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Rick Santorum Claims He'll Win GOP Nomination; Romney Wins Puerto Rico; 6th Grader Sues When Forced to Give Up Facebook Password; Details Emerge About Alleged Afghanistan Killer; GOP Battle Moves to Illinois; 911 Calls Released in Trayvon Martin Shooting

Aired March 19, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. It's 11:00 on the East coast, 8:00 on the West. We have a pretty busy hour ahead. Let's get straight to the news.

Sometime today, the U.S. army staff sergeant accused of killing Afghan civilians in cold blood is due to meet face-to-face with his lawyer. Robert Bales has yet to face formal charges, but eight days after the massacre that could change the course of the Afghan war, he's in military custody at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.

Seattle-based defense attorney, John Henry Browne, says you couldn't imagine a more difficult case. Afghans want Bales tried in their country, but the Afghan ambassador to the U.S. says his government trusts the American investigation.

And the world's most valuable public corporation now wants to share its wealth. Some of it anyway. Apple just announced a quarterly dividend of $2.65 a share beginning sometime this summer.

It also plans to buy back $10 billion worth of shares over the next three years. Together, those outlays cost $45 billion or, as Apple might think of it, that's pretty much lunch money. Well, the maker of iPhones, iPads, iPods, and iMacs has more than $97 billion cash on hand.

And the land of Lincoln is the battleground of the week in the GOP presidential fight, but judging by that smile, Mitt Romney may still have Puerto Rico on his mind. Over the weekend, Romney absolutely crushed Rick Santorum in the Puerto Rican primary, 83 percent to 8.

Campaigning this morning in Springfield, Illinois, at a diner there, Romney showed a bit of an appetite for victory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER GOV. MIRR ROMNEY (R-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I need only one thing from you. Oh, two. Number one, I need some pancakes and, number two, I need you to go vote tomorrow. I need you to get out and, as we used to say Massachusetts, vote early and vote often. That happens to be a Chicago line, as well, doesn't it?

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Fifty-four delegates are at stake in tomorrow's Illinois primary.

The shortest month of the year was huge for President Obama. His re-election team says it raised more than $45 million in February, almost all of it in donations of $250 or less.

The average was $59 per donor and that brings Team Obama's total to more than $300 million since fund-raising kicked off last April.

What you're seeing here is fighting in the Syrian capital of Damascus, the most intense fighting seen so far in the capital. Anti-government forces targeting a neighborhood that's home to security buildings and embassies.

At least eight people have been reported killed in the fighting across Syria today. The rebel-free Syrian army says it's making important gains against the Syrian military.

And no end to the protest over the shooting of an unarmed team by a block-watch captain in Florida. Supporters of Trayvon Martin say that justice demands the arrest of Martin's killer who claims he was defending the neighborhood and acting in self-defense.

Race isn't the only part of the controversy. Martin is black. George Zimmerman is Hispanic. There's also a Florida law called "Stand your ground." I'll talk more about that with a reporter for "The Miami Herald" at quarter past the hour.

And warnings are going out across France after a shooting at a Jewish school in Toulouse. Four people are dead, three of them children. One of those just three-years old. The attacker came up on a motorbike and just started shooting. He escaped the same way.

The French president immediately flew to the school calling it, quote, "a national tragedy." This is the third attack against ethnic minorities in that region of France in just a week. Jewish organizations across the country are being told to look out.

$162 million for the victims of the Bernie Madoff scheme, the money, well, the money is coming from the owners of the New York Mets. They were being sued for more than $300 million by the trustee who's trying to get the Madoff money back.

Jury selection in the federal trial was supposed to begin today. The Mets were investors with Madoff, but the owner, Fred Wilpon, says that he didn't know he was a friend -- his friend, rather, was running a scam.

Well, a TSA is giving older Americans a break starting today. A new test screening program kicks off at four airports, Chicago, Denver, Portland, Oregon and Orlando.

The new rule says that people 75 and older can keep their shoes and sweaters on. They can take a second pass through the metal detectors before getting patted down. If this works out TSA will try it at all the other airports.

