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President to Host Town Hall on Deficit; Wildfires Racing Through Texas; President Touring Key Battle States; Woman Sues Dating Site; Gulf Oil Disaster; One Year Later; Charlie Sheen Suing Warner Brothers for $100 million; Too Young to be Sexy
Aired April 19, 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: It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 in the West. I'm Carol Costello sitting in for Kyra Phillips.
Today, fire sweeping through most of Texas, every county but two is burning. Thousands of homes under threat now and the state does not have enough resources to deal with the problem.
The swollen Potomac River threatened to take this kayaker to her death. But rescuers at Montgomery County, Maryland, were not going to let that happen. This is one of several rescues along the river after a weekend of heavy rain.
And an online dating site says it will check to see if members are sex offenders. One woman's lawsuit might have inspired that change. We're talking to her about her experience later this hour.
It is a sobering sign of our times and your grandchildren's future. We're going to show you the nation's debt clock. The spinning numbers in the upper left, that's how much money we owe. More than $14 trillion and counting. Every minute another $2.5 million shoveled on to that mountain of bills.
This morning President Obama will try to deal with that as he tries to sell his plan on making Washington live within its budget. He is kicking off a three-day debt and tax tour at a community college in northern Virginia.
And tomorrow, he's going to try something new. His town hall event will be at the headquarters of Facebook and he will take questions from the nation of Facebook, all of you, in other words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope you'll take a break from either friending or defriending each other to RSVP at Facebook.com/WhiteHouse. And you should remind others to join, too. Thanks so much. I'm looking forward to it.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That's Wednesday. The president will be selling his deficit reduction plan. He'll also address some bad news. A Wall Street ratings agency has essentially downgraded the nation's credit rating and many Republicans are blaming the president.
CNN's Kate Bolduan live at the White House.
So, Kate, that lowered outlook from Standard and Poor's bound to come up today, right?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's very possible.
The president, as you mentioned, is heading to Northern Virginia Community College just a short time from now in order to hold a town hall to promote his deficit reduction plan. And in these town halls that we've seen in the past, participants can really ask anything they want. We'll be keeping an ear to that.
Well, the White House clearly takes this assessment from the S&P very seriously. They did seem yesterday, I would -- I would say, Carol, to downplay maybe the significance of the S&P assessment.
The White House president secretary, Jay Carney, in the briefing yesterday, he said, simply put, he and the White House and the administration at-large, they simply believe that the political prospects for members of Congress -- leaders in Congress to be able to come together and agree -- come to an agreement on tackling the country's deficit and debt problem is better than the S&P assessment.
Listen here to a little bit more from Jay Carney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What the S&P analysis also said was that the American economy is strong, it's growing, it's diversified, it's dynamic, continues to be the most important and the most powerful economy in the world.
As for its political analysis, we simply believe that the prospects are better. We think that the political process will outperform S&P expectations.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And it almost seems, Carol, from the White House view that the S&P assessment, while clearly not good news for the White House or for the country, it seems almost further -- it seemed to further the White House argument. They say that this assessment emphasizes what they've been saying, the need for leaders in Congress and the White House to come together and reach an agreement to move forward and tackle our fiscal problems which are so clearly at the forefront right now -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll look forward to the president's remarks a little later this morning.
Kate Bolduan, live at the White House.
While the president tries to sell voters on deficit reduction and tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans, McDonald's is hiring. Today is the day when the fast food giant hires 50,000 people to serve up Big Mac's and Chicken McNuggets. The average pay, $8.30. That's roughly $16,600 a year.
McDonald's will also hire managers. Managers can make up to $50,000 a year. In contrast, the McDonald's chief executive reportedly made just under $10 million in salary and bonuses last year.
Too dry, too hot and too windy. Those three extremes are conspiring to keep Texas burning. More than 1,700,000 acres burning across Texas right now. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed, thousands more are under threat. Ranchers are losing their cattle to the fire. And today could be another tough day. There are too many fires and not enough firefighters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They said if the wind shifts where it is going to the north, I mean we're right like the first house in the path. So it's kind of scary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are working night and day trying to -- you know, save all of the county and everything and there is just not enough of them to go around.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Nim Kidd is the chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, he's on the phone with us now.
