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Insane Shot For March Madness; Michigan Tornado Damages 100 Homes; Soldier Returning To U.S. Today; Attorney Hints At Soldier's Defense; Soldier En Route To Leavenworth; Homeland Security Issues Warning; March Madness Over New iPad; Controversial Calls At The Big Dance; Gas Prices Up Another Penny; American Airlines Flight Attendant Fired For Parodies; Russell Brand Arrested; Idol Singer Reacts to Controversy; Severe Weather Outbreak; George Clooney Arrested at Protest; NCAA Reacts to Offensive Chant; Biden: Point Man for Obama Campaign

Aired March 16, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- which required much of downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan to be closed down as they did one continuous take.

As thousands of extras lip synced, they used a chopper for the last shot of this one too. They're dedicating their latest video to March Madness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the altitude we were shooting at, the terminal velocity of the ball was around 100 miles per hour.

MOOS: Which could be terminal to living creatures.

(on camera): Did you guys hit any cows?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No cows were harmed in the filming of this video.

MOOS (voice-over): But they say they did hit a few cow patties. Talk about an "American Pie."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did we clean the ball off? I think we just let Scott keep using them.

MOOS: somebody should've called afoul. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you, I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching in the NEWSROOM right now. The "New York Times" quotes an unnamed official who says alcohol, stress, and marital problems led to the massacre in Afghanistan.

That official went on to say the accused U.S. soldier just snapped. The soldier's attorney, however, says that claim is bogus and too many reckless rumors are floating around about his client.

I talked with him in the last hour and he gave us a hint of a possible defense strategy for his client.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HENRY BROWNE, SOLDIER'S ATTORNEY: We do know he had a concussion head injury. We also know he was injured in his leg severely. And I am somewhat confused as to why they would send him back to Afghanistan. He was told he was not going to go, and overnight he was told he was going to go. And as a good soldier, he did what he was told.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We'll hear more from John Henry Browne in just a moment.

Terror caught on camera in Michigan. This rare March tornado touched down in Dexter yesterday. No deaths or injuries. The tornado edit destroy or damage at least 100 homes, though. Dexter is located about 10 miles west of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

This morning we do have a lot more information about the soldier who allegedly carried out that house-to-house shooting rampage in an Afghan village.

And we've learned the soldier is heading to the United States. He'll be imprisoned in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas as he awaits charges.

Last hour, I spoke with the soldier's attorney. He wants to know why his client was deployed on a fourth tour of combat after being diagnosed with brain trauma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWNE: Well, there's been a big problem with soldiers who have been previously deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan with concussive head injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.

I know there's been a lot of controversy about this particular base in Washington not treating those illnesses. We do know he had a concussive head injury. We also know he was injured in his leg severely.

And I am somewhat confused as to why they would send him back to Afghanistan. He was told he was not going to go and then overnight he was told he was going to go and as a good soldier, he did what he was told.

COSTELLO: So from what I understand, his injury, he was injured in a roadside bombing and part of his foot had to be amputated?

BROWNE: Those were two separate incidents, but that's correct.

COSTELLO: And then what happened shortly before this incident in Afghanistan took place?

BROWNE: I don't know. What I've heard from the military lawyers who are working on this case with me, who I'm very impressed with that another soldier at this base was brutally attacked the day before this incident. And actually had his leg shot off right in front of my client.

COSTELLO: And this incident, apparently, affected the entire base, right? Is that what you heard?

BROWNE: That's correct. I've been told that by the military. I don't have any independent knowledge of that.

COSTELLO: Just in listening to you, it seems as if you're sort of thinking about putting the entire war on trial and how maybe the military treats its soldiers. Am I being fair?

BROWNE: I think it's a real question. You know, I'm old enough to remember the Vietnam massacre in Vietnam and how that hastened the end of that war.

Maybe a tragic incident such as this will get people to rethink the war in general. I certainly don't want to put the war on trial. But I think that people should start thinking more about why we're there and how long we're going to stay there.

COSTELLO: It does sound as if you're going to put the war on trial, though.

BROWNE: We'll see.

COSTELLO: Tell us something about this man that we don't know. Because we have this image of him going door-to-door and killing children, allegedly, tell us something that we don't know about this man.

