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Obama Suspects "Support Network"; Memphis Braces for Record Flood; Reports: Apple Most Valuable Brand; $50M for Osama Bin Laden; Egyptian Christians, Muslims Clash; Millionaires Who Owe No Taxes; Two Pilot Whales Released Off Florida Keys; Meredith Vieira Leaving "Today Show"; Pakistan Detains Three of Osama bin Laden's Wives; Gas National Average: $3.96

Aired May 09, 2011 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. in the west. I'm Carol Costello sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): A candid glimpse of Osama Bin Laden and his secret life hidden in plain view.

Diplomatic tensions soar between Pakistan and the United States with President Obama firing a new shot at the once crucial ally.

In Memphis, Tennessee, all eyes on the Mississippi River as it raises to near record levels. So far the levees systems are holding. But tomorrow the river is expected to crest at its highest level in more than 70 years.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We begin this hour with 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 may go unclaimed.

Terrorist suspects provided key information. Navy SEALs killed him, but two New York congressmen now say the money should go to the victims of the 9/11 attacks. We'll have more on that in a moment.

But first, the diplomatic relationship that's now unraveling between the United States and Pakistan. In the week since Bin Laden was killed, the anger and 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 OF AMERICA: 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 deliver a fatal blow to this organization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The president also talked about Pakistan and the need to investigate how much it knew when, if anyone in the government knew or its intelligence services knew.

So let's get more from of the view from the White House and CNN's Ed Henry. You know, the White House has been decidedly undiplomatic in some of its comments towards Pakistan. Is it being provocative on purpose?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think they're certainly trying to get Pakistan's attention. There's no doubt about it. That attention has been definitely reached, because Pakistani prime minister has just given a speech saying, it's ridiculous for anyone to suggest his government was providing a safe harbor to Osama Bin Laden.

But I think the president here is being still somewhat diplomatic by saying, look, Pakistan has been a key partner in terms of battling terrorism, and the president is being careful to say he wants the U.S. to investigate what Pakistan knew and he wants the Pakistanis to get to the bottom of it as well.

But there's no doubt there's new pressure now, in part because in -- when the U.S. was able to kill Bin Laden, they were also able to glean a lot of intelligence, as you know, and there may be e-mails, computer hard drives, that show direct contact between Bin Laden and his operatives.

And people with the Pakistani either the government, the intelligence service or the like so Pakistan can no longer just say, look, we know nothing about this. If all of a sudden there is hard evidence, Carol.

COSTELLO: The United States want to do a couple things. It wants to maybe interview Osama Bin Laden's wives, the wives that were living with him inside that compound. How likely do you think that is to happen and how can Washington pressure Pakistan to allow its investigators access to Osama Bin Laden's wives?

HENRY: It's a good question. It seems hard to believe that Pakistan is going to provide that much cooperation, especially since the president acknowledged in that "60 Minutes" interview. There was no advanced heads up to the Pakistani government that the U.S. was sending helicopters and these Navy SEALs in across the Pakistani border, a sovereign country.

The U.S. went in undetected because of special radar on those helicopters. That obviously really angered the Pakistani government. The idea they may now cooperate is hard to believe, but on the other hand, let's not forget, the U.S. has a key lever, which is that Pakistan wants to be seen as a good actor on the world stage, number one.

But number two, there's billions of dollars in U.S. aid at stake, aid that has been going to the Pakistanis. If all of a sudden that's in jeopardy, Pakistanis may be more willing to cooperate, Carol.

COSTELLO: We'll see. Ed Henry live at the White House, many thanks.

HENRY: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Pakistan says it is conducting an internal investigation, but its leaders are bristling at any suggestion that the government helped provide Bin Laden a safe haven.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUSAIN HAQQANI, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: If any member of the Pakistani government, the Pakistani military or the Pakistani intelligence service knew where Osama Bin Laden was, we would have taken action. Osama Bin Laden's presence in Pakistan, it was not to Pakistan's advantage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The diplomatic chasm between the U.S. and Pakistan is raising eyebrows around the world. For a closer look at that, let's check in with CNN Zain Verjee in London. Hi, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Carol. I was just going through some newspapers. Let's go straight to the international headlines just to give you a flavor what they're saying.

