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Conservative Watchdog Group Suing White House; IMF Chief Accused of Sex Assault; Morganza Spillway Gates Open; The Vatican's New Guidelines for Priests Facing Sex Abuse Charges; Sen. John Kerry in Pakistan; Space Shuttle Endeavor Heading to International Space Station

Aired May 16, 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: And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello, sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

We're following the final mission of the space shuttle Endeavour. As you know, it blasted off the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center just minutes ago. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN COVERAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- engine failure now but all three are still in good shape as are all of the other systems aboard the orbiter. Quiet here in mission control as a team of flight controllers watches over all the systems.

4:20 into the flight. Endeavour is traveling 5500 miles per hour. Altitude now 63 miles traveling downrange, 186 miles or about 335,000 feet in altitude.

Environmental and control systems officer here reporting a good flash evaporator system providing cooling to all of the avionics equipment aboard the vehicle. Traveling into space on the forward flight deck is Commander Mark Kelly and pilot Greg Johnson. Between and behind them, is Flight Engineer Roberto Vittori and rounding out the flight deck crew is Mike Fincke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endeavour, thrust to ATO.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Thrust to ATO.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endeavour can reach orbit on two engines should one fail at this point. However, all three are still performing as planned.

Found on the mid-deck of Endeavour Drew Feustel and Greg Chamitoff. Feustel headed to the International Space Station for the first time. Vittori and Fincke making their first voyage on the space shuttle after flying to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz spacecraft previously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endeavour, Single Engine up three.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Singe Engine up three. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That call indicates that Endeavour could reach a trans-Atlantic abort site on one engine if it lost two of the three although all three are still in good shape. 5:50 into the flight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endeavour, press to MECO and Single Engine Zaragoza 104.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Press to MECO and Singe Engine Zaragoza 104.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Several calls there. Endeavour can reach a safe orbit on two engines now. The guidance system is controlling the engines to roll Endeavour to a heads-up system to optimize the air-to- ground communications through the satellite network.

Flight controllers reporting to Flight Director Richard Jones. They're in good shape.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shut down plan is nominal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy. Shut down plan is nominal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For Mark, go the plus X, go the pitch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Go for the plus X, go for the pitch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endeavour, Single Engine press, 104.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger. Single Engine press, 104.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endeavour can reach orbit on one engine should two fail. However all three are still in good shape. The three main engines are flowing fuel through their power systems at a rate equivalent to draining an average backyard swimming pool in 25 seconds.

7:20 into the flight. Altitude 64 miles down range from the Kennedy Space Center, 630 miles. Endeavour is traveling 13,500 miles per hour.

We're now seeing throttling on the three main engines to maintain the three G or three times gravity load on the vehicle and the crew.

(END COVERAGE)

COSTELLO: A successful launch, at least so far of the space shuttle Endeavour. Of course Mark Kelly, the astronaut in command. His wife Gabrielle Giffords watching from the ground. And a lot of touching things to tell you about this launch.

CNN's John Zarrella is at the Kennedy Space Center. Astronaut Michael Good is with him. And Sanjay Gupta is standing by to tell us more about Gabrielle Giffords, how she got there, where she's watching this from.

And I'm -- in fact, let's start with you, Sanjay, because you had -- Mark Kelly actually gave his wedding ring to his wife before takeoff?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, which is unusual because I guess typically in the past, he had taken hers into space. So this is a little change of custom for them.

But in fact, her chief of staff -- Gabrielle Giffords' chief of staff said the ring was too big for her finger, so they're actually finding a chain for her to wear it around her neck, but yes, I mean, it is a touching thing.

As you know, she did make it to Florida last time around as well. But then obviously the launch got scrapped. She went back to Houston and now back again, which is a good sign medically. You know she's medically stable, they say. And this is part of her rehab as they sort of describe it as well. Her getting up these stairs, her meeting new people. A new environment. It's the whole thing.

COSTELLO: And also -- the astronauts are also wearing wristbands.

GUPTA: Yes.

COSTELLO: Right? In her honor.

GUPTA: That's right. I mean, you know, everyone I think has been touched by this and, you know, for Mark Kelly, the commander, this was going to be his last time commanding a shuttle into space. He -- he wasn't sure he was going to be able to do this a few months ago.

He was in the middle of training, you remember, Carol, when this happened, when this tragic shooting occurred back in January, so it was very touch and go for some time. Then it was touch and go whether she would even be able to attend the launch.

