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Bin Laden Tapes Released; Obama Suspects Support Network from Pakistan; Pakistan's Spy Games; Memphis Braces for Record Flood; When to Take Social Security Benefits; A Horror Movie" in Misrata; Syrian Government Brutality

Aired May 09, 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: We're going to be -- good morning. We're going to be talking about it all. You have a good day. Thank you.

There is breaking news unfolding out of San Francisco. You heard them mentioned it. One week after Osama bin Laden was killed, a man with a passport from Yemen allegedly tried to into the cockpit of an American Airlines jet. Happened last night on a Chicago to San Francisco flight.

These are all details from San Francisco police. They say the man got out of his seat in coach, he went toward the flight deck, and he started pounding on the door. Flight attendants tried to push him back. He fought them. Finally, the crew along with passengers from first class took him down. They put him in flex handcuffs until the plane landed.

Listen to the pilot talk to the tower.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: American 1561, we're going to need a priority handling on our arrival. We've had a passenger conflict here.

American 1561, do I have as soon as possible at San Francisco?

UNIDENTIFIED TOWER CONTROL PERSONNEL: American 1561, Norcal approach, going to maintain 6,000. Say again the last thing you said.

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: Down to 6,000 and we need priority handling tonight.

UNIDENTIFIED TOWER CONTROL PERSONNEL: You are receiving it, American 1561.

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: Cool, thanks.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Police say the man never got into the cockpit. No one was seriously hurt. He was taken to a hospital so doctors could check out some scrapes and bruises. The Joint Terrorist Task Force took over after that. That was only one scare in the sky yesterday. Continental says a passenger on a Houston to Chicago flight went for the exit door while the plane was in the air. The airline says a flight attendant stopped him. The pilot landed in St. Louis and federal authorities arrested the guy.

So now let's turn to the latest developments in the Osama bin Laden story. The al Qaeda leader lived and died with a reward on his head of up to $50 million, but that bounty money may go unclaimed. Terror suspects provide a key information and Navy SEALs killed him. Two New York congressmen now say the money should go to the victims of the 9/11 attacks. More on that in a moment.

But first, the diplomatic relationship that's now unraveling between the United States and Pakistan. In the weeks since bin Laden was killed, the anger and the suspicions are growing louder. Now even the president is publicly questioning how bin Laden managed to live in a military town undetected for years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We think that there had to be some sort of support network for bin Laden inside of Pakistan. But we don't know who or what that support network was.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Now we want to focus on the five new videotapes released by the government over the weekend. The candid images are among the so- called treasure trove of intelligence recovered from the compound where bin Laden lived and died.

Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is in our Washington bureau, as am I today.

So it's nice to see you up close and personal.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So we saw a bit of the videotapes over the weekend. We saw Osama bin Laden watching that ancient television set. But as you've told me before, these are images our government wants us to see.

STARR: Well, that's right, Carol. I think everybody needs to remember, heavily edited by the U.S. government, just a snippet of what they got, no audio on there. And a controlled image, if you will.

This is now the image of Osama bin Laden that the U.S. wants the world to see. An old man huddled over a TV, a guy practicing his lines, someone who may not be this mythical figure that much of the world had thought he'd become.

COSTELLO: How long do you think it will take them to determine whether -- everybody's interested in whether there's al Qaeda cells within the United States and if Osama bin Laden had anything to do with them.

Do you think that's in the treasure trove of information or will we know or ever know?

STARR: Well, the public may or may not ever know, but that's exactly right. That's why they have to go through it all.

An official said over the weekend that it was enough information they got to fill a small college library. So think of it that way. They have got to go through it as fast as possible, determine what's in there, what they might have to move against very quickly, and what are -- you know, parts of it are real?

Is it -- is it material that they can really do something about it, or is it the rantings of a madman? Did he really have the organization, the money, the troops, the capability, to carry out more plots and plans? Is this a bunch of stuff he wrote down? What does it all really mean?

COSTELLO: I know you can't help but connect what's happening, you know, in our skies with the planes, and I know this is not exactly your beat, but something seemed to be happening now that Osama bin Laden has been killed.

STARR: Well, I think that most Americans, as they watch television news, would recall that there -- you know, it seems episodic. There's often these incidents on American airplanes where passengers become unruly. If any one of them proved to have a connection to a terrorist plot or network, I think the federal government will move on that very quickly.

