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Weekend Early Start
Drums of War Beating in North Korea; Six Dead in China From New Strain of Bird Flu; Behind the Disappointing March Jobs Report; Judge Rules Plan B Available Over the Counter to Everyone
Aired April 06, 2013 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta, this is EARLY START WEEKEND.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): As the drumbeat of war gets louder in North Korea, news that the country has loaded two missiles and is warning foreign nationals their safety may no longer be guaranteed.
No ID, no prescription? No problem. Why a judge's ruling is infuriating anti-abortion activists and scaring some parents.
JODI ARIAS' MOTHER: Jodi has mental problems. Jodi would freak out all the time. I had quite a few of her friends call and tell me that I need to get her some help.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Jodi Arias' mother in the interrogation room. The explosive tapes that the jury will never see but we got our hands on them.
And how's your bracket doing? Tonight's the night. The Final Four faceoff here in Atlanta. We'll take you live to the Georgia Dome.
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MARQUEZ: Good morning. It is Saturday, April 6th. I am Miguel Marquez.
First, we have alarming new video coming out of North Korea to show you. Take a look at this.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): You see missiles being fired on North Korea's coast. The secretive regime released this video yesterday. Now we don't know if these missiles are real and may have even been Photoshopped. But a U.S. official says two medium-range missiles have been loaded onto launchers on North Korea's East Coast.
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MARQUEZ: The White House says it would not be surprised if Kim Jong-un orders missiles to be fired to show off his military might. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We've obviously seen the reports that North Korea may be making preparations to launch a missile and we're monitoring this situation closely. And we would not be surprised to see them take such an action.
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MARQUEZ: Let's bring in CNN international anchor, Jim Clancy. He's in the South Korean capital of Seoul.
Jim, what is the situation like there in South Korea right now, and its reaction to the North?
JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me be honest with you. The number one story here in Seoul this afternoon is the weather outside. It turned cold and rainy here, and people were hoping for spring after a preview earlier in the week.
But, obviously, they're aware of the threats. They've seen it all before. These are annual exercises between the U.S. and South Korean forces. And they expect this to continue until the end of April.
On the missile front, you know, they are aware of that, too. They understand the intelligence. But everyone is convinced this is going to be another one of the North Korean's leader's tests where he's going to provoke perhaps a response from the outside world, at least anger them.
What the real concern here is it's not the big conflict. It's not an attack. It's really an accident. Here is an analyst here in Seoul describing what we are talking about.
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JOHN DELURY, YONSEI UNIVERSITY: There's another danger right now, which is in the fog of war, at especially at sea, where you've got North Koreans and South Koreans lapping right up against another; a match is lit that sparks a bonfire that actually no one wanted, not even the North Koreans.
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CLANCY: Now we know that John Kerry is headed for Beijing, many South Koreans wondering if diplomacy is going to begin to step in here next week, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Hey, Jim, if the North Koreans actually do fire off one or both of these missiles that they're loading up on the East Coast, how big a step, how will that be viewed by the South and by the U.S.?
CLANCY: Well, they all anticipate it very much, and they know that Kim Il-sung -- he was the founding leader of North Korea -- he's adored like a god, one of the smartest people that ever walked the face of the Earth, if you travel to North Korea. His birthday is coming up mid-month. Might be an opportune time, but the North Koreans aren't going to launch that missile unless they're absolutely sure it works.
They don't want it blowing up in their face. They don't want a failure in the face of all of this rhetoric that they have been using to heat up the peninsula, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Jim Clancy, thank you very much.
An Ohio family of five is recovering after a scary 24 hours, lost in the Florida Everglades. The Schrecks spent the night in their airboat after it became stuck in a cypress tree. Rescuers say the camouflaged boat made it harder to spot. The father, Scott Schreck, says everything was great until it wasn't.
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SCOTT SCHRECK, RESCUED BOATER: Took a wrong turn. Had a great fishing trip. The boys had fun. Wife was having fun. Came to the end of the one canal, took a right and couldn't get the boat turned around.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Oops. When reporters asked how he was, he said "Cold and wet." A state official said it was a good thing Schreck was used to the outdoors. He built a shelter for his family in the boat to protect them from the rain.
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MARQUEZ: Police in Texas are trying to find the person who called in a bomb threat during a memorial service for a murdered district attorney and his wife.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): Mourners were paying their respects to Kaufman County D.A. Mike McClelland and his wife, Cynthia. Their daughter talked to CNN about her grief.