Chief Kidd, welcome.
CHIEF NIM KIDD, TEXAS DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: Good morning, Carol, how are you?
COSTELLO: I'm fine, and you must be tired and frustrated. You know and listening to those people living in Texas and them knowing there's not enough resources to fight those fires, how are you handling this?
KIDD: You know, I think in most cases we all see fire as a tool that we use in order to harness. But what we're dealing with are just shear forces of the nature. And it's wildfire unlike we've experienced before.
COSTELLO: How many more firefighters do you need?
KIDD: Well, I think that's hard to tell. I mean we set priorities of life and property protection. We can effectively response firefighter safety damage assessment and maximum public awareness.
We really have to take a defensive approach to fighting these fires and getting that message out to people that could be in harm's way is the best we can do right now.
COSTELLO: Are you seeking outside help?
KIDD: Absolutely. We have the U.S. Forrest Service here helping us as well as firefighters from states all across the nation.
COSTELLO: I was reading the Austin newspaper and there was some criticism that Texas should have been more prepared for this, because it knew it was coming. How do you respond to that?
KIDD: You know it's like trying to prepare for a hurricane or a tornado. We all want to be prepared for it. I think the resources were in place. Tight times, tight budgets everywhere.
And we also have to remember that a lot of the communities out in west Texas are volunteer fire departments. They are not supported by any tax base. They get their money through literally bake sales and barbecues and donations for the community. When we're looking at the rural areas, there is no tax base out there to fund the fire services.
COSTELLO: Well, hopefully you'll get the outside help you need.
Chief Kidd, thank you for joining us this morning.
KIDD: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Let's talk more about the places under a severe weather threat. Today, yes, there's more severe weather as in tornado.
Jacqui Jeras is here with details. So, gees, make it stop.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right? We're just getting started really with severe weather. You know more tornadoes occur in the month of May than any other month. So we keep that in mind as we, you know, continue in the future.
Now we do have the threat of tornadoes today. But I do think that the more widespread impact is going to be damaging winds. And that's going to come into play later on this evening and then continue into the overnight hours.
Right now, we are watching severe thunderstorms that have been moving across parts of Missouri through the St. Louis area and just to the east now. And these have been hail makers. They have a history of producing golf ball size hail. And this is just kind of a warm-up compared to what we are expecting later on this afternoon.
Here's the severe weather outlook and it's that bright red area where we have a moderate risk of tornadoes as well as those damaging winds. We think things are going to develop down here this afternoon and then progress on off to the east and we'll see big line of storms pushed through overnight.
So remember, a watch means conditions are favorable for severe weather to occur. And a warning means you need to be taking cover right away -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We hear you. We do hear you. Thank you, Jacqui Jeras.
We told you the president will speak around 10:15 a.m. Eastern this morning about reducing the deficit and raising taxes on the wealthy. Mr. Obama is starting his three-day debt and taxes tour in Virginia. And that would be no accident.
Our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, is here to explain location, location, location.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You got it, Carol. And you know, look at where he is going today, Virginia. A crucial battleground state. Later this week, he's got another town hall in Nevada, another state where the president will probably have to win if he wants to win reelection.
Yesterday, he spoke to local anchors from four states across the country, three of those states, battleground states. So maybe this has something to do next year with the reelection.
But the White House press secretary Jay Carney said, no, those interviews, the White House --White House picked those interviews, not the reelection team out in Chicago.
Talking about the next election, Vice President Joe Biden, kind of the party guy today, heading out to Cleveland, Ohio, to help out senator out there, Sherrod Brown, a fellow Democrats, freshman senator, who could face a tough reelection next year. The vice president going out there and help him raise campaign cash.
I think you're going to see the vice president do more of this this year as the battle for 2012, not just White House but also the Senate and the House, heats 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, CNNPolitics.com.
Match.com says it will go the extra mile to protect its customers. This morning, Carol Markin will make sure that it does.
Markin says a man she met using the site sexually assaulted her. And now she is telling our story. She'll tell our story -- she'll tell her story on CNN next.