BROWNE: Well, he's a very strong family man. He has two young children. He's a devoted father. He's a career military individual. He has never said anything racist or hostile towards Muslims or Afghanis. So this whole thing is obviously a great surprise to his family.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Attorney John Henry Browne, let's go back to Seattle for a second. Because CNN's Casey Wian, he's outside the attorney's office. You've been working this story all week. Casey, how did the family come to choose Mr. Browne as their attorney?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, he's a well-known Seattle- area defense attorney. Some of his clients include the barefoot bandit and several years ago, the serial killer, Ted Bundy.

So the family knew him, knew his reputation, and asked him if he would join the defense in this case. Also have some new information to report.

We can confirm that John Henry Browne has now added to his team a forensic psychiatrist locally here by the name of Dr. Richard Adler in case that testimony is need down the road in a trial.

They'll be looking at, of course, the traumatic brain injury that this soldier received and also separately any possible issues of post traumatic stress disorder.

That's definitely, seems to be where the attorney is leaning at this point in terms of a potential defense for this case -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Mr. Browne services probably don't come cheap. Who's paying him? Is he doing this case pro bono?

WIAN: No, he's not. The family he says has agreed to pay him in this case. We don't know what his fee is, but we do know that forensic psychiatrist according to his website. We checked that this morning, he charges $400 an hour. So if his services are needed, it will definitely not come cheap -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Casey Wian reporting live for us from Seattle, thank you.

On the heels of the attacks in Afghanistan, Homeland Security and the FBI sent out a security bulletin warning there could be retaliatory violence in the United States.

It says the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are concerned this event could contribute to the radicalization or mobilization of home grown violent extremists in the homeland, particularly against U.S.-based targets.

So I want to ask CNN national security contributor, Fran Townsend about this. She's a member of the Department of Homeland Security, external advisory board and former Homeland adviser to George W. Bush. Thanks for being here, Fran.

FRANCES TOWNSEND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So what do you read into this bulletin?

TOWNSEND: You know, Carol, we have seen attacks that are targeted against U.S. military bases. Let's remember there was the one against Fort Dix in New Jersey, Fort Hood with 17 soldiers were murdered by a colleague and the recruiting base in Little Rock.

And so we've seen violent extremists inside the U.S. target the U.S. military and their bases. So it's understandable that there would be these concerns. What we don't know yet from officials and we're working our sources is whether or not this particular threat bulletin was based on specific intelligence.

They may not have had sort of intelligence telling you what base, but it's possible it could have been prompted by intelligence gathered post the attack that tragedy in Afghanistan. COSTELLO: So should we all be concerned? I mean, we understand about threats to military facilities throughout the country. But should we all be concerned about these threats?

TOWNSEND: Well, Carol, you know, it's interesting. We saw after the attack in Afghanistan by the U.S. soldier, the Taliban threatened retaliation inside the country.

We know that preachers, extremist preaches like Anwar Al-Awlaki in Yemen who's now dead used to use these sorts of incidents to recruit, to put out a violent message and to call for action. That's frankly how he got the Fort Hood shooter to undertake his action.

And so, and I remember back to my time in the White House, Abu Ghraib was used -- it wasn't U.S. policy, it was a violation of law for which people were prosecuted, but extremist preachers and terrorists use that as an opportunity to incite people to violence.

So I think they're right to be worried about this and because we've seen plots against U.S. military bases, I think that's why you saw the more focused threat bulletin.

COSTELLO: Fran Townsend, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

TOWNSEND: Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: Have you heard about the other March Madness happening right now? It has nothing to do with basketball. The very latest iPad went on sale this morning. And a lot of Apple fans must have it right now. We'll have more on that story coming up.

And controversial calls at the NCAA tournament, a 16 seed feels its upset bid was thwarted by the refs. We'll talk about that in less than 10 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Tomorrow's all about the Shamrocks. Today, it's all about the iPads. Apple has unleashed version three of its tablet. Our Silicon Valley correspondent Dan Simon is live in San Francisco. So, Dan, how long did you camp out?

DAN SIMON, CNN SILICON VALLEY CORRESPONDENT: Well, fortunately, we haven't been here all that long, but good morning, Carol, from a cold and dreary San Francisco. It's been raining all morning, but that's not keeping the folks away.

You can see the people in line here in front of this store on Chestnut Street in San Francisco. We're going to go ahead and go to the front of the line and talk to the folks about why they've been waiting here for so long.

