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Winners and Losers of GOP Debate; New Hampshire Voters React; Obama Visits Puerto Rico; Thousands of Syrian Refugees Flee to Turkey; Airlines Collect $5.7 Billion in Fees; Bachmann Hits Campaign Trail Running; Should we Scrutinize the Weiner Women?; Tea Party Reacts to GOP Debate; Chants for and against Resignation

Aired June 14, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, it's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. I'm Kyra Phillips. And here's some of the stories that have us talking this morning.

The first debate of the presidential season. Which Republican candidates shined and which ones stumbled? Well, we're comparing the scorecards from CNN's presidential debate.

And in Minnesota the governor has ordered layoff notices for thousands of state workers. A government shutdown looms and the clock is ticking.

And the second largest wildfire in Arizona history now sweeping across state lines in the New Mexico. Firefighters have contained only about 10 percent.

Well, some Republicans might be saying "Sarah who" this morning because of this Republican from Minnesota.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Filed today. My paperwork to seek the office of the presidency of the United States today, and I'll very soon be making my formal announcement so I wanted you to be the first to know.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Congresswoman Michele Bachmann entered the presidential race and turned heads at the New Hampshire debate, then started making the morning news rounds all in a matter of hours. She and the other GOP candidates spent a couple of hours pounding the president on the economy.

Listen, because this likely will be the campaign theme for months to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BACHMANN: To seek the office of the president.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president has failed and he's failed at a time when the American people counted on him to create jobs and get the economy going.

TIM PAWLENTY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president is a declinist. He views America as one of equals around the world.

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Has he done one thing -- has he done one thing right when it comes to the economy of this country?

REP. RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Boy, that's a tough question.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: No, no. I can't think of anything.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, the candidates pretty much followed Ronald Reagan's 11th commandments to not speak ill of a fellow Republican.

Senior political editor Mark Preston with us.

So, Mark, who won or at least who's got the mojo moving now?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, certainly Michele Bachmann has the mojo. You're absolutely right. She came out of the gates last night. She announced on our air that she in fact is going to run for president and then she went on, Kyra, and really gave this really strong performance which surprised a lot of people.

Michele Bachmann not very well known by the masses in the political world. Very well-known with social conservatives. Some people think that she stumbles at times and might not be ready for the major leagues. However, last night, she showed that she was. So she's certainly a winner.

As was Mitt Romney. We got to say that Mitt Romney as well. He's the front-runner, a lot of people were wondering if he would be able to weather any attacks that were thrown his way, Kyra. However, there were really no attacks at all that were directed at him. In many ways, he was pretty much a steady ship through the whole debate -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Moving away from the steady shift, did we see a loser? Did somebody really tank here?

PRESTON: Well, you know, Sarah who? I think you're absolutely right. You know there's a lot of people that wonder if Michele Bachmann might start taking away some of that oxygen that surrounds Sarah Palin.

Now Sarah Palin hasn't said if she's going to run for president or not, however, she has indicated that she might be interested in it, but Michele Bachmann last night I think really might be turning some people's heads.

And I've got to tell you, Kyra, I was out in Iowa a couple of months ago. I was talking to some Sarah Palin supporters. People who really thought that she might be the candidate for them. However, they were starting to turn away from her at that time.

And the person that they were talking to me a couple of months ago was Michele Bachmann, Kyra. So I think that Michele Bachmann is probably going to start seeing more people coming into her tent, so to speak -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And we're talking a lot about it. Mark Preston, thanks so much.

And the debate, as you know, aired live on CNN. But a key part of that national audience is the hometown crowd. The New Hampshire voters who will take part in the nation's first primary.

CNN's Don Lemon is in Manchester as well.

So, Don, what are the folks saying to you now?

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm sitting right next to Mark, and you know what, Kyra? I couldn't disagree more with what he said.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Because you know what? I'm going to tell you. I couldn't disagree -- I love you, you know that, right?

PRESTON: Of course.

LEMON: That's what the political pundits are saying. Everybody, the political experts, this person won. This person lost. And why are you pitting two women against each other? What was that?

PRESTON: Listen to you.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: No, seriously. Why are you pitting two women against each other? I don't think -- I don't think either -- I think there is enough room for both Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin in this race without pitting them against each other.

