Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Lottery Fever For Record Jackpot; Rare Tornado In Mexico; Escaping A Killer Tornado; Witness: I Saw Trayvon Killed; Shooter's Brother Speaks Out; Ryan Endorses Romney; Obama Camp Builds Up Voter Database; Final Four Tip Off Tomorrow; Ugly Side Of An NCAA Champ; NTSB has "Meltdown" Tapes; Forbes' Most Overexposed Celebrities; A Female Member at Augusta National?; Shopping Apps for the Lottery; Raise Minimum Wage 35 Percent

Aired March 30, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a superstar and fans want to see him on the ice.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clearly, the Buckeyes are the team for her.

COSTELLO: Go Buckeyes.

And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Just ahead in CNN NEWSROOM, 13 hours and counting. All eyes on the record $540 Mega Million jackpot. Numbers which will be announced at 11 Eastern tonight. Tickets are selling at a record rate, meaning the total prize could grow even more before the drawing.

Plus, new video from inside an Indiana school bus that was picked up and thrown across eye parking lot into a building during a tornado. Coming up later, hear the frantic bus driver get those kids out of the bus to safety and making sure everyone is OK.

And the final four teams hit the hardwood today for their final practice before the national semifinals tomorrow, but the Obama administration has a stern warning for teams focusing on just the court and not the classroom.

But first this morning, are you just hours away from becoming filthy rich? If you bought a Mega Millions ticket, you are certainly hoping so.

The lottery jackpot, a record $540 million, each and every hour, millions of more tickets are being sold across the country. One lottery official tips us of that a bigger jackpot amount could soon be announced. So the big question right now, how would you spend your riches?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First of all, I have to go to church, my 10 percent tithe and I told my son that I was going to buy a block in Brooklyn to open up a school and a community center. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I'd try to help people. I bet I'd be getting a lot of phone calls.

UNIDENTIFIE MALE: The dream is to help a lot of people that could use it. If you win that much money, there's plenty for everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Susan Candiotti is in Times Square. Whenever people say that, Susan, I'm going to give my money to charities, I'm going to help others, I never believe them really.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I don't know how I would spend that money. I've been thinking about it, but I think there would be time to figure that out.

I prefer right now to concentrate on the odds. Let's see, they say your chances of winning, 176 million to one. How about being hit by an asteroid? You have a much better chance of that.

It's only, what, 300 to 1. How about being killed by an insect sting if you are allergic to it, 56,000 to 1, better chance of that happening to you.

COSTELLO: But you know what, Susan? You have zero chance of winning if you don't play.

CANDIOTTI: That's right. You can't win it if you don't get in it. Isn't that right, Carol?

COSTELLO: Absolutely.

CANDIOTTI: However, if you did win, a lot of things that you could buy. I mean, we are having fun with this, right? A Rolls-Royce costs $350,000. If you wanted two, I don't know why you would want more than one, but you could afford to buy 1,400 of them.

Let's say you wanted Kate Middleton's engagement ring, which is worth $500,000. Do you really need more than one of those? I don't think so. On the other hand, if you wanted to buy the most expensive apartment that recently sold on Central Park in New York for $88 million, you could easily afford that. What do you think, Carol?

COSTELLO: You're right. I just would take one ring. Maybe I'd buy some for my friends. That's charitable, right? Susan Candiotti, good luck because I know you bought a ticket, $540 million.

OK. So let's put that in perspective. It might explain the frenzy. It is, of course, the biggest lottery jackpot in history, but take a look at the second highest was $390 million. A full $150 million less than tonight's drawing.

The rest of the top five, $380 million, $336 million, and $330 million. If you are looking to cash in, how about downloading an app to help you strike it rich? Coming up in 45 minutes, we'll tell but the new apps for your phone that claim to give you an edge when you pick those winning numbers.

Take a look at this rare tornado sighting in Northeast Mexico. These pictures were shot by two women driving in Monterey. They said rocks and hail hit their car, and that's when they saw the twister. In all the years they have lived in Mexico, they say they have never seen or even heard about a tornado there.

And take a look at this. This bus, it got launched by a tornado through a diner in Henryville. You remember these pictures? It happened earlier this month. Now we have new video from inside the bus. It shows us what happened moments before the bus driver and her kids escaped this terrifying disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): School bus driver, Angel Perry is trying to calm her students as the race to dodge that F4 tornado begins.