CHRISTINA FOREMAN, MCCLELLAND DAUGHTER: This was unthinkable and unexpected and they were taken from us too soon.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Now the McClellands were shot to death last Saturday, almost two months after a county prosecutor there was also killed. Law enforcement officials believe Cynthia McClelland may have opened the front door of her house before shots were fired.
A reward of up to $200,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and indictment of those responsible for the McClellands and the other prosecutors' murders.
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MARQUEZ: Rutgers University has several jobs to fill as the school copes with the fallout from the video of a basketball coach abusing his players. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ (voice-over): The video was made public on Tuesday, and Rutgers has been in damage control mode ever since. Yesterday's firing hit the highest ranking officials so far, athletic director Tim Pernetti.
TIM PERNETTI, FORMER RUTGERS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR: It's a really sad day for a lot of people, including me and my family. And, you know, I always have and I always will, no matter what, want what is best for Rutgers.
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MARQUEZ: Now Pernetti is just one of four people to lose their job so far. John Wolf, the school's interim senior vice president and general counsel also resigned. Wolf agreed with Pernetti to suspend Rice rather than fire him when they first saw the video last December.
The first to fall, of course, was Mike Rice, the head coach whose behavior set the scandal in motion. The same day he was fired, Assistant Coach Jimmy Martelli, also resigned.
As if all of this wasn't enough, Rutgers also faces a whistleblower lawsuit from a man who first brought the video to his schools attention.
Now to politics, California's attorney general seems to be letting President Obama off the hook after his remarks about her appearance had people in an uproar.
CNN's Rene Marsh explains the apology and the response.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: California state attorney general --
RENE MARSH ,CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kamala Harris, a potential candidate for governor, maybe even the next U.S. attorney general, by many accounts a rising star in the Democratic Party. But her resume isn't grabbing headlines. What President Obama said about her Thursday at a private fundraiser in California is, calling her, quote, "By far the best-looking attorney general."
The White House answering to CNN about the comment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How has he reflected on his comments since making and has he called Harris?
CARNEY: He called her to apologize for the distraction created by his comments, and, you know, they are old friends and good friends, and he did not want in any way to diminish the attorney general's professional accomplishments.
SAM BENNETT, PRES/CEO, SHE SHOULD RUN FOUNDATION: It's sexist. That simple comment drops her like a stone electorally and makes voters much more likely to see her -- much less likely to see her as qualified or worthy of their vote.
MARSH (voice-over): A harmless compliment or a sexist remark, it sparked a debate.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president also causing a bit of a stir with some comments he just made.
ROBIN ROBERTS, ABC ANCHOR: Also raising eyebrows overnight, the president out in California --
LAUREN ASHBURN, "THE DAILY BEAST": It's not as if he called her a slut.
MARSH (voice-over): The president acknowledged Harris' accomplishments, saying, quote, "She is brilliant and she's dedicated and she is tough," before mentioning her looks.
LEONARD STEINHORN, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: The debate requires a lot more context and a lot more knowledge, because we don't fully know the extent of their friendship, which they claim to have.
MARSH (voice-over): The president has been on the defensive before, fighting perception of a boys' club attitude. This picture of the president's inner circle had many asking, where are the women. The president has turned that around, appointing women to his Cabinet, most recently the Secret Service director.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What should the president have said when he introduced her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything he said, except the last thing he said, which is comment on her appearance.
MARSH: Harris' office released this statement, saying the attorney general and the president have been friends for many years. They had a great conversation and she strongly supports him -- Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.
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MARQUEZ: Now to your money: U.S. stock markets had their worst week all year. The Dow lost more than 40 points, spending all day in the red after a dismal jobs report. Only 88,000 people got jobs last month while another half-million just stopped looking for work.
Alison Kosik has more on what's shaping the markets this week.
Alison?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miguel. The March jobs report was a huge disappointment, missing estimates by at least 100,000 jobs.
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KOSIK (voice-over): Instead, it was just 88,000 jobs added last month. And that brought back all kinds of worries about the health of the U.S. economy and had many wondering why the jobs market just can't seem to turn the corner.
And it means the jobs market and the economy could be headed for a spring slump. It tends to happen in the labor market anyway, especially after all those temporary holiday jobs are cleared off the payroll. That definitely happened in March, as 24,000 retail sectors jobs were erased. Some of that's cyclical; 15,000 jobs lost at clothing stores should rebound later in the year.
But home improvement and garden supply stores lost 10,000 jobs. That's alarming, because spring is supposed to be their busy season. Maybe the theme of this report is stagnation. Lots of key sectors -- manufacturing, mining, finance, state and local government -- they're not losing jobs. But the problem is they're not gaining them, either.
