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Libyan Rebels Try to Hold Ground; Cast Defends Portman's Dancing; Region in Rebellion
Aired March 29, 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: It is now 10:00 a.m. in the east, 7:00 a.m. out West. Right now, in Libya, Gadhafi's forces are attacking the city of Misrata. One witness calling it utter carnage. This comes hours after President Obama vowed not to take Gadhafi out with military power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To be blunt, we went down that road in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Breaking news from another tense Arab nation. Syria, the government, but not President Bashar Assad has resigned. A rally today in Damascus, for the government, not against it.
In Japan, workers are trying to keep highly radioactive water from leaking into the Pacific Ocean. And not there's word that plutonium has turned up in the soil near the nuclear plant.
But we begin in Libya. A chilling account in one city under siege. One witness in Misrata says Gadhafi's troops are on a rampage rounding up thousands of civilians and herding them into the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMMED, EYEWITNESS (ON THE PHONE): Heavy shelling, using tanks, using mortar bomb in all directions now. In each neighborhood, they evict and the people are now running scared for their lives, now are using more things to accommodate people and the humanitarian situation is very, very bad. They are firing in all directions. The distraction and the carnage is something not to be believed. It's incredible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The chilling description echoes President Obama's address to a war weary nation. He says the reason for military strike is simple ignoring Gadhafi's threat of slaughtering civilians would have betrayed America's values.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as president, I refuse to wait for the images of slaughters and mass graves before taking action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The president's speech also tried to tamp down criticisms on Capitol Hill. Members of both parties have demanded that he better explain his long term plans and the vow to topple Gadhafi through non-military means. This morning the reviews are mixed largely along party lines. And so are the concerns that U.S. forces could be waiting into another prolonged conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: If Gadhafi remains in power, it will be a stalemate. We saw a stalemate before after "Operation Desert Storm." We saw a no-fly zone and sanctions that lasted for 10 years. But Saddam Hussein was able to remain in power. A stalemate is not an acceptable -
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: The president made it clear that our involvement in Libya is going to be limited and focused. We are not going to engage in the type of war which we've seen in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are working with a broad coalition of Arab nations. The support of the United Nations. And we are certainly saying to other countries who are part of this effort, you may lead. We will support, but there will be no ground troops and no long-term duration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: NATO and the coalition are now meeting in London to discuss the situation in Libya. Just moments ago, Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton spoke from that meeting. She said long term progress in Libya will not be made through military means.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. STATE SECRETARY: All of us have to continue the pressure on and deepen the isolation of the Gadhafi regime. This includes a unified front of political and diplomatic pressure that makes clear to Gadhafi he must go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, the world is certainly paying attention to this. Let's head to London and Zain Verjee, you have newspaper headlines today. What are the editorials saying?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'll give you a little bit of a flavor, Carol. There's a lot of talk. Let's start in the United Arab Emirates where "Gulf News" has this headline "Clever Brains, not Smart Bombs." The paper says "The longer this goes on, the coalition's resolve is likely to crack. U.S. President Barack Obama will be albatrosses of Iraq and Afghanistan around his neck is an unwilling war president." Also in the United Arab Emirates, take a look at "The National." Its headline, "As Libyan crisis deepens, west's role must grow. A more aggressive military strategy it says may not be what the international community had in mind. The longer Gadhafi stays put, however, this is a question that will have to be debated."
And then check out, finally, "The Guardian" here in the U.K.. It says "narrowing the options." And goes on to say "They need to decide at what point NATO action ceases to be about protecting civilians from Gadhafi and begins to be about prosecuting a war on behalf of Libyan insurgents." That's a quick look for your at the headlines. Carol.
COSTELLO: Zain Verjee, live in London. Many thanks to you.
Now let's turn to the rebels' desperate attempts to hold their ground. Over the last couple of days, Gadhafi's troops have ratcheted up their attacks to wrestle away control. We're going to head to Tripoli in just a minute.
Nic Robertson, not in place just yet. He's gathering info - oh, he is there now. Nic Robertson, you're in Tripoli. We've heard what is happening in Misrata where supposedly Gadhafi forces are going house to house, rounding people up, firing guns over their heads, what are you hearing from the ground in Tripoli? What are you hearing?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tripoli itself seems strangely quiet, nothing said on state television about President Obama's speech. A lot said on state television about Misrata, the government claiming that they can control it. When we were there, we saw a very different picture yesterday afternoon just by sunset. Interesting that many of the troops we saw there seemed very shell shocked in some cases, and very, sort of frightened and ill at ease.