PRESTON: You want to see a big fight.

LEMON: No, you want to see a big fight. You're pitting -- I'm messing with you. But seriously, when we watch it, we watch it with a keener eye. So people may think, what's a winner, what's a loser, we know what's at risk here.

But I think most of the people and the people we spoke to say, there were no winners and losers, it's way too early. If you look at the paper, I think the person who we might -- let's say lost was President Obama, because that's who they targeted last night.

Seven contenders keep it civil, this says. And then this one says, "GOP debate targets Obama." And then we spoke to people who said it's too early. Listen to what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Who do you think won the debate?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clearly Newt Gingrich was the most presidential candidate but I don't think there were any failures out there.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. So that was one. We have another one. We have someone -- we talked -- we spoke with someone else, too, at that same radio station.

Yes, roll it, Scotty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was great to see liberty, the constitution and even state rights sort of on the forefront for the American people to see where New Hampshire stands. I was very happy to see that all night. It was very heart-warming.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Kyra, it's early on. As you see, most people are concerned about the issues and not really who won or lost. We may be concerned about who won or lost, who's going to be up or down, but we have such a long time until the actual race.

And then, you know, Michele Bachmann just saying last night that she got into the race. Most people saying, I thought she was already in the race. It was a surprise for them as well that she hadn't even declared yet.

PHILLIPS: You know it'll be interesting to see, they were all very civil among each other, we'll see if that changes as time rolls on.

Don, nice to see you and Mark are still civil. That's nice to see.

LEMON: Listen --

PHILLIPS: We'll see (INAUDIBLE).

LEMON: Oh no, I'm just messing with Mark. We're the last ones at the party. The last doughnut and everybody is all gone but Mark and I, so we're doing the cleanup work today.

PHILLIPS: All right. I'll talk to you guys again.

Well, no one knows presidents or politics better than David Gergen. He says the candidates probably made the hard right in the GOP happy, but what about the folks in the middle? The ones the candidates need to win. We're going to talk about that in just a few minutes.

Well, request granted. Congressman Anthony Weiner is off the job. No, he hasn't resigned. The House actually granted a two-week leave of absence and now President Obama is weighing in. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ultimately, there's going to be decision for him and his constituents. I can tell you that if it was me, I would resign.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, for the first time in 50 years a U.S. president will visit Puerto Rico. No, it's not for beach vacation. He's actually going for the votes. Millions of votes that could prove decisive in the 2012 election.

Ed Henry at the White House with more -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kyra. You're right.

If you look at this map that "National Journal" magazine put together, it looked at where Puerto Ricans, you know, have the largest population in the United States. There are some states clearly that are going to be big battlegrounds the president will need in 2012.

One of them, New York City. Well, New York should be in the back for the president where he's got deeper political problems. But look at some of others. Florida, 847,000 Puerto Ricans living there. New Jersey, 430,000, the state the president wants to have. Pennsylvania, key battleground, 366,000 Puerto Ricans.

Connecticut, Illinois, those are states he should have especially his home state of Illinois where large populations of Puerto Ricans as well. But look at these other two. Ohio, 94,000 Puerto Ricans. That is a state that is a must-have for this president. Virginia is something that he flipped from the Republican column to the Democratic column for the first time since LBJ, in fact, in 2008, 73,000 Puerto Ricans.

So you look at these states. Clearly the president is reaching out to some of those voters with this visit to Puerto Rico. And I think back to this trip to Europe a few weeks back where the president found out he had some Irish roots, millions of Irish American voters he was reaching out to.

As far as we know right now the president does not have any Puerto Rican roots but I can guarantee you his political advisers were probably checking that out just to be sure -- Kyra.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: You never know. You never know. Well, little (INAUDIBLE), little chicken and rice, it works perfectly. You got both cultures.

All right, Ed.

HENRY: No doubt about it. PHILLIPS: Why has it taken five decades for another president to make an official visit? And of course five decades ago, it was John F. Kennedy and his wife that stepped foot there in Puerto Rico.

HENRY: That's right. Big visit then. Now we should point out that LBJ stopped in in 1968 as a quick visit, not an official visit as you make that distinction. He was stopped at an air base. Gerald Ford stopped in 1976 for a speech and but then took off as well.

