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Cutting $38 Billion from the Budget; Aftershocks Rock Japan; 2012 Presidential Elections Starts Early?; Solving Airline Passenger Gripes; Airlines Seek More Cash For "Extras"; Woman Boarded Plane With Outdated Boarding Pass in Man's Name; Granny Fined $200 For Serving Coffee in Garage; Hockey Team Gets Boy New Home; France Burqa Ban Takes Effect; Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo Arrested; Peanut Allergy Protest; Charl Schwartzel Takes the Green Jacket

Aired April 11, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning, Kiran and have a great day. Thank you.

It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast; 6:00 a.m. on the West.

I'm Carol Costello sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

A 6.6 magnitude earthquake rattled northeastern Japan today and triggered several landslides. It has been a month since the earthquake and tsunami struck.

Gas prices across the United States have jumped nearly 20 cents over the past two weeks and now they're approaching the all-time high.

And South African Charl Schwartzel -- I apologize -- is wearing the famed green jacket, his this year's Masters champion. He finished 14 under par.

It took more than $38 billion in spending cuts to keep the government open this morning, but what exactly gets sliced out of the 2011 budget? Some lawmakers are still trying to figure that out, believe it or not. They are searching through thousands of line items to see what deals they can make.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: You may not be surprised to hear this, but they're still sifting through the areas we're going to make cuts. It's -- you can't find anybody today actually who knows exactly what cuts we're proposing until probably the end of the day today, maybe early next week.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Here's what we do know. About $13 billion will come out of the Departments of Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services. Another $8 billion from the State Department and foreign aid. Housing assistance and some health care programs would also get cut. OK, that's it for the 2011 budget so far. As for 2012, how House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan wants big changes for Medicare and Medicaid.

Kate Bolduan is at the White House.

So, Kate, the president also has come out and is saying that for the 2012 budget, he wants to, like, sort of make cuts to entitlement programs like Medicare. What more do we know?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're expecting to learn a lot more on Wednesday, when we're now learning that the president is expected to make a speech, kind of talking about his big plan for tackling the nation's ever-growing deficits and debt.

And part of that conversation, we're learning and told -- and taking on Medicare and Medicaid. The major drivers of the nation's debt. And the White House senior adviser David Plouffe, he made the rounds on the Sunday talk shows really talking about this.

And you notice the way they talk about is in terms of savings in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and saying, well, Social Security, they don't believe is one of the major drivers driving up the numbers at the moment. They want to make that part of the conversation as well.

Listen here to a little bit of David Plouffe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PLOUFFE, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER: We clearly have to do more. So you're going to have to look at savings you might be able to get in Medicare and Medicaid in the long-term.

He said Social Security is not a contributor to the short-term deficit problem. But in the process of talking about our fiscal situation and our government, we ought to look if there's a way to strengthen Social Security for the long-term that doesn't endanger anybody, you know, who's a current beneficiary, doesn't slash benefits. So he'll look at that.

Defense spending, domestic spending. Revenues are going to have to be part of this.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: One thing we don't hear from David Plouffe there and we don't know quite yet are the details of what the president really is proposing in terms of taking on entitlement programs.

And it's not clear quite yet, Carol, come Wednesday in terms of the speech, if the president is going to be very specific and give kind of really more detail about what he wants or if he's going to be speaking more broadly in terms of principles or goals that he's looking for in working with Congress to take on the nation's debt.

Looking for more detail on that, of course.

COSTELLO: Yes. It's interesting he's bringing Medicare up at all, because there's a huge -- there's a possible huge political liability here because these programs have die-hard public support.

Are voters willing to at least think about changes to the Medicare and Medicaid systems?

BOLDUAN: A very important question -- in any year -- but especially in an election year that we're entering. It's going to be a big fight and it comes with a little bit of political risk on both sides, I would say.

I was just looking up some numbers, actually, from one of our latest CNN polls, and it was very interesting, I think very telling in the debate ahead, Carol, while most Americans agree that taking on death and taking on the deficit is very important, we have to get it under control, if you ask people if they are OK with, if they would accept cuts or cuts to programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, the vast majority, between 75 and 87 percent say no.

So it's going to be very hard in taking this on, on both sides of the aisle. Some people want it eliminated altogether, if you're talking about one side of the political spectrum. Others say, absolutely not. This is what I've worked for my entire life in terms of assistance when you're a senior. So it's going to be a big fight.

COSTELLO: That's right, I paid into those programs, I want my share.

Kate Bolduan, it'll be an interesting debate, thanks so much.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: So we dodged a government shutdown, but another government showdown is upon us. This one is about a $14 trillion and change problem, the national debt. Later this hour, we'll show you just how big a problem and how big the battle is ahead.