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KOSIK: This is about uncertainty of what is ahead. Companies are reining in their hiring plans because they are not completely sure how government spending cuts are going to be impacting the economy.
And this report has everybody worried about what a jobs report will look like when the cuts are in full swing.
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KOSIK (voice-over): With the jobs report missing by a long shot, stocks took it on the chin for most of the day Friday, but a late- session rally erased a lot of the losses.
Some on Wall Street say slow job growth could ultimately be the catalyst for a pullback they say is overdue. The markets been incredibly resilient in 2013, despite all the downbeat economic news this week. The Dow is still up 11 percent year-to-date. Miguel?
MARQUEZ: Alison Kosik, thank you very much.
When your pre-teen goes to the drugstore for bubble gum, she may soon be able to pick up birth control pills. We'll tell you how a New York judge's decision is sparking praise and outrage across the country.
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MARQUEZ: The FBI has its eye on former CIA director David Petraeus. Agents from the bureau interviewed him at his home outside Washington yesterday.
According to "USA Today," they are looking into whether he may have passed classified material to his mistress, Paula Broadwell, and also trying to learn whether Petraeus stores sensitive documents in an unauthorized place. Petraeus had stayed out of the public eye up until two weeks ago. Late last month, he spoke in Los Angeles and apologized for how his affair hurt his family. Now to China, where people are increasingly worried about an unusual strain of bird flu. At least six people there have died from it. Authorities reacted by slaughtering 20,000 chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons in one market yesterday after the flu was found there.
The virus has never been found in humans. Experts say it has not yet transferred person-to-person. The CDC says it's trying to find out how people caught the virus to begin with.
Now to medical news here at home and a stunning blow to the Obama administration. A Brooklyn judge has overruled the Department of Health and Human Services in saying that anyone of any age can buy the morning-after pill over-the-counter.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin explains why the ruling is so important.
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JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This is a 59-page opinion by Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn federal court. It is so scathing. It is such an attack on the Health and Human Services Department for bowing to the pressure of conservatives. This isn't bowing to the pressure of liberals. This is bowing to the pressure of conservatives to limit access to plan B.
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MARQUEZ: But the debate is far from over. Erin McPike in Washington following administration's plans for the drug after this legal defeat. Erin?
ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Miguel. The judge called the order "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable," but White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Friday the president stands by the order and called age limits the right thing to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Plan B is emergency contraception that helps prevent pregnancy after birth control failure or unprotected sex.
MCPIKE (voice-over): The drug, called Plan B, doesn't terminate pregnancy like RU-486, commonly called the abortion pill. Instead, it's meant to prevent pregnancy by using a higher dosage of birth control taken within three days of unprotected sex.
And yet the emotional debate over access to the morning-after pill or Plan B stretches back almost a decade, when the Bush administration refused to allow women of any age to obtain it over-the-counter.
But in 2006, Bush's FDA eventually ordered Plan B to be made readily available to women 18 years and older. Shortly after Obama took office, it was lowered to 17 and over.
But that wasn't enough for the Center for Reproductive Rights, a group that has argued for years that the drug should be widely available to all women. So they pursued the case further. And the FDA agreed. In December 2011, Commissioner Margaret Hamburg said in a statement that Plan B "is safe and effective and should be approved for nonprescription use for all females of childbearing potential."
On the very same day in an unprecedented move, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled her, keeping the age limit at 17.
And heading into campaign season, President Obama agreed.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The reason Kathleen made this decision was she could not be confident that a 10-year old or an 11-year old going to a drugstore should be able, alongside bubble gum or batteries, be able to buy a medication that potentially, if not used properly, could end up having an adverse affect.
MCPIKE (voice-over): Now 16 months later, Federal District Court Judge Edward Korman called Sebelius' decision politically motivated. He ordered the FDA to remove the age limit to make the drug available to all Americans in the next 30 days.
MCPIKE: The Justice Department is reviewing its options and may appeal the decision soon, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Erin McPike in Washington, D.C., thank you very much.
And the Final Four kicks off in Atlanta this weekend, right next door here at CNN, and we are headed live to the stadium for more on college basketball's biggest games of the year.
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MARQUEZ: All eyes on Atlanta this weekend, where basketball's Final Four kicks off today. Check out this cool time-lapse video of the Georgia Dome as football stadium getting transformed into a basketball court for the big game.
About 74,000 fans are expected to attend the big games this weekend and millions more will be watching from home, of course. Carlos Diaz joins me right now from right outside the Dome.
