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Ex-IMF Chief Moves to Luxury Townhouse; Scott McCreery Wins American Idol; Senate Rejects Medicare Reforms; "No Official Tally for the Missing"; Alleged War Criminal from Serbia Caught; $100K to Drop Out of College; Judge: Loughner Mentally Unfit for Trial; Small Plane Skids Off Runway; New York Considers Gas Tax Holiday; Trump School Under Scrutiny; Court Upholds Immigration Law
Aired May 26, 2011 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is 10:00 on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out West. I'm Carol Costello sitting in for Kyra Phillips. Good morning to you.
This time yesterday we told you that Joplin, Missouri was in the danger zone for another tornado. Well, consider this a near miss in scientific circles. That massive funnel cloud you're seeing appeared about 30 miles from the devastated city.
New pricey digs for the former head of the International Monetary Fund. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is under house arrest as he faces charges of sexually assaulting a hotel maid. A source says he's been moved to this luxury town home that recently rented for $60,000 a month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN SEACREST, HOST, "AMERICAN IDOL": The winner of American idol season 10 is Scotty McCreery.
COSTELLO: Talk about building suspense. A new "American Idol" is crowned and as you heard that's 17-year-old aspiring country crooner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Today, there's a new measure of the high stakes and high emotions over the nation's most popular social programs. Five Republican senators have crossed the aisle to help reject that controversial reform to Medicare.
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan proposes among other things the eventual creation of a voucher like system. It would help older Americans pay for the private insurer that they choose.
The reforms are so controversial they even helped Democrats win a House seat earlier this week. One former president, we're talking about President Clinton is warning his party not to lose focus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I told before you got here, I said I'm glad we won this race in New York. But I hope the Democrats don't use it as an excuse to do nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: There you go. Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill. Dana, Democrats have been successful in mobilizing seniors who are already worried about Medicare benefits. How have they been able to do that?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Carol, this is one of the easiest issues by politics on both sides have done it for years and Democrats have done it basically by staving as soon as the House Republicans pass this plan last month. They have been pushing for six weeks with campaign style tactics even against people who aren't running for re-election right now, using robo calls, using ads saying that Republicans simply want to take away people's Medicare.
The Democrats saw the fruits of that message big time in the election where a Democrat won a historically Republican seat in New York this week. I think we have an ad that we can show you. This is from an outside group. It shows you how intense this got.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: Look at that. You see a picture of a man who is supposed to be Paul Ryan throwing an older woman in a wheelchair off a cliff. That just shows you how intense and politicized this has gotten.
Now Paul Ryan knew from the beginning he said that he knew that this issue would be politicized. The Democrats would hit Republicans against it and my colleague, Kate Bolduan asked about that just yesterday.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You handled the political handbook to Democrats for 2012.
REP. PAUL RYAN (R), HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: If you're willing to lie and demagogue and Medicare and scare seniors then, yes, they have political weapon. That's shame on them for lying to seniors. They distorted this so much. Remember one thing, our plan doesn't change benefits for a person 55 years of age or higher.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: But at the same time, Carol, Republicans are admitting especially in the wake of that big loss in New York on Tuesday that they haven't done a good job in terms of getting the message out on this plan.
So what they have been trying to do over the past 24, 48 hours is turn it a little bit and say, OK, Democrats you want to hit us on our plan at least we put something out there. At least we started the discussion, what's your plan. We're waiting for a specific answer from Democrats on that. COSTELLO: Dana Bash, live on Capitol Hill, many thanks.
In Joplin, Missouri the heartbreak builds and the uncertainty grows unbearable. In the next hour, actually, around 11:00 a.m. Eastern officials will release a list of people still missing from the tornado zone.
As many as 1,500 people are still unaccounted for. Most simply have lost communication and hopefully will eventually reach out to friends and family.
But as I said, next hour officials will focus on the cases that appear more bleak. Those families are now entering a fourth day of agonizing questions and more exhaustive searches.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HARE, FATHER OF MISSING BOY: I called it all last night. I can't stop. I don't know why. I do. I sit up until 2:00 last night and that's all I did.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Call the cell phone. Does it ring?
HARE: Yes, it rings for the first day and a half and now it goes straight to voice mail. But just in case he gets it, I want him to know his dad loves him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He's been searching for him since Sunday. CNN's Brian Todd is in Joplin. What's taking so long?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, it's a pain staking process overall and the authorities seem to be as frustrated as some of the local people like that gentleman who we just heard from.