We should tell you that, you know, Apple does its best to create a party-like atmosphere. They've been giving these folks coffee and bagels throughout the morning. And these are the people at the front of the line. They have their own tent here. Guys, good morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning.

SIMON: What are your names?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jacqueline.

SIMON: Nate, let's ask you. What time did you get here this morning?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 10:00 p.m. last night.

SIMON: You got here at 10:00 last night. What drives you to spend, you know, so much time waiting in line?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really want the iPad, plus I work at a store that sells gadgets down at Pier 39. So we're getting them to have them in the store, sell the cases and stuff to go with them.

SIMON: And what's it been like being here since 10:00 last night, guys?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cold and wet.

SIMON: And what are you looking forward to in terms of getting this device?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's never had one.

SIMON: Well, Carol, we should tell you about the selling points of the new feature. It's got a -- it's got a better screen than the previous version. They call this the retina screen. And it's got a better camera.

So people obviously excited to get their hands on this new device. This store opens up at 8:00 local time, and, you know, we've got some crowds here.

But really in New York City, there was a line wrapped around the corner for the flagship store is. So we'll be seeing lines like this throughout the country all day and probably throughout the weekend. Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: I'm still laughing about Julio. How did they convince him to camp out with them all night? Sounds like, you want to come with us? And he didn't know what he was getting himself into.

SIMON: Let's just ask him real quick. Julio, you say you really didn't know what you wanted in the iPad. So how did these guys convince you to come along?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are some of my best friends and he's all about electronics and stuff.

SIMON: So you're here more for moral support?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'll call it moral support.

SIMON: All right, well, have a good day, guys. Thanks for talking to us. All right, Carol, we'll talk to you later.

COSTELLO: Julio's a good friend. Thanks so much, Dan. We appreciate it.

A couple of controversial calls at an NCAA tournament, a 16 seed may be feeling they weren't just playing the top seed, but the guys in the striped shirts too. That's next.

And he dressed in drag and mocked his bosses on YouTube. Now a flight attendant doesn't have to be worried about being laid off because he's being fired. More on that story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In the history of the NCAA tournament, a number 16 seed has never knocked off a number one seed. UNC Asheville had a chance against Syracuse to do that last night. But their fans and those pulling for a shocker at the neutral Pittsburgh site think the bulldogs were robbed with 35 seconds to go.

And the orange up three, the ball seemed to go of the hands of Syracuse's Brandon Trish and out of bounce. You see it there. The refs awarded the ball to Syracuse. Two Syracuse free throws later and the orange had a win. Let's bring back our sports columnist, Buzz Bissinger, at the "Daily Beast." Welcome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome.

COSTELLO: Does UNC Asheville have an argument here?

BUZZ BISSINGER, SPORTS COLUMNIST, "THE DAILY BEAST": No. You know, refs make bad calls. Syracuse was up by three with 35 seconds left. You know, that's a long way to have to go to win the game. There's not that much time left.

And you know, this is part of basketball. If they want to go to instant replay on every play, that'll be fine. It was a close game, and I think Syracuse earned it and for --

COSTELLO: That's really difficult to understand you. Can you lean forward a bit because you're breaking up weirdly there?

BISSINGER: All right, any better?

COSTELLO: Lean closer.

BISSINGER: Any better?

COSTELLO: Yes, that's good. That's better. Let me ask you it this way. This play happened less than a minute after a rarely called lane violation against Asheville. Syracuse got a second chance at free throws and made them so bad call?

BISSINGER: The lane violation according to the stories I've read was correct. A player was in the lane, you know. Before the free throw hit the rim and that's the call and that can't be disputed.

The play that can be disputed was the out of bounds call. It was a mistake by referees. Referees are human. Until you replace them with robots, that's the way it's going to be.

I'm not a believer in conspiracy theories and I don't think the refs were trying to throw the game to Syracuse.

COSTELLO: And I think fans normally, even though this is a neutral site, but fans really are cheering for the underdog for the upset win and maybe that's what they were most upset about that they didn't get that.

BISSINGER: Well, you know, there's no question. And Syracuse is a boogie man this year. They have this sex abuse scandal with assistant coach Bernie Fein. (Inaudible) got off very, very easily. I think he definitely knew what Bernie Fein was doing.

