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FBI Searches For Suspect in Colorado Bomb Plot; John McCain in Libya; Comedian With Cerebral Palsy Talks About His Career; Queen Of England Meets Kate Middleton's Parents; 9/11 Responders Upset By Recent Federal Bill; Gas Prices May Be Affecting Country's Mood

Aired April 22, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to all of you. I'm Brooke Baldwin, and we have got a lot coming up this hour.

But, first, before we get to anything else, I want to pass along this along. There is a major development out of Colorado, where the feds say someone tried to unleash terror.

Take a close look with me, the FBI releasing brand-new picture of the man they are trying to hunt down. He is now being upgraded from simply a person of interest to now a possible suspect here two days after someone left this bomb inside of a mall less than two miles from Columbine High School. Also, this bomb was discovered exactly 12 years to the day of those shootings.

We have a reporter live on the ground,. We will get you more on that new information in a matter of minutes.

But, first, let's talk about Libya, and I want you to take a look at who materialized in Libya today and wait until you hear what he said. Here he is, Senator John McCain, saying we need to be in deeper. That's right. The U.S. should be more deeply involved in the war there against Moammar Gadhafi. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I believe that airpower when sufficiently and appropriately used can affect the situation on the battlefield dramatically. And I believe that we should be much more involved and engaged in the air campaign than we have been.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN's Reza Sayah there in Benghazi.

And quick question, Reza. When did word get out that the senator was even coming to Libya?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, because of security concerns, they didn't publicize Senator McCain's visit until this morning, but once he arrived, the opposition was extremely pleased.

And don't be surprised for the coming days if you see more American flags here in Benghazi, because Senator McCain basically came here and told the opposition exactly what they wanted to hear. Throughout the day, he met with opposition officials. He visited Freedom Square, the heart of the uprising in Libya. He praised the uprising, and he essentially said he is here to see what the opposition needs and go back to the Obama administration in Washington and push for more help.

We had a chance to talk to him for a few minutes. Here is a taste of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: Senator, the U.S. has been criticized in recent years in getting involved in operations and not establishing a clear endgame and achieving it. I want you to be specific in what endgame you envision.

MCCAIN: The endgame that I envision is the departure of Moammar Gadhafi and the Libyan people being able to set up a government by themselves with the assistance primarily of the Europeans, but also the United States of America. Libya is much closer to Europe, and the Europeans have greater ties to Libya and greater interests.

SAYAH: You say the departure of Colonel Gadhafi and I will press you on this and getting more specific. What does this look like? Is this the rebel fighters raiding his house? Is he saying I give up? Can you be specific?

MCCAIN: I think it means one of three things. Either he joins Hugo Chavez in Venezuela or he goes to the International Criminal Court, which is my preference, or he joins Hitler and Stalin.

SAYAH: But how does he exit? Is he the type of man, based on what you know about hi, where he says I give up?

MCCAIN: I think it would be very difficult. And it certainly is even more unlikely today since he seems to at least for the time being fought these liberation forces to a standstill, to a stalemate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: So even when we pressed Senator McCain, he was not clear exactly what he envisioned as the endgame being, but he said the U.S. should be committed to this military intervention and again he believes the Obama administration should do more, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Those are great questions that you tried to press him. It's interesting. His choice would perhaps to him to The Hague, the International Criminal Court. Let me ask you this, though. As you mentioned, we may be seeing more American flags there in Libya. The U.S. essentially turned this thing over to Europe, to NATO. We said, we will help you, but this is your deal.

The question is do the rebels you have spoken with, do they believe that they can topple Gadhafi, themselves, without more active U.S. involvement? And, Reza, keeping in mind we mentioned the yesterday the U.S. has now promised $25 million in aid and now from Secretary Gates, we are hearing we will be sending in these armed drones.

SAYAH: Yes, Brooke. I think beyond what the opposition and the rebels are saying, all you have to do is to look at the facts on the battlefield and it is clear that at this point the rebel forces don't have the capability and the capacity to take on a professional army like the Gadhafi army.