This is the first it's an official president. This president will only be there for a few hours. But I think the key is that there are probably a lot of people there in Puerto Rico who feel like U.S. presidents in both parties have taken them for granted and so that is the importance of this visit.

The president to show, look, he's going to reach out to them, he's going to hear them out on issues like immigration reform but again he's only on the island for a few hours so it's not like it's a super long visit but I think there are probably some people there in Puerto Rico who'd be grateful.

PHILLIPS: We'll see if it makes an impact.

Ed Henry at the White House. Ed, thanks.

HENRY: Good to see you.

PHILLIPS: Government crackdown continues in Syria. Security forces have now recaptured a border town and terrified residents who continue to stream into Turkey.

Let's get straight to London. CNN's Zain Verjee following all the headlines on this story.

So, what are they saying, Zain?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Let's take a look at the "Wall Street Journal Europe." This is an opinion piece and this is the headline. "Syria, Where Massacre is a Family Tradition," it says. It goes on to argue, "In today's world, it's harder to turn off the lights and keep tales of repression behind closed doors, but the Assads know no other way. Massacre is a family tradition."

And then check out the "Irish Independent." Its headline, "Fleeing Syrians play cat and mouse along the border." It say, "More than 10,000 Syrians have fled the repression of opposition but many more are playing a dangerous cat and mouse game with the armies on both sides of the border as they seek refuge as well as food and supplies for their families."

Kyra, on speaking to some analysts, they say that watch out because the real turning point is going to -- is going to be whether members in the army defect. Already, there have been some low level conscripts who are Sunnis that have defected and are refusing to fire on civilians, but the real hard-core group that the brigades and the factions loyal to the Assad family are still sticking by him and they are also loyal to the Alawite sect to which he belongs to so that's really crucial to understand, too -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Zain Verjee -- appreciate it, Zain. Thanks so much.

Well, airlines now have you paying for snacks, leg room, even blankets. The big bucks come from a couple of other hidden gotchas. Billions of dollars siphoned from your pocket. We're going to crunch the numbers.

And take a look at this. A plane with a see-through roof. This cool concept is called the transparent airbus. We'll take you aboard.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories cross-country now.

Arizona firefighters choked the flames of that massive wildfire that's turning northward. Now the focus shifts to the east where the wildfire has spread into New Mexico.

In Florida, prosecutors in the Casey Anthony murder trial could rest the case today. An FBI fingerprint expert took the stand testifying about duct tape found on the remains of 2-year-old Caylee Anthony.

Some people are waiting as much as six hours just to catch a glimpse of the Anthony trial, off and running to get a spot inside.

And the evangelist who predicted the apocalypse last month has suffered a stroke. Eighty-nine-year-old Harold Camping is recovering at a California hospital. He was widely mocked when his May 21st prediction failed to materialize.

Well, plane ticket doesn't come with much these days. After all, you have to pay to check your bags and blanket and sometimes something else. Now, a new report actually shows just how much extra you're paying.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.

Alison, what are we talking about here?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm talking about billions of dollars in extra fees. Just last year, those fees added up to almost $6 billion. Now, this includes the baggage fees that you pay and the reservation change fees only.

But I tell you what -- these fees have been rising at a stunning rate. Take a look this. Back in 2007, we were at $1.4 billion in fees. But, now, look how they have gone up so much. 2009, about $5 billion.

And now, look where they are. It was Delta who took in the most revenues from these fees. And get ready, Kyra, that $5.7 billion -- just a tip of the iceberg because this doesn't count other fees like food, entertainment, pets, headphones. You know, those are counted in a bigger report which comes out this month. We'll get those numbers for you as well, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, let's talk about how important are these fees? I mean, can the airlines survive without them?

KOSIK: And you know what? An analyst put it this way -- if it weren't for the fees, he said, the airlines would, most likely, be losing money. So, they really do need these fees.

In fact, an industry trade group came out with a report last week, a forecast that wasn't really the most rosy picture for the airline industry. It says that North American carriers are expected to make $1.2 billion this year. It sounds great. But the fact is, it's actually down from $4 billion last year.