And that's why you see, as you saw over the weekend, when they have incidents that seem suspicious, federal officials move in very quickly to investigate. That's what they need to determine. Is it an unruly passenger or is there something much more serious going on?

COSTELLO: Well, the guy with the Yemeni passport is a little disturbing.

Barbara Starr, many thanks.

In less than 10 minutes from now, we're going to talk to a "Wall Street Journal" reporter about the latest flashpoints in the strained relations. The Pakistani media publicly outing a man they say is an American CIA official there. Is it in retaliation? We'll talk about it.

But now let's get the view from the White House and CNN's Ed Henry.

Ed, the White House has been decidedly undiplomatic --

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, obviously these comments have been very provocative from the administration. They're walking a fine line here. They want to try and bring Pakistan along as a key partner in battling terrorism. But at the same time, you heard from the president himself in that "60 Minutes" interview, that essentially the U.S. could not trust Pakistan to share the information about the impending mission to go and kill Osama bin Laden outside Islamabad.

And so the bottom line is that the president in his comments made clear that he wants Pakistan to be investigating exactly what ties there may have been with bin Laden, who may have been providing him with safe harbor, just as the U.S. also investigates. But the president also had something very interesting to say about how he thinks that killing bin Laden may now open the door to dealing a death blow to al Qaeda in general.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: We're not done yet, but we've got the opportunity, I think, to really finally defeat at least al Qaeda in that border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. But it does mean we've got a chance to, I think, really delivery a fatal blow to this organization.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: When you combine that with the fact that Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday said that killing bin Laden could be a game changer in terms of the dealings with Afghanistan as well, head of that July deadline when the president is going to start bringing some U.S. troops home from the war in Afghanistan.

Combine that with the fact that we may see a whole new U.S. approach to the relationship with Pakistan as well. It gives you an idea of how the killing of bin Laden has reverberations that are just beginning. We're just beginning to understand how deep it's going to go -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ed Henry, live at the White House, many thanks.

Now let's talk about the reward money for Osama bin Laden. Washington had offered a bounty of up to $50 million, and since the government tracked him down and killed him, much of that cash could go unclaimed.

So two New York congressmen want that money devoted to the victims of the 9/11 attacks and the groups that helped them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), QUEENS, NEW YORK: The money that's leftover, and we think there will be, we have some ideas on where it should be spent. There are a myriad of organizations, some that are represented here, that do everything from take care of 9/11 health care concerns, like the Feel-Good Foundation, help take care of the psychological housing, all kinds of needs.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: The families of those killed were awarded money from a special compensation fund. It paid out an average of more than $2 million to thousands of families.

Coming up, people in Tennessee now feeling the brunt of those rising floodwaters of the Mississippi River.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our house flooded in about 6 or 7 feet of water. The water was about to my neck or about higher.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We'll have a live report from Memphis, where people are bracing for the worst, in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: This morning, there's a new report sure to test the fragile relationship between the United States and Pakistan. According to the "Wall Street Journal," Pakistani media have publicly identified a man it says is an American CIA station chief there.

The incident raises question about whether the government itself tried to out the operative.

Siobhan Gorman is one of the reporters who broke this story.

Welcome, Siobhan.

SIOBHAN GORMAN, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So how did the Pakistani media get the name of this CIA station chief?

GORMAN: Well, my colleague in Pakistan actually asked the bureau chief of the Pakistani television station, which first broke it, and he obviously was coy about his sources, but he said that they had one plus sources and they were very confident about it. So that seems to be the first point at which the name got into circulation.

COSTELLO: So what does that tell you about whether it could have come from the Pakistani government?

GORMAN: Well, there's certainly a lot of speculation, and the U.S. is looking into this. So I don't know, as with many things in Pakistan, it may never be totally clear, but there is certainly a lot of suspicion at this point that there may have been some role of -- you know, someone in Pakistan trying to put this name out purposefully.

COSTELLO: So could it have been -- is it retaliation? I mean why would the media publicize this name?

GORMAN: Well, the people I spoke with yesterday said that it could well be some kind of retaliation for the U.S. coming into the Pakistani's backyard and coming and killing bin Laden and not telling them about it and things like that.