Even a couple of days before the last time, doctors were still sort of weighing the pros and cons of that. But again, you know, good sign from a medical standpoint. She's still getting rehab. She still needs rehab for her speech and for the strength on the right side of her body, but it sounds like it's coming along.

COSTELLO: Yes. And those wristbands, love, peace, Gabby.

GUPTA: Right. Love, peace there -- yes.

COSTELLO: Right? That's really nice. Let's head to Florida now and check in with John Zarrella and astronaut Michael Good.

So, John, where is Gabrielle Giffords watching the launch from?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She's actually watching it about 300 or so yards from us. On top of the launch control complex off to my right there. And you know, NASA put up a curtain literally all around that area so that, you know, you really can't see anything over there. Any camera men or women with long lenses wouldn't be able to get a shot of her or the other families of the other astronauts that are up there. You know, a couple of interesting things, Carol. Mike and I were just talking about where you just had separation from the external tank, so, Mike, literally, they're in space now, right?

MIKE GOOD, ASTRONAUT: Yes. They're on their own. They've gotten rid of the solid rocket motors, they've gotten rid of the external tank and it's just the orbiter now for the next 16 days. And that's what they'll bring back to land here hopefully.

ZARRELLA: And that tank has an interesting history, right?

GOOD: That thing goes back a ways. It's the one that survived the Katrina hurricane.

ZARRELLA: Right. It had -- it was damaged during Katrina out in Michoud, Louisiana at the assembly plant, Carol, and NASA had to go back, refurbish the tank, and get it ready for this flight.

It's actually the very last tank that came off the assembly line in Michoud before that plant pretty much finished all that they do there. Those tanks that's going to fly on Atlantis is -- was actually manufactured before and they did a switch and -- anyway, it's -- it flew pretty well. It worked fine.

GOOD: It worked great. Those guys are really unsung heroes. Those guys literally stayed with that tank throughout the storm and that was one of the places. The only places in the city that was actually dry.

ZARRELLA: Yes. Another piece of history is going to happen here tomorrow morning, 8:00 a.m. The shuttle Atlantis that you flew on twice is going to roll from the orbiter processing facility over to the vehicle assembly building where it will be taken vertical, right, and that's where you put the boosters and everything on it.

GOOD: That's right. It's getting ready for its last flight.

ZARRELLA: It will be the last orbiter to fly. Right now it looks -- you know, it looks the July timeframe.

GOOD: Yes.

ZARRELLA: And what do you want to do? I know now -- this is it. Shuttle is done. You know, this flight and one more. You're not flying on a shuttle anymore.

GOOD: That's right.

ZARRELLA: So --

GOOD: Although I am available.

ZARRELLA: You're available in case they needed you but --

GOOD: Right.

ZARRELLA: So what do you want to do in the future? I know a lot of astronauts are leaving the program, moving on. What do you do?

GOOD: Well, I've actually just taken a two-year assignment out in Colorado Springs, so I'm still with NASA. I'm the liaison out there at Peterson Air Force Base to air force base command in NORTHCOM and NORAD. So just kind of a career broadening move for me to get a different experience.

ZARRELLA: But you do want to fly on the Soyuz up to the space station. I know that.

GOOD: That's right.

ZARRELLA: We talked about it.

So Carol, they are in space. The Endeavour crew beginning the 16-day mission. Again when Endeavour comes back, 115 million miles it will have flown carrying 139 different astronauts -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes. It's a bittersweet moment, I'm sure, for Michael Good, thanks to you both. We appreciate it.

GOOD: You bet.

COSTELLO: One last question for Sanjay about Gabrielle Giffords. Her husband is going to be up there for an extended period of time, of course. I'm sure they'll remain in contact some way.

GUPTA: Right.

COSTELLO: Will this actually help her in her recovery?

GUPTA: You know, I think this whole process of getting her to Florida probably certainly will. You know I think that the whole -- he clearly has been a big advocate for her in terms of her rehab, her recovery over all. So I think him not being there day-to-day, I wouldn't say that would help her.

I think she needs those advocates, still, but I think her being able to go see this launch overall probably turbo-boosted her rehab over all.

She's still got months left, though, Carol. You know this is a milestone, I think, in some way, but in terms of her getting some of that speech and strength back, you measure these things in months, not days and weeks. So he'll be back in time to see a lot of that still take place.