It's taking so long because there's such a massive area of devastation. Officials are combing through the wreckage and trying to find people still missing, people possibly even still alive and there's just a certain amount of confusion and chaos surrounding the process of finding people who are missing, but also getting people in to identify their loved ones.
Those processes are kind of going hand-in-hand. You mentioned at the top of the hour we'll get a list hopefully of some of the people missing from this tornado. That figure that we've heard so often about 1500 missing, officials are kind of trying to tell us dial back on that a little bit.
They are saying they're trying to - they're paring down that number, but they won't give you a specific number of the missing. They did set up a call in center in the last couple of days where people can call in and report possible sightings.
And any other information that they might have on people missing and we were there yesterday filming them do some of that. Also the city manager, Mark Rohr spoke about just the process of trying to cross reference some of that information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ROHR, JOPLIN CITY MANAGER: We are daily gently working on this effort. We have nearly 100 people reviewing data and cross referencing various sources of information in regards to this information. We want to assure everyone this is a top priority and we continue to make progress, but need assistance in terms of continuing that effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: And there is just a lot of frustration among the people we talked to who are looking for their missing loved ones saying the call in centers and the other places just aren't giving them the information fast enough.
They kind of understand that it's very difficult to coordinate all of this and get it up and running so a lot of them are taking things into their own hands, moving around town on their own, making calls, asking the media to put out information about their loved ones.
There's a process where they are trying to get to any local morgues to identify the bodies. They can't do that right now. They want to search among the John Does who are in the local morgues to identify the bodies of their loved ones, but because there's chaos and confusion some mistakes were made early in the process.
At least one victim was mistakenly identified. So officials are being very, very cautious not letting people into the morgues. That's frustrating them as well, Carol. So we're hopefully going to get some information on that process a little bit later.
COSTELLO: Yes, and we're going to carry that press conference when it happens around 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Brian Todd live in Joplin. Thank you.
If you would like to help victims of this spring's deadly weather, we've listed worthy charities that are providing aid. Just go to cnn/impactyourworld. You'll find that list.
The man who might have carried out the biggest massacre in Europe since World War II finally is in custody.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Ratko Mladic was Serbian military commander during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.
He allegedly over saw the extermination of about 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Bosnia and he was a wanted man for nearly 16 years no longer. Let's go to Zain Verjee is in London.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Zain, what do we know about his capture?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: We don't know the details. All we know that he was captured on Serbian soil and the investigation that led to his capture lasted about three years.
The president of Serbia Boris Tadic gave a press conference and he said look, first of all, our security forces need to do their own investigation because, you know, they have to go through their own legal process.
And only then will they give us the details as to how this went down, what leads specifically did they have, was therany resistance, was he injured, what exactly went down just a few hours ago in Belgrade.
We also know that this was really water tight and some of the best journalists and our colleagues in Serbia had no idea this was going down. It was very, very closely held to the chest.
COSTELLO: OK, so now that they have him in custody, what happens now?
VERJEE: Well, they are going to go through the Serbian legal process. He's going to be held in detention. He may be arraigned a little bit later today or pretty soon. What the international community, what the HAIG wants is him delivered ASAP there.
What they are saying is because they have put a huge amount of pressure on Serbia to make this happen is that give us war criminals like Ratko Mladic and we'll let you into the EU. But this is a real -- has been a real stumbling block actually for Serbia to get into the European Union.
And so it's a very significant day. It's very important for the United States too because the U.S. really had a big stake in this. President Clinton was galvanized into action because of the massacre.
The U.S. was really involved too and NATO air strikes that targeted Bosnian military and army as well. So there's a big interest here for the U.S.
COSTELLO: Zain Verjee live in London. Thank you.
Turns out Donald Trump's new trick to make you rich is not so reliable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought that I'm going to be a millionaire because Donald Trump is a millionaire and they were offering the course for people to get rich.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Why some spurned students of Trump's university want their money back. That's next. And we'll tell you about a businessman's bright idea pay college students $100,000 to dropout and start their own business. Would you have taken that offer? That story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Imagine this, a scholarship for not going to college. One man is offering a handful of students a fortune to ditch school and start their own business.
Alison Kosik is with us now. Alison, this man is rich. He knows what he's talking about. Why does he want kids to drop out of college?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's trying something new. You know, this is a program, Carol, that's for 24 kids who are under 20 years old. They're going to getting paid $100,000 not to go to school for two years.
