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U.S. to Question Bin Laden Wives; Intel Disclosures Anger Rumsfeld; Mississippi River Cresting in Memphis; Former California First Couple Split; Millions of Facebook Users Under 13; Diagnosis: "Boomeritis"

Aired May 10, 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: I know. I was going to go around and get myself some chocolate milk. But it was a good discussion. I was into it.

Thanks all of you. Have a great day.

This morning, we have fascinating new details in the Osama bin Laden story. Yes, there are more.

It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the west. I'm Carol Costello sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

U.S. Navy SEALs who carried out the raid on the bin Laden compound were braced for a possible fight with Pakistani police or the Pakistani military. The "New York Times" is reporting that President Obama insisted that the commando team be large enough and powerful enough to fight its way out of Pakistan if need be.

A U.S. official says the initial review of confiscated intelligence shows mostly aspirational planning rather than concrete details. In the meantime, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is criticizing the White House for saying too much.

We'll have more on that in just a few minutes.

And Pakistan will now allow the United States to question the bin Laden wives who were at the compound. All three taken into custody after the raid. So let's take a closer look at the bin Laden wives.

CNN's Reza Sayah is in Islamabad.

So Reza, why the -- why the about-face by Pakistan's government when it comes to the U.S. questioning these wives?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol. You know what, I don't think ever during this week they decided not to give the U.S. access to these wives. They were mulling it over, they were considering it.

Today, we just spoke to Pakistan's interior minister. And he did tell us that indeed Pakistan was going to give the U.S. access to these three bin Laden widows. These are three women, one of them from Yemen, two from Saudi Arabia. Obviously there's a great possibility that these women will be able to provide U.S. intelligence with some valuable information.

These are women who spent years with Osama bin Laden in this safe house, in this compound in the town of Abbottabad, just two hours north of Islamabad. They could certainly have information about how active he was operationally with al Qaeda.

They could even have information about his support network here in Pakistan. You recall on Sunday, U.S. President Barack Obama came out and said he believed that Osama bin Laden had a support network here in this country. And he didn't rule out that that support network may include elements within Pakistan's current security establishment.

A lot of people were speculating that's perhaps why the Pakistani government was reluctant to give the U.S. access to these wives for fear that they may have some information that would possibly implicate the Pakistani government.

But ultimately, it seems as if they are going to give the U.S. access to these three women. This according to Pakistan's interior minister -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It brings up so many intriguing questions like, will these widows -- Osama bin Laden's widows talk to United States investigators? Will they be open? And how open have they been with Pakistani authorities?

SAYAH: Well, we do know that Pakistani authorities have been questioning them over the past several days. But the authorities here will not reveal exactly what they have told them.

And it's not clear what they will tell U.S. officials once U.S. officials have access to them. But again, these are women who spent all day, every day with Osama bin Laden. We do know in this safe house, as far back as 2005, they certainly could have been with him as far back as 2001 after the 9/11 attacks.

So you have to imagine that they have a lot of valuable information about his daily activity. They could provide some information about how active he was operationally. They could provide information about who came in and who went out of this compound.

So I am sure that U.S. intelligence officials very eager to get access to these three bin Laden widows.

COSTELLO: I am sure you're right about that.

Reza Sayah, great reporting from Islamabad this morning. Thank you.

We are learning more about the intelligence that's been recovered by the United States. In fact we may be learning too much, according to a former Defense secretary. Donald Rumsfeld tells CNN's Piers Morgan that the White House needs to stop releasing so much information.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR PRES. G.W. BUSH: If I were in the Pentagon, I'd be concerned about the White House talking so much about the intelligence take. The goal is to get the intelligence and to look at it, figure out what you can use and then use it as rapidly as possible.

Instead, the White House made a number of comments about it talking about how valuable it was and even some of the specifics of what's there, which I think no one in the Pentagon would have done. They would recognize that lives can be lost by too much discussion about things like that.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ed Henry is at the White House.

Ed, it's interesting to note that Liz Cheney said exactly the same thing on the FOX News network. So is the White House responding to this notion?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know they are not directly responding but in recent days they've heard this criticism before.

And basically, White House aides believe that it's nonsense because they think, look, they were just trying to give the American people as much information as possible in a broad brush, both about the mission itself to kill Osama bin Laden, but also to try and let the world know that this was not just about eliminating bin Laden but about getting intelligence that may help foil other plots in the days ahead without, again, giving up too much information, just kind of the broad brush.