Take a look at "The Australian." This is the headline, "Spy Agency, No Ally in War on Terror." The ISI which owes its power and influence to Washington has become a monster, and there's a way to rein it in. The outlook for the fight against terrorism looks grim.

Check out "Gulf News." U.S. and Pakistan are on the same side. The recent killing of Osama Bin Laden, it says, has engendered speculation about the possible complicity of the Pakistani state in harboring Bin Laden, but that speculation, it says, is misplaced and harmful to America's future counterterrorism operations with Pakistan, making the U.S. less safe.

Finally, look at the "New Zealand Herald". Carol, the headline is, "Pressure on Pakistan to Provide Names." Suspicions, it says, deepened that Pakistan the pervasive intelligence spy agency, which has a long history of contacts with militant groups, may have had ties with Bin Laden, or that at least some of its agents did.

The agency has been described as a state within a state. The U.S. has been very clear here, Carol. It wants answers.

COSTELLO: It does, but at the bottom line here, we heard Ed Henry say, Pakistan and the United States need each other. Right?

VERJEE: Yes, they do. You know, it's kind of just like a really bad marriage and they have to stick it out. For the U.S., it needs Pakistan for counterterrorism operations. I mean, they have been helpful in nabs some pretty key people in the past. Also, a very critical thing in Washington is Pakistan's nuclear weapons at the center of their minds because if Pakistan suddenly gets over taken by radicals, they may have their hand on the nuclear button.

There's no way the U.S. would want something like that to happen and Pakistan knows it. So they use the nuclear card as leverage often against the United States. The U.S. uses the point of money as leverage against Pakistan.

Something like $20 billion of U.S. money over the past few years has gone to Pakistan for economic aid and development as well as military help.

COSTELLO: Sort of in a stalemate right now, but you never know what might happen. Zain Verjee live in London, many thanks.

VERJEE: Yes.

COSTELLO: At the bottom of the hour, we'll take a look at the wives of Osama Bin Laden including one captured at the compound and reportedly is talking to investigators. Our Mohammad Jamjoom will join us from Kabul to fill us in.

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

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE ANTHONY WEINER (D), QUEENS, NEW YORK: If money is left over and we think there will be, we have some ideas where it should be spent.

There are 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 VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: 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.

Tensions between Christians and Muslims boiling over again in Egypt. The government steps up security after one brutal weekend. Our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman, live in Cairo. Ben, what's the latest?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol. Well, Cairo has been tense since the Saturday night attack on this Christian church in a suburb of Cairo in which 12 people were killed and more than 200 wounded.

At the moment, just in the street below me, there's several hundred Christians as well as Muslims demonstrating for the government, demanding that the government take a much harder line on people who have been involved in these attacks. Many Christians are worried about a rising wave of Islamic fundamentalism.

Some of them, in fact, are calling for international protection for the Christians in Egypt who make up about 9 percent to 10 percent of the population. Others simply want the military government here, which took over from Hosni Mubarak in February to take a much harder line and round up the people who were involved in this incident.

Now, according to one official newspaper, the mastermind of the attack on the churches has been arrested this morning. Fourteen others who participated in the attacks have also been arrested, but we don't have details yet on the identity, Carol, of that quote/unquote, "mastermind."

COSTELLO: Ben Wedeman reporting live from Cairo. Thank you.

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

COSTELLO (voice-over): Well, the live report from Memphis where people are bracing for the worst. We'll have that report in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The mighty Mississippi is knocking on the doors of Memphis this morning. Right now the levees are holding, but near record flooding is threatening Memphis and surrounding communities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): The river is expected to crest tomorrow morning at 48 feet. We talked to the mayor of Memphis this morning who says the city is ready.

MAYOR AC WHARTON, MEMPHIS TENNESSEE: We think we have a pretty good handle on it. The Corps of Engineers tell us that the levees are going to hold. We've I evacuated around 400. There are another 1,300 or so in the low-lying areas.

