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Bales Could Be Charged This Week; Killings Could Change U.S. Mission; Gunman Kills Four At Jewish School; Protesters Rally For Trayvon Martin; Police Arrest 74 "Occupy" Protesters; Father Defends Family From Intruder; Accused Soldier To Meet With Lawyer; Apple's Plan For Its $100 Billion; Giving Condoms To 12-Year-Olds; Oprah Pulls Plug on Rosie; Kansas Team Rallies Behind Star Forward; Duchess Kate's First Speech as a Royal

Aired March 19, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: -- what to do with the nearly $100 billion extra it has in cash. Our Alison Kosik is tracking the story. She will join us in a few minutes.

We start with a face-to-face meeting in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The staff sergeant accused of killing Afghan civilians will meet with his lawyer later today.

Casey Wian is in Washington State with a possible defense strategy and Chris Lawrence is at the Pentagon with news that this case could mean an early withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Let's head to Seattle first in Casey Wian. Hi, Casey.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. I'm actually outside of joint base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, Washington where Staff Sergeant Robert Bales was based.

He is, of course, in custody at a military detention facility in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. There today, he will meet for the first time with his civilian attorney, John Henry Browne.

Now Browne is a very well-known Seattle area defense attorney who was hired by the Bales' family last week. Here is what he had to say about the difficulties in defending this case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HENRY BROWNE, ROBERT BALES' ATTORNEY: You can't imagine a more difficult case, I don't think. I mean, every challenge -- this has political ramification, it has legal ramifications, it has social ramifications. So, you know, you couldn't really imagine a bigger case from somebody with so many problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: Now Browne released a statement saying that it was too early to tell what factors contributed to this incident, but it's very clear one of the avenues they will be exploring and they have talked about this over the last several days is the fact that Staff Sergeant Bales was on his fourth deployment.

Three of those deployments were in Iraq during two of those deployments he sustained injuries, one of those a traumatic brain injury. Also the idea that is being floated is that perhaps he was under some additional stress according to his attorney.

Because he was initially told according to the attorney that he would not be going to Afghanistan on this deployment and then sort of at the last minute he was sent anyways. Also, financial pressures that the family was under, they had two homes, both -- one went through foreclosure.

Another put on the market as a short sale so all of these avenues just among the many things that will be explored by the defense as to what may have contributed to the actions that Staff Sergeant Bales is accused of committing in Afghanistan -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Casey Wian live for us in Seattle, Washington.

Military analysts as you know are guessing Bales' alleged rampage could force American troops home early. Some analysts are saying that could happen as soon as next week.

After the killings, President Hamid Karzai demanded troops go back to their bases. Retired General James Marks tells CNN that U.S. troops could start coming home within weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENERAL JAMES MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RETIRED): The United States mission is fundamentally changed and our commanders on the ground will determine that probably within about another week.

So within a couple of weeks, it would not be unusual if there has not been a change in our posture inside those bases that you could see U.S. forces coming back. It's not inconceivable that that could happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But as early as next week? Let's head to the Pentagon and Chris Lawrence, the man in the know. So Chris, what are you hearing?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, I just got off the phone speaking with a senior military official there in Afghanistan. His first four words to me were "not true, not happening."

He said there have been no changes to operations going on there in Afghanistan right now. Also spoke with a U.S. official who says they haven't changed any sort of deployment orders or anything like that following President Hamid Karzai's demand that the troops get out of the villages.

So just to put that in a little bit of background context, Carol, a senior defense official says at the point where President Karzai made some of these comments, he had sent his own investigative team to the villages to interview some of the survivors of that attack.

They had just come back and given their report to him and the official says that report and what he heard from his investigators was clearly weighing on President Karzai's mind and you can see over the next couple days, officials, one of them speaking to our own Candy Crowley just yesterday have started to soften that tone a little bit.

And walk it back saying, look, the demand is still out there, but this will involve negotiations over several months as to how it will happen and then even after those negotiations, then you've got the actually implementation of some of those changes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Understood. Chris Lawrence live at the Pentagon for us.

Tragedy this morning at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France. A man open fired there killing four people. Among the victims, a teacher and two of his own children. The gunman still on the run.

Now, French authorities are warning Jewish organization there is to be on high alert. This is the third such incident this month. The French President Nicolas Sarkozy went to the school this morning. He called the shooting a national tragedy.

