Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

U.S. Hands Over Libyan No-Fly Zone; Target Edges Wal-Mart on Price; A Royal Bachelor Party; Mass Funeral in Tripoli; Mass Funeral in Tripoli; Japanese Official: Possible Reactor Core Breach; Large Protests in Jordan; Multiracial Population Rises

Aired March 25, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: 7:00 a.m. now in the West; 10:00 in the East. Breaking news this morning out of Japan, the nuclear situation there has gotten even more serious. A possible breach at a reactor could trigger a major release of radiation.

The census is giving us a fresh look at America; one interesting detail in the 2010 count, the growth of the Hispanic population, more than 50 million now. Hispanics account for more than half the nation's growth in the last ten years.

And it's one of the great questions of our time. Which is cheaper? Target or Wal-Mart? A study shows Target winning that battle.

Let's start in Libya where allied warplanes have been dropping bombs on the outskirts of Tripoli today. Air strikes targeted Libyan armored vehicles in the town of Ajdabiya. The United Nations now said that more than 350,000 people have fled the violence there and the U.S. is taking a big step towards its goal of handing over leadership of the military action there. NATO will begin enforcing the no-fly zone and should be fully in charge of that mission within a few days.

That allows the United States to give up at least some of its command as President Obama had pledged. For now the U.S.-led coalition will still be responsible for attacking Gadhafi's troops if they are seen as an imminent threat to civilians. Some Arab states have questioned the use of force, but the White House says it's saving lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: A massacre in Benghazi was prevented. Gadhafi's air force and air defenses have been rendered largely ineffective. And the coalition is in control of the skies above Libya.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers of both parties say the White House never properly consulted them before launching the military action. In the last hour we spoke to a Democratic congressman who was still waiting for the president to reach out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. MICHAEL CAPUANO (D), MASSACHUSETTS: He had the time to talk to every other country in the world and NATO and the Arab states. All of which I appreciate. All of which I think is good, but if he had the time to do that, he had the time to talk to Congress as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The mission in Libya not only carries high stakes for the U.S. military, also big political risks for the president, as you just heard. Dan Lothian is standing by at the White House. So, Dan, does the shift in command, I mean does that make lawmakers feel any better?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, some of these lawmakers, as you heard, they still want to hear from this White House and you know, next week senior administration official, Secretary Clinton, Secretary Gates and others, will be going up to the Hill to hold a briefing with lawmakers, to provide some of these answers to these questions that they've been asking, because, as you pointed out, they've been concerned, way back in the beginning, that they were not adequately brought in to the process.

Yes, they were briefed. They were given a lot of information, but they feel they should have been truly consulted where their opinions mattered, if they had concerns that perhaps the White House would have listening. The White House said "Listen, we have been very up front with this mission from the very beginning dating back to February 28th when intelligence officials did sit down with some House members and briefed them."

And then, of course, last week when we saw the president in the situation room with lawmakers again updating them on the mission about ready to begin. But, yes. There are still a lot of concerns up on the Hill that this administration has not been as forthcoming with information throughout this entire process.

COSTELLO: You know, Dan, Congressman Capuano told me that the president did send him a two-page letter basically saying the same things that had been said before. So he's not satisfied with that. And I also want to talk to you about this. There's a new Reuter's poll out, it shows only 17 percent of Americans see the president as a strong and decisive military leader.

So if the president sees that maybe he cares, maybe he doesn't, but what did the White House come out and say to reassure people?

LOTHIAN: Well, you know, first of all, that polling as well, it shows there's overwhelming support for the mission to establish that no-fly zone and also support for the removal of Gadhafi from power. So the administration will certainly, could certainly point to that. But I think what you'll hear from the White House is what they've been doing now for the last few days. That making the case to the American people that it was important for the U.S. to go in to Libya in order to save the lives of innocent people. Hundreds of thousands of people who would have been slaughtered. But another thing that this administration will have to do is ask, answer some of these pressing questions. Such as, how will this entire operation end? And how, in fact, will Gadhafi be removed from power? We know that this administration, that's one of their objectives is to see him out, but no one has a clear understanding as to how that will happen.

COSTELLO: Not even NATO, apparently.

LOTHIAN: That's right.

COSTELLO: Dan Lothian, live at the White House. Thank you.

LOTHIAN: All right.