And we are watching a developing story now off the coast of Vietnam. Apparently a cruise ship, "The Silver Shadow" has collided with a container ship. A CNN iReporter tells us there is a hole in the bow of the ship and the passengers were called to the emergency stations.

It happened in thick fog off the Vietnamese coast. The cruise ship will be checked out in Hong Kong. That ship can carry 700 passengers and crew, by the way. We're going to bring you more information as soon as we get it.

Well, Catherine is in the spotlight, all by herself. The Duchess of Cambridge gave her first solo speech this morning. She was at the opening of the new children's hospice center in Ipswich, England.

Catherine actually became a royal patron for the hospice earlier this year. That announcement pretty much set up what her public role will be as Prince William's wife. She called the people at the hospice an inspiration and said she only wished that the prince could be there to share it all with her.

And we're learning a lot more about that U.S. soldier accused of a killing spree in Afghanistan. Friends and neighbors are talking to CNN about army staff sergeant, Robert Bales, now.

He's set to meet with his attorney behind closed doors at ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Ted Rowlands is there for us right now. We'll check in with him next.

Plus, what did Bales' wife blog reveal about their family. That's all coming up.

But first, a mom who proves we will do anything to protect our kids, even from a shark. Fifteen-year-old Sydney Levy and her mom, Valeh, were surfing in Florida. Sydney was pulled off her surfboard not once, but twice. A shark had Sydney's ankle in its mouth.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALEH LEVY, MOTHER OF SHARK-BITE VICTIM: The girl was getting sucked under. I said there is no way this thing is going to kill my daughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So, mom says she grabbed Sydney's shoulders, yanked up her onto the board, single-handedly saving her. Clearly Jaws has nothing on Sydney's momma.

If that doesn't make you a rock star, we don't know what does.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The U.S. soldier accused of a shooting rampage that killed 16 Afghans is meeting with his lawyer for the first time today. That meeting is taking place at Ft. Leavenworth's military prison in Kansas where Army staff sergeant, Robert Bales, is now in custody after being transported from Kuwait.

Sergeant Bales is expected to be formally charged sometime this week. And as Sergeant Bales sits with his attorney and begins to build his defense, the killing spree that Bales is accused of committing and the fallout from his alleged actions have evolved into a military, political, and diplomatic nightmare that reaches far beyond prison walls.

Ted Rowlands is there on the ground for us in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He is joining us live.

So, Ted, this is the first time Sergeant Bales will be meeting with his lawyer. What more can you tell us about their get-together?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it'll also be, Kyra, the first time they really talk about the case. John Henry Browne, the attorney from Seattle that you mentioned has not wanted to talk to his client about the case during their phone conversations. He said he wanted to make sure he was face to face before discussing it.

So, we've heard some things out of John Henry Browne about different ways the case could go. I think after today's meeting we'll get a better understanding of what at least his client is telling him, if he shares it with us.

Now, he's been talking a lot. That may change after he meets with his client and he talks about the facts of the case with that client.

PHILLIPS: Now, it seems like Bales' attorney is using PTSD to build a case. Is that right?

ROWLANDS: Basically he's speculating in the media at this point saying that, yes, this is a young man that had a brain injury. He did three tours in Iraq, went to Afghanistan, did not want to go back to Afghanistan.

So, throwing that out there to garner some public sympathy, obviously, like a good lawyer would and does and I think, if you listen to what he's saying, so far, I think you'll see maybe a change after he finishes with his meeting inside Ft. Leavenworth, maybe not. We'll have to wait and see.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ted, we'll keep talking throughout the afternoon. Ted Rowlands, thanks so much.

So who exactly is Army staff sergeant, Robert Bales? We've told you a lot about his past tours in Iraq, his traumatic brain injury, but in the week that's passed since the killing spree in Afghanistan, we're getting agent clearer but complicated picture of this man who's been accused, including details from otherwise own wife.

His wife, Karilyn, talked openly about her husband and military life on her blog. It was titled "The Bales Family." Now, her blog has since disappeared following the shooting rampage, but "The New York Times" was able to get some screen grabs of the blog. Here they are.