Frightened is too strong a word, but ill at ease with the situation there. They gave every impression that there was still a lot of fighting to be done in that city. And to hear what we're hearing from the opposition today, that the government is trying to advance and clear them out, we can't confirm it, but certainly, the forces, Gadhafi's forces were in position. We saw heavy weapons there, some of it hidden under trees.
So to hear what we're hearing from the opposition today, in part is supported by what we saw yesterday, but we were unable to get into the center of the city, because the government officials who were traveling with us just wouldn't let us do it. Carol.
COSTELLO: And it's very difficult from the air to turn back Gadhafi's forces because, as you told us before, they're driving their tanks into buildings and hiding there.
ROBERTSON: It is quite surprising to see that. You can see these tanks hidden at the side of the road, under trees. Soldiers with their vehicles hidden in store fronts, literally driven through the store fronts, parked their vehicles inside the stores. They were out of sight of not just the opposition in the city there, but clearly trying to hide them from NATO aircraft in the skies above because why else would you cover a tank with trees when it's parked to the side of the road?
So clearly an effort here to make it much harder for the coalition to target the government forces with these tanks and heavy artillery pieces we saw. They have much stronger weapons than the opposition inside the city. And as we heard from the opposition spokesman there from Misrata, in the last couple of hours, there are civilians there who are being chased from their houses. The government says they control it, but they wouldn't give us the access to independently see. But very clear Gadhafi's forces are trying to hide from those NATO war planes. Carol.
COSTELLO: Nic Robertson, live in Tripoli. Thank you.
We want to turn now to the nuclear crisis in Japan. Here's what's new this morning. Workers are using sandbags and concrete panels to keep contaminated water inside of a trench. Authorities say the water is radioactive enough to be an immediate hazard and they want to keep it from leaking into the Pacific Ocean.
The plant owner says tests have detected low levels of plutonium in soil near the plant. The power company says there is no health risk to humans and that monitoring will continue.
And the Senate energy and natural Resources Committee here in the states is receiving a briefing right now on the Japanese crisis. We spoke last hour with CNN contributor Jim Walsh about the plutonium finding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Perhaps the containment vessel inside one of the reactors has a leak and fuel rods that have been burning up are now leaking out into the environment. That's what's important about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: We want to bring in CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano to talk more about plutonium and what it is and what dangers it presents. Because when you say plutonium, it's scary.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It should be scary. I mean, it's the stuff that they use in nuclear weapons. So it's the most potent stuff. It's the stuff that has been mixed and used in reactor number three. It's the most scary and most - the stuff with the longest half life. I want to break down a couple terms for you. Radio iodine, that is the stuff that they've found in traces in California, in Massachusetts and other places and some rain water. That has a half life of eight days, meaning it becomes harmless in eight days.
This other stuff, plutonium, 87 years for 238. 239, that's the stuff they use in nuclear weapons, and that's 24,000 years. You get an idea just how potent this stuff is. But just remember that this is what's showing up in the U.S., OK. It becomes completely harmless in eight days. And even when it's being reported in the trace amounts that we're seeing right now, it's already harmless.
I mean we get more radiation from the sun, from bananas, from rocks from an airplane ride. We get 100,000 times more radiation than we're finding. But it does kind of tell you just how connected the globe is. That, I think is what's been most eye opening thing from this is that something that, you know, almost 10,000 miles away in Japan is affecting folks in the U.S. or at least we're finding trace elements of it in the U.S.. But the key here for folks who are near is by no means harmful at this stage, but the plutonium word is certainly a scary one to be tossing around. And when we talk about that getting into the ground water in Japan, if you ingest that stuff, that's when it becomes deadly, or can become deadly, in certain amounts. So that's the most scary part of the story.
COSTELLO: Of course, we'll keep following it. Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: You bet.
COSTELLO: What's in a word? Apparently a lot if you're President Obama dealing with the crisis in Libya. We'll take a look at the words we're hearing and not hearing as the U.S. confronts Moammar Gadhafi. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: President Obama last night making the case that it's in the United States' interest to get involved in Libya, at this particular moment in time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Given the costs and risks of intervention, we must always measure our interests against the need for action. But that cannot be an argument for never acting on behalf of what's right. In this particular country, Libya, at this particular moment, we were faced with the prospect of violence on a horrific scale. We had a unique ability to stop that violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It took President Obama 28 minutes to make his case for U.S. involvement in Libya, and he chose his words deliberately. This is a cloud of all the words he used in his speech. Let's take a look. The bigger the words, the more times he used them. As you can see, the Libyan people got the most emphasis. He mentioned the word war only one time and the word rebel, not mentioned at all.