The only danger there is that if a road were to give in. We had that happen out in the southwest where we could not get in the last minute, but we're going to be ready. Even if that were to happen we'd have ways of getting everybody out.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: But you can bet, people in Memphis are still nervous as the Mississippi River keeps rising. This morning a major spillway was opened in Louisiana to divert floodwaters away from New Orleans.

So that state, Louisiana, is threatened as well. Let's check in with Bonnie Schneider, she's in the Severe Weather Center. So who should worry?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately, we all have to be monitoring the Mississippi particularly as we go into the next week because those crests will continue. The spillway opened, you saw that rush of water, a lot of spectators, down in Saint Charles Parish to watch the event.

And what that's doing is it is helping relieve the flow towards the southern parishes of Louisiana and, of course, New Orleans as well. This will actually divert 250,000 cubic feet of water per second. So the flow, here's the spillway, right here, the Mississippi. You see it spills into Lake Pontchartrain as it continues to do that. So that will alleviate things and improve things for the parishes in Louisiana, but what about the rest of the Mississippi?

Well, starting out in Memphis, of course, our immediate threat with the crest coming at 48 feet tomorrow that will take it certainly past major flood stage and not quite at the record, but certainly enough to continue to be monitoring and be concerned for more flooding even though it's already flooding right now.

As we advance further to the south, you can see that when we're looking at feet above flood stage. We have to monitor Vicsburg, Nachess all the way to Red Riverlanding and Baton Rouge and of course, New Orleans as we go through.

So one of the problems I just want to mention today, Carol, is that it's hot and humid across much of the Deltas so very oppressive for people working outside sandbagging areas along their community. The temperatures are going to soar today and tomorrow.

COSTELLO: So be careful with the heat as well. Bonnie Schneider, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

COSTELLO: Now, a CNN story in depth. The U.S. Corps of Engineers made an agonizing decision to blow up the levees to save the city of Cairo, Illinois.

CNN's David Mattingly has an exclusive look at the men who decided to flood thousands of acres of Missouri farmland to save other communities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Levees blown up, flooding 130,000 acres of rich Missouri farmland and this is the man who gave the order. But Army Corps of Engineer's Major General Michael Walsh now finds his decision questioned and misunderstood.

(on camera): In a sense, are you playing God here, deciding who gets flooded and who doesn't?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't believe -- I don't believe that's the case.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Walsh's order to blow the levees did prevent record floodwaters from over topping levees in Cairo, Illinois, but now we find that was just the beginning.

(on camera): Walsh tells me there was so much more at stake. Eighty miles of shoreline along western Kentucky on the Ohio River, 120 miles from Commerce, Missouri, down the Mississippi to Helena, Arkansas, these are all areas with levees that could have been overtopped by the rising river, Walsh says, if he hadn't acted.

And when the time came, after consulting with scores of engineers and experts, it was his decision to make, and make alone.

So you're it? You're the top of the chain of command? You didn't have to kick this up to the White House or anybody like that to say, we're going to flood a significant portion of Missouri?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly, we keep the vertical chain in alignment and informed on what decisions I make, but the decision in accordance with the program is, the president of the Mississippi River Commission.

MATTINGLY: And that's you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that's me.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): And there wasn't much time. Just eight days from an alarming weather forecast to Walsh's worst fears coming true.

(on camera): How did this affect you personally?

MAJOR GENERAL MICHAEL WALSH, U.S. ARMY CORP OF ENGINEERS: Certainly, I know the -- many of the people who own land there, and I've been to their house and I know them personally. I was talking with them and they understood the difficulty of the decision that had to be made.

MATTINGLY: Was the right decision made and would you make it again?

WALSH: Well, that's a good question, and frankly, we haven't had the time to go back and look at it.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): That's because huge decisions and their human consequences are now looming in Louisiana, where another floodway could soon be opened flooding communities for miles.

(on camera): This flood, this historic flood, continuing to affect this flood control system all throughout the Mississippi, pushing it to its limits and the general telling me he's going to use every tool in his toolbox. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Tough choices. David Mattingly, reporting live. Thank you.

Coming up, 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 going 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.

And we're talking to Jeanne Sahadi of cnnmoney.com. She will tell us why some millionaires are not paying a dime of federal income tax for 2010 so much for that whole debt and taxes thing. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: CNN Money's new website is up and running this morning. It's your home for news about business, the economy and your money.