COSTELLO: Let's head to London and check in with Zain Verjee. Zain, I'm interested to know how the international community is reacting to all of this.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. I was just going through some of the international newspapers and I just want to share with you some of the headlines and editorial comments that they've been making. Let's start with the United Arab Emirates. Their newspaper is called "The National." And their headline, "100 years later, air campaigns still miss the mark." "It's a fair bet they say that the main proponents of the Libyan no-fly zone know little of the ignoble history used against the Arabs but the effects are etched into the minds of the people of the Middle East.

Closer to you, Canada's "National Post" has this headline. "Memories of Kosovo." It says, dithering by the United States, NATO and the United Nations cost the rebels their advantage. So now the coalition members are left to argue about whether to press on to Tripoli, or just to go home."

And lastly, I was looking, Carol, at the "Asia Times" online. This is what they say "The operation in Libya is not open-ended, but the end game, they say, is nowhere in sight and the conflict may turn into a protracted stalemate." One issue, many views. That's a snapshot from around the world.

COSTELLO: That's interesting, because I guess the public over there feels pretty much the same way the public over here feels. At least much of it, anyway. Fascinating stuff. Zain Verjee - go ahead.

VERJEE: Yes. I was going to say that, you know, having a western and particularly U.S. presence in any of the Arab countries, they always view with a lot of suspicion. One thing, Carol, that experts I talked to had said, that, you know, the divisions among the coalition over who's going to lead the operation is really kind of handing Gadhafi, you know, a winning card in a way, because he can kind of count on it and exploit it for himself.

The other point that they make, too, Carol, is that it's one thing to, you know, bomb by air. But Gadhafi is using his ground forces. He's, you know, using troops to kill people on the ground, and it's unlikely that we're going to see any NATO ground forces there. That's a huge amount of opposition. How effective, they say, can NATO really be?

COSTELLO: Thanks, Zain Verjee, reporting live in London. We appreciate it.

We're keeping a close eye on protests. This is the day of prayer in the Muslim world and it's become a frequent rallying point for massive demonstrations. In northern Syria, thousands of people turned out in support of the president but tensions threaten to boil over. Yesterday, as many as 20,000 gathered for the funerals of protestors. Human rights workers say at least 34 people have been killed in Daraa in the past two days. One of the victims was reportedly a soldier who refused to fire on demonstrators.

Now to this breaking news out of Japan and the nuclear crisis there. Nuclear safety officials say there may be a breach in the core of the number three reactor, and contaminated water has likely seeped out. Officials came to that conclusion after those three plant workers stepped in that radioactive water yesterday.

Officials say that leak indicates a possible break of the containment vessels that house the core. A short time ago I asked nuclear expert James Acton just how bad the situation is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES ACTON, NUCLEAR EXPERT (via telephone): I think this thing worth emphasizing is we are very unlikely still, even if the worst has happened in the sense that the containment vessels has breached, to see a radioactive release on the scale of Chernobyl. We may very well see significant radioactive releases larger than anything we have seen to date, but the explosion at Chernobyl, that spread a large amount of material far and wide is unlikely to be replicated here. The worst case here is still almost certainly significantly better than what we saw at Chernobyl.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: 20 minutes from now, food and water radiation concerns off the west coast of the United States. A live report from Los Angeles.

And in the battle of retail giants, where do shoppers find the bigger bargain? Wal-Mart? Target? A study shows Target is winning the battle.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Elizabeth Taylor late to her own funeral. Apparently she wanted it that way. "Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer takes a look at her final request. Good morning.

A.J. HAMMER, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" HOST: Good morning, Carol. Fashionably late until the end. Elizabeth Taylor actually left instructions for her funeral to begin at least 15 minutes after it was scheduled to start. In fact, it was even announced at the ceremony that she even wanted to be late for her own funeral. Taylor was laid to rest in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Glendale in California yesterday, sheltered beneath a soaring marble Michelangelo angel. It's also the resting place of her close friend Michael Jackson.

Now according to her family, the private ceremony included poetry readings by Colin Farrell, who they characterized as her close friend, also several family members read poems but who knew Colin Farrell was so close to Elizabeth Taylor? She always did, of course, have a thing for attractive men. Her marriages to Eddie Fisher and Richard Burton were infamous in their day.