Coming up, we're going to ask a military law expert why it's taken so long to file charges against a soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking stories cross country now. In Florida, people are protesting the killing of Trayvon Martin. They rallied and marched through Titusville where the prosecutor's office is. Says they want justice.

They say the killing was a crime, but police say they have no reason not to believe a neighborhood watch captain's story. George Zimmerman claims he shot him in self-defense. He has not been charged.

New York police arrested 74 "Occupy Wall Street" protesters who tried reclaiming Zuccotti Park in Manhattan. The group gathered to mark the six month anniversary of the movement.

They used that park as a home base for months before police finally kicked them out. One protester say it's a reminder they're not going away.

In Arizona, a couple woke up in the middle of the night to find a home intruder pointing a gun at them. The 18-year-old allegedly broke in, started stealing things and then noticed a gun on the nightstand and he grabbed it. But David Jennings wasted no time defending himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID JENNINGS, SUBDUED INTRUDER: The gun that I had to protect my family was pointed at me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see it in movies.

DAVID JENNINGS: I was looking at him like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't think people can really do it.

DAVID JENNINGS: Reached out, grabbed his arm, came out of bed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I've never seen anyone move like that.

JENNIFER JENNINGS, INTRUDER BROKE INTO HOME: He grabbed up with one hand and pushed the gun out of the way and threw him across the room. He always said he would protect me and the kids and he did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Wow. Home owner Jennings said he held the man on the floor until the police came. He's a little bit cut up, but glad his family is safe and sound this morning.

Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, the soldier accused of killing Afghan civilians will meet with his lawyer in person for the first time later today.

Bales is being held in a private cell at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. No formal charges have been filed yet, but we do expect them to come down in the next few days.

Still, the military is busy putting together a case against Bales. Military law expert, Gary Solis is in Washington. Good morning, Gary.

GARY SOLIS, ADJUNCT LAW PROFESSOR AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Why is it taking so long to file charges against Bales?

SOLIS: Well, it's not so much that it's taking a long time for the charges, Carol. It's taking a long time to decide who will charge him. Because he normally would be charged by the commander general of the 2nd Infantry Division, his parent unit, but since he's moved from Afghanistan to a new location, somebody has to decide what unit he is now in because that will determine who has the authority to bring charges.

COSTELLO: Can you tell us a little bit about, you know, he's in this private cell at Fort Leavenworth, Sergeant Bales, what that might be like for him? SOLIS: Well, it would be for him as any civilian who's in a private cell. It's not solitary, but, of course, it's a single cell and I'm sure he's isolated from other prisoners so it's a very long day. He will be out periodically for exercise, but he's on his own just him and his thoughts and, of course, his lawyer will be there to see him today.

COSTELLO: Right, his civilian lawyer will be visiting him today. They will meet face to face for the first time. He has other lawyers, though, doesn't he?

SOLIS: He does. Under the uniform code of military justice every accused has the right to a free judge advocate appointed by the military to represent him. This judge advocate is someone who is a graduate of a law school and who has been admitted to the state bar of some state and has experience in military cases, of course. So, yes, he will have at least two lawyers.

COSTELLO: We have some clues as to what Sergeant Bales' defense might be. Some people way, well, it could be posttraumatic stress syndrome. Other people say it could be an insanity defense. What's your guess?

SOLIS: Guess is the right word. But he certainly has the makings of a mental incapacity defense. That is because of disease or defect of the mind, he was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his acts.

He may have a medical defense too in that traumatic brain injury may have affected his behavior. Voluntary intoxication is not a defense under military law as it is not a defense in civilian law in most jurisdictions nor is the fact that he was under stress going to be a defense.

I mean, it will be a factor for the jury if and when it goes to trial but his defense, his best defense is probably mental incapacity or, well, the defense is sure to also attack the army saying it's the army's fault to put him back in Afghanistan after three tours.

I think we should remember, there are many soldiers and marines on their fourth, fifth and sixth tours.

COSTELLO: Yes, and they're perfectly fine, right? They're not suffering from posttraumatic stress syndrome. At least many of them are not. He's being tried in a military court. When you put the army on trial, put the war on trial you say that a soldier because he's under so much stress doesn't exactly know what he's doing. How do those things go over in a military courtroom?

SOLIS: Well, sometimes they do not go over in a military courtroom at all because if you're the military judge, you're not going to allow the army to be put on trial. This is a case about the acts and the criminality of the acts of a certain individual.