I think the Democratic position could be summarized in what Senator John Kerry said on one of the weekend shows where he basically said, in terms of the narrative and the questions about why some of the White House story had changed, he basically said, shut up and move on. The Navy SEALs did their job and people should stop nit-picking.

I think that's probably the view that a lot of Democrats have about Secretary Rumsfeld right now.

COSTELLO: Ed Henry, live at the White House. Thank you.

At the bottom of the hour, we'll check in with David E. Sanger of the "New York Times." He and his colleagues are reporting that those Navy SEALs were prepared to fight their way out of Pakistan if they came under attack from the Pakistani military or Pakistani police.

The Mississippi River is now cresting in Memphis. It's expected to be 14 feet above flood stage. It's the highest it's been in Memphis in nearly three quarters of a century. There is so much water flowing passed the city the river is about three miles wide.

The big question now, can the levees handle the pressure?

Rob Marciano live in Memphis.

So, Rob, can they? ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, that's the question, isn't it? And you know so far, they are doing OK. But, you know, never before has there been this much water pressing against those levees for so long.

You mentioned the one remarkable factoid, which is right now the river is at three miles wide. Right now, we are at Riverside Drive, which is a road that, you know, understandably goes near the river but it shouldn't be in the river. And that's where it is right now. It's been that way for several days.

There is the mighty Mississippi. Notice the -- actually what seems to be a current, the waves are flowing to the north and the main river is flowing to the south. That's the way it should be. So we've got a little bit of an eddy here. We've got some south winds that are pushing the water in all different directions.

And, you know, it's cresting right now. But that doesn't mean it's going away anytime too soon. Matter of fact, it will take a full five days for this river at this point to go down just one foot. So that's how much water is in the river system right now.

Caught up with one of the Army Corps of Engineers, Colonel Reichling. He's in charged here in Memphis. And I asked him what he thought the levees were doing, how they were holding up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: There's been so much pressure for such an extended period of time that we've never seen on these levees. Have you seen weaknesses?

VERNIE REICHLING, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Yes, yes, we have. And that -- but they're all controllable. There has been no uncontrollable weaknesses. What we've seen is under seepage up in Cairo, Illinois, and Hickman, Kentucky, and now down here in Memphis. We have some areas where we've seen some seepage. But we have flood fought it and it's doing well.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: And they've got a pretty good level of confidence there with that. You know, they've taken some extraordinary measures, blown up those levees upstream, open up that spillway. They've opened up a spillway mechanically downstream in Louisiana. They may do another one. That doesn't relieve much of the pressure here which will continue to be under major flood stage for at least a week.

There are 400 people living in shelters right now, Carol. We've got hundreds of homes that have been inundated with floodwaters, businesses as well. And this is the worst that Memphis has seen.

Downtown Memphis, you go -- you go inland a couple of blocks. And you know it's fine. But it's the outer -- it's the outer lying areas where the tributaries are just jammed up with water. They can't flow into the Mississippi because it's so swollen. And that's why it's taken so long for this river to crest and will take so long for it to go down, so slowly as we empty this thing into the Gulf of Mexico -- Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. We'll keep our fingers crossed that those levees will hold and do their job.

Rob Marciano, thanks.

Here's some news that floored us this morning. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have separated. We'll take you live in Los Angeles for more details.

Also, had all those bodies found near a beach in Long Island, New York? Coming up we'll tell you if four recently discovered sets of remains are linked to a serial killer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: This morning we got the news. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have separated. It comes just two weeks after the couple's 25th anniversary.

Our Thelma Gutierrez is live in Los Angeles.

So, I don't know why but this makes me so sad.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, me too, Carol. I can tell you that late last night, the power couple, who had lived out all of their marriage in the public eye, announced they were separating. For many, the news is shocking. After all, they had spent a quarter of a century together as man and wife.

From the beginning, they were an unlikely pair. She is a member of the Kennedy dynasty and he is an international movie star who called Hollywood home. They had four children together and ran two successful campaigns for the California governorship, and after celebrating their 25th anniversary just last month.

But just late yesterday came the unexpected news that California's first former couple has split. In a joint statement, they said, "This has been a time of great personal and professional transition for each of us. After a great deal of thought, reflection, discussion and prayer, we came to this decision together. At the time, we are living apart while we work on the future of our relationship."