So how much longer do we have to wait for tip-off there, Carlos?
CARLOS DIAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's see here. Hold on. Almost exactly 12 hours, 11 hours and 54 minutes. There we go, 6:09 is tip- off between Wichita State and Louisville. And you got to feel bad for Wichita State, because they thought they would come in as the crowd favorite, the Cinderellas, the team that everybody is talking about.
But Louisville, not only the number one seed and the favorite for the entire weekend, but they're also now the sentimental favorite with Kevin Ware and that horrific leg injury that he suffered against Duke on Sunday. In fact, Kevin Ware's going to be everywhere during tonight's game, 10,000 bigheads of Kevin Ware's face were donated by New York Knick Amar'e Stoudemire so that the fans that are down near the court can have Kevin Ware's face on their face. So he is going to be everywhere. That's the 6 o'clock game.
And then following that game, you have a matchup of two great teams, two storied franchises, Syracuse taking on Michigan, two number one seeds, each with 30 wins this season. Michigan has got the player of the year in Trey Burke; Syracuse has got that tough two-three defense, of course, the two-three zone. They also, of course, have Jim Beilein, who's got more wins than any other coach here this weekend.
So it's going to be an amazing night, arguably the biggest night of college basketball all season right here at the Georgia Dome this evening.
MARQUEZ: Huge night. And just about all of our brackets were busted a long time ago, but we have some great basketball (inaudible) ahead of us.
What are you most excited about seeing?
DIAZ: You know, I really -- it's going to be interesting to see if Wichita State can jump out to some kind of, you know, get some momentum early in tonight's game. If not, it could be a blowout for Louisville.
But I am really interested to see if Michigan and their high-powered offense led by Trey Burke, which has been just shooting lights out the last few games, how they are going to react to Syracuse's two-three zone. It's an amazing zone defense of Jim Beilein has been incorporating. So that's going to be a great matchup tonight.
So I -- this is every basketball players -- every basketball fan's dream tonight, watching these games. And don't forget, of course, if you want all the action for tonight's game, we have a great special with our very own Rachel Nichols.
Two big games Saturday night, emotional games. Our CNN special, all access, at the Final Four with Rachel Nichols. We'll take you on an emotional journey into the locker rooms for the pregame speeches and the postgame tears after (inaudible). And the victory celebrations today at 3:00 pm on CNN.
Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Fabulous, Carlos Diaz, thank you very much. Get some coffee.
And a cool edition to Final Four this weekend. Take a look at this.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): This is Centennial Olympic Park transformed for the Final Four weekend, free concerts, which include big names like Sting, Dave Matthews Band, Ludacris and much more. CNN entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner has a preview.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is what's called the Big Dance concert series. So if you're going to have a championship, then you need to have a party. If you're going to have a party, you got to have great music, right?
MARQUEZ: A huge tailgate party.
TURNER: Absolutely. And that's what this is going to be. The best thing about this whole thing? Free, F-R-E-E, free is for me. And the greatest acts in music today.
Now you're going to have people like Ludacris taking the stage, everybody in Atlanta loves and everybody all over the country as well. Flo Rida will be taking the stage, Muse, who a lot of people around here at CNN have been so excited to see.
But on Sunday, Sunday is the really big day, because you've got Sting. You've got Dave Matthews Band. And I have to represent for the women, because Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, who is one of my favorite -- her voice is hauntingly beautiful -- she is playing as well.
And again, this is all free. And this is in addition to the game. So if you are watching a little basketball and you also are a music fan, you get the best of both worlds.
MARQUEZ: This is a music festival.
TURNER: Yes, indeed, it is. (Inaudible) music festival. How many times have I said free?
MARQUEZ: Well, you are selling it. It's very easy to sell when it's free.
TURNER: Well, I mean, you know, it's great. How many times do you get to go see Sting free? And just hang out for the day? I mean, that's pretty cool.
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MARQUEZ: Thanks to Nischelle. We'll be right back with more.
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MARQUEZ: Well, it's 30 minutes past the hour. Welcome back. I'm Miguel Marquez in for Victor Blackwell. Thanks for starting your day with us.
Here are five stories we are watching this morning.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): First, U.S. immigration agents can be -- no longer barge into homes without warrants while conducting raids for undocumented immigrants. Instead, they should ask for permission in whatever language the homeowner speaks if they don't have a warrant.
New rules report of a court settlement yesterday that's considered a huge win for Latinos. Two dozen people sued the government after agents forced their way into homes in 2006 and 2007 in Long Island. The U.S. will also pay them $1 million.