Now this is the brain child of a guy named Peter Thiel, he's the co-founder of Paypal. Now the catch here, because you know there's always a catch with something like this, they have to work on scientific and technical innovations because the goal here is to build the technology companies of tomorrow.
You know, Thiel said it's good to put school on the back burner at least for a little while because, you know, it's all about timing. He was out talking to us on "AMERICAN MORNING" today. You know what, he said not everybody takes the same path in life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER THIEL, THIEL FOUNDATION: Every moment in history happens only once and so in these technology inventions there's a right time and place for them. The Facebook people that stayed in college for another two years --
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Maybe not have Facebook.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Then things would have gone wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: And Facebook isn't the only example here. Think about Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, Dell, they were all started by college dropouts. Now Thiel is calling at it stopout though, he's not exactly calling a dropout because these kids can still go back to school later. Of course, take everything they've learned and be an even stronger student, Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting. Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange. It is. I don't know. I valued my college education. It would be hard for me to do that, but for $100,000.
KOSIK: Not so bad.
COSTELLO: Yes. Thanks, Alison.
KOSIK: They're still would be able to go back.
COSTELLO: Very true. Let's check on other stories making news cross country now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): An Arizona judge says Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner is too delusional to stand trial. He's accused of shooting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others in January. Loughner will undergo four months of treatment in an effort to render him fit for trial. Earlier I spoke to one of Loughner's victims.
MARY REED, SHOOTING VICTIM (via telephone): We have the kind of have to broaden our belief injustice to say that somebody is mentally ill, a hospital setting is where they belong and that is justice for where they are right now. I am hoping that he is competent and we can go through a trial, but if not, I will be at peace with that.
Frightening moments for five passengers aboard this small jet in Arizona. The plane skidded off the runway and then off a cliff while attempting to land at Sedona Airport. All of those aboard walked away unharmed.
And some relief may be ahead for New York drivers. The state Senate voted to eliminate the gas tax for three holiday weekends this year saving drivers 33 cents per gallon. But the plan still has to pass the state assembly something many doubt will happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Donald Trump says he can make you as rich as he is all you need to do is sign up at his university. But some students say his school is anything but and they want their money back.
And now Allan Chernoff reports New York's attorney general is investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: At Trump University we teach success. That's what it's all about, success. It's going to happen to you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't realize at that time --
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It didn't happen to Carmen Mendez, a former school teacher who sank $35,000 into the Trump Gold Elite Program at Trump University.
Mendez put the expense on three credit cards expecting Trump's profit from real estate investing course would make her rich.
CARMEN MENDEZ, FORMER TRUMP UNIVERSITY STUDENT: I thought that I'm going to be a millionaire because Donald Trump is a millionaire. And they were offering the course for people to get rich.
CHERNOFF: This is the closest Mendez got to Trump during the course, a picture of her with a picture of Donald Trump. The three- day course she claims was worth little and her personal mentor she says never even met with her.
MENDEZ: Not only me. A lot of people were cheated from their money because you offer something and you don't deliver so you are stealing. That's the word, you're stealing from people.
CHERNOFF: Mendez complained to the Better Business Bureau, which last year gave Trump University a grade of D minus, one step above an F.
(on camera): Other students have also complained, which is why New York's attorney general is now investigating the Trump school for possible consumer fraud and deceptive business practices according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
(voice-over): Last year Donald Trump got into trouble with New York's Education Department, which wrote him, the use of the word "university" by your corporation is misleading and violates New York State education law.
Trump University is now Trump Entrepreneur Initiative. In a statement the Trump Initiative told CNN of the hundreds of students that took our classes in New York, 95 percent of them evaluated the course as excellent and our national average is even higher. We look forward to cooperating with the inquiry.
CHERNOFF: Miss Mendez says she wants her money back. The Trump organization showed CNN an e-mail to Miss Mendez from December that offers her just that. She claims she never saw the e-mail. The Trump organization says the offer still stands. Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Kim Kardashian has a diamond on her finger and it's big. Details of her engagement in entertainment news next.
And a little later a young inspirational singer puts faith in a Baldwin. Corey Lamb and Steven Baldwin join us live to debut a new music video and get this. It's Steven's first.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It came down to two teenagers last night on the "American Idol" finale. Both of them country and western artists so I bet you know who won. But let's get more on this story from "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" A.J. Hammer. A.J.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Carol, yes, thousands auditioned, millions voted and yes, it did all come down to teenage country singer Scotty McCreery and Laura Alena. Let's watch what happened. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The winner of "American Idol" season 10 is Scotty McCreery.
