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Search for Bin Laden's Teen Son; Ending the Afghan War; Newt Gingrich to Formally Announce White House Bid; Tax Breaks for Oil Companies; Humanitarian Crisis in the Making; Ousting Fake Navy SEALs; Schwarzenegger's First Public Comments about Split; Battle for Afghan Hearts & Minds

Aired May 11, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the West. Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello, sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

The worst is over in Memphis. Now the flooding danger heads south. The Mississippi River is cresting in Tunica. And parts of the Mississippi town are now under water. Downstream, Louisiana's governor says three million acres could be swamped.

An off-duty police officer helped subdue an out-of-control airline passenger last night. He tried to open an emergency door on a Delta flight from Orlando to Boston. It is the fourth incident on a domestic flight in the past three days.

And former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, will formally announce his presidential run today. The Republican says his goals include overturning the health care reforms, creating new tax cuts and eliminating the Environmental Protection Agency.

But we begin with some new developments in the Osama bin Laden story. Some key members of Congress will now be allowed to see photos of bin Laden's body if they want to.

President Obama is making the offer to members of the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees in both the House and Senate.

Also this morning a closer look at the lessons learned from the successful mission. The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee will review the decade-long manhunt with the Council on Foreign Relations.

And the search for bin Laden's teenage son. There are reports that Hamza somehow escaped during the raid. One former national security adviser scoffs at the idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: It's inconceivable to those of us who've been involved in military planning and operations. You know it's not like every SEAL who landed on these helicopters went into the house at the same time. There were SEALs who have stayed with the helicopters. They would have formed a perimeter around it. You have to imagine this 19-year- old kid in pitch black of night after 1:00 in the morning, he is going to scale 18 or 10-foot walls all by himself, miraculously get over them and get away when you've got a perimeter of Navy SEALs watching.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But logic aside, the intrigue of a daring escape and the embarrassment it would cause the United States has proved irresistible on the streets of Pakistan.

CNN's Reza Sayah is in Islamabad.

So Reza, what are you hearing about that supposed escape?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol. This is information that reportedly came from a Pakistani intelligence source who says that according to one of bin Laden's widows, Hamza bin Laden, one of bin Laden's sons, was at this compound and now he's missing.

This obviously could mean one of several things. That he left before the raid, escaped sometime during the raid. It could mean that U.S. forces took him away or it could mean that none of this is true.

U.S. officials say the only thing they left with from the compound is Osama bin Laden's remains and some computers and some hard drive. So a little bit of mystery surrounding Hamza bin Laden's whereabouts.

CNN terrorism expert Peter Bergen says Hamza bin Laden was not a very active player in al Qaeda operations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: He's one of about 11 sons. He's one of the -- sort of the younger side. He would have -- I mean he seems to have been -- he showed up in some al Qaeda propaganda videos, and sort of al Qaeda's internal video production by the time that bin Laden was living in Afghanistan. But we don't really know very much about him.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: That was Hamza bin Laden, and now you have Omar bin Laden, the adult son of Osama bin Laden who years ago broke off from his father and denounced his violence. But now he's coming out in a statement that appeared in the "New York Times."

He's condemning the U.S. operation, condemning the Obama administration. He called the operation an execution of unarmed men, Carol. And he's also asking Pakistani officials to release bin Laden's windows and other family members.

COSTELLO: And Reza, just so you know, we also have that statement from Osama bin Laden's son and we're going to talk more about that later in our show with a woman who knows Omar. I was wondering, though, what's the latest on the United States interviewing those wives especially in light of one of Osama bin Laden's wife saying that one of the sons escaped?

SAYAH: Well, it hasn't happened yet. The wives are still in Pakistan. The Pentagon spokesperson is saying Islamabad and Washington are discussing how to go about giving U.S. intelligence officials access to these widows.

And it's going to be interesting what they have to say. Obviously they spent a lot of time with Osama bin Laden through the years. They could have some valuable information. But some analysts also bring up the point that these women were very conservative Muslims who may have been sheltered from some of Osama bin Laden's activities, sheltered from some of the men who may have come in and out of the compound.

So not clear what they're going to be able to reveal. Even so U.S. intelligence officials still want to sit down and talk to them.