Also, the Gulf oil disaster, one year later, CNN's Rob Marciano returns to the stories he brought to you in those terrible days. How much have things improved? Rob will tell us in a few minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A college student found dead shortly after a frantic friend watched her being attacked during a computer Web chat. It happened at York University in Canada.
Police say (INAUDIBLE), an exchange student from China was chatting with her boyfriend back home in Beijing when a man knocked on her door and asked to use her phone. The online witness says he watched as she and the man struggle for a time before the assailant turned off her laptop. Right now the case is being considered a suspicious theft but police say it could be upgraded to murder.
Millions use dating Web sites every day. According to "The Guardian" newspaper just Match.com alone has 20 million members in 25 countries.
Online dating sites haul in around $1 billion a year in the United States. Worldwide, that number jumps to $4 billion. And as membership tallies have increased, so have complaints. The Better Business Bureau received 20 times the number of complaints from 2004 compared to 2009.
Only a handful of states require that sites disclose whether they perform background checks. Popular dating site eHarmony says it does and now Match.com says it is beginning the practice as well.
Why the sudden change of heart from Match.com? Well, Carole Markin says a man she met on the site had a prior record of offenses and that man assaulted her.
Thanks so much, Carol, for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
CAROLE MARKIN, VICTIM OF SEXUAL ASSAULT: Thank you for having me.
COSTELLO: You know, first of all, it is rare for a victim of sexual assault to reveal herself. So thank you for your courage. I know you were matched with this man. You went on a first date. It went OK. It was the second date that you saw trouble.
What happened?
MARKIN: He basically assaulted me and forced me into sex when we went back to my place. And -- then, he left.
COSTELLO: And you --
MARKIN: He overpowered me.
COSTELLO: You called the police and later you Googled this man and you found out he'd been accused of what in the past?
MARKIN: He had six counts of battery against him and he went to jail. So I then called the police.
COSTELLO: When you used Match.com, what did you expect it to do to protect you?
MARKIN: Well, I thought Match.com didn't have these kind of people on their site in the first place. I thought -- you know, I had been on the site for a while and had met some normal, regular, nice people.
COSTELLO: I know that on Match.com site, it says something like, date at your own risk. And it points out you should be careful. In your mind, is that enough?
MARKIN: No. That's why we sued them because we wanted them to put in to do background checks on people who join the site.
COSTELLO: In your mind, you Googled this man and it came up, his, the history of sexual assault came up on Google. So, I guess it goes through your mind, why Match.com wouldn't do this.
When you talked to the people at Match.com about this, what did they say to you?
MARKIN: You know, the fact is, they haven't ever spoken to me at all. They have just spoken to my lawyer.
COSTELLO: And what do you want them to do now?
MARKIN: Well, we want them to cross-reference member's names with federal and local databases to keep sexual predators off the site.
COSTELLO: And if they do, I know you're suing Match.com -- if you do that and you are assured that Match.com will do that, will you drop your suit?
MARKIN: Well, first, we have to see if they do what they said they're going to do. I mean, they have to go through it and make sure it is actually happening. They said they would do it in 60-90 days. We'll see if they really do it.
COSTELLO: There is some twitter traffic putting some of the blame on you. I will spare you the details. But I would like you to respond to that.
MARKIN: Well, I don't think -- you can't really prevent things when somebody is a practiced criminal. I mean, I didn't do anything so bad.
COSTELLO: Carole, thank you so much.
MARKIN: He's a big.
COSTELLO: Go ahead. I'm sorry.
MARKIN: He's a very big man and he overpowered me.
COSTELLO: We understand it. And as I said, it was courageous of you to go on television. We really appreciate it.
MARKIN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
The suspect in this case, his name is Wurtzel. His attorney sent CNN a statement. It says, "Our client and his accuser engaged in consensual romantic contact together. Eight days later, she inexplicably called the police and our client pled not guilty, please that he absolutely maintains today. Mr. Wurtzel's prior case was of a misdemeanor nature."
And we also have a statement from Match.com. Match.com is starting background checks. We gave.