They are still outmatched, outgunned. That is why they are still calling everyday for heavier weapons. This week, of course, Washington coming out with the announcement that they are going to be using unmanned Predator drones. That could help in places in Misrata where you have the regime using tactics like placing tanks and heavy weaponry in heavily-populated areas. Will that shift things and give the edge to the rebels on the battlefield?

Senator McCain today said there are no indications, no guarantees that that could be a game-changer, but he said they will be effective. So, as far as right now is concerned and the evidence on the battlefield, this is still an uphill battle for the rebel forces.

BALDWIN: In terms of the rebels, though, and I want to get back to Senator McCain. We know he personally has vouched for the opposition today, essentially calling them heroes. He said they are not al Qaeda. You have been there among them in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. How are these rebel groups evolving and are you seeing democracy at all take hold?

SAYAH: Well, look, even in our hotel where we are staying right now, there are political discussions happening, but I think the test for democracy is going to come if and when the Gadhafi regime is toppled, if and when they have the opportunity to submit a constitution, have elections, where there will be rivalries vying for power. That has not happened yet.

At this point, the members of the opposition, their purposes, their mission, they are all aligned. And that is the toppling of Colonel Gadhafi, so for now their mission is easy. Agreeing is easy. Will it be this easy once the Gadhafi regime is gone and they have to go through the political process, the difficulty and the challenges of democracy? That remains to be seen.

BLITZER: And how in the world Gadhafi would go.

Reza Sayah for me in Benghazi -- Reza, thank you.

And John McCain, so he's saying we need to get in deeper. We just heard from in.

But let's turn now to the Pentagon and go to CNN's Barbara Starr.

And, Barbara Starr, we know McCain is over there today saying we should send in these A-10 Warthogs and the big C-130 attack planes. My question to you is, is there any inclination at the Pentagon to go back in again?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, think of it as this kind of military strategy, Brooke. I'm sorry. We are having a little technical problem in my ear there. Think of it as this kind of military problem.

What do you do with airpower? You can only really do so much. Even if you send in the AC-130s, if you send in these other aircraft, airpower, even NATO says, will not solve the problem. The drones, the Predator drones, they will do a little bit more, but you are really talking about forces on the ground, about Gadhafi's forces which are now dug in using camouflage, disguising themselves by mixing in with the population populations, making it very tough to come after them from the air.

So even if these U.S. A-10 and the C-130s gets called back in, they are the kind of aircraft that go right into the cities where the forces are all mixed together. How do you get after that problem without inadvertently killing civilians, without civilian destruction. That is the challenge in front of NATO right now on this airpower question.

BALDWIN: Also another challenge, though, we have been hearing a lot, the word stalemate. The senator used the word stalemate today. Is there concern, Barbara, at the Pentagon, or even perhaps within the administration, that this thing would drag on then if it does, A., we will look like we are the ones sitting on the sidelines or possibly, B., we will end up getting sucked back in?

STARR: Well, those seem to be the two choices, don't they? And stalemate is the word that you hear around here, because Reza was talking about it in quite a bit of detail. What do you do to change the dynamic on the ground? How do you make the rebels better able to shift into a mode of success? Without the training, the weapons, the organization and the communications, can they really be changing the game themselves? By all accounts, they cannot.

Airpower, again, does not solve it, so the pressure will grow on NATO and the Obama administration perhaps as there is more and more tragedy on the civilians in Libya to do something about it, but the administration right now, the White House, the Pentagon, very adamant, no U.S. boots on the ground and right now, they say they will stick to that, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Very clearly stick to that thus far.

Barbara Starr at the Pentagon, Barbara, thank you.

And now take a look at this, new photos just released by the FBI. This is the guy. This is the man they are now calling a possible suspect in Wednesday's attempted mall bombing in Colorado. We will take you live to Littleton with new details today on this.