COSTELLO: Reza Sayah, reporting live from Islamabad. Thank you.

Just over an hour from now, we will hear from that author I talked of who served as an intermediary for bin Laden's adult sons. Long ago they denounced their father's violence but say the United States did little more than assassinate an unarmed man. Their views at her interview one hour from now.

Now to Afghanistan. Have you asked yourself lately why American troops are there, especially now that Osama bin Laden is dead?

It's already the longest war in U.S. history. And a majority of Americans say it's time to speed up the withdrawal of our forces there.

According to a "USA Today"/Gallup poll nearly six in 10 Americans believe the United States' mission is now fulfilled and it is time to bring the troops home. A little more than a third of Americans say the U.S. still has important work to do there. But even members of the president's own party say it's time to cut American losses in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: It is fundamentally unsustainable, to continue spending $10 billion a month on a massive military operation with no end in sight.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So let's get the latest from the White House and Ed Henry.

Ed, I just want to run this buy you. This is how George W. Bush justified sending troops to Afghanistan in 2001. He said at the time, "These carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime."

OK, so some might say, mission accomplished. How about President Obama?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think President Obama is going to be careful, Carol, to not say mission accomplished, because while Osama bin Laden is dead, he still, as the president, noted in the "60 Minutes" interview, al Qaeda has grown throughout the region. It's in Yemen, it's in other places.

And you've got to be careful to not just pull out of Afghanistan too quickly. And if you look carefully at what Chairman John Kerry was saying in the Foreign Relations Committee, he also said he's not for just the U.S. simply pulling out.

However, I think you're right to point to the fact that the president also in that "60 Minutes" interview said that because of the bin Laden death, this could now be a death blow to al Qaeda. That it could turn the tide against them, number one.

And number two, as Senator Kerry said, time of the debt, you can't sustain spending, $10 billion a month, let alone the sacrifice of young American men and women.

And finally I would point you to what Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday. He was with some troops in North Carolina. He said, quote -- about bin Laden's death, "I think that there is a possibility that it could be a game changer.

Bottom line is, come July, the president has already said that would be a pivot point in Afghanistan. He'll start bringing home some U.S. troops.

I would anticipate that the debate now within the White House is going to really intensify to bring home more troops than expected come July. But there's still going to be a lot of troops on the ground.

Again, we've got 100,000 U.S. troops on the ground right now. Maybe they'll bring home 20 or 30, something like that. But there's still going to be a large footprint for at least a couple of years to come -- Carol.

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

Flying the frightful skies for the fourth time in as many days. There has been another security scare aboard a commercial airliner. The latest happening last night on a Delta flight from Orlando, Florida, bound for Boston.

Witnesses say an unruly passenger actually tried to open an emergency door while the plane was in-flight, in the air. An off-duty officer on board the plane helped subdue the man.

The plane managed to land safely at Logan Airport and the suspect was taken into custody, as you see there in that slow-motion video. It happens on the heels of similar security scarce. Sunday night, a Continental flight from Houston to Chicago was diverted to St. Louis after a passenger reportedly tried opening a cabin door. That same night, a Yemeni passenger was arrested in San Francisco after he allegedly tried entering the cockpit of an American Airlines flight.

And also this on Sunday, a Delta flight from Detroit to San Diego was diverted from Albuquerque, New Mexico, after a flight attendant found a suspicious note in the bathroom.

Newt Gingrich ends months of speculation today with an official announcement, yes, he is running for president.

CNN's Jim Acosta is in Washington. He has our "Political Ticker" today.

Hey, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

A lot of political reporters here in Washington are watching their Twitter feeds very carefully this morning. That's because as you just mentioned a few moments ago, the former speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, is expected to announce that he is running for president today.

He is not holding a big campaign announcement speech in some town square down in Georgia. He is making the announcement on Twitter and Facebook. So that's why we're all watching our Twitter feed today, waiting for this announcement to drop.

You know Gingrich is respected in some Republican circles as a policy wack (ph). You remember when he was speaker of the House in the mid- 1990s, the budget was balanced up on Capitol Hill. President Clinton likes to take a lot of credit for it, but so does Newt Gingrich.

