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American Soldier Killed 16 Afghans; 45 Civilians Massacred In Homs Today; Jerry Sandusky's Trial Set For May; Bobbi Kristina Brown Dealing With Her Grief; Taliban Vow Revenge; Wrongful Birth Judgment; Psychology Of A Massacre; The Psychological Impact on U.S. Soldiers in Afghanistan; Bobbi Kristina Talks to Oprah; Bobbi Kristina Says She'll Follow in Her Mother's Footsteps; Separating Fact from Fiction on the GOP Campaign Trail.

Aired March 12, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Sick-minded American savages. That is what the Taliban are calling the U.S. military. An American soldier allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians in a shooting spree over the weekend. President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta are now in damage control mode, offering condolences to the Afghan people and promising to find out what caused all of this.

In Syria, a high-stakes diplomatic situation cannot stop the slaughter. More than 100 people were killed yesterday even after the U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan met with Syria's president to try to end the bloodshed. The Syrian opposition says victims include women, children slaughtered in cold blood. Opposition activists say at least 45 civilians were massacred in the city of Homs. The details, they are shocking. The activists say that children were stabbed to death in front of their mothers. Women and girls were sexually assaulted before being killed.

Jerry Sandusky's lawyers want prosecutors to turn over more information before the former Penn State coach faces trial on sex abuse charges. The judge is hearing their arguments today. Now, defense attorneys want details about where and when alleged abuse incidents occurred and the names of the people who were there or nearby. Sandusky's trial is set for May, and he denies molesting young boys.

Whitney Houston's only child, Bobbi Kristina Brown, is speaking out about her mother's death in her first interview since Houston died last month. The 19-year-old tells Oprah Winfrey that her grief is coming in waves.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN: I can sing her music, but to hear it, right now --

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": Can't.

BROWN: -- I can't. You know -- you know, to hear it, I can hear her voice, you know, and spirit talking to me telling me, you know, keep moving, baby, you know -- you know, I'm right here, I got you. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Hear more of Oprah's interview and the investigation in the Houston's death. That is coming up at 8:35 a.m. -- rather 1:35 p.m. Eastern.

So, what could make an American soldier kill 16 innocent people, the people that he's supposed to be protecting? Chris Lawrence is joining us from the Pentagon. Chris, first of all, what do we know about this American soldier?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, he's a combat veteran. He's about 38 years old. He's married with a few children. He was based at a base in the state of Washington. We mentioned he's a combat veteran, did several tours in Iraq. But this is his first tour in Afghanistan, and we believe he just got into the country probably no more than a couple of months ago -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And what do we believe -- what's allegedly to believed to have occurred there? What happened?

LAWRENCE: Well basically, we know that he left the base about 3:00 in the morning. Now, he was someone who did security. So, he worked, you know, somewhat near the perimeter dealing with security procedures at the -- at the in and out points of the base. He left the base by himself about 3:00 in the morning. Afghan forces who are also working the gate noticed that he left. He went to this village, or several villages that are about a kilometer to a kilometer and a half away and that's where we believe the shooting occurred.

MALVEAUX: What happens to him now? Where is he now?

LAWRENCE: He's been taken out of this combat outpost. And again, when I say he left this base, don't think of some sprawling base like Kandahar Air Field. These outposts are small, very remote areas sometimes. He was taken out of that combat outpost and is now at a larger base. Now the investigation will kick in. Normally an investigation like this, they've got about two weeks to come back with some sort of findings or recommendations for charges. The military does have the death penalty. President Ronald Reagan instituted capital punishment for the military but no servicemen has been executed since 1961. To do that, the president himself would have to sign off on the execution. President Bush signed off on an Army private's execution in 2008, but that sentence -- that execution has since been put on hold and the soldier has not been put to death, yet.

MALVEAUX: And Chris, you've been to Afghanistan many times. You spend a lot of times covering story there. I was on the ground for a short period of time. One of the things that stood out was this need for trust, between the Afghan soldiers, American soldiers, between the Americans there and the Afghan people. Is the trust broken? Is it gone? I mean, how do they manage to work with each other and not see each other as enemies?