And last night on "Showbiz Tonight" I spoke with the great Debbie Reynolds about her close friendship with Taylor, a closeness that was surprising to a lot of people considering their past. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: Debbie, you and Elizabeth had a long storied rivalry back in the day especially all the drama that played out when your husband, Eddie Fisher, left you to marry Liz.

DEBBIE REYNOLDS, ACTRESS: Yes.

HAMMER: How did your friendship ever recovered from that? I mean, I think that says a whole lot about both you and Elizabeth Taylor.

REYNOLDS: Well, it recovered because Elizabeth met Richard Burton, and kicked Eddie out. So then that made me feel a little better.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HAMMER: Pretty straightforward, Carol. It doesn't get much simpler than that. And I should add that Debbie Reynolds did tell me, and this something that's been echoed by so many of her family members, she and everyone seemed to be at least happy that Elizabeth Taylor no longer has to endure the pain she suffered for decades, really. She was really suffering for a long time.

COSTELLO: I know and she was so very sick at the end there. So - I love the way she wanted to conduct her funeral. It's like, you go, Elizabeth Taylor.

HAMMER: Perfect.

COSTELLO: Yes. I want to talk about Chris Brown. It has gotten a lot of publicity lately for that bizarre meltdown he had on "Good Morning America."

HAMMER: Yes. It was actually right after, it didn't appear on television, but it was after an interview. Brown basically threw a temper tantrum after this interview with Robin Roberts where she asked him very constructively and properly, I think, about Rihanna. Brown did offer this rambling apology about the incident the next day.

But last night on "Showbiz Tonight," I spoke with legendary music icon Russell Simmons about what happened. Now, Simmons had spoken with Brown the night of his outburst and he said the singer was extremely upset about what happened and extremely upset about how he behaved but Simmons also told me that Brown needs, as he put it, a little bit of encouragement and support.

And while Russell didn't excuse Brown's actions he does want Chris to get some credit for the charity work that he does and not just the bad stuff that happens. Most importantly, he doesn't want him to be turned into a Britney Spears or a train wreck like Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen by the media. But still, having a violent outburst to release his anger, as Brown put it in his apology, probably among the worst things that he could have done as he tries to rehabilitate his image given his violent past. Nonetheless, Brown's new album now, Carol, poised to debut at number one. So he is not without his fans and supporters.

COSTELLO: That's just amazing to me. Really. He can - maybe people like when you know - it's just - I guess it doesn't matter how you behave.

HAMMER: Well, the truth is, Russell Simmons pointed this out. Russell's been in the business for a long time. He has seen it all. He pointed out, he's like "look, you guys are helping make his album number one because of all of this collateral publicity he's getting." I think it's amazing that somebody would say, "Oh, just because he's in the news, let me go check out the album." Because he's in the news for all the wrong reasons.

COSTELLO: Well, I'm going to go through a chair through a window and see what happens. It's just bizarre.

A.J. Hammer.

HAMMER: Ratings will go through the roof.

COSTELLO: Yes, maybe so. A.J., thanks.

If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J.'s got it tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.

A kayaker has an adventure he will never forgot after an encounter with a rare shark.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The stock market opening bell just rang under an hour ago. Let's check the numbers. Not too bad. Up 20 points. It's always nice to see when there's a plus sign in front of those numbers.

When it comes to retail heavyweights, Wal-Mart and Target, are pretty good one-two punch, but which is the champ? And which store might leave you with a little extra in your wallet? CNN's Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock exchange with some money-saving answers. This surprised me.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The drum roll - if we had one, I would say Target prices, Carol, beat Wal-Mart. We found this out after two recent surveys were done, and here's how these surveys were conducted. They compared 35 brand name items at several stores in several states, and they put groceries, clothes, home furnishings, health and beauty items in their baskets, everyday items most of us use.

And the whopping total for Target shopping cart came out to $269.13. Wal-Mart, as you can see, a little over $271. This doesn't count Target's extra discount card, which it has and that saves you five percent off your total purchase. Wal-Mart, by the way, doesn't have one of these cards. But still, Carol, Target comes out on top with lower prices.