I'm going to read the statement, that will be simpler. "We want to stress that while these checks may help in certain instances, they remain highly flawed and it is critical that this effort does not provide a false sense of security to our members. Match.com, like any other large community, cannot guarantee the actions of all members. People have to exercise common sense and prudence with people they have just met, whether through an online dating service or any other means."
An explosion out at sea. The reverberations that may be felt for decades as the first anniversary of the Gulf oil spill approaches. We go in-depth looking for answers.
And we are seeing it more and more. But are sexy clothes on young girls -- well, with he know they are never appropriate. We'll talk about that later with CNN.com contributor LZ Granderson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This week, millions of people along the Gulf Coast are remembering the day that changed their lives forever. Tomorrow, April 20th, marks the first anniversary of the BP oil rig exploding and the beginning of the worst environmental disaster in our nation's history. Eleven workers were killed.
Just about a month later, May 19th, the first oil from the spill reached the fragile Louisiana marshlands. Within the week, by May 25th, scientists estimated the spill became the worst ever in U.S. history. It wasn't until July 15th, though, that a containment dome finally stopped the ruptured well. It had spewing oil into the Gulf for 87 days.
This week, we are focusing on the problems that still haunt the region and the anger that still simmers. It's our part of our coverage, CNN in depth, "The Gulf a Year Later."
CNN's Rob Marciano was a big part of our coverage that won a Peabody Award. Today, he's revisiting some of the people he introduced us to last year. Rob joins us now from New Orleans.
Hi, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Carol. You know, it's been quite a year to say the least. These people affected by this spill, the people that make their living out there on the Gulf of Mexico, they went from not being able to fish to going to work and cleaning up some of that oil, to, well, for the most part, being able to fish and not actually doing it now.
These fishermen a year later are frustrated on many levels.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice-over): We met charter boat captain, Josh Forsythe, last year at the height of the oil spill. Then, he was having no luck getting work as a Vessel of Opportunity. So, we put him on CNN.
JOSH FORSYTHE, CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN: The first time you aired the piece, we got a call, they want to put us on training in two weeks, and then after we took you out of the boat, we got a call the next day and they put us in training within two days.
MARCIANO: Built to pull fish from the Gulf, the Bone Collector was now pulling oil-coated boon. It was tough, dirty work.
J. FORSYTHE: We got pictures where you literally can barely see the white on this boat. It's nothing but oil, like we are slipping and sliding around wearing Tyvek suits in 110-degree weather. It was crazy.
MARCIANO: Months of cleaning up oil caused serious damage to the boat. Josh's father, Ted, a charter captain himself, says BP is not making good on their agreements to fix it.
TED FORSYTHE, CHARTER FISHERMAN: We were one of the boats that went out with the attitude. We are going to attack this oil. We're going to work on it. We're going to help clean this stuff up.
So, we put the boat through the hoops. And we relied to them, to their word. And we were told every day, we'll take care of it, we'll take care of it. Until it comes time to pay, and they deny our claims.
MARCIANO: Denied the whole thing. I mean, you got $50,000 claim on damage to this boat. And they just said, well, we're not --
T. FORSYTHE: They agreed to $1,200 of it.
MARCIANO: Not only do they say BP denied most of their claim, the joint incident command featured the Bone Collector in a video promoting the Vessel of Opportunity Program. We asked BP about it, but they said, as a policy, they don't comment on individual claims.
T. FORSYTHE: We worked. We went out there and busted our tail for BP to clean this all up that they put in the Gulf. Yes, they paid us well while we worked. But how is that going to factor in over five, six, seven years if our industry is decimated? We don't know.
MARCIANO: The water is cleaner and safe to fish, but the Gulf of M image is tarnished and making a living on the water this year doesn't look good.
J. FORSYTHE: Basically, nobody wants to come down. They are afraid to eat the fish because they've got, you know, all the oil around, the dispersants around, and everybody is a little afraid about it.
MARCIANO (on camera): Your regular customers that come back year after year, aren't planning on coming back this year?
J. FORSYTHE: Nope.
MARCIANO (voice-over): A situation of the Forsythes and hundreds of other fishermen never imagine one year ago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Josh tells us they had one call for an advanced reservation from their regular customers that were normally come back year after year. It's just -- you know, the fishing is fine. The fish are clean, Carol.