Also, we are getting some new information about that kindergartner, remember this story a couple of days ago, who brought a gun to school? The gun goes off, injures three students. Well, guess what? The gun might not have just dropped to the cafeteria floor after all. More on that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: So we are getting some new photographs of a possible suspect here in that failed bomb plot at a Colorado mall. They were taken on a bus that left the mall and take a long look here, because police want you to take this in. Do you recognize this man here in the striped shirt and the ball cap?

They don't have a name for him yet. They are obviously still trying to track him down. Here we go, is another picture. He is sitting down. his ball cap is off. These pictures are from a surveillance camera at the Southwest Plaza Mall in an area that is not normally open to the public.

And the same man here he is carrying a bag in his right hand. These pictures were taken minutes before that pipe bomb was found with the propane tanks. And all of this, bear this in mind, this incident happened on the 12th anniversary of the massacre at Columbine High School, the school less than two miles from this mall.

I want to bring in Ted Rowlands. He is out there for us in Littleton, Colorado.

And, Ted, yesterday, you know, this guy was considered a person of interest, now the FBI calling him a possible suspect. Are authorities at all any closer to identifying him today?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is hard to imagine, Brooke, when you look at the clarity of these new photos that they have released that they won't have this person's identity fairly quickly.

The first set of images that were released from inside the mall here a little fuzzy, tough to see, but boy, these ones that were taken off this bus, this guy apparently took a bus from the mall on Wednesday, these are pretty clear, so one would think that if the FBI doesn't already know his identity, that will be soon coming.

BALDWIN: And then a whole other layer to these pictures. As I mentioned this whole thing happening on the 12th anniversary of Columbine. On that day 12 years ago, a teacher was killed. It was Dave Sanders. And the widow, his widow was actually -- has been out speaking about this bomb plot. She was there.

Does she at all think that there is some kind of connection between what happened in the mall on Wednesday and what happened 12 years ago?

ROWLANDS: Yes, absolutely. Think of it, the widow was here at the mall during the bomb scare. And she has come out and said that she absolutely thinks there is a connection. In fact, she takes it a step further.

She says because Columbine was shut down on the 12th anniversary, there were a lot of students, Columbine students, here at the mall during this bomb scare. She thinks that might even be connected. Take a listen to some of what she said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA SANDERS, HUSBAND KILLED IN COLUMBINE MASSACRE: It scared me. We were in there. We were inside of there. Just because time has gone by for something like this, I think we need to be aware that we need to hype up or whatever you want to say the security around this date or around the date of any of our tragedies, because there's copycats out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Ted, how did she describe being in the mall with her daughters? What was the scene like? You mentioned a lot of kids from Columbine High School were there. It must have been pretty panicky.

ROWLANDS: Yes. She was with her not only daughters, but granddaughters apparently. And you hear her. Say said she was frightened and it was scary, because everybody here knows when it is the anniversary to Columbine. Around the world people forget about it and you had to be -- remembered it was April 20.

Everybody here knows about it. Everybody in the mall knew about it . So that, as you could imagine, puts a little bit more anxiety into everybody during an event like this. And they still have it now, because they don't know who this was and why this person would have tried to hurt people on that anniversary.

BALDWIN: Well, you are exactly right that these new pictures are pretty crystal clear of this guy. So, hopefully, police, FBI, they get a couple of helpful phone calls as a result.

Ted Rowlands for us in Littleton, thank you, Ted.

And a 6-year-old, 6, brings a loaded gun to school this week. It goes off. It injures several students. Now police believe they know where the gun came from. And, by the way, they are changing their story. Apparently, the gun didn't just fall out of this 6-year-old's pocket. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Ah, those gas prices. Six states and Washington, D.C., now have gas prices above $4 a gallon. And taking a look nationwide here, the average price of regular falls just short of that $4 mark at $3.85, but that is almost a full dollar more than where we were one year ago.

AAA says gas prices have been going up on average just about a dime a week. The states that have already crossed the $4 mark, maybe this is you, Hawaii, California, Alaska, Connecticut, Illinois, and New York.