COSTELLO: Yes, but the difference is less than $2. So like in the grand scheme of life -

KOSIK: Good point. I got to tell you. Very good point, you know, with this kind of thing it's really all about bragging rights. And what their image is. You know, Wal-Mart, it's held that image in recent years of having the lowest prices. But now, you know, Target is kind of stepping into the spotlight with that focus now on its lower prices, and if you can say that you have the lower prices it may wind up bringing in more customers to your store.

Because, when you think about it, most people really don't run around and comparison shop every single item they buy. You know, they go to the place where they think that the overall prices are lower. So Wal-Mart, by the way, is fighting back. If you find that you have a lower advertised price, Wal-Mart will match it. Keep in mind, if you're going to run around and go from store to store you may waste that $2 on gas. Because as you see, oil prices going up. So keep that in mind before you discount shop in 50 different places.

COSTELLO: Safe advice. Thank you, Alison Kosik from the New York Stock Exchange.

Having a drink of cup of tea after that. The royal wedding is almost one month away and get this. William and Kate's vows will be available on iTunes within minutes of the ceremony. In the meantime, bachelor party. The bachelor party is in the works. Prince William's best man is - Prince Harry.

Mark Saunders, welcome.

MARK SAUNDERS, ROYAL BIOGRAPHER: Hi.

COSTELLO: So, Harry -

SAUNDERS: Hi, Carol.

COSTELLO: I guess Harry is planning a bachelor party. What could go wrong? SAUNDERS: What could go wrong? Well, Harry, as you know, is the, known as Dirty Harry, these days. He's the party animal of the royal family. In fact, Harry - let me try to put it in perspective for you. Harry organizing the bachelor party is roughing it, as Lady Gaga designing the costumes for a Halloween bowl. I mean, absolutely, he's the man for this. He loves a laugh. He actually asked the queen if they could get Christina Aguilera to sing the national anthem at the royal wedding, which would give many people a giggle.

Where it's going to be? We're not sure. When it's going to be, we're also not sure. Several of Harry's more outrageous ideas apparently have been turned down. It's my belief it will probably be at Clarence House. We're thinking possibly this evening, Friday evening, or maybe tomorrow, Saturday. But whatever happens, with Harry, it will be fun.

COSTELLO: Will they have strippers? No. I'm just kidding. Just kidding.

SAUNDERS: I hope not. I certainly hope not.

COSTELLO: I hope not too.

Katherine's parents, we hear the Middletons, have decided now that they're in the royal circle to move out of the $1 million home into a somewhat bigger property. So how big are we talking about?

SAUNDERS: We are talking substantial. We're talking 11 bedrooms. Three adjoining cottages standing in 70 acres of green, which actually has its own orchard. It's in Wiltshire, which is a very, very picturesque, very beautiful county, southwest of us. And here's the interesting point. It once belonged to Camilla Parker Bowles and indeed it was the place where Camilla and Charles enjoyed many nights together when Charles was married to Diana.

COSTELLO: Oh.

SAUNDERS: 14th century, I believe. It was built in the 14th century. It does come with its own ghosts as well, which many of the locals tell me is, it frightens a lot of people who actually live there.

COSTELLO: Really, and a much nicer place for the grandkids when they come along, too.

SAUNDERS: Absolutely. The Middletons don't live in a bad place at the moment, but this is substantially bigger.

COSTELLO: Well, good for them. Mark Saunders, many thanks. It was enjoyable.

SAUNDERS: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Cnn.com is sending an iReporter to cover the royal wedding. Head over to the iReport page on cnn.com and send us a video telling us why you should get the job. That's right. A winner will be picked on April 11th.

One unexpected visitor makes it a spring break to remember in Panama City Beach, Florida. That tops our "Cross Country" this morning. The video shot last Friday off the Bay County Public pier. You can see how a kayaker got an up close and personal look at a 25- foot basking shark. Oh. Locals say it's extremely rare for anyone to see these sharks off of Florida's gulf coast. So lucky kayaker.

From Kittery, Maine, a plumber's response to a decision he thinks stinks. David (INAUDIBLE) has more than a dozen toilets on display in his yard. It's in lieu of a property fence he wanted the town to put up after expanding a nearby middle school. (INAUDIBLE) the students trespass on his property. The toilets are sure to keep them out.

Law and disorder were on the docket this week in a Las Vegas courtroom. A defendant literally goes heads over heels at her competency hearing. Oh. We don't know what exactly set her off but we know it took four bailiffs to finally calm her down. One officer was slightly hurt.