And the military judge is likely to exclude, preclude any evidence offered by the defense that it's the army's fault or that there was stress involved in this.

The court is going to look at legal defenses to these acts, legal defenses like self-defense or, of course, there may be an intervening defense of lack of mental capacity. So this case is not going to be a lot different from any similar case in a civilian jurisdiction.

COSTELLO: So he could face the death penalty if he is found guilty. How often does that happen in a military court that they hand down a death penalty?

SOLIS: It's very rare. The last individual in the military who was executed following a court-martial sentence was in April of 1961. So we haven't had a death -- an execution in the military for more than 50 years.

Since the death penalty in the military was revised following the Supreme Court opinion in 1983, there have been 47 cases referred to trial as capital cases and in those 47 cases, 15 death penalties have resulted, no executions have followed.

We have six or seven individuals on death row, military individuals. One loving has therein since 1988, some 24 years, but no executions since 1961.

COSTELLO: Gary Solis, thank you for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.

President Obama has a pretty big war chest ready to go, but a lot has come from small donors. I'll ask our "Political Buzz" panel why the big donors are holding off and making their contributions to Obama's war chest. That's just ahead.

And poor Apple. It has a problem. What to do with $100 billion in cash. With problems like that who needs solutions? More on that with Alison Kosik in just a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Apple's got a problem. What to do with $100 billion in cash. Well, we know the answer actually. Apple will issue its first dividend in 17 years. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on that. Tell us, though, Alison why this is such a big deal?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, for the company, Carol, it really is a big deal because it kind of marks a new era. You remember the late Steve Jobs. He was against, against paying dividends.

He liked hoarding cash instead, but now the new CEO, Tim Cook, says, you know, what, $100 billion, it's more money than we need to run the company. So that's why you're seeing Apple announcing today it's going to start paying quarterly dividends this year.

It's also buying back $10 billion of its own shares over the next few years so what it's doing it's essentially doing is spending about $45 billion of that $100 billion over the next three years.

Yes, some analysts are saying it's a small bone that's being thrown to investors, especially since you look at sales of iPads and iPhones are likely to produce at least that much in new cash this year.

Still you can't deny. This is the world's biggest company in terms of stock market value and now it's finally continuing to -- now it's beginning to sort of throw a bone to shareholders in terms of this buy-back and dividends.

COSTELLO: So how are Apple shares doing now?

KOSIK: OK, so Apple shares are up about 1 percent right now. They're getting pretty close to $600 a share. They're trading at $590. Investors are interested in this stuff. They want to buy into this growing company returning value to its shareholders.

And here's another thing, more mutual funds, they are likely to buy Apple now as well to put into their mutual funds so it is likely that a fund in your retirement account invests in Apple so you could own a piece, as well, if you don't already right now, you should check out your portfolio.

If you do own it you may want to look at it and smile because look at shares of Apple. Over the past year, they are up 80 percent. You're laughing, but it is incredible, isn't it?

Apple is just so strong. It's boosting the Nasdaq today. The Nasdaq, which we watch, as well. It is truly just an amazing feat to watch.

COSTELLO: Yes, it is especially if you do own stock, you'd be doing a big happy dance. Thank you, Alison Kosik.

Should kids as young as 12 be able to get free condoms from their school nurse? That's what Springfield, Massachusetts, school district is now considering. As you might expect it has some parents really upset. Here's Reid Lamberty from our Springfield affiliate WWLP.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REID LAMBERTY, WWLP: Condoms may soon be available for students as young as 12 in Springfield public schools. The school committee voted 5-1 in favor of the new policy in an effort to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where they've instituted this program, the incidence of not only sexual trips, but diseases from sexual activity itself had decreased.

LAMBERTY: Springfield has the fourth highest teen birth rate and the second highest sexually transmitted infection rate in the state. And it's happening to students who aren't even teens yet. CINDY MILLER, TAPESTRY HEALTH: The thing is the 12-year-olds are sexually active. So we're -- we didn't make up an age. We were looking at an age where we feel that the need starts.

LAMBERTY: Cindy Miller from Tapestry Health research shows 27 percent of 12-year-olds in Springfield have reported having sexual intercourse. That number jumped to 51 percent by ninth grade.