There's obviously a lot of tension between the two countries since that happened last week. And it does seem like that's at least a reasonable conclusion you could draw.

COSTELLO: Now I know the United States is investigating. It's not pulling the station chief out of Pakistan, at least not yet.

GORMAN: Right.

COSTELLO: But tell us about what this station chief does, how important a role that he has.

GORMAN: Well, it's a really critically important role because Pakistan is obviously one of our most important partners when it comes to fighting terrorism and going after al Qaeda.

And the station chief is constantly working with and talking to his counterparts on the Pakistani side in the intelligence service, in the military, and trying to further develop leads on other counterterrorism investigations. So this is a really critically important job for the United States.

COSTELLO: Siobhan Gorman, thank you so much, from the "Wall Street Journal."

GORMAN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Great story this morning.

Now to those floods in the Midwest and the south. This morning, the mighty Mississippi is knocking on the doors of Memphis. Right now, the levees are holding, but near-record flooding is threatening Memphis and surrounding communities.

The colonel with the Corps of Engineers says something -- said something that actually caught our eye. He said to use an analogy, in one second, that water would fill up a football field 44 feet deep.

Wow.

CNN's David Mattingly is in Memphis.

And David, that sounds like a really scary situation there.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It sounds scary and it is historic, it is disruptive, it is destructive. But it has been moving slowly. So officials have been able to stay out in front of these floodwaters.

And we're about to reach a turning point here in Memphis. You see where the water is right now? Just about everything in Memphis that is typically on the water is now in the water. About the only thing operating along the riverfront are the paddle boats for the tourists that come down here to enjoy the river. But one thing we're seeing, this is -- this area behind me, these trees, that is Mud Island. That's another popular tourist destination. You can see a lot of it is under water. If you want to go visit it today, you won't be able to drive or walk there. You're actually going to need a boat.

Here in Memphis, the most intense flooding we've actually seen has not been here on the river. Now when you look at this, this river is normally a half-mile wide. It is now three miles wide. But the most intense flooding we have seen around Memphis has been on the tributaries that try to empty into the Mississippi.

With this water up, that water has nowhere to go. So, those tributaries are filling up in some places, some low-lying areas are creating spots of flooding all around Memphis. These are the areas where we're seeing typically trailer parks, some homes getting into the water and people having to collect their belongings.

We've got between 300 and 400 people in shelters right now, and they're probably going to be there for a while, because, Carol, all of the water you see here, it took days to get here, but it's going to take weeks for it to leave. It will probably be sometime in June before the Mississippi actually finds its way back into its original banks.

So, there's going to be a lot of clean up to do and a long time to do it, as this river slowly begins to retreat and move to the south.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: David Mattingly, many thanks.

So, as you heard David say, some tense moments for communities along the lower Mississippi. We want to check in with Bonnie Schneider in the weather center to see what's in store for them today.

What's the latest, Bonnie?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the latest, Carol, is that we do have some new video to show you of one of the spillways, the Bonnet Carre, being opened up. And you can see the water rushing out -- a lot of spectators down in Louisiana to watch this occur.

And what this spillway does is it does reduce the flow and reduce the risk for areas in the southern parishes for flooding in Louisiana. Now, we're still a little ways away from the crest there, but take a look at the last time that this occurred was in April 29th, 2008.

And this is a picture of the spillway. Here's the spillway. Why don't you zoom in right here?

You can see the Mississippi. What the water does is it spills into Lake Pontchartrain. So, it helps diffuse and lower the Mississippi. That's what happened in 2008 and that's actually what's happening right now.

Now, as we take a look at the immediate threat, you can see the flood advisories all along the Mississippi river. First off, we'll start in Memphis, where you saw the water is already high across Mud Island and all along the waterfront. The crest, though, is tomorrow, 48 feet. That's past the major flood stage, and just under the record.

And as we go further along and kind of fly into some of the areas, like, for example, into Vicksburg, you can see, here's an area of Google Earth, and you'll see it will occur on May 19th, 14.5 feet above flood stage. And it's not just in Vicksburg. But as we travel to Natchez and then further down the Mississippi, Red River Landing, and eventually Baton Rouge, you can see all these places along areas, along southward in the Mississippi, will crest above flood stage as we go through the next few days, and even into the next week.