Coming up next, we're heading back to Japan to follow-up on the breaking news from that damaged nuclear plant. There is concern a reactor core may be leaking radioactive material.

And there are new concerns about contaminated foods in Japan. Should we worry about our own food? Some West Coast residents say, yes. We hear how they respond to the reassurance of health officials.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Allied warplanes have been dropping bombs on the outskirts of Tripoli today. Air strikes also targeted Libyan armored vehicles in the town of Ajdabiya. The United Nations now says more than 350,000 people have fled the violence there. The United States is taking a big step towards its goal of handing over its leadership of the military action there. NATO will begin enforcing the no-fly zone and should be fully in charge of that mission within a few days if all goes well.

Libya's government has ruled out about 30 coffins for the camera and claims they're filled with victims of coalition air strikes. CNN's Nic Robertson takes us to the mass funerals that doubled as an act of defiance. CNN reporters go on these government organized tour and do their own reporting independent movement for foreign journalists in Tripoli is quite difficult, in any case, forbidden by Libyan authorities. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So far more than about 25 perhaps as many as 30 or so coffins have been brought in here. It's impossible for us to verify who's inside them, how they died. But what government officials have told us is, all these people here died as a result of coalition bombing. The message here from the sheikh to the crowd, in plain English, the message has been very clear to the international community, whatever you think we don't care. These are our victims. These are our martyrs. That is the message here, being broadcast over speaker systems here and to an audience of perhaps 200 to 300. Also being broadcast live on state television, this is a message of defiance here. The message, again, delivered in English and very pointedly for the international television crews that are down here, the message very clear. The message very, very clear here. The message very clear.

The man here says we're about to hear prayers, but I'll briefly wrap it up. The message here is very clear. These people say they are victims, that they are being defiant, and that they will in the words here, in the words of the imam, they will fight.

And that is very clearly the message that the Libyan government wants to get across to the international community right now, that they are victims, that they have people who have died, they say, as a result of the bombing, and that they are going it fight, in their words.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tripoli, Libya.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Breaking news now out of Japan.

There is a potentially catastrophic development concerning the damaged nuclear plant. Officials say there may be a breach in the containment vessel of the number three reactor. In a worst case scenario, a breach could lead to a large-scale release of radiation into the atmosphere.

We're trying to get CNN's -- oh, we have Paula Hancocks, she's following the story from Tokyo.

So bring us up to date on what you know now.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we've been hearing from Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, and they've said that it could possibly be a breach in the containment vessel.

Now, basically, the containment vessel is there to stop any contamination from the core itself, even if there's damage elsewhere. So it's really a crucial piece of machinery.

And the reason they discovered this, remember, on Thursday there was three workers who had contamination to their feet and ankles, because they were standing in contaminated water for about 40, 50 minutes. That water, we understand, from the officials, was 10,000 times the radioactive limit it should have been in that particular area.

So this really is a very crucial issue at this point. Officials are desperate to find out just how big the rupture is, if there actually is a rupture, that will be crucial. At this point, as far as we know, they don't know. They need to get closer to try and find out, but, of course, it's very difficult for them to get closer because they don't want to put workers in the same situation those three workers were in on Thursday.

But we do know one positive thing. In reactors one and two, they have started pumping fresh water into the reactors themselves. Of course, when you pump seawater in, it's corrosive, it's not what these reactors should have. So that is one spot of hope there -- Carol.

COSTELLO: One spot of hope.

Paula Hancocks live in Tokyo, thanks.

Despite what health experts say, many people on the west coast of the United States are concerned about radioactive material blowing over from Japan.

CNN's Ted Rowlands is following that part of the story, he's live in Los Angeles.

Ted, fill us in.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's a fluid situation, so people being worried, would be -- would be expected. People just don't know about this, things that are fluid. But the bottom line is experts say what's coming over in the atmosphere from Japan is not a concern on the west coast.

What about the food supply? A lot of people concern about the U.S. food supply, things grown in California because of that cloud, if you will, of radioactive material. Again, experts say, not a big deal. At this point, nothing to be concerned about.

Then there is the food that comes directly from Japan. There are Japanese markets across the country, lots of them here in Los Angeles. We visited a few of them yesterday, and there is concern about that food that's coming directly from Japan.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HONG TRAN, SHOPPER: We're staying away from raw sushi for a few month, just in case.