Now many are wondering if there were signs pointing to a need for change at home. Just six weeks ago, Shriver posted this video on YouTube where she talks about turning over a new leaf.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA SHRIVER, SOCIAL ACTIVIST AND AUTHOR: Like a lot of you, I'm in transition. And people come up to me all the time and say, what are doing next? What are you going to do? What have you come up with? I hope you're getting time to relax and think and take a break. It's so stressful to not know what you are doing next. (END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GUTIERREZ: Since leaving office in January, the couple has spent time apart. Schwarzenegger is reviving his acting career by signing movie deals and Shriver is out championing causes close to her heart, Female Empowerment and Alzheimer's Disease. But for now they say, they'll continue parenting their four children together. And they consider this a private matter and ask for compassion and respect from the public -- Carol.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Good luck with that, I think. So there is no talk of divorce, at least in the immediate future, but how are people in California reacting?

GUTIERREZ: Well, Carol, right now, everyone is talking about it. Probably California and throughout the country. Now they're doing this on the local radio shows, on television as well. But they're the only ones who are talking because has asked their friends and their family not to come forth at this very difficult time.

COSTELLO: Thelma Gutierrez, reporting live. Thank you so much.

Coming up in our next hour, we're going to talk to a Kennedy biographer, Laurence Leamer, about the separation and we'll find out what he thinks of this kind of split. And he will be very respectful.

Checking stories cross-country now:

Police on Long Island, New York, say four are recently discovered sets of human remains don't appear to be related to the bodies of four prostitutes discovered nearby. Those earlier remains have been linked to a suspected serial killer. Police say the evidence suggests that two more killers may have dumped bodies near the beach.

A massive wild fire in Mexico has forced residents of the town of Mayhill to evacuate. Crews battled the fire throughout the night and into the morning. It's already charred 2,000 acres.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

COSTELLO: In Sacramento, California, at least 10 teachers were arrested in a noisy demonstration inside a state capital. A group of nearly 300 teachers protested deep cuts to the education budget.

They join the ranks of the weekend warriors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I broke my Achilles tendon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had my hip replaced -- 9 1/2 inch scar right here.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Diagnosis: Boomeritis. People of a certain age are pushing their bodies hard with mixed results. Our special on baby boomers is just ahead.

And if your child is under 13 and has a Facebook account, what are you thinking? That violates Facebook's own rules and your child could be more vulnerable than you think. We are going to talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: If you haven't jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, it's a safe bet your kids have. About 20 million minors use Facebook now. But "Consumer Reports" found more than a third of them are younger than the age of 13. We are talking about kids who shouldn't have Facebook accounts in the first place.

Facebook's own terms say it right there. "You will not use Facebook if you are under 13."

Paul Reynolds is with "Consumer Reports."

Welcome, Paul.

PAUL REYNOLDS, CONSUMER REPORTS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So, have you heard from Facebook at all about why so many kids are using Facebook who shouldn't be?

REYNOLDS: Well, we haven't heard from Facebook. But what we did do is a national survey of 2,000 households to find out more about how they are using Facebook and who in the household is using it.

And as you said, we were quite concerned to learn than more than a third of the minors, the kids under 18, who are using Facebook, are under 13, which is that minimum age. That means that they had to lie to get on to the site we think they are exposed to some risks that kids that young should not be exposed to.

COSTELLO: Like what kind of risks?

REYNOLDS: Well, a kid can easily click on a link that may lead to malicious software to malware. They could get invitation from strangers, accept them as friends, disclose things to them that they shouldn't. You know, we just don't think it's a good idea for kids under 13 to be on Facebook.

COSTELLO: So, whose job is it to police this? Is it Facebook's job or is it the parents' job?

REYNOLDS: Well, I think it starts with the parents and another thing that really concerns us in our findings is that kids -- parents with kids who are under 13 were actually less likely to monitor what their kids were doing on Facebook than those that had teenagers, perhaps because they thought that the kids couldn't get into trouble on Facebook. We think the opposite may be true, that kids may need more supervision under that age, if they are even on their at all, which we don't think they should be.

COSTELLO: OK. So, parents check it out and make sure their kids are not using Facebook, because they're not supposed to.

Paul Reynolds with "Consumer Reports" -- many thanks to you for joining us this morning.

(MUSIC)

COSTELLO: OK, let's leave the tween world behind and head into baby boomer land. This year, the baby boomer generation turns 65. I know. Can you believe it? Neither can we.