Here's one story you should read because it will make you a little angry. It's about people making millions of dollars in 2010 and paying zero federal income taxes. About 4,000 households fall into that category.

Now overall, fewer than half of you as households will not pay federal income tax for 2010. Most of them made less than $50,000. Let's talk about the millionaires. Shall we? Jeanne Sahadi wrote the story for CNNMoney.com.

So, Jeanne, how can someone make more than a million dollars and not pay any taxes?

JEANNE SAHADI, SENIOR WRITER, CNNMONEY.COM: Well, the short answer, all the tax breaks in the tax code are probably the reason. No one can say for sure because we don't have access to the returns of those people, but I talked to some tax experts.

And they said basically chances are good these folks had very large portfolios, maybe they had a lot of capital gains and run-up in the stock market in the last couple of years, but didn't have to pay tax on those capital gains because they had a ton of capital losses from the 2008 financial crisis so one offsets the other. That's one way.

Another way is they could have decided to take all their money and put in tax exempt funds meaning they don't owe any tax on the interest that they earn on those bonds. Another way is someone could have left a very high-paying job to go off on their own, to start their own business.

Their current paycheck is probably much less than the paycheck when working for the man, but the income tax they owe on that might have been more than offset by the large house that they own or the big piece of property where they also get big tax breaks. So those are some of the ways that this could have happened.

COSTELLO: We're only talking about a very small segment of the population about 4,000 people, right?

SAHADI: Right, very, very small.

COSTELLO: Very, very small. We always hear that boosting taxes on the rich. Well, will they solve the nation's fiscal problems or won't they, and why?

SAHADI: Right. I think that what's interesting about these numbers is they point out the discussion lawmakers have to have about tax breaks in the tax code when they go to reform things. We can't tax the rich into oblivion and solve our deficit problems. It's just not going to work. There aren't enough of them. Their income tends to be very volatile.

So that when the economy's down and the Treasury is really begging for dollars, they're not going to get it from this sector of the population because their incomes are going to get hit a lot, too. But what is interesting is that the $1.1 trillion in tax breaks the Treasury gives in revenue every year, they tend to disproportionately benefit high income households.

In fact, Howard Gleckman at the Tax Policy Center said to me that high income households benefit more as a percentage of after tax income from their tax breaks than do low-income households from their tax breaks, even when they end up owing tax.

So they end one with a lot more in their bank accounts as a result of the tax breaks so it needs to be revisited by lawmakers.

COSTELLO: And maybe it will in the coming months. Who knows? Jeanne Sahadi from CNNMoney.com, thanks so much.

The new CNNMoney.com has more stories. Drop down links to the latest content from our partners at "Fortune" and "Money" magazines and there's more for you on iPad and it's also tablet friendly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Checking stories making news across the country -- doctors say a Canadian woman who reportedly survived 49 days in a remote area of Nevada is doing remarkably well.

Rita told hunters who found her that she survived mostly -- I have to clear my throat. I apologize -- this woman survived mostly on trail mix and melted snow.

She says her husband, Albert went looking for help three days after their minivan got stranded in northwest Nevada in the wilderness and has not been found.

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

Still ahead the many wives of Osama Bin Laden, his youngest bride was by his side when he was killed. Today, she is facing tough questions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Jury selection begins today in a secret location in Florida for the Casey Anthony murder trial. Anthony is accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. The jury selection process is being kept secret due to the media hype surrounding the case.

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

And Charles Schumer wants Amtrak to have a no ride list like the airlines no fly list. The lawmaker is calling for morale security after evidence was found in Osama Bin Laden's compound about possible attacks on the railways.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ripped from today's headlines, as they say, shows like "Saturday Night Live" relish in taking on the big stories. Well, here's their take on death and the watery burial of Osama Bin Laden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Second as to my place of burial, I leave the decision to my executors provided wherever it is they do not bury me at sea. As my family well knows, I have a deathly fear of being eaten by fish so I am very serious about this. Do not bury me at sea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: What better way to set up our political buzz. A lighting fast conversation hitting the hot political topics of the day, each of our brilliant political observers get 20 seconds to answer three probing questions.