And what's happening is that these airlines are being saddled with higher fuel prices that are being exacerbated by these older less fuel-efficient planes and also fewer travelers. So, guess what? These fees aren't going away any time soon, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: OK. Alison, thanks.

And coming up, the future of flying -- a plane with a see-through roof. Find out when you'll be able to go on one of these futuristic flights.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The future of flying revealed today in London. Airbus, a leading European manufacturer, actually showed off a pretty cool concept -- a plane with a see-through roof.

CNN's Zain Verjee is here to give us a closer look, shall we say, at the transparent plane -- Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra.

The whole plane is totally transparent. It's pretty amazing and it is a futuristic look of how we could travel one day. So you just need to forget about James Bond and the invisible car that he has, Kyra.

So, this is the way to go because you can get panoramic views, see absolutely everything. You can get flight entertainment that is powered by the heat of passengers' bodies. The walls are supposed to change according to the conditions that the plane flies in, and then you just breathe in like vitamins and antioxidants and this whole cabin is full of aromatherapy. What do you think of that?

And they have games as well, you can play on this. And you can even play virtual golf.

And the best part is there's no first, no business, no economy. Everybody is in luxury altogether!

PHILLIPS: OK. This just sounds way too good to be true. I was waiting for you to say and then the open bar and then the masseuse comes through and gives a massage on aisle seven. (LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: So, when is this Airbus actually supposed to take flight?

VERJEE: Yes, that's a bit of a downer. You can't buy tickets tomorrow.

It's actually supposed to, the designs supposed to be done and set and ready to fly in 2050, Kyra! So, you know, by the time your twins grow up, they'll be 39 years old, right? And then they'll get to fly this.

So, for now, we're going to have to stick ourselves back in economy, squashed between two people, one of them whom is sleeping on your shoulder and drooling -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, that was an inspiring story. Thank you so much, Zain, for telling me about something that will not even affect our lives. Yes, exactly. We know the feeling.

Zain -- all right. We will see you again in half an hour.

VERJEE: All right.

PHILLIPS: Well, several CNN analysts think that the New Hampshire debate might have produced a star. And there she is -- Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

So, how much do you actually know about this mother of five and, guess what? Foster mother of 23. That's right. We're going to take a closer in just a few minutes.

Plus, in the last week or so, Anthony Weiner has been called every name in the book, but his Internet women -- well, they've kind of been let off the hook -- at least what's what our contributor L.Z. Granderson says any way. I'm going to ask him about that, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking our top stories.

A pilot saved his passengers but was killed in a Goodyear blimp accident in Germany. Pilot tells four passengers to jump when the blimp was just off the ground. The blimp shot up in the air and exploded before crashing into flames.

A federal judge could rule today on whether to overturn a decision that a same-sex marriage ban in California is unconstitutional. Initial ruling came from a judge who later acknowledged he is gay.

And the Army replacing the black beret as part of its combat uniform. A patrol cap like a camouflage baseball cap with a flat top will be standard gear now.

You're going to hear a lot more from Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in the coming months. She was in last night's debate as a congresswoman from Minnesota. And some analysts think she came out as a rising star.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just want to make an announcement here for you, John, on CNN tonight. I filed today my paperwork to seek the office of the presidency of the United States today and I'll very soon be making my formal announcement. So, I wanted you to be the first to know.

JOHN KING, DEBATE MODERATOR: I appreciate that. Welcome.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Her performance had some of our analysts declaring her the debate winner.

Carol Costello is here.

So, tell us more about her. We were talking about her this morning, Carol, and all of these children. It's amazing that she is doing both!

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She is doing both. She has five children of her own and 23 foster children. We'll get into that in a minute.

But let's talk about the political pundits because they are saying more than they won the debate. Political pundits have a crush on Republican candidate Michele Bachmann. The adjectives they are using you would not believe it. She gave a star performance. She's top tier.

They then called her pify (ph). And if you don't know what pify means, I'll tell you. It means having substance and to the point.

Seriously, though, Michelle Bachmann found her footing last night with one zinger after another.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BACHMANN: As president of the United States, I will not rest until I repeal Obamacare. It's a promise. Take it to bank. Cash the check. I'll make sure that that happens.