So, all this week, we are going in-depth to what it means to be 65 and a baby boomer. This morning, a look at boomers who refuse to age gracefully.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Baby boomers are on the move, hitting the gym, tennis balls, running marathons, riding bikes. But all that exercise comes at a price, especially if you are past a certain age. Every year, according to the CDC, almost 2.5 million baby boomers go to emergency rooms for over-exercising. Orthopedists even have a name for it, "boomeritis."

Every Wednesday, you'll find Dr. Letha Griffin in the O.R., repairing the damage.

(on camera): So, what percentage of the patients do you see are baby boomers?

DR. LETHA GRIFFIN, ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON: Just take this morning, I bet out of 20 people that we saw, there were at least five with -- in that baby boomer category, that had problems that needed them solved because they wanted to keep exercising and keep going.

COSTELLO (voice-over): And I'm not talking about sprained ankles here.

GINNA MCFARLING, BABY BOOMER/ORTHOPEDIC PATIENT: I ruptured my calf muscle three times.

JOHN TACKETT, BABY BOOMER/ORTHOPEDIC PATIENT: I have started having problems with my knee.

MCFARLING: I ruptured my Achilles tendon.

HALL MCKINLEY, BABY BOOMER/ORTHOPEDIC PATIENT: I had my hip replaced -- I have a half inch scar right here. Three shots on my shoulders.

MCFARLING: I had no idea you could pop your hamstring off the bone.

COSTELLO (on camera): I didn't either.

MCFARLING: Apparently, you can. COSTELLO: It gives me shivers all over.

(voice-over): Yet they keep on keeping on. But for goodness sakes, why?

MCFARLING: It's keeping my mind active and it's exercise which makes me very happy and the people around me very happy when I get exercise, because my endorphins are better. And, you know, it's social.

COSTELLO: Hall McKinley has played tennis for 45 years.

MCKINLEY: You want to keep it up. You don't want to admit you are getting to a point where you can't do it anymore.

COSTELLO: John Tackett runs marathons.

(on camera): Something must have gone wrong with your body.

TACKETT: Well, actually, it went wrong in Boston. At about halfway through the marathon when I started having problems with my knees, I looked down and my knee had swollen up to the size of a grapefruit.

COSTELLO: OK. So, on what mile did you notice your knee was the size of a grapefruit?

TACKETT: Mile 12. It took almost my 5 1/2 hours to complete Boston but I completed it.

GRIFFIN: You're seeing a lot more people that want to stay active and fit. They're really taking care of themselves more. If there's some reason they can't stay fit, they want to fix it.

TACKETT: I don't want to give it up. I don't want to say, no, OK, I have a knee injury, I can't do this anymore.

COSTELLO (voice-over): Just three days after our interview, John was fine, finishing a 5k race in just over 26 minutes.

Hall was back competing on the tennis court.

(on camera): When you whoop a person who is 10 or 15 years younger than you, how does that make you feel?

MCKINLEY: You just enjoy winning a tennis match. It's not so much --

COSTELLO: It's an extra zing, isn't it?

MCKINLEY: It might be a little extra zing.

COSTELLO (voice-over): As for Jenna, she's full-speed ahead.

MCFARLING: I don't know that I will ever let it go, because if that happens, I'll be on morphine. I'll be in some bed somewhere.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: I'm sorry. When I with someone younger than me, I feel great. And they are probably rolling their eyes and saying, look at that old woman. But I totally get it. The Dr. Letha told me it's great boomers want to remain active, they should do it smarter, though. An example of what she means, if you play hard core tennis, like Hall, try doubles instead of singles. And when your body starts to hurt, listen to it. Go to the doctor, for goodness' sakes.

We'll have more on boomers tomorrow.

Eleven days after their wedding was watched by millions, Will and Kate are definitely counting on some privacy. We are checking in with our Zain Verjee in London for more on the royal couple's reported secret hideaway destination.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: This morning, there are new details on the Osama bin Laden raid. "The New York Times" is reporting the Navy SEALs were braced for a possible fight with the Pakistani police or even the Pakistani military. President Obama insisted the commando team be large enough and powerful enough to fight its way out of Pakistan.

David Sanger is the chief Washington correspondent for "The New York Times." He joins us from Washington by phone.

Welcome.

DAVID SANGER, NEW YORK TIMES (via telephone): Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, David, if these Navy SEALs had come under attack by the Pakistani military, they would have returned fire?