Joining us, William Howell, a political science professor at the University of Chicago. Thanks for joining us.
PROF. WILLIAM HOWELL, POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO: Thanks for having me. It's a pleasure to be with you. COSTELLO: So you watched the speech. You wrote an opinion piece for today's CNN.com, why the deliberate choice of words and how do you rate the speech?
HOWELL: Well, he was clearly trying to craft a speech that provided a defense for a set of actions that he's already taken and to provide some feedback to the American public and also to allay a set of concerns coming out of Congress about what it is we're doing in Libya. The focus of the speech was really on defending actions that have already been taken. It was a lot less clear about where we're going to be going from here.
COSTELLO: And what the end game might be, which is a big criticism out there. I did notice he did not use the word war. Maybe the word war was used once in the speech somewhere, but you certainly did not hear that. Why?
HOWELL: Well, it's clearly loaded. This is a game that presidents have played for a very long time about what we call military interventions. Going back to Truman who most famously called the Korean War a mere police action. And in part, that was an effort by Truman to allay pressures to get a formal congressional authorization. The president would like to have maximum discretion moving forward, to exercise military force as he sees fit.
And as soon as you start calling this a war, you add it to the other two clear wars that are on-going in Afghanistan and Iraq, to the agenda that he's trying to manage and his life is made a lot more complicated.
COSTELLO: And then you throw in that problem of getting congressional approval because when you say war, you have to go to Congress and this and that. And Congress is also a word he didn't mention much, only once in his speech.
Thank you so much for joining us this morning. You can read Professor Howell's commentary on the speech for yourself. Go to cnn.com and click on the opinion section.
A hole is discovered on a U.S. Airways plane right before take-off. And the FBI is not taking this lightly. Details for you just ahead.
Plus a song and $100 can get Willy Nelson out of his latest marijuana charges. That story is next.
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COSTELLO: Stories making news cross-country now.
The FBI trying to find out what or who caused a hole in the side of a U.S. airways jet liner. The pilot of flight 737 was making a visual inspection of the plane when he noticed the small hole above the passenger windows. The flight originated in Philadelphia and had just landed safely at the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Engineers in Utah pulled off quite a feat when they installed a new highway overpass in just a few hours. It didn't take 10,000 years like normal. The 350-feet long concrete bridge weighed nearly four million pounds. They used hydraulic jacks to hoist the bridge into the air and then they rolled it into place across eight lanes of traffic.
Some kids in Florida are trying to sell lemonade. But getting a hard lesson in life. Their neighborhood association says the stand is actually a business and violates by-laws because it doesn't have a business license. The kids are five years old and 10 years old and at 25 cents a glass, they say they are actually losing money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA COHEN, RUNS LEMONADE STAND: We got kind of upset and we started talking about it, if we could still do it or not.
KAYLA COHEN RUNS LEMONADE STAND: We want to continue selling it, the lemonade so we can save it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You go, girl. The children says one of their friend's sisters is disabled and they're donating the money made to her school.
The "Jersey Shore" cast heading to Italy to film Season four of the show but some Italians aren't so happy about it. "Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer joins me now.
So what are the people of Italy saying?
A.J. HAMMER, HOST "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, Carol, at least a few of those people are saying stay away, "Jersey Shore." We all know the gang of "Jersey Shore" ticked off a number of Italian Americans. But now Italians in Italy are weighing in. The show which by the way is getting better ratings than ever is heading to Italy, which most of the cast seems to think of as their ancestral homeland.
Well one newspaper columnist says that the cast "embody the worst stereotypes of Italians multiplied by thousands and Americanized." I'm pretty sure Americanized is not meant in a positive way here. When clips from the show were posted on the MTV Italia web site, one person reportedly posted this "When I see this, I wonder whether Bin Laden has a point."
COSTELLO: Oh come on.
HAMMER: It's a crass way - I mean it's a pretty crass way of making that point but really it speaks to how strong the feelings are against this show, Carol, despite its massive success. I mean, people don't like it, even though so many people do watch it.
COSTELLO: Hey, I'm Italian American and I hate it. I hate it.
HAMMER: That's very common, yes.
COSTELLO: But I wouldn't compare it to Osama Bin Laden.