President Obama, as we have reported, has ordered this task force to keep an eye on oil traders speculators to see if any fraud is behind all these gas hikes. You remember the story we told you earlier this week? A 6-year- old boy in Houston, Texas, brings a gun to school and it just fell out of his pocket, firing as it hit the floor. That was the initial report. A couple of classmates got shot, 5-year-old, 6-year-old. In fact, the boy who brought the gun got shot in his foot.

So, there is new information today. It turns out the gun might not have just fallen out of the boy's pocket after all. "The Houston Chronicle" is reporting police now believe he was holding the gun, showing it around, when it went off. The gun was a .9-millimeter semiautomatic pistol. And "The Houston Chronicle" also quotes police as saying they now believe the gun belonged to a family friend, not the parents, a family friend. Police say the friend and possibly the boy's parents could still face criminal charges.

Now this. More people are dying as protests escalate. This is Syria, security forces opening fire on civilian. And I'm just getting in some new information as to how many people have been killed there. That is ahead.

Also, it is a case police could not crack for years. But then, one investigator made a shocking discovery as he looked at a couple of pictures of gang members, including this one. I will show you what it is about this picture that has solved this case. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. Let's get you caught up on some of the other top stories here.

First to Syria. Security forces opened fired on anti-government demonstrators there. At least 43 people have been killed in cities and suburbs all the way from Damascus to Daraa. And the number is quickly rising. Dozens more are injured. Thousands of these Syrian protesters took to the streets today after Muslims' weekly prayers.

And ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is expected to remain in detention for another 15 days. The general prosecutor's office sent a team to question Mubarak today. He is accused of being the one responsible for the deaths of hundreds of protesters in the January revolution that toppled him from power. The ailing ex-president is at a hospital along the coast in Sharm el-Sheikh. He could be moved to a prison next week if he's well enough to do so.

And tragic news for a North Carolina family. The body of a missing 16-year-old honor student, Phylicia Barnes, has been found in a Maryland river. Barnes, who attended school in North Carolina, has been missing since December. She disappeared when she went to Baltimore to visit her half-sister. The body of an unidentified man was also found in the river just about three miles away from hers.

Put this one in the stupid criminal files, shall we? Take a look at this tattoo. It depicts an actual murder scene, down to the Christmas lights on the liquor store. Wait for it. We will show a better picture here. It pretty much stumped Los Angeles investigators -- here we go -- since 2004. So, the discovery of this tattoo on this L.A. gang member's chest reopened the cold case. And just this week, Anthony Garcia, the guy here with the tattoo, was convicted of the 2004 murder. He will be sentenced next month.

Coming up, they ran in when everybody else ran out, but now 9/11 first-responders are being told, hang on. You want medical treatment, you have to be screened to make sure you are not a terrorist first. I'm serious. We are digging deeper into this one. I will ask a 9/11 responder what he thinks about this. That is next.

And then Mel Gibson finally breaking his silence. What he has to say about those now infamous tapes of him screaming at his now ex- girlfriend. Don't miss this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You ready for this? Remember the big fight in Congress over compensating folks who fell ill after working at Ground Zero tirelessly days, weeks, months afterwards? Well, a lot of the folks, that people who were out there risking their lives day in, day out, they will soon receive letters saying the government needs to check their personal information. Why? To make sure they are not terrorists.

Yes, you heard correctly. This was first reported by The Huffington Post today. Republican Cliff Stearns of Florida added this provision, this amendment to HR-847, the 9/11 health and compensation law. Stearns says in a statement that funds from the law are not just for first-responders, but for anyone who was near Ground Zero and might have been affected.

He also says we cannot have terrorists receiving government benefits. He also notes his amendment sailed through without any opposition.

In a moment, I'm going to speak with a 9/11 first-responder, get his reaction to this letter he is about to be sent.