SANGER: That is what we have heard, that the president actually altered the plan about 10 days before the commando raid. So, that additional -- two additional helicopters which were going to stay over the border in Afghanistan, avoid going in to Pakistan, would actually go in with the two helicopters that actually landed at the compound.

And the idea was that these helicopters, these backup helicopters, could get there quickly if there was a firefight or some other kind of problem. Well, there was no fire fight with Pakistani soldiers or police fortunately. But, of course, there was a problem. One of the first helicopters had a hard landing and had to be destroyed. It was one of these backup helicopters that ended up coming in to take those commandos away.

COSTELLO: Right. So, it was handy they had the extra helicopters there anyway. But what if sort of makes you pause to think what if the Pakistani military had opened fire on American troops essentially, it would have been like a -- it would have been like -- I mean, it's just hard to think about.

SANGER: You would have been -- you would have -- you would have seen an American conflict with an allied force. This has always been the problem with Pakistan and always been the problem when the president makes a decision to go in unilaterally into what is basically a friendly country's territory.

Now, the instructions that the American commando squad had was avoid confrontation at all costs with Pakistanis. But the president recognized, according to the sources we've talked to, that even if say, Admiral Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff had gotten on the phone with his equivalent General Kayani in Pakistan and said, don't worry, these are our forces, it may not have been enough time to avoid an confrontation.

COSTELLO: Fascinating article. David Sanger, thank you for joining us this morning.

And if you want to read more, of course, you can see it online NewYorktimes.com or you can buy a newspaper.

There may be a small sign that the diplomatic chasm between the United States and Pakistan is narrowing a bit. Pakistan now says that American intelligence officials can interview bin Laden's wives, you know, the wives that lived in the compound.

CNN Brian Todd takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Part of the treasure trove of intelligence taken from this compound, three lives of Osama bin Laden. And CNN has now confirmed their identities with a U.S. official.

One of them is Amal al Sadah who married bin Laden in 2000. Officials believe this passport photo found at the compound is her. She had a daughter with bin Laden, Safia, who was born shortly after 9/11. And Safia has told Pakistani officials she saw her father shot. Amal al Sadah is Yemeni and is bin Laden's youngest wife.

Another wife who was in the compound Khariah Sabar, also known as "Um Hamza" because she is the bin Laden's son, Hamza. They were married din 1985. She is a Saudi national who stayed win bin Laden in Afghanistan after 9/11.

And a wife, Siham Sabar was with bin Laden. She's also known as "Um Khalid," because she is the mother bin Laden's son Khalid, who was also killed in the raid. She is also a Saudi national who was also with bin Laden in Afghanistan after 9/11.

I asked CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen more about the two Saudi wives.

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: They're pretty well educated. One has a doctorate in Islamic legal law, another one has a degree in Arabic studies of some kind. So, you know -- and they've had a number of kids with bin Laden.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Brian Todd reporting. Pakistani officials had previously refused to budge from that demand that they would allow U.S. officials access to the wives, only if their country of origin gave permission. It is not clear if that happened. But, I guess the decision has been made. U.S. officials can indeed interview Osama bin Laden's wives.

Checking our top stories now. NATO air strikes rocked the capital of Libya. This morning, NATO said it hit three command and control facilities in Tripoli.

The U.S. Military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has ended but certainly not the controversy. Preliminary plans by the Navy to allow its chaplains to perform same-sex marriage in Military chapels is drawing fire from dozens of members of Congress. It would aloe same- sex marriages only in states that recognize same-sex unions.

And President Obama taking up the issue of immigration reform today. He is heading to the border town of El Paso, Texas at a national park next to the border.

OK, now we know. Maybe the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate, are honeymooning in the Indian Ocean. At least that's what some British media are reporting. Let's head to London now and check in with CNN's Zain Verjee, because if anybody knows, Zain knows.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We just can't get enough of this, Carol. We love it, you know. We talked to Clarence House a short while ago and they said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge left on Monday for their honeymoon. They're in the Indian Ocean and the media speculation is that it's the archipelago islands of the Seychelles. It's apparently just beautiful there. And they are said to have taken a couple of weeks off.

Just take a look at this video. I mean, this is really where you want to be right now, right? You've got these incredibly white, sandy beaches. You've this beautiful, turquoise blue water, coconut groves. And some of the media reports say they have a private island and a private chef and they're just going to enjoy the solitude and each other away from the prying eyes of the media, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sounds nice to me. You know, though, Pippa, the princess's sister, is sort of like taking over the tabloids. People aren't even talking about them anymore. They want Pippa.