Her posts give us an insight into her husband's personality, their life together, their hopes, their disappointments, and according to "The New York Times," Karilyn mostly paints Bales as a caring dad. She talks about giving birth to their first daughter, getting a call from her husband in Kuwait.

She also blogged this. Here's a quote. "It was so good to hear his voice. He got to hear Quincy squeaking in the background. He'd be home in only two days. I was so excited."

Now, she also writes in the Bales family blog about the staff sergeant failing to get promoted last March. She went on in the blog about turning that disappointment into an opportunity to move beyond Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington and then she posted this.

"Right now, I would classify our top five locations as, number one, Germany, best adventure opportunity. Number two, Italy, second best adventure opp. Hawaii, 'nuff said. Number four, Kentucky, we would be at least near Bob's family and, number five, Georgia, to be a sniper teacher, not because it's a fun place to live."

But perhaps the most poignant part is this comment that she made about the family's hopes despite Bales' failed promotion. Here's what his wife wrote. She says, "This is such an unknown path for us. I'm hoping to blog about it and look back in a year to see how far we have come from right now."

How is this a far cry from the reality that her husband faces now. He's accused of a brutal killing spree.

Well, straight ahead, a teenage boy gunned down holding a pack of Skittles and a can of iced tea. Now, the parents of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin are asking the FBI and Justice Department to investigate why their son was killed.

Coming up next, the 911 calls from the neighborhood watchman who shot the boy. Wait till you hear what the dispatch told him just before he pulled the trigger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: He was shot to death by a self-appointed block watch captain. But supporters and defenders of the Florida teen are standing their ground, to say the least. They want to know how an unarmed 17-year-old can legally be killed by a 28-year-old civilian who pursued him in a car, claimed self-defense, and opened fire.

It happened in a gated neighborhood near Orlando. Trayvon Martin, seen here on the left, was walking back to his father's townhouse with a bag of Skittles and a can of tea, George Zimmerman, on the right, was watching. Here's what he told 911.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: Something's wrong with him. Yep. He's coming to check me out. He's got something in his hands. I don't know ma his deal is. These [bleep], they always get away.

DISPATCHER: Are you following him?

ZIMMERMAN: Yes.

DISPATCHER: OK. We don't need you to do that.

ZIMMERMAN: OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But here's the deal. Zimmerman followed Trayvon anyway and, minutes later, other neighbors called 911.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DISPATCHER: So, you think he's yelling help?

CALLER: Yes.

DISPATCHER: All right. What is your ...

CALLER: There's gunshots.

DISPATCHER: You just heard gunshots?

CALLER: Yes.

DISPATCHER: How many?

CALLER: Just one.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Police say they can't disprove George Zimmerman's self-defense claim and Florida has a so-called "stand your ground" law which gives armed citizens the right not to flee from dangerous situations.

Now, we should point out Zimmerman has a permit for his gun and, even though the 911-operator told him not to follow Trayvon, he didn't break the law by refusing.

Frances Robles is a reporter for "The Miami Herald" who covered the story and George Zimmerman in depth. So, Frances, what more do we know about this volunteer patrolman?

FRANCES ROBLES, REPORTER "THE MIAMI HERALD": He would stop at people's doors and telling them, hey, the other day you had your window open. You should probably close it. I saw someone casing out your house.

So, he was very deeply involved in this. And there have also been other reports of him getting involved in -- if he sees an altercation, if he sees a crime, he'll go after the person. He takes this citizen participation, if you will, really, really seriously.

And he does it with a Kel-Tec 9 semiautomatic weapon we now know.

PHILLIPS: So, Frances, police knew him, right? Neighbors knew him. Did they respect him? Did they always take him seriously?

ROBLES: They said he was really normal and really nice. I want to be very clear on that. The people who thought he was a weirdo were the people who just saw him walking around with the dog and they thought, well, that's kind of goofy. Now, what's this guy all about?

But the people that he interacted with, even African-American neighbors, they were like, oh, cool, thanks for letting me know. I'll make sure to keep my windows locked. They weren't bothered by him in the least.

PHILLIPS: So, interesting. So, this argument or what he is saying is self-defense, can you tell us more about what you have discovered from that? I mean, we've learned that he was -- that the teen, that Trayvon was walking home with Skittles and ice tea heading back to his dad's house.