LAWRENCE: Well, the thing about Afghanistan, Suzanne, you probably noticed this when you were there as well, is you really hesitate to make any kind of sweeping indictments of the entire country because it's so fragmented. What is true in one area may be completely different a village or two over. I noticed incidents where soldiers and Afghans work extremely well together and there was a lot of respect flowing in both directions.

I noticed others where the Afghans were high as a kite while they were on duty. The soldiers looked at them with disdain. They left their uniforms around. They showed no professionalism. You know, so that trust obviously is frayed right now because of the incidents that have gone on. I was talking to an official just a few minutes ago who said, you know, the order hasn't come down from on high but individual bases and outposts they have the authority to institute certain security precautions if they deem fit. For example, one base may decide we want to put, say, a 24-hour watch on the barracks while we're sleeping just in case there's some treachery.

Now again, that order is not coming from the top down from the Pentagon, but these individual bases do have the authority to do what they see fit to protect the soldiers and Marines.

MALVEAUX: All right, Chris. Thank you very much, Chris. Here's your chance to talk back on the biggest story of the day. Today's question is the Afghan war worth it? The U.S. invaded Afghanistan after the September 11th terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people. The aim was to go after Al Qaeda and the Taliban that supported them and, of course, the number one target, Osama Bin Laden. Well, he was killed a decade later in Pakistan. And yet, a majority of people, 60 percent, say the war in Afghanistan has not been worth it. That's according to a new ABC "Washington Post" poll. Republican presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, says it is time to reassess the U.S. mission there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think we need to reconsider the whole region. We need to understand that our being in the middle of countries like Afghanistan is probably counterproductive. We are not going to be ruthless enough to force them to change. And I think that we are risking the lives of young and women in a mission that may, frankly, not be doable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Almost 1,900 Americans have been killed in the war in Afghanistan, and the Taliban, they are now vowing revenge for the weekend's attack. But some Republican lawmakers say that the shooting rampage allegedly by this American soldier should not change this mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I understand the frustration and I understand the anger and the sorrow. I also understand, and we should not forget, that the attacks on the United States of America at 9/11 originated in Afghanistan. And if Afghanistan dissolved into a situation where the Taliban were able to take over or a chaotic situation, it could easily return to an Al Qaeda base for attacks on the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, it brings us to today's Talk Back question, is the Afghanistan war worth it? Send us your thoughts at Facebook.com/SuzanneCNN or on Twitter at SuzanneMalveaux. We'll read your responses later in the hour.

Here's a rundown of the some of the stories we're covering in the next hour. Dozens of women and children are stabbed, burned, massacred in Syria.

And a deadly school bus wreck in Indiana kills a child and the driver. Then a jury awards a couple millions of dollars after they had a baby with down syndrome.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Women and children murdered in cold blood. Syrian opposition activists say that is what happened yesterday in the city of Homs. The details are very disturbing here. I want to bring in our Arwa Damon who's following the story from Beirut, Lebanon. And Arwa, first of all, I don't even understand where to begin here. What actually happened over the weekend?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the images themselves are incredibly disturbing as well. In fact, most of them are so disturbing we can't even air them. Now, according to the human observatory for human rights, government forced, along with shabiha, that's what the opposition calls these government thugs, went into the neighborhood of Carmadetu (ph). Now, this is a mixed Sunni Alawite neighborhood, but in recent months, it has become divided. And they are accusing government forces and its supporters of going in, rounding up a number of Sunni families, separating the men from the women.

Based on the account of one man who claims he survived, he says they were tortured for around two hours, shot at, and then a number of bodies there were set on fire. The women, according to this certain observatory for human rights, were kept in the room with the children at which point the opposition is accusing the Syrian government of murdering the children in front of their mothers and raping a number of the women as well. One of the victims as young as 5 years old, a little boy who was killed in all of this.

Suzanne, now the Syrian government is saying that this was an act that was carried out by terrorist armed gangs who kidnapped a number of people throughout the city of Homs, Massacred them, and then stage this, film it so that they could insight even more international action and condemnation of the Syrian regime.