And some of the flood stages and some of the anticipated high amounts of the crest will occur earlier than originally thought. There's a lot of water coming through. The Mississippi has expanded in size and in width, and we're anticipating that rush of water to continue to rise over the next week or so -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Bonnie Schneider, the severe weather center, many thanks.

Coming up, even the local kids thought they were little strange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED KID (through translator): Whenever our cricket ball went into the compound, we knocked on the door and asked for the ball. But the guy always said our ball was lost, gave us 50 rupees and asked us to buy a new one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A kids' eye view of the bin Laden compound and it's residents, just ahead.

And we don't often use the word "amazing." But this story probably qualifies. A Canadian woman has been found alive in a remote area of Nevada after she went missing for 49 days. We'll tell you how she survived. Also, the latest on her husband who went off to find help and disappeared.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking on stories making news cross-country:

Doctors say a Canadian woman who reportedly survived for 49 days in a remote area of Nevada is doing remarkably well. Rita Chretien (ph) told the hunters who found her that she survived mostly on trail mix and melted snow. She says her husband, Albert, went looking for help three days after their minivan got stranded off-road in the northwestern Nevada wilderness. He still has not been found.

In Florida, two stranded whales have been released off the Florida Keys. The adolescent pilot whales weigh 1,000 pounds each. They're part of a pod that washed ashore last week. Fourteen of the whales died, but five are being given around-the-clock care in hopes that they, too, can be released.

Two Muslim imams say they are still waiting to hear why they were forced off a commuter flight for a second security check, only to have the pilot takeoff without them, even after they were cleared. It happened last Friday on an Atlantic Southwest Airline's flight from Memphis to Charlotte. The imams finally made it to Charlotte where they were ironically attending a conference on prejudice against Muslims.

In a statement, Atlantic Southeast Airlines said, "We take security and safety very seriously and the event is currently under investigation. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause."

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: Does that music bring you back? This year, the baby boomer generation hits 65. These are the people who helped change the world through politics and music, innovation and a lifestyle that looked nothing like their parents' generation.

This week, CNN NEWSROOM delves deep into who the boomers are, what they gave the world -- good and bad -- and we ask: can we afford them? Can they afford themselves?

Today, we're talking about their Social Security benefits.

Christine Romans joins us now.

So, Christine, I guess the big question is: should you want those benefits -- should you take the benefits now or wait?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Most people should wait, Carol. In a perfect world, you would wait as long as you can. And here's why: this is the most important financial decision a boomer will ever make.

Think of this, Carol, a middle income couple that waits as long as possible to collect Social Security benefits could receive up to $100,000 more over their retirement than if they began collecting right away. Put more simply, work as long as you can and delay collecting Social Security and you'll draw the most money when you retire.

For baby boomers born between 1943 and 1954, the full retirement age is now 66. Each year you wait to collect benefits until age 70, the amount you draw will increase. But boomers are eligible as early as 62 years old to start collecting, and some do, for a variety of reasons. Anything that involves money and mortality isn't simple, so consider the variables -- your health, whether you still have a job, how much money you have in the bank, your pension, or your 401(k).

Check out these numbers from the AARP, for argument's sake. If you claim benefits early at 62 -- let's say you're getting $1,000 a month. Based on that number, if you claimed instead at 67, you could get up to $500 more every single month. Think of that. And if you wait until 70, you can get almost double that -- $900 more each month, up to $1,900 a month.

So, each year you wait, you get another 8 percent increase in monthly benefits. So, if you claim at 66 or later, at 67 years old, benefits are higher than if you claim at 62. A lot of numbers, but look at this -- if you wait until 70, they'll be 76 percent more benefits. In fact, each month you wait, there's a boost in your credits as well.

And so, another plus here for married couples, the younger spouse, the younger spouse, can collect on an older spouse's benefits, delay collecting their benefits until they hit 70 as a couple, literally reaping in benefits of waiting.

Finally, the AARP has calculated that if you do wait until 70, Carol, to start collecting, 82 percent of your living expenses will be covered. If you wait, Social Security will cover 82 percent of your living expenses. But if you don't wait, if you start collecting at 62, only 36 percent of your expenses are covered. It's a really big difference.

But, look, Carol, if you wait until 70, but you die at 72, then, of course, it hasn't done you very much good.

COSTELLO: I know.