Now let's turn to Libya. After weeks of fighting and hundreds of deaths, it looks like there could be a cease-fire taking shape. Mediators from the African Union say Moammar Gadhafi has agreed to stop all hostilities and allow international peacekeepers to monitor a truce.

There is no mention of Gadhafi stepping down, though. The announcement comes as UNICEF releases a grim measure of the toll. It says at least 20 children have been killed in the city of Misrata and at least one victim was less than a year old.

And rebel forces appear to have recaptured the city of Ajdabiya. The opposition has benefitted from more aggressive NATO airstrikes over the last several days.

So let's get to the latest now in Libya. CNN's Reza Sayah is in Benghazi where mediators are meeting with opposition leaders. Reza joins us by phone.

Should we read much into this, Reza?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via phone): I would be very surprised, Carol, if in the coming hours or some time today there's -- there have been a few -- it's very unlikely that we would have any kind of deal on a cease-fire or any kind of peace deal -- opposition leaders are meeting with --

COSTELLO: Yes, we're going to have to jump away from this.

Sorry about that, Reza, we had a bad connection.

But as you heard him, maybe we shouldn't read so much into this supposed truce that the African Union has worked out with Moammar Gadhafi.

Let's turn our attention now to Japan. One month to the day after Japan was rocked by that powerful earthquake and tsunami, several more aftershocks today. The most powerful, 6.6 magnitude.

It hit the already heavily damaged northeast coast, causing casualties, starting several fires, and actually causing a landslide in one city. Tokyo Electric says it knocked power out for nearly a quarter million customers.

Earlier today, Japan paused for a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. their time. The exact minute the 9.1 magnitude quake struck on March 11th.

The government is now recommending evacuations for several towns beyond the current 12.5 mile area from that damaged nuclear plant. And the latest toll, more than 27,000 dead or missing.

Rob Marciano now joins me from our Severe Weather Center.

And Rob, Japan has had literally hundreds of aftershocks in the last -- oh, in the last month, it's crazy. But this one seems to have caused some damage. You know, that landslide, it caused power outages, so it's 6.6 magnitude. So how is that different from last week's aftershock?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, one of the reasons it caused a lot of damages is this one was the epicenter was actually inland as opposed to being offshore. So that -- that was a huge difference as far as aftershocks are concerned.

Let's talk about that. I mean, as Carol mentioned, there's been hundreds. There's been almost 400 of 5.0 or greater. And this all has to do with the size of the initial shock itself.

Now what I'm about to show you isn't a forecast, but it's basically a statistical makeover that these experts have learned over the years. When you get a certain magnitude quake, initial quake, you'll get a certain magnitude aftershocks over a period of time. So if you have -- with a 9.0 quake like we had last month, you'll get one aftershock that's about 8.0. About.

Now we've already had a 7.9, so hopefully that's the only one we're going to see. Aftershocks of 7.0 or greater, we'll likely see about 10. Now, we've seen three, four, depending on which agency you believe, but basically what that tells us is that over the next six months or so, we may see another handful of quakes that are about 7 or greater.

So that's certainly the scary thing. And about 5 or greater, about 1,000. So we're still going to see this frequency -- we'll see the frequencies taper off, but we'll see -- we'll start to see both the frequency and magnitude taper off really as we go through time.

But it will still be a total of six months to a year before we see a substantial tapering off of what's going on.

And just a reminder of the latest aftershocks, Carol, last week we had a -- we had a 7.1 as well. So that one was just offshore and that certainly put a scare on them as far as a tsunami is concerned. But we're -- basically we're going to see these for some time to come.

We've moved the earth so much that the stresses are still there, it's still settling. It's kind of like moving a big house, it's got to settle and it's going to take some months to do that.

COSTELLO: Those poor people in Japan. Thank you, Rob.

A conservative group is getting a head start in 2012. Attack ads with the new commercial targeting the president.

CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is here with the rest of that story. So I guess it's starting already.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I guess it's never too early. Wait, it's April 2011, right? The election is a year and a half away. But Carol, it never is too early.

OK, the name of the group, the Campaign to Defeat Barack Obama. What's their mission? Well, their name pretty much sums it up. They went out with an ad, they say, in Nevada. The ad is called Barack Obama's Legacy of Failure. So you can imagine what the message is right there.

They also say besides Nevada, they're going to go up in some other key battleground states, Carol. This is a -- this group was put together by the same people, the same political action committee that also started up the Tea Party Express, which is one of those major national Tea Party groups.