MALVEAUX: Well, can we sort out what it s actually true on the ground there? I mean, do we know who is responsible for this? And why are they going after women and children? Why has this become part of this fight here? I don't understand. DAMON: Well, that's the big challenge when it comes to reporting Syria because the government will not allow us official access into the country. Even when they do, and we've done in the past, accessing the sites of these types of massacres is incredibly difficult. So, we end up having to rely on activists, on these YouTube videos, and on the accounts that we hear from the activists, and from the Syrian government which, most of the time, ends up being entirely contradictory. And that is -- what is quite -- so disturbing about what is happening in Syria, is that a lot of these events exist in this gray space.

There is one thing, though, that both sides are warning of, and that is that this type of violence is only going to increase, because this isn't tragically the first time that women and children have been targeted. In fact, in this very same neighborhood of Karm el-Zaytoun in January, there was the massacre of an entire family one week and a week before that, the massacre of another family as well. So, this particular area, no stranger to this kind of violence.

MALVEAUX: And Arwa, we saw over the weekend, there was a meeting with the president, Bashar al Assad, and the U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan. Was there any progress? Did anything come of that?

DAMON: They met twice, Saturday and Sunday, and there was no deal. Kofi Annan came out of it, though, saying that you have to have a certain level of hope, and that he was optimistic because all the Syrians, or just about all of them that he had spoken to wanted to return to stability, wanted to find a peaceful solution. But it's incredibly difficult to see how that is actually going to be realized. A lot of activists on Twitter were quite incensed at his comments saying that he's wearing humanitarian blinders. They do not believe that dialogue is possible at this point. They have not for months believed that this is a regime that is really going to reform getting both sides at the negotiating table. That would be something of a mission impossible. The government is says that it's going to continue pursuing these armed gangs. The opposition says it won't even entertain the notion of dialogue until there is a cease fire and until any sort of deal would include the removal of Bashar al Assad.

MALVEAUX: All right, Arwa, thank you very much. Obviously a very difficult situation that is taking place on the ground there in Syria. Thank you.

I'm sure you've heard or watched the controversial "Kony 2012" video. It has gone viral. More than 70 million people across the world have actually seen this. And although critics, they're questioning the accuracy, the motives of this film and its group, one thing is clear, and that is the fact that 30,000 children were abducted by Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. CNN's David McKenzie got an exclusive interview with one of those who was abducted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So there's been a lot of criticism saying that this is simplified and it's too late. Is that unfair?

JACOB ACAYE, FORMER LRA ABDUCTEE: Yes. Like, for me, like the criticism is unfair because if I'm to say it is fair, then that would mean that I would be here like right now I would have not been ever to go to school, you would not be able to talk to me right now because I had no hope in my life. I was like -- I reached even a point in which I say I can't even die now because that -- I thought it was a (INAUDIBLE) of my suffering, you know. And there was (INAUDIBLE) bring on the same thing that has been happening, yes, like going on in that part of the country, in other neighborhoods. Like in southern Sudan. The war is going on in Congo. Central African Republic. Sort of like me was going through it and I know the experience and how worse it is. I feel like it's not good for a human being, for any other child to (INAUDIBLE) any other village to be suffering the same way we went through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Last night Invisible Children filmmaker Jason Russell told CNN's Don Lemon that they plan to release a 10-minute video today addressing more questions surrounding this campaign.

Well, a couple is awarded $3 million after having a baby with Down syndrome. We're going to explain what is being called a wrongful birth award.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A jury has awarded a couple $3 million after their daughter was born with Down syndrome. The couple sued a health center and lab for allegedly botching a test that would have shown the child had Down syndrome. Elizabeth Cohen, she's joining us.

So, Elizabeth, explain to me the position of the mother here.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The position of this mom, Deborah Levy in Oregon, is that she would have aborted this fetus if she had known that this child had Down syndrome. So this test, CV, it's called CVS, it tells you whether your child has genetic abnormalities. You can take the test around 10 to 12 weeks. So it's early on in the pregnancy. And she contends that she would have aborted if she had known that her child had down.