ANGEL PERRY, SCHOOL BUS DRIVER: We're going to go into the Baptist church too. I don't know what else to do.

I stopped the bus for a second, put my hands down, and said dear Lord, what do I do?

COSTELLO: Thinking fast, she quickly radios a dispatcher.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCH: I know you're busy. It's 3:38.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We should go back to the school.

COSTELLO: With chaos all around her, she makes a rash decision.

PERRY: We're going back to the school. Count how many kids do we have, please? 11. Thank you so much. If anybody needs to call their parents, we're going back to the school.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I do. I don't know my parents' phone number.

PERRY: We'll call them when we get to the school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a tornado on the ground.

PERRY: Tornado on the ground, guys. Be quiet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see the tornado on the ground north of the school.

PERRY: If you have a book to put over your head, do it. Get in the middle.

COSTELLO: They've got a minute and a half to get out of the way and find cover.

PERRY: There's a tornado right there, guys. Look, the funnel cloud. COSTELLO: In a frantic state of mind, she calmly instructs her students on their next move.

PERRY: Don't block me truck. Don't block me. Guys, we're just going to go as fast as we can into the school.

COSTELLO: They make it back to school. The tornado moves closer. They make a run for it.

PERRY: Everybody stay together. Our group together. Right now. Go, go, go, go, go. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Come on! Come on. 10, 11. Go, go, go go!

COSTELLO: Just moments later, the 18-ton bus moves across a parking lot, into a car, lifts into the air, and is thrown into a diner. A picture that will never be forgotten in the city of Henryville, the bus is now inside the restaurant. What also will not be forgotten are the lives saved from the quick thinking of that heroic bus driver.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I just -- it's just amazing. Just to give you an idea of what it took to move that bus across the parking lot, the tornado was an EF4 with winds of up to 175 miles per hour. And it was one of two that struck Henryville that day.

This morning we're hearing from a person who claims to have witnessed the deadly shooting that has sparked nationwide outrage because all the passion swirling around the death of that Florida teenager, Trayvon Martin, the self-described witness does not want to be identified.

Not even by gender. But this person spoke exclusively to Anderson Cooper last night, and described the scuffle with George Zimmerman and ultimately the fatal gunshot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN'S "AC 360": Were you able to observe who was on top, who was on bottom? Were you able to see faces or any details of the people scuffling?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Just that it was -- that it was dark. I mean, the only reason I could say if I would have to say who you think it was, I would have to say only the larger man because after the larger man got off, then there was a boy, obviously now dead, on the ground facing down.

COOPER: What did you observe after the shot?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was dark. But after the shot, obviously someone -- a man got up. And it was kind of like that period of him -- I can't say I actually watched him get up, but maybe only within like a couple of seconds or so, then he was walking towards where I was watching. And I could see him a little bit clearer. And see that it was a Hispanic man, and he was, you know, he didn't appear hurt or anything else. He just kind of seemed very, you know, worried or whatever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Also for the first time, we're hearing from George Zimmerman's brother. He tells us that his medical records will back up his brother's claims that he was injured in that fight. Martin Savidge is in Sanford, Florida. Tell us what Robert Zimmerman Jr. had to say, Martin.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right. You know, the day before it was the father that spoke out on George Zimmerman's behalf. Now it's the older brother that is speaking out.

In both cases, they paint a very dire, a very desperate fight taking place between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. Here's how it was described last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN JR., GEORGE ZIMMERMAN'S BROTHER: When you say have a bag of Skittles and an iced tea, nobody just stood there with a bag of Skittles and an iced tea. You return force with force when somebody assaults you.

George was out of breath. He was barely conscious. His last thing he remembers doing was moving his head from the concrete to the grass so that if he was banged one more time he wouldn't be, you know, wearing diapers for the rest of his life and being spoon fed by his brother. And there would have been George dead had he not acted decisively and instantaneously in that in that moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: Now I will try to balance that very dramatic description with of course the video that we saw, which was of George Zimmerman about half an hour after that struggle in the police station again, the wounds not obviously visible in that video. The family says he had been cleaned up by paramedics -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Martin Savidge reporting live for us from Sanford, Florida.