But, you know, if these guys can't make any money, they may very well pick up and move down to south Florida or on the east coast to Florida where they know they can actually get customers and that want to go out and fish.
So, that part of the story hasn't improved, even though the fishing out there is just fine.
COSTELLO: And it's such a beautiful area. It's just a shame.
Rob Marciano, many thanks.
It's a hiring blitz unlike we can remember. Fast food giant, McDonald's, says it will give jobs to as many as 50,000 people in one day. And some of them will pay much better than you might thing. Some of those job, that is. We'll have details for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The nation's biggest hamburger chain is going on a hiring spree today. SO, get your resume ready because McDonald's plans to hire 50,000 new workers.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Let's talk about birth certificate and the so-called birther bill, because in Arizona, the so-called birther bill died on the governor's desk. Jan Brewer, the governor, vetoed the legislation. It would have required President Obama and other presidential candidates to prove they were born in the United States before they could get a place on the state ballot. Brewer says the bill goes too far and could lead to politically motivated decisions.
Checking stories making news Cross Country now. Firefighters in Mesa, Arizona, say a nine-year-old boy who learned CPR from television saved his two-year-old sister's life. The children were visiting their grandparents when somehow the toddler fell into a swimming pool. That's when nine-year-old Tristin Saghin went into action.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRISTIN SAGHIN, PERFORMED CPR TO REVIVE SISTER: I went running outside and I did CPR on her and then like give them oxygen, like. She started breathing a little bit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grown adults don't know how to do CPR. How do you know how to do CPR?
SAGHIN: Television.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: See? We're worth something.
In Highland Township, Michigan, police say a 12-year-old girl stole a 9 millimeter handgun, put a bandanna over her face and tried to rob a supermarket. The girl's parents are going through a divorce. Her father says she may have been trying to get money so that her mother could keep the house.
In Cleveland, the Federal Aviation Administration has suspended yet another air traffic controller as well as his manager. The air traffic controller was caught watching a movie on a portable DVD player while he was on the job. The incident came to light after the controller accidentally hit a microphone and the soundtrack of the movie "The Cleaner" was transmitted over the radio frequency for more than three minutes.
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: (OFF-MIKE) that's a perfectly understandable distraction.
COSTELLO: Or the movie "Airplane."
FISCHEL: "Airplane." Perfect, perfect.
COSTELLO: I know. Who know -- we jest but it is a serious matter.
But let's turn our attention to something fun in sports, expect I'm not so happy the Miami Heat are heating up.
FISCHEL: What do you hold against the Miami Heat?
COSTELLO: LeBron James.
FISCHEL: Really?
COSTELLO: I'm from Cleveland.
FISCHEL: Yes, the big three in Miami. They haven't always been playing perfectly have they? I mean, it's been a bit of a struggle this first season in South Beach but they're getting it working in the playoffs. LeBron James last night against the Sixers, the sweep alley-oop. LeBron finished with 29. The Sixers' entire starting five had five had 29 points. Dwayne Wade got into the scoring act, as well, going coast to coast. Chris Bosh, the third member of the big three, 21 points. Heat take game two of their first round series, 94 to 73.
Also coming up. Hockey players, you know, he can take 23 stitches, come back for the very next game and tally the score. We'll show you that.
And forget warnings for kids. I have one for adults. Don't try this at work. Launching 600 feet downhill in your office chair. More sports coming up in 20 minutes. Yes, that qualifies as sports.
COSTELLO: That sounds fun, though. I know I shouldn't say it but it does.
FISCHEL: There's extra panel (ph) right down there for high speed.
COSTELLO: Cool. OK. Well, thank you, Jeff. You'll be back.
Coming up, a runner makes history in Boston. No one has run a marathon faster, but he probably will not go into the world record books. We'll explain why.
Are we letting young girls be too sexy, too soon? CNN.com columnist LZ Granderson thinks we definitely are. We'll talk to him later and find out who he thinks needs to assume more responsibility.