HAMMER: Well, even though Scotty got the title I got to tell you I have this feeling this is the start of a great career for both of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: There were a lot of changes to "Idol" this past season. Of course, we have new judges, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez and Carol, it all seem to come together.
It really seemed to work and once again "Idol," the most watched show on television. In fact, I will say, I actually watched it more this past season with the new judges than I had in the seasons past.
COSTELLO: I think I'm the only person in America who has never really watched, but --
HAMMER: There's always next year.
COSTELLO: I know there's always a next year, but I do understand that these finalists, they were pretty affectionate with one other so was there like a love story somewhere in there?
HAMMER: You know, that's all the big buzz today. I think there's a little projection going on if you ask me. I don't know if you saw it, but 16-year-old Lauren planted a big old kiss on the 17- year-old winner after the announcement. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" was right there back stage. When the pair got asked if they were in fact dating and here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTTY MCCREERY, AMERICAN IDOL WINNER: When Ryan said -- it was such an amazing moment for me. Everything was coming back in my mind. All the memories I made over this journey and just an incredible, incredible journey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That's all he said?
HAMMER: Yes, I guess that's the moment we caught. Look at a minimum, they are pretty good friends at least it appears that way and when you think about it they've been through an awful lot together in the past year and they're right around the same age.
COSTELLO: We'll keep an eye on them though. OK, so let's talk about a real love story something that we know about. Actually I just want to see her ring, Kim Kardashian's ring. HAMMER: Yes, it's pretty big, pretty, pretty big. "People" magazine broke the news that Kim is engaged to NBA player Chris Humphreys. The surprise engagement comes after the pair has been together for about six months.
And "People" says that Humphreys popped the question with a 20.5 karat ring. I said 20.5, big rock. Reportedly, Carol, it cost around $2 million.
You know, considering, hold on a second, Humphreys is reportedly only taking home about $3.2 million this season. I'm wondering what my buddy, Suzie Orman would say about that little financial situation, a $2 million rock, you know. I mean, what do you say to that?
COSTELLO: Looked like insanity. They've only been going together for six months. Are these people crazy?
HAMMER: Well, yes, look, I didn't want to place any judgment on that. Love is a strange and fickle thing. Kim, of course, following in the footsteps of her sister, Khloe who married a Laker star, Lamar Odom two years ago.
So really, Carol, all I can do is wish them reality TV happiness in their marriage all around and you want to bet that this wedding is going to wind up on TV or as big as a royal wedding given that ring size.
COSTELLO: Yes, I'll bet you. A.J., thanks so much. Want information breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. has got it tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11 p.m. on HLN.
Coming up, we're seeing a trend. First, we had the political buddy team of George W. Bush and Tony Blair and now, the past few days, we've seen our president, our current president and the new British prime minister acting very chummy. So what's up with this America-U.K bromance anyway?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A bit of breaking news to tell you about. A ruling just minutes ago from the U.S. Supreme Court on the Arizona law that punishes businesses for hiring illegals.
CNN producer Bill Mears joins us now by phone. So I guess this is a victory for Arizona and a loss for the Obama administration.
BILL MEARS, CNN SUPREME COURT PRODUCER (via telephone): It is. It's the first high court challenge to a variety of state laws that's been designed to crack down on illegal immigrants. An issue that you know that become a real political lightning rod.
In this case, this is a law that's four years old, came out of Arizona. It allow states to suspend the licenses of businesses that intentionally violate work eligibility verification requirements.
There's federal database that's already in place that allow businesses to check whether somebody they are hiring is here in this country illegally and the question was what if the state could step in and enforce it and punish those businesses that hire illegals.
COSTELLO: So in essence this really means states can punish businesses that hire illegal immigrants and, of course, this is just a warm up because the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to consider Arizona's overall immigration bill, right?
MEARS: Right. Even more sweeping reform law that's working its way through the courts right now. That law out of Arizona, among other things give local police a bigger role in arresting suspected illegal immigrants. That's even more controversial and the Supreme Court could take that up perhaps in the next year or so.
COSTELLO: And I know you'll be keeping an eye on that. Bill Mears, many thanks.
Checking our top stories, President Obama is in France for the G8 Summit. Leaders of the eight largest developing economies are there to discuss global issues for the next couple of days.