He is going to going to have some trouble winning over Evangelical conservatives who are concerned about some of the past troubles in his marriage. But nevertheless Newt Gingrich is taking the plunge. Later on this evening, he is expected to be on the "Sean Hannity" program on FOX News where he spent about a decade as a political contributor over there at FOX News.

But he's not the only Republican we're watching today, Carol. Up in New Hampshire today, the Donald, Donald Trump, will be making a stop up there as well. This will be the first big public appearance for Trump since all of that birth certificate controversy that he was raising.

Then the president unveiled that birth certificate and took some liberties, tossed a few jokes at Donald Trump's direction at the White House Correspondents' Dinner a couple of weeks ago.

It will be interesting to see, Carol, just how the Donald tailors his message post the birther controversy -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, we'll see. Jim Acosta, I'm sure you'll keep your eye on both of men. Thanks so much.

ACOSTA: You bet.

COSTELLO: We will have your next political update in one hour, and a reminder for all the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com.

And next, we'll talk about Senate Democrats looking to stop tax breaks for big oil, you know, eliminate them. They don't think companies that make so much money need any tax breaks. But is this about money or is it about politics? We'll drill down for some answers next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Senate Democrats are about to debate a bill that would end tax breaks for big oil companies. Breaks like $1.7 billion a year just to keep factories located here in the United States. Democrats say an industry that reported billions -- actually, trillions of dollars in profits in just one quarters doesn't need any breaks especially when the United States has a giant debt problem.

Dana Bash on Capitol Hill.

Dana, how much -- is there a possibility that this thing might pass?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very unlikely. But what's going on here, Carol, is Democrats are really trying to capitalize on anger about gas prices and they're trying to target oil companies, which they do every time there is gas crisis.

It's a political no-brainer for Democrats because they realize that these companies, as you just mentioned, make huge profits. And you and I and every other taxpayer, they help foot their bill and really help them with these tax breaks.

Let me show you what some of this -- what some of what this bill will do. First of all, it will eliminate those tax breaks -- about a half a dozen tax breaks that these oil companies take advantage of. This Democratic bill would do away with them and it would really just affect the big five oil companies.

This is really important, because in the past, when Democrats have done this. Republicans and others have said, well, you're going to sweep up some of the smaller companies that don't make big profits. This would simply target those big five.

And it would save about $21 billion over 10 years. And this is what's really interesting about this bill. Democrats have made it kind of, like a "Dirty Harry, make my day" kind of moment because the money that would be saved, Carol, it would go for deficit reductions.

So, they are saying to Republicans, look, you want to vote against this, fine. But you're also voting against something that you say that you want, which is to reduce the deficit in this country -- Carol. COSTELLO: Yes, they are not talking about it lowering a price of a gallon of gas, because, you know, realistically, it would not do that. But it could bring down the deficit. And $21 billion over 10 years, actually, that doesn't sound like very much when you put in perspective like that.

There's also something big that's going to happen tomorrow. These five big oil CEOs are going to go to Capitol Hill, right?

BASH: They are. And I want to talk about that, but before we get to that, I just want to make clear, on this whole issue of these tax subsidies, the oil subsidies that Democrats want to get rid of. Just a button (ph) what you'd ask me, this is not going to pass. We don't expect Republicans to vote for it for the most part and even some Democrats, because they say it's a tax increase, plain and simple, and because they're unhappy that Democrats are singling out the oil companies.

But, look, they believe that this -- on the Democratic side, this is a political no-brainer, because they can and will run against Republicans for protecting these big oil companies particularly at a time of gas price increase.

COSTELLO: OK. So, it's not going to pass. There's no chance. Why are they dragging these CEOs to Capitol Hill then tomorrow?

BASH: Politics, politics, politics, Carol. And that is what we are going to see tomorrow. Look, the one thing that the members of Congress, particularly when they're in charge, have in their quiver is to be able to do what they can to have dog and pony shows. Let's face it. That's what we are going to see tomorrow.

We are going to see Democrats who run the Senate. They are going to pull these five executives from these oil companies up and they are going to make clear, they're going to make a show of the fact that they are going to try to be tough on these companies, because they know that these companies not only make huge profits, they are very unpopular. So, that's why they are going to this. It's all part of the same political strategy to target oil companies as a way to try to signal to Americans out there that they understand their anger about gas prices.