Under the new policy a student can walk into the nurse's office and ask for a free condom. But at the same time they would be educated about abstinence, how to use a condom and the consequences of having sex. Not all parents are on board.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that's a good idea right now. I think when they get a little older, maybe high school, not that young. I don't think that's a good idea. I wouldn't want them giving them.

LAMBERTY: But others say it's a reality that parents now have to face.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really don't agree with it but these days, that's all there is. A lot of young ones out there experimenting with it.

LAMBERTY: Parents are allowed to opt out of the policy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I guess my question is would be a 12-year-old go to the school nurse and say, could I have a condom? Still working on the policy there in Springfield. It still needs a second vote for approval before it's adopted. Springfield's mayor likes it though. He called it a smart idea.

President Obama pulling out all the fund raising stops. Some of the big donors seemed to be sitting on the sidelines. Why you ask? We'll ask that question of our "Political Buzz" panel next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We want to take you back to Toulouse, France now. That's where an assassin on a motorcycle opened fire on a Jewish school. Four people dead including a 3-year-old.

This is the third such shooting this month and now French authorities are warning Jewish organizations to increase vigilance. Jim Bittermann is in Paris and, Jim, we understand the French president just left that school.

JIM BITTERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Carol, in fact, President Sarkozy interrupted his campaigning for re-election to go down to the school and express his sympathy.

But also to take a look at what's being done to investigate this series of crimes now. It's three crimes in a row in the last eight days. In fact, basically in the first incident one soldier was killed.

In the second incident two soldiers were killed and a third critically wounded and then this morning four people dead including three children and an adult.

So clearly there's someone out there with a gun that is in the process of settling scores or perhaps trying to put out some kind of a political message.

In any case, the prosecutor in Toulouse has now opened an anti- terrorism investigation into the various incidents and basically one of the reason they're linking these instance because of the method of operation.

The gunman arrives on a motorcycle. He's got a motorcycle helmet on, gets off the motorcycle and in a cold-blooded fashion just starts firing into crowds of people and then gets on the motorcycle disappears.

At least the first two incidents, the same gun was used n this morning's incident, in fact, they are saying that the weapon of the same caliber was used. It may not be the same gun. They're still working to confirm that -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jim Bittermann live in Paris, France, for us this morning.

Checking other top story, the army staff sergeant accused of gunning down 16 Afghan officials will meet face to face with his lawyer today. Sergeant Robert Bales being held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Traumatic new pictures out of Oklahoma this morning as a string of storm marches across the Midwest. Parts of Texas now are under a severe thunderstorm watch.

And the FAA is taking a fresh look at what electronic devices you can actually use on flights during taxiing, takeoff and landing. They're testing the new tablet and e-readers to see if they hurt the plane's navigational equipment. One thing they won't consider is the cell phone.

Yes, the economy is sluggish, gas prices are high, but there's another dog in the fight for the Republican nomination. His name is Seamus. Rick Santorum has again lobbed that bomb a weapon wielded by so many of Romney's political enemies it's hard to keep count.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Shamus he's dogged Mitt Romney since the 2008 presidential race.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Back in 1983, Romney took his family on a road trip to Canada. However, when he packed the car tighter than Clark Griswold, he made an executive decision to strap the family dog to the roof of the car. COSTELLO: Yes, it happened decades ago but so what. If you ask Romney's arch rival Rick Santorum, Seamus matters.

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As far as Seamus, the dog, look, all I would say is, you know, the issue of character are important in this election and we need to look at all those issues and make a determination as to whether that's the kind of person you want to be president of the United States.

COSTELLO: Evidently, there are plenty of people who agree with Santorum. Check out "Dogs Against Romney." A Facebook page that boasts more than 40,000 likes. Thousands of posts, t-shirt slogans and posters that read, Mitt Romney says corporations are people and dogs are luggage.

For the record, Romney has said Seamus was safe and happy in his carrier atop the family car. And well loved. He hasn't commented this presidential go-around, but he did in 2008 when PETA accused him of torture.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: PETA has not been my fan. PETA was after me for having a rodeo at the Olympics and very, very upset about that. PETA was after me when I went quail hunting in Georgia and not happy that my dog likes fresh air.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: "Political Buzz" is your rapid-fire look at the best top picks of the day, three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing today, CNN contributor Maria Cardona, Jason Johnson is a professor at Hiram College and chief political correspondent at Politics 365 and CNN contributor Will Cain joins us, as well.