Carol, listen, I think you're going to see a lot more of this from other conservative groups on the right, and that's probably one reason why Barack Obama's reelection campaign says they're going to raise $1 billion, because even though it's a long way away, he needs to get on the air as well, I guess, to defend himself against these kind of ads. So it's definitely heating up. Talking about heating up, Donald Trump on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley yesterday, once again, questioning whether Barack Obama, whether the president was born in the United States. Once again, asking for a birth certificate to be revealed.

Remember, of course, back in the 2008 campaign when this first came up, the president's team at the time released a copy of the certificate of birth from the president from Hawaii.

Carol, of course, Donald Trump, the real estate mogul and, you know, reality TV star, he says he will decide by June if he is going to run for the Republican presidential nomination.

COSTELLO: And I heard Sarah Palin has jumped on the bandwagon with the birther issue. My question is, why are these potential Republican candidates centering on this particular issue? What does it get them?

STEINHAUSER: Well, for Trump, and Trump has really been doing this for about a month now, or a little over, it gets him a lot of attention, obviously, and I guess among some Republicans, there is a percentage who truly do question, question whether the president was born in the U.S.

And you mentioned Palin. Over the weekend, Palin, she applauded Trump, obviously. She says, I appreciate the Donald for what he is doing, but she also said she thinks the president was born in Hawaii.

And talking about the president and one of his top advisers, David Plouffe, one of the senior advisers at the White House, talking about Donald Trump, he said there is zero chance that Donald Trump will ever be hired by the American people to do this job. So they're talking --

COSTELLO: Well, it's not resonating with independent voters and don't you need independent voters to, like, win?

STEINHAUSER: Win the general election, yes? Win the Republican primary, no. So there is a difference.

COSTELLO: Yes. I guess so. It seems like there's so many issues they could be centering on, but I guess not.

Paul Steinhauser, many thanks.

STEINHAUSER: Yes.

COSTELLO: We'll have your next political update in one hour. And a reminder, for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.

In the next 10 years, the number of people flying will jump from 700 million to one billion. And as airlines cut back on freebies, they want even more of your money. How they think they're going to get it, next. And at one school in Florida, a 6-year-old girl has a life- threatening peanut allergy, to protect -- to protect her. And to protect her the girl's classmates must wash their hands, rinse out their mouths, before they go into the classroom.

Angry parents have been protesting. In a few minutes, we'll hear from the girl's father.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Within 10 years, we will have a billion passengers sharing our skies. And like most of us, you likely will have a bunch of gripes about flying.

For the next three days, we're going to talk about solutions. We call our series, "Fix My Flight."

In recent years, many flyers feel they've been paying more while getting less, free checked bags, free dinners, gone.

Now Brooke Baldwin takes a look at how even more airlines want more money to fly our your wallets with so-called premium services.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Your beef, medium, your hot dogs, medium. Watch the jokes.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There was a time when the customer was king, like in this 1982 United Airlines ad.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Champagne!

ANNOUNCER: Number three, all aboard, please. This will be the final call.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Today, passengers are getting used to be nickeled and dimed for services that used to be included in the ticket price.

CHRIS BABB, SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER, DELTA: And so, the touch of a button, transforms into a fully flat bed.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Chris Babb is a Delta product manager whose group is investing $2 billion in restoring some of that lost glamour to flying.

BABB: And that's throughout across flat bed seats, sky clubs, our lounges, Economy Comfort, which is our new section in economy, improved dining experience. Improved airport facilities at JFK and here in Atlanta. So it's really spread out across and entire customer experience.

BALDWIN (voice-over): This month, both Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific and Dutch carrier KLM are introducing their own revamped business class cabins, complete with convertible sleeper seats. United Airlines, the first major US carrier to offer flat beds, is planning to upgrade the rest of its international fleet as well. Ryan McKelvey is president of Ballard Designs, a home catalog company whose employees travel extensively to manufacturers in Europe, Asia, and South America. When business turned sour just a couple of years ago because of the recession --

RYAN MCKELVEY, PRESIDENT, BALLARD DESIGNS: One of the first things we did was pull back and eliminate business class travel.

BALDWIN (voice-over): Similar to United's Economy Plus, this summer, Delta's rolling out a new fare class called Economy Comfort, offering four inches of extra legroom and 50 percent more recline. Ranging from $80 to $160 per segment, it's designed to appeal to cost- conscious companies like Ballard.

MCKELVEY: The difference between $320 between the coach and that class of travel would be a huge fraction of what the difference is between a current business class and coach ticket, a tenth of the difference.

BALDWIN (voice-over): While it may be that customer service may once again be on the rise, it appears that price still reigns supreme.

MCKELVEY: It sounds wonderful, but, again, it would always come down to, what is the cost associated with it?