Now to Wilcox County, Georgia, where a group of high school girls is organizing an integrated prom. The students normally have two proms, one for black kids, one for white kids. It's a small town and not everyone supports the integration idea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) posters for the integrated prom. We have people ripping them down at the school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to stick with the tradition. You know, this is a traditional thing, we don't need to change and stuff like (inaudible) but why? No one could answer my question. So --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they think that nothing is broken, so why fix it.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): Neither prom is allowed at the school and the school doesn't finance any dances. Instead, they are privately funded, though the school says it supports an integrated prom.
in the last 24 hours, another surge of support for same-sex marriage among U.S. elected officials. Senate Democrats Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota now support overturning a federal law banning marriages between same-sex couples.
The announcement leaves a final four among Senate Democrats. Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana are the only names not backing same-sex marriage rights.
And although not in office, Olympia Snowe, a former Republican senator from Maine, also came out yesterday in support of same-sex marriage.
And at number four, perhaps a sign of relief for some flyers. The FAA will delay shutting down 149 federal contract air traffic control towers until June 15th. The closures announced last month are part of a measure to meet $637 million in forced spending cuts.
And number five, the White House says it would not be surprised if North Korea does launch a missile. New video appears to show missiles being test-fired in North Korea. It's not clear if the weapons are genuine. But a U.S. official says two missiles have been loaded on launchers on the country's East Coast.
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MARQUEZ: South Korea is sending destroyer ships to its coast. And the U.S. is deploying missile defense systems in Guam, which is home to U.S. bases. CNN's Tom Foreman and a retired general, James "Spider" Marks, tells us more about the threat we may be facing.
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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All eyes are on the eastern coast of North Korea, where the Musudan mobile missile launchers are right now, because if one of these takes off, the game changes fast. Let's bring in the map, General, and talk to me about this.
If we have a missile launch, the first thing involves a satellite. Why?
GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Tom, this satellite's going to pick up the IR signature, the infrared signature of the missile leaving the mobile launcher. And it will immediately indicate where it came from. And then it will send tracking data to the integrated system to figure out the telemetry of that missile.
FOREMAN: Radar is on ships and on land and on airplanes, all measuring exactly where this is going and how fast?
MARKS: Exactly. And if that missile threatens a U.S. resource or an allied resource in the region, it will be taken out.
FOREMAN: How?
MARKS: It'll be taken out by an anti-ballistic missile system, which is already in place. It's fully automated. There's no man in the loop. This works exceptionally well and we practiced with this technology --
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FOREMAN: So essentially from the time this thing takes off until the time it comes down -- which could be a matter of minutes -- it's all going to be computers managing everything.
But then there is a tough human decision to be made, isn't there?
MARKS: And then the man in the loop is what happens next. The United Nations command mission in South Korea is to maintain the armistice. That means there's a North Korea and there's a South Korea. There's nothing in the playbook that says we're going to reunify this peninsula.
FOREMAN: And yet there could be some very difficult and nervous moments along the way to that.
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MARQUEZ: Our thanks to Tom Foreman and General Spider Marks for that explainer.
Incredible new video has come to light showing James Earl Ray, the man who murdered Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): One tape shows law enforcement bringing Ray back to Memphis on July 19th, 1968. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office bought a new Sony camera to tape Ray's return and prosecution. But they were learning to use it on the fly, so the video is not as clear as we are used to.
Video also shows police booking him into the county jail. Ray pled guilty to killing King and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He died there in 1998.
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MARQUEZ: Time to check in on the weekend weather. Alexandra Steele joins me now.
OK, let's start right here in Atlanta, where more than 100,000 people are expected to be here for the big Final Four basketball games, live concerts and lots of other events. It was miserable earlier in the week, but, Alexandra, is it going to get better?
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, you know, there is some gorgeous cheerleaders here around the corner that are going to come and see you.
So the cheerleaders are gorgeous. You're going to meet them. And the weather, hottest and warmest temperatures thus far this year.
In Atlanta -- and it's going to make it all the way into New York. So look at this forecast, 72 today,74 tomorrow, 76. Actually gets to 78 on Tuesday, average high in Atlanta is 70. So above average for the first time really in eons. And really the warmest of the year thus far.
Even in New York, Saturday, Sunday, today only in the 50s, but by the time we get to Monday, 66; Tuesday at 70, from Atlanta to Chicago to Dallas, all above average. So finally a very warm spring-like temperatures catching up with the season.