ROMANS: So, a lot of this is who you are, what your expectations are, how healthy you are. If you don't have any money right now, some people have to collect because they have to live on it right now. And so, they're foregoing a much bigger pot of money, but it simply is a necessity for them.

I would encourage everyone to go to the Social Security Administration and AARP Web sites and they have a lot of fantastic material and calculators on this.

But when you think about it, Carol, you've got 10,000 boomers every single day turning 65, this is the biggest financial decision boomers are probably going to make.

COSTELLO: Yes. And it's why we're struggling, or at least our political leaders are struggling with Social Security right now.

Christine Romans live in New York -- thank you.

You probably can't tell when you fill up, but gas prices are going down -- or trickling down might be more accurate. But every fraction of a cent counts and it could signal a bigger drop. We'll take a look at that, next.

Also ahead, you know extremists are threatening to hit back at the United States for killing Osama bin Laden. We'll take a closer look to see if they have the power to back up their threats.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Gas prices are finally falling -- well, a little bit, anyway. AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular is $3.96 a gallon. But prices are still a buck higher than they were last year.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories now.

Jury selection begins today in a secret location in Florida for the Casey Anthony murder trial. As you know, Casey Anthony is accused of killing her two-year-old daughter, Caylee. The jury selection process is being kept secret due to the media hype around the case.

The flooded Mississippi River is expected to crest at near-record levels in Memphis tomorrow morning. The Army Corps of Engineers say the water there is moving at about 2 million cubic feet a second. To put another way, the water could fill up a football field 44 feet deep in just one second.

And media reports say that Apple has replaced Google as the world's most valuable brand. That value tops $153 billion.

Extremist groups have vowed to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden, but do they have what it takes to pull off another 9/11-style attack on the United States?

We're talking about that this morning with CNN's Reza Sayah. He's in Islamabad.

So what's the answer to the question, Reza?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it didn't take long for al Qaeda to vow revenge against the U.S. for Osama bin Laden's death. And obviously, ever since 9/11, these types of al Qaeda threats have managed to rattle the U.S. psyche and mind-set. They've obviously cost billions of dollars in security measures. And most importantly, perhaps, they've cost many Americans their sense of security.

But when you look at the facts over the past 10 years and talk to terrorism experts, they will tell you and those facts will show that al Qaeda at this point will probably not have the capability of pulling off a 9/11-style attack. The fact remains that ever since 9/11, and this could be hard for some people to believe, but they have failed to carry out a single successful attack on U.S. soil that has killed an American. Even their smaller plots have failed.

If you look back at the past several years, the plot in 2009 to bomb the New York City subway system, that failed. The underwear bomber, his bomb fizzled out in a plane over the skies of Detroit, Michigan. Also in 2009, and Faisal Shahzad, the accused and convicted New York Times Square bomber, that plot failed, as well.

So certainly, al Qaeda through the attention that it's generated over the past 10 years has imagined to infuse a lot of fear in the mindset of Americans, but I think it's important, when you look at al Qaeda now and its recent history, it should be some relief to Americans that they haven't managed to pull off a successful attack.

Are they still capable of doing so? Certainly. Should Americans be aware? Experts say yes. But it's also important to look at the facts that they have failed over and over again ever since 9/11.

COSTELLO: Reza, is it because al Qaeda has been weakened or American security has gotten better?

SAYAH: I think it's both. I think experts will tell you it's effective and determined counterterrorism efforts on the parts of the U.S. and it's diminishing resources in al Qaeda. And now you have bin Laden's death. So there's a lot of questions what al Qaeda can do.

You can be sure that al Qaeda and its affiliates will continue to deliver these threats, as they've done over the past couple of days on the heels of the killing of bin Laden. But it's crucial, I think, to keep things in perspective and look at the facts of what they've been able to do.

COSTELLO: Reza live in Islamabad. Thank you so much.

Remember some of the evidence taken from bin Laden's compound pointed to potential attacks on America's rail system? With that in mind, Senator Charles Schumer of New York thinks Amtrak should have a no- ride list like the airline's no-fly list. He wants added funding for rail security and train monitoring and inspections.