COSTELLO: Yes. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Coming up, if you didn't know who the head of the International Monetary Fund was, you sure do now. Dominique Strauss- Kahn headed to a New York courtroom this morning to face a sexual assault charge. We'll have a live report from outside the courthouse in four minutes. And people in Louisiana's Cajun Country are waiting for the flood. They know it's coming. They don't know how much it's going to be, how much it's going to disrupt their lives. We'll have a live report for you just ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Star, eight, seven, six -- four, three, two, 2, zero and liftoff for the final launch of Endeavour. Expanding our knowledge and expanding our lives in space.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking on top stories now.

Thousands of acres in Louisiana are being flooded after the Corps of Engineers began opening the massive Morganza Spillway. That will relieve pressure on levees downstream in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. But it is now flooding much of south central Louisiana and forcing nearly 4,000 people from their homes.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague is expected to issue an arrest warrant today for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The warrant is expected to charge him with crimes against humanity.

And we could soon be learning what brought down the Air France flight off Brazil in June 2009. Investigators say they have recovered all the information on the flight data recorder as well as the conversations from the plane's cockpit. 228 people were killed.

One day, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a high-profile head of the International Monetary Fund, the most powerful bank in the world, and a potential French presidential candidate. And the next moment he's a suspect in a sexual assault case.

This morning, Strauss-Kahn expected to plead not guilty to assaulting a hotel maid in his $3,000 a night New York hotel suite. He was taken off a flight bound for Paris yesterday. The maid telling police that when she went into his suite, Strauss-Kahn emerged from a room naked and ran after her, pulling her into a bedroom and attacking her.

CNN's Richard Roth outside the courtroom where Strauss-Kahn will enter his plea.

Richard, what kind of legal battle does Strauss-Kahn face?

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the beginning of the legal process in effect here at a Manhattan New York state court. Strauss-Kahn expected to appear for his arraignment, planked by his attorneys who deny the charges that New York City police have indicated. Strauss-Kahn, the most powerful man really in world global financial business, I'm sure he did not think he would be here when he was getting up Saturday morning in his New York City Times Square hotel.

New York newspapers are having a field day. Of course, he's French toast screamed "The Daily News" on Sunday and French whine. They say he's complaining about his treatment. His attorneys Sunday evening after a long day of debate with the district attorney's office explained what was happening with their client.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM TAYLOR, ATTORNEY FOR STRAUSS-KAHN: Our client consented to an examination tonight at the request of the government. That's being done in light of the hour we've agreed to postpone the arraignment until tomorrow morning and we expect to be in court with him tomorrow.

REPORTER: How is your client doing?

TAYLOR: He's tired, but he's fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: CNN was told that the maid, hotel maid, who has accused him of attempted sexual rape, has identified him in a police lineup. His passport, we believe, has been taken. We're going to find out, Carol, what will happen after this court proceeding if he has posted bail and will emerge before dozens of international cameras standing here in the rain.

Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Richard Roth live in New York.

Strauss-Kahn was considered the strongest potential challenger to President Sarkozy, but not now.

Our Monita Rajpal tells us how the story is playing out in the international media.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, needless to say, newspapers around the world are reporting and reacting to this as a headline.

From Australia, "The Sydney Morning Herald" has this headline: "IMF chief on maid sex assault charges. It goes on to say a reputation as a lothario, hardly rare among his political colleagues, has long been known and while widely tolerated by the French generally, has been used by political enemies in the past.

"The Wall Street Journal" Europe has this headline, "IMF Chief Held on Rape Charge." The article says Dominique Strauss-Kahn was expected to be arraigned on charges of attempted rape, criminal sexual assault, and unlawful imprisonment. In a case that likely dashes his hopes of running for French president and could hamper the IMF's ability to help manage Europe's debt crisis.

And "The Independent" has this headline: "IMF chief charged with attempted rape after brutal attack at hotel." The article goes on to say whatever the eventual outcome, the consensus in France yesterday was that Mr. Strauss-Kahn's hopes as yet undeclared of challenging Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency next spring are dead -- Carol.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: Thanks so much.

Strauss-Kahn's wife is coming to her husband's defense. Anne Sinclair is an American-born journalist. She hosted one of France's most popular political TV shows for more than 13 years, covered the 2008 U.S. presidential race for French newspapers and television.

And she issued this statement following her husband's arrest, quote, "I do believe for one second the accusations brought against my husband. I have no doubt his innocence will be established."

Coming up in about 30 minutes, I'll ask Attorney Sunny Hostin, our legal contributor for "In Session" about what Strauss-Kahn faces in court later today, what kind of evidence there is against him. That's at 9:45 Eastern.