We will be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Checking stories making news across the Cross Country now. Fires are sweeping through most of Texas. Every county but two is burning. Thousands of homes are under threat and the state doesn't have enough resources to deal with the problem.
The woman who accused three Duke University lacrosse players of rape back in 2006, is now facing murder charges. Police in Durham, North Carolina, say Crystal Mangum stabbed her boyfriend to death last week during an argument.
And history at the Boston marathon. Get this, Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya polished off 26.2 miles -- two hours, three minutes, one second. That is the fastest finish ever. It took me five hours plus to run a marathon. But at least I did it.
Charlie Sheen could be in a southern California courtroom later on this morning. We'll tell you about his efforts at a $100 million payoff.
And you're seeing it more and more. Very young girls -- like we're talking eight or nine -- dressed in really sexy clothing. Who's responsible for young girls dressing the way they do? We'll talk it with CNN.com columnist, LZ Granderson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: CNN.com columnist, LZ Granderson saw someone at the airport the other day that caught his eye. He writes, "Her beautiful, long blonde hair was braided back a la Bo Derek in the movie '10.' Her lips were pink and shiny from the gloss and the earrings she was wearing playfully dangled from her lobes. The icing on the cake? The word 'Juicy' was written on her backside. Yeah, that eight-year-old girl was something to see alright." LZ is now joining us live. You go on to say in her column, I hope her parent parents were proud. A little sarcasm, but you really take it to the parents in your opinion piece, don't you?
LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM COLUMNIST: Well, absolutely? I mean, as I say in the column, it's not as if the little girl was going to the store and buying these things by herself. Someone had to take her. And since she was with her parents at the airport, I'm going to assume it was them. Or at least they approve of what she was wearing.
COSTELLO: Is that the bottom line for you, though? Because we know that Abercrombie & Fitch came under fire this spring for introducing a push-up bra for young girls. You say Target sells padded bras for elementary school aged girls, too.
I mean, should retailers be held more accountable? Why are they selling this stuff?
GRANDERSON: They're selling it because we're buying it. I mean, that's what their job is. I don't expect anyone else to tell me what to put on my little boy except for me. Now, I know there are options out there but it's up to me as a responsible father to decide what are the best options for my son. I don't expect Target or Sears or anyone else to tell me what's best for my child.
COSTELLO: So why do you think parents dress their kids in these kind -- I mean, what is it -- I mean, is the kid saying, oh, please, please, buy this for me and they just give in? What is it?
GRANDERSON: I think that's it. I think that we got a generation of cowardly parents who don't want to hurt their kids' feelings or don't want to be seen as uncool and don't have the courage and the thick skin to say no and deal with the consequences of having a child be upset with them or having a child throw a little tantrum.
I mean, my kid, he's a really good boy. He gets straight A's, he's captain of his soccer and track team. He's a great kid. But, when he hears no, he's not so great and I still have to deal with that and some parents don't want to deal with it.
COSTELLO: But see, you have a boy. You have a boy and isn't it easier to have a boy? I mean, you don't have a little girl begging you to wear, like, clothes like maybe mommy's friends are wearing or Rihanna or somebody like that?
GRANDERSON: Well, that might be true. My son also happens to be a huge fan of Lil Wayne and one day he thought it would be cool to drop his pants just a little low and show off his boxers. And that was quite a morning, I tell you that. So sure, on one hand, it may be kind of easy. But trust me, you still have things to deal with when you deal with boys, as well.
COSTELLO: OK. So long-term consequences to maybe buying your kids inappropriate clothing at young ages. What do you say about that?
GRANDERSON: Well, it's not necessarily what I have to say. It's what the research has shown us and that is little girls who are sexualized at such a young age are more susceptible to eating disorders, depression, having anxiety, and so it's not necessarily just about what happens when you deal with a child when she's five, six, or seven and wants to be sexy. But when she is 15 or 16 and she still doesn't think she is pretty or that she's fat. Is she doing things like binging? Is she doing things like dieting in ninth grade? Those are the long-term consequences of sexualizing your child so young.
COSTELLO: LZ, I enjoyed reading your column and thank you for being with us this morning.
GRANDERSON: Thank you for having me.