Upper Midwest, though, a little disturbance here in the upper peninsula of Michigan and Northern Michigan is where we're going to see maybe 3-5 inches of snow. But that's really the only kind of caveat.
Eastern two-thirds of the country, beautiful; Northwest, some clouds and showers moving in. And Miguel, just a heads-up as we head into this week, there is the chance for severe weather really very likely Tuesday and Wednesday. And kind of -- I will delineate the days and tell you what is coming up in just a little while.
MARQUEZ: All right. For the record, I brought the nice weather from Los Angeles --
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STEELE: And the hot girls, too.
MARQUEZ: Yes, that's right. Thank you very much.
The parents of the woman who admitted to killing her boyfriend open up in just-released police interrogation video. You won't believe Jodi Arias' parents and what they had to say about their own daughter.
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MARQUEZ: To the Jodi Arias trial now and newly released surveillance video of Jodi's parents being interrogated by police back in 2008. On the tapes, Sandra and William Arias admitted to the detectives that their daughter was strange, that she had quote, "mental problems."
They even said she would just freak out sometimes for no reason at all, that she needed to get help. Listen to this.
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SANDRA ARIAS, JODI ARIAS' MOTHER: Jodi has mental problems. Jodi would freak out all the time. I had quite a few of her friends call me and tell me that I needed to get her some help. We don't have a good relationship, me and Jodi. She would just totally flip out on me. And I had one of her friends call me in the middle of the night, call us one night and say you need to get Jodi some help.
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MARQUEZ: Now earlier I asked HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell what she thought about the admissions on that tape.
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JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HLN HOST: Well, Miguel, they are absolutely damming. This detective is telling Jodi Arias' mother and father that they have overwhelming evidence that Jodi committed a horrific killing. And their response is not, oh, no way, that could never happen. You must have the wrong person. There is a mistake here.
No, their response is that, oh, Jodi is a troubled person. She's always been a troubled person. Friends have described her as possibly being bipolar. So the fact is that Jodi's own mother admits that to cops that she questioned her about where she was, asking her daughter, did you go to Arizona, which is where Travis Alexander lives. And the cop says, oh, you were suspicious? She goes, of course.
MARQUEZ: The jury is never going to see these tapes, though, correct?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It doesn't appear that way. I mean, they have had them for the longest time, obviously, since right before the killing occurred. So I think that it would have come up already. And they are very prejudicial. So there is a problem with that as well.
MARQUEZ: All right. We're going to turn to a pretty bizarre, yet another bizarre turn in this case. Juror number five was dismissed from the trial earlier this week. And then she showed up in court Thursday as an observer. What's going on here? Is this just bizarre? VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is wild. And she is known as Two-Tone because of her hair color, which appears a blonde and pink. And this woman was kicked off the jury. And then, after issuing a statement, saying please respect my privacy and respect the process, something very important is going on here, she shows up in court, causing an uproar.
So some people are speculating, could she be possibly writing a book or is she just so mesmerized by this trial, she can't stay away? But of course, she can watch it on television on HLN, so that's no excuse. Who knows why she's there.
The question is oh, which was she going? A lot of speculation that when she was kicked off, Jodi Arias came out grinning. And Travis Alexander's -- the victim's sister was sobbing. So some people read into that, but then there were other indications maybe she was pro- Jodi, who knows?
MARQUEZ: All right. Alice Lavalla (ph) has been on the stand now for over a week. Juan Martinez, the prosecutor, is finally getting to his cross. It was fireworks from the beginning, everybody wondered how he was going to go at the abuse specialist and a woman up on the stand.
He's not holding back. Is it -- is it in his interest to do it this way?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is a verbal slugfest. It's a jawdropper. He is yelling at her and she is talking back, "Are you mad at me?" I mean, this is hostility out there in the open. And here's the thing: some people are like, well, he is coming on too strong; she's a likeable middle-aged woman. But she is throwing the victim, Travis Alexander, under the bus.
She is painting this man, who was not here to defend himself, as extremely abusive, verbally cruel. She is taking Jodi's claims at face value that Travis Alexander hit her and choked her. Well, we have no independent corroboration, so the prosecutor is speaking for the victim and the victim's family and he has to -- has to go after this woman.
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MARQUEZ: Now stay up to speed on the Arias trial with Jane Velez- Mitchell. You can catch her program on our sister network, HLN, weeknights at 7:00 Eastern.