President Obama hoping to provide comfort to victim of that massive flooding along the Mississippi River. He leaves for Memphis, Tennessee, in just about 30 minutes. Before the flooding started, Mr. Obama had been scheduled to give the commencement address at a Memphis high school. He has adjusted his schedule to meet this morning with families affected by the flooding.

People living in Louisiana's Cajun Country are waiting for the rising waters of the Mississippi River to engulf their homes.

Over the weekend, the Army Corps of Engineers opened a spillway in the hopes of saving more populated areas downstream, like Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is live in Butte La Rose, Louisiana, where people are wondering how much of their way of life -- well, is it going to survive, Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, the parish president here in Butte La Rose says he has no doubt that people will come back even though right now, he estimates about 90 percent of the population here in Butte La Rose is gone.

This is the Atchafalaya River that you see behind me. As the flood gates upstream of where we are that the Morganza Spillway are opened up -- opened up, diverting water off of the Mississippi River -- it's all getting poured into here and keep following the river this way, you'll end up in the Gulf of Mexico.

But along the way, a lot of the water -- there's so much water here starting to rise that it's getting pushed back into smaller tributaries and creeks and that sort of thing. And that's what's going to cause the flooding in a lot of these communities along this spillway.

We've seen mandatory evacuation orders issued yesterday, just upstream from where we are and people heeding those warnings, packing up everything they can. Some people are literally moving their homes off the foundation and taking it to higher ground. But the parish president here in Butte La Rose says that standing here and watching this water slowly rise is a slow and painful process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUY CORMIER, PRESIDENT, ST. MARTIN PARISH: I guess the sentiment of people here and just the atmosphere is just that people just know it's coming, they're nervous about it and they're watching it very closely. And we know that we're going to get the water. It's just a matter of when it's going to be here and -- I don't know, it's just a weird feeling that, you know, here it is. We sit on this beautiful, cool morning, watching this beautiful sunrise, and we're going to be, you know, knee-deep in water right here, here too before long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: Now, a few days ago, residents here in Butte La Rose were told to expect so much worst case scenario, 15 feet of water. We've set up a webcam, giving you a round the clock look here in Butte La Rose. We've set it up in a home kind of with a vantage point of the river. You'll be able to watch what it will look like here in the coming days when the flood waters start to rise up here.

So, go to CNN.com/live, the Louisiana flooding webcam to kind of -- to follow that monitor as you wish -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That's unbelievable. It's the slowest-moving natural disaster I think in history, Ed. Thanks so much. That cam, I think, is fascinating. We'll be eager to see what happens in the coming days.

Coming up next, Newt Gingrich is carrying some baggage as he hits the White House campaign trail and he's talking about it, next.

And President Obama says he will not release pictures of Osama bin Laden's body. Coming up, we'll talk with a man who thinks they should be made public. In fact, his watchdog group is suing to make that happen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Mike Huckabee's decision over the weekend not to seek is White House has shaken up the GOP playing field.

CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, is here to talk about that.

So, Paul, who are the winners and losers?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You know, I guess, Carol, the biggest winner is the state of Iowa. Remember, its caucuses kick off the presidential primary calendar. Huckabee won Iowa last time around when he ran for president. With him out of the field, I guess that helps Iowa. Candidates will now flock to Iowa maybe.

And who else does it help? People like Michele Bachmann, if she decides to run, the Minnesota congresswoman; and Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota. Both of them need to win Iowa. With Huckabee out, they're helped. Also, Rick Santorum, the former Pennsylvania Senator.

Listen, with social conservatives lose Huckabee, now, maybe, Santorum has an edge -- maybe -- with some of the social conservatives.

But that's not all. Take a look our most recent poll, without Huckabee in the race, this is a national poll. And look who's on top according to our poll. Mitt Romney. So, maybe it helps Mitt Romney a little bit as well, Carol. With Huckabee out, it's a whole different ball game, I guess you can say.

COSTELLO: Newt Gingrich is trying to help himself and move up in that poll you just showed us. And he keeps talking about this baggage he's carrying.

STEINHAUSER: Oh, yes. Well, today, Gingrich starts -- where is he? Iowa, of course, Carol. He's got a week-long 17 city and town tour. But, you're right, he was on the Sunday shows yesterday and he was talking about his three marriages and he's admitted to an affair.

Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER: I clearly have done things that were wrong. I've clearly had to seek God's forgiveness. I believe people have to decide whether or not what I've said and what I've done is real. And I think that if people watch me and talk with me and get to know me, my hope is that a majority of Americans will decide that I can help this country get back on track in a way no one else can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: That's the big question. Will social conservatives like Gingrich -- because it was marital problems in the past. Remember, social conservatives are very influential in the race for the White House in the Republican side, especially in states like Iowa and South Carolina.

And one other thing, Carol, Newt Gingrich also talked about Paul Ryan's GOP House Medicare plan. And he took issue with it saying it's too big a jump and right wing social engineering. That may not play well with others in the Republican Party.

So, a lot of stuff going on on the road to White House today.

COSTELLO: Keeps you busy. That's a good thing.

STEINHAUSER: Yes.

COSTELLO: Paul Steinhauser, many thanks.

We'll have your next political update in an hour. And reminder, for all the latest political news -- go to our Web site, CNNPolitics.com. Checking stories cross-country now:

In California, the Giants fan who was viciously beaten outside of L.A.'s Dodgers Stadium will be transferred to a San Francisco hospital today. Brian Stowe was taken out of a medically-induced coma almost a week ago and his parents are now talking about his condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he turns, his eyes open. If you touch him or play music, his mouth will move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just want to see him, his eyes open and maybe a smile or say hi -- hi, mom or dad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And police still have not found the people who did this to Stowe.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

COSTELLO: A remarkable moment for U.C.-Berkeley graduate Austin Whitney taking his first steps in almost four years after being in a car crash. He can thank U.C.-Berkeley's robotics and engineering team who made an exoskeleton specifically for him, so he would be able to cross that stage.

In Connecticut, the senior who got banned from the prom after taping 12-inch letters to the side of the school can now go to the dance. Officials originally said his nighttime stunt was trespassing. Now, the headmaster is reversing her decision because of the international notoriety it caused.

He wasn't working a day job or earning a paycheck. So, how was Osama bin Laden supporting a compound full of people and a global terror network? We will follow the money, next.

And just ahead, we'll ask a man why his watchdog group is so determined to get bin Laden's death pictures public. It's taking the matter to court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: After a sweep through Afghanistan, Senator John Kerry is in Pakistan today meeting with the prime minister and other leaders. His focus, what they knew about Osama bin Laden and where the U.S.- Pakistan relationship is going now. Some members of Congress accused Pakistan of supporting the insurgency and want to cut off U.S. aid. Speaking of money in Pakistan, how exactly was Osama bin Laden able to support his family and himself and his lifestyle, not to mention al Qaeda's cost?

Our senior international correspondent Stan Grant has been following the money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, al Qaeda is not just a terror network. It's a business, and a business that costs tens of millions of dollars each year to run, to support the various insurgencies around the world that are associated with it.

Now, U.S. Treasury officials are hoping to break what they call the golden chain of donors. And to do that, they're zeroing in on the files and the papers and the information that was seized in the raid on bin Laden's compound when he was killed here in Pakistan.

There's another clue, also, coming from a Taliban official in Afghanistan who's been quoted as saying that he was in regular contact with bin Laden and he knows that bin Laden was having face to face meetings inside Pakistan with rich men from the Gulf area and also from Saudi Arabia. Now, that would be a very risky strategy, coming out into the open, meeting people with the possibility of being detected. That goes to show just how keen he was for the money to keep flowing.

Now, where does the money actually come from? Well, there was, of course, bin Laden's own personal wealth, but a lot of speculation about money also coming from the likes of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Sudan and the also the United Arab Emirates.

Now, civil cases in the United States since 9/11 have also raised questions about various Islamic charity groups and also Islamic youth groups. Then there was the question of money coming from with inside Pakistan. It's long been speculated that the military and intelligence here have funneled funds that have been put into Pakistan from the United States, into the hands of the insurgent movement itself.

In fact, if you draw a line all the way back to the 1980s and the mujahedeen battle against the Soviets, at that time, funds were coming from the CIA to Pakistan, into the hands of the mujahedeen within Afghanistan. It's speculated that some of that money also ended up in al Qaeda hands.

It is a very complex web we're talking about here. How did he survive? How did he keep the money flowing. What they're hoping is to break that cycle, to answer those questions and further choke off the al Qaeda network -- Carol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Stan Grant reporting live. Thank you. President Obama has decided the pictures of Osama bin Laden's body should not be made public. He's got support from Democrats and Republicans on that front. But not Christopher Farrell. He's with the conservative legal watchdog group Judicial Watch and the group is suing to get those photos released.

Welcome, Mr. Farrell.