A rebel tribe in Yemen are fighting government forces in the streets of the capital. The tribe has turned against Yemen's president. He is still holding on to power despite weeks of protest. Dozens of people have now been killed in just the last 24 hours.
And jobless numbers are up, 424,000 Americans filed for their first week of benefits last week. It's the seventh straight week that first time claims have topped 400,000.
It is time for Political Buzz, a rapid-fire conversation hitting the hot political topics of the day. Each of our brilliant political observers get 20 seconds to answer three probing questions. Will Cain leans right. He's a political analyst and CNN contributor. Cornell Belcher leans left and CNN contributor John Avlon is smack in the middle. He is an independent.
Welcome to all of you! First question: recently Sarah Palin told a Fox News audience she has the fire in her belly to run for the White House. Is it just all talk? Will?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Carol, when I first saw this question, I have to be honest. I thought it was kind of silly. But the more I thought about it, I actually think it is the operative question. Does Sarah Palin have the fire in her belly needed to give up a lucrative television career? To subject her ideas to debate and rebuttal, which she hasn't done since '08 when she debated Biden.
I don't know the answer, but I do think it's the right question.
COSTELLO: Cornell?
CORNELL BELCHER, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think it's not all talk because look, with Daniels out and Huckabee out, she's the only candidate who can speak to the grassroots Tea Party, social conservative movement. If she runs, I think her chances are as good as any. I mean, Newt doesn't get them fired up. Romney doesn't get them fired up. She could fire up the base of the party.
COSTELLO: John?
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Cornell, that's wishful thinking. Look, talk is cheap and plentiful when it comes to Sarah Palin. It's actions that counts. If all else fails, follow the money. Sarah Palin has done little or nothing to put together a presidential campaign. Her poll numbers are imploding and have been for a long time. She has much more to lose than she does to gain by actually getting in this race.
COSTELLO: OK, on to question number two. Bill Clinton, no fan of the Paul Ryan Medicare plan, but he tells the congressman something. He actually whispered something in his ear that something does need to be done about Medicare. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I told them before you got here, I said I'm glad we won this race in New York. But I hope the Democrats don't use it as an excuse to do nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So, Bill Clinton appears to be open to talking about Medicare. So, should Democrats reconsider Congressman Paul Ryan's plan to privatize Medicare? Cornell?
BELCHER: First off, Avlon, that Sarah Palin be the last two standing in the nomination. But absolutely not. Let me get this right. The plan that 70 percent of Americans disagree with, the plan that Senate Republicans are running from, the plan that Newt Gingrich called too radical, the plan that just cost them a solidly Republican plan. Yes, we should embrace that plan.
COSTELLO: John.
AVLON: Look, Bill Clinton most honest politician in America? It's possible. Look Democrats aren't going to embrace the Ryan plan, but Clinton is making the point that Mediscare isn't sufficient. That we have a problem with the deficit and the debt, and the only way to deal with it is through Medicare reform. Democrats have to put forward a plan. Otherwise, we are not going to solve the long-term fiscal crisis facing our country.
COSTELLO: Will?
CAIN: Cornell, you should embrace that plan. How about this? In lieu of that, you should admit your own plan, instead of putting it up to consumer choice, embraces a government rationing program. Or in lieu of that, admit that Republicans don't want to throw granny over the cliff. That Medicare as we know it can't be saved. It is dead. Admit that. Be honest. (LAUGHTER)
BELCHER: No!
COSTELLO: OK, OK! We can't argue! It's not in the spirit of Political Buzz.
Question number three, it's our "Buzzer Beater" time. You get 10 seconds each to answer this probing question. We couldn't help notice the love a few years back. It was president George W. Bush and Tony Blair and now it's President Obama and the new British prime minister, Cameron.
So, what's with the British bromance syndrome? John?
AVLON: You could have also done FDR and Churchill. Or Reagan and Thatcher. Look, it's the special relationship for a reason. Britain is our strongest ally. The world is a safer place because of it.
COSTELLO: Will?
AVLON: You know, I guess ever since we ran of Cornwallis and sent him back over to King George, we've had that special relationship. Common culture, common values and ideals. Kind of common history. It makes sense.
COSTELLO: Cornell?
BELCHER: Did he just reference Cornwallis?
Look, Americans are hot. People around the world want to be Americans. Our leaders are hot and powerful. Yes, they want to be with us.
COSTELLO: Our leaders are hot and powerful! I like that when it comes to bromance.
