Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Mask-Wearing Record at Angel's Game; Bin Laden Sons: U.S. Broke International Laws; Iran Delays Hikers Trial Again; Tax Breaks for Oil Companies; Inside the Bin Laden Family; Flood Threat Surges South; Flood Threat Surges South; Obama to Speak at Memphis School; Anderson Cooper's Kiddie Picture

Aired May 11, 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: This morning, new details of the Osama Bin Laden story. It is 10:00 a.m. on the east coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

Some key members of Congress can indeed 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.

Federal investigators have sent a bulletin to state and local law enforcement. It warns that law offenders who share al Qaeda's ideology are the greatest near term threat to launch attacks.

In the meantime, counterterrorism agents in New York City are scrambling. A federal law enforcement source tells us they were working leads seized from the Bin Laden compound.

And today, we are hearing from Bin Laden's adult sons. They say the United States violated international law and carried out a, quote, "assassination". It's worth noting, they long ago denounced their father's use of violence, but they say it is the United States that has violated international law.

They're demanding the United Nations investigate, quote, "why our father was not arrested and tried, but summarily executed without a court of law."

In a few minutes, we'll hear an exclusive interview from the American woman who served as the intermediary for Bin Laden's adult sons. Jean Sassin, the author of "Growing Up Bin Laden" will join us with the closer look.

Other international news to tell you about, another delay in the trial of two U.S. hikers accused of espionage in Iran. A Swiss diplomat telling CNN the suspects were never brought to court. Monita Rajpal in London with more on that. So, Monita, why the delay?

MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the Swiss Embassy, which has been working on behalf of the American interests in Iran has told CNN that no reason was gave as to why Josh Fatal and Shane Bower were not brought from their prison cells to the court house today.

Now as you remember, Josh Fatal and Shane Bower, both had been detained for 22 months now in Iran. They had been accused of being spies for America. They were supposed to be up here in court today, but that hearing never happened, as we're seeing at the Swiss embassy. They were not told as to why these two never appeared in court.

Adding to that, the defense attorney for these two, we're told that he has yet to even have access to his clients. As you remember, Fatal and Bower along with Bower's fiance Sarah Shord were hiking along the Iran-Iraq border in 2009 when they were arrested and charged with espionage.

Shord was later released a year ago on a half million dollar bail on humanitarian grounds. She was also due here in court, but she has not returned to Iran saying she's suffering from severe posttraumatic stress disorder. She spent 14 months behind bars in Iran, Carol.

COSTELLO: On the subject of Iran, has Iran had any reaction to Osama Bin Laden's death?

RAJPAL: Well, that's interesting. On the website for Al Arabia, the online version of the channel, they're saying that they recorded, the Forest News Agency, which is Iran officials news agency and they had been talking to Iran's intelligence minister who said that Iran has evidence that Osama Bin Laden died a long time ago.

It goes on to say, quote, "we have accurate information that Bin Laden died of illness sometime ago. If the U.S. military had really arrested or killed Bin Laden, why don't they show him? Why have they thrown the court into the scene?

Now Al Arabian has been saying that Iran has not substantiated their claims and no evidence has been given by Iran as to what would make them say that they have the evidence that he died a long time ago. Carol.

COSTELLO: Monita Rajpal reporting live from London, thank you.

Back here in the United States, today Senate Democrats debate a bill to end tax breaks for big oil companies, breaks like $1.7 billion a year to keep factories in the United States.

Democrats say an industry that made tens of billions of dollars in profit in just one quarter does not need any tax breaks, especially when the United States has a giant debt problem.

Last hour, I asked the senior tax adviser for the American Petroleum Institute about that idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN JOHNSON, SENIOR TAX ADVISER, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE: We do make large profits because we sell a lot of products, but if you look at our earnings, we're under the national average. We only earn 5.5 cents for every dollar sold.

COSTELLO: Come on. Come on. The oil companies made $1 trillion in profits.

JOHNSON: We sell a lot of dollars, but if you look at our actual earnings, we pay the highest effective tax rate of almost any industrial in the United States, 41 percent. We pay $87 million every day to the federal treasury. So we're paying our fair share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Dana Bash is following the debate on Capitol Hill. And Dana, Senate Democrats might take issue with Mr. Johnson.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You can bet they do. Look, this is an issue that Democrats return to every time there are high gas prices and why not? It is a political no-brainer for Democrats to go after hugely profitable and unpopular oil companies.