So the first question is obvious. Isn't it? OK, so Seamus the dog, poor Seamus, but is this really a character issue? Maria?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No question, Carol. Look, if your dog wants fresh air take him for a walk, don't strap him to the top of your car and go at high speeds on our nation's highways. The poor dog got sick.

Look, even working dogs out west, they -- they travel in pickup trucks but don't go at high speeds on the highways. I do think that the treatment of Seamus is shameful and it adds to the perception that this is somebody who just is not like the rest of us, doesn't get what normal Americans go through.

So is he what, he's not normal? Is he not like the rest of us? Is he a pod?

COSTELLO: Will?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Did you say my name? I'm sorry Carol.

COSTELLO: I did Will.

CAIN: I was trying to figure out if Maria was asking rhetorical questions. Of if she just answered them herself, if she had just accused him of being a pod. I was processing it all right there. Look, I am a dog lover. I had a beautiful Doberman named Leon for 13 years but I'm perfectly willing to admit that most people or many people don't see dogs the same way as I do as some kind of extension of your family, they get to sleep in your bed and on and on.

And Maria brings up those -- those dogs are riding in truck beds in the west. I would venture to say maybe Maria hasn't been out west much. I have, I live most of my life out there. Those dogs do travel in truck beds down the highway. And I have to say, if we're starting to draw gray lines, it gets more complicated this sounds much more to me like political hackery.

COSTELLO: Woo. Jason.

JASON JOHNSON, PROFESSOR, HIRAM COLLEGE: Look I mean, okay, so the guy falls somewhere between Clark Griswold and Michael Vick, okay, it has nothing to really be that concerned about. It's not a character issue.

Are we really surprised that Mitt Romney treats other things besides himself like they're about objects? I mean, this is a guy who says he likes to fire people, this is the guy who closed Kay-Bee toys. Childhood things like dogs and family, it's not that important to him.

But do I think it's a character issue? No. Rick Santorum is just grasping at straws because he's probably going to lose in Illinois.

COSTELLO: All right, second question. President Obama has a pretty good war chest but a lot of it is coming from the $4 donation box. So why are big donors holding off on pitching in? Will?

CAIN: Well, let's put that in context. They wanted to raise like $50 million a month to get to a total of a billion dollar war chest and are raising kind of half that $25 billion a month on average. And according to Karl Rove so take the source with whatever grain of salt you'd like, but that's something like seven percent of their total donations and they should be at like 20 percent. Why? The question then is why.

You know, I have to be honest, I am surprised the number of liberals that I have rubbed elbows with, discussed this with who expressed some kind disappointment with the Obama administration. I don't know if that's lagging in their fundraising numbers but I am constantly taken aback when I hear these disappointments.

COSTELLO: Maria?

CARDONA: First of all, they never said that they wanted to raise a billion dollars. Secondly, they are doing pretty well with donors but thirdly and most important, their focus has always been every day normal Americans whose voices is the ones that they want in their campaign. Not the billionaires, not the millionaires, not the special interests.

They have raised -- they have raised all of their money from one point most of their money from $1.6 million new donors with an average donation of $59. That is hearing what Americans' voices are. And that is the one thing that this campaign has really focused on and they've been very successful at it.

COSTELLO: Jason.

JOHNSON: I'm surprised he can raise any money with 8.3 percent unemployment. I mean, Obama should be happy that any small donors have any cash to give him. Look the fact of the matter is this is kind of like when you go to church and you don't know how much you're going to give the collection plate until you hear the sermon.

There's a lot of people who are still waiting to see the Obama that they fell in love with in 2008. The big donors are concerned, he spent a lot of time of you know being insulting of Wall Street. He hasn't done things for a lot for small people so yes, it's a lack of enthusiasm but he's still raising more money than Mitt Romney so he's still doing pretty good.

COSTELLO: Ok, third question, your "Buzzer Beater", 20 seconds on the clock, third question. Senator Scott Brown, a Republican he was at a roast this weekend and he took a friendly jab at Rick Santorum. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SCOTT BROWN (R), MASSACHUSETTS: I see that both Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum now have Secret Service with them on the campaign trail. And in Santorum's case I think it's the first time he's actually ever used protection so --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Okay. So that came from a Republican and he's talking about, of course, the contraception issue. That issue, you know, Rick Santorum thought he was going to do pretty well among Catholics but is it now hurting him so badly that he's not going to do well with Catholics even in Illinois? Jason.

