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Teen's Parents Make Federal Request; U.S. Promises Aid to Syria Opposition; Judge Throws Out Terrorist Charges Against Militia; Belfast, Ireland Opens "Titanic" Museum; Historic Election in Myanmar; Russian Fisherman Rescue from Freezing Ocean; Tiger Wins Ahead of Masters, Currently under Pressure to Allow Woman in the Club

Aired April 01, 2012 - 18:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us.

Every day, the killing of an unarmed teenager in Florida seems to arise to a whole new level. And as we go on the air tonight, Trayvon Martin's parents are preparing to take their case all the way to the Justice Department.

CNN's Martin Savidge is in Sanford, Florida, for us tonight, the city where the unarmed teenager was shot and killed by a volunteer neighborhood watchman.

Marty, much of this case is centered on how the police handled that situation. What are the teen's parents asking for?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, this all goes back to last week, when reports began to surface that the lead investigator for the Sanford Police Department on the night of the shooting of Trayvon Martin apparently felt that he doubted the story of George Zimmerman. In fact, what he wanted to do, according to published reports, was actually charge him either with negligent homicide or with manslaughter. You even see those accounts on the initial police report. However, he was overruled essentially by the state attorney's office and specifically a man by the name of Norman Wolfinger.

Well, this has raised real question marks in the family's mind. You know, why if the lead investigator doubted the story does the state attorney go ahead and say, no, you can't arrest George Zimmerman? And we know he has not been arrested since.

So, this is what they're worried about. This is why they want an independent investigation and they want it down on the federal level. They're going to ask for that tomorrow, Don.

LEMON: So, listen, I understand that Trayvon Martin's parents are attending the rally in the teen's home town, in Miami, right now. And we are hearing from them, Marty. We're going to play it for our viewers in just a few minutes here.

What are they hoping to accomplish just with this rally, and all of these rallies that are going on?

SAVIDGE: Well, keep in mind, of course, this is Trayvon's hometown for one. So, that's one of the reasons they have a large turnout.

But they want to keep the pressure. You know, this has been organized again by the Reverend Jesse Jackson, by the Reverend Al Sharpton, by political leaders down there. And the idea is that they want the public to maintain the pressure on state officials here in Florida because what they want, of course, is to se George Zimmerman arrested. This they say is important to begin the process of justice. So, they hope by these public demonstrations, they will continue to keep trying to leverage the state of Florida to make the arrest which they say is so important -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Martin Savidge, thank you very much. And as I said to our viewers, in about 15 minutes here on CNN, we're going to hear from Sybrina Fulton and also Tracy Martin, the mother and father of Trayvon Martin, in Miami today.

Trayvon Martin has become a household name but have you heard of Kendrec McDade? He's another armed African-American teen shot to death, sparking outrage in Pasadena, California. Yesterday, the police chief led a town hall meeting to respond to questions about the killing on March 24the. Two officers opened fire on McDade after a 911 caller said robbers had put a gun to his face and taken his laptop.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DISPATCH: What are you reporting?

CALLER: Two guys just stole my backpack ands put a gun in my face right now.

DISPATCH: Did they have any weapons?

CALLER: Yes, they have a gun.

DISPATCH: And they took your backpack?

CALLER: Yes.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, police say officers fired when McDade reached toward his waistband, but no weapon was found on McDade. Police learned the caller lied about the men having a gun and -- to get a faster response. People at the town hall said it only raised more questions for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN GORDON, PASADENA COMMUNITY COALITION: How could you look out and say, oh, gosh, I'm going shoot this guy and I don't say halt, I don't say stop, I don't say -- I don't do any of the things, you know? You watch the cop shows. And the point is, there are still more questions to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Pasadena police have charged the caller Oscar Carrillo with involuntary manslaughter.

The U.S. is promising to nearly double in funding for the opposition forces in Syria. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was among the world leaders meeting in Istanbul today to deal with the ongoing violence. She told CNN she sees some progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think the sanctions are beginning to have an effect. But we have to do more to implement them. And that's why we formed the sanctions committee today and the United States will be working with the Arab countries, the European countries, North African and others, to have them understand the most effective way to implement sanctions because as one of them said to me, the Americans have a lot of experience in doing sanctions. We don't.

So, we are making progress. Also, the individual sanctions, you know, the travel bans, the visa bans -- the kinds of direct personal sanctions are beginning to really wake people up. They're looking around thinking for the rest of my life I'm only going to be able maybe to go to Iran. That doesn't sound like a great idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, there is no break in