And say, wait a minute, why should they get tax breaks for you and me and every other taxpayer in this country? Here is what this legislation would begin to do today, Carol. It would eliminate the tax breaks for about half a dozen tax breaks or loopholes that would be gone with this legislation that specifically targets the five big oil companies.

This is important. In the past when Democrats have done this, they have included some of the smaller oil companies. Not now. This simply targets the big boys, if you will. And it would save $21 billion over 10 years and what Democrats are doing, Carol, instead of giving that money towards other energy sources, like clean energy, they're strictly saying this would go towards deficit reduction, saying to Democrats, sometimes you're opposed though, but mostly Republicans, you want to vote against this?

How serious are you really about deficit reduction? On the other hand, I can tell you Republicans and some Democrats are voting against this saying this is simply a tax increase for oil companies. It's unfair to single this industry as opposed to other ones.

They say this is an important point to underscore it will not affect prices at the pump right now. Simply will not. If you're going to fill up your car and if this were to pass for some reason, it would not decrease your prices, it could increase them because oil companies would take it out of the consumer.

COSTELLO: That's right because they want to keep making those massive profits they're making right now. You said this bill has absolutely no chance of passing. So why are lawmakers dragging the CEOs of these big oil companies to Capitol Hill tomorrow?

BASH: It is politics. I mean, that's just -- there's no other way to say it except to say it bluntly too, Carol. They realize, as I said, that the oil companies are very unpopular, that they want to have a public flogging, if you will, of the big five oil executives at this hearing because they know this is something that they hope will play in the public.

There is anger out there for the oil companies and it allows them to keep the narrative going against Republicans, that Republicans from their perspective are protecting these oil companies.

And you can bet they're already writing the ads, the campaign commercials against these Republicans who vote against getting rid of these oil subsidies, saying they want to protect these oil companies, take your tax dollars and give it to these oil companies even though the gas prices are high.

COSTELLO: Well, you know what is frustrating for American voters and listening to that? They have the dog and pony show, nothing is going to happen, gas prices remain high. So why don't lawmakers put their energy into something that would actually work for the American public?

BASH: It's a great question. We have been looking into this and kind of thinking about the fact that it's not just Democrats who kind of pull out their play book each time there's a gas price hike.

In the case of Democrats, it's getting rid of oil subsidies. Republicans are, too. There will be a vote on the House side where Republicans are in charge today to once again start oil drilling.

Well, again, that is something that many Republicans believe could help, but down the road. It won't help anybody now. So both sides are guilty of playing up to their political arguments and rhetoric that they bring out every time there's a gas crisis and really would do little to help people now who are suffering.

COSTELLO: I know you have tough questions, go get them, Dana.

BASH: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Dana Bash reporting live from Capitol Hill. We know how many people in the western world felt when Osama Bin Laden was killed. What about those who actually cared about him?

For the first time, you hear what it was like inside the Bin Laden family. My next guest got a call from Bin Laden's son within minutes of his father's death.

An author is a close friend of Omar Bin Laden gives us an inside look. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Omar Bin Laden revered his father like many sons do and then 9/11 happened. Jean Sasson is a "Daily Beast" contributor and a close friend of Osama Bin Laden's son, Omar. A 15-month collaboration between Omar, his mother and the author became the book, "Growing Up Bin Laden."

Jean joins me now by phone and for security reason she does not want her location revealed. We will not reveal it.

So Jean, thank you for joining me. I appreciate it.

JEAN SASSON, CLOSE FRIEND TO OMAR BIN LADEN (via telephone): Carol, it's good to be here.

COSTELLO: Jean, the Bin Laden family has spoken out in the last 24 hours. They believe the United States may have broken international law by sending in a team to kill Osama Bin Laden.

And now Omar has publicly denounced his -- we know that Omar denounced his father's actions after 9/11. We're going to play a bit of what he said to CNN back in 2008 about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR BIN LADEN, OSAMA BIN LADEN'S SON: I would like to say to my father try to find another way to help or to find your goal and this is wrong --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Weapons.