And I think Syracuse should have been suspended. The NCAA as usual took no action because Syracuse is a big-time team and this is the way it goes.

But you're right, people want upsets, big-time upsets in the NCAA tournament and knocking off a number one seed when you're 16, it would have been a great story line, but it didn't happen.

COSTELLO: Buzz Bissinger, thanks for joining us. We appreciate it.

BISSINGER: OK. Thank you.

COSTELLO: Senator John McCain's daughter, Meghan is making a splash on the pages of "Playboy." She's fully clothed, but she does reveals quite a bit about herself and her opinion of one of Sarah Palin's daughters. More on that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Here are some stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. We have new details about the American soldier accused of massacring 16 Afghan civilians. His defense attorney tells us the soldier is being transported to Fort Leavenworth military prison in Kansas right now. The lawyer says his client was stressed after witnessing a comrade getting wounded the day before the shootings.

Gas prices keep on climbing. The average cost of a gallon of unleaded gas rose a penny in the last 24 hours. It's now $3.83 a gallon. Just last week, it was nearly 7 cents cheaper.

And post things about your bosses online, you might pay. An American Airlines flight attendant learning that the hard way. NBC Miami says Gayland David, a 24-year veteran of American Airlines was fired and he's fighting the firing.

He was pretty well known in flier circles for his videos poking fun at American's financial troubles. One of his characters, the Aluminum Lady, was meant to be like, you know, Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Those people on the ramp creep me out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of all our regional managers, who's the weakest link?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the woman that's running the flight attendants down in Miami is probably the most ineffective person I have in the whole company.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we fire her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, don't fire her. I like it like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: American filed for bankruptcy a few months ago and has said it wants to cut 13,000 jobs and American spokesman didn't mention the videos when talking about the firing of this particular guy.

But told NBC Miami that David published the private details of American Airlines' passengers and promoted its competitors on its web site.

Senator John McCain's daughter Meghan is blasting Bristol Palin. In a new "Playboy" interview, McCain says Sarah Palin's daughter lied when she claimed McCain carried around tons of designer luggage on the campaign trail and had hair and make-up people follow them around constantly.

McCain also reveals personal information about herself saying she almost overdosed on Xanax the day before the 2008 election.

"Political Buzz" is your rapid-fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock playing with us today, political analyst, Goldie Taylor, Dean Obeidallah of the Arab-American Comedy Festival and Georgetown professor, Chris Metzler.

Welcome to all of you. First question concerns Joe Biden. Before I get to the question, let's listen to what he said to some auto workers in Toledo yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich, these guys have a fundamentally different economic philosophy than we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So the Democrats are putting Joe Biden out there in an attempt to make blue-collar workers love them. But here's the question, is just call me Joe really the answer -- Goldie?

GOLDIE TAYLOR, EDITOR, THE GOLDIE TAYLOR PROJECT, POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it's the start of the answer. But, you know, Republicans will have to begin to reconnect with blue-collar workers, you know, come this fall or they're frankly going to lose this election.

You're looking at the -- you know, suburban and rural areas of Pennsylvania, Missouri, Indiana, places like that swing states like Missouri, which are really going to become more and more important.

And they're going to have to fight against Joe, you know, who is, you know, the everyday guy, the Amtrak guy.

COSTELLO: Chris?

CHRIS METZLER, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: Well, I think for Republicans say it isn't so Joe is actually the perfect candidate for us. We know that he's going to offer us very interesting gaffes.

So as a result of that, we like the fact that he's going to be on the campaign trail telling us about all of these interesting things. In terms of Republicans connecting with blue-collar voters, of course, Republicans are going to do that.

That's a natural part of our base. And so from our perspective, we welcome the vice president back to the stage from an undisclosed location where he's been hiding for all this time.

COSTELLO: Dean?

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, ARAB-AMERICAN COMEDY FESTIVAL: I don't think call me Joe is enough. I think he should do initials like JB or his middle name starts with an R, like JR and come out and say things like hey, y'all, I like cheesy grits, like Mitt Romney did.

You know, I don't think the Democratic Party has to worry about any kind of elitist tag in this election if Mitt Romney is the nominee. He's not in the 1 percent. He's in the 0.01 percent.

This guy is not comfortable in his own skin. I don't think blue collar or white collar are going to connect with Mitt Romney. So call me Joe, or not, I think the problem with Republicans is going to be Mitt Romney as their nominee.