We need everybody to come together because we're going to win. Just make no mistake about it. I want to announce tonight: President Obama is a one-term president! We will win!

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BACHMANN: And the crowd went wild. She made Herman Cain and other Tea Party favorites fade into the woodwork. But the bigger questions are: number one, can she win the primary? And, number two, can she win the general election?

Independent CNN analyst John Avlon says the Republican establishment doesn't exactly love Michele Bachmann. And despite a campaign large campaign war chest, she needs the Republican establishment to win the nomination.

As far as the general election goes, Avlon says Bachmann doesn't stand a chance. She needs independents to win and despite her charm last night, Bachmann's views are too conservative for many Americans. She has said God encouraged her to run for higher office and that government should be limited only to what is in the Constitution.

And I know, Kyra, you are intrigued by her foster children. I know you are.

PHILLIPS: I know that everybody is talking about, you know, how she came out, this fascinating star last night. But I'm telling you, what caught my attention, I had no idea, we knew she had five kids but 23 foster kids. And it's all of this that actually inspired her to get into politics.

COSTELLO: That's right. She actually mentioned that fact three times during the debate last night and those 23 foster kids did inspire her to get into politics. She sent them to public schools, wasn't satisfied with the quality of their education.

So, she ran for public office. She ran for the school board. She failed.

But that inspired her to run for other public offices. And she became, you know, a congressperson in the state of Minnesota. And now, look at her.

You know what? The other thing interesting out of this debate, she is a female candidate in the Republican Party running for the president and nobody is making a big deal of that. That's amazing.

Isn't that amazing?

PHILLIPS: You know what? We're going to talk more about that. This is where we need to bring in David Gergen and the three of us need to have a conversation. But hold that thought.

We will -- you know what, Carol? Let's talk more about this as this continues on into the next couple of weeks.

We're also just getting, Carol, video in, I'm being told, of Mitt Romney. This was this morning's at Blake's Diner in Manchester, New Hampshire. You know, he's the other one that so many of our analysts are talking about, saying that, clearly, if you were to pick two winners it was it was Michele Bachmann and Mitt Romney.

But, you know, Carol was bringing up the Bachmann factor, how this is becoming more interesting, what's being made light of with regard to her background and her future. Let's talk more about her and her conservative views. Some people think that she's actually too far right to win the White House.

Our senior political analyst David Gergen is here to talk a little more.

You know, David, really, what a lot of people have been saying is, OK, who needs Sarah Palin after last night when you've got Michele Bachmann?

Do you agree?

DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. I think it's become apparent here in the last several months that Sarah Palin has sort of stepped a little bit to the sidelines for a while. Michele Bachmann stepped into the space and she occupied it very well.

Then Sarah Palin gave off all sorts of signals that she might, in fact, want to run, got a lot of us buzzing about it. But then Michele Bachmann, right back to last night. And the question is, if you've got Michele Bachmann, why do you need Sarah Palin?

She is -- you know, doesn't quite look the same but there's a quality about her that is much the same. She is piffy, she's interesting. And then she's got all this family biographies. She's also a very smart lawyer, you know? She's got a doctorate, plus these five children and 23 foster children and she's just an interesting woman. So, you know, the person who really appreciates how well Michele Bachmann is doing, that's Mitt Romney.

PHILLIPS: Who he said is the other clear winner last night.

GERGEN: Well, that's right. But, you know, Mitt Romney's fear is that some person would emerge who would be the non-Romney, who, in fact, would be seen as someone who could be nationally elected. And many people thought that was Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, and he sort of whiffed last night, you know? He was seen by analysts as someone who had his chance to establish his manhood and stepped back, instead of stepping up.

That opens up a space to be the non-Romney and now Michele Bachmann conceivably, because she's doing well in Iowa already, she conceivably could emerge as the alternative, and that's an alternative that I think Mitt Romney would say, come on, Michele. Bring it on, Michele. Do you have anything else to say? I'd love to hear more from you.

PHILLIPS: And she would turn to him and say, OK, you're going to get that. I will give you a lot more to debate here.

David Gergen --

GERGEN: She's -- she's feisty.