MALVEAUX: What is the reliability of these kinds of tests? Obviously they're not fool-proof.

COHEN: Right. They're about 99 percent reliable. So if you get caught in that 1 percent where an error can be made, then you can be, you know, caught in this situation. And I think different couples would decide different things. I think other couples might not have had the same feeling that she had. Other couples might have said, you know what, I took the test not to make a decision about abortion, I took the test in order to be sort of forewarned that I was going to have a child that would have certain issues. But this family says that they would have aborted.

MALVEAUX: All right, Elizabeth, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thanks.

MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.

So what can cause an American soldier to allegedly go on a massacre of innocent civilians? We're going to talk with a psychologist up ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on next.

The Taliban are already talking about revenge. Are American lives in danger after a U.S. soldier is accused of going on a killing spree?

Then, Whitney Houston's only child, Bobbi Kristina Brown, she is now talking about her mother's death for the first time with Oprah Winfrey.

In about 15 minutes, we fact-check the presidential candidates.

Tensions were already high between the U.S. military and the Afghan people. But after 16 civilians were gunned down this weekend allegedly by an American soldier, we could be in for some very tough days ahead. Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby, he is joining us by phone to talk about this.

And, Captain, first of all, there seems to be a lot of tension. We talked to the reporters who are on the ground there. Sara Sidner, who says, look, the Afghan people, they don't trust the U.S. military and the U.S. military, they don't trust the Afghan people. How do we fix this?

CAPT. JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESMAN FOR ISAF COMMANDER (via telephone): Well, first, Suzanne, I think I would take issue with that characterization. Certainly there have been some isolated incidents here over the last six to eight weeks where we've done things to them and they've done things to us. And -- but, I think it's -- it would be a little bit of a leap to say that that pretends a larger level of mistrust and a lack of confidence (INAUDIBLE) large between our two forces.

The truth is, we're doing partner operations with the Afghans every single day. Thousands of them a month. And they're quite successful. So I want to stress that the trust and confidence between our two forces is actually pretty good. And witnessed, quite frankly, by the memorandum of understanding we signed last weekend with the Afghan ministry of defense to transfer the Parwan detention facility.

MALVEAUX: Well, Captain --

KIRBY: To your specific question, though -- MALVEAUX: Yes. I mean you've got Koran burnings, you've got attacks, you've got Afghans -- some Afghan soldiers turning on American soldiers recently and now this attack.

KIRBY: Right.

MALVEAUX: I mean there's trouble there. I mean, how do you get beyond that?

KIRBY: Well, the way we're going to get beyond that is by continuing to engage. General Allen gave direction to his commanders on Saturday, right after hearing about this incident, to continue to engage. To keep getting out there. To keep partnering with the Afghan forces. It's absolutely vital that we try to move past this. And the only way to move past this is to continue to engage and to operate with our Afghan partners.

MALVEAUX: What can you tell the Afghan people when they see this and they don't believe the U.S. military when you say this is an isolated incident, that this is someone who has gone rogue? That there are Afghans who believe this had to come from up above. From the top brass.

KIRBY: Well, I have no doubt that there's probably some people that believe that. And I'm sure that the Taliban is going to try to take advantage of this to send that similar message. But we're being as honest and as open as we can with the Afghan people and as we were with President Karzai, that this was a lone shooter acting by himself certainly without any kind of authority. Not part of an operation. And we're going to hold this individual accountable to the fullest extent of U.S. law.

MALVEAUX: Do you think, in light of the fact that President Karzai has said it's unforgivable and it's a terrorist attack, do you think you're getting through to him?

KIRBY: Well, I mean, first of all, we believe this kind of heinous murders, these kinds of heinous murders are unforgivable acts, of course. And in our conversations with President Karzai, and General Allen spoke to him personally, and without getting into the details of the conversation, but it was a good conversation. And I think President Karzai understands the seriousness with which we are taking this and with which we're going to act.

MALVEAUX: And, finally, Captain, is there any concern about the safety of American soldiers there in light of the raised tension here and the anger that is now coming from the Afghan people?