Can you tell more about this defense argument?

ROBLES: The police are being pretty cagey as to what exactly is contained in George Zimmerman's statement, but the key point that they're going to make or that Zimmerman is making is that he did not continue to follow Trayvon, that Trayvon came at him.

So, I think he's going to argue that he said to him -- there's a quote in one of my stories from Bill Lee, the police chief, where he says, "If I say to you, hey, what are you doing here? Do you live here?" and you jump me and beat me up, are you justified?

So, right there he's telling you that that's what he is going to say happened. He's going to say that Trayvon jumped him, came at him, got the better of him, gave him a bloody nose, they tussled on the ground and then, when he felt fear, he shot him.

So, the big question here is, does Florida's "stand your ground" law apply when, you know, you kind of stuck your nose in business that wasn't yours. That will be the big question.

PHILLIPS: Well, and that's where critics are jumping in saying, you know, tell us more about this "stand your ground" law. It sounds like it allows pretty much for anything to happen.

ROBLES: There's something called the "castle doctrine," which means that you can protect yourself in your home. If an intruder is in my living room, I can shoot him and that's cool.

What "stand your ground" does is take that doctrine and put it outside the home, so that I no longer have a duty to retreat, which is the case, which for many years had been the standard nationally. And it makes it very, very difficult in a lot of these cases. We've seen cases in Florida, for example, where one bad guy is shooting another bad guy and then somebody shoots back and kills a little kid and then nobody gets in trouble for the shooting of the little kid because, well, I was just shooting at someone who was shooting me and I have the right to do so under "stand your ground" and those arguments have historically held up in court.

PHILLIPS: Frances Robles, you're doing a great job covering this story for "The Miami Herald." Will you stay in touch with us, keep us updated as you break news?

ROBLES: Absolutely. Thanks so much for having me.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Frances.

And still ahead today a 12-year-old girl is suing her school district after she was forced to give up her Facebook password. So were her rights violated? Does she even have privacy rights as a minor?

A lot of legal questions. We'll talk about it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, I know a lot of you are in this position. You can't stand your job, you want to quit, but in these hard times, it's a risk that pretty much scares you to death.

And then there's Greg Smith, the Goldman Sachs executive director who quit his job in an explosive "New York Times" op-ed.

Now, he made a lot of news for his extreme method. It definitely got our attention and, Alison Kosik.

So, if you want to quit your job, Alison, let me ask you this way, can you do it with confidence and grace?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know what, you look at Greg Smith. You mentioned him. His way of quitting his job was extreme to say the least.

You know, whether you're leaving on your own or you find yourself with a pink slip, you know, you may not want to burn bridges, especially that way.

Brad Karsch, the founder of JobBound training solutions, says no matter what the reason, remember -- you never know who you will work with again, who could help you in the future, or what contacts you could lose if you leave ungracefully.

As tempting as it may be to tell your boss how you feel about him or her, it's not worth it, either in person or do if you do it on social media.

You know, circles, they could be small in so many fields and you can't always rely on somebody for forgiving you for burning that bridge behind you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, so, we don't want to burn bridges. We don't want to rant on social media. I think everybody has learned that lesson at some point.

If you're looking for a new job, though, before you leave the old one, what's the best way to do that?

KOSIK: The best advice is to keep it quiet. No matter how good a friend you are with your co-workers, sharing those details about where you're searching for a new job with your colleagues can land you in hot water if your boss finds out.

Also, if you're unhappy, don't slack on your current job responsibilities. Trying to look for another job winds up being a full time job in itself, so you really want to try to work as hard as you did on your first day.

And, if you do get that job as much as you may not like your boss, be professional about it. Resign in person or in an official letter or both.

Kyra?

PHILLIPS: All right, so, what if you quit, you want to quit, but you can't. You know and every day you come into work saying, "Grin to win, grin to win."

KOSIK: There you go. You said it. If you're not willing to quit, again, watch where you complain. You know, whether it's in person to your co-workers, over e-mail, you don't want that stuff getting back to your boss.