Will, Cornell and John, thank you for playing political buzz today. We appreciate it as always. Political Buzz will be back tomorrow.
Coming up next, radio host Ed Schultz is off the air for a week, suspended after calling radio host after calling Laura Ingram a slut. Mm-hmm. We'll talk about it after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: MSNBC host Ed Schultz is saying sorry after broadcasting some very nasty words about conservative talk show host Laura Ingram. Ed Schultz has been suspended. Listen to what he said Tuesday on his radio show while discussing Republicans and the Joplin tornado victims.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) ED SHULTZ, HOST, "ED SCHULTZ RADIO SHOW": What are the Republicans thinking about? They're not thinking about their next- door neighbor. They're just thinking about how much this is going to cost. President Obama is going to be visiting Joplin, Missouri on Sunday.
But you know what they're talking about? Like this right-wing slut, what's her name, Laura Ingram? Yes, she's a talk slut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That's just wrong. Let's bring in CNN contributor John Avlon. John, you've written extensively about the level of discourse in this country. But why -- it's just stupid to call her a slut because it makes your argument seem dumb.
AVLON: Well, that's one of many, many problems, as Ed Schultz has found out. Look, the larger problem is the rise of partisan media. What they use -- they use hate as a cheap and easy recruiting tool. And the problem is, you get really high for partisan, and you can easily cross over the line. This is the downside of Ed Schultz's Limbaugh on the left routine.
And he was very sincere in his apology. He realized hat he had crossed the line. This is part of the larger problem we've seen with the rise of --
COSTELLO: Yes, you say he's been sincere in his apology, but what makes that kind of thing slip out of your mouth anyway? Just get carried away? I mean, what is it?
AVLON: No. I think it's the side effect of the drinking the Kool-Aid all day. I mean, I think you start to believe and demonizing people who disagree with you. That becomes the conversation you engage in with your listeners and within yourself. You say something that you regret because you start to believe that there's more that divides than unites us as Americans.
This isn't the first time Ed Schultz has said that sort of thing. There's dozens of examples on the right as well. I mean, during the health care debate he said that Republicans lied, they'd rather see you dead. They'd rather make money off your dead corpse.
This is not responsible, reasonable language. This is language that's designed to polarize to profit. And it is a problem with the rise of hyper-partisan media.
COSTELLO: You wrote an interesting column on "The Daily Beast" recently about these kinds of talk shows and how they are diminishing in popularity. So, tell me how, how much?
AVLON: Well, this is just the newest example. It's amazing. If you look at the new way talk show is measured, it's called PPMs, portable person - people meter. It actually gives a more accurate reading. And what we're seeing is a lot of the hyper-partisan talkers have very intense fans that over reported how much they listened to radio in the past. They just checked the box.
And there's a reaction against this predictable hyper-partisan parroting of talking points. People are getting sick of it. They want a broader, more open debate. So, you've seen the numbers, a lot of these hyper-partisan talkers fall 30 percent in some markets. But cut in half over a five year period.
Even during the hyper part in the period of the election year in 2010, a lot of these major talkers saw their numbers either flat-line or decline. Rush Limbaugh in particular. So, it's a hopeful sign. I think that people are starting to demand something different. Strong on the left as well with the folding (ph) of Air America.
NPR does very well because that's a thoughtful conversation that's broader than just these angry talking points. People are getting sick of it and they're demanding something different.
COSTELLO: John Avlon, thanks for discussing. In a civil way.
AVLON: Thank you.
COSTELLO: John Avlon, many thanks.
There are signs of a growing health crisis for Americans between the ages of 24 and 32. A new study says nearly one in five of those young adults has high blood pressure. That's a big jump from previous estimates. The study also found nearly 37 percent were obese. The lead author of the University of North Carolina study blames the bad numbers on young people feeling invincible and not seeing their doctors regularly.
If you're going to use a rookie director to work on your music video, why not a Baldwin? That's the philosophy of the young and up- and-coming artist Cory Lamb. Steven Baldwin and Cory Lamb live next.
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COSTELLO: Stephen Baldwin, music video director? You heard me right. A song by Cory Lamb and it's called "Break the Cycle." Listen to what the two men produced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Pretty good, isn't it? Joining me now is singer Cory Lamb who is back home in Little Rock, Arkansas. And actor-turned- director Steven Baldwin, who is in New York. Welcome to you both.
CORY LAMB, SINGER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: So, Cory --
STEPHEN BALDWIN, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: Good morning, Carol. COSTELLO: Good morning.