BIN LADEN: Weapons, not good to use it for anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Jean, we understand Omar wrote a letter, calling the killing of Osama Bin Laden wrong, an assassination. He wants the United Nations to investigate. Did you receive the letter?

SASSON: Well, what happened is Omar called me the day that this came out and said, I have some things I want to say. Would you type it up and do it for me? And I said, well, yes, of course.

Because I knew the family had gotten completely confused from all the conflicting accounts coming out and they really wanted just to understand more what happened and wanted some answers. And I wrote it up for him. He approved it.

And about that time, another family member had gotten an attorney to write a letter because they felt like it should be, like, to the government, not to the people. Because I'm a southerner and I'm lot more soft than you would get from any kind of, you know, legal type statement.

But it was decided to go with the attorney's version of what they are feeling and what they are thinking. And they just really want some answers. And they would just really like to know what exactly happened, why they weren't called.

They were all right in the area. They would like to have been able to have witnessed seeing the body, at least identified the body because, you know how it is in the Middle East so many times.

They really need proof or people start believing -- this has been discussed by a lot more people than me -- that many people will not believe that he's dead and it's really important, I think, for the Americans --

COSTELLO: So, Jean, going back to the letter itself, after you wrote up the letter along with the attorneys, where did it go?

SASSON: It came to me and then it ended up with the "New York Times."

COSTELLO: And then it went -- was it sent to the United Nations? How did the United Nations get it?

SASSON: The attorney is handling all of that. He is the one sending it, an attorney in the U.K.

COSTELLO: Basically what the sons want to know is they want proof that Osama Bin Laden is dead and they want an investigation into how he was killed.

SASSON: Yes. They want answers of what happened. They were a little startled because people who do not know this family -- and I've been in a unique position to get to know them and to find out that, really, Osama's wife that I know, Nashwa, and the children they had together, they're really quite nice people.

And I've got compassion for their situation despite the fact that I, too, believe justice should have been done and I was very angry as an American about 9/11 and the other day.

But the family is very -- they've got very confused. They had heard one report and the next and the next. There was a lot of conflicting information coming out in the early days.

COSTELLO: But they couldn't have been surprised by this. About how it went down, even.

SASSON: I felt there was some surprise. I think they always felt that some -- even Omar in the past has said, well, maybe there could be a meeting and there be a truce like there was with the IRA in England when there had been so much killing and then they had a truce and the killing was stopped.

Omar want an optimistic person about peace and stopping the killing. He was a young man who -- probably the only person around Osama who was brave enough to actually argue with him about the path he had taken and that's the reason Omar left Afghanistan.

And I couldn't believe how brave he was, but he actually had a couple screaming matches with his father about this kind of negotiation. He said there's a way to talk people and there's a way to do things. You should never kill anyone who is innocent.

For that reason, he told me he always thought if anything happened, his father would be arrested and put on trial like Saddam or other people that have committed crimes.

COSTELLO: But can he understand why a trial would have been very difficult if it took place in the United States? And is there a part of him that's relieved that his father is dead?

SASSON: Well, first of all, to answer your first question, I think, Carol, with him, this is an emotional topic. It's not a logical topic of understanding if there's a trial of the people killed that it would turn into -- if he's buried, there will be a shrine.

He's only thing emotionally like most children would of a father they love. We have to remember this. Omar only knew his father as a big hero after the Afghan war and the Russians leaving.

Think about this, one minute your father is a hero and the in the next he's the world's biggest enemy. So the whole thing was very painful for him all these years. What was your second question?

COSTELLO: Is part of him relieved that his father is gone?

SASSON: No, no.

COSTELLO: I'd also like to ask you about Osama Bin Laden's wives because we know they're in Pakistani custody right now, the wives that lived in the compound in Pakistan with Osama Bin Laden.

SASSON: Yes.

COSTELLO: How much do you think they know about what went on?

SASSON: Well, it's a little bit different situation with these three because they were so confined. He kept all business away from wives and if they even asked him, he would refuse to discuss it and the boys didn't know anything until they were teenagers.