MEI LEE, SHOPPER: I really care about the food, actually. If from the Japan, I want to make sure. For example, the fish, I'm not going to buy any fish. Probably now is OK, but -- probably two three months later, I'm not going to buy any fish from Japan.

ROWLANDS: These noodles are made in Tokyo and there are two concerns right now going on at this Japanese market in Los Angeles. One is the customers are worried they're not going to be able to get their hands on products like that made in Japan. So they're coming in and buying a lot of them.

The other concerns revolve around radiation fears, obviously -- fresh fish, vegetables, et cetera. About 30 percent of the fish at this market comes from Japan, and folks here at the store say a lot of customers are concerned about radiation.

GENE IKEDA, NIJIYA MARKET: A good amount of people come in and ask questions about, regarding products that have radiation in them, things like that. But all of our products do come through the FDA. They are inspected very -- very highly. So anything that we get is safe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: Bottom line, Carol, is that less than 5 percent of the food that is consumed in this country comes from Japan, and every expert is basically in agreement that there is no issue of in terms of radiation in the food supply entering the United States at any dangerous level.

COSTELLO: It is interesting, Ted, that no matter what you tell people, though, they're going to do it just for safety's sake, just in case, no matter what health officials say.

ROWLANDS: Absolutely. And you know what, one thing we've picked up a lot of is mistrust. People just don't trust the media, the government or anybody, even the experts. They just don't trust, and it's natural. You know, it's just a human reaction to something that is unknown.

COSTELLO: Ted Rowlands, live in Los Angeles, thank you.

Our latest poll finds that most Americans living near a nuclear power plant don't believe an accident there would put them in danger. But if there were a disaster, not many are ready for it.

Nearly six in ten of our poll respondents do not believe local officials could handle a nuclear plant emergency. And just as alarming, the same percentage of people living near a nuclear plant don't know the evacuation routes.

If you want to know how close you live to a nuclear plant it is easy. Head to CNN.com, you can enter your address, your zip code, find the names of plants and the distances from your home, and then you can figure out those evacuation routes.

Checking top stories now, a school shooting in Indiana. The Morgan County Sheriff's Department telling CNN one person has been shot at middle school in Martinsville, that's just southwest of Indianapolis. Police say the suspect is in custody. All schools in the city are on lockdown.

That air traffic controller suspended for failing to respond to two planes at Reagan National admits he fell asleep. The NTSB says the 20-year veteran controller was working his fourth straight overnight shift. The planes landed safely without help from the tower.

College basketball's defending champion, Duke University, is out of the running for this year's title. The Blue Devils went down big last night to Arizona, 93 to 77. Duke become the second number one seed to exit early from the tournament.

A big bang for your buck. Millions of people looking for discounts on Groupon. Just ahead, an inside look how the group buying plan actually works.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We have a bit of breaking news out of the Middle East. Of course, we're keeping you abreast of the protests going on in that part of the world.

We have word from Daraa, Syria that gunfire could be heard. In fact, one of our CNN producers was on a phone with a protester in Daraa, and in the background of that telephone call, you could hear the gunfire.

As you know, things have been really heating up in Syria; some protesters have been killed and the government is cracking down.

Also, in Amman, Jordan, there are big protests going on.

Our CNN producer, Jomana Karadsheh, is on the phone from Amman, Jordan.

And, Jomana, can you tell us what's going on?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Hi, Carol.

What we are seeing here, we are over at a main square in western Amman, and we have seen the start of what youth movements here are calling "The March 24th Movement" that started yesterday.

They have camped out in this main square. They've set up tents and they said they will not leave until their demands of met. Demands that include political and economic reform.

But what is different here, Carol, is that this has turned a bit violent overnight. We saw the appearance of so-called pro-government demonstrators who were -- and we have police in the middle keeping both groups apart, but there has been some rock throwing and stick throwing at each other, and a lot of people here believe if it weren't for the police holding both sides apart, this would turn very ugly.

And talking to the pro-government demonstrators, they see the other side as the anti-government demonstrators, as traitors. And said they will be camped out here, too, because they are loyalists and they support the monarchy here, King Abdullah II of Jordan. COSTELLO: I was going to ask you about the king, Jomana, because I thought he reached out to the people and made -- you know, instituted some measures that might calm things down.