Any who, there's a lot of talk about the "Black Swan" and whether Natalie Portman used a body double to do most of her dancing. So I know this has been out there but I'm wondering why is it a big deal if she did?
HAMMER: Well, you know, it really wouldn't be a big deal and it wouldn't be such an unusual thing, except for the fact that, of course, Natalie got such accolades and won the best actress Oscar. Now, director Aronofsky and co-star Mila Kunis are now both stepping up to defend Portland in this case.
Ballerina Sarah Lane did say she did the majority of the dancing in the film and that Portman only did around five percent of what you see on screen. But Aronofsky is disputing that. Here's what he says "Here's the reality. I had my editor count shots. There are 139 dance shots in the film. 111 are Natalie Portman untouched. 28 are here dance double, Sarah Lane. If you do the math, that's 80 percent Natalie Portman."
COSTELLO: Yes, but he's her boyfriend, right?
HAMMER: Darren Aronofsky?
COSTELLO: Yes.
HAMMER: The boyfriend is the choreographer.
COSTELLO: OK. Natalie Portman. I'm sorry.
HAMMER: That's OK. You confused me for a moment. I'm thinking, wait a second.
COSTELLO: What?
HAMMER: Do I know that? And by the way, Darren also points out that if you just count the screen time, Carol, it's more than 90 percent Natalie Portman dancing in this film. So I think, you know, who knows if this battle will even continue. Mila Kunis, her co-star is telling "Entertainment Weekly" that both dancers had pros as safety nets. That's pretty common but she also said, You know what, Portman danced her behind off and deserves the credit she got for dancing on screen." And I would say, Carol, you know, despite the dancing, put that aside for a second, wow, she was amazing in the film. Absolutely deserved the Oscar.
COSTELLO: She really was. She was unbelievable.
We must talk about Willie Nelson. Because this is one of my favorite stories of the day.
HAMMER: Yes, this one actually sounds like it's right out of an episode of "Dukes of Hazard," doesn't? A West Texas prosecutor says Willie Nelson's latest pot bust could be settled for a song and one hundred bucks. (INAUDIBLE) County attorney (INAUDIBLE) told CNN on Monday about this plea recommendation and added "You can bet your blank I'm not going to be mean to Willie Nelson."
Nelson, of course, is a treasured icon in the Lone Star state. He has been charged with marijuana possession but (INAUDIBLE) said he would recommend a plea deal for Nelson that would include the legendary country artist singing his 1975 hit "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" in court and that would serve as his community service.
He also said that he would ask for Nelson to pay a $100 fine and court costs. Personally, I got to tell you, as cliche as it sounds, Carol, sometimes you can't make this stuff up.
COSTELLO: I know.
HAMMER: I'm sure that'll be the case with this story.
COSTELLO: OK. Another crazy story, for you, A.J. we talked about Charlie Sheen a lot. So I wanted to get your take on this next story. Sheen put out an all call for a "winning intern with tiger blood." He wants to hire an intern. 82,000 people applied for the job. Team Sheen whittled the list down to 50 candidates. And in the last hour, I spoke to one of those 50 candidates. She said despite Sheen's troubled past with women and his recent bizarre behavior, she is eager to work for him.
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LYNDSET VANSTONE, SHEEN TIGERBLOOD INTERN FINALIST: It is a concern, but I think that really honestly, he's just gone through some really tough times. I think it's all just like a Joaquin Phoenix situation. He's just kind of putting this on and every one is going to be really surprised. I think my position as a social media intern would be part of his comeback.
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COSTELLO: OK. The interesting part that was left out of that is, first of all, he just went through a hard time, and the second thing is, as I asked her if she wanted to be an intern for Chris Brown who had similar problems with women in his past. And she said she would not be an intern for Chris Brown because she thinks he really is crazy but Charlie Sheen, it's just an act. I mean, what's your take on this thing?
HAMMER: You know, here's the thing. I certainly understand why she wouldn't want to jump on board Chris Brown's train right now. Charlie Sheen is on a rocket ship. Whether or not you like what he's up to, you know, he is off into the stratosphere and he is making things happen and a lot of people are paying attention. I think you know, probably the majority of the 80,000 people who applied for this internship are looking for their 15 minutes of fame and he's a better vehicle for that than anybody right now, probably. COSTELLO: Well, maybe they won't have much interaction with them. It will help them get their name out there, you know, develop their brand and all that kind of stuff.