VERJEE: They want Pippa and they can't get enough of Pippa. A lot of them think that Pippa should get together with Prince Harry. That's what a lot of them are voting, you know. There are all these Facebook pages dedicated to how amazing she looked on the day of the wedding in that really hot white dress. And there was one page on Facebook I went to that had something like 60,000 followers. So she's already a big deal.

But, you know what, Carol? There are these pictures that are circulating that show her on a beach dancing with this guy. She's wearing a bra, she's half naked. And apparently, a friend of hers sold this picture to the tabloids. Yes. So she needs to be really careful about who her friends are these days. I don't think Buckingham Palace will be pleased about those pictures.

COSTELLO: I don't think so either. But speaking of dancing half naked or having pictures of yourself in publication half naked, before you go, Zain, have you seen this (INAUDIBLE) cover boy? This is represented in --

VERJEE: Oh, yes. Hot, hot. Absolutely amazing. That kind of political muscle, Carol, that will get you everywhere.

Is he available?

COSTELLO: I don't know. We'll have to call. I know he is single.

VERJEE: OK.

COSTELLO: But I don't know. I am unsure. Do you want your lawmaker posing like this in a magazine?

VERJEE: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: A woman after my own heart.

VERJEE: Do you think it takes away the credibility here, because, I mean, he is using this for a big sort of health work-out campaign, you know? And he's putting a lot of energy and effort into this and he's willing to give the shirt off his back to dedicate himself to a campaign like this.

COSTELLO: I don't think you can paint a better picture here. I don't know. I just know that -- remember way back in the day when Hillary Clinton was in "Vogue" magazine and she had an off-the-shoulder evening gown on and everyone said, oh my gosh, I can't believe she's posing like that? So what's next? We've gone from that to this. And then what's next? I'm scared.

VERJEE: Well, Washington needs to just maybe be a little edgier, you know? An off-the-shoulder gown, I mean, that's great. A Congressman with these kind of abs, even greater, Carol.

COSTELLO: You're a funny woman. Thank you.

In sports, the Detroit Tigers, boy are they hot right now. The Tigers wrapping up a series in Toronto. Top of the fourth and Austin Jackson is out of his slump. He smacks a double off the wall in center and then Victor, V-Mark (ph), Don Kelly, Alex Avila, come around to score. The Tigers take a 5-2 lead. Bottom of the fifth, Toronto has two runners on. Matt Church has been great this year. He gets a strikeout. I think he's 6-0. After the game, he admitted he didn't have his best stuff but there was like Victor Martinez at his back. Martinez gets a two-run homer in the seventh. Oh, I love that. Tigers go on to win, 10-5. They won six of seven. Scherzer, as I said, is now 6-0. The NBA playoffs are nail biters. The Heat and Celtics go into overtime. The Thunder and Grizzlies go to three overtimes. Highlights of those games and more in 20 minutes.

And school's out for summer. Forget about it. Our next guest says kids need to be sitting behind the desk, not tanning on a beach. We'll see if his argument for year-around schools adds up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Opening bell rang just a few minutes ago on Wall Street and in the early going stocks are rising. They're up about 16 points so far. Traders will get reports at the top of the hour on wholesale inventories and home prices. And in deal news, Microsoft has agreed to buy Skype for $8.5 billion. It's said to be Microsoft's biggest deal ever and will it compete with Apple and Google. The all new CNNMoney.com is refined and redesigned at money.com. If you want more details, go there.

We got to change over -- we've to change over. I'm not reading this script well so I'm going to go off prompter right now so hold on.

Year-round schools, is it a good idea? Will it make our kids learn better? Will it make them better educated? And will it save our country? That is the gist of LZ Granderson's latest op-ed. He's a CNN contributor and a senior writer at ESPN.

LZ, welcome.

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Hey, hood morning. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. So throw the kids in school year-around and, poof, our education problems are solved?

GRANDERSON: No, I didn't say that. But I definitely said that research shows that our kids tend to lose a lot of information they get during the school year during the long summer breaks and so I am saying that perhaps keeping them in school year-round will enable them to maintain that knowledge so we don't have to take a step back before we can move forward in the fall.

COSTELLO: It costs a lot of money to keep kids in school all year- around. State governments are cutting education budgets.

How do we accomplish this?

GRANDERSON: You know, that's an excellent question and certainly one that has spirited a lot of debate over in terms of education, how do we fund and how much are teachers getting paid and things like that.