Dana Loesch is a Tea Party supporter and conservative. Roland Martin is a CNN contributor, he and his laugh. And the very funny, Peter Sagal is host of NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me."

So, welcome. And here is the first question: Two New York lawmakers say the $50 million bounty from the death of Osama bin Laden should go to the 9/11 victims.

Do you agree, Dana?

DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I would really love to see that money go to the Wounded Warriors Project. I think it's a fantastic project that helps our fallen soldiers and their families, those overcoming wounds they've sustained while in action. I would love to see that money go towards them, because we all know that our military men and women have a hard enough time at points making ends meet, especially when they've suffered injuries. So, that's where I would love to see it go, something like Wounded Warriors.

COSTELLO: Roland?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The money, frankly, should go to the New York firefighters and police officers who Congress has refused to properly fund when it comes to their health care. That's the real issue, and it is frankly an abomination what Congress has done when it comes to ignoring these folks in these significant health crises they've had since 9/11.

COSTELLO: Peter?

PETER SAGAL, NPR HOST: I think that giving government money to people who might deserve it sounds kind of communistic. I think we should do it the traditional way, through reality TV. Have Simon Cowell abused the people and then America should vote on who's most adorable.

COSTELLO: OK. On to question two: "Saturday Night Live" is getting into the political swing of things, as usual. We want to show you another quick clip, as they take an early shot at one of "SNL's" favorite targets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TINA FEY, ACTRESS: 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.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That is Tina Fey's take on Sarah Palin's political aspirations. But I'll put it to you. What do you think Sarah Palin's political aspirations are? Roland?

MARTIN: Get paid. I mean, look, she's done quite well when it comes to her bank account as a result of running as vice president with Senator John McCain. And so, I've never thought for a second she was going to run for president. And so, look, as long as the tease continues, the possibility of her running, her popularity remains the way it is, with Republican voters. She'll keep cashing checks. COSTELLO: Dana?

LOESCH: Hey, it's really difficult to say. I don't think that -- and I hate hedging bets here, especially on this. I don't think she's going to run in 2012. I don't know if she'll ever run.

I personally think the she has more power outside of the campaign sphere. She has her PAC. She gets involved in different campaigns and endorses people.

In the last election, the majority she endorsed actually walked away winning. She had a better rate than a lot of other political action committees out there.

COSTELLO: Peter?

SAGAL: Her campaign strategy will, of course, be all of them. I mean, she quit a pretty good job as governor. It's nice. She gets perks. She gets a cartridge (ph) to have year round.

She doesn't want to be president. She wants to be Oprah. And, frankly, it's a better gig. I don't blame her.

COSTELLO: OK. Last question, gas prices may finally be going down. The report last week shows jobs were added to the economy, and, of course, Osama bin Laden is dead. Does this make Barack Obama unbeatable in the coming election?

Dana?

LOESCH: Oh, I think it would be really dangerous for Democrats to buy into the unbeatable idea. And we have to remember, too, that unemployment actually climbed back to 9 percent just in April. And I think, what, one-third of those jobs were added by McDonald's, which is fine, but we have to look where our job market is going as well.

I don't think that the president is unbeatable. I think it's going to be a little difficult for him, considering such a certified --

COSTELLO: Out of time. Out of time. Have to wrap it up. Dana, sorry.

Twenty seconds. Roland?

MARTIN: I'll tell you what, Dana? If you have no job, you don't mind a McDonald's job.

Look, here's the deal. 1991, President George H.W. Bush had an approval rating near 90 percent. A year later, he was packing. So, it would be crazy for anyone to assume that President Barack Obama is unbeatable.

The economy was the issue in 1992. It will be the issue in 2012. And so, that's what the focus will be. So, it's nuts to say he's unbeatable.

COSTELLO: Out of time.

Peter?

SAGAL: Well, it is true that 18 months, however long it is to the next election, is an eternity in politics. So, yes, I think President Obama is going to have to shoot some more guys if he wants to maintain his popularity. I think that got John from "John and Kate Plus Eight" is pretty unpopular. You could try him or his jokes about Donald Trump worked well. Maybe the SEAL team.