COSTELLO: OK, question number two, the lines have been drawn over the Violence Against Women Act. Here's Dianne Feinstein, Senator Diane Feinstein on the Senate floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: The bill includes lesbian and gay men. The bill includes undocumented immigrants who are victims of domestic abuse. The bill gives Native American tribes authority to prosecute crimes. In my view, these are improvements. Domestic violence is domestic violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ok and Democrats say that's why Republicans don't like the Violence Against Women Act. And who doesn't like Violence Against Women Act? You know to protect women.

The question is, is this just all political grandstanding? Chris?

METZLER: Yes, it absolutely is political grand standing. A couple of things here, first and foremost, it is clear that Republicans don't support having violence against women. So to suggest that is -- is simply stupid.

In addition to which, what we have here is the Democrats continuing this theme of the Republican war on women which quite frankly does not exist. So what you have here is if Democrats want to include all of these things, why don't they have a clean bill? Why don't they allow open amendments? Why don't they proceed that way? To try to hijack the bill for political purposes is ridiculous.

COSTELLO: Well, Goldie?

TAYLOR: The war on women doesn't exist? Well, I would invite Rick Santorum and the others to stay out of my doctor's office and stay away from my birth control pills which I use for other reasons.

You know I just think at the end of the day, Republicans are doing themselves a great disservice. They have literally beaten themselves this election cycle by attacking, you know, freedoms that women understand to be, you know, fought 50 years ago like birth control.

You know, and to include, you know, the members of the LGBT community, Native American community and others in this domestic violence bill is the right thing to do no matter who the victim is.

COSTELLO: Dean?

OBEIDALLAH: Carol, are you telling me Democrats and Republicans are playing politics in an election year? I can't believe this is happening.

Let's be honest good luck with the Republicans being against the bill that is to protect women from violence. I don't care about the nuance of this. When you get out there, the average person that are going to hear this will say, of course, you should be in favor of this bill. And forget the little thing about you know, gays and lesbians should be protected well, what kind of country are we in? The Republican Party continues to move to the right and de-evolve. Its losing moderates, liberals, now it's going to lose women. They're like the party of cave men at this point. Not even a political party, it's substantively and politically wrong for them.

COSTELLO: Wow. That was quite a rant.

Ok now it's time -- now it's time for your "Buzzer Beater", 20 seconds each. Here is the third question and it's about Joe Biden again. Because as we were looking at Joe Biden, look at that tan. He rivals John Boehner for goodness sakes.

So the question is where did Joe Biden get that tan? Dean?

OBEIDALLAH: I think he's going to be a new cast member on "Jersey Shore," actually, Joe, "The Situation", hanging out with Snooki and everyone in the hot tub, or maybe you got a two for one deal with John Boehner at the Hollywood tans on D Street in D.C. it's one of two or he fell asleep. Let's be honest in front of the tanning machined.

Anyway it's not a good look for him. I'm really worried about him, Carol.

COSTELLO: Goldie.

TAYLOR: You know this isn't easy. I don't know where he got that tan, but I sure hope that it fades a bit over the coming weeks. You know we've got -- we've got enough in Boehner walking around the planet looking orange.

COSTELLO: Oh Jesus, Chris.

METZLER: Well actually, I wore the shirt in support of the Vice President's tan because his tan looks about this color. And I think part of what has happened here is he got it at a tanning salon. Because as you know in the Obama Health Care Act, there is a surcharge on indoor tanning beds and I think what he's showing is that he supports that by having such a horrific orange tan.

COSTELLO: That is a stretch, wow. Goldie, Chris and Dean, thank you for playing with us today. We appreciate it.

TAYLOR: Thanks for having me.

OBEIDALLAH: Thanks Carol.

METZLER: Thanks Carol.

COSTELLO: A twister caught on camera just moments before ripping apart a Michigan neighborhood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: More amazing pictures coming your way after a break.

And we get reaction to the latest "American Idol" controversy. A contestant is kicked off the show for lying, now a fellow singer is speaking out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Russell Brand is getting out on bail after getting arrested last night in New Orleans.

CNN's showbiz correspondent Nischelle Turner, joins us live from Los Angeles to tell us why. Spill it.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN SHOWBIZ CORRESPONDENT: Oh, gosh, Carol. This is a little bit of a convoluted crazy story. But Russell Brand was arrested for allegedly grabbing a photographer's cell phone and throwing it through the window of a building in New Orleans.