So when he was with Nashwa, they had a different house for meetings. The men met elsewhere. Certainly no men ever came into his house or the women were. So Nashwa was truly was being honest when she said I know nothing. He would not have wanted her to know.

However with these three living with him in the house, first of all, they had to know that he had committed something, a very bad against the world to have to be hiding and running as they were.

But I would think with him in the house in close quarters, there's an opportunity that they would know more of the comings and goings. However, if any man came into the house to meet with them, these women would not have been allowed to see them, know who they were or show their faces.

So how much would be valuable? I don't know, but they'll be able to tell them a few tidbits I'm sure.

COSTELLO: And would the wives be willing to share information with U.S. investigators?

SASSON: Possibly the one who is highly educated, which would be Hamsi, the mother of Hamsi, her only child. The one who now is basically, you know, middle child.

COSTELLO: Who knows where she is.

SASSON: Possibly she might - because she was a woman who was a teacher and she was highly educated. Quite possible they might be able to reason with her. I doubt seriously they would be able to get anything out of the young Yemeni wife who was very uneducated and so devoted to him.

If she thought anything she said would hurt him, even after his death, you know, maybe there's -- I'm surely hopeful they won't use any tactics on the women. But it would be hard pressed to get information from her.

Probably the daughter, who should be 10 -- she's been reported being 12 or 13, but Arabs don't keep up with birthdays very well and that child is only 10.

COSTELLO: Jean Sasson, fascinating. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

SASSON: OK, Carol. Thank you so much too. Have a great day.

COSTELLO: You too. The flood situation is worsening along the Mississippi River Delta. Just ahead, we'll tell you about some of the tough choices that must be made down river like who stays dry and who deals with disaster.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're following that massive surge of water working its way down the Mississippi River. It's already crested in Memphis. Two inches shy of the all-time record. What about the Mississippi itself though. Rob Marciano is in Tunica at the big gambling town and the casinos are now in danger. Tell us about it, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, the casinos in Mississippi have to be floating on water, be at the Gulf of Mexico or the Mississippi River at least where they gamble. But where the resorts are, where people sleep, where the hotels are, they can be on dry land.

Well, at this point, they're pretty much inundated and surrounded by water. There's about nine of them that line this stretch. I'm in front of the Gold Strike Casino, one of the bigger ones. They're doing an unusual thing in order to keep the water out of the lobby here.

These blue bags are basically big bladders and they're filled with Mississippi river water and they're acting as sand bags and they're keeping a watertight seal to this river. So far, so good as long as the river doesn't crest three or four feet about what we expect, they're going to be fine.

The best of it is that when the water recedes, you don't deal with sandbag, you just empty those out and wheel them on their way. But the folks who live in the Tunica cutoff, that's where 200 homes have been inundated with flood waters.

A lot of those people are staying shelters and the people in this community are certainly struggling not only with where they live, but financially with the bread and butter of their community being shut down right now.

And according to the mayor of Tunica, he says, you know, good times can't come soon enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR CHUCK CARIKER, TUNICA, MISSISSIPPI: It is devastating. It's painful to watch the flow rise of the water. We can't start the recovery and you can't start the healing process until the water goes down and that is the part that is painful. And for their safety, for the safety of others, they're not allowed back in there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: And, you know, the water is not going down, not since we've been here. That's for sure. Even though it seems to have crested from where it was last night, it's about where it was. But look, we're standing right in the river itself.

It is really going right around these casinos and it's a pretty good flow here in the parking lot and successfully navigating its way around the hotel lobby and that certainly is the goal here.

But like the mayor said, just like in Memphis, it's going to be a slow, slow, long wait for these waters to recede and then the cleanup effort is going to obviously be a big headache.

COSTELLO: You've got that right. Rob Marciano, thanks so much. Live in Tunica, Mississippi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Checking stories cross country now, three people dead after a shooting in a campus parking garage at San Jose State University. It's not immediately clear if those killed were students.

A water rescue this morning off Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey. The U.S. coast guard moved when a 70-foot Gallup Boat went adrift after mechanical problems. Huge waves capsized the boat.

And finally, some good news from flood weary Memphis, Tennessee. The city's Booker T. Washington High School has a big graduation speech from President Barack Obama. The school is the winner of the administration's race to the top high school commencement challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were crying. People fell. It was like a very exciting moment.