Also join us tonight for a CNN special event. Soledad O'Brien hosting a town hall meeting about how this tragedy became a nationwide story. What does it say about racial tension in our country? Don't miss "Beyond Trayvon: Race and Justice in America" tonight at 8:00 Eastern on CNN.

The Obama campaign is reportedly studying its supporters online, making note of a lot of their activities. Find out why they are gathering the personal information and what they're doing with it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Mitt Romney must be pretty darn happy this morning. He scored another key endorsement, this one from Congressman Paul Ryan. Ryan is a Tea Party favorite. He helped craft the GOP budget bill that passed the House yesterday. Here's what Ryan told Fox News this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE PAUL RYAN (R), WISCONSIN: I have two criteria I am using to make my decision in our primary on Tuesday. Who is the best person to be president, who will make the best president and who has the best chance of defeating Barack Obama? In my opinion, Mitt Romney is clearly that person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Wisconsin congressman's endorsement comes just before that state's primary on Tuesday, and by the way, Romney leads Rick Santorum by seven percentage points in the latest poll there.

President Obama's campaign is trying to boost its support by reportedly building up an enormous database containing all kinds of information about supporters and potential supporters.

Everything from individual donation records to someone's interaction online with the campaign. Lois Beckett is a reporter for "Propublica." She wrote an article about this and she joins us live this morning. Welcome, Lois.

LOIS BECKETT, REPORTER, PROPUBLICA: Great to be here, Carol.

COSTELLO: So tell us what kind of information, exactly what kind of information, is being gathered by the Obama campaign.

BECKETT: We don't know what information they're gathering because they won't tell us what they're doing. If you sign up for emails on the Obama campaign web site, you're just going to be entering in your email and zip code.

So you might think that's all the campaign actually has on you. But in fact if you look at the Obama privacy policy, you'll see that there are a lot of other things that they might be collecting on you.

Everything from how you interact with the campaign web site, so what pages you click on, what topics interest you, if you visit the health care page or the foreign policy page. That might be saved and put into a database with your name so they know what interests you.

Do you log into the Obama web site with your Facebook profile? That gives the campaign access not only to your name and your gender and your location, but also a whole list of your friends and any other information you make public.

We don't know how that's being linked into the database. There's also a lot of other marketing information that campaigns can buy. We don't know what if any of that information Obama is collecting and integrating into their database.

COSTELLO: I was just going to ask you. So how might the campaign be using this information?

BECKETT: So one of the things that we did is earlier this month, we collected almost 200 different campaign emails from across the country. We just asked users to submit them.

And we analyzed them and found that there were six different versions of these emails going out to different people. And we don't know to what extent these different versions were going to different people based on gender, their location.

It seemed they were targeting people and asking for different amounts of money based on the donations that people have given previously.

COSTELLO: So why is this a bad thing or a good thing? I mean, like it sounds creepy, but tell me why.

BECKETT: So that's a really interesting question. People have totally different reactions to this. One of the comments on my article actually was someone on Facebook posting and saying, Obama can know anything about me except for my Facebook password. Anything else I'm comfortable with.

But some people think it's really creepy. It's unclear what boundaries the campaign has. For instance, we don't know where they draw the line in terms of what information they will use to target particular messages and what information they won't.

A lot of privacy experts are worried about personal information, information about health care information you're searching about, for instance.

Vulnerable things, personal things that people might not want to be targeted on. And we don't know where the campaign draws the line because they haven't told us.

COSTELLO: And you have reached out to the Obama campaign, and no response?

BECKETT: They have said certain very minimal things. For instance, I asked them on barackobama.com right now, there's a health care interactive where you can find out how Obama care has benefited you.

And I asked them, are you tracking how individual people are clicking through and what they are telling you about their health care? And they said no, they are not.

So, you know, it's possible that they have a policy about that, but we don't know. The line for all campaigns about this is, if we tell you what data we are collecting that gives an advantage to our opponents.

So we don't want to talk about it, but that means that voters are really in the dark.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Lois, thank you so much for filling us in. It's fascinating. Thank you so much.

BECKETT: Of course.

COSTELLO: The final four celebrates what's best in college basketball, but not always what's best in the college classroom. Coming up, a champion who didn't make the grade.