But it is important, as you said, it will not affect people's prices at the pumps right now. It simply will not, even if this would have passed.

COSTELLO: I could actually hear a lot of viewers throwing things at the television set now.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Dana Bash, reporting live from Capitol Hill.

We want to talk to someone who is close to big oil. Brian Johnson is a senior tax advisor for the American Petroleum Institute.

And, Brian, welcome.

BRIAN JOHNSON, SR. TAX ADVISER, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INST.: Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: I put the question out on my Facebook page for people to answer questions and I got a ton of feedback -- I mean, a ton.

One of my Facebook friends, her name is Joann (ph). She wrote this, "Yes, the free market allows for unlimited profit, but it does not warrant subsidies."

So, can you respond to that for Joann?

JOHNSON: Yes, I sure can. You know, one of the debates -- you know, one of the things we really want to do is keep the debate honest.

There are no subsidies in the traditional sense. There's no government credits. There's no outlays. Uncle Sam isn't taking money from your pocket and giving it to, quote-unquote, "big oil."

COSTELLO: Yes. But, come on, you get tax breaks.

JOHNSON: We do. We benefit from the same tax deductions and cost recovery that every other industry does. I mean, these aren't unique to the code. They may be unique to our industry, because we do something no other industries do. But these are not unique to the code.

I mean, these cost recovery provisions are just like the R&D deduction, the manufacturer's deduction -- again, not a credit but a deduction. It's available to everyone. So, just singling out our industry as I think someone just said, because we are politically unpopular. And it won't do anything to affect the price of gases.

COSTELLO: OK. So, another one of my Facebook friends put this way -- you guys profit from oil which comes from the ground, which is a natural resource, which we should all share in happily, right? But you make lots and lots of money from it. So, your industry is different from other industries, isn't it?

JOHNSON: Well, we do make large profits because we sell a lot of product. But if you look at our earnings, we are under the national average. We only earn 5.5 cents for every $1 sold.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on. Come on.

JOHNSON: That's true. We only earn 5.5 cents for every $1 sold.

COSTELLO: The big oil companies made $1 trillion in profits since 2000.

JOHNSON: We sell a lot of dollars. We sell a lot of dollars. But if you look at our earnings, we pay the highest effective tax rate in almost any industry in the United States, 41 percent. We pay $87 million every day to the federal treasury. So, we are paying our fair share. COSTELLO: I think that some people say you make so much more money. And I heard what you said. But the American public is probably listening to that and saying, oh, OK, come on. You make enormous amounts of money in the oil industry.

We are suffering from huge deficits in the country. So, let's just play the Democrats' game for just a second.

JOHNSON: OK.

COSTELLO: Why not be willing -- is any oil company out there willing to give something back because we really need $21 billion over the next 10 years? Would that really cut into your profits all that much?

JOHNSON: Well, you know, when you have a high capital intensive industry like us, you know, sure, every deduction just like other industries, does make a difference. But we are willing to give back. And actually, if you increase access, over the next 10 years, we'll be able to give about $150 billion to the treasury. And so, we are willing to do our part to decrease the deficit.

COSTELLO: What do you mean increase access?

JOHNSON: Increase exploration.

COSTELLO: So, if we open our lands and you get more product, you'll make more money and that way, you'll give something back.

JOHNSON: Well, we'll pay more rents and royalties, bonus payments and more income tax payments. And, look, you know, our profits also go back to the American public. We prop up state pension plans. The return on our investments in state pension plans is about 50 percent, compared to the average return that's only about 13 percent.

And, so, you know, we are really talking about our profits are benefiting teachers, firefighters, pension investors, et cetera.

COSTELLO: Right. And I can understand that argument, too. But most Americans don't feel that, right?

JOHNSON: That's true.

COSTELLO: Most Americans look at your industry and they see the CEOs making huge amounts of money. They see huge profits coming from the oil companies, and they are thinking, you know, my gas prices are high.

And they look at the BP disaster, right, and they don't really think the oil companies are doing much to save the environment. And they are mad. They are angry.