And the New Orleans police tell CNN Entertainment that officers picked him up yesterday afternoon at a casino and charged him with simple criminal damage to property. They say he took a phone from someone who was taking his photo and threw it at a window of a downtown business shattering the glass.

Now this all began on Monday night in New Orleans where Brand is in town shooting a movie. Now a photographer filed a police report. He claims that Russell got angry at him for taking pictures on his iPhone and Brand grabbed it and hurled it through the window of a law office.

Now police tell us he was only at jail for a very short time before he paid bail. Meantime, Brand was still joking about the incident shortly before the arrest. Here's what he tweeted. "Since Steve Jobs died, I cannot bear to see anyone use an iPhone irreverently. What I did was a tribute to his memory."

I don't know, that's just what he said.

COSTELLO: I don't think the people on the other side of that window are laughing.

TURNER: Right.

COSTELLO: "American Idol," the controversy there. Somebody else is talking about it. Who?

TURNER: You know, lots of people. Just about everybody this morning because "American Idol" elimination was last night and Shannon Magrane is gone. It leaves just ten contestants now, but her elimination is being overshadowed by the controversy surrounding former "Idol" contestant Jermaine Jones. For those who may have missed this. Earlier this week Jermaine was disqualified by "American Idol" producers and asked to leave the competition after they learned there were outstanding warrants for his arrest that he allegedly failed to disclose.

However, Jones tells CNN he did disclose his arrest record. He claims "Idol" producers even investigated his past and he says he was blindsided when he was called out on the show. Now, if it's any consolation, it seems that Jones was really well liked by his fellow contestants. CNN caught up with Shannon Magrane after she was voted off "Idol" last night. And here's what she had to say about the show now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANNON MAGRANE, "AMERICAN IDOL" CONTESTANT: I know that there's lots of people who like to twist and turn lots of things and I think that it was best that it was there because lots of people see the truth and how well Jermaine took that and how accepting he was of the whole situation and how he took that in such a graceful way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: And she's a graceful girl for 16 years old. And we have to say, she was very nice. But Carol she was good. She was good this week. So I kind of hated to see her go.

COSTELLO: I know. I wish I could comment, but I -- I don't watch "American Idol" -- I'm in bed, that's why.

TURNER: Oh, Carol.

COSTELLO: I know. I'll TIVO it, ok.

TURNER: That's all right. I'll watch for you.

COSTELLO: Ok.

TURNER: Thank you.

Nischelle Turner, thank you.

Want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world? A.J.'s got it tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11:00 Eastern on HLN.

Auto sales are up, jobs in the industry are up, but is manufacturing really on the road to recovery? We'll break them -- we'll break down the numbers for you. That's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Take a look at these pictures. These pictures are from Dexter, Michigan, where a tornado as you see is caught on camera as it approaches. Incredibly, no one was killed or injured, but more than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed and I mean some homes were flattened.

Let's bring in meteorologist Rob Marciano. This is unusual for Michigan to have tornado this time of year.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we've been saying that a lot haven't we the past few weeks. A lot of unusual things happening. And they don't know quite how strong this was, but as you mentioned 100 homes damaged. And these are stand-alone homes. The average being worth over $200,000. A well-built home.

And you see from that funnel, it was not a small tornado by any stretch. Remarkable that nobody was seriously injured or killed in this. They, you know, fire crews as typical going door-to-door to make sure that everybody is ok. And it seems as though most folks are accountable.

The National Weather Service going to go out there today and check it out like they always do and do a full storm survey and see just how strong it was. At least an EF-2, possibly an EF-3. What that means is winds of over 135 miles an hour. If it gets rated that, it'll be the earliest in the season that an EF-3 has ever hit the state of Michigan.

COSTELLO: Wow. So should we expect more and worse tornadoes to come since spring is expected to be hotter than usual?

MARCIANO: Well, I mean, that doesn't help. But you also need dynamics to get the ball rolling, as well. So if we have the dynamics, we certainly have the heat. And it looks like the longer range forecast is going to show just that, more heat for the next 90 days. If we get the dynamics like we've had the last two weeks then we'll see more in the way of tornadoes.