KIRBY: Well, we're always vigilant in Afghanistan. It's a war zone. And, of course, protection is always a priority. But I can tell you that there hasn't been any reaction in terms of, you know, forcing up or increasing force protection levels as a result of this particular incident. Again, General Allen's guidance to his commanders were, continue to do the missions every day, continue to partner, continue to engage.

MALVEAUX: All right, Captain Kirby, thank you very much. We appreciate your time.

American soldiers in Afghanistan, they're stationed thousands of miles away from their families, from their friends. They're thrust into these dangerous, difficult situations every day. And many of them, they've seen their friends die on the battlefield. Some are on their third, their fourth tour of duty. So, how do they handle all of this? The mental, the psychological, as well as the physical pressure? I want to talk about that psychological impact with Jeff Gardere.

And, Jeff, what do you make of somebody who goes on this kind of rampage and doesn't shoot soldiers, doesn't allegedly shoot soldiers, but goes and targets women and even children?

JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, obviously, someone who has an extreme amount of rage to the point, of course, where they engage in these sorts of murders or homicides. It could have been, we know that, the rate of PTSD is extremely high off of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, some studies show one in five returning vets from those areas have had PTSD. And we also have to look at, Suzanne, the possibility that this is a person who maybe became psychotic or maybe was some sort of a murderer to begin with. In other words, an extreme personality disorder, a psychopath. Right now, we just don't know. And I think you're going to hear a lot of people throwing around that term, PTSD, because it is such a major issue for soldiers.

MALVEAUX: Do we think it has anything to do with tour of duty, that this was his fourth? That the longer someone stays out there, the more prone they are, susceptible to just snapping?

GARDERE: Well, absolutely. We're talking about this particular soldier, supposedly maybe had three tours of duty in Iraq and now in Afghanistan. But you had an expert on your station this morning from the military who said that perhaps that's not a lot of time. Those tours are not something that are out of the ordinary. I, as a psychologist, would think that going and fighting in any war, just doing that once, is enough to produce some sort of PTSD, or extreme emotional combat fatigue.

MALVEAUX: Jeff, in my very brief time in Afghanistan, one of the things that really struck me is one of the most tense times of when we were in those Humvees, we were leaving the base, traveling the neighborhoods among the Afghan people. That's when they seemed like they felt like they were most vulnerable. If you're in that constant state of feeling vulnerable, does that make everyone look like the enemy? How do you deal with that?

GARDERE: Well, that is very difficult and it's a great point because you are hyper vigilant at all times. You are roused at all times as to what is going on around you. And that stress on you, 100 percent, 24 hours a day wears you down emotionally. If you have pre- existing psychological issues or developing that PTSD, then it exacerbates that wear, and you can become paranoid where you can become psychotic. The best thing you can do is to speak with your fellow military. Talk about what is going on. That's very healthy. And the armed forces provide debriefing so you can talk about some of the pressures. The problem is some of our soldiers are afraid to talk about it because they feel they will be kicked out of the military if they admit that they are having severe psychological issues.

MALVEAUX: Jeff Gardere. Thank you, Jeff. Appreciate it.

GARDERE: My pleasure.

MALVEAUX: Whitney Houston's only child is talking publicly for the first time about the impact her death and the impact it's had on her. Hear what she has to say to Oprah.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Whitney Houston's only child, Bobbi Kristina Brown, is talking about her mother's death for the first time publicly with Oprah Winfrey.

Kareen Wynter is joining us from Los Angeles. And Jeff Gardere joins us from New York.

Kareen, I want to start of with you. Give us the headline.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, the 19- year-old told Oprah Winfrey on Oprah's "Next Chapter," that grief comes in waves, Suzanne, and sometimes it really doesn't seem real that she's actually gone. She also told Oprah that at times she can still hear her mother's voice. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBI KRISTINA BROWN, DAUGHTER OF WHITNEY HOUSTON: I can sing her music but to hear it right now --

OPRAH WINFREY, HOST: You can't?