I'll start with Cory. What was it about Steven Baldwin that made you want to take a chance on somebody who never produced a music video before?
LAMB: You know, he's got such a great track record in acting and he's been in some really amazing movies. And I just thought, you know what? Why not? He seems fairly normal so I thought hey, let's give at it a shot! It turned out amazing.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Steven, you seem fairly normal.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: What I would like to know, what is it about Cory's message in that song that made you want to take a chance and to direct a music video?
BALDWIN: Well, Cory, first and foremost, the song is killer. So, when the opportunity was presented to me it was like hey, Cory's team is looking at doing this music video for a song that they are anticipating is going to do very well. Which by the way the single "Break the Cycle" is tearing up some of the charts right now and doing very well. And they said to me, listen to the song. We'll go back to Cory's team and if you have the time, this, that, would you be interested in directing a music video?
And turned around and pitched it to Cory, his team. They liked my vision for the video, which for the first time I heard the song "Break the Cycle" the video you see now is the video which played in my head, which was pretty cool.
I then went and did something a little bit different. I partnered with the Florida State University film school, and all of my crew and the DPs, young man named Patrick Nissam, were all students of the FSU film school. That was kind of cool.
COSTELLO: Oh, that is cool. Giving young people a chance.
Cory, something else that intrigued me. You call your music inspirational rather than Christian. But Christianity seems to be the theme. So, why shy away from the title? Why not just say it's a Christian rock song?
LAMB: You know, I kind of go with whatever title you want to call it. You can call it Christian rock, inspirational rock, positive rock. It's kind of - kind of whatever you want to call it. I don't want to put a label in a sense on it. It's just good music, good rock music. If you get a cool vibe from it or you get the message I'm trying to send, that's even better.
COSTELLO: And Stephen, I know you're a born-again Christian, so was it this inspirational message in Cory's song that also attracted to you the project?
BALDWIN: Sure. You know, I think where Cory is coming from and where I'm coming from --and I've been pretty radically outspoken about my conversion. But you know, I'll be directing my first feature film later this year, and it's a faith-based project. You know, Bono sings about Jesus in some of his songs but you wouldn't clarify U2 as a Christian band.
You know, I mean, I think that's kind of the ideology here is we don't want to exclude anybody with any label like Christian. It's really about Cory and the music, and the message is very positive. Yes there's some symbolism in there that would be Christian and faith- based.
But we're not -- I'm not shying away from it. I know Cory's not shying away from it. I think obviously in the messaging of it is what we're trying to say we're Christians, this is -- this is our artistic expression, and however you interpret it it's up to you. But it's a positive message, and we hope that it impacts you positively.
COSTELLO: Well, thanks to both of you for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
LAMB: Thank you so much.
BALDWIN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Thank you! To see more on the joint project between singer Cory Lamb and actor/director Stephen Baldwin, go to the CNN Belief Blog at CNN.com/belief.
It took the Phillies and the Reds 19 innings to settle last night's game. Philadelphia fans went wild when the second baseman Wilson Valdez came in to pitch. Valdez hit one batter. You see that there. But then he retired. (INAUDIBLE) He even waved off the catcher once. Valdez becomes the first position player to be a winning pitcher in 11 years when Jimmy Rollins forced the winning run in the bottom of the inning. Amazing!
Meanwhile, a Minor League game went 23 innings! Jupiter and Clearwater went so long there were three seventh-inning stretches. Three hundred fans were in attendance at the start, 10 were left when Jupiter finally won 2-1.
Here's a feat for baseball's free-agency era. In closing out yesterday's game, the Yankees' Mariana Rivera marked his 1,000th appearance. Amazing! Fourteen other pitchers have passed that milestone but Rivera is the first one to do it with just one team, and he's still pretty darn good.
A new movie is coming out featuring Sarah Palin, and there's speculation the former Alaskan governor has a new address. Our Political Ticker just ahead.
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COSTELLO: Stories making news later today at the top of the hour.
Authorities in Joplin, Missouri are set to release updated casualty figures from Sunday's deadly tornado.
At noon Eastern, both former president George W. Bush and former secretary of state Condoleeza Rice will speak at the president's presidential library in Dallas. Today's event is called "Early Lessons from the Middle East."
And at 4:00 Eastern at Arlington National Cemetery, the Third U.S. Infantry places new flags on the graves of soldiers in advance of the Memorial Day holiday.