BALDWIN (voice-over): Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: A search for a missing woman leads to the grisly discovery of eight bodies. Now police are on the hunt for a possible serial killer. In just a couple of minutes, we'll check in with an expert in criminal profiling.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking stories making news Cross Country. In Tennessee, a woman at the Memphis airport was able to get past a security checkpoint with a month-old boarding pass in a man's name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHLEEN BEARD, PASSENGER: The date was wrong, the name was wrong, and the flight time was wrong. Why do we have security? If you can get through with something like that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: An AirTran employee caught the mistake and the woman was told to leave the plane.

In California, a 70-year-old woman who enjoys opening her garage as a community center for her friends and family is being fined.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARYLIN WEBER, FINED FOR SERVING FRIENDS COFFEE IN GARAGE: I like in the morning if they call me, they say, "Oh, 6:30, I'm going to work, have coffee ready." I open the garage door, they come over and have their coffee, then they go to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Someone snapped a photo of the woman in her garage and then sent it to the homeowner's association. They said she's using her garage as a living space. She is now refusing to pay the fine.

In North Carolina, 11-year-old Zach Bennett and his family got a gift from the Charlotte Checkers, keys to their brand-new home. Zach, who is a huge Checkers fan, has a rare medical condition. His new house keeps him close to his doctors and his favorite team.

Turning our attention overseas now, France's controversial law banning burqas and other Islamic face coverings goes into effect today. Women caught wearing certain Islamic veils outdoors now face a $190 fine.

Here's how it breaks down. The hijab and the chador, seen here on the left, do not cover the face and are not banned by the law. But the niqab on the right is banned. It covers the face and leaves only an opening for the eyes. The burqa also banned. It's worn over a woman's body and includes a mesh covering over the face.

Zain Verjee joins us now from London. Zain, France is home to an estimated 5 million Muslims, but the law passed with wide public support. Why is France doing this?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What they're saying, Carol, is this is about national values. They say the French constitution talks about equality of the sexes, and wearing the niqab or the burqa just doesn't cut it.

So, they're enforcing it today. They're saying if it's not complied with, people are going to pay up to $200 in a fine. There's also jail term penalties, or people could just be taken off to classes and be taught French values and why it's important not to wear this kind of a covering.

The important thing to remember, here, is that France considers itself a very, very secular country. They're a little bit uncomfortable with religion that's out in public space, that's really in your face. So this is also kind of underscores that mentality.

COSTELLO: So how is France going to enforce it? Are they going to send out the burqa police?

VERJEE: Well, yes. In France, there are only about 2,000 or so, according to one report that I read, women who have this kind of a covering. So some of them are saying, "We're going to go and do it anyway." But, yes, basically, they're going to be out there patrolling it, and they'll want to enforce it. There's a lot of tension over this, as you can imagine. A lot of Muslims are saying, "Hang on, what happened to freedom of expression and freedom of religion?" They want to be able to wear this.

There are a lot of others, too, in France, Carol, that say that the state shouldn't legislate religion like this, and what they could have done was to persuade and educate Muslims in France why not to do this.

There are a billion Muslims in the world, and they all interpret the verses of the Koran and covering differently. So, there's a lot of debate within the Muslim world whether this is even really a necessary thing in Islam, to completely cover.

COSTELLO: We'll see what happens. Zain Verjee live in London, thanks.

Archaeologists in the Czech Republic say she have unearthed the remains of what could be the world's oldest known gay caveman. As you might imagine, the report has created quite a stir, and there are a lot of people trying to shoot the theory down.

The finding is based on the way the prehistoric remains were discovered. The male skeleton was found buried on his left side with his head facing east and surrounded by household jugs. This is how women were buried during that time. Men from the period were buried on their right sides facing west and surrounded by weapons and knives.

So, I want to bring back Zain, because this is -- how could you really tell? Maybe it was an accident or -- how can you really tell?

VERJEE: Well -- it's really interesting. I mean, it is an important and potentially revealing archaeological discovery. What it does show is that like in 2,800 BC that there were alternative lifestyles that were considered at the time by people of that culture as being completely normal, right?

The other thing that I think about, Carol, too, is that there are paleoanthropologists, bone experts, and archaeologists are looking at this and they're saying, hang on a minute everyone. Just by looking at a skeleton, you can't tell that it's gay.

And the one thing that is important for us to think about just to see what they eventually conclude from it is that maybe this skeleton or this man that was discovered was playing more female gender roles and actually not gay. That's what they're saying. That that's what the culture could have been like. But they're saying that this grave was transsexual and a third gender grave. So, it's up for a lot of discussion.