And what do you do when the ground literally falls out from under you? These Michigan firefighters answered that question on camera and quick thinking saved the day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: March Madness hitting a fever pitch in New Orleans Saturday with the final four teams facing off. Kansas and Ohio State will be playing in one semifinal.

The other game is really splitting the commonwealth of Kentucky. Louisville plays the University of Kentucky. Carlos Diaz is in New Orleans. Carlos, Kentucky is the only top seed left. Their fans not only want a title though, they expect one.

CARLOS DIAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They are expected to win because they have won seven times in the past seven national championships for Kentucky.

But it's been 14 years since their last national championship, and the Kentucky players will tell you, there's no pro team in the state of Kentucky so all the pressure is on them this weekend to satisfy their wild fans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUIS TEAGUE, KENTUCKY GUARD: From day one, you know, they screaming at you, we want it. They love basketball in Kentucky. We know it's really important to them.

JOHN CALIPARI, KENTUCKY HEAD COACH: You're supposed to win every game by 25 and if you win by 15, what's the issue? What's going on with our program?

JERRY TIPTON, LEXINGTON HERALD: They're supposed to be a contender, they are supposed to get all the good players, and the games are not supposed to be a competition as much as a display of how good Kentucky basketball is.

CALIPARI: They're crazy. They watch the game tapes three times. I don't watch the game tapes three times, but that's coaching and playing at Kentucky. It's a little different, let me just say that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAZ: The only thing crazier than the Kentucky fans down here is the environment of New Orleans. Carol, we went and saw a tarot card reader last night, and he read our cards and told us that Kentucky will play Kansas in the final game on Monday, which is bad news for you, Carol, because I understand you're a big Ohio State fan.

COSTELLO: That is so clearly wrong. I have Ohio State going all the way. There has to be some love in New Orleans for the Buckeyes.

DIAZ: There is actually. Let me tell you this. I see you wearing the Ohio State colors so I'll tell you this. Ohio State has the home-court advantage. Because the court was actually painted and detailed in the State of Ohio.

So Buckeyes and Buckeye fans were the ones who painted the court Kelly Green, so there you go. There is your Ohio State nugget, if you will.

COSTELLO: My people are smart and crafty. Thank you so much, Carlos. That was fun.

Saturday's winners in New Orleans will move on to Monday night's game, where a champion will be crowned. Last year's champ, UConn, excelled on the court but not exactly in the classroom and now the Huskies are paying the price. Drew Griffin has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it came down to the big dance last year, the University of Connecticut men's basketball team was the big winner, national champs. Nationally praised.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And congratulations to the huskies.

GRIFFIN: Standing behind President Obama alongside the team and the coach was the University of Connecticut's new president, Susan Herbst. She knew the championship smiles were hiding a huge failure.

UConn may have been the best basketball team in the land, but in the classroom, they were darn near the worst. Just 25 percent of UConn's men's basketball team players graduate within six years.

And if you break it down racially, a black player's chances of graduating from UConn is just 14 percent. Under new rules instituted by the NCAA, UConn, the 2011 men's basketball champs, will be banned from postseason play next year, banned because of its terrible record graduating basketball players.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's plenty of blame to go around at least in our men's basketball program.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: OK, Drew Griffin is joining us live. She says there's plenty of blame to go around, but who should our finger be pointing at? GRIFFIN: You know, I pointed at the coach in our report because he is the person closest to the team. The president pointed at the whole entire school, which needs to cultivate these players, make sure they are in class. And they are doing things better at UConn and at other schools too, primarily because they are facing this ban next year.

COSTELLO: When you say they are doing things better, what are they doing better? Like making the kids go to class?

GRIFFIN: Making the kids go to class. It's that simple.

COSTELLO: Come on.

GRIFFIN: That's what I don't get. But, Carol, there is blame to go around in all aspects. And I think the big of the problem in college basketball is, coaches get judged by who wins on the court. So they are recruiting basketball players. They are not --

COSTELLO: They get bonuses based on how many times they win.

GRIFFIN: That's exactly right. So they are not recruiting students. And in our report, you will meet a student who went to UConn and had no intention of going to class. His only goal was to go to the NBA. He is now without a degree, sitting at home.

COSTELLO: Which is a tragedy for that young man, because, you know, there's this thought that these basketball players in college should be paid. If you're going to hire them, just to play a good game of basketball, why not pay them? Why be hypocritical about it?