But, first, let's go to Mary Snow. She has done some digging for us in New York -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

And if you can imagine, Brooke, this is not going over very well here in New York among 9/11 responders. And earlier today, we spoke with John Feal. He is the head of the Fealgood Foundation. He is an advocate for 9/11 responders. He had been working with a steel demolition company at the site of Ground Zero, lost half a foot in an accident. And he has been an advocate ever since.

And he is just calling this nonsense. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN FEAL, FOUNDER, FEALGOOD FOUNDATION: When you risk your life without prejudice for this great nation, for this great city, 9.5 -- we are going on 10 years -- when you risk your life without wondering about your own health, and then get a letter in the mail asking if you are a terrorist, I mean, that's -- I mean, you are adding salt to an open wound that has not closed in nine and a half years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: And Feal, you know, Brooke, spent a lot of time in Washington with lawmakers, and he was aware that this amendment was in the bill. As you mentioned, this is a very contentious bill to be passed because there were a lot of amendments to be talked about. What he said is that he never thought this would come to fruition.

And what is happening now is that the 9/11 responders and the people working at ground zero who want to apply for the health benefits and the new program kicking in July, and as part of the new program, they are going to be getting these letters saying that their personal information is going to be checked against this terrorism database.

BALDWIN: So, Mary, for the folks who are opposing the screening process, will they take action?

SNOW: Well, I talked to John Feal earlier and he says it is a done deal, and it has passed. It was a hurdle to get it passed. And the thing he is asking for now is a copy of what the letter looks like. And in it, it says that it mentions the word terrorist watch list and he is saying at the very list what he is asking is that lawmakers will help him to change the wording and at the very least get it to change to Department of Homeland Security but at the very least take terrorist out of it.

BALDWIN: And let's ask first responder James Ryder who has not gotten the letter, but heard the story. How does this sit for you?

JAMES RYDER, 9/11 FIRST RESPONDER: Blew my mind. No reason or justification or logic behind it.

BALDWIN: You were at the ground zero the days and weeks and months after 9/11. Let me throw it at you, because this is what some are saying. Is it within the realm of possibility that terrorists could have been there as well as observers?

RYDER: As a police officer, you are trained that the perp could be standing in front of you, and yes, it is possible, but logical that he is here looking for assistance from the government because he ran into the fire while everybody else ran out? It does not make sense.

BALDWIN: People say it's a safeguard, and if you have nothing to hide, this is no big deal, what do you think?

RYDER: Well, it is not a safeguard. Cliff Stearns doing whatever he can do in his little mind to figure out it is important, but he needs to apologize to the first responders and the very brave people who responded in there on that day and let them know that this is about patriotism and not politics. What his logic is makes no sense. It is queer and illogical and inappropriate. To use terrorism as a word associated with the responders.

BALDWIN: I know that you know Mr. Feal and you are part of the foundation. I think you heard Mary say that as part of the letter if they could change the wording and instead of saying comparing or checking you guys against the terrorist watch list you could change the language, what would you like to change, because this is a done deal for all intents and purposes it sounds like?

RYDER: Right, it is a done deal, but it's broken. That is typical of our government sometimes. You don't want to watch it being made, and this is one of the examples. But terrorism needs to be out there.

And we understand it is going to be in there and we also understand that when the responders get it, they are dealing with post-traumatic stress and other issues and they can't pay the mortgage because they are taking 40 pills a day, and paying for the medication, this could be another stress on their lives and because of people like Cliff Stearns and others like him.

BALDWIN: People can point the fingers to Cliff Stearns, but the amendment sailed through whatever side of the political aisle you are on, and it didn't face opposition from the Democrats, and he is obviously a Republican. I do want to ask you in talking to the colleagues, is it majority of folks opposed to this or minorities say, hey, it is OK. How does that shakeout among your friends?

RYDER: Among my friends within the 9/11 community, it is wrong. Among my friends in the 9/1 community, it is inappropriate and causes stress and unhealthiness for the people that they don't deserve.