So, what do you say to them?

JOHNSON: Well, I can understand that. But, you know, prices are set on a global market. It's not like our companies are setting prices. And raising taxes on America's oil and gas companies, compromising production in the United States, is not going to send a signal to those global markets to decrease gas prices.

COSTELLO: Well, it's not really raising taxes, it's eliminating tax breaks. It's semantics, isn't it?

JOHNSON: Well, it's not. I mean, there is a difference between a deduction and the credit. And there is a difference between, you know, allowing our companies to keep more of their money, which we do invest in high salaries, new technologies and to try to increase our production. And if you take those deductions away, it is a tax increase.

COSTELLO: Brian Johnson, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: Navy SEALs has always had a pretty cool reputation. And since they took out Osama bin Laden, interest in the SEALs have soared. Unfortunately, so have reports of SEAL imposters. We are going to talk to a real SEAL about that, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Something new to tell you about out of Libya. Rebels are claiming they captured the airport in the key city of Misrata. The capture of the location is key for the rebels fighting the forces of Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, since it would provide important access for humanitarian aid.

The United Nations says there is a massive humanitarian crisis in the making in Libya. Three quarters of a million people have fled the country in the wake of the civil war there.

Monita Rajpal is live in London with more on this.

And, Monita, where are the Libyan refugees going for the most part?

MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for the most part, Carol, they have been going to Tunisia. They've been going to Italy, Malta, even Egypt has own crisis, revolutions, you can remember earlier in the year. The 750,000 people are risking everything. They're risking their lives, to get on boats to escape the conflict in Libya.

The UNHCR, which is the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, is describing the situation as grave. This is what Antonio Guterres, the high commissioner for the UNHCR told me on "WORLD ONE" earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, HIGH COMMISSIONER, UNHCR: I think we would say to all countries it is the obligation of us all to be sensitive to the plight of the refugees and to share the burden with Tunisia and Egypt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJPAL: This is the problem that they are finding, is that countries in Europe are not really opening their borders as much as Tunisia and Italy have been doing so. And so, what they're finding are these 750,000 refugees, have find that they have nowhere to go. And even the deputy prime minister of Britain has been saying that Britain is not going to be opening up its doors to refugees, saying that they don't want to be part of any burden-sharing scheme.

So, it's a very difficult situation for both the U.N. and, of course, for the thousands of refugees who are trying to escape the difficulties in the conflict in Libya, Carol.

COSTELLO: Monita Rajpal, many thanks.

You want to be a Navy SEAL -- you got to get through hell week first. But a lot of guys don't make and some decide to skip it all together. Navy SEAL imposters and the real SEAL who tracks them down. That's next.

Also, the war in Afghanistan and the children who have known nothing other than Americans in uniform. Nearly a decade after the mission was launched to win the hearts and minds of civilians, has the battle been lost? CNN's Stan Grant takes us inside a religious school.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is just past 9:30 in the east, 6:30 out west. Here's a quick look at the latest developments in the Osama bin Laden story. Some members of Congress will be allowed to see photos of bin Laden's body if they want to. President Obama is making the offer to members of the Intelligence and Armed Services Committee in both the House and the Senate.

Also this morning, a closer look at the lessons learned from the successful mission. The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee will review the decade-long manhunt at the Council on Foreign Relations.

And the search for bin Laden's teenaged son. There are reports that Hamza somehow escaped during the raid. One former national security advisor scoffs at that idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCES FRAGOS TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: It's inconceivable to those of us who have been involved in military planning and operations, you know, it's not like every SEAL who landed on these helicopters went into the house at the same time. There were SEALs who would have stayed with the helicopters. They would have formed a perimeter around it, stayed with the helicopter. You have to imagine this 19-year-old kid in pitch black of night, it's after 1:00 in the morning, he's going to scale 18 or 10-foot walls all by himself, miraculously get over them and get away while you've a perimeter of Navy SEALs watching.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Seems unlikely but who knows. Also, this story. It is a strange one. It happened after 9/11. You remember. People were falsely claiming to be Military veterans to take advantage of the country's renewed patriotism. Well, ever since the Navy SEALs took out Osama bin Laden last week, reports of fake Navy SEALs are popping up. A pastor from central Pennsylvania was publicly busted. Reverend Jim Motes (ph) was profiled by his local paper reminiscing about his SEAL service in Vietnam. He came clean to the newspaper after a real SEAL called him out. That SEAL was Don Shipley, U.S. Navy retired.