But if you look, during the summer there are a lot of government- funded programs already that parents are tapping into to keep their kids involved educationally. And so I'm suggesting that perhaps instead of doing sort of the addendums to our education system, that we with continue to fund our education system so that we are able to keep doors open and maybe not burden taxpayers too much by the added hours in school.

GRANDERSON: And I did read your op-ed and it's very interesting and very provocative. And you mention other countries who have all year- round schools or close to it. Their children do much better than American kids, right?

GRANDERSON: Right. But, you know, being in school is not the only factor that the reason why countries such as Finland are doing so much better than us, at least according to this test. The way the teachers are prepared, the coach's attitude towards education, parental involvement, all these things are also part of the education process. But I do believe that we could begin here by at least having our kids in school longer as we work on some of those other issues that take longer to solve.

COSTELLO: LZ Granderson, thanks as always. Always interesting.

LZ's op-ed is titled, "we Need Year-Round School to Compete Globally." You can find it at CNN.com/opinion. If you'd like to join the conversation, just leave a comment for him.

President Obama rekindles an old issue, immigration reform. So, what's behind the new push. We're going to talk about it with Jim Acosta when we come back.

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COSTELLO: President Obama heads to El Paso, Texas later today, where he is expected to renew his push for comprehensive immigration reform. Remember that? Both Democrats and Republicans hope to use immigration to their political advantage in the 2012 election.

Joining me now is Jim Acosta. So immigration reform --

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

COSTELLO: We haven't heard about it in such a long time.

ACOSTA: Remember that? This was a big subject for a while during the '08 campaign and it hasn't been for some time because there's been a lot in the President's inbox but the Hispanic voters will tell pollsters they like the job that the President is doing these days but Latino leaders in Congress are warning the White House they could lose that support if President Obama cannot deliver on immigration reform.

That's why the President is headed to El Paso today, Carol, for a big speech on the issue. Latino voters remember that during the campaign, President Obama promised to make a push for immigration reform. That did not happen when Democrats had big majorities in the House and Senate. Now with the House in Republican hands one prominent Latino leader is worried that the President may be fighting a losing battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LUIS GUTIERREZ (D), ILLINOIS: Sadly, I believe that there really isn't an opportunity legislatively to bring relief and to fix our broken immigration system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And Carol, here is why the White House has a lot riding on immigration reform. A recent CNN poll found 68 percent of Hispanics approve of how the President is handling his job right now. That sounds pretty good, right? But the President's political advisers are keeping their eyes on this. In 2008, the President got the support of an extraordinary 67 percent of Hispanic voters. Contrast that with what John Kerry got in 2004, just 53 percent.

Those are numbers that will make any political handler nervous. President Obama knows he needs to get close to what he got in 2008 if he wants another term in the White House. So they're keeping a very close eye on this.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Yes but let's be realistic about this. I know the President is going to talk about immigration reform.

ACOSTA: That's right.

COSTELLO: But he has a lot of other things on his plate.

ACOSTA: You bet.

COSTELLO: With the economy.

ACOSTA: That's right.

COSTELLO: Even high gas prices, even the debt ceiling. Is he really going to get to immigration reform any time soon?

ACOSTA: Well, you know, the Latino voters will remind him of that catch phrase "si, se puede", "yes we can". They're going to remind him and hold his feet to the fire that he made this promise but they do know with the House in Republican hands, a very conservative Tea Party folks in the House. That's it's not likely to get some kind of legislation passed.

What they are hoping he will do and talk about in the speech today, I've talked to a source in the Hill who laid this out yesterday, is that the President will take some administrative steps through the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency, ICE, and the Department of Homeland Security. Perhaps tamp down on some of the deportations that have been going up since President Obama has been in office.

They would like to see some changes like that if they can't get it done legislatively. But we'll have to see, the President has a lot riding on this, and Latinos are not going to let him off easy on this one. They're going to hold his feet to the fire.

COSTELLO: Yes, well see what he has to say later today. Jim Acosta, many thanks.

ACOSTA: You bet.

COSTELLO: Fans at one ballpark can now tweet the beer vendor. Aren't you interested in this, Jim?

ACOSTA: I am.

COSTELLO: I know you are.

ACOSTA: Sign me up.

COSTELLO: Yes, just tweet from your seat and you get a beer. We'll tell you and we'll have more sports in seven minutes.