COSTELLO: And the discussion, I'm sure, will remain continue and probably be quite heated. Zain Verjee, thanks again.

VERJEE: Yes.

COSTELLO: A series of chilling discoveries on New York's Long Island. A woman goes missing, the bodies of eight murder victims are found, and now the search turns to a possible serial killer -- who could be law enforcement? We'll have more on that, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Ooh, a bit of breaking news to tell you. French special forces have reportedly detained Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo, the self-described president, and they handed him over to leaders of the rebel opposition. We want to bring back in Zain Verjee because she's well-versed in all things Africa. Zain, tell us what this means.

VERJEE: This is a really dramatic development. This is a very big deal, Carol. Laurent Gbagbo was holding the country hostage. He had refused to leave and admit that he had lost an election back in November.

So, what happened is, the country has deteriorated into civil war. The world said, "You lost, get out." They tried to have negotiations, he used the negotiations kind of like a trick to regroup and get his military forces repositioned.

The real winner that the world backs, Alassane Ouattara's forces, had gone in there inside the presidential palace to try to get him out, and there was a stalemate. So, this is a very significant development, because it means that Laurent Gbagbo, if arrested, will probably be tried in Ivory Coast. There was a lot of discussion as to whether he would go into exile, but this is a very significant development. Abidjan, which is where this has happened, has been totally racked by violence over the past few days. About 500 people have been killed. A million people have been internally displaced. And people have gone across the border to places like Liberia to just get out because one man has held the country hostage. Now he's been arrested by the French.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Zain Verjee, again, thanks.

The seemingly never-ending ascent in gas prices continues. A new survey shows the damage and one analyst says we're within firing range of an all-time high. Felicia Taylor at the New York Stock Exchange. And Felicia, doesn't look like we'll ever get a break on gas prices.

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: No, I'm afraid not, Carol. Gas prices will probably keep going higher, because frankly, so is oil. Oil topped $113 a barrel today, and the national average for regular gas, according to the AAA, is now at $3.77 a gallon. That has been going higher for the last 20 straight days. And it doesn't seem to be abating anyway.

We're getting very close to what was the record high of $4.11 that we saw back in 2008. There are already some states that are experiencing this, such as Alaska, California, Hawaii, and selected stations in other states as well.

So, you know, gas prices don't really reflect all of the oil hikes we've seen so far, and some people are basically saying we're going to see another ten-cent rise, even if oil prices did stabilize. So, frankly, for those of us looking at the summer travel season, it looks like gas is just going to get more expensive.

COSTELLO: So, is this having any effect on Wall Street?

TAYLOR: Well, it will in the sense of earnings, because that's going to be the big focus for the next few weeks, and it kicks of today, primarily with Alcoa, which is the first one to start reporting for first-quarter earnings season. That'll happen, though, after the closing bell.

Right now, the stock market is up, though, fairly strongly. It's up about a fifth of on percent on the Dow and about a half of one percent on the NASDAQ. Overall, expectations for earnings are pretty good. Profits for the S&P 500 companies are up about 11 percent.

The most important thing, though, will be guidance for the future. What's going to be happening down the road and whether or not companies have the ability to raise prices, something none of us actually want to hear.

COSTELLO: No, definitely not. Felicia Taylor, many thanks.

Today in New York, police are intensifying their search for a missing woman. That search may have already exposed the work of a serial killer. Since December, eight bodies have been discovered on Long Island. Half of the victims have been found just in the last few weeks.

Pat Brown is a nationally known expert in criminal profiling. She's also the author of "The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths." Welcome, Pat.

PAT BROWN, AUTHOR, "THE PROFILER": Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: The bodies of eight women, four of them prostitutes, were found in a remote beach area on Long Island. And now New York investigators are looking for a serial killer. And one theory, at least according to "The New York Times," is that this killer is a former law enforcement officer of some time. What points to that?

BROWN: Well, you know, I hear this in a lot of serial killer cases. As soon as you get someone they think is really smart, they say, oh, must be ex-law enforcement. So, I think they're jumping to conclusions on this. I see no particular evidence that says that. They say he's been clever, but, you know, anybody watching CSI today and reading a few books -- I'm sorry, but they're learning a few tricks.

COSTELLO: There have been other serial killers like, let's say, Dennis Rader in Kansas. He killed ten people, no law enforcement background on him.

BROWN: Yes, definitely not. He might have wanted to be, but he wasn't. COSTELLO: Exactly. This particular killer, and they think it's one killer in New York, he made a series of taunting and cruel phone calls to the sister of one victim, Melissa Barthelemy. What does that say about him?