CHRISTOPHER FARRELL, JUDICIAL WATCH: Good morning, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good.

Why do you need to see the pictures to believe bin Laden is dead?

Well, there's a law called the Freedom of Information Act. It's a federal law that governs all government records and these photos are government record that the public has a right to see and now about. Arguably, it's the most important historical event in the last decade, perhaps the last generation. And there's a public right to know, there's a government -- a law governing it and we're asking that the administration abide by the law.

COSTELLO: Defense Secretary Gates said just last week, the death pictures could be photo shopped and misused to provoke violence overseas and even endanger American troops and civilians.

Doesn't that bother you?

FARRELL: It does not, because there's any number of different photos that can be photo shopped or used as propaganda. The issue here is that there's a law governing those records. If the administration wishes to withhold those records for a lawful reason then they can invoke any number of nine different exemptions that exist under the law to properly withhold the records.

But instead of doing that, the administration has elected to sort of opine or have sort of a cavalier approach of, well, we don't wish to do it. Well, if they don't wish to do it, then they should exercise the law the same way that we have and simply say to a court, no, we're not going to release these records and here's the reason why and abide by the law. But they're choosing not to do that.

The Department of Defense wrote a letter to us after we made the request and said, well, we don't anticipate being able to comply, period. Not why, not how, not how they would answer the law. They just said they didn't want to comply with it.

COSTELLO: Well, does your group believe Osama bin Laden is dead?

FARRELL: Yes.

COSTELLO: Then why do we need to see the pictures?

FARRELL: Because again, this is not a matter of opinion or belief or mood. The law requires that those (INAUDIBLE) of records be made available to the public and so we're simply asking they comply with what is an open records, a transparency law that this administration's been proud of trumpeting their transparency. Then, let's get them out there.

Arguably they're making it more contentious and more -- they're drawing more attention to the issue by sort of doing this yes, but no approach that they've done, where they've invented -- invited senator --

COSTELLO: But if they're saying --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: If members of the administration are saying that releasing the photos will endanger Americans, isn't that a good enough reason?

FARRELL: It's -- if they make one of the claims under the FOIA law that says that yes, for national security reasons, we are not going to release them, then fine. Then they can do that. But they're deliberately not doing that. We've made the request. They could come back and say, look, it's a national security issue. Exception B1 of the law applies and we're not going to release it. But they haven't done that.

So, really the question to the administration is, why aren't you complying with the law? Why don't you make the exemption that you're allowed to do and simply not release it that way? Look, if the administration wanted to get the pictures out, they would. And I can also assure you if the government doesn't wish to get the records out they won't come out.

We're simply exercising the law to try to bring you know, transparency and accountability for the American people. And the government can do what it wishes to.

COSTELLO: Christopher Farrell, many thanks. We'll check back with you and see what happens.

FARRELL: Thank you very much, Carol.

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories now. Starting with the head of the International Monetary Fund. Dominique Strauss-Kahn facing arraignment this morning in New York City. He denies accusations that he tried to rape a maid in a Manhattan hotel. He was pulled off a Paris-bound jet and charged with sexual assault.

The Vatican has some new guidelines dealing with sex abuse by priests. The rules tells bishops they should cooperate with police investigating. The critics say the rules are meaningless because they're voluntary and leave the bishops with too much power.

And Space Shuttle Endeavour is on its way to the International Space Station for the its final mission. It left the launch pad about 30 minutes ago. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords made the trip from a Houston hospital to see her husband off. He, of course, is leading the mission. One of the biggest rivalries in sports. The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees going to war in Yankees Stadium last night. The Red Sox's David Ortiz sends the ball to right field and that broke a tie in the fifth inning. Besides this home run, the big papi also had a single and a double. The winning run for the Sox comes in the seventh inning on an error -- you'll see it here -- by Alex Rodriguez. Yes. The ball goes under A-Rod's glove, as you saw, and Dustin Pedroia scores. Red Sox win 7-5 and sweep the three-game series.

The Chicago Bulls shut down the Miami Heat in the opening game of their NBA playoff series. We'll have more sports in 20 minutes.

And some good news for a change about the American job market.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The amount of jobs is going to bring in. The potential for growth of the future that we have here. I think that it's just an incredible opportunity.

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COSTELLO: Coming up, we'll tell you about a plant in Chattanooga that's hiring 11,000 workers as part of CNN's in depth coverage of America's job hunt. That's coming up after a break.