KARADSHEH: Absolutely, Carol. These protests very much inspired by the popular uprising across the region and Tunisia and Egypt and other places. These started in January, and they started mainly because of a hike in prices, economic situation, unemployment. But slowly, we saw more demands by the anti-government protesters.

And King Abdullah of Jordan did make some concessions last month. He fired the prime minister and his cabinet that was one of the main demands of the protesters and appointed a new prime minister. There was a drop in prices, the government increased subsidy, but that does not seem to be enough, Carol.

We are seeing a list of demands that is increasing every time these protesters are going out. And for the first time, I can tell you that this seems to be pretty serious. We have seen them camping out last night here under a lot of rain, and it was really cold, and they're saying they're not moving until their demands are met.

One of the main demands, Carol, is they want the intelligence service in Jordan, that is the secret police, to stop interfering in all aspects of life, as they say.

COSTELLO: Boy, that certainly sounds familiar.

What is the unemployment rate like there?

KARADSHEH: Official statistics, Carol, are about 14 percent to 15 percent; unofficial ones are up to 30 percent.

And you can see there's a lot of frustration among the youth. Yesterday, you know, heard about a cab driver who was out here with the protesters, with the anti-government protesters saying, I just want a job. He has a degree in electronic engineering, yet he is working as cab driver.

This is a story we hear from a lot of these frustrated youth. And now that they're seeing that other young Arabs in other countries have been able to change their lives by taking to the streets, this is definitely giving these protests in Jordan momentum.

COSTELLO: Well, if the violence, if there's a huge breakout in violence in Jordan, that would really concern the United States because Jordan is a close ally of the United States and the United States, as you know, is involved in Libya. So this could really throw a wrench into things for the Obama administration.

KARADSHEH: Well, Jordan is definitely as you said, Carol, one of the most stable countries in the region. If you look at the countries that it borders including Iraq and Israel and the West Bank, and other countries where there is turmoil and now on the Syrian border where you've seen the protest, Jordan's northern border with Syria. So a lot of instability from around the country that has managed for years to be one of the most stable countries in the region.

So far we've not seen any kind of serious violence, but there are fears, Carol, that this could escalate and, you know, among those who are protesting today are anti-western movement -- among them. We've heard chants calling for an end to Jordan's peace deal with Israel, and obviously, that will impact Jordan's relations with the U.S., since these protesters are also, some of them, are calling for, you know, have anti-western demands -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jomana, great reporting there. I'll leave you to it. Thank you so much.

Jomana Karadsheh, one of our producers, reporting live from Amman, Jordan.

We're going to take a short break, we'll be back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The first set of national numbers from the 2010 Census report is in. The U.S. Population is now 308.7 million people -- there's the number there. That's a 9.7 percent increase over the last decade, which is actually the slowest growth since the Great Depression.

CNN's Kiran Chetry from "AMERICAN MORNING" digs deep into the number.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hispanics growing as one of the largest minority populations; 50.5 million Hispanics and the nation's number two ethnic group, up 43 percent since 2000.

All right, let's take a look right now at where the other breakdowns for the rest of America. Whites making up 197 million, still 64 percent of the population. Blacks, 40 million, making up nearly 13 percent of the population. But we saw a big boom in the Asian population as well, up 43 percent since the 2000 Census making it nearly 15 million people, 5 percent of the population, tied with Hispanics for the fastest growth.

And when you take a look where the growth is coming from, this is pretty astounding. Ninety percent of the population growth came from minorities. And we'll probably have to find a new term by the year 2050. Minorities are expected to be the majority by that year.

So there's a look at some of the numbers. About 9 million people saying they were of more than one race. So this interesting. This is a trend in which minorities, again, are expected to become the majority by 2050, but more people are defining themselves by more than just one ethnicity or racial group.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Soon we'll all be coffee colored. Joining me now is Nell Painter, author of the book "The History Of White People."

And now, welcome, first of all.

NELL PAINTER, AUTHOR, "THE HISTORY OF WHITE PEOPLE": Thank you.

COSTELLO: So the number of Americans who identify themselves as more than one race has increased by more than 2 million in just the last decade. So what does that say about the way American's think about race and heritage?