BROWN: Well, there we go. He's not that smart because, I mean, that's the first thing you don't do if you want to keep going. But I guess he got really ticked off at that one particular person and thought it would be fun to harass her family.

So, he did call from a crowded location, it was downtown Manhattan, Times Square area, but I don't think he went down there specifically to make the call. I do think it's a great piece of information, though, because now we have someone who has connections to both Long Island and down to Times Square. So now, who do we know around that point of time -- that's the people we need to start thinking about that has interest in both of those locations.

COSTELLO: So, Pat, from what you've read about this case, what is this man's profile, do you think?

BROWN: Well, he is a sexually sadistic serial killer, I can guarantee you that. He likes to bring the women back to his home, which means he wants to spend a lot of time with them. And when you want to put a lot of time with a lady, you're not just simply - I hate to put "simply" on it, but simply raping and murdering them. Like the person who jumps out on the bike path you know, and just bops you on the head, takes care of you. You're done in 10 minutes.

A sexually sadistic serial killer would say, "What a waste. I want to have that woman in my possession for an hour or two or a day or two, even." So, he is going to be someone who is very heavily into sadistic stuff. He'll be watching a lot of hardcore porn, very violent ideation in his head.

So, he likes to torture these ladies and take his time with them. That kind of person extremely psychopathic, very cold-blooded, very unempathetic. So, somebody in that neighborhood, near that area where the women were dumped. I do believe he's a local. Would know who this guy is, they just haven't put two and two together yet.

COSTELLO: Hopefully they will soon. Pat Brown -

BROWN: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: -- many thanks for joining us.

BROWN: Thanks, Carol.

Checking our top stories. It is Monday morning and government offices are open after last-minute deal on Capitol Hill. It averted a federal shutdown by cutting more than $38 billion from this year's budget. Today, we learn exactly what will be cut.

In Libya, representatives from the Africans Union say Moammar Gadhafi has agreed to halt all hostilities and allow peacekeepers to monitor a truce. The possible truce does not address Gadhafi stepping down, however.

And it's cleanup day in Iowa. Severe weather swept across the Midwest. Tornadoes were spotted in seven towns or cities in Iowa. No deaths or injuries reported, but the powerful system now moving east.

It was a Masters finish for the ages. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here with a preview of today's big play, and I already butchered his name -- the winner.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: Did you?

COSTELLO: I feel so bad!

FISCHEL: You know, Charl Schwartzel. It was one of the great stories -- a lot of great stories from the final day at Augusta. The biggest from a guy most people have never heard of, apparently, including Carol --

COSTELLO: I know, sorry!

FISCHEL: -- Charl Schwartzel birdied the final four holes to take the green jacket. He's the first Masters champ ever to do that. A fantastic final round, a 6 under par 66. That's the best by a Masters winner in 22 years. Schwartzel's charge came after seven players had at least a share of the lead on Sunday. Tiger Woods was one of them. So, was 21-year-old Rory McIlroy; he led the way for the first 54 holes and then disaster struck.

We'll show you what happened to the two of them, Tiger and Rory. Plus, NBA and baseball highlights, that's coming up at the bottom of the hour.

COSTELLO: OK, can't wait. Thank you, Jeff.

The Bible. It's been around for a long time, but one man says it's going to get some competition, really. Coming up, we'll talk to an atheist who's written his own bible. A bible for a humanist age.

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COSTELLO: We're going to be hearing a lot about the nation's debt ceiling over the next few weeks. It is the next big battle in Washington.

But what is it? And how does it affect you? Chief business correspondent Ali Velshi breaks it down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The real fight, the one that's getting started is over the country's debt limit. By law, the amount that the U.S. can carry, the amount of debt that the U.S. can carry is $14.294 trillion. It's a credit limit that Congress sets. Now, that's what they can borrow.

Here's where we stand right now. The actual current debt of the United States, $14.208 trillion. The difference between the two is $86 billion. Now the U.S. is going to exceed this limit by May the 16th, based on current spending. The government can pull a few tricks and get away with being over the limit until about July 8th. But not increasing this credit limit is going to create some problems.

Now, there are two scenarios for what could happen if Congress doesn't raise that debt limit by May 16th. Neither of them are good. The government can cut spending or it can raise taxes. They need to raise $738 billion to keep the country running until the end of the fiscal year, which is September 30th.

But Democrats oppose cuts and -- oppose increasing taxes, so if they don't do that, the U.S. could default on its loans. That could create a big problem. That could send the dollar plummeting. It could send oil prices higher. It could hobble an already delicate economy, which is why this -- this debt ceiling, is going to become the focus of our attentions for the next month.