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Now, CNN in depth. It is no secret times are tough for people out of work and looking for a job, but companies are hiring in some industries and job opportunities are better in some states than in others. CNN.com and CNN Money have teamed up for a look at America's jobs situation right now.

Poppy Harlow joins us now.

So, Poppy, which companies are hiring?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: It was amazing to me looking at this. What CNN Money did is we a big in depth look at all sorts of Fortune 100 companies, where they're hiring, how many they're hiring.

I want you to look at these numbers, Carol, because I was shocked when I saw how many openings especially here in the U.S. there are. JPMorgan, 15,550 openings, 12,000 of those are in the U.S. for financial advisors, retail bankers, et cetera. Best Buy, almost 14,000 openings in this country. They're looking for retail associates, managers, even some folks to be on their Geek Squad. So if you're a geek, maybe apply to Best Buy. And General Electric, over 8,000 openings there. Everything from engineering to finance to HR.

So you've got big Fortune 100 companies with thousands of openings, but you've also got some foreign companies making major investments here in the U.S. We spent a day a few weeks ago, Carol, down at VW's billion dollar plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. You can see the workers here. They are hiring 2,000 workers for the plant alone. Eleven thousand jobs in Chattanooga are going to be created just because of this one plant.

And I want you to take a listen to some of the employees we had a chance to talk to because these are people who weren't autoworkers who really have a whole new career now because of this plant.

Take a listen.

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SHARENA COCHRAN, PRODUCTION TEAM MEMBER, VOLKSWAGEN: The economy, it had went down for so long, but this boosted it up so much. I was even thinking of relocating before I got this job.

HARLOW: Really?

COCHRAN: Yes. It made me feel like I had something to be here for.

HARLOW: What do you have to say to those folks who say, look, the auto industry's dead in the U.S.?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, it's just awesome we have this opportunity to say to people, you know, we are manufacturing in America.

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HARLOW: So, I think for all the naysayers out there, Carol, who say we're not manufacturing in America anymore, think again. The south is becoming a very attractive place to build cars. You've got -- now you have VW there, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes. They're putting plants there and spending billions there on hiring thousands and thousands of workers, Carol.

COSTELLO: It does make me feel a little bit better. But when you look at like Best Buy's hiring 13,000 people, that's countrywide, which means the jobs are really spread out, so maybe it's not really that many.

HARLOW: You know, it could be. They are spread out. But I think what's interesting, when you look at what they're hiring is that they're hiring not just entry positions. They're hiring managers, they're hiring people to run their stores.

At the same time I want to show you some sectors that were actually -- we found by looking at 140 different sectors surveyed by the Labor Department, not hit during the recession.

Health care, Carol, since the beginning of the recession, has added a million jobs. The federal government, if you take out census workers and postal workers, they have added 779,000 positions since December 2007. Education, when you look at private educational services in some colleges, 300,000 positions. And then no surprise here, energy; coal and oil companies have done some major hiring and you know what that's done for North Dakota, it has given North Dakota about a 3.5 percent unemployment rate.

(CROSSTALK) COSTELLO: Wow.

HARLOW: The lowest in the country. Thanks to oil drilling.

COSTELLO: Poppy Harlow many thanks. Live in New York.

You can find out everything you need to know about America's job market now on the CNN Web site. Find out what jobs are in demand, where they're located and how to reinvent yourself for a new career. It's easy. Just go to CNN.com/specials.

Coming up at 11:00 Eastern, more CNN news in depth. We're going take a look at the tough times out-of-work older Americans are having trying to find a job.

An international incident is unfolding in New York, the head of the International Monetary Fund accused of sexual assault. We'll look at the investigation and some of the legal angles, next.

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COSTELLO: The accuser, a hotel maid; the accused, an international political player. This Dominique Strauss-Kahn case is making waves around the world. The head of the International Monetary Fund is expected in court today to face sexual assault charges after the woman's accusation on Saturday, New York cops pulled him of a flight leaving for Paris.

Sunny Hostin joins us now. She's a former federal prosecutor and a legal contributor for "In Session". Sunny, welcome.

SUNNY HOSTIN, LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR, "IN SESSION" ON TRUTV: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Sunny, we know Strauss-Kahn cannot claim diplomatic immunity because he was here on personal business, so it's likely he will be tried here in the United States. So I want to talk a little more about the investigation. He did agree to forensic testing; what are investigators looking for?

HOSTIN: Well, it's likely, Carol, that he agreed to have his blood drawn for DNA comparisons. It's also likely that what means is that his body was examined for possible injuries that would be consistent with the victim's statements.