Sports, the Dallas Mavericks ended the Los Angeles Lakers' season on Sunday, and probably the career of their legendary coach Phil Jackson. If Jackson does retire, he goes out as the most successful pro-coach in north America sports history -- 11 championships in 20 seasons with two teams, three separate, three (INAUDIBLE), won seven out of every ten games he coached. That's regular season and playoffs, mind you. After the Lakers lost to the Mavs, Jackson sounded like he's made his decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL JACKSON, LAKERS' COACH: In all, my hopes and aspirations are is this is a final game that, you know, I'll coach. And you know, this has been a wonderful run. As Richard Nixon says, you won't be able to kick this guy around anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Certainly wasn't the way Phil Jackson wanted to end his career. We'll have highlights of the Mavs' blowout while an NHL team with a title legacy stays alive in the playoffs. More sports for you in just 20 minutes.

Also, the adults stayed holed up in the compound but not the kids. Osama's grandchildren actually made friends in the village. We'll get the scoop from one of them, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Besides bin Laden and his wives, there were a bunch of kids in that Pakistani compound. And surprisingly, they were allowed out. They made friends with the neighborhood kids.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Away from the high- tech hunt for terrorist number one is a simpler story of life in his village that we went to find. The eight or nine children in bin Laden's house, some perhaps his grandchildren, played with others in the village, including Zarar Amjed Turk, age 12.

ZARAR AMJED TURK, NEIGHBOR (through translator): The kids said the guy with them is their father, Nadine. Once I saw his two wives, one speaking Urdu, the other Arabic. He had a brother who was a fat guy with a goatee and mustache. I don't know why they had security cameras installed outside the house. We used to knock on the door for 10 or 20 minutes, then someone used to come to talk. That was strange for us.

WALSH: He says he didn't know the names of the children he played with.

TURK: We used to play cricket next to their house. Whenever our cricket ball went into the compound. We knocked on the door and asked for the ball, but the guy always said our ball was lost, gave us 50 rupees and asked us to buy a new one.

WALSH (on camera): It seems now that Nadine is dead.

Does that make you sad?

TURK: Yes, I feel sorry for Uncle Nadine. He never did anything wrong. He took my grandmother to the hospital and asked her to call her if she needs help, as he can drive her anywhere. He was a great person. I feel sorry for him.

WALSH (voice-over): The viewpoint of a child who until this week had never heard the name Osama bin Laden.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Abbottabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Here's what will be making headlines later this day.

The man who underwent the first full face transplant in the United States is leaving the hospital for home. He appears in a news conference at 11:00 a.m. Eastern this morning with his doctors.

And at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn tours the town of Metropolis, checking out the damage. He'll also give an update on the disaster response.

And at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer will declare the next step in a legal battle over a controversial immigration law. Key parts of that law were blocked in federal court.

There's been a lot of speculation over whether Sarah Palin will run for president. Well, Tina Fey guest hosted "Saturday Night Live" over the weekend and put her own comic spin on the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA FEY, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": The important thing for people to know is that I'm going to be running for president every four years for the rest of my life. It's my Olympics and I intend to win a whole bunch of silvers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: She's so funny.

Paul Steinhauser joining us now. But it does make you wonder, what is Sarah Palin's game plan? Will she run? Won't she run? Or does she like it this way?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Maybe she likes it this way. No obvious moves yet but she hasn't ruled it out. She says, you know, nothing's off the table. We'll see.

But there are some other more serious candidates, I guess you could say, who are making some news this week, Carol. So our debate in New Hampshire five weeks from today, and I think by then we'll have a much clearer picture. Let's talk -- tick through some of these.

Mitch Daniels, the Indiana governor, he's got a big speech later this week back in his home state to a Republican gathering. All eyes on that. Daniels says by the end of this month, he'll decide either way whether he's running.

Let's talk about John Huntsman. He's been in the news a lot lately. He's back from China. He was ambassador to China. The former Utah governor also thinking about running for the White House on the Republican side. He was well received in South Carolina this weekend. He was down there to give a speech and talk to Republicans down there. We'll see. He could decide as early as later this month.

And finally, Newt Gingrich. Carol, Georgia, you'll be there later this week. He'll be back in Georgia later this week. He's speaking at a Republican Party convention there and his spokesman says by Friday, he will be a presidential candidate.