Welcome.

DON SHIPLEY, U.S. NAVY (RET.): Thank you. Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: You've kind of made it your mission to expose these fakers. So somebody forwarded you this article from this Pennsylvania paper about Reverend Motes.

What jumped out at you and made you know this guy was lying?

SHIPLEY: I just simply looked up an alphabetical list, a database which started a number of years ago because of the amount of SEAL imposters. So it's an alphabetical list. It goes to 69 years to the first frogmen that started in World War II, our predecessors, to today's modern day SEALs. He wasn't listed on that and just some of the claims in that newspaper article sent the red flag straight up. So, I mean, we had no idea (INAUDIBLE).

COSTELLO: Oh, you do -- I just want to read you part of Reverend Mote's confession to the "Harrisburg Patriot News."

He said, "I let them believe what they want to believe. And it's an ego builder for me but it's still a lie. I got caught up in the moment and it's simply wrong."

Is that why most imposters do this, for the ego boost?

SHIPLEY: A lot of them do. You know, there's a couple of different phonies and SEALs are not the only guys that are played by these guys. These guys are all the pointy end of the spear. They're not CIA assassin guys and Delta Force and Special Forces, they're SEALs. But, a lot of guys will do it to get next to a good-looking woman in the bar.

They'll drop the SEAL bomb, we call it, the S-bomb. But they don't live that lie and go home with it and tell their families. Their mothers don't believe them. But the second kind of guy lives that lie. His wife believes him to be a SEAL jungle fighter from Vietnam. His mother, all his families and friends. Yes, it's a mental issue. They live it.

COSTELLO: And tell us how many people actually fake being SEALs, because this is astounding to me.

SHIPLEY: The FBI did a profile years ago and they believe that there were 300 imposters for every living SEAL. I put that number closer to 1,000 or more. I deal with up to last week, 15 to 20 of these guys each and every single day and 99 out of 100 were never SEALs.

With the bin Laden thing and the pastor, I can't get through the e- mail. It's at least 40 to 50. I'm guessing more. I've been answering them since early this morning.

COSTELLO: Well, we are glad you're out there and you have your eye on these things, because it's just wrong.

Don Shipley, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

SHIPLEY: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories now.

The government's announced a new public safety system that sends alerts directly to your cell phone. It's GPS based so you'll get warnings based on where you are, not just on where you live. New York and Washington will have it by the end of the year. The rest of us, next April.

Toyota has just released its latest earnings and no surprise, the Japanese carmaker took a big hit bus of the quake/tsunami disaster in March. Its quarterly net profit down 77 percent.

And changing gears a bit, E! talk show host, Chelsea Handler has addressed those romantic rumors once and for all. It was a great interview. Here's what she told Piers Morgan last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": What was the truth of you and old 50?

CHELSEA HANDLER, E! TALK SHOW HOST: We dated. Very casually. He was -- nothing happened. You know, he's a very sweet, nice guy. But obviously -- I was just sampling kind of the atmosphere and seeing what was out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: There you have it. More on that interview at CNN.com.

In sports, extra inning excitement from Baltimore Camden Yards last night. Top of the 13th inning, Seattle's Mike Wilson, you see he gets his first major league hit, a broken bat single. And it's a timely one, scoring Jack Wilson, no retaliation and the Mariners take the lead. Bottom of the inning, the birds come back. Felix Pie has a hard hit up the middle that gets by the second base man. Bounces into center as you saw, scoring Nick Markakis to tie it at six. Then Matt Wieters completes the comeback for the O's. There you go. His (INAUDIBLE) single scores Pie from second. Orioles win the seesaw battle, 7-6.

What do Oprah Winfrey and Buzz Lightyear have in common? They could both affect playoff games in the NHL and NBA. More sports in 20 minutes. And flying the friendly skies is not always satisfying. Ahead, we'll tell you which airline is the most unsatisfying according to Consumer Reports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COSTELLO: Stories making news later today.