GRIFFIN: Well, there's a lot of discussion. Maybe there be should be played in a minor league and leave the student athlete to be a student at the school and go to class and get a degree, if they want one.

A lot of discussion, but this NCAA rule, if you do not graduate at least 50 percent, that's the high bar, 50 percent in four years average, you are not going to play in the NCAA tournament and that is a wake-up call.

COSTELLO: It certainly is. Drew, thank you. You can see all of Drew's reporting on the dismal graduation rates in the NCAA tournament. It's part of a brand-new CNN Presents that airs Sunday night at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Mitt Romney picked up the endorsement of a former president. George H.W. bush threw his support behind the Republican candidate, but the conversation quickly turned to George W. So will we see George W. Bush surface in 2012? Our "Political Buzz" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking our top stories now, could this be your last day as a working stiff? Millions of Americans are hoping it is. They hold tickets for the Mega Millions record jackpot of $540 million. The drawing is tonight. And across the country, ticket sales are likely to push that jackpot amount even higher. Your odds of winning, I'm not even going to tell you.

New surveillance video shows us what happened moments before a bus driver and her kids escaped a terrifying tornado.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: Go, go, go, go, go, go. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Come on! Come on. 10, 11. Go, go, go, go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The F4 twister flattened Henryville, Indiana, earlier this month. The bus driver is hailed as a hero.

A pilot's meltdown forced Tuesday's emergency landing of a JetBlue flight. Now investigators are combing through the information contained in the flight data and cockpit voice recorders for clues to exactly what happened. NTSB officials say they'll turn over any discoveries to the FBI.

"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, Goldie Taylor, political analyst and editor of the Goldie Taylor Project, she's on the left; Sam Seder, host of the Majority Report is holding down the middle; and on the right is Georgetown University Professor Chris Metzler. Welcome to all of you.

CHRIS METZLER, PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Thank you.

GOLDIE TAYLOR, POLITICAL ANALYST AND EDITOR, GOLDIE TAYLOR PROJECT: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

First question, the President gave his -- this big speech in the Rose Garden about he wanted -- about how he wanted to kill tax breaks for big oil. And then 2.3 seconds later, the Senate blocked the President's efforts to end those tax breaks. Voters are tired. Why bother? Chris?

METZLER: Well, why bother is because from the Republican perspective, the issue here is about tax increases. Listen, if what you do is end up ending the subsidies on oil, what you essentially will do is result in a tax increase.

And so as a result of that, if you want to talk about subsidies, define exactly what subsidies are. If you want to get rid of the research and development subsidies, for example, get rid of that. But at the end of the day, the oil companies are simply going to pass that on to consumers resulting in a net tax increase.

COSTELLO: Goldie? TAYLOR: Tax increase on who? This is a subsidy. This is the very corporate welfare that people are railing about. I mean if, you know, you are a tried and true conservative and you want, you know, government out of the way of business, then let's get them out of the way of the business. I don't understand why, you know, it is so gosh darn, you know -- such a big problem to pull money out of big oil, you know, when wages are declining for everyday Americans.

COSTELLO: Sam?

SAM SEDER, HOST, THE MAJORITY REPORT: Well, why bother? I guess maybe President Obama thought the entire Republican caucus was going on a field trip or something and they -- they'd be able to end these bailouts for the big oil companies. But I guess to no avail.

COSTELLO: You're right about that.

Second question, Tom Harkin the Democrat from Iowa wants to raise the minimum wage 35 percent over two years from $7.25 to $9.80. Should we start laughing now or does he have a prayer? Goldie?

TAYLOR: Fat chance. I mean, you know, certainly wages have been depressed over recent years with this economic downturn and certainly productivity is up by American workers. But when you look at raising the minimum wage in this climate, I just don't see it happening. You'd have to have control by Democrats of both the House and Senate and the White House. Don't know if that's going to happen this fall.

I think that, you know, the pressure on small business, you know, to raise minimum wage is just going to be too tough in this climate.

COSTELLO: Sam?

SEDER: Well, I'm going to start laughing because I don't think there's anything funnier than an entire roomful of millionaires denying the working poor an extra couple of bucks an hour. So I'm just going to be laughing.

COSTELLO: Chris?