PHILLIPS: Yes, she is, indeed. We're going to see a lot of feistiness in the next number of months. David Gergen, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

You can also read David's article about the debate on CNN.com. It's called, "Candidates May Win the GOP but Lose America."

Well, the Tea Party has known about Michele Bachmann a long time. We're going to get their reaction on her performance coming up, as well.

And Anthony Weiner brought this whole mess on himself. But contributor LZ Granderson says, hey, the woman involved in this, well they shouldn't be left off the hook. We'll talk about what he has to say in his latest op-ed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. The opening bell rang just a few minutes ago. Checking the big board. Dow Industrial is up 96 points.

Ever since he admitted to those internet indiscretions, Congressman Anthony Weiner's been a punching bag and punch line. But, hey, it takes two to tango and to Tweet.

LZ Granderon's latest op-ed on CNN.com looks at the women of the Weiner scandal.

And I love the first line, LZ, right out of the box, "OK, Anthony Weiner is still a pig, but hold on a second," as you go on to say and I'm putting words in your mouth, "let's talk about the female swine."

(LAUGHTER)

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: I can't even believe you went all the way there like that. But, all I said in the piece -- all I was trying to say in the piece was that he wasn't tweeting to himself. He's a narcissist but he wasn't involved in this by himself. And so if you're going to go after the man in this situation, then we also, I think, culturally need to also look at the women who was involved with the married man, knew this and continued in the affair -- or the electronic affair anyway -- and didn't see any reason to stop.

PHILLIPS: OK. I totally see your point here. But tell me how you would do that. OK, here we are in a two-person interview and you're sitting down with one of these women.

I mean, is the first question, so, tell me, why exactly are you a hoe?

GRANDERSON: No, I don't think that would be my first question. But I would say, so when you were friending Anthony Weiner on Facebook, didn't you notice right before where it said "Add a Friend" it said he was married? That didn't give you any pause at all? And if it didn't give you any pause, why not? And, do you often sleep with married men if that's something you're into?

I mean, it seems like a perfectly legitimate line of questioning. If you're going to go from being someone's closeted mistress to running in front of the cameras, then you should be willing to also deal with this type of scrutiny and these types of questions.

PHILLIPS: All right. We want people to weigh in.

It's always great to talk to you, LZ.

You can actually read his latest piece -- now we're going to be in big trouble, probably for me saying that word -- "Are Weiner's Women Blameless?"

Go to CNN.com/opinion. You can weigh in, and if you like, join the conversation if you like. LZ loves a good conversation. You can leave a comment for him and it shall continue.

All right. Dallas will have a victory parade for the NBA champions Mavericks even though the city's in a budget crunch. Jeff Fischel from HLN Sports here with that story.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: It helps to know someone who has a lot of money, right? In times like that, right?

The Mavericks are getting a hero's welcome at the airport. That's what happened yesterday. A water cannon salute. When the team left the plane, owner Mark Cuban was in front -- there he is -- carrying the championship trophy. Dirk Nowitzki right behind him. He, of course, was the championship finals MVP.

Cuban says he will pay for Thursday's parade out of his own pocket. He says it's not right right now to have the city to pay for it. Of course, Cuban is a billionaire so it's a parade he can afford. It's chump change.

And, speaking of chumps. Who gave the go ahead for this ad to appear in "The Miami Herald?" The Macy's ad congratulates the Miami Heat for winning the NBA title. What? Did I miss something? The "Herald" later posted an online correction.

There's no champion yet though in the Stanley Cup finals. The Boston Bruins force a game seven with Vancouver.

Kyra, I will show you that in 15 minutes.

PHILLIPS: I can't wait.

FISCHEL: All right.

PHILLIPS: Still ahead this morning, what happens when a 45-foot yacht tackles the windy San Francisco Bay? You guessed it. Capsized catamaran.

Plus, seven presidential candidates laid it on the table last night. But, did their performance in CNN's debate please the Tea Party? We're going to get their reaction in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Checking stories Cross Country. A Nasty spring storm brought golf ball-sized hail and some wicked lighting to parts of Colorado. You can actually hear it there pounding on the car's window. The ugliness did eventually fade out, leaving this amazing rainbow behind. It's coming, I promise. Where is it? We missed the rainbow.