BALDWIN: Before I let you go, James, how are you doing health- wise?

RYDER: I'm doing a lot better than a lot of my friends. I just lost another friend the other day who last I saw two weeks ago, and I am trying to help his wife deal with this. I will never compare myself to the others who are worse than me, but am I sickened by 9/11, absolutely. I don't sleep well at all and I wake up 70 times a night according to 90 times according to tests I have had, but it is nothing in comparison to losing your life. I am lucky to be here to enjoy my children.

BALDWIN: James Ryder, I salute you for all of the work you have done and apologize for the loss of your friend. Thank you so much for being with us.

RYDER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Switching gears now, breaking with tradition -- what Kate Middleton will not be saying in the royal wedding ceremony.

And a video troops made by U.S. troops overseas lip-syncing to Britney Spears. And she has tweeted about it.

But first, we want to look at people who have achieved extraordinary things while overcoming obstacles. And this week CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to a young comedian and filmmaker who can add now TV host to his resume.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZACH ANNER, COMEDIAN: I come from a creative family, because my mother is a playwright and my mother made videos, too.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When he was growing up, Zach Anner always knew he wanted to work in film.

ANNER: It was always like, whatever you want to do, we can find a which to do it.

GUPTA: Now at 26 he lives in Austin and spends his days writing, editing and brainstorming with the production and support team, his friends. A year ago Austin and really the rest of the country didn't know who Zach was, and then he decided to enter a contest to become Oprah Winfrey's next TV talk show star.

OPRAH WINFREY, OWN NETWORK: How old were you when you figured out that you were different from the other kids?

ANNER: I knew I had a wheelchair obviously. They didn't shield that from me. But --

GUPTA: As a result of the contest, Oprah gave Zach his own travel show scheduled to air later this year.

ANNER: Taking life as it comes and whatever you run into, you just learn to roll with it.

GUPTA: And rolling with life's obstacles is just what Zach does. Zach has cerebral palsy which is a neurological disease which affects the brain's ability to control body movements, but having CP never stopped him from doing what he wants to do.

ANNER: Everybody has problems is what I always say. Like, mine, are no bigger than anyone else's, and that is the message that I want to get across. What I have to deal is with is really small in the scheme of things.

GUPTA: Zach gives his family credit for not dwelling on the disability. He hopes to someday be an inspiration to others and says he is not there, and has this advice.

ANNER: So I would say to anybody who feels really like they are bogged down by their obstacles, just really think of who you are without those. And imagine yourself doing what you love to do, because that will drive you to do things that you never thought that you were capable of.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We all appreciate our brave men and women in the uniform fighting for us overseas, but apparently, it is not all about the combat all of the time. The troops do get some well-deserved down time every now and then and some of them can get creative.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Oh, yes, don't hold it against them. The marine station in Afghanistan doing their best Britney Spears and look at the moves, lip syncing and much like she does sometimes to her new single "Hold it Against Me."

And in fact, Ms. Spears has deemed the move out of Afghanistan -- that is my favorite move directing traffic. And she tweets, "I am in love with this. I always knew our soldiers were fierce. Thank you for everything you guys do."

Who knew, Britney Spears in Afghanistan?

OK. The royal wedding is one week away, and we have learned that the people bringing Kate her dress the morning of the big day actually have to do a trial run multiple times. That is next. Also, Mel Gibson breaks his silence and what he says about all of the tapes of him yelling at his now ex-girlfriend and you will hear from Mel, himself, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Lindsay Lohan is back in court today, Mel Gibson has broken his silence, and Charlie Sheen is playing ball. Look at what is trending this Friday. Let's take a look at what's trending this Friday. Lindsay Lohan is back in court in the jewelry theft case, and today's hearing could determine if the actress has to stand trial for stealing the $2,500 necklace. But the judge will decide if the violation is a violation of her probation of her drunk driving conviction, and that could land Lohan back in jail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEL GIBSON, ACTOR: How dare you act like such a -- when I'm been -- you are a pain in my --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Wow, remember that? Those are the infamous recordings of Mel Gibson's rant against his ex-girlfriend. And the actor is now breaking his silence for first time since those recordings were leaked about a year ago giving interviews to the online site "Deadline Hollywood." Mel Gibson has expressed the regret and says that the recordings were taken out of context and cleverly edited. He goes on the quote, saying "It is one terribly awful moment in time said to one person in the span of one day and does not represent what I truly believe or how I have treated people in my entire life," end quote.