JOHNSON: Look, the only thing more rare than a condom at Rick Santorum's house is a Republican with a sense of humor. Scott Brown has the right idea. This war on women is not a good idea for Republicans so it's good that he's being a moderate, he's laughing about it and changing and pivoting off this issue.

I don't think it's an issue that Rick Santorum has a problem with Catholics Rick Santorum has a problem with women in general. And Scott Brown has the right idea. Republicans should be following him, not Santorum.

COSTELLO: Will.

CAIN: Pretty good joke like Scott Brown have to say, that's a -- I don't know who wrote that for him. If he did it himself that was -- that was a good zinger he got there on Santorum. Is it kind of indicative of some larger problem with Rick Santorum in Catholics? I don't think the joke aside Rick Santorum does have a problem with Catholics. He has a problem with women. If he is successful in his pursuit of a war on pornography he's going to have a problem with the male vote, too, I promise you that. But I had a more substantive point, but the buzzer got me, though. Sooner or later I'm going to get there.

COSTELLO: I never thought of it that way. That's an interesting take. Maria?

CARDONA: I -- well, I agree with most everything that Will said. You know, Rick Santorum does have a problem with most of the mainstream American; Catholics, women, now men, apparently. But I think the Catholic issue is interesting because he did lose the Catholic vote to Mitt Romney in most of the past contests.

I think it was because he insulted John F. Kennedy. Come on, you do not insult the first Catholic president if you want to go after the Catholic vote.

COSTELLO: Maria, Will, Jason -- thanks for playing along with us today. We appreciate it.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CARDONA: Thank you so much.

COSTELLO: It was fun.

Oprah is pulling the plug on Rosie. Why her show is being canceled after just a few months on the air. More "Showbiz Headlines" coming your way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Rosie O'Donnell's own talk show in history -- actually, is history, I should say. I bet she would really be glad if it went down in history. But anyway Rosie O'Donnell's show is history after March 30th. Oprah has pulled the plug after only five months on the air.

Nischelle, of course, ratings were a big problem, right?

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, very much so, Carol. It definitely was.

You know, when the Rosie show debuted on OWN last October it was seen as a Hail Mary pass by Oprah Winfrey to help boost her struggling network. Oprah recruited Rosie with the hope that O'Donnell would bring viewers and bring some buzz to the network none of that ever materialized. The show started out strong but after its much hyped launch the ratings hit the basement.

In recent months the show switched executive producers, moved to a smaller taping studio, moves that many in the industry thought signaled trouble.

Here's what Oprah had to say in a statement announcing the cancellation. She said quote, "I thank Rosie from the bottom of my heart for joining me on this journey. As I have learned in the last 15 months a new network launch is always a challenge and ratings grow over time as you continue to gather an audience. I'm grateful to Rosie and the dedicated Rosie show team for giving it their all."

Now Rosie's final episode is going to tape on March 20. It will air on Friday March 30th and O'Donnell said in a statement that she loved working in Chicago, but she's headed back to her home in the Big Apple after the show's finale, Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, yes. Hey maybe Oprah should get Tiger Woods on her network to talk about his sex addiction therapy because --

TURNER: Now, that would have some ratings.

COSTELLO: He's spilling some new details.

TURNER: Well, I don't know if he's spilling them but someone close to him is spilling them. If we're to believe Tiger's former swing coach, the lessons that Woods learned from sex addiction therapy is that quote, "For the rest of my life I can't have sex with someone unless I genuinely feel something for them. If I do, I'm putting my life in jeopardy."

And this revelation comes as the "New York Times" on Sunday published new excerpts from an upcoming tell-all book by Tiger's former swing coach Hank Haney. Haney who worked with Woods for six years and parted ways with Tiger in 2010 is claiming that the book "The Big Miss" would mostly be about golf but the new excerpts seem to indicate the book also details the sex scandal and its aftermath that rocked Woods' career. A chapter is reportedly devoted to it. So the comes out March 27th. Get ready for more secrets from one of Tiger's form confidants, Carol and this has some people in an uproar definitely.

COSTELLO: Brings a whole new meaning to swing coach, doesn't it?

TURNER: Oh, God.

COSTELLO: Nischelle Turner, thank you.