COSTELLO: Do you think, though, the majority of Republicans are happy with these candidates, because don't they want Chris Christie of New Jersey to run? Aren't they just saying, please, please run?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, there's a lot of dissatisfaction so far, it seems, with these candidates. It's still very early, though. But, yes, in fact, the delegation from Iowa is going to New Jersey this week to say, hey, please run.

COSTELLO: OK. You didn't mention Donald Trump.

STEINHAUSER: All right. Let's talk about the Donald. We haven't heard much about him since he kind of got lambasted, I guess, a little bit at the White House Correspondents' Dinner eight days ago. Well, guess where he's going to be again this week? Back in New Hampshire, of course, the state that has the first primary in the nation. The following week he will be in South Carolina, the first southern primary state. And, of course, he says by June, he will have an announcement that will surprise us.

COSTELLO: Really?

STEINHAUSER: Maybe.

CHETRY: Well I was surprised he didn't drive the lead car in the Nascar thing. He got kind of kicked out.

STEINHAUSER: Didn't work out so well, I guess.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Paul Steinhauser, many thanks.

STEINHAUSER: Thanks.

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.

Coming up, fresh reports of brutality by Syrian security forces. One of the latest victims in their crackdown, a 12-year-old boy.

And what do you do when your community is being threatened by floodwaters? You build a levee. That's what these people in Vicksburg, Mississippi did even though the city could not help them do it. We'll have that story and others from around the country when we come back.

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COSTELLO: Surrounded on three sides by government forces, the Libyan rebels cling to control of Misrata, their last toehold in the country's west. Moammar Gadhafi's troops kept up a steady bombardment over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIE COLVIN, JOURNALIST: Misrata still under siege. The port is being shelled, which is a lifeline, and that's almost closed now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Survivors of the Misrata siege say residential neighborhoods are still being shelled. One compared the scene to a horror movie.

And more horrific scenes out of Syria, where we're hearing yet another report of security forces opening fire on unarmed crowds.

Zain Verjee is live in London to tell us more. So, Zain, fill us in.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: It's been seven weeks, Carol, and the harsh crackdown still continues. I just want to show you some YouTube video that we're receiving. It's really difficult to independently verify a lot of these pictures and a lot of the information that we're getting, but this is what we can show you.

The fighting in a place called Homs has really raged on as government troops open fire on civilians that were demonstrating. We hear that one 12-year-old boy was killed.

One thing to note here that's really important too, as we watch the events unfold in Syria here, Carol, is that the government crackdown has really expanded in the breadth that it's taking. It's going from a placed called Banias (ph) which is on the Mediterranean coast to the southern part of the country as well.

So just to underscore that point that the government, even though it gives hints of reform, it's still cracking down very harshly.

COSTELLO: So -- so, Zain, is there any credible opposition?

VERJEE: You know, most experts and administration officials say, no, the opposition is actually really weak and not very well organized at all.

There was a report in "The New York Times" today, Carol, that talked a little bit about the opposition and about how it's tried to smuggle in things like satellite phones into Syria so they can communicate with each other as well as with the outside world to tell them what is going on.

Apparently, that has been totally jammed. "The New York Times" actually quotes U.S. officials as saying that Syria may have had a helping hand from its good old buddy, Iran, because Iran had to deal with -- with an uprising back in 2009.

And what this report is saying is that Iran's helping out with things like jamming communications systems, like handing over equipment that helps cut off modes of communication, and also, supplying the Syrians with things like tear gas. So it's very difficult for the opposition, especially in the face of this really brutal crackdown that we're seeing.

COSTELLO: Zain Verjee, live in London, many thanks.

Coming up in the next hour, we'll take a look at the wives of Osama bin Laden, including one who was captured at the compound and reportedly is talking to investigators. Mohammed Jamjoom will join us from Kabul next.

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COSTELLO: Checking stories making news across the country. In Vicksburg, Mississippi where floodwaters are rising some people are using their own money to try to save their neighborhood. Residents are scrambling to raise a half -- a mile and a half long pathway two feet higher. They say the property is owned by the city of Vicksburg, but city officials will not do anything to help. And a sticky fashion statement in Kansas. This year Brielle Halbert (ph) made her prom dress completely out of duct tape. She says she got the idea from her physics teacher who says duct tape works for everything. Her date's tuxedo was made out of duct tape, too.