And now to Charlie Sheen hitting up baseball field, there he goes, at a college in Atlanta. Before his live one-man show in town last night Sheen worked out with the Georgia Tech baseball team. In fact, he told the reporter he enjoys being on the baseball field more than being on stage. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you rather be out here playing ball than doing shows? Is this your true passion?

CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: Yes. I mean, I'm more comfortable out here than I am up there, but I use a lot of the analogies that connect the two.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why more comfortable out here?

SHEEN: Just because it is more fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, several sorority girls showed up to invite him to a party, and he tweeted this morning, he was sorry he could not make it.

The royal wedding is one week away, and security for the big day is very tight. But security preparations in London are very different in the way that major events are handled here in the United States. Days before the wedding the queen has now met with Kate Middleton's parents, Michael and Carol Middleton. She and Prince Philip hosted a private lunch at Windsor castle.

CNN contributor Mark Saunders has been covering the British family for 25 years. Mark, I want to talk security here in a second, mark, but tell me why the luncheon with the Middletons at Windsor Castle was such a big deal.

MARK SAUNDERS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, the fact that it took place at Windsor castle and remember that this is the queen's home. This is Windsor castle where she lives and Buckingham Palace is just the office. So the middle tons have entered the inner sanctum and um and we are told it is delightful lunch. Apparently the queen's corgis entered at one point, and if you meet the queen's corgis, you really are friends with the queen.

BALDWIN: I want to ask about something more important, that being security. You have experience covering security, not just in London but here in the United States. And how different will it be in London and what about fears of terrorism?

SAUNDERS: I don't think there's any fear of terrorism. Remember, most of the British army at some point, there's a massive police presence. And though I'm not allowed to go into detail, there will be armed police officers in uniform, not just police uniform but with what was the uniform worn by the various members of the royal household.

And I think they are more concerned with -- there have been threats from groups of anarchists saying that they are going to demonstrate against the whole process of having a royal wedding. But if they tried something like that, then would probably be lynched by the public, because nobody wants to see this wedding ruined.

BALDWIN: Well, let's hope that the anarchists will not get in the way of the wedding dress. I heard there will three test runs for the dress to go to Buckingham Palace. Really?

SAUNDERS: There will be three dummy runs. They are trying to out-fox the paparazzi. If you remember last week, we were talking about this. I mentioned that the hotel has a very wide front and a chance that we're going to see the wedding dress before she gets into the car. Well, it appears that they might be taking her out the back because it was taken out the back of the hotel.

We hear there's going to be a military operation to get the dress from Buckingham Palace to the hotel which is going to involve three decoys. So it's intriguing and, to be honest, I'm quite baffled by it.

BALDWIN: Wait. I have to follow up on that. Just so I'm hearing you right, there are going to be decoys on the day had so they think that could be the dress?

SAUNDERS: Not on the day. It's before the day. Remember, on the day of the wedding, it will be impossible. All of the rows are going to be shut off. This could happen on Thursday. It could happen as early as Wednesday. But I was at the hotel earlier today and there are 100s al trying to get that one picture.

BALDWIN: I'm sure they are.

On a much more somber note, we know that will and Kate visited Diana's grave recently. What can you tell me about that?

SAUNDERS: Yes. This was heavily reported in the London press. We haven't got a date, but apparently William and Catherine did go down to the island grave of Princess Diana, William's late mother. It was reported to be a very poignant moment.