Will we see them today? Quick check at some of the maps as far as what we're looking at. Most of the action's going to be well to the north of say Alabama and Mississippi. But this is a very, very weak front.

So as Carol mentioned, it's been driven mostly by the heat. Temperatures today expected once again to be 30 degrees above average in places like Chicago where a high of 76. Tomorrow's high will probably blast away any sort of records that they've had for St. Patrick's day. Threat for severe storms and the potential for tornadoes today are likely back across western Texas. But we don't expect any sort of widespread outbreak.

But you know, we didn't expect to see strong tornadoes like we did last night across Michigan. So with this heat and humidity we have in the air, we just have to be on guard for these sort of things happening because this time of year, it can happen.

COSTELLO: I know. We've got something weird happening in Washington, D.C. George Clooney is standing in the middle of a group of people.

MARCIANO: That's why I was getting wrapped. COSTELLO: Yes, that's why we were getting wrapped because we had to take this picture of George Clooney. He's literally surrounded by dozens of people. And apparently the Park Police, as you can see, the Park Police are there and they're arresting some people. We don't -- it's not clear to me why they're arresting this guy and taking him away. Perhaps we'll find that out in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

But as you can see, George Clooney was part of this. Of course George Clooney is in Washington because he's testifying about what's going on in Sudan right now. He's got a movie coming out, a documentary coming out. He met with the President on what's happening in Sudan right now. And I expect that he's talking to more movers and shakers in Washington, D.C.

Can we hear what this guy said? Did you hear what this guy said? I'm talking to my producers now. Did not hear it. Ok. So that man is being led away. We see more men with those T-shirts on. I guess the Park Police went up to this group of people and said, hey, if you don't get out of this area by the count of three --

MARCIANO: You need to leave the premises.

COSTELLO: I don't know if it was because of George Clooney or they're on private property or if, you know, it's a security risk or if they were protesting too much, but the Park Police warned these people to move from this place or they were going to place them under arrest.

And as you can see, oh, I see Jim Moran, the democrat from Virginia in there. He's being arrested. He's getting arrested too. This must be an embassy. Do we know what this building is? We don't know what this building is.

But I would suspect they were protesting in front of some embassy dealing with Sudan and that's why they're getting arrested. That's my guess.

MARCIANO: They've got cuffs on George Clooney too.

COSTELLO: Yes, cuffs on George Clooney too. I guess he was with the guy in the T-shirt that initially got arrested.

MARCIANO: I suspect he won't be in jail long, but --

COSTELLO: They don't look upset, do that? I think they were trying to prove a point.

MARCIANO: Part of a grand plan?

COSTELLO: Yes, part of the grand plan to prove their point. They're outside the Sudanese Embassy. I love when I'm right. Outside the Sudanese Embassy probably protesting, yes -- protesting the terrible things that are going on in the Sudan.

And as you can see, it wasn't a surprise that George Clooney and Jim Moran were going to be in front of the Sudanese Embassy because there were plenty of photographers on hand recording this arrest by the U.S. Park Police.

When we find out more, we'll get back to the scene in Washington, D.C. and tell you more. I wish we could hear it, but we can't right now but we'll bring it to you later.

COSTELLO: Also coming up next, President Obama's re-election bid kicks up a notch or two today. He's heading to his hometown of Chicago. He's got a campaign event there this afternoon and another one later tonight here in Atlanta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The NCAA is now responding to that controversy involving an offensive chant during a tournament game between Southern Mississippi and Kansas State. Members of the Southern Miss pep band were caught on camera yelling at Kansas State's Angel Rodriguez.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Angel was trying to come over and draw the charge. Rodriguez has already let the ball go. And he's a freshman, but he's about as cool as they come right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The NCA issued a statement and this is what it says, quit, "The institution responded in a timely and appropriate fashion to address the matter. any determination of championship misconduct is the purview of the men's basketball committee and will be addressed following the tournament."

The president of Southern Miss apologized for the incident and promised to take disciplinary action against the students involved.

Vice president Joe Biden making the fight for the White House personal, Biden played point man for the Obama campaign in a union hall speech attacking GOP candidates by name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know it's kind of amazing, Gingrich and Romney and Santorum -- they don't let the facts get in their way. Nobody knows better than you and your families the real price you pay to allow this reorganization to take place -- plant closures, wage freezes, lower wages. They know, everybody knows, these companies would not be in existence today without the sacrifices of all of you in the UAW you made.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Yes. He's talking to the United Auto Workers.