Potential presidential candidate Donald Trump talks to business leaders in Nashua, New Hampshire. That happens around 12:45 Eastern.

The Lindsay Lohan misdemeanor theft case back in a Los Angeles courtroom this afternoon. She is not planning to attend but her lawyer is expected to enter a no contest plea on her behalf.

And later tonight at the White House, rapper Common participates in a Poetry and Prose program.

After 25 years of marriage Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver call it quits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: We are very fortunate that we have four extraordinary children and we're taking one day at a time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We will have more on Arnold Schwarzenegger's first public comments about the break-up. That's next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Arnold Schwarzenegger, says he and his wife, Maria Shriver, are taking it one day at a time. Last night in Los Angeles, the former governor spoke publicly for the first time about the separation after 25 years of marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), FORMER GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: But before I start the night, I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and to thank the many friends and family for the tremendous amount of support and love and prayers that we have gotten over the last 24 hours.

I just talked to Maria an hour ago before I came here. And we both were saying the same thing. We are amazed and we are extremely blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people, by so many wonderful friends. We both love each other very much. We are very fortunate that we have four extraordinary children. And we are taking it one day at a time. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Speaking of those extraordinary children and others Schwarzenegger spoke out about the separation; 17-year-old Patrick, Arnold and Maria's son tweeted this on his parents' split. Quote, "Appreciate all your messages. Small speed bump in life, luckily, we own Hummers, we will cruise right over it. All will be ok".

The Chicago Bulls win a big playoff game but their post-season plans could be changed by Oprah Winfrey. Sports, just ahead.

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COSTELLO: Now, a closer look at life after Osama bin Laden. When the United States launched its war in Afghanistan it had two main objectives: oust the Taliban that had provided refuge to al Qaeda and win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.

Now nearly a decade later, time for a sobering reality check.

CNN's Stan Grant has the view from Kabul.

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STAN GRANT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We're here at a Madrassa, a religious school to speak to students about Barack Obama, about the U.S. and about their future and how it impacts on their lives.

(voice-over): School is in and the lesson today is Barack Obama. All those who like him, hands up. No takers.

(on camera): No one likes him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, never.

GRANT: Nobody likes him? But do you think that he has a good policy for Afghanistan?

(voice-over): The debate heats up, some confusing Obama's strategy with that of George Bush. "If he had a good policy for Afghanistan", this student says, "why has our society not developed in the past five years?"

(on camera): Do you think that this man can bring peace to Afghanistan and peace to -- to -- to the Muslim world?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, he can't.

GRANT: So as I go around the classroom here, I'm not getting a positive response to Barack Obama or the United States. Many people, in fact, see them here as being part of the problem.

(voice-over): "Barack Obama and George Bush," this girl says, "deployed troops for the national interests of the U.S., not to bring peace or stability to Afghanistan or other countries." (on camera): Do you trust Americans?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For what? For what?

GRANT: For what? Do -- do you trust them for security? Do you trust that they can help Afghanistan?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

(voice-over): These students are from Afghanistan's middle and upper class. They pay about $70 U.S. dollars a month in tuition, a lot in a country where most people earn less than $1 a day. These are the futures lawyers, teachers and politicians of Afghanistan.

But education here begins with religion. This class being told of the importance of prophets, the teacher quoting from the Koran. They certainly don't see U.S. politicians as saviors though, listen to this girl's confused opinion of George Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. George Bush, I think he was not Christ, neither he was a Muslim, I think he was Jewish, yes.

GRANT: You think he was Jewish?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, maybe.

GRANT: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I asked, I asked somebody that he thought that Mr. Bush, Mr. Bush was Jewish.

GRANT: So George Bush is Jewish and according to this same student, a supporter of the Taliban.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is not the Taliban that they -- they are supporting by Mr. Bush with helicopter. They give them -- they give them -- they will give them food, they will give them everything.

GRANT: Speaking of the Taliban, this man sees them as patriots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're from my country. We love them. They never want to kill the people of Afghanistan.