A.J. Hammer, many thanks. Want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. has got it tonight on "Showbiz Tonight" at 5:00 p.m. Eastern and 11:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.
If you have got a new or almost new Volkswagen Jetta, you might want to think twice before you honk the horn. Do that and your sweet little sedan may stall. That's why there's a big recall underway.
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COSTELLO: There are chilling new accounts of violence in Misrata. A witness there telling CNN that Moammar Gadhafi's troops are forcing thousands of residents from their home using heavy artillery to unleash utter carnage. As the fighting rages in Libya, diplomats are meeting in London. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is meeting with representatives from 40 other countries and regional groups, and together they share this one goal. Here's what she had to say about that in the last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: All of us have to continue the pressure on and deepen the isolation of the Gadhafi regime. This includes a unified front of political and diplomatic pressure that makes clear to Gadhafi he must go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: President Obama says ignoring Gadhafi's threats of slaughtering civilians would have betrayed our values as Americans. Basically, he says, we have a moral as well as strategic interest in taking action.
So, let's find out with Dana Loesh and Cornell Belcher thought about this speech. Dana is a conservative radio host and leader in the Tea Party movement, and Cornell Belcher was a pollster for Senator Obama during the 2008 campaign.
So, Dana, let's start with you. What did you think of this talk? Because President Obama was giving more than a speech. He was sort of laying out his doctrine, an Obama doctrine. What did you take from that?
DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I had really high hopes for this speech. I was looking for answers from my president in this speech. And what I heard was no answers. I didn't hear anything about a time line. I didn't hear anything as to who these rebels that we are helping, that we are helping to - essentially, we picked a side that we're propping up against Gadhafi, who these individuals are.
And the closest thing to the timeline I think was the president said is, quote, "It's not going to be an overnight mission." So, that's the closest thing we got.
I don't think we have any answers. In fact, I think after the speech, Americans are walking away a little bit more confused than before. I was hoping to hear a little more about this shared responsibility, because we can talk about NATO taking over operations, but we all know the United States really makes NATO. So, I was actually more confused after the speech than I was previously.
COSTELLO: Cornell, did you have the same takeaway?
CORNELL BELCHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No. I have to chuckle a little bit. Because on one side the conservatives are criticizing the president for having a timeline. Now, he's being criticized for not having a timeline -
LOESCH: This is a time to have one, I tell you.
BELCHER: So, I think there's a little double standard.
But no, I think the president laid out a vision last night. I mean, he said we are succeeding there. He let out a vision that sort of says practical middle of the ground.
Look, there are no clear black and whites here. You have to take each case, case by case and find the middle ground here. We went there to hold the peace there, so that what's happening there doesn't spill over in Tunisia and spill over into Egypt. That was sort of the critical importance. Also at the same time, stop the massacre that was going on there. And call on the European Union. You guys have responsibility in this as well. And America can't take all the responsibility. So, that was important.
COSTELLO: That was important, and I just want to get into something you said that President Obama was getting into gray areas, because I talked about this Obama doctrine. And this is what it seems to be. "The United States can have a moral responsibility to intervene abroad when our safety is not directly threatened but our interests and values are."
Now, if you compare that to President Bush's doctrine, the Bush Doctrine - and this is the Bush Doctrine: "to forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively in exercising our inherent right to self-defense."
So, President Bush's doctrine was sort of black and white. President Obama's doctrine is sort of in the gray areas. I think that, Cornell, many Americans are confused by gray areas.
BELCHER: Well, here's the problem with the Bush Doctrine. How many trillions of dollars and how many American lives later in the Middle East? What the Obama doctrine is calling on greater responsibility. We have to build coalitions to do this.
Look, we can't police the world. The E.U. and the Arab community are there with us in the Middle East. That's the Obama doctrine, to pull coalitions together so they can take on greater responsibility. We cannot police the world alone.
COSTELLO: Dana, would you agree --
LOESCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: Like the Bush Doctrine -- gray area --
LOESCH: Yes, I was going to say, Cornell mentioned double standards. Well, I have two things. One thing that I thought my colleague said was very interesting yesterday. When we were talking about those interests that we have to protect, one of the things that Cornell mentioned was oil. Now, I'm not going to say, isn't that what all the anti-war folks said during Iraq. But I have heard the case made over and over again we have to protect oil interests. We have to help France protect oil interests. That to me seems a little bit more of a double standard.
When we talk about coalition building, we have fewer nations going into this military mission with us than we have had in military missions in the past 15 years. Count how many countries that went with us into Iraq. Count how many countries went with us into Afghanistan.