If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, check out SHOWBIZ TONIGHT at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Oh, we're talking about --

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You're proud.

COSTELLO: I'm not proud.

WOLF: You sure you've got every reason in the world to be thrilled. You do.

COSTELLO: I filled out this bracket and I don't normally fill out brackets for March Madness but I did this year and I stink.

WOLF: Look, you're a novice. Self-admittedly she's not a huge --

COSTELLO: I'm not a novice.

WOLF: -- well, you're not a huge basketball fan, you've mentioned.

COSTELLO: Not college basketball, no.

WOLF: But she's don't a great job.

Let's take a look first and foremost at the CNN anchor board. Again, everything is -- you know, you have to use some perspective. Brooke is in the lead out of all of our anchors. Then you have Kyra, then you've got Soledad O'Brien, Wolf Blitzer; my partner in crime on the weekends, Randi Kaye is doing very well. Then you go to Kate, you go to Rob, to John King. Let's see all the way down. Where are you? Looking for you --

Mike.

Oh, goodness gracious. Let's expand this just a bit. There you are, great picture. Really, really nice. What's great is although you've done really well and you have a nice smile, I think this fits your mood more than anything for the time being.

COSTELLO: It does.

WOLF: So there you go. You know, one of the great things though is you had as we take a look at the bracket itself, you have places where you haven't picked real well. One of those being for Ohio University, the Bobcats. One interesting thing about the Bobcats we have a lot of CNN people that actually went to school there so you have a lot of fans here on the staff, which is great. They pulled many upsets. You by the way picked a huge upset so you really --

COSTELLO: North Carolina.

WOLF: NC State, huge upset yesterday against Georgetown. I believe we have some video of that. Huge celebration, a tremendous game. The magic of March Madness unfolds right there. You notice the Wolfpack biting the Hoyas. Yes they advance over to number three. Hoyas, tremendous in this game. Good times. You felt confident though with your finals are -- you picked Ohio State to win the whole thing.

COSTELLO: Well, I could still win, right?

WOLF: You could.

But for you to win everyone else has to basically crash and burn, which is always possible.

COSTELLO: I would never hope that.

WOLF: Hope springs eternal. There you go.

COSTELLO: Exactly. Thanks, Reynolds.

WOLF: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: Bringing the bad news.

Hey, if your brackets are in shambles too, go to CNN.com/ brackets; maybe you'll feel better. You can check my picks from here on out. Not that you'd really want to.

Anyway, did you see the Kansas/Purdue game last night. Kansas trailing until the minute when it took the lead for an exciting win. One of Kansas's players is Thomas Robinson. And you may not know, he suffered some devastating losses in his family.

Here's CNN's Rob Marciano with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: College basketball can be gut wrenching. Heartbreaking. And exhilarating. The life of a college basketball player can be all of those things and one other, exhausting.

THOMAS ROBINSON, KANSAS JUNIOR FORWARD: We have, you know, early morning workouts and then, you know, classes, then straight to practice after that; practice normally could go from 2:00 to 4:00 depending on how the coach feels. And tutoring at night and then you're back in your room then you're back up the next morning doing the same thing again.

MARCIANO: It's a full day every day. One that can sometimes be eased by a comforting call home.

TYSHAWN TAYLOR, KANSAS SENIOR GUARD: When things get tough for me, my mom was one of the first people I called and I'm sure that's the same for a lot of people.

MARCIANO: Just over a year ago, Kansas forward Thomas Robinson received a late night call from home that changed everything for him. He was told his mother Lisa had just died of a heart attack at age 37. This only weeks after the deaths of Robinson's grandparents who helped his single mother raise him. He and his 7-year-old half sister Jayla (ph) were left alone.

BILL SELF, KANSAS HEAD COACH: When I said is there anybody back home you want me to contact, he said, "Coach, they're all gone" and that just broke my heart.

ROBINSON: My teammates, you know, immediately became my brothers and strongest supporting cast I had. MARCIANO: Robinson's teammates followed him home to Washington, D.C. for the funeral and the school started an education fund for his sister. But even as the fans who filled the seats at legendary Fog Allen Fieldhouse donated to a cause more worthy than another national championship Robinson realized his daily responsibilities had grown immensely.

ROBINSON: I have something bigger to take care of. I have a little sister at home.

TAYLOR: Some people would kind of, you know, go the opposite way and feel like they don't have anything to work for now. He kind of had a different approach, like, you know I got to go even harder now.