Rod Kurtz of the Huffington Post Small Business says find tangible reasons for what you don't like and figure out how to make the situation better. Bosses like proactive employees, so list your goals, ask for quick feedback daily to see how you're doing.

And, if the reason is because you were passed up for a raise or promotion, Kurtz says performance reviews are really a good time to express your concerns, Kyra, not leaving nasty notes for your boss.

Kyra?

PHILLIPS: And my next -- I guess I'm assuming what you'll tell me next, but, if you do find a new job, I guess you never count your blessings the wrong way, right? You never want to go back and trash that former employer. You want to take the high road.

KOSIK: Exactly. Take the high road. Yes, if you land that dream job it's inevitable you'll be ask the why you left your last job, right? Well, resist trashing your former employer or your boss because Karsch says your new boss might think you'll do the same about them.

You know, employers don't want negative employees, always the "Debbie Downers" around the workplace. It's about not burning bridges and that includes the old ones, as well as the new, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Alison, thanks.

Well, Rick Santorum made a pretty bold prediction over the weekend. Have you heard this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER SEN. RICK SANTORUM (R-PA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I guarantee you -- I guarantee you that we will win this nomination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But Rick's guarantee has one big caveat. He's got to win in President Obama's home state tomorrow and, if polling is any indication, that's not going to be easy. The battle for Illinois next in fair game.

But first our political junkie question of the day. Who is the only president born in Illinois?

Tweet the answer to @kyraCNN. I'll give a shout-out for the first right answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, just before the break I asked you who was the only U.S. president born in Illinois. A lot of you thought Abraham Lincoln. He was born in Kentucky. It was Ronald Reagan. Abraham Lincoln was a congressman, however. Congrats to Alex, by the way for tweeting me the right answer.

All right, Illinois, it's your turn to be "Fair Game." That's the battleground for the Republican presidential race. 54 delegates up for grabs.

This is what one candidate is saying about the outcome already.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM, (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A huge or surprise win, I guarantee you. I guarantee you we will win this nomination.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right. Winning this nomination, he's guaranteeing it.

Joining us is Republican strategist, Ana Navarro, and Democratic political consultant, Ed Espinosa.

What do you think of his assessment, Ed?

ED ESPINOZA, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CONSULTANT: Well, every win that Santorum has, has been a surprise. If he wins on Tuesday it won't be any different but at this point in the election, every primary matters but here's the thing about Illinois that's unique, all of the delegates are unbound. Doesn't matter how they go on Tuesday. If the momentum in the race shifts, the delegates can shift with that momentum. It's very unique. It's really one of the weird things about the Republican primary here is that all 50 states have different primaries. Very different primaries.

PHILLIPS: Ana?

ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, you know, there's been a lot of warranties given throughout the primary election. I get what Rick Santorum is doing. It's very important to show confidence, to tell your donors, your supporters, voters there is a path to victory. I think that is what he is doing, but, you know, I've seen a lot of states be the key state of the moment throughout this primary. Two months ago it was Florida. Then it was Michigan, now it's Illinois. They're -- there just seems to be a lot of keys to the kingdom but nobody seems to be able to open the door.

PHILLIPS: Shall we talk Puerto Rico right now. And I'm going to say it perfectly in honor of Rick Santorum.

That was a beautiful pronunciation.

PHILLIPS: All right. (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

I'm just kidding. Mitt Romney as you know, he crushed it in Puerto Rico. 83 percent of the vote in yesterday's primary and here's what he said about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Most people who don't think that Latinos will vote for Republican, need to take a look in Puerto Rico and see there that conservative principles and Latino voters go together. And that Hispanic vote remembers going to vote for Republicans if we stand for something, conservative principles that bring growth and good jobs and rising home values. That's how we're going to win. We're going to get Latino voters to help us out.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: OK, guys, really? The winner in Puerto Rico tells us that all Latinos are going to go Republican -- Ed?

ESPINOZA: It's a bit of a stretch.

(LAUGHTER)

It's really hard to gauge Latino turnout when your entire electorate is Latino. In this case, he hasn't really shown momentum in any other state Latino populations. I've done a lot of Latino mobilization in Arizona, Colorado. We haven't seen that turnout for Republicans there. Key distinction in Puerto Rico, 120,000 people participated in the primary. Compared to four years ago where we had more than 350,000 so that's not the definition of momentum.