COSTELLO: They are stronger allies, though, Dana, aren't they? I mean, they are our strongest allies.
LOESCH: I don't know if I would make that case because see, the last time --
COSTELLO: Britain, France?
LOESCH: -- the quantity, not the quality. Britain and France were also with us in Afghanistan too, but at the same time, we heard criticisms from the other side saying this is was a unilateral effort.
COSTELLO: But in a very limited role. In this, the French - like, they started the air strikes, even though we're using most of the fire power, and I understand that.
BELCHER: I think, Dana, you can't compare sort of what we're doing now with France and the European Union sort of leading this effort. And by the way, it's important to understand that Turkey and Qatar are also there, leading this effort. I mean, we couldn't go in there without this coalition.
LOESCH: Right. But wasn't a huge criticism of the past that there wasn't a big enough coalition? I'm just making the remark if you're going to call out double standards, we need to address the double standard.
(CROSSTALK)
BELCHER: Dana, I don't think it's fair to say that there was a coalition in Iraq. I just don't think that's fair.
COSTELLO: OK, we have to end it there. We could talk about this forever. Thanks to both of you. We appreciate it.
LOESCH: Thank you.
BELCHER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: We do want to move on to Syria, where this morning, we learned the government, but not president Bashar Assad, has resigned. President Assad is set to address his nation tomorrow. Hopefully he'll explain.
I'm joined now by Rima Maktabi, CNN International anchor and correspondent for the Middle East. So, Rima, explain this to us. So, President Assad has not stepped down, but the rest of the government does. What does he hope to achieve by this?
RIMA MAKTABI, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It would have been great or big news if the president had stepped down. But today, it's the government that has resigned. This government has been in place for the past eight years.
A lot of expectations of this new government. It has not been decided yet who will lead the new government in Syria. And the system says it's the president himself who chooses the prime minister, and then the prime minister chooses the members of the cabinet.
However, as we know in these governments and countries in the Middle East, governments don't play a major role, the biggest power is to the president.
COSTELLO: To the president. So, this is not likely to satisfy the opposition?
MAKTABI: It may not satisfy the opposition, because the issue in Syria is not about a government. It's about social, political, economic reforms. The opposition is planning major demonstrations on Friday, like the ones happened last Friday, which resulted in nearly 37 deaths officially. This is the official number. The opposition wants much more than this, freedoms most importantly.
COSTELLO: We've heard that song before sadly. Thank you so much, Rima. We appreciate it.
The IRS would like to have a word with some of the millionaires out there. More on how the agency is bumping up its audits, next.
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COSTELLO: There was a voluntary recall of VW Jettas produced between March of last year and this month. That's 71,000 cars. The carmakers says there could be a problem with the wiring layout and honking the horn could actually cause the engine to shut down completely. VW says that have been no accidents involving this potential problems. A fix will take about one hour, so call your dealer. Michigan's governor has some good news for his state's unemployed workers thanks to a law he signed yesrterday. Federal jobless benefits will keep on coming this year.
Next year, we'll talk about that. In fact, there will be a pretty significant cut in state unemployment in Michigan in 2012. Stephanie Elam has the lowdown for us. So, what exactly is happening in Michigan?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is one of those rosy moments, Carol. It's like, look, everyone is going to continue to get benefits this year. And then, also, next year, by the way, you're going to get less weeks. That's kind of how this one went down.
Yesterday, Governor Rick Snyder did sign into law saying unemployment benefits for next year are going to be decreased by six weeks. Now, all the states in the union, they actually do 26 weeks. So, this is taking it down to 20 weeks.
Some people have a problem with this, considering how badly Michigan got slapped in the recession. Right now, the unemployment rate -- latest number from February, 10.4 percent. They've been above 10 percent longer than any state in the union. But now they're going to have the least amount of weeks of benefits.
So, obviously, some people upset about this. But the state saying you know what? We're not going to qualify for federal programs anymore with states with high unemployment. Once that happens on April 1st, we have to start getting this money back to the federal government that we borrowed. While at the other side, there are a lot of opponents who say this is just the worst time as people are trying to get back on their feet, Carol.
COSTELLO: Gotcha. So, let's head from the unemployed to the other end of the financial spectrum. Millionaires, I guess they better watch their backs.
ELAM: The IRS is taking names, apparently. But yes, last year, according to the IRS, they actually audited more people making $10 million or more. The audits rose 73 percent last year. That means 18 percent of taxpayers in the highest tax bracket were audited.