In other crime news, the week was dominated by pointblank murder on Craigslist. Courts, here's your week of crime in 60 seconds.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): A deputy district attorney and her sheriff's deputy husband shot and killed an intruder when he tried to push his way into the couple's Colorado home. The intruder shot once in the head and several times in the torso was identified as Joshua Stevens. It's unclear whether the husband or wife pulled the trigger. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney from New York said she is receiving death threats. She claims the threats started after proposed gun legislation requiring gun owners to have liability insurance.
A West Virginia sheriff was shot and killed in his car on his Wednesday. Authorities have arrested a suspect who they believe murdered Walter Krum (ph) while he was eating lunch. Krum's (ph) wife, Rosie (ph), will assume his duties as sheriff until 2014.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) from that beast. You're a liar, a thief and a murderer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have killed nobody.
MARQUEZ (voice-over): And Richard Beasley (ph), the so-called Craigslist killer, has been sentenced to death. Beasley (ph) was convicted of murdering victims after luring them with bogus job ads on Craigslist.
And that's your week of crime in 60 seconds.
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MARQUEZ: All right. A major switch of the old gears here. Look at what we have in store for you. This is going to be a first. The Final Four teams represented right here in our studio. We will be doing our own bracket challenge. Brilliant!
(LAUGHTER)
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): Good morning Atlanta! A live look at Centennial Olympic Park, right next door to CNN World Headquarters. And the whole park has been transformed for the Final Four this weekend. More than 100,000 people are expected to be in town for the live concerts, events and of course those big basketball games.
And since we are talking so much basketball this weekend, we thought we would have our fitness and nutrition expert, Desiree Nathanson -- hello, how are you --
DESIREE NATHANSON, FITNESS EXPERT: Hello, Miguel. How are you?
MARQUEZ (voice-over): -- would call up some of her friends here. I see that you brought some of your friends.
NATHANSON: I did. I brought my friends. I was actually a dancer at the University of Florida. I know, sad for me. So I wanted to show everybody that being on the sidelines isn't just about being cute; it's also a workout. So we're going to have a little competition between our teams.
MARQUEZ: Yes? NATHANSON: Yes. So we need a clock and I'm going to show some exercises that people can do at home to be like the cheerleaders and the dancers. We have one dancer with us.
And then our mascots in the background are going to cheer them on. So let me have my first group of people. Our first exercise --
MARQUEZ: (Inaudible) the rules.
The rules are the teams will compete in 30-second workouts led by Desiree, of course; for a tie we will do the classic rocks, paper, scissors. And the winner moves onto the next bracket. All four teams represented here, amazing. Fantastic. Let's get the clock on the screen.
NATHANSON: Are we ready to go? So the first exercise -- who are my first two competitors? You guys are doing squats with a front kick. So we're working on balance. We're working on legs, glutes. Are we ready?
MARQUEZ: Ready.
Clock on the screen?
Ready, set, go!
NATHANSON: All right. Here we go, y'all. Count your teams out. Let's do it.
So on this exercise, we are working our legs, we're working our glutes. We're working on balance, we're also working our core. And then --
MARQUEZ: I could use some of this (inaudible).
NATHANSON: Yes. And if you get your arms involved here, like my Wichita State friend, you can get some arm workouts, too.
MARQUEZ: Yes.
NATHANSON: And then with our pom-poms, that's also kind of like a weight.
MARQUEZ: Well, it's not very much of a weight, is it?
NATHANSON: Oh, but it is, Miguel.
MARQUEZ: Oh, really?
NATHANSON: Oh, but it is, yes, it is.
MARQUEZ: All right.
NATHANSON: Holding that for 40 minutes on the sidelines --
MARQUEZ: It's all right, all right.
NATHANSON: It's definitely a workout.
MARQUEZ: All right.
NATHANSON: (Inaudible) -- how many did you count?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-two.
NATHANSON: How many did you count?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-six.
(CROSSTALK)
NATHANSON: Nice job, Wichita State. (Inaudible). Everybody step back.
My next round, please. Syracuse and Michigan, so here the cheerleaders and the announcers are always getting up and sitting down to cheer on the team. So they're going to be doing (inaudible).
MARQUEZ: Clock on the screen, please.
NATHANSON: Sitting down, getting up. Are you two ready?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
NATHANSON: And since they're pros, they're not going to use their hands.
Ready?
MARQUEZ: Ready, set, go.
NATHANSON: Yes, ladies. Uh-oh.
MARQUEZ: Oh, my God.
NATHANSON: So with getups here, we are working on balance.
(CROSSTALK)
NATHANSON: Yes, you don't do that, Miguel. That's what they're here for. So we are working on core here. We're working on balance. So this is a great workout. Total body. And it's also good for older people to practice, because if you ever fall down and you can't get up, that's a problem.