SELF: There was a whole different level of want, of try in him that I hadn't even seen before.

MARCIANO: The 6'10 junior wears that responsibility to Jayla like the chain around his neck honoring his mother. His performance has shined like those medallions taking him from the Jayhawks' sixth man last year to perhaps the nation's best player this season. All with the hope it will lead him to millions in the NBA and his sister to a future without worry.

ROBINSON: For me to feel comfortable, the best way to do that will, you know, be able to reach my lifetime dream and doing that would be able to take care of her.

MARCIANO: Gut wrenching, heartbreaking and exhilarating. Thomas Robinson's life has been all of those things and one other -- inspiring.

Rob Marciano, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Excellent.

More of the day's top stories after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

At 3:00 p.m. Eastern, the House subcommittee on health will meet to review efforts to prevent and treat traumatic brain injuries.

And at 4:00 Eastern, Republican House freshmen are holding a news conference on their efforts to repeal President Obama's Medicare cost- cutting mission. Critics have referred to it as the death panel.

And tonight at 11:35 Eastern you can watch First Lady Michelle Obama's first visit to "The Late Show with David Letterman".

In our "Daily Dose" of health news, Americans are not very good to their hearts. It's so bad that less than two percent of us actually follow basic heart healthy habit, the ones that drastically reduce the risk of heart disease. That's according to a new study in the Journal of American Medical Association. And this was a pretty big study too.

45,000 people were surveyed between 1988 and 2010. There was some good news, though, the number of smokers has dropped and more people are getting in their heart healthy level of exercise.

A royal first today. Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge delivers her first official speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MIDDLETON, DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE: What you do is inspirational. It is a shining example of the support and the care that is delivered not just here but in the children's hospice movement at large up and down the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We'll take you live to England for more. Coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A big step today for the Duchess of Cambridge; Kate Middleton delivered her first official speech today as a royal. Our royal correspondent Max Foster was there and joins us from Ipswich, England. And she looked a little nervous, Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, she was and people in the room described how her hands were shaking just before she embarked on the speech and it was very slow, very measured. She used this technique I think that public speakers do get advised on to pause if they felt nervous and she ended up pausing a lot.

But actually this was her first public speech. It was being televised internationally. Huge amounts of pressure. Huge amounts of press here. Just to get through it without making any mistakes, you know, you got to hold your hands up to that.

Let's have a listen and you can make up your own judgment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIDDLETON: First of all I'd like to say thank you. Thank you for not only accepting me as a patron. Thank you also for inviting me here today. You have all made me feel so welcome and I feel hugely honored to be here to see this wonderful center. I'm only sorry that William can't be here today. He would love it here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: That would have given her a lot of encouragement, I think, Carol, to get a laugh from the audience, get some interaction going. A big part of the life of a royal is giving speeches. They support causes and you have to sell those causes and give these speeches. So she passed that test. She's had all of her solo engagements. She's now going to go quiet for about a month we're told. But she's emerged now as a fully fledged royal.

COSTELLO: You just can't imagine the pressure on her. She's a young woman and I'm glad she got through it but she did look really nervous. Her dress, it looked beautiful. It was blue, everybody pays so much attention to her clothing.

FOSTER: Yes, absolutely. Whenever her clothes come out on the public display they sell out immediately around the world. This was a Reese dress but all the fashion watchers here, people come just to follow her fashion were disappointed and excited at the same time because they found out that this was the dress that her mother had actually worn two years ago to the races, her mother had lent her the dress which was a story in itself.

But it wasn't the cutting-edge fashion they were hoping to get from the duchess today on her last engagement for a while. And also meant that no one could buy the dress so it couldn't sell out worldwide. Certainly that's making a lot of newspaper headlines today, Carol.

COSTELLO: I think that's rather charming. I mean you're wearing your mom's dress. It's obviously special to her and why not?

FOSTER: Absolutely and there's a lot of pressure on the Royals right now. Don't want to be seen to be overspending on anything. It's the jubilee this year. They don't want to be seen spending public money at a time when the economy is in a bad state. Maybe there was a bit of that involved, as well. She would have come here knowing that particular magazines would have seen that dress before and they would have gotten straight on to the story.

COSTELLO: All right. Max Foster, thanks so much.

That does it for me. I'm going to throw it over to Kyra Phillips.