And take a look at this. Who's getting audited? Twelve percent of those making over $5 million, six percent over $1 million and three percent over $500,000.
What that tells us is overall, more people are getting audited. And they're actually trying to combat that whole idea that the IRS lets the rich get away with whatever they want. Also, there's that perception that the rich people just have means to go and find loopholes to hire all these talented people to do that. Well, they're saying you know what? We're targets them also, Carol.
The other offshoot of that, there's more money to be made. If you find mistakes, then the IRS can get money, and they can definitely do with cash. So, that's how things are different.
But keep in mind, Carol, while everyone is getting audited more, just over one percent of people last year were actually audited. So, it's not everybody, but more people getting hit with the goggles.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: So, the millionaires shouldn't be too scared. Stephanie Elam live from New York. Thank you.
ELAM: Sure.
COSTELLO: Speaking of millionaires, Prince William and his bride Kate Middleton marry in exactly one month at Westminster Abbey. To London now. We visit with the king of royal wedding news and speculation, Mark Saunders. Hello, Mark!
MARK SAUNDERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol! How are you?
COSTELLO: So, the last time we chatted, Prince William was about to be whisked away for a bachelor party, hosted by his brother, Harry. And we were all hoping there weren't strippers. I guess there weren't because we didn't hear anything. And Harry is headed north.
SAUNDERS: I'm pleased to say apparently - a palace spokesman told me that both did survive the weekend. They had a wonderful time. But this week is a little more serious and challenging for Harry. He's actually going to accompany a group of wounded British military service men as they attempt to hike unaided to the North Pole.
Now, this is a project that is very close to Harry's heart. Not only is he patron of the Walking with the Wounded charity, but he also served with some distinction on the front line in Afghanistan a couple years ago. Lost comrades and saw friends lose limbs.
Many commentators are saying this project is a sign of Harry's growing maturity. I agree with that. I also think it's a sign of his growing independence. Because with this wedding, Harry is beginning to ask the question, what exactly is my role? This is going to take about five weeks, this expedition. Harry is only taking part in three weeks of that because obviously, he has to be back in London on April the 29th.
COSTELLO: Absolutely. Mark Saunders, many thanks, we appreciate it.
SAUNDERS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: The clock is ticking towards a possible government shutdown. That's because Republicans and Democrats are divided over a budget plan. You knew that. A new polls show Americans actually are divided, too. Our political ticker is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: There wasn't anything funny about the president's speech last night, but Conan O'Brien managed to find some humor in it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "CONAN": President Obama gave a nationally televised speech about Libya. The speech was entitled, "No, I wasn't born there."
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, I love that. But we have to get serious again.
We're just days away from another possible government shutdown if Congress does not reach a compromise on a budget bill. Boy, have you heard that song before. CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is following that story.
Why can't they come to some sort of compromise? They've what? Voted themselves several delays.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, we've had two just in the last month-and-a-half. But Carol, the clock is ticking. In fact, if there's no agreement by next Friday, that's when funding for the government runs out. We could have a government shutdown of some offices and services.
As you know, lawmakers are right back here in Washington this week. And of course, tops on their agenda is trying to figure it out, come to an agreement. Btu Democrats and Republicans, as you said, they are far, far apart. Dana Bash and the rest of our congressional team is following their every move.
But Carol, what do Americans think? Check this out. This is from CNN/Opinion Research Corporation. Our poll, and look at that! As you said, Americans are divided on who's got the better approach to the budget. You can see right there, 46 percent say they prefer the president and Democrats in Congress; 45 percent say the Republicans.
Carol, again, the clock is ticking. April 8th is just a week-and-a-half away.
COSTELLO: Okay. We'll see if they can manage to reach a compromise. Ha ha ha.
I shouldn't be so cynical. They will. Let's be positive.
So, let's move on. I understand, Paul, President Obama is playing the role of fundraiser in chief tonight.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, he's in New York City and he caps off his visit there with two events, Democratic party events tonight. One is a fundraiser and one is to thank supporters. And you remember, Carol, this all comes when we're getting very close to the president kick starting or jumpstarting his re-election campaign for 2012. He's done now, count them, six Democratic party events this month.
And I confirmed yesterday that when he does start it up, the re-election campaign will be headquartered in a downtown Chicago office tower right there on Grant Park. So, Carol, you know, other events have been overshadowing politics, but the race for the White House is definitely heating up. Carol.