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COSTELLO: There you have it. You heard Ali mention Tea Party ties. Let's talk more about that with CNN's Jim Acosta. So, Jim, members of the Tea Party really unhappy with John Boehner right now.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Carol. You could say that disappointment is brewing inside the Tea Party over the budget compromise. Many of the conservative movement's most prominent leaders, Michele Bachmann, Rand Paul, just to name a couple, not to mention the new Tea Party-backed members of Congress, believe the cuts don't go far enough.

Then there are the leading groups of the Tea Party movement. The Tea Party Patriots put out a statement -- they said that this was a hollow victory. Then there's the Tea Party Nation, which blasted out a series of e-mails over the weekend to its members, slamming the budget deal, including this quote. Take a look at this. This is as heated as it gets: "The almost universal opinion of Tea Party members is the agreement reached Friday night between John "white flag of surrender" Boehner" -- their words - "and the Democrats is nothing short of a disaster."

Now, Tea Party-backed members of Congress were a little more restrained but still disappointed on the Sunday talk shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: The House Republicans need to pick a fight, and I think John Boehner fought the good fight. I think he drove a hard bargain here. I want to see the details, but from what I know, it sounds like John Boehner got a good deal. Probably not good enough for me to support it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And there are similar sentiments to that throughout the Republican caucus up on Capitol Hill. And Tea Party groups, by the way, we should mention, they are planning on carrying this message of big budget cuts right into the race for 2012. Members of the Tea Party Express have set up a new political organization called "the campaign to defeat Barack Obama." The group plans to start running ads in 2012, presidential battleground states. Here's a sneak preview. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUCER: We, the people, are fighting back for fiscal responsibility, for a return to constitutional principles, with greater individual liberty and less government regulation over our lives. We deserve new leadership that serves with honor, integrity, and decency. Join us online at campaigntodefeatobama.com.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: It's a little early, but that ad will also certainly put Republicans on notice as well. Carol, as you remember, the Tea Party got behind conservative challengers and many races instead of the GOP- backed candidates across the country in last year's midterm elections. That will undoubtedly happen again. You have the Tea Party Nation, for example. They've recently said that they'd like to primary speaker John Boehner in his own district and see if they can possibly remove him. So, the rhetoric has been amped up across the Tea Party movement as it relates to this budget deal.

COSTELLO: So, I can't wait for the 2012 budget battle, or the raising of the debt limit, if Congress decides to do that, because it could get really nasty, again.

ACOSTA: That's right. If you thought that this 2011 budget fight was a barn burner, fasten your seat belts. Because the debt ceiling fight that's coming up, Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Republican senator from Texas -- she is no Tea Party favorite, as you know, Carol, but she called the fight that's to come on this issue Armageddon. So, this is going to get nasty over the coming months.

COSTELLO: Jim Acosta, thanks -- I think.

ACOSTA: Yes. Sorry.

COSTELLO: The Bible. It's been around forever, but one man says -- actually, one man's written his own version of the bible, and it has nothing to do with religion or God or Jesus. Coming up, we'll talk to an atheist who's written a humanist bible. We'll talk to him, next.

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COSTELLO: Let's talk a little weather now, because it's been really nasty. Rob Marciano is at the Severe Weather Center and is it over?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not quite, but it's going to be not also not going to be quite as damaging, I don't think, as it was yesterday. I want to show you -- well, you know, over the weekend, we had damaging tornadoes in Iowa, wiping out half of a town. We also had damaging tornados with injuries in Wisconsin.

And just early this morning and lately last night, this is what came through parts of Texas. Just south of Dallas and Johnson County, the Grand View area, the Rio Vista neighborhoods there, about six homes damaged. No reports of serious injuries, but straight line winds coming through there about 80, 90 miles an hour or more -- it's actually a tornado, maybe they'll go out there and check it out.

But nonetheless, rough storms moving through parts of Dallas earlier today. They are now moving through Texarkana, Texas, you're pretty much -- north Texas you're pretty much over with, but there are still folks who are without power. Memphis seeing some thunderstorms right now that could be rough with some straight-line winds and certainly some frequent hail and lightning and thunder.

Also, a weak line of thunderstorms that are rolling through the Ohio River Valley. They may very well intensify as the day rolls along. We start to heat things up. Temperatures are very, very warm. This is the slice that we think we'll probably see severe weather, although not as strong as yesterday.

One of the reasons we had that strong severe weather was the amount of record highs that we saw yesterday, into the 90s and lower 100s across a few areas there, Texas and parts of even Florida.

We do have some travel delays we want to point out, New York, metros, low ceilings, low visibilities. So we've got some a little bit of issues there. I think for the most part, the northeast will be dry today, but tonight and tomorrow is when they start to see some of these storms moving east -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I got you. Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: There you go.