BROWN: I can't. I can hear her voice, you know, in spirit talking to me and telling me, you know, keep moving, baby. You know, I'm right here. I've got you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: Such a gut wrenching interview. Bobbi Kristina, who is the only child of Houston and singer, Bobbi Brown. Suzanne, she also told Oprah that she's, quote, "Doing as good as she possibly can," and that her mother's legacy is important to her. Listen to what she also said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: I still have a voice.

WINFREY: Yes. BROWN: I still --

(CROSSTALK)

WINFREY: You're going to sing?

BROWN: Yes.

WINFREY: Yes.

BROWN: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

WINFREY: Yes.

BROWN: We're going to do the same thing. We're going to do some acting, you know, some dancing, you know.

WINFREY: My god, that's a lot of pressure for you, though, don't you think?

BROWN: It's a lot of pressure but she prepared me for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: And, Suzanne, Houston's daughter was interviewed briefly by Beverly Hills police the day her mother died. She was too distraught to offer any helpful information and, according to sources, was taken to a Los Angeles hospital briefly after her mother's death. She is still, you can see, grappling with the loss of her mom.

MALVEAUX: Obviously. That's a lot of pressure to put on yourself to follow in your mom's footsteps like that. We wish her all of the best.

I want to bring in Jeff here.

Jeff, one of the things we talked about this morning at our morning meeting, we were all a little surprised that this interview was happening already. She's only 19 years old. It's been a month since her mom's passing. Does it seem like it's fairly soon?

GARDERE: I do think it was a little bit soon for her to come out of the gate and talk about this, especially as Kareen has said, she was hospitalized briefly. She had some suicide ideations. There have been some rumors that perhaps she's had some issues with drugs herself. So if nothing else, the truth that we do know that can be confirmed is that this is a very fragile young woman.

I think, in speaking with Oprah Winfrey, who is a family friend, they have a pre-existing history, this is a person who, in speaking with Kristina, actually propped her up, actually gave her support, was actually very loving. So I thought it was a very cathartic kind of situation and actually helped Bobbi Kristina to be able to talk about her issues, her grief, her loss and, if nothing else, get the support of not just Oprah but everyone else out there because she was so empathetic about it.

MALVEAUX: And, Jeff, when you see her out there and she's doing this public interview, does that indicate to you that people around her are allowing this to happen and that she is getting guidance or she's not getting proper guidance here, that she's on her own?

GARDERE: It sounds to me like being a -- first of all, any 19- year-old doesn't want anyone telling them what to do. And now that her mother, who was her best friend, who was her world, who was her everything is gone, I believe that Bobbi Kristina feels like she needs to make her own decisions and if nothing else, defend her mother's reputation who became, in some ways, a character of someone abusing drugs. It's almost her job to not only work through her own issues about the loss of her mother but to go out there and defend her mother and set the record straight as to who her mother really was, a loving individual who was a great parent to her.

MALVEAUX: Jeff, last question here. She talked about, you know, singing and acting and dancing and following in her mother's foot steps. Obviously, all of that is noble but that's a whole other level of pressure that she puts on herself.

GARDERE: You see, this does concern me and this is a great comment on your part. Here's a person who we know who has some emotional issues, is a little fragile, as I said earlier. So to take on that kind of pressure, especially while you're grieving, to make that announcement to the world, it kind of puts you in a position now where you have to prove it and that's bringing in a lot of other stressors. That's why I've always said, Suzanne, I think it's important, that this young woman, Bobbi Kristina, get a lot of support from family, not be allowed to live by herself. And she should be in counseling. She may make it as a personality, as an entertainer, but that's already a lot of pressure. We know what happens with pressure, especially if there have been issues in the family around chemical abuse. It could be disastrous.

MALVEAUX: We wish her the very best, whatever she decides to pursue, that she's happy and successful and surrounded by love.

Jeff, thank you so much.

Kareen, thank you as well.

Will 100 percent of Americans be getting some kind of government benefit once health care reform is in effect? That's what Rick Santorum says. We'll find out whether that claim passes the PolitiFact test.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Checking some of our stories our affiliates are covering today.