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COSTELLO: Checking news, cross country now. In Memphis, the Mississippi River is cresting today. It could hit 14 feet above flood stage; that's the highest the Mississippi has been in Memphis since 1937.

Here is something you don't see on the highway. This driverless car is being developed by Torque Technologies in Blacksburg, Virginia. A company technician says the car's route is plotted out so an onboard computer knows the speed limit and the rules of the road.

And in Pennsylvania, one of Mount Aloysius Colleges -- boy that's hard to say together, the latest grads, 80-year-old Charles Mastervich (ph) began college in 1955 and had intended to take a year off before heading back to school. He says things have really changed since then, but you're never too old to learn.

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

HENRY: Well, Carol, it's interesting. Former Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld seems to think the White House is spilling too much intelligence detail about the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound. Democrats like John Kerry have a pretty colorful response to all of that. We'll have the story at the top of the hour.

MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano out here in Memphis, Tennessee on the banks of the Mississippi, actually on a road near the banks that's now part of the river. Once a half mile wide, now its three miles wide -- a live report from the flood zone in the next hour.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill. Your iPhone, your Blackberry, Android device and your privacy in the spotlight today in Capitol Hill; I'll have the story at the top of the hour.

COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you.

And here's the news that floored us this morning. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have separated. Coming up in the next hour, we'll talk to a Kennedy biographer, Lawrence Leamer.

I hope they fix Kate Bolduan's --

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COSTELLO: Something happened in Memphis last night that has only happened five times before in NBA playoff history. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports joins us now. It was -- it was an exciting night but a long night too, Jeff.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, it's triple overtime, that's what we're talking about. But a warning for the winners, the last three times it's happened, the winning team has lost the playoff series. So keep that in mind.

But the NBA playoffs, we've seen Kobe getting swept off by the Mavs; LeBron facing the Celtics, the NBA MVP Derrick Rose leading the Bulls. No one is talking about this Thunder-Grizzly series and it has been fantastic.

Final seconds, Memphis down three, Mike Conley the three-pointer; that ties it at 96, we go to overtime.

In OT, again the Grizzlies down three in the final seconds. Greivis Vazquez this time he does it to tie it; we go to a second and a third overtime. Then, Thunder all-star Kevin Durant takes over. Oklahoma City wins in triple overtime. The series is now tied two games apiece.

More NBA playoffs, the Miami Heat's big three coming up huge in overtime against the Boston Celtics. LeBron James, oh the fade-away, you can't defend that. That breaks the tie. Then, with the shot clock running down again, Dwyane Wade from the outside. And of course, the big three coming up huge in game four when James misses the jumper; it's the third guy of the big three Chris Bosh just tip in. Those three guys combine for 83 of the 98 points Miami score in the game; Heat go home leading the series 3-1 after the big win.

Throwing an octopus on the ice has been a tradition at Detroit Red Wings playoff games. Now Nashville has an answer, somebody toss a catfish on the ice. Before the Predators played Vancouver last night, the Canucks' Ryan Kesler has been all over the ice in the series, feeds Mason Raymond for the first play of the game; wastes no time, Vancouver less than two minutes later, again Kesler finds Daniel Sedin for the score. Canucks win 2-1, win the series. Next stop: the western conference finals.

All right. Let's go to Milwaukee . For fantastic fielder play, San Diego's Jason Barlow up the middle. Look at Yuniesky Betancourt behind the back, over to (INAUDIBLE) then to first for the double play. Look at the flip, right out of the glove behind the back. That was a key play for the Brewers. They hold onto win this one, 4-3.

Tony Romo, he better keep his day job, right? The Dallas Cowboys' quarterback, he's trying something different these days. He's trying a little golf. Of course, he has plenty of time without -- well anyway, he's not moving onto the U.S. Open. Finally, the best use yet for Twitter, I think, ordering beer. Fans at Philadelphia Phillies games Tweet Bill "The Beer Man" Watkins with their section, row and seat number and he delivers. Watkins got the idea from a vendor in Seattle. So far, Watkins is only making a few Twitter sales a game, but he says word of mouth is spreading and I would think it would be.

Carol, as I say, Tony Romo is trying to qualify for the U.S. Open in golf. He did not make the cut yesterday. He called the course a monster, but good for him for thinking of something because you never know. There might not even be an NFL season come the fall so --

COSTELLO: That's right. He might have to fill some time.

Jeff Fischel, thank you.

FISCHEL: OK, Carol.