COSTELLO: The school improved its graduation rate from 55 percent in 2007 to 80 percent last year. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: British singer Adele's former boyfriend wants his cuts from the profits of her number one album claiming he was the inspiration behind the music. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host A.J. Hammer is live in New York. You're kidding.

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": No, not at all, Carol. Talk about a bad relationship too. We're talking about pop sensation Adele here. This is one heck of a bad ex story. She's telling "The Sun" newspaper in England that one of her ex's actually wanted a cut of her royalties from her album 19.

Not because he helped write the songs, but it is because of how badly he treated her that he was able to write the songs that we hear on her album, which are full of pain, 19 is all about terrible heartbreak.

It's a little nuts to me that someone would actually want to claim credit for inspiring these songs, but here's what she told "The Sun" for about a week, he was calling and was deadly serious about it.

Finally I said, well, you made my life hell and I lived it and now I deserved it. He really thought he had some input into the creative process by being expletive. I'll give him this credit, he made me an adult and put me on the road that I'm travelling.

"The Sun" puts it pretty well, Carol, they called him a rubbish boyfriend. I don't know if you listen to the incredible album by Adele, the pain is palpable.

COSTELLO: He's like the mother of all bad boyfriends. Whew.

OK, let's talk about something cute and funny. Anderson Cooper, who is kind of cute and funny, he had a moment last night. Please share.

HAMMER: Yes. You have to take a look at this. This is what happened last night as the AC 360 crew snuck a little childhood picture they had found of their host into a story about none other than Justin Bieber. Let's watch that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Putting his fist through a cake.

ANDERSON COOPER: Wait a minute, wait a minute. Did we just put a picture of me when I was like 9 years old? Tell the truth. Are you saying I was a brat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would never say you were a brat.

COOPER: Where does this picture suddenly materialize from?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Control room, would you like to share?

COOPER: I'm being told in the control room it was a technical glitch. I don't believe that for a second.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You do look kind of odd, though.

COOPER: I was pretending to go be the world's youngest bear trainer, and I'm telling the truth. I got two votes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would say not --

HAMMER (voice-over): There you go. You never know what's going to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I understand your crew -- well, they received something from you in a way to share.

HAMMER: Yes. They did put a picture of me in a bathtub with Deborah -- and you have it. That's great. Thank you so much. This was a music video.

The water happened to be very cold that day. This is like 10 years ago. Deborah Gibson, she's a dear friend of mine and she asked me to do this music video. Take it down. Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: Did you guys have any clothes on?

HAMMER: Yes, we did have clothes on. The bubbles were sort of masking that. We were clothed.

COSTELLO: I was just checking. Thanks, A.J.

HAMMER: I didn't have purple hair, at least.

COSTELLO: No. It was a much better scenario than Anderson Cooper. Thanks, A.J. We appreciate it. If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. has it tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11:00 p.m. on HLN.

It was a surprise to find out where Osama Bin Laden was really hold up, in a big house in the city near Pakistan's West Point. Our next guest thinks it was actually a pretty clever hiding place for five reasons. We'll talk about all of them, next.

And it's been nearly two years since President Obama delivered a speech in Cairo to the Muslim world. Now he's getting ready to reach out to the Middle East amid the anger over the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Ed Henry will join us with a closer look at that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: This morning, new developments in the Osama Bin Laden story. Some key members of Congress can now see photos of his body if they want. President Obama is making the offer to members of the Intelligence and Armed Services Committees in both the House and the Senate. Federal investigators have sent a bulletin to state and local law enforcement. It warns that lone offenders who share al Qaeda's ideology are the greatest near-term threat to launch attacks. In the meantime, counterterrorism agents in New York are scrambling. A federal law enforcement source tells us they are actively working leads seized from the Bin Laden compound.

There's still a lot of questions about Bin Laden's ability to blend in in that Islamabad suburb. We're talking years here. Well, Maryam Ansari's family lived in the city. She's been there many times. And she thinks it made a great hideout for five specific reasons. Thanks for joining us this morning.