Let's turn to our political editor Paul Steinhauser. It's no accident Joe Biden was speaking to a crowd in front of the United Auto Workers Union, right?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Yes.

COSTELLO: It seems the President's campaign is in full swing now.

STEINHAUSER: It sure does. Besides picking on him -- I heard him earlier first hand. But here's the politics here, Carol. Listen, I spoke to Democratic strategists today and they say this is no surprise. He's reprising -- he being the Vice President -- the role he played in the general election in 2008 and in the midterms in 2010. That basically he's the Obama re-election ambassador to blue-collar workers, to white working class voters. And we're going to see more of this.

Ohio yesterday, you know your home state, battleground state, our Jessica Yellin got some good reporting saying where is Biden going to be next week? Florida talking about Medicare and the Republicans' budget plans to oppose that. He's also going to be talking, I believe it's right there on the map, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Iowa, New Hampshire -- what do all of these things have in common? Battleground states. Very important come the general election November.

Now, what about the President himself? Carol, five fundraisers today. Three in Atlanta down your way later today and two in the Chicago area. So the president himself also on the campaign trail today playing the role of fundraiser in chief.

COSTELLO: Well, I know he's going to be in Chicago today right? And he's going to have company.

STEINHAUSER: He sure is, he's already had some company, I guess you could say, in Illinois. Remember, big Republican primary there on Tuesday. Mitt Romney was there earlier today, campaigning. Rick Santorum will also be in Illinois later today and both of them, of course, also in Puerto Rico, Romney going down later today, Santorum just ending up two days there. Air Force One, you can see right there, that's the kind of plane that Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum would love to be riding some day -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Paul Steinhauser reporting live for us from Washington.

If you're enjoying the warm weather right now, just remember, there's a catch. You might know what it is already. The mild winter means allergy season is off to an early start apparently pollen loves warm winters too. One doctor at an allergy clinic in Virginia tells the "Washington Post" that it's unusual to see patients this miserable this early in the year.

Google was already in some trouble for tracking iPhone users, now it could become a legal battle for the company. I'll tell you why next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now, a follow-up to a story we told you about last month. Google in hot water for tracking iPhone users. Well, now regulators are reportedly investigating.

Alison Kosik is following this from the New York Stock Exchange. Is this the beginning of a new legal battle for Google?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It very could be. What the "Wall Street Journal" is saying Carol is that the FTC, EU regulators they're jumping into this fray looking into whether Google did something here.

So this whole brouhaha began last month when the "Wall Street Journal" actually found out that Google may have been tracking people online. People who use Apple's Safari browser, either on their PC, their iPhone or their iPad. Now here's why Google would actually track you because Google knows about you. You know, what you search online, it can target ads write directly to you.

So think about it, advertising is really how Google makes its money. But the problem here is that the way Safari is designed, it's designed to block third-party tracking, but guess what, Google looks like it may have found a way around that. The "Wall Street Journal" says they caught Google's hand in the cookie jar and Google then stopped -- Carol.

COSTELLO: What happens next? Will Google be fined?

KOSIK: You know what; it's certainly a possibility. Analysts say it could be tough though because what the FTC has to do is actually prove that Google intended to act this way. And Google says, uh-uh, it was an accident that we did this.

But Google, if you remember, it's been in trouble before. It was fined for collecting personal information a couple of years ago when these Google vehicles were taking pictures for the street view maps remember that Carol, when Google, oops, accidentally collected personal information from those unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. They said, oh we're so sorry.

So this should be an interesting one to follow --

COSTELLO: Indeed. Alison Kosik, live at the New York Stock Exchange, thank you. That does it for me this hour. Fredericka Whitfield is in for Kyra Phillips.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: You say that very sadly. That does it for me.

COSTELLO: No, I know you're going to have more on George Clooney being arrested, right?

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That's right. We've got some new images of that. And we know that he's been very passionate about the issue or the causes in Sudan. And so he took it to the streets and now we know he's been arrested. Some might have expected that was likely to happen. That's always the potential when you go out on the picket line too.

All right Carol, good to see you. Have a good weekend. That's something to perk up your voice about.

COSTELLO: Yes. Happy St. Patrick's Day.

WHITFIELD: Wear that green. Have a good one.