METZLER: Well, I actually have a solution relative to the minimum wage increase. Actually, I think a lot of the fact that Congress really does nothing, perhaps what we can do is Congress can be a volunteer Congress, take that money that it would have otherwise been paid and use that money to actually raise the minimum wage. There is a solution for you.

But the fact of the matter is, I don't think that it's going to happen at this point. Not the time for it to happen, especially not such a dramatic increase.

COSTELLO: Ok. Third question, your "Buzzer Beater", 20 seconds each. A lovely warm moment between Mitt Romney and George H.W. and Barbara Bush when Romney was asked if H.W.'s son George had endorsed Romney. Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I haven't met with President George W. Bush. We speak from time to time.

GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Has he endorsed you?

ROMNEY: No, no.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll talk about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: We are digging President Bush's socks. I like them. But I digress. We haven't seen very much of Bush 2. Will we see him in 2012? Goldie?

TAYLOR: You know, I think it's really pretty doubtful at least until this primary season is over and we get on to the general election. I think, you know, Mitt Romney has really been the king of endorsements that just don't matter. There have been several in recent days. And none of them are going to help him tamp down what's happening with Santorum today.

COSTELLO: Chris?

METZLER: Well, I mean, you know, W is his own guy. He is the decider. So I don't think that you're going to see him at this point. The only issue with endorsements really is endorsements matter only if you are going to give money, if you're going to give organization, if you're going to give that kind of support.

So from the standpoint of W, I don't think we're going to see him until after this is all over. I wish we would. I'm kind of yearning for him. Not going to see him.

COSTELLO: Oh, Sam.

SEDER: Well, you've got to feel bad for Mitt. I mean, he's -- he's endorsed by the father who was voted out because he was out of touch with regular voters and can't get the endorsement of the guy who presided over the -- the financial crisis. So that's a -- that's a tough place to be for Mitt.

COSTELLO: Goldie, Sam, Chris, thanks for playing today.

METZLER: Thanks.

TAYLOR: Thanks for having me.

SEDER: Thank you.

COSTELLO: If you find yourself on top of a burning building, how much worse can things get? Well, much worse as it turns out. Just ask these three Michigan firefighters who scrambled to survive this terrifying ordeal.

And a dollar a ticket for a chance at a record lottery jackpot. Are you willing to spend another buck to maybe get an advantage? There's an App for that. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is time for the big dance. The NCAA final four weekend is finally here. And we're preparing for our annual big dance concert series. Kiss, Kid Rock, Jimmy Buffett just to name a few of music's biggest names performing this year. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host A.J. Hammer is in New Orleans for the party. Hi, A.J.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Hi there, Carol. Yes and to be clear, this is not just some concert that's going on with a big sports event. This is one of the biggest free music festivals in the country. The big dance concert series here at the final four weekend.

And Kiss, as you mentioned, firing everything up tonight. I can't think of a better party band quite frankly to kick off one of the biggest parties in the country this time of year.

Kiss, by the way is going to be on tour with Motley Crue this summer. This guys hadn't performed together on stage on a tour since like 1982. So for fans, it's going to be pretty cool to see a little preview of what Kiss will be bringing to their tour this summer.

And Jimmy Buffett is going to be here on Sunday. And, I must tell you Carol, as a part-time parrot head, I am particularly looking forward to hanging out with the great Jimmy Buffett. I actually have exclusive access to many of the artists who are going to be here this weekend, all of which you'll be able to see on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT". But me and Buffett are going to be hanging out in Margaritaville.

COSTELLO: Oh, that sounds fabulous.

Let's talk about this Forbes list. It's , a list of overexposed celebrities. Who's on it?

HAMMER: Who's on it? You know, I think everybody when you just asked me that Carol said in their mind, well, it's got to be Kim Kardashian at the top, and indeed Kim does top the list of the most overexposed celebrities according to "Forbes" magazine. Rounding out the top five as you see, Lindsay Lohan, Snooki from "Jersey Shore", the Octomom, Paris Hilton. They're still hanging around.

You know, a decade ago, being overexposed as a celebrity was kind of the kiss of death. These days, it works for them. Kim overexposed as she is raked in somewhere in the neighborhood reportedly of around $12 million last year. And that does not necessarily include money she may or may not have made from her 72-day marriage.