MARYAM ANSARI, ATTORNEY: Thanks for having me, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK, I want to go through the five reasons. Let's start with number one. Number one is, you say large, compounds are pretty common. Explain.

ANSARI: Well, this is a city where there's a large number of foreigners. When I say foreigners, I mean people from outside Pakistan. And at the same time, people from other parts of Pakistan. And it's a place where wealthy foreigners set up summer homes, vacation homes. So, large compounds are very common, first of all, for that reason.

I think second of all, there's been a very large number of people migrating from the area that the Taliban has been infiltrating. And these are usually Pashtun families and several of them living in one compound --

COSTELLO: So, it's not even unusual to have barbed wire on top of a concrete wall surrounding the house?

ANSARI: Not at all, not at all. There's a problem of burglary in Pakistan, especially in Abbottabad. And even my own grandmother's house had not barbed wire, but glass shards at the top. So, it keeps out burglars.

COSTELLO: Got you. I want to get through all five, so we're going to motor on now. Number two, you already said residents are used to many outsiders. This is a place where people come to vacation, right? And a lot of - maybe people from other countries live?

ANSARI: Yes, that's very true.

COSTELLO: Number three, you say the regional drug trade means fewer questions will be asked. Expound on that.

ANSARI: I think it's no secret, sort of the elephant in the room for any northern Pakistani city. There is a lot of drug trafficking going on in that area. And, really, what I've been told is a lot of people won't question a reclusive guy living in a big walled compound because it could very well be a drug dealer, and you just don't want to risk questioning that. COSTELLO: Okay. And then you say unpretentious attitudes. What do you mean by that? People don't really ask questions or they want to keep a low profile?

ANSARI: People there are impressed by wealth. First of all, there is a certain amount of wealth there, but it's just - it's seen as bad etiquette to show off about your wealth, to talk about your wealth and to talk about somebody else's wealth. So, to show that you're impressed with a big house or to talk about who might live there, that's almost offensive to people of Abbottabad.

COSTELLO: Interesting. And, of course, the military presence. Because a lot of people are saying, oh, come on. There was a big -- it was like Pakistan's West Point is, like, around the block from this compound. How could they not know?

ANSARI: Well, here is the interesting point, Carol. My aunt, who claims to have seen that property regularly, she seemed assumed that because of the proximity to the Kakul, to Pakistan's West Point, she just thought it was another army facility. So, I think that helped him hide a little better. People were a lot less suspicious of a property like that. They just assume maybe it's a military facility.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Very interesting. But, of course, the investigation will go on about how the Pakistani intelligence of the government could possibly not know that Osama Bin Laden was living among them.

But very interesting stuff. Maryam Ansari, thank you very much for joining us this morning.

ANSARI: Thank you.

COSTELLO: A U.S.-born Muslim cleric says he may sue American Airlines for stopping him and his son from boarding a flight from New York to Charlotte, North Carolina. The two were headed to a conference about Islamaphobia when the incident occurred. American Airlines has issued this written statement. It says, "There was no ill intent on the part of any of our employees involved in this. It was a situation that just got very complicated very quickly." You might remember two other Muslim clerics were barred from a Delta Airlines flight. That happened on Friday.

Across cross much of the Middle East, there's an angry backlash for the killing of Osama Bin Laden. He was unarmed, shot in front of his family and then buried at sea. President Obama wants to focus on a new beginning in the Arab world now, not only in the defeat of terrorists but also the popular uprisings that have toppled governments.

Ed Henry live at the White House. So, Ed, what can you tell us about this initiative?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting that as early as next week, the president will be giving another speech, kind of, as they describe it to the Muslim world. But the White House is carefully saying, look, this is not really a speech to the Muslim world. What he's going to do is just try to explain what U.S. policy is moving forward because of all of the upheaval in the Mideast and North Africa.

This is not entirely new. You'll remember, it was two years ago in June that the president was in Cairo and gave that first speech, was billed then as a speech to the Muslim world. And a few weeks ago, Secretary of State Clinton publicly said the president was likely to give another speech in the weeks ahead to try to lay out how the U.S. views, how it can sort of be a partner and help some of these countries that have gone through upheaval. Not just have short-term, in her words, stability, but long-term sustainability. So that if there are democracies popping up, that they'll actually survive and flourish.