COSTELLO: If you would like to read the entire column, go to CNN.com. Click on the opinion tab at the top of the page. You'll also find commentaries there on a wide variety of topics from a wide variety of perspectives.
Taking a look at stories making news later today. White House drug czar, Gil Kurlakowski announces an initiative to combat prescription drug abuse by teenagers. That's sent for 10:00 Eastern this morning in Washington at the National Press Club.
For actor Charlie Sheen, a hearing into his lawsuit against Warner Brothers is set to start at 11:30 Eastern at a Santa Monica courtroom. Sheen is suing Warner Brothers for $100 million over cancellation of his popular sitcom, "Two and a Half Men."
And BlackBerry's answer to the apple iPad, the new PlayBook, goes on sale today.
Ah, the wedding preparations. As a bride you need something old, something new, something borrowed and a coat of arms. Well, if you're marrying a prince, you do. But, what if you don't have a coat of arms like Kate Middleton? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I always feel like drinking a cup of tea after that music.
Just a week and a half before the big day and like any bride, Kate Middleton has many preparations for her marriage to the groom. But since her groom is a prince, she'll also need a coat of arms.
Traditionally, when the royals marry, the coats of arms from each family are merged. The trouble is the Middletons didn't have a coat of arms so they kind of had to make one of. We are told it will be ready in plenty of time for the royal wedding.
And you've got a wedding invitation on Sunday. CNN takes you behind the scenes when CNN presents, "THE WOMEN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN". And set the alarm for Friday April 29th at 4:00 a.m. Eastern. William and Kate will marry as a million, maybe billion will watch from home.
CNN's "ROYAL WEDDING EXPERIENCE" is hosted by Anderson Cooper, Piers Morgan, Richard Quest and Cat Deeley. We're following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Kate Bolduan at the White House.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there Carol. Well, the President is talking deficit reduction and he is taking his message on the road. I'll have more on what he's saying and where he's going at the top of the hour.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm Zain Verjee. I'm going to tell you about a crime that was dramatically captured by webcam as two friends were chatting between Canada and China.
COSTELLO: Thanks to both of you.
And it is one of the -- it is one of the top television shows of all time, "Happy Days". But now a dark side to the all-American show is emerging. A story that could have widespread repercussions in the entertainment industry. It's all about merchandising and money.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: One of the first signs of spring for many of us: bees buzzing around our gardens, but their habitat is threatened by heavy urban areas. In Los Angeles, backward beekeepers is coming to the rescue. Photojournalist John Torogo talks with these urban beekeepers about their mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTA KOTO, BACKWARDS BEEKEPERS: I'm Roberta Koto. I work with the Backwards Beekeepers.
RUSSELL BATES, BACKWARDS BEEKEEPERS: Which is a group of chemical- free, treatment-free, organic beekeepers and we've grown from about five members three years ago to about 550 today.
KIRK ANDERSON, BACKWARDS BEEKEEPERS: And then, we basically have a rescue hotline. We must get 3,000 to 4,000 calls a year.
We go and catch and rescue swarms. We move them from people's houses and give them to new beekeepers to start beekeeping. So it's a sustainable resource because nature provides the bees.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it looks like we have a swarm of bees that came in a few days ago.
LISA NGHE, CALLED RESCUE HOTLINE: When I first saw them, I have to be honest -- it kind of freaked me out because it was just a cloud of buzzing bees up in the air.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok, they start coming -- walk away, ok?
NGHE: We came upon the Backwards Beekeepers because I called the city. The city referred me to an exterminator, my dad got really angry because he did not want to exterminate the bees.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think what we're going to do is have a three-day run with them just to see how they work.
ANDERSON: If the honeybee hadn't been doing what it's been doing the last 70 million years, we'd all be eating rice and wheat. Let's say a cucumber I think has to be visited by a pollinator six times to set fruit so they are probably the most important insects in the world.
This here is a frame that is full of beautiful, cured, feral honey. Clean, chemical free, treatment free, and this is going to go on the cheese plate at a local bar in Los Feliz (ph) called Bar Covell.