All right. In San Francisco, cameras rolled as a futuristic catamaran capsized during an exhibition race. One crewmen was actually taken to the hospital after falling on the vessel's wing. The new AC-45 is the fastest of its kind.

And Marie Callender is closing 31 of its locations nationwide. The closings come after the restaurant chain's parent company filed for bankruptcy. The company blames conditions in Florida and California for a sharp decline in sales.

In case you missed it last night, seven presidential wanna-be's took the stage in New Hampshire to impress the GOP faithful. But, did they win over the Tea Party?

CNN's Casey Wian watched the debate in Iowa.

So Casey, did anyone in your eyes, or from the folks you've talked to, connect with the Tea Party voters?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, a couple of them actually did. We're here at the Elks Lodge in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and there were about 75 members of the Tea Party inside watching the debate last night. It was sort of a kickoff of a month-long bus tour of the state of Iowa with the Tea Party going around the state, several cities, several of these Republican candidates will be speaking to the Tea Party.

The organizers last night after everyone watched the debate, they asked the crowd who they thought won and the biggest applause went to Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID DYKSTRA: Everybody's singing the same tune. What Ron Paul was saying last election is what everybody is saying now. Romney is saying something completely different. Now some of the people are definitely genuine. Herman Cain, I believe, is really genuine and really has a lot of good ideas.

TOBIAS DAVIS: A lot of them are not answering the questions. You ask a question and then they'll side-step it and answer something entirely different and I've noticed also Romney is answering his questions indirectly by saying what is wrong with the Obama administration, but not telling what he would actually do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: So a support for Bachmann and support for Ron Paul. But as you heard in those two sound bites, not much support for Mitt Romney. In fact, not one person among the crowd here at the Tea Party event thought that Romney won the debate. And perhaps some of those folks are not happy with the fact that he is not going to participate in the Iowa straw poll later this summer.

They say it's important that their Iowa voters are heard and they are disappointed that Romney is not participating this time -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Casey Wian, thanks.

And that's the reaction from Iowa but what about GOP faithful down south? CNN's Marty Savidge watched the debate with a family in South Carolina. He'll join me next hour with their reaction.

And we interrupt this political debate for a sports score.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And by the way, the Bruins are up 4-0.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: That's a pretty popular sound bite in New England. Highlights in the NHL playoff game also in just eight minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, stories developing later today. At 11:00 a.m. the FDA releases new guidelines for sunscreen labeling. The changes are designed to make it easier for consumers to read.

And at 5:00 this evening Missouri area television stations host a telethon for victims of the deadly tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri last month. That storm killed 151 people.

And an hour later in New York, Texas Governor Rick Perry may finally reveal his intentions for 2012. Perry is in the Big Apple to speak at a New York country or a New York County rather Republican committee dinner.

Also in New York the Broadway play "Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark" officially opens at 7:30. It's debut has been pushed back six times after multiple injuries and the creative overhaul.

All right, we're following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's go ahead and check in first with Alison Kosik.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange where we're watching your money specifically how much you're paying in airline fees. Guess what? You're paying in the billions of dollars to those airlines. Kyra, I'm tallying up the numbers and I'll have the details next hour.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I'm Paul Steinhauser in Manchester, New Hampshire. Our debate is over, now it's time for some Tuesday morning quarterbacking. The winners and loser at the top of the hour.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Bolduan on Capitol Hill. Congressman Anthony Weiner is taking a two-week leave of absence. Meanwhile, his fellow House Democrats are meeting for the first time since this scandal broke. I'll have more at the top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: All right, thanks guys.

Also in the next hour, is Facebook falling off? A new report says the site is starting to bleed U.S. users. Let's take a look at the numbers and what might be behind them?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, happy fans of the Stanley Cup finals is going down to a seventh game between Boston and Vancouver. Jeff Fischel is joining us with the highlights.

FISCHEL: Of game six, that's right. You know Vancouver really thought they had a chance to win this one. The game was in Boston but back in Vancouver, liquor stores actually stopped selling alcohol at 4:00 p.m.

I mean talking about a city that was preparing for things to go nuts. No alcohol sales after 4:00 in the afternoon?

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: That's pretty funny.