But also on the list, her sisters Kourtney and Kim (SIC) at numbers eight and 10. Reality stars just really need the overexposure. They depend on it to keep the money coming in to their bank accounts, Carol. It is just the new reality these days.

COSTELLO: Although you could argue Paris Hilton, we don't hear much about her. I don't think the media is very much interested in anything she does anymore.

HAMMER: No.

COSTELLO: So maybe overexposure is good in the short-term but not the long?

HAMMER: Yes. I think that would definitely be the case. And it is interesting for me to still see Paris Hilton and Octomom on this particular list, but Paris, you know, we had encouraged her for a long time Paris, why don't you lay low for a while and maybe things will be brighter for you in the future. And I think she is succeeding at least in the laying low part right now.

COSTELLO: Octomom. I don't even want to mention what's out there now about her, because it's too disgusting.

HAMMER: Yes.

COSTELLO: A.J. thank you.

HAMMER: More exposure.

COSTELLO: Very much more exposure. Thank you very much, A.J.

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

There is talk that Augusta National may open the doors to its first female member. Coming up, we're going to talk to a woman who tried to break the gender barrier a couple of years ago. She didn't do it this time. Or she didn't do that that time. But maybe she has a few ideas about how to do it this time. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Could the impossible happen? No, not you winning the lottery, but Augusta National Golf Club admitting a member who can wear a skirt and heels. This woman could be the first. She is Ginny Rometty. She is chairman of IBM. IBM is one of the sponsors of the Augusta Masters and its CEO has traditionally received a membership. But will this tradition override the male only members tradition?

Martha Burk sought to break Augusta National's gender barrier in 2003. She's also the author of "Your Voice, Your Vote" and she's in Washington this morning. Good morning.

MARTHA BURK, AUTHOR, "YOUR VOICE, YOUR VOTE": Good morning.

COSTELLO: Ok. So this is pretty simple. There are three sponsors of the Augusta tournament, golf tournament right? And the three corporate sponsors, their CEOs usually get a membership to the Augusta Country Club. So you would assume they would give a membership to this female CEO. Do you think it will happen?

BURK: I don't know. But I fear what will happen is that they will try to work out some sham solution with the company. The company has a huge responsibility here not to undermine its first female CEO. And if they accept anything less than a full membership, or resign their sponsorship, which is another option, they're going to undermine their new CEO, and they'll be making a statement that they don't consider her an equal to her predecessors.

COSTELLO: This puts IBM in a tough place too, because, you know, Augusta National said, we don't really want your CEO in our club, that puts IBM in kind of a tough spot, you know, publicity-wise.

Burk: Well, it does put IBM in a tough spot, but it's of their own making. They have had nine years to help this club come into the 21st century. They've done nothing about it. Now they are both in a bind.

There's only one way to solve this -- well, there are two. IBM can pull out and say we want nothing else to do with this, these are not the values of our company. Or the club can relent and say we welcome women as members. Those are the only two options that are viable that are going to wash with the public.

COSTELLO: Well, I know, but you said that Augusta could work out this temporary thing and like just this one time, we'll let a woman in because she just happens to be CEO of IBM, which is one of our sponsors.

Burk: They could do that, but I think that is putting the company at great risk of, as I said, undermining the credibility of their new CEO and the credibility of their board. I wouldn't put this on the CEO to do. It is the board of directors' responsibility. Samuel Palmisano, who is a member of the club, has a great responsibility as chairman of IBM, and they need to just step up and do the right thing and get this over with.

COSTELLO: You tried so hard a few years back to get women admitted to the Augusta Country Club. Didn't succeed.

BURK: Right.

COSTELLO: So is it something that has left you bitter?

BURK: Not at all. We did raise the issue. You know, if we had not done that, this wouldn't be on the table now. They would be doing some quiet little accommodation that didn't mean anything. But we brought it to the public. And whether it's now or 100 years from now, the United States women's movement is going to get credit for this deservedly so.

COSTELLO: Martha Burk, thank you for joining us this morning.

Burk: Thank you so much.

COSTELLO: We did reach out to Augusta National. They told us, quote, "The club does not wish to participate and won't be offering a statement at this time."

