its kids' meals. Taco Bell CEO says the company's future is focusing on millennials. He estimates the last kids meal will be sold somewhere between January -- between now, rather, and January of next year.
Commuters in Japan jump into action to save a woman. She had fallen in a small gap between the train platform and a train. Dozens of people pushed the train away from the platform in order for her to escape.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who would imagine they would fall and get stuck somewhere so narrow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But everyone saved her, right? That's wonderful.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, wonderful.
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COSTELLO: Wow. The woman was not seriously injured and the train was in service ten minutes later.
Guess what? House flipping is back, thanks to recovering housing market and low interest rates, investors have resumed buying a property, fixing them up and then selling them quickly to make a nice, tidy profit.
Alison Kosik is at the New York -- I don't know whether to be happy or frightened by this.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh no, it's a good thing as long as a bubble doesn't form like we kind of saw happen just before the recession hit. So the new stats from RealtyTracker out Carol may show that the number of homes bought and then resold within six months is up 19 percent in the first half of this years, that adds up to more than 130,000 homes flipped in the first six months. If you're wondering why this comeback?
Well, home prices are rebounding and that makes it worth flipping. Of course, if you can stomach it. In 2011, we saw the average house flipper lose more than $13,000 in their deals, and you see the profits coming back. Because the average profit in 2012 with $5,000 now it's more than $18,000 on average.
So where are some of the best places to flip homes? Some of the most profitable markets are right in Florida. Three Florida cities actually make up the top 5. Omaha and Pittsburgh are also hot spots for flippers, and everybody wonders what makes it a good market for flipping? You want to be the home price recovery there not very strong, you want to see still foreclosures there. You want to see distressed properties for sales, because as an investor, what you're looking for is that wiggle room to make a profit.
But then you look at big cities like New York., D.C., Chicago -- they actually had the most total flips because Carol, it's all about demand, and everybody wants to live in the big cities where the prices are really, really high -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know. You know what's kind of sad about this though. Most of the people buying the Houses are right now, we're investors right? Not individual home buyers, so really the investors who bought up all of these homes, they're the ones that are making all the money.
KOSIK: Well they're trying. Of course, you know, if you're a security investor and you're flipping a home, you're out there to make a big buck, but then again you look at the interest rates, although they have been moving up lately, interest rates are still at historic lows. So you are still seeing the Average Joe get out there and try to find a house. The big problem with that is the inventory wasn't as large as it was, say, a year ago -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You got that right. Alison Kosik, thanks so much. Just ahead in the newsroom, the London blitz.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a boy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's royal baby time --
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Actually, it wasn't that big.
The prince in the program where Jeanne Moos looks at how a baby monarch has ruled all of us.
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COSTELLO: I'm going to miss that music when we don't play it any more, which is probably tomorrow. You're taking a look at St. Mary's Hospital; of course, this is where Kate and Prince William and little baby prince are staying.
Just about a half hour or so ago, Kate Middleton's parents came to the hospital, Carol and Michael Middleton. They're inside that hospital room now, getting acquainted with their new grandson. If they pop out at any time of the day in which to speak, of course we'll take you back to St. Mary's live. It has been a couple of frenzy days of Royal watching.
CNN's Jeanne Moos looks at the highs, low and hysteria of the royal baby watch.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The duchess may have delivered the baby, but the news was delivered mostly via Smartphone. Listening and anchor --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brooke, OK. Her royal highness the Duchess of Cambridge was safely delivered of a son at 4:24 p.m. local.
And prompting confusion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop the presses. Breaking news from London about the royal baby. Let's get right to NBC's Jim Maceda.
MOOS: The baby came, but not the reporter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The crowd surging forward -- it's a boy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A big bouncing boy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's royal baby time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just got goose bumps.
MOOS: What must have been a labor of love for the royal couple was downright laborious for the press -- days of waiting, then finally.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kate's in labor, Kate's in labor. She's in labor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning. She's in labor.
MOOS: Some thought the press belabored the story and critics hailed a BBC correspondent for his on-air candor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Plenty more if you come from here, of course -- none of it news, because that will come from Buckingham Palace, but that won't stop us.
MOOS: "The British-Guardian" allowed readers to get rid of all the royal baby news with merely a click of the mouse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's on. This is all we've been waiting for. And you know what's exciting if the baby sees it shadow, it's six more weeks --
BORGER: Kate did go into labor during a full moon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is live shot. We're looking live at a door.
MOOS: Of course there were fakes Twitter accounts written in the voice of the royal baby. My first crowning is not going as smoothly as I'd like, and there were jokes making fun of the jokes. I don't find these royal baby jokes very funny. Maybe it's just the delivery.
Even photographers hung joke notes on their wall of ladders outside the hospital. Postpartum ladder sale. Royal baby trivia was truly trivial.
BARBARA WALTERS: Clock diapers? Disposable. Prince William was the first royal baby to use disposable diapers, and -- this -- how could you have lived without knowing this? I have more, but I'll shut up.
MOOS: Forget having a boy or girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hoping like the shell game of throne that she has a dragon.
MOOS: Now, the birth of a royal first of a royal dragon would have been news.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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COSTELLO: That would have been awesome if she had a baby dragon. Come on, admit it.
Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. CNN "Newsroom" continues right after this.
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