(CROSSTALK)
MARQUEZ: Yes, I know that one. I just like pressing the little button and then they (inaudible).
NATHANSON: Yes. No, that's -- this is better, to be able to get up off the ground.
Why are we not cheering on our teams here?
MARQUEZ: Yes.
NATHANSON: I know it's --
MARQUEZ: They are really working here and you guys are just watching. They're like, oh, (inaudible).
NATHANSON: Oh. How many did you count?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eighteen.
NATHANSON: How many did you count?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible).
NATHANSON: Eighteen, oh, it's a tie.
MARQUEZ: Eighteen. Rocks, paper, scissors. One, two, three, go.
NATHANSON: Oh. And Michigan moves on.
(CROSSTALK)
MARQUEZ: (Inaudible) wins. All right. (Inaudible) two champions up here.
NATHANSON: All right. Championship round.
So for this round we have got a more advanced exercise. We're going to do x-jumps. So that is just like this; this is obviously cardio, we are working legs. But for those viewers at home who can't do an x- jump, jumping jacks are just fine.
MARQUEZ: So the old jumping jack. Clock on the screen, please.
NATHANSON: Are you guys ready? Here we go.
MARQUEZ: Ready?
NATHANSON: Do it.
MARQUEZ: Set, go.
NATHANSON: This is going to preview our winner for tonight.
MARQUEZ: All right, of course.
NATHANSON: Uh-oh. What is going on?
MARQUEZ: Oh, my goodness.
NATHANSON: Where are our mascots? So they don't have a mascot, so you guys have to cheer for him.
MARQUEZ: All right. Let's go, mascots. (Inaudible) back there.
NATHANSON: So we have also got some leg work going on, as you can see, and then if you involve your arms -- which they are not -- you can get an arm workout.
MARQUEZ: Now can you do this on airplanes when traveling? This would be good for me.
NATHANSON: I would not recommend doing this on airplanes. I would stick to at home or the gym, or tonight, cheering on your team.
MARQUEZ: I'll do this in my hotel room while I'm (inaudible).
All right.
NATHANSON: How many did you count?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fifty-nine.
NATHANSON: How many did you count?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sixty.
NATHANSON: Oh, one point, Louisville's our winner. Thank you so much to everyone.
MARQUEZ: Thank you, thank you, thank you very much. So great to see you guys. Thank you for playing along, thank you for getting up so early and being with us.
NATHANSON: Yes.
MARQUEZ: That's fantastic.
NATHANSON: And everybody can play along tonight when they're watching their team.
MARQUEZ: I will be jumping and crossing and (inaudible) and sitting down. I'm going to do it all.
NATHANSON: You're going to be burning all the wings and beer.
MARQUEZ: Thank you very much.
NATHANSON: Thank you, Miguel. It's good to see you.
MARQUEZ: Always great to see you. Take care.
Now the amount of money you shell out for prescription drugs all depends on where you buy them. Consumer Reports sent some secret shoppers out and what they found just might surprise you.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): Good morning, Washington, D.C. There's a live look at the White House this morning as the sun rises over it and spring seems to be trying to start up and break. That's the nation's Capitol today.
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MARQUEZ: Actor Wesley Snipes is enjoying his first weekend of freedom in almost three years.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): He was released from a Pennsylvania federal prison Tuesday, where he was serving a sentence for tax evasion. The 50-year-old failed to file tax returns for 1999, 2000 and 2001. Snipes was acquitted of felony tax fraud and conspiracy charges.
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MARQUEZ: The state of Massachusetts dropped its investigation of a 10- year-old rapper's father for possible neglect. Remember Li'l Poopy?
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): Child Protective Services was asked to look into abuse after video surfaced showing the boy slapping a woman's behind. But the state found no evidence to support the allegations of abuse or neglect.
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MARQUEZ: Time is running out for Justin Bieber to get his baby monkey back from Germany. His small capuchin monkey was confiscated and quarantined last month when the pop star arrived for his tour. Authorities say proper documents were not provided for the animal to enter the country. And time is running out for people to provide them now. Bieber could be fined $70,000.
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MARQUEZ: And actress Halle Berry is having another baby.
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MARQUEZ (voice-over): The 46-year old Oscar winner is pregnant with her first child with fiance French actor Olivier Martinez. Berry already has another child with ex Gabriel Aubry, with whom she has been in a very public custody battle over the past several years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUEZ: Thanks for starting your morning with us. We've got much more ahead on "CNN SATURDAY MORNING," which starts right now.
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