Lottery fever sweeps the nation as millions of Americans chase a record jackpot. Could your Smartphone be the key to new riches? Some new apps say history could decide the new winner.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The clock is ticking. The jackpot is growing. The Mega Millions jackpot is setting a new lottery record, $540 million and counting. The drawing set to take place just over 12 hours from now in each and every hour. Millions more tickets are being sold, so the jackpot may be bigger. Your chance of winning, well, let's just say you're more likely to be killed by a meteorite, but you know that.

But with the odds that steep, everyone wants an edge. There's an app for that. Oh, yes there is. Karen Kafa fired up her Smartphone and went looking for some help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREN KAFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Up, up, and away went the Mega Millions jackpot, moving past the $500 million mark for Friday's drawing, sending 42 states and the nation's capital into a frenzy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to be a millionaire.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll be partying like a rock star.

KAFA: Those who play regularly have a strategy for big jackpots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always play the same numbers. I'm not going to say what they are.

KAFA: But for those who don't, there are apps that say they'll steer you in a winning direction. The 99-Cent Lotto Pro app for Android and iPhone says it tracks trends from previous drawings and generates picks for you based on those results.

The Lotto Picks app lets you review results of state drawings plus the bigger contests to see which numbers have come up most often, and can also randomly choose numbers for you.

An unofficial iPhone app devoted solely to Mega Millions lets you store your previous digits, so you know which ones didn't straight it rich in the past.

But a lottery at its very core is a numbers game, and no matter how you choose them, the odds are against all of us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the odds are pretty slim.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wish we would teach people about ratios and statistics. It's really horrible just for math.

KAFA: They're not pessimists. They are realists. The chances of you or your phone hitting all six numbers in a Mega Millions drawing are about one in 176 million.

Karen Kafa, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: But if you don't play, you have zero chance.

Ok. Time for your "Daily Dose" of health news. New government numbers show an alarming increase at how many children are being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder; up nearly 80 percent in the past decade. In 2000 and 2003, the estimate was one in every 150 children. Two years later, that number was 1 in 125. In 2006, the number was 1 in 110. And the latest data from 2008 suggests one in 88 children have autism.

The CDC is working with the Academy of American Pediatrics recommending children be screened for autism at ages 18 months and 24 months.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The economy may be recovering, but millions of people are still struggling to make ends meet. Now one lawmaker says he wants to help with a huge hike at the minimum wage. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. So how big is it going to be?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It would be a big, big boost if this thing gets through Congress. Right now the federal minimum wage, Carol is sitting at $7.25 an hour. What this proposal looks to do is raise it to $9.80. That's huge. That's a 35 percent jump in pay. So if you have an annual salary of $15,000, it would go to $20,000. And at $5,000, that's really a big difference if you work for minimum wage.

This proposal is coming from Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, he's a Democrat. He unveiled the plan yesterday. Also he wants to peg it to inflation. So that means if inflation or your cost of living rises, so will minimum wage. Right now, only Congress can raise the minimum wage, and that hasn't been done since 2009 which was under President George W. Bush -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And since, you know it's kind of partisan in Washington these days, what's the likelihood of this passing?

KOSIK: You think?

COSTELLO: Yes.

KOSIK: Just a little bit.

Yes, good luck. I'll say good luck to Tom Harkin in trying to get this thing passed. You know expect it to face a huge fight in a Republican Controlled house, because quite frankly the increase is huge. It would wind up hurting employers. It could raise their costs. And some businesses, they may not be able to afford the increase, so they may not hire or they could lay people off so people may wind up seeing this as counterproductive -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Allison Kosik from the New York Stock Exchange.

Checking stories Cross country now, a motorcyclist escapes disaster in San Antonio and it's all caught on camera. A car, you see it there, loses control and swerves towards the biker on the left. The rider, the biker, did not panic. He hit the throttle and coolly accelerated out of that sticky situation.

Another narrow escape for firefighters in Michigan also caught on camera. These three guys were on the roof of a burning building. They were trying to ventilate it. The roof collapsed, forcing them to scramble for their lives. All three escaped serious injury. Wow.

And a tractor-trailer gets into an accident and spills loads of money, $5 million worth of coins, rolled from the truck after it crashed on a Canadian highway. It would all be fun and games except that two people involved in the resulting collisions suffered life- threatening injuries.

NEWSROOM continues right now with Kyra Phillips.