PHILLIPS: Ana?

NAVARRO: Well, you know, I would say, first of all, I give Mitt Romney credit. He went to Puerto Rico and did exactly what he had to do in Puerto Rico, got the endorsement and support of the governor who in turn put out his entire machinery, political machinery to work on this. And got earth done. And also went to Puerto Rico for two days and didn't get embroiled in what's the very dicey issue of statehood there which cost Rick Santorum dearly.

That being said, I do agree with Ed. I think it is a stretch, Puerto Ricans from the island don't volt in a presidential race. And I think one of the keys to winning the Hispanic/Latino vote is precisely understanding we're not all homogenous. We're different and look different, think different. There's different issues that matter to the different communities. Understanding those nuances is key to really doing well with the Latino vote so I do hope that Mitt Romney or whoever our nominee ends up being gets those nuances and we'll see a hard-fought fight for the Latino vote.

PHILLIPS: How do I say it's a stretch in Spanish? (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) -- Ed?

ESPINOZA: I'm going to go with that.

PHILLIPS: OK, I'm going to have to practice that one, Ana.

Let's talk about Newt Gingrich and what his supporters are thinking. This new gallop pole says that 40 percent would actually go Romney's way. Santorum is basically saying he'd get them all if Newt drops out.

What do you guys think -- Ed?

ESPINOZA: You know this, is the thing about Gingrich supporters and the Gingrich's candidacy in general. What does he stand for? We don't really know. But what his voters are doing is saying that we don't really like the other two guys. And if he wasn't in the race, we'd evenly split. Nobody is in favor of Romney or Santorum. There's a lot of complacency there. But what that does in this race in a three-way race, these Gingrich supporters slow down the path to the nomination for these other two guys and they end up being the ones with all the cards. If Gingrich is not in this race, there is a largely likelihood for this to wrap up. If wish voters there this could drag on.

PHILLIPS: Ana, sorry, we ran out of time.

Ed and Ana, thanks. That's "Fair Game."

A sixth grader says her constitutional rights were violated after she was forced to give up her Facebook password. Could you be forced to give yours up to employers? A lot of legal questions. We'll answer that for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: OK, this next story could redefine what is considered private on social media. I want you all to think about the post that you put on your Facebook and other social media sites and even those comments you think are protected by your passwords and your privacy settings. Here's why. A 12-year-old Minnesota girl is suing her school district for searching her private Facebook posts. Among other things, the lawsuit claims that school workers pressured the girl into giving them her password. So the ACLU says the school district totally violated the girl's First and Fourth Amendment rights and brings up rights. And that this case raises a lot of legal questions.

We want to talk more about the legal questions with our legal contributor, Paul Callan, who will try to break it down for us.

Paul, the school district still maintains it did nothing wrong. We have a quote from the district. It says, "The district did not violate the student's civil rights and disputes the one-sided version of events set forth in the complaint written by the ACLU."

Is that true and how will it argue that there's grounds to request the student's password?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: It's a complicated case and there are two parts. The first part is the student posted something on her Facebook wall saying that a hall monitor hated her -- that she hated the hall monitor because the hall monitor was mean, and the school district thought that was a public attack on a school official and they called the girl in.

And then they forced her to give up her passwords. And they found some other things on the Facebook account that indicated she was talking about sex and they came after her on that ground. So it's really a two-part thing. One, did they violate her free speech rights to criticize the hall monitor? And the Supreme Court's ruled on this fairly recently in 2007 and said, if you substantially disrupt the educational experience in some way, the school district can punish you even for something you do outside of school.

PHILLIPS: Well, did she disrupt? I mean --

(CROSSTALK)

CALLAN: Well, here's the test. The court looks at it and they -- this is the test. They say would the posting materially and substantially disrupt the school? Now, I mean let's say you said your English teacher, you know, was -- well, some really bad thing like a prostitute or a criminal or something like that the school district would say, well, that's so disrespecting a teacher that it's going to affect the ability to teach. Hall monitors is a little harder but the school district might say if you let these kid as tack the hall monitors, publicly, we're not going to get hall monitors and they'll lose their ability to discipline children. So I think the school district has an argument here that that posting could be disruptive of the educational experience.