COSTELLO: Oh, jeez. Dana, Roland, Peter -- thanks for playing "Political Buzz."

And we have another version tomorrow. Thanks to all of you.

After Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden, they left his compound with a so-called treasure trove of intelligence. But it was the Pakistani officials responding to the scene who later laid claim on some of the most prized leads.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, CNN'S "STATE OF THE UNION": Will they ever been give us access to, like, bin Laden's wives or to any members of ISI who might have been in contact with him?

TOM DONILON, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: It's very important. And we have asked for access both to the people, including three wives who they now have in custody from the compound, as well as additional materials that they took from the compound to be used for intelligence analysis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom has a closer look at Osama bin Laden's wives. He joins us from Kabul, Afghanistan.

And, Mohammed, you spoke to a relative of Osama's youngest wife. What did you learn?

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's an exclusive interview we had over the weekend with a relative of Amal al-Sadah. His name is Ahmed. He knew her growing up in the southern Yemeni city of Ibb. He told us she was a quiet, confident, modern Yemeni girl, that her family was well-known and respected in that province, that they were conservative like other families in Yemen but that they weren't extremists.

Now, when we asked if he knew how she basically had gotten married to Osama bin Laden, he wasn't sure. He could not confirm to us the details about the matchmaker that's been reported the al Qaeda figure who put that match together. He also was under the impression, although he down give many details that Osama bin Laden and his wife Amal had had more children, more than just the one that's been reported, the girl. Now, when we asked him if this woman had come back to Yemen, she had come back to Yemen at one point, then she traveled again, made her way back to Pakistan where she was with Osama bin Laden. Many people think that she was in that house for over five years -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Did they have any -- did her relatives have any contact with her during the time she was in the bin Laden compound?

JAMJOOM: Her relative told us they had very little contact and were basically given the message that they should not be asking questions. They should not be talking about Amal because that would bring problems to the family from the Yemeni government. In fact, he said that even now, they've come under great pressure from the Yemeni pressure not to speak to the media.

The Yemeni government is very sensitive about charges how of much al Qaeda is a problem in Yemen. The fact that this woman came from Yemen going to reinforce to a lot of people that Yemen is a very dangerous place. That al Qaeda has a hub there in that country.

So, they are quite concerned about speaking to the media. When she was with Osama bin Laden, they were concern about speaking to the media. We know that she did give an interview to an Arabic magazine in 2002. But beyond that, nobody in her family has spoken and they were told not to speak -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And just a final question: considering the type of marriage they may have had -- is it possible that she has valuable information to give to investigators, in Pakistan and in the United States?

JAMJOOM: Well, Carol, this is the big question right now. And, in fact, everybody is wondering if, in fact, she will be repatriated to Yemen. Now, Yemeni officials have said they're just not sure right now. Not sure if the government has put in an official request to the government of Pakistan to bring Amal back to Yemen.

Pakistani officials have said that even if the U.S. requests to get Amal and others of his wives, that they would not consider that request until the country of origin for those wives have sign off on it. Until they were sure that those countries didn't want those wives back in their countries of origin.

As far as Amal, many people are speculating that she would have valuable information, that she would be somebody that the Americans would be very interested in speaking with, that she could really try to illuminate even more what was going on in that compound and the intel that Osama bin Laden had and a lot more about Osama bin Laden and about that terrorist network -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Fascinating. Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting live from Kabul, Afghanistan.

It looks like the end of an era in Los Angeles and it's certainly the end of the Lakers season. Sports is coming up.

And you probably can't tell it when you fill up, but gas prices are actually going down. And bigger drops could be coming. We'll take a look at that, next.

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COSTELLO: It doesn't really feel like it, but gas prices are down for a fourth straight day. But the savings barely qualify as a drop in the bucket. AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular is $3.96 a gallon. That's a fraction of a cent cheaper than yesterday.

Alison Kosik joins us now from New York.