And another big development is that next week, the Israeli prime minister Netanyahu will be here at the White House in Washington speaking to Congress, as well. And so a key part of the question moving forward is what will President Obama say in his own speech about Israeli/Palestinian peace? Last September, he had the Israelis and Palestinians here at the White House and said he wanted to see some progress in the next year. He set a deadline on that. That's obviously a key part of the future for the Mideast, and so far, we've seen little if any progress, Carol.

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

HENRY: Thank you.

COSTELLO: After 25 years of marriage, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver call it quits. You know that. Well, you will hear The Arnold's first public comments after the break. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: 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 of California spoke publicly for the first time about his split after 25 years of marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNOLD SCHWARZNEGGER, FORMER GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA: Now, 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 prayer that we've gotten over the last 24 hours.

I just talked to Maria an hour ago before I came here. And we were saying the same thing, we have amazed, we are extremely blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful people and 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 one day at a time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And one of the Schwarzenegger kids, 17-year-old Patrick tweeted this on his parents' split. He said, "Appreciate all your messages. Small speed bump in life. Luckily, we own Hummers. We will cruise right over it. All will be okay."

Stories making news later today. Potential presidential candidate Donald Trump talks to business leaders in New Hampshire. That happens around 12:45 Eastern.

The Lindsay Lohan misdemeanor theft case is 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.

When the Mississippi River is normal, it helps create fertile farmland. But when it's swollen, it can wipe crops right out. One state is expecting hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. We'll find out if you will feel that pain at the grocery store. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Let's talk about how you might feel some of the damage from that swollen Mississippi River. The worst of the flooding is still ahead for several counties in Arkansas. The state farm bureau expects half a billion dollars in ruined crops. Mississippi's also looking at losses.

And farther down river in Louisiana, governor Bobby Jindal says about three million acres of his state could be flooded.

Let's go to the New York Stock Exchange and Alison Kosik. So, Alison, because of this, could we see food prices shoot up?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know what, Carol? The jury is kind of still out on whether we're going to see what's happening there drive up food prices as a whole, because it's really too early to tell. We don't know the extent of the damage.

But I'll tell you what, the timing couldn't be worse because food costs, they were already rising before the flooding. Look at corn. It hit a record last month. Soybeans hit at a three-year high in February. And what could wind up happening is the flooding could push prices even higher, Carol.

COSTELLO: Alison Kosik, live at the New York Stock Exchange. Many thanks.

Umm, risky senior citizens? Why is there concern about baby boomers? We'll have some answers just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Chicago Bulls are fighting for their first NBA title since the days of Michael Jordan. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports is here. Wow! They just keep winning.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. But Carol, they're not number one in town, right? The Bulls, if they make the Eastern Conference finals game one, will have to move potentially to a different day because of the queen of Chicago. Oprah, she's taping one of her final shows at the Bulls' home arena next week. She's more important than the Bulls.

But first, they have to beat the Hawks. Last night, game five. There's the league MVP, Derrick Rose. No one can stop him, the basket and the foul. He puts Chicago up nine, and he was just fantastic in the fourth quarter. Again, off the dribble, the basket, he had 33. The Bulls win. Take a 3 game to 2 lead. Oprah is still not changing her schedule.

And you think she's tough to schedule around, do not mess with these guys: toys! Do not mess with Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear. The Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning might also have to move their final conference schedule around because of -- there it is. Toy Story on Ice. It has the Lightning's home rink booked for next weekend. The teams might have to wait for infinity and beyond to finish their series.

NHL playoffs last night. The Detroit Red Wings fighting to survive. Enrich (ph) Zenerberg scores with just over nine minutes to go to tie the game with San Jose. Now, with a win, Detroit could force a game seven after being down 3-0 in the series. And you know the Red Wings do it. The game winner. These teams head back to the shark tank in San Jose for the game seven deciding one tomorrow night.

Baseball, rain delay, trouble. It can be dangerous! Coor's field grounds crew putting the tarp down during the seventh inning. The Rockies/Mets game. Where did he go? They did a great job of covering the infield. They also covered one of the crew! Should've done a head count. It's like Poltergeist. It's like run to the light. Or in this case, crawl to the light.