And it is official, this morning Meredith Vieira confirmed she is leaving the "Today" show. Co-host Matt Lauer said her final day will be in a few weeks. The "Today" show says Ann Curry will replace Vieira.

We're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Ed Henry at the White House.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Carol, the President is putting new pressure on the Pakistani government to come clean on what they knew about Osama bin Laden's compound and whether or not they were providing safe harbor. I'll have that story at the top of the hour.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. The Mississippi River will crest in Memphis tomorrow. Plus, expect crests further south occurring earlier than originally thought. I'll have your flood forecast coming up.

COSTELLO: Thanks to both of you.

And New York lawmakers want the $25 million bounty for Osama bin Laden to go to the victims of 9/11. Should it? We'll ask Roland Martin and Dana Loesch and NPR's Peter Sagal (ph) coming up.

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COSTELLO: Oh, it's time for my favorite part of the morning. The defending champs around. Jeff Fischel from HLN sports.

We're talking NBA playoffs and I guess it's safe to say it was a horrible day for the Lakers and kind of an end to an era?

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes Carol, you know, good-byes aren't always pretty, right? And this one sure wasn't.

It sounds like Phil Jackson is retiring saying good-bye from the NBA. He's won 11 NBA titles. If this last game, if this was his last game, it's sure an ugly way to go out.

The Lakers had no answer all series long for the Mavs on the perimeter. Look at this, the Lakers chasing the Mavericks around. Yes, there is Jason Terry for three. He had nine three pointers, Dallas is up 25 in the third.

There is Peja Stojakovic (ph); he was lethal from long range as well. The Mavs made 23 and in the final minutes, L.A. frustrated.

Look at Lamar Odom take the hit out on Dirk Nowitzki. He got thrown out of the game. Then Andrew Bynum the shot to JJ Barea he was thrown out. And of course, Phil known as the Zen master. His team was not Zen at the end. Two guys picked up and the Lakers fall badly by 36 points. It sounds like this is the end of the L.A. era. They need a new coach.

Kobe's days, of course, he's getting older, what happens to the Lakers next? Well, we knew that the Mavs are moving on to the conference championship.

In the East, Chicago taking on Atlanta game four. The Hawks Josh Smith goes to the basket.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And here's Smith to the rim.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISCHEL: (INAUDIBLE) fall for the dunk. Smith had 23 points, 16 boards, he also got the ball out on the fast break. Al Horford finishes this one right there. Hawks win 100-88. Series tied at two, game five tomorrow night in Chicago -- Chicago.

NHL playoffs, Detroit trying to stay alive against San Jose. (INAUDIBLE) nice stick handling. Gets to Nicolas (INAUDIBLE) for the blast. Almost home from there, deflects it for the goal. That's the game-winner. Red Wings come back from two goals down to win and the series goes back to Detroit tomorrow night, game six.

Derek Jeter's early season struggles have been front page news in New York. Here's a letter to the editors. Home run in the fifth inning against Texas. Jeter, not done. In the seventh, he did it again. Another shot. Two home runs on the day for Jeter. Overall for the Yankees short stop, raises the batting average 20 points. Yanks prove 12-5.

Finally, pink was all over the ball parks at Major League Baseball. Held its annual mother's day event supporting breast cancer research. Minnesota Twins, check out Trevor Plouffe, the shortstop. The pink shoes in honor of his mom who is a breast cancer survivor.

Same day, the Red Sox slugger, Andrew Gonzalez is one of the many here that's using pink bats. He goes deep the other way over the green monster. The Sox win 9-5. The pink bats will be auctioned to raise for the Susan G. Komen For the Cure Foundation. So, a great way for baseball to help out anyway it can every year on mother's day.

Carol -- for breast cancer --

COSTELLO: You know what gift Justin Verlander gave to his mom, don't you Jeff?

FISCHEL: I do. On Saturday, he threw a no-hitter. You know, I was just telling my producer. I've a feeling she's going to want to talk about that no-hitter.

COSTELLO: I know. I wanted you to spend the entire sportscast on it, but Phil's a hard task master. FISCHEL: We should rename "The Big Play" the "Indulge Carol Segment" and just kill three minutes --

COSTELLO: I love that. I love that. I'm going to run that by my husband to see if it works with him, too.

Jeff, many thanks.

FISCHEL: All right.