It's also possible that his body was photographed, probably looking for birthmarks or unique physical characteristics that only a person that had seen him naked would be familiar with. And so that's probably is where the investigation was headed yesterday since his attorneys indicated that he did agree to these scientific and forensic examinations.

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COSTELLO: You know that brings to mind --

HOSTIN: I do call the district -- COSTELLO: I'm sorry, he has some pretty high-powered lawyers in his employ, right?

HOSTIN: He sure does. He hired Benjamin Brafman and William Taylor. I think folks will remember Mr. Brafman because he represented Plaxico Burress. He's represented P. Diddy, Sean Combs and -- and so certainly, he has lawyered up and this is the team that you would want when facing charges like this.

COSTELLO: The victim, a 32-year-old maid. She has a teenage daughter. She immediately told her supervisors that she had allegedly been attacked. She didn't wait. Does that make it more difficult for Strauss-Kahn's lawyers to defend?

HOSTIN: Well, it certainly makes her more credible. It's interesting when I first heard about this and started making my phone calls there was this conspiracy theory that -- the French conspired against him because he was a potential front-runner for the French presidency.

My law enforcement contacts said, really do you think that the New York Police Department would get the go-ahead to have Port Authority police officers snatch him off of an airplane, someone of his stature, without a credible victim statement.

And I think that really says a lot about how credible this woman is. She did pick him out of a line up initially. And so certainly, I think it's going to be a bit difficult to defend. It's certainly one of those sort of he said/she said cases unless they do find forensic and scientific evidence.

COSTELLO: Sunny Hostin, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

Senator John Kerry on the ground in Pakistan and asking questions about Osama bin Laden. He wants to know who knew, what and when. Our Stan Grant just got out of a press conference with the senator. He'll bring us the latest at the top of the hour.

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COSTELLO: Here's a look at stories makes news later today.

A big day for former White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. He's being sworn in as Chicago's first new mayor in 22 years. That inauguration is set for 10:30 a.m. Central Time.

At 11:00 Eastern, the museum in Washington is rededicating a memorial to journalists killed while on assignment. A special recognition will be given to 59 journalists who were killed just last year.

And at noon Eastern, President Obama gives the commencement address at Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis. The school won the Race to the Top challenge.

We're following a lot of development in the hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Richard Roth in New York. ROTH: One the world's most powerful business figures stands ready to personally face the charges here at a New York state courthouse. I'm Richard Roth and we'll have details at the top of the hour.

LAVANDERA: I'm Ed Lavandera in Butte LaRose, Louisiana. Behind me this is Atchafalaya River where flood waters are starting to slow and painful process of making its way down toward the Gulf of Mexico. We'll have that story coming up.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian at the White House. With gas prices continuing to go up President Obama responds by tweaking his energy policy. We'll have more on that story at the top of the hour.

COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you.

Also next hour, you will meet a man who catches baseballs better than anybody off the field. Zack Hample snagged three foul balls at a Baltimore Orioles game. But that's nothing. He's caught nearly 5,000 foul balls at Major League parks. He will disclose his secrets. If you want to catch a foul ball, he'll tell you how.

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COSTELLO: The Chicago Bulls drew first blood in their NBA conference battle with the Miami Heat. This league's MVP Derrick Rose scored 28 points for the bulls -- yes including that one as they pulled away from Miami in the second half. Rose also led the team in assists but others contributed from Chicago like Taj Gibson with a monster dunk on the rebound. Bulls win 103-82. Game two Wednesday night in Chicago.

More NBA playoffs, Oklahoma City's Westbrook-Durant connection working to perfection. What did you say Russell Westbrook feeding Kevin Durant for two baskets there. Westbrook had a triple double. Durant scored 39 points; the Thunder beat Memphis 105-90 and advanced to the Western Conference finals.

The Western Conference finals in the NHL are under way. Vancouver takes the pole (ph) against San Jose in the third period. Nice passing into the game-winning goal by Henry Sedin. There he goes. It comes just 78 seconds after the Canucks had tied it. Final score Vancouver 3, San Jose 2; Game 2 Wednesday night in Vancouver.

Toronto's Jose Batista is the best home run hitter in baseball now. Oh, boy. This third inning shot against the Twins, just reaches the second deck -- powerful. Batista comes back in the next inning and smacks another ball into the left field bleachers. And then in the sixth inning, he does it for a third time. A right field smash. Bautista had 16 homers for the year. The Jays beat Minnesota, 11-3.