A suburban mom accused of running an upscale Manhattan brothel is heading to court today. A judge is trying to decide if Anna Gristina should keep her court-paid lawyer. Prosecutors say she boasted about making millions of dollars and has money hidden away. She's pleaded not guilty to prostitution charges.

In New Mexico, police say a man says he stole this school bus -- you see it there -- took off down the highway. Other drivers alerted police. Offices finally stopped him with what they call a pit maneuver, but the guy wouldn't surrender and they say he tried to start the bus again. An officer shot him but he's expected to recover.

Tiger Woods makes an early exit from the final round of the Cadillac championship near Miami. He injured his left Achilles tendon. He say he will get it looked at some time this week.

With all the political attacks flying back and froth, kind of tough sometimes to separate fact from fiction. We are putting those claims through a test.

Angie Holan, she's with the "Tampa Bay Times." She's a reporter, researcher for PolitiFact.com. She's joining us from Tampa.

Hey, Angie. I want to start off with this one here. You got this claim from an ad by the Red, White and Blue Fund, a PAC supporting Rick Santorum. The ad accusing Mitt Romney of leaving Massachusetts $1 billion in debt. True or false?

ANGIE HOLAN, REPORTER, TAMPA BAY TIMES & REPORTER, RESEARCHER, POLITIFACT.COM: We rated this one false. Massachusetts, like many states, is not allowed to have debt. The budget has to be balanced every year. So Romney did not leave debt to Massachusetts. And the budget projections this ad used to try to make its claim weren't as bad as $1 billion. That's also false. And more details in our report on our web site.

MALVEAUX: Good plug for the web site there. Tell us about -- Rick Santorum says, "After President Obama's health care reform law takes effect, 100 percent of Americans will depend on some form of federal payment, some form of government benefit to help provide for them. Is that true?

HOLAN: We rated this one false, too.

MALVEAUX: Another false, all right.

HOLAN: Another false.

When you look at the people who get some form of government benefits -- Medicare, Social Security, unemployment, veterans benefits -- it's just under 50 percent. The health care law is going to help more people, giving them subsidies for health insurance. But it's tested by their income. And it's only going to go up somewhat to about 60 percent. Those are the projections. But definitely not 100 percent. That got a false.

MALVEAUX: Finally, what about this one for Mitt Romney. He says, "In the 2012 State of the Union address, President Obama didn't even mention the deficit or the debt." How is that statement rate?

HOLAN: This one got a Pants on Fire.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Geez. Who is telling the truth?

HOLAN: Suzanne, some of our fact checks are very tricky. This one, we just went to the video and the text for the State of the Union address. We found the deficit or debt mentioned six times. So it got our Pants on Fire rating. President Obama did mention it.

MALVEAUX: All right. Angie, thank you for setting it all straight there. None of them were true today. We're going to have to get on these guys.

All right. Thanks. Good to see you.

HOLAN: Thanks for having me.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

"Saturday Night Live" takes on the Rush Limbaugh firestorm. It's focus, on advertisers pulling their commercials from Limbaugh's programs. In today's "Punch Line," SNL pokes fun at the fallout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: I am not worried because I have new better sponsors, great American companies, like Sherman's Imitation Mayonnaise.

(LAUGHTER)

It may not be mayonnaise, but it is a bargain.

(LAUGHTER)

The Syria tourism board.

(LAUGHTER)

Ahh. No. There's nowhere to hide. Syria.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right. You're about to see a feeding frenzy up close. We're talking about sharks. They don't come this close to the shore that often but, when they do, watch out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: You're sounding off on our "Talk Back" question, was the Afghanistan war worth it? Michael says, "The war was just and needed to be done. It's sad this latest incident happened but we seem to forget all the Taliban suicide bombers who killed civilians."

James says, "Not worth it at all. The mission changed from finding Osama bin Laden to trying to civilize a backward country that does not want to be civilized."

And Michelle says, "Seems to me that the SEAL team should have been used at the very beginning. I don't see why we needed to invade any country when we have specialists to do the job quickly and efficiently."

Susan says, "Not when we are letting them take back women's rights, close schools and having the Taliban in power again. It's a slap in the face to all those who have lost their lives."