(LAUGHTER)

FISCHEL: He finally made his way out, and safely, Carol, thankfully.

COSTELLO: Glad he was OK. Jeff, thank you. We'll catch you tomorrow.

FISCHEL: All right, Carol.

COSTELLO: Sexually transmitted diseases. These are not diseases older Americans typically worry about in retirement. But as baby boomers age, some experts are saying there is reason for concern. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins to us talk about sex and seniors. So, this is kind of surprising.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a little surprising. But when you think about it, Carol, it makes sense. I mean, picture you're a senior citizen who has been married for decades to the same person. That person passes away, and you're 65 or 70 and you're still healthy, as many 70-year-olds are these days. And you're back out on the market. And then you're out and you're having fun and you're not thinking about safe sex because that's not something 70-year-olds think about. And, you know, if we have problems in the sexual arena, there's always Viagra or something else to help you out. And so, nursing homes are seeing outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases.

COSTELLO: But what are the numbers?

COHEN: The numbers are really interesting. Let's take a look at who is sexually active or how many people are sexually active into their golden years. Ages 57 to 64, 73 percent are sexually active. Age 65 to 74, 53 percent. Ages 75 to 85, 26 percent.

And they really aren't using condoms. So, look at this. Men ages 50-plus, only 20 percent are using condoms. Women only 24 percent say their partners are using them, and they're not getting screened for sexually transmitted diseases. Men over 50, 64 percent not getting tested; women 69 percent not getting tested.

So, this is a perfect storm. Not using condoms, sexually active, not getting tested.

COSTELLO: So the message here is what?

COHEN: The message here is that it doesn't matter how old you are. If you are sexually active with new partners, you need to be thinking about safe sex. Get screened, use condoms.

COSTELLO: OK. It's hard to talk about in the morning. I'm sorry. But it's important, I know!

COHEN: Well, it is important!

COSTELLO: I know! Right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

Coming up in our next hour, he is set to be the first Republican candidate to officially throw his hat in the ring for the White House. But can he overcome the skeletons in his closet? We're taking a hard look at the long road ahead for Newt Gingrich. That's next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We don't know whether he's trying to steal some of Newt Gingrich's thunder, but Donald Trump is back in the news today. Our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is here with the story of a return trip for the Donald. Hi, Paul PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, I guess, The Donald is doing what he does best, grabbing that spotlight, Carol. Yes, Gingrich won't announce until maybe 9:00 tonight.

Donald Trump in New Hampshire, of course, that's important. New Hampshire has the first primary in the battle for the White House. Second trip for Donald up there in the last couple weeks.

Here is also why it's important. It's the first time we really hear from Donald Trump since he kind of got lambasted at that White House correspondents' dinner about a week-and-a-half ago from the president. So, it should be interesting to see what Donald Trump says. Of course, he's been saying by June he will decide whether he's running for the Republican presidential nomination, Carol.

COSETLLO: All right. We'll be waiting with bated breath. Democrats are crowing about some big news in Texas. Tell us about it.

STEINHAUSER: Yes, this is very interesting. The battle for the Senate there, the Republican senator there, Kay Bailey Hutchison, is not running for re-election next year. Today, retired lieutenant general Ricardo Sanchez is announcing that he's going to run for the Senate as a Democrat in the state. Democrats think they have a good shot here because of course, there's a lot of Latinos and Hispanics in Texas. An explosion of the population, according to census figures. And of course, Sanchez is a Mexican-American who's also a retired general. So, I guess you can't paint him as a liberal.

But remember, he was also the head of U.S. forces in Iraq during the Abu Ghraib prison controversy there. So, that may come into play, as well. Stay tuned, Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, we will. Paul Steinhasuer, many thanks.

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.

That does it for me, at least, the larger portion of me, I guess. Don Lemon is in for Suzanne Malveaux, and I'll join you in a few minutes to talk about the war in Afghanistan and whether U.S. troops should get out, like in right now.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And it will be our first time talking back to each other.

COSTELLO: That's right.

LEMON: So, I'm excited about it.

COSTELLO: Me, too.

LEMON: Thank you so much, Carol.