So, Alison, oil sold out by more than $100 last week. And that's probably the reason that drop in gas prices isn't bigger?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One thing to keep in mind, it's not necessarily the case. One thing to keep in mind is, you know, we oftentimes don't see gas prices come down as fast as they go up, you know? And part of that reason is because, you know, the connection between gas prices and oil prices is really not a straight line.

Keep in mind, the fundamentals that keep these prices high are still there. We've got demand for oil. That's up in developing countries like China and India.

We've also got the fact that some refineries here in the U.S., they're going through planned maintenance shutdowns. And that's really a bit of a disruption as well.

And speculators -- throw them in the mix. They're betting that prices will continue to rise. So, especially with this big drop in oil prices, they're buying oil.

Now, a weak U.S. dollar is also driving up U.S. prices, that's because oil is priced in dollars.

Now, keep in mind the sell-off, it was a rare thing that we saw in oil last week. But the fact is, Carol, oil prices are higher than they were at the beginning of the year, and that's really a big part of how gas is priced, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, I'm just curious. If oil in part drives gas prices, how long does it take a move in the oil prices to translate into a move in gas prices?

KOSIK: That's what we all want to know. Analysts say, you know, it could cake take one to two weeks to had that lag time because oil really has to go through kind of a supply chain. It has to go from the oil field to the refinery, to the gas stations.

Also keep in mind, oil to gas isn't a dollar to dollar move. Analysts say a dollar drop in oil prices equals a 2 cent drop in gas prices. I know. It's not much.

So, last week's decline should push gas prices down to the $3.70 range, but oil is up another 2 bucks today. So, you know, this is just rapidly changing, and, you know, not in our favor. Put it that way, Carol. COSTELLO: I know. I know. I'm trying to think positively, but it is difficult.

Alison Kosik live in New York -- thank you.

Oh, in sports, it sure sounds like Coach Phil Jackson is retiring. If this was the last game for the Lakers' coach, it was an ugly way to go out. The Lakers had no answer all series long for Dallas on the perimeter. The Mavs Jason Terry hit nine -- count 'em -- nine three- pointers Sunday, including that one.

Dallas was up 25 points in the third. The Mavs made 20 threes. In the final minutes, L.A. got frustrated. Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum were both thrown out for flagrant fouls. Oops.

Dallas sweeps the series and moves on to the western conference final.

And we cannot forget Justin Verlander's masterful pitching performance. The Tiger's ace threw a no-hitter against Toronto. It's so cool. He took a perfect game into the eighth inning before walking a batter. It is the second hitter for the 28-year-old Verlander. And I'm sure he has many more in the tank. Go Tigers.

Coming up: if you're going to be stuck at your prom, you might as well do it the right way. We'll introduce you to the Kansas couple whose prom attire was made entirely of duct tape. We'll show in just a few minutes.

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COSTELLO: We've got new information about that passenger with a Yemeni passport who charged the cockpit on an American Airlines flight to San Francisco last night. A law enforcement official says there is nothing to indicate terrorism was involved. That official believes the man has mental health issues.

Authorities say he got out of his seat in coach, went towards the flight deck and started pounding on the door. The door to where the pilots are. Flight attendants tried to push him back. He fought them off.

Finally, the crew, along with passengers from first class, took him down. They put him in flex handcuffs until the plane landed.

Listen to pilot talk to the tower.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

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

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

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

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

TOWER: You are receiving it, American 1561.

PILOT: Cool, thanks.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Police say the man never got into the cockpit because the door was locked and they also say no one was seriously hurt.

Two Muslim imams say they're still waiting to hear why they were forced off a commuter flight for a second security check only to have the pilot take off without them. It happened last Friday on an Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight from Memphis to Charlotte.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IMAM MASUDUR RAHMAN, REMOVED FROM PLANE: We let them check our staff and our luggage, our bag, our body, everything they did. Then they said, OK, you guys are good. You can go.

When we are entering into the plane, their supervisor, Mr. Russell, he said, "Mr. Rahman, sorry. I was pleading to pilot to let you go on this flight, but he is not allowing you to go."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The imams eventually make it to Charlotte where they were ironically attending a conference on prejudice against Muslims.

In the meantime, the airlines issued this statement: "We take safety and security very seriously and the event is currently under investigation. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience that this may have caused."