Liz says, "I don't think civilians are the ones to answer that. If we asked veterans and the military, we might get a completely difference answer."

Keep the conversation going online, Facebook.com/suzanneCNN.

Now, this from Australia. Really hungry sharks. A feeding frenzy. Beaches closed off the coast of Perth yesterday. That's when these guys showed up for a feeding frenzy. Experts tell us it's pretty unusual to see sharks feeding like this so close to the shore. But 50 sharks were spotted chowing down. Woo, dangerous stuff. Don't want to be anywhere near that.

We're going to test your March Madness bracket skills against us. We're talking about CNN anchors. You think you can beat Blitzer, King, Costello or even me? And we see Costello there, too. Carol, I'm going to tell you after the break.

And here you want me to pick a certain team? I don't know. I don't think it's going to happen.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, come on, Suzanne. I got the biggest bracket. Look at that thing. That means I have first dibs on who wins the entire tournament. And it better start with Ohio State University.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I'm a convincer. It's going to take a break to do it, though.

We'll be right back.

(LAUGHTER)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Have you filled in your brackets yet? Carol Costello and I have filled out our brackets.

But, Carol, that's the biggest bracket I've ever seen behind you. I don't know how big that bracket is.

COSTELLO: I'm in the atrium at the CNN center in Atlanta. And that is one big bracket, isn't it?

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Yes.

COSTELLO: It's just amazing. People have been coming by taking pictures of the bracket, not me.

(LAUGHTER)

People are having a lot of fun with it.

The real fun starts tomorrow when the play happens. 2, 4, 6, 8, those teams will compete to get into the final 64. And then the real fun will begin, because as play continues, the Cinderellas will emerge.

I was hoping my Cinderella team would be Loyola University of Maryland, because I most recently lived in Baltimore and that is my team. But unfortunately, they play Ohio State.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: Oh, that's not going to happen.

COSTELLO: I know. Ohio State will probably beat them. And I picked Ohio State to win the whole darn thing.

So, Suzanne, will you join me in --

MALVEAUX: No.

COSTELLO: -- in rooting for -- Why?

MALVEAUX: Because Michigan State is my dad's alma mater, so I've got to take Michigan. I'm all about Michigan State. I'm also about Harvard, my own alma mater, for a couple of rounds. I don't think they'll get all the way through the end there. But, you know, a little trash talk in here. I want to see them do well. But Michigan State, I'm telling you, Carol.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Come on. I want it.

(CROSSTALK)

MALVEAUX: That's my trash talk. That's the best I can do. Tell us about that wall. Does it actually update in real time, the games?

COSTELLO: Yes. But this is the thing. We want our viewers to participate in our bracket challenge. It's easy to do. Go to CNN.com/brackets. You'll see a place to sign in. Fill out your bracket. We've already filled out ours. And then we'll compete. And at the end of the thing, I don't think we're going to send you money or anything, because that would be illegal.

(LAUGHTER)

But we'll give you a big shout-out on the air. And isn't that enough?

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: I know. Invite them down to the studio. Take them down to lunch or something.

COSTELLO: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Give them a little mug, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

I'm still waiting for my CNN mug. I know. It takes a lot around here.

(LAUGHTER)

Go Ohio State. I can't believe you're going to pick Michigan State. That kind of makes me a little nauseous.

MALVEAUX: Are you kidding me? If my dad is watching, he'd never forgive me for going another direction. So I've got to do it.

COSTELLO: I'm going to email your dad tonight.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: I have to stick with the original plan. Sorry, Carol.

But this is fun. It's going to be a lot of fun. And it's not too late to test your skills there. All you have to do, like Carol said, is just go and fill it out. You have to do it, though, before half time of tomorrow night's opening game, the opening round there. To join the bracket challenge, you have to head to CNN.com/brackets. Join the CNN group. You can pick the names, and the games, better than CNN anchors, check it out.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

Hey, Brooke. Are you going to weigh in? BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Go, Tar Heels, go. I filled out my brackets. I'm ready for my Heels to take it all the way.

Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much.

But we're not talking basketball here. We're talking South by Southwest.