COSTELLO: At one school in Florida, a six-year-old girl has a life-threatening peanut allergy. Parents are outraged and are protesting the school's way of protecting that girl who has the allergy. The school has actually asked her classmates to wash their hands and rinse out their mouths before they even set foot into the classroom.

The girl's father spoke out earlier on "AMERICAN MORNING" to try to -- to try to help people understand the situation.

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DAVID BAILY, DAUGHTER HAS PEANUT ALLERGY: There is no understanding. We do have -- a lot of the parents have come to us and actually wanted to get the right information, and we have given a lot of parents the right information. But there are still some out there that don't want it fixed.

To home school a child with learning disabilities, there are teachers that get, you know, extra, you know, teaching to teach children like this. So it's -- it is hard to home school a child that have -- the -- the amount of learning disabilities and things that she has.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: David says he does feel his daughter is safe at the school thanks to her teacher and the teacher's aide.

The final round of the Masters and this sport was not where Rory McIlroy thought he would be. An epic collapse for the golfer who led the first three rounds, highlights ahead in "The Big Play".

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COSTELLO: Checking stories across country now in Boston, the mayor has issued an executive order banning sugary drinks; that goes for the advertisements on Boston City property too. His reasoning is to curb obesity. The ban will take effect in six months.

In Missouri, the heat was too much for a runner in the St. Louis Marathon; 13,000 people raced in the streets downtown. Those running the full marathon were sent to the half-marathon course if they couldn't reach the nine-mile mark.

In Virginia, a bear on the loose in Virginia Beach is found. "Shadow" the bear was released back into the wild at an undisclosed location. Got its name after it was found wandering the neighborhood of "Shadow Lawn".

We're following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Brianna Keilar in Washington.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, if you thought the budget battle last week was tough to watch, well, this is a -- it was just a warm up for this week. We're going to be seeing the House debating and voting on the 2012 budget which is a Republican proposal to overhaul Medicare and Medicaid. I'll have more at the top of the hour.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Stephanie Elam in New York. Have you been to the gas pump lately? Ouch, it's really getting expensive. But we're not at all-time highs. We'll take a look at where gas prices are going and what's causing this rise coming up in the next hour.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Atika Shubert in Paris. And when we come back, I'll tell you about how France is enforcing the law as it bans Muslim women from face veils and coverings in public places, the park, the roads, the cinemas.

COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you.

Also ahead, it's a trip into the heart of darkness.

We'll take you for a ride into the radiation exclusion zone surrounding that damaged nuclear plant. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Jeff Fischel from HLN sports is here. And it was an exciting Masters.

FISCHEL: It was. The leader board changed a lot on Sunday in the final round.

First, we were watching 21-year-old Rory McIlroy; he looked unflappable for three rounds. Right? And then Tiger Woods comes roaring back, but neither of them ended up winning -- look at McIlroy's rough day. I've never seen a guy have to hit a ball from over there. He had a final round 80 after this wild tee-shot. He was recovering all day.

It's actually the worst final round ever for a guy who went into the final round with the lead.

Then there was Tiger Woods. Tiger came out of nowhere. He started slow. He started five shots back, but had a front nine 31, got the crowd going. Actually was tied for the lead at the turn, but he could not finish the deal on the back nine.

Of course, everyone then started watching the guy from South Africa. The winner, 28-year-old Charl Schwartzel, he birdied the last four holes. You may not have head of him, but he's ranked 11th in the world.

Schwartzel wins $1.4 million and, of course, a perfectly tailored green jacket.

There it is.

NBA on Sunday, the Heat and Celtics; Lebron, well, he found out things get physical when you get closer to the playoffs. Into the hoop, Jermaine O'Neil throws a shoulder at him. Lebron offended threw the ball back at O'Neil. With the play-offs close, both teams are testy. Both teams not playing at their best. Lebron got a T for this. But, of course Lebron's Heat did win.

How about the Lakers? More tempers there. Look at the Thunders' big man Kendrick Perkins tying up Kobe. Kobe trying to get away from that. I'm telling you, these teams, they don't start backing down when they can feel the playoffs coming. The Thunders took down the Lakers; the Lakers have lost five in a row.

Baseball's biggest rivalry, Yankees and Red Sox. Look at Josh Beckett in command, 10 strikeouts for the Sox. And the Sox off to a slow start but they did beat the Yankees last night, 4-0.

It's always good stuff. And tomorrow we've got something special for you. Beckham pulled off something you've probably never seen before. So we've got that for you tomorrow.

COSTELLO: I just like to look at him. Thank you very much, Jeff. FISCHEL: All right.