William is going to have his way to make sure his mother is involved in this wedding. We remember the incredible engagement ring that he gave Catherine in the first place. I think this is a very special moment between the two of them. Sadly, Diana is never going to get to meet Catherine, which is a great shame.

BALDWIN: I have one question. Am I being rude if I call her Kate? Do I need to call her Catherine?

SAUNDERS: I'm still trying to get my name heard so I do as I'm told. But most people are saying Kate. I'm saying Catherine.

BALDWIN: One final question about Catherine. There is one specific Catherine that will not be saying in her vows. What is that word and why?

SAUNDERS: Well, this is the word "obey" in the Church of England marriage service there comes a point where the bribe promises to love, honor, and obey her husband. Now, back in 1981, Princess Diana said she refused to say it and it was taken out. Lead into 100 headlines, "Di won't obey," and let's be honest, Brooke, she never did. And the same headlines have appeared this way. Catherine is not going to say the word "obey." So Catherine won't obey.

BALDWIN: Catherine won't obey, following in Diana's steps with that one. Mark Saunders, such a pleasure. I'm sure we'll be talking about William and Catherine. Thanks so much.

SAUNDERS: Thank you.

BALDWIN: The countdown is, of course, to the most anticipated wedding in decades. We're going to cover it like no one else. This Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern "CNN PRESENTS: THE WOMEN WHO WOULD BE QUEEN."

And then on Friday, April 29th, 4:00 a.m., get your coffee ready, tune in for CNN's royal wedding experience. Watch it, DVR it, participate. Every unforgettable moment live from London.

Coming up now, the feds releasing new photos of a possible suspect in the bomb plot near Columbine high school. Are they getting any closer to finding this guy? That is ahead.

And how did a high-schooler trick everyone into believing she was pregnant for six months? Find out who actually was in on it. And why she did this.

Also, Candy Crowley has news in from the world of politics. Your CNN Political Ticker is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now for your "CNN Equals Politics" update. Let's go to Candy Crowley joining me for the Political Ticker.

Miss Crowley, good Friday to you.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: How are you?

BALDWIN: Good.

CROWLEY: We have a couple of items that I'm going to draw your attention to on our ticker now. One of them is about an increasing pessimism in the country just this month. There have been four national polls taken that show that Americans seem to be more and more worried about the direction that the country is taking. The latest from The New York Times in CBS news shows that 70 percent of Americans polled said they believe the country is on the wrong track.

That is a phenomenal number. It's 12 points up from February which leads some people to believe that gas prices have added to the economic angst of the country. And I can tell you that pollsters pay a lot of attention to right direction, wrong attention because the general feel of the public is very influential.

Now it appears at this point that President Obama, certainly while paying for some of this, his approval rating ranks a lot higher than the members of Congress do. But nonetheless, 70 percent of the country thinking that it is headed in the wrong direction shows there is a lot of grumpiness and pessimism about the country.

John Ensign of Nevada, a senator, he is resigning as of May. He has been embroiled in a sex scandal. He admitted to having an affair with someone on his staff and that his parents gave money to his staffer and her husband and their family. There was an ongoing ethics committee investigation.

Ensign said in his fairly lengthy press release about this that he just didn't want to subject his family to this any longer. Even though he had been -- the case itself does not appear to being investigated outside of the FBI or Justice Department or anything like that.

So, what is good news for the Republicans in this is, A., they take a possible very bad Ethics Committee report off the table, because they just say, well, he's -- he's already gone, and that's his individual problem.

And, B, there's a Republican governor in Nevada. He can appoint a Republican and put him -- install him in that Senate seat and give him a leg up for 2012 for that Senate seat. So, they didn't want to lose that one. In some ways, the Republican Party certainly does gain by getting this off its tables -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: We will look a little bit more into Senator Ensign leaving with Joe Johns later in the hour. Candy Crowley, thank you very much. We will look for you of course on Sunday.

And we will get another "Political Update" for you in half an hour.