FISCHEL: Come on, city, people in Vancouver can't handle it? Anyway, game six, in Boston, the Canucks and the Bruins, here we go. The Canucks had little going for them last night. Goalie Roberto Luongo has been stellar at home but not so good on the road.

First period the Bruins Brad Marshan (ph) skates in and taps the shell beats Luongo and gives Marshan a rookie record of nine post season goals. Just 35 seconds later, Milan Nutvich (ph) he's scores, the Bruins had two more on the period, 4 goals in 4:14. That's a finals record.

Meanwhile, Tim Thomas was outstanding again in Boston's net, stopping a whole lot of shots. And Bruins win, 5-2; Game 7 tomorrow night.

Let's do some baseball, the Yankees Derek Jeter chasing 3,000 hits, he's six away after this, the base knock against the Indians in first inning, closing in on 3,000. But in the fifth, just a fly ball to right field. Jeter seemed to slow up, as he got out of the batter's box right here. He actually left the game with a sore right calf. No word on how long Jeter will be out. The Yankees lost to Indians 1-0.

Detroit's Tigers (INAUDIBLE) top the ALS Central. Tigers hosting the Rays first inning. B.J. Upton, the catch in center and fire. Throws home. Austin Jackson coming to the plate. He's out. Going to extra inning, that's the last thing Tampa needed. Last day of a long exhausting road trip. Their manager, Joe Madden said a flu bug hit the team; guys have been throwing. Said Madden facetiously it's been awesome. This is the icing on the cake. Tigers' Ramon Santiago, the gapper, Victor Martinez scores the game winner. The Tigers win in ten.

Ok guys. Don't do what tennis star Andy Murray is about to do. Unless you're confident you're not having any more kids. Murray comes to the net. You have to do very careful with this one. I see this and imagine all that can go wrong. Here comes, and -- that is some dangerous stuff right there. But well played. He won at the Queen's Club tournament.

He's one of the favorites not only to win at Wimbledon. But of course, it is in England, he's an England guy. So the home crowd is going to be rooting for him.

PHILLIPS: You have any trick shots like that when you play?

FISCHEL: I play, but I'm very scared to be anywhere near something like that. No, no, no.

PHILLIPS: Jeff, thanks.

FISCHEL: Ok.

PHILLIPS: Well, some want him to stay, others think he should go. But one thing we can all agree on, the sexting scandal surrounding New York Representative Anthony Weiner has some people pretty fired up.

CNN's Jeanne Moos shows us how supporters and protesters are speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If there's one word you never expect to hear in a protest chant it's Weiner.

CROWD: We support Weiner. We support Weiner.

CROWD: Hey, ho, Weiner's got to go. Weiner's got to go.

MOOS: Only a handful of protesters, pro and anti-Weiner, showed outside his Queens office. They were feisty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do I know how many other things he's lying about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody is lying at some point.

MOOS: At which point a guy arrive to rub a naked cell phone picture in his opponent's face.

No shortage of embarrassing photos to wave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need more people like him.

MOOS: That seems to be one of the suggestive photos TMZ says were taken in a congressional gym. Next thing you know, protesters will be waving the Anthony Weiner action figure. The face sure doesn't look much like the congressman's. The cheap version is $39.95. The anatomically correct one, $10 more.

The Weiner scandal even penetrated the presidential race.

At least twice, a fringe conservative candidate has literally set up office outside Weiner's apartment so he can take advantage of the captive audience and press.

ANDY MARTIN: I'm Republican presidential candidate, Andy Martin.

MOOS: Here's how he describes Congressman Weiner.

MARTIN: So weird and so creepy.

MOOS: When finished addressing the media, he disassembles his podium and leaves.

As for the actual president, his spokesman now says, the president feels this is a distraction, echoing lots of other politicians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it is a national distraction.

DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D), CHAIRMAN, DNC: But it's a distraction

REP. PAUL RYAN: This is just a ridiculous distraction.

MOOS: But there's something distracting about everyone using this distraction rationale. I feel like we've heard it somewhere before.

REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: It was a prank. It was intended to distract.

This is a distraction and I'm not going to let it distract me.

MOOS: This woman didn't let it distract her when the opponent waved one of those embarrassing photos at her.

(CROSSTALK)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)