PHILLIPS: Interesting.

CALLAN: But that's different than the password issue which is separate.

PHILLIPS: Let me ask you about the password. Apparently, the sixth grader got in trouble six times then after the third incident she had to meet with the deputy sheriff, school counselor and school employee and she said I was intimidated into giving up my log-in and passwords for Facebook and my e-mails. Can a school district do that and also the lawsuit claimed that the officials didn't even have permission from her mom to search her e-mail and Facebook page.

CALLAN: No, they didn't and this is where I think she has a much stronger case than the First Amendment claim she makes about the hall monitor. The school people forced her to give up her passwords then they go into the account and they find out there's some things indicating maybe she's talking about sex and in an inappropriate way and maybe they think it's indicative that she's having sex, so they get very, very worried about the situation and they call her parents in and they then engage I guess in some kind of a disciplinary process.

I think she has a strong argument here that this has been an invasion of her privacy. And since it didn't publicly affect the school district in any way, I question whether the school district would get the benefit of this -- that we're kind of acting as the parents of the middle school children exception.

So I've got a little bit better case here. although I will tell you that the courts apply a less stringent standard in searching high school kids or middle school kid, for instance, if a kid says one kid says another kid has a knife, you go out of the principal's office and he says empty your pockets and you do and there's a knife, most would think that's reasonable for the school district to do that. We don't want to be going to a judge to get a search warrant to do that, so the school district is saying the password is the same thing as that. I don't think it is. I think it looks to me like an invasion of her privacy, but, you know, her remarks. The courts are wrestling with this stuff.

PHILLIPS: And Facebook rules say you can't use Facebook if you're under 13. This kid was 12. There's another issue there. Interesting to see if there will be a domino effect and affects others.

We'll follow it, Paul, for sure.

CALLAN: Always great talking to you too. We always love to talk about social media.

PHILLIPS: Have you been following us on CNN? All of us anchors and our NCAA brackets online. If not, get to it. Because we are number two. Yes, Brooke Baldwin is still number one but we're still going to beat her. Chad Myers will break down the bracket challenge for us coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's time to brag about our brackets with Chad Myers.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Your brackets.

PHILLIPS: Here is the deal though. I'm going to tell you, my dad, huge basketball fan, he went to BYU. He played basketball his whole life. All weekend, that's all I heard. The screeching of Air Jordan's throughout the House. He was given me the updates, all the upsets, talking to me about my bracket, his bracket. But I'm not doing so badly.

MYERS: You are doing great. Your issue is that you are -- you're head to head with Brooke. You're head to head with Brooke and you go all --

PHILLIPS What does she know about basketball?

MYERS: I'm not sure. I have to bring this up. But she has UNC going to the final four and winning the thing. You have Syracuse. I'm sorry, you have Kentucky. But you have Syracuse here. So your east and Midwest brackets are completely different. You're Ohio State --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS Your mic is rubbing a little --

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: I can hear it.

PHILLIPS Fabulous. Sorry, the technical things we have to deal with.

All right. So tell me -- I know where we did well but let's toot our own horn here. I also want to make it clear it was a team effort. My entire team, we all came around, put our brackets in.

MYERS: I see.

PHILLIPS So --

MYERS: So you took them all together --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS I can't take full credit.

MYERS: I am on the bottom somewhere. Down like number 13.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS You screwed up rolling solo. That's what happened. (LAUGHTER)

MYERS: And the problem is I went to a football school. I went to Nebraska. What do I know about basketball?

But here's Brooke, here's you --

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS Can we bring this up higher where we just see me?

(LAUGHTER)

Yes. Knock Brooke out of there, would you? Number two.

MYERS: There you are.

(LAUGHTER)

The issue is how many points you still have to go. You can still get 120 points. Brooke has four more teams in it than you do. She can get 128. If you get Syracuse to go anywhere near the final four, you are in charge. Absolutely.

PHILLIPS They have a great team. I tried to get into that journalism school.