COSTELLO: Paul Steinhauser, many thanks.
We'll have your next political update in one hour. And a reminder for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNN.com/politics.
You can use them to quit smoking. For birth control. Even pain meds. But a new patch being tested could help with a life and death condition. Your Daily Dose is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Even if you and your family don't have problems with peanuts, you might have to deal with somebody else's allergy. We're talking restrictions in the classroom, on airplanes, even in stadiums.
Well, there might be a treatment coming along that will make everybody feel a lot better. Here's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. This is interesting, a peanut patch.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A peanut patch! They usually think of a patch for people who are trying to quit smoking, right?
COSTELLO: Yes, like a nicotine patch.
COHEN: Yes, exactly. So, this is a peanut patch. And the folks at National (INAUIBLE) Health in Denver came up with the idea. They're testing it out on kids that have peanut allergies. They wear a patch for a day or two. And they're testing it now - you see it, it's little. It's like five-and-a-quarter. And they're testing it now to see if it's safe and if it works.
COSTELLO: So, if you put this patch on kids, they can actually eat peanut butter, peanuts, and they're fine? It's a shield?
COHEN: Well, right - a peanut shield! That's the theory. That's what they're hoping. And there's reason for hope because they tried doing this, not with the patch but putting the same medicine, putting the same substance just in a kid's mouth. And what it is is they give them teeny, teeny, tiny bits of peanut protein.
So, for example, they did this at Duke. They gave kids who were horribly allergic to peanuts one-onethousandth of a peanut just in their mouth instead of in a patch, and all 29 of them got better. COSTELLO: Wow!
COHEN: And five of them could eat peanut butter as much as they wanted to.
COSTELLO: That's just - which brings up the question. I know a lot of kids are allergic to peanuts and peanut products. Do you grow out of that type of thing?
COHEN: Some kids do. Some kids do. But some kids don't. And it's very scary. I know my kids' school, there are big signs plastered all over certain classrooms, a child here has a peanut allergy. I mean, imagine. It's just terrifying to know that one mess-up, your kid could be in big trouble.
COSTELLO: I know, exactly! So, what should parents do? They shouldn't really try the one-tenth of a peanut --
COHEN: No, no, one-onethousandth of a peanut. I'm trying to think how you'd even scrape that off. You do not want to try this at home. Giving this the hair of the dog, the big view kind of thing is something that is, first of all, it's experimental and second of all is really only done in a doctor's office. They don't give them peanuts. They give them part of the protein.
So, you don't want to do that. I mean, that would be a terrible idea.
COSTELLO: What can you do? Just say don't eat peanuts or peanut products and trust your kid to do that?
COHEN: You know, it depends on how allergic your child is. If your child is not that allergic, it's a lot easier. And you definitely want to carry around antihistamines in case by accident, your child does ingest some peanut, which can happen because it's kind of in a lot of different things. If your child is very allergic, you have to carry an EPI pen around just in case. And these moms and dads, I mean, they read the labels.
COSTELLO: All the time?
COHEN: They're vigilant, because peanut and peanut oil is just in so many different things.
COSTELLO: Well, let's hope that peanut patch works. And becomes widely available.
COHEN: It's certainly easier than giving a kid a shot or putting something in their mouth. If they can just wear that, kind of nice.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Elizabeth!
COHEN: Thanks.
COSTELLO: He responded to his country's need in the wake of a terror attack. And now, a retired New York firefighter who responded on 9/11 is helping Japan deal with its own disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not an option. It's not like well should I go or shouldn't I go? It's like, I'm going and how am I going to do it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Wow. Find out how he did it in the next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Looking at stories making news later today. Senator Harry Reid is joined by two other senators for a news conference on Social Security. Reid is speaking out against any attempts to privatize or do away with Social Security entirely.
President Obama is heading to the Big Apple. He'll dedicate the new building - the new building housing -- the new building, I should say, housing the U.S. mission to the United Nations. The Ronald H. Brown building is named for the commerce secretary. He was commerce secretary during President's Clinton's first term in office.
And the six-member crew of the shuttle Endeavour arrives at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida tonight. Endeavour set to lift off April 19 for its final two-week mission to the international space station.
Now it's time for NEWSROOM to continue with Suzanne Malveaux. And I'll be over there in about ten minutes to talk about the Obama doctrine.
SUZANNE MALVEUAX, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, I can't wait!
COSTELLO: It's going to be fun.
MALVEUAX: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