And checking stories making news cross-country:

Many homeowners in the path of the Midwest floods have already lost everything. CNN affiliate WPSD caught up with Jeremy Johnson whose home was flooded. The look on his face kind of says it all at the first sight of his damage to his home. It was quite a shock.

A sticky fashion statement in Kansas. This year, Brielle Halberg (ph) made her prom dress completely out of duct tape. So, she got the idea from her physics teacher who says duct tape works for everything. Her date's tuxedo was made on a duct tape, too.

And Monroe-mania -- several items from Marilyn Monroe sold for record prices at an auction in Beverly Hills over the weekend. One of the biggest surprises, a black cocktail dress worn by the screen siren back in 1958 sold for $348,000. Other highlights included a bathing suit that went for $84,000. And a bra -- not kidding -- it went for $6,800.

John Kerry says it's time to shut up and move on. The Massachusetts senator referring to details surrounding the bin Laden raid. Our "Political Ticker" is just ahead.

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COSTELLO: Here's what will be making headlines later today:

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

At 11:30 Eastern, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn tours the flooded town of Metropolis to check out the damage. He'll also give an update on the disaster response.

And U.S. and Chinese delegations kick off two days of strategic and economic dialogue in Washington. First full session gets under way at the State Department, 2:15 Eastern.

Coming up next on CNN NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux: we've heard a lot of new details about Osama bin Laden, his compound, even his we've over the past week. We're taking a closer look at five myths about the terror mastermind.

Plus, money may not equal happiness, but it can lead to a lot of stress for people trying to keep with bills. We'll have some unique tips to help you keep your finances under control.

That and much more coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM with Suzanne Malveaux.

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COSTELLO: There's a new development today surrounding Arizona's immigration law.

CNN's Ed Henry is at the White House with more on that story.

Hey, Ed. Take it away.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good to see you, Carol. That's right. I mean, basically, we're expecting a news conference in a couple hours from the Republican Governor Jan Brewer. She's going to announce what legal steps she and her attorney general may be taking in the days ahead to deal with the fact that a court of appeals has sided with the Obama Justice Department in recent weeks in saying that it's really just up to the federal government to detain and deport illegal immigrants -- upsetting that controversial immigration law at the state level that Jan Brewer had signed into law.

Now, why is this significant in terms of the timing? President Obama is actually going to the U.S./Mexico border tomorrow. He's going to El Paso, Texas, going to be taking a look at the nation's broken immigration system.

Now, he's had high hopes that maybe he and congressional Republicans can come along and cut a deal on some sort of broad reform in the months ahead. It still seems like a long shot, but he's pushing for that.

Meanwhile, Carol, Osama bin Laden's killing still reverberating. Interesting that on the Sunday shows yesterday, a lot of former Bush officials were walking a fine line -- on one hand, congratulating President Obama; on the other, raising questions about his policy in terms of dealing with terrorism.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney, for example, was on "FOX News Sunday," saying and basically praising the president's leadership in getting the mission done, but then basically ripped into his policies in terms of ending those enhanced interrogation efforts and methods that he says now will make the U.S. less safe. So, interesting that they're walking such a fine line there, Carol.

COSTELLO: And some Democrats are feeling a little defensive. I understand the Democrat, Senator John Kerry, had something to say to the people who are questioning what happened in Osama bin Laden's house.

HENRY: Yes, in pretty blunt terms. Senator John Kerry sort of annoyed that basically people have been raising questions about the White House account of what led to Osama bin Laden's killing, suggestions maybe the White House embellished the account a little bit to make it more justified to kill him rather than capture him.

Senator John Kerry is basically saying, knock it off. He said, quote, "Shut up and move on." Senator Kerry not mentioning any words and basically saying the Navy SEALs did what they had to do, Carol.

COSTELLO: Ed Henry -- live at the White House -- thank you.

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.

Now, it's time to head back to Atlanta and Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, I'll join you in just a second to talk about that bounty. You know, the reward for capturing Osama bin Laden.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Right. Right.

COSTELLO: Who should get it?

MALVEAUX: Right. Great question, Carol. All right. We'll talk to you in about 10 minutes or so.