Let's look forward here. What do we have to keep our eyes on? You have this all crossed out for me.

MYERS: You lost Vandy, but you have Syracuse coming down and into the final four.

PHILLIPS I want to point out I did pick Wisconsin, thank you very much. And OK.

MYERS: And you can point out to Suzanne Malveaux that you didn't pick Harvard.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS You know what? Can I tell you I wanted to pick Harvard just because I love Jeremy Lin, but the team took me down on that.

MYERS: Here is where you diverge, UNC and Kansas, because Brooke has UNC winning the whole thing. You have them out in the elite eight.

PHILLIPS So does my better half. Maybe he and Brooke ought to be hanging out.

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: And I had Murray State going to the final four, so I'm done.

PHILLIPS You and one of my writers. He was a big Murray State fan.

MYERS: I didn't think they were a Cinderella story because they only lost one game all year, but they didn't do so well after that. You are in good shape. I love these brackets. You can look at all the brackets. This is what it looks like if you go to the CNN leaderboard.

PHILLIPS: That's another thing, too. I want to be on the record with this. Everybody was saying how difficult it was to find it online. Just go to CNN.com -- is it slash brackets?

MYERS: Slash brackets.

PHILLIPS: Everybody was saying they were having a tough final finding it.

MYERS: Soledad only has 104 more points possible because she's lost a couple teams, and Harvard was one of them. She has Harvard going a very long way. Keep going, Dave. Keep going so you can find me. Keep going. There's Rob, Don and Ed.

PHILLIPS: Loser! Lucky 13. We're now out of time.

(LAUGHTER)

Chad Myers, thank you so much.

MYERS: I'm still ahead of Carol Costello.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: I know, and she's a basketball player. What's up with that?

Still ahead today, the Republican battle for President Obama's home state, tomorrow's crucial vote, Illinois, down to two men. Where in the world are the other two?

But first, she was the comedienne who would save the struggling Oprah Winfrey Network. Rosie O'Donnell, given her own talk show to help ratings and revive her career. But just a few months in, "The Rosie Show" went from pretty funny and carefree to downright depressing and, to no one's surprise, down came the network's ax as well. Rosie, what happened to this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSIE O'DONNELL, THE ROSIE SHOW: Look out, skate them away.

(CROSSTALK)

Packing it on just for Christmas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So much -- exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: Rosie, what the heck happened? You used to be so funny, so alive, so energetic, so self-deprecating. So, as much as we hate to say it, perhaps it's time you consider something else, something out of the spotlight. Maybe some deep talks with Deepak Chopra. Your 15 minutes are up, my friend.

(SINGING)

PHILLIPS: Illinois has 54 delegates at stake tomorrow. That makes is a popular destination for candidates today, of course.

CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser, live from the political desk in Washington.

Paul, what are we looking for in this Illinois race?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Kyra, you know, remember when we said Romney had to win Michigan and then we said the same thing about Ohio? I guess we're saying the same thing about Illinois. A more moderate state when it comes to the Republican electorate. Romney adding events in Illinois to his schedule on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, all day today, as well. Take a listen to what he said this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I'm someone experienced in the economy. I'm not an economic lightweight. President Obama is. We're not going to be successful in replacing an economic lightweight with another economic lightweight. We're going to have to replace him with someone who knows how to run this economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: Not bad right there in a 15-second sound bite criticizing the president and his main rival, Rick Santorum. The latest poll came out an hour ago from American Research Group. You can see who is on top, Romney, by double digits. Santorum not really liking that sound from Mitt Romney. He's basically criticizing Romney and questioning whether Romney has a core, whether he is a man that believes that -- says what he does and does what he says. And what about Newt Gingrich? Everybody has been asking where is Newt Gingrich? He's not in Illinois, hasn't been campaigning there at all. He will be campaigning in Louisiana later this week. He was there on Friday. Louisiana, it has a primary on Saturday.

Kyra, that's what I know, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good. See you tomorrow, Paul. Thanks so much.

Thanks for watching, everyone. You can continue the conversation with me on Twitter at kyraCNN or Facebook.

CNN NEWSROOM continues now with our Suzanne Malveaux.