In today's prime time preview, Pakistan's former leader says President Obama is arrogant, and he called the mission to take out bin Laden an act of war. Listen to what Pervez Musharraf told CNN's Piers Morgan in an exclusive interview.
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PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": President Obama said this week on British television for a state visit to Britain that if the same event arose again he would do the same. And if it happens in the future with other known terrorists of al Qaeda, he would take the same action. So we have a clear, now, flashpoint between Pakistan and America.
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, FORMER PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN: Yes. I think this is putting the Pakistan leadership and government under dock, and I think it's not a very responsible statement.
MORGAN: You think it's irresponsible of President Obama to say that?
MUSHARRAF: Yes, indeed.
MORGAN: Because it basically implies that America has rights in terms of taking action on sovereign soil, as in Pakistan with bin Laden, that it has a right to do that when you say it has no right to do that.
MUSHARRAF: Certainly no country has a right to intrude into any other country. Actually or - I mean, if technically or legally you see it, it's an act of war. So, therefore, I think it is an irresponsible statement, and I think such arrogance should not be shown publicly to the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You can watch that entire interview tonight on "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT" at 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
Coming up, inside the mind of a stunt pilot. What they are thinking as they risk their lives with those dangerous dives.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: Checking stories Cross-Country now. Elizabeth Smart comes face to face with her abductor in a Utah courtroom. Brian David Mitchell was sentenced to two life sentences for kidnapping and raping Smart in 2002. Smart said Mitchell robbed her of nine months of her life.
There may be a greater sense of insecurity in California after authorities admit a computer glitch allowed for the inadvertent release of nearly 1,500 convicts. "The Los Angeles Times" is reporting nearly a third of them are classified as high risk for violence.
And they're getting ready for a big air show this weekend in Long Island, New York to commemorate the U.S. Navy's 100 years of aviation history. Last hour, I spoke with a stunt pilot, Lieutenant Colonel John .
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. COL. JOHN KLATT, AIR NATIONAL GUARD AEROBATIC PILOT: For me to be able to perform these maneuvers I love is wonderful, Carol. And this weekend here at Jones Beach has become one of our favorite weekends of the year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Sarah Palin is in the news for a couple of reasons today. Like a new movie. Conan O'Brien is talking about it.
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CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "CONAN": A new documentary coming out about Sarah Palin. And it's called the undefeated. Actually, the full title is the "Undefeated Unless You Count the 2008 Presidential Election," which is the only national race in which she's ever run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Wow! We'll talk about that movie in just a minute with Jim Acosta. But first, Jim, let's talk about this Arizona real estate deal.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Now, in her defense she was not the top of the ticket in that race, so you have to give her that.
But Carol, you know, a lot of people are buzzing about this. In Scottsdale, Arizona right now, and it's got the whole political world abuzz because it appears - "The New York Times" is reporting this morning that Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, have purchased a $1.7 million home in north Scottsdale. And it's got a lot of people speculating as to whether or not this is a part of some kind of preparation for a presidential run.
Now, to throw a little bit of cold water on this, her daughter Bristol has also purchase a home in the Phoenix area, and so this may just be a way of her staying close to her daughter, Bristol. But, people are saying, well, this would obviously make it easier for her to crisscross the country if there's a presidential campaign that is perhaps waiting in the wings. We'll have to see.
COSTELLO: Yes, we'll have to see. I'm just wondering how does Sarah Palin rank with other Republicans in a White House race?
ACOSTA: You know, it's interesting because, a lot of people in Washington have written her off as a presidential candidate. But if you look at this new Gallup poll that came out this morning, a national poll among Republicans, who do you prefer to run for president. Mitt Romney, 17 percent. No surprise there. But Sarah Palin right behind Romney at 15 percent. She's positioned well to run in this race.
And I was just in Iowa last week. There's still some conservatives talking about her. There's this new movie coming out next month that's going to debut in Iowa about Sarah Palin. And so you can sort of see the groundwork being laid here for a potential presidential run. But it's way too early. No word yet from the ex- governor yet as to whether any of this is a go, Carol.
COSTELLO: But it sure is fun to speculate. Jim Acosta, many thanks. We appreciate it as always.
I'm going to throw it over to Suzanne Malveaux.
I'll join you in just a bit, Suzanne, to talk about whether a college education is really worth it.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I hope so.
COSTELLO: Me too.
MALVEAUX: We spent a lot of money on this education.
All right. Thank you, Carol. Appreciate it.