DUSTIN LANCASTER, OWNER, BAR CORVELL: On every cheese plate, we put some these local honey and people love that. We say it comes from right here in the neighborhood.
KATO: Oh look at that.
AMY SEIDENWURM, BACKWARDS BEEKEEPERS: We're all about fully natural, organic, chemical-free beekeeping which is quite different from how beekeepers run their operation.
We find that taking that approach helps the bees thrive in urban settings.
NGHE: My dad's a little bit iffy right now with keeping so many bees.
KATO: They're going to be able to watch their bees from the window.
NGHE: After the three days, my dad's happy with it. We probably will keep them.
KATO: I think that's the most exciting part because I try to aim to have a new beekeeper every week.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're backward beekeepers because we figure backwards is the new forwards.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: People gave LeBron James a hard time every time his team struggled this year. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here. I guess they can't really harp on him anymore.
FISCHEL: No, things seem to be going a little better, right? I mean remember during the season if they lost a couple games in a row, everyone said, oh, the Heat can't get it right. Every time LeBron would miss a game-winning shot at the end, the Heat can't win a championship.
Well, they've got it going on now, in the playoffs. One dramatic storyline that we didn't expect from South Beach this season, Dwayne Wade has struggled with migraine headaches. Of course, he was giving the Sixers last night some headaches. Loose ball and the slam, he had 14 points.
Of course, LeBron playing very well in the playoffs. He gets open -- and hit the three; 29 points for LeBron. The Sixers trailing by 19 points to LeBron's Miami Heat. How about the third member of the Heat's big three? Chris Bosh, he had 21 points. The Heat went 94-73; they now lead that series two games to none.
More NBA playoffs, the Pacers and Bulls. Indiana's TJ Ford only playing because starter Darren Colson (ph) got hurt. The 65 footer at the buzzer -- sure, beat the clock -- that tied it.
But Chicago has all the answers with their point guard, Derek Rose. Incredible. The nice feed to Ronnie Brewer for the slam. Let's not forget about the game Rose had, 36 points. The Bulls win 96-90. They now lead the Pacers 2-0 in that series.
Hockey fans call the Red Wings' Johannes Franzen (ph) the mule. He's stubborn when it comes to playing. He took 23 stitches on his face after hitting game two of Detroit's playoff series with Phoenix. Had an ankle injury on the same play but he comes back -- in Game 3 the breakaway score. Detroit takes the game 4-2, now just one win away from moving to the second round.
Now for a couple of diamond gems. Philadelphia's Placido Palanco, the comebacker, hits it (INAUDIBLE) -- the Brewers -- yes, makes the catch. Then, of course, he's aware enough to flip over to second for the double play.
Watch again. He catches it on the fly which means that's just a catch, doesn't have to throw to first. And because he caught it, he can flip and turn to second for the double play. Great play. The Brewers win that one in extra innings.
How about Tampa Bay's Sam Fuld (ph)? He's been doing it with the bat and glove this year. He wasn't even really supposed to be playing much this season. Manny Ramirez but disappeared. Now he's playing every day and doing everything right. The diving catch -- Sam Fuld also went 4-4 at the plate.
COSTELLO: Yes, because Manny Ramirez wouldn't be making that catch.
FISCHEL: No, Manny would be Manny watching that thing land. Of course, Manny would have gotten 100-game suspension if he had stayed around for the double rays -- excuse me, the Rays -- for having -- testing positive for performance enhancing drug tests. Instead he just decided to retire. Instead of retire, let's think about reclining.
Finally, check out these pictures from the third annual German office chair championship. 58 guys, yes, they tricked out their chairs from work. Then launched themselves downhill, 600 feet. In-line skate wheels allowed, but no motors.
COSTELLO: He's got (INAUDIBLE) on his --
FISCHEL: You got to wear a helmet, right, because otherwise you never know what might happen. They actually got it going 22 miles per hour. Besides the fastest racer, there was a winner for best designed chair -- a horse's head and the saddle with the driver dressed as a cowboy. I want that one.
COSTELLO: Very clever. Jeff Fischel, thanks for making us smile as usual. Love that.
FISCHEL: Only the most important sporting events.
COSTELLO: That's right.