GRANT: These are the views that have been shaped by 30 years of war and isolation. The attitudes here mirror much of the rest of Afghanistan. Skepticism, even hostility at the U.S. presence and the ongoing civilian casualties of this war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My President is from the -- the President of -- Barack Obama, the United States president and there are 1,000 people who are killing in the borders of Afghanistan and there is no one should -- there is no one should doubt about that, why the Air Force is American and now they were killing those people. What's -- what's wrong? What's -- what's the matter with them?

GRANT: Many here believe Barack Obama himself is a Muslim, constantly referring to his middle name, Hussein. Overall, he is seen more positively than his predecessor, George Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, I really trust this man, so he is actually basically he is a very good person. He's going to help Afghanistan people.

GRANT: That aside, it is clear Barack Obama has much to do to open the doors to Muslims in Afghanistan.

Stan Grant, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Fascinating.

We are following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Monita Rajpal in London.

RAJPAL: Another delay for two Americans detained in Iran accused of being spies. I'll have more on their court case at the top of the hour.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jim Acosta in Washington where former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich is up on Capitol Hill. But he's got his sights set on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. I'll explain in just a few moments.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in Tunica, Mississippi where the Mississippi River is cresting today. This is a city that the bread and butter is casinos and we're at one that are taking unusual steps to keep the water out of their hotel. A live report from the flood zone in the next hour -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you.

And cheers erupted when Osama bin Laden was killed. And now for the first time, you will hear what it was like inside the bin Laden family when he was killed. A close friend of Osama bin Laden's son gives us an inside look. That's at the next hour.

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COSTELLO: Chicago is going crazy for the Bulls right now. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here. But Jeff no one -- no one beats Oprah.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: There are priorities in Chicago, right? Even on days like this.

Good morning, Carol.

If the Bulls make the Eastern Conference Finals, game one might have to move to a different day because of Oprah. She's taping one of her final shows at the Bulls home arena next week and she is more important than the Bulls.

But first the Bulls have to be (INAUDIBLE). Last night, game five, league MVP, Derrick Rose, the hoop and the foul. That put Chicago up nine and Rose was not done. He had 33 points in the game. Watch him here going one-on-one. And again into the lane, the Bulls win and take a three game to two lead. Oprah is still not changing her schedule.

To the NHL Playoffs, the Detroit Red Wings fighting to survive. Henrik Zetterberg scores with just over nine minutes to go to tie the game with San Jose. Then a couple of minutes later, Val Filppula, well he comes up with the game winner. Detroit forces a game seven after being down 3-0 in the series and the fans at Joe Louis arena love it.

They are entirely singing like crazy after he scores it. Unfortunately for the hometown fans, game seven is in the Shark tank, San Jose tomorrow night. They'll still sing their journey though.

And now you think Oprah's tough to schedule around. Do not mess with Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear. The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning might also have to move their NHL Eastern Conference final schedule around because Toy Story on ice already has the Lightning's home rink booked for next weekend. The teams might have to wait for infinity and beyond to finish their series.

COSTELLO: That was good, Jeff.

FISCHEL: All right. Baseball: check out Texas Rangers, Adrian Beltre, third baseman, the diving stop. He doesn't really go all the way up, from his knees. Makes the throw to first. He also hit a home run in the game. The Rangers beat Oakland, 7-2.

Rain delays, they can be dangerous. Coors Field, the grounds crew putting down the tarp during the 7th inning of the Rockies-Mets game. Doing a great job, covering the infield. They also covered one of their guys. I guess you need to do a head count sometimes.

COSTELLO: Oh, he can't get out.

FISCHEL: He did finally free himself and did get out, safe and sound.

COSTELLO: That would be scary, actually.

FISCHEL: Yes, you have to look for the light, right. The tarp's coming down. Where can I get out? Don't get turned around.

Finally, a ball park record set off the field at Angel Stadium. Not on it. The largest gathering of people wearing costume masks. They even had a judge from the Guinness Book of World Records at the game -- 24,998 wrestling mask wearing fans counted. They didn't have to hide their faces in shame. The Angels did win. They beat the White Sox, 6-2. It's kind of a nacho libre theme, I think.

COSTELLO: I kind of like that. At least they won, you're right. Save them the embarrassment.

Jeff, many thanks. FISCHEL: OK, Carol.