PAINTER: Well, you know, people have been changing their minds about that from the very beginning. Remember, one of our founding father, Thomas Jefferson had a very -- well, we might say complicated family, but also he was not unusual.

So people have been changing their minds, and the Census categories change every 10 years. So in 1850, there was a Census category called "mulatto." That disappeared for 1860 and after that. So we count people the way we think about them, not necessarily what their DNA is.

COSTELLO: Fascinating. Because, you know, the most common racial combination on the Census is black and white, I'm talking intermarriage. Ten years ago it was white and, quote, "some other race."

So has the population changed that much? Or is it the way we identify ourselves?

PAINTER: No.

COSTELLO: Go ahead.

PAINTER: It's how we think about ourselves, how we identify ourselves. Certainly in 2000, which was the first year in which people could choose more than one race, Latinos, majority of Latinos chose some other race as their race, because Latinos asterisk can be of any race.

So it may be that more Latinos are separating themselves out, but I suspect also that this is reflecting an increase in marriages between people who identify as black and people who identify as white.

COSTELLO: And that was a huge jump, blacks and whites marrying. Huge jump.

PAINTER: Yes. That's really, really, really interesting. You know, people have been having sex forever, but to get married is something that is since the Civil Rights Revolution.

COSTELLO: Well, something else that's interesting is that, you know, the white population, it's not having children, and you have to kind of wonder why that is. Or not having as many children, I should say.

PAINTER: Because -- that's right. For one thing, the white population is older than the Latino population and the black population. I think even over the Asian population. And, you know, we tend to have fewer children as we get older. And people in the upper income brackets also tend to have fewer children than working people, or working-class people.

So I think what you're seeing is the reflection of generation and of what it costs to bring up children in a middle-class lifestyle. Not nothing.

COSTELLO: Fascinating numbers, and it must be fun to look at all the Census information and try to figure out --

PAINTER: Indeed.

COSTELLO: -- what it means.

PAINTER: Things keep changing.

Well, you know, you mentioned earlier that the categories, you were assuming categories would be the same in 2050. I wouldn't be surprised if the categories were very different.

COSTELLO: As far as what your race is kind of questions.

PAINTER: Sure. Or if there is a race question. It may be an ethnicity question. It may be, where were your parents' born, where were you born. We might start collecting statistics according to income and wealth. So things change.

COSTELLO: They do.

PAINTER: Things change.

COSTELLO: Makes it interesting.

Nell Painter, many thanks for joining us this morning.

PAINTER: You're very welcome. My pleasure.

COSTELLO: Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly, he's talking about how his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, is doing after the shootings in Tucson. He thinks she might be able to come to the lodge. We'll hear from him coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Shuttle Commander Mark Kelly says his wife, Representative Gabby Giffords, is doing remarkably well. She was, as you know, shot in the head during a shooting that left six people dead and more than a dozen hurt in Tucson.

Kelly spoke more about his wife's conditions.

(BEING VIDEO CLIP)

COMMANDER MARK KELLY, SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR: She's moving every day and in the realm of brain injuries, that is significant and pretty rare.

She's starting to walk, talk more, more every day. And she's starting to process some of the tragedy that we all went through in January. She's going through that as we speak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Kelly, who is set to command the last scheduled mission of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, says he hopes his wife will be able to attend the launch, which is slated for next month.

Just an update on what's happening in the Middle East. At least 15 people killed trying to march towards the southern Syrian city of Daraa where deadly anti-government protests have taken place. Now that's what local residents are telling CNN.

We will continue to monitor this breaking news. Suzanne Malveaux will bring us up to date about the latest at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Looking ahead to stories CNN is following today.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Triangle Waste Company fire in New York City. For the first time ever, the names of all 146 immigrant workers killed in that sweatshop fire will be read. The ceremony begins at 11:00 a.m. Eastern in New York.

At 1:30 p.m. Eastern, a California court holds a hearing on a bid by actor Mickey Rooney to extend a temporary conservatorship order. The 90-year-old Rooney is battling his stepson for control of his own finances.

And at 11:00 Eastern, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will talk about the importance of arts instruction in schools. He'll be at the ribbon-cutting for a student art exhibition in Chicago.

NEWSROOM continues with Suzanne Malveaux.

And, Suzanne, I'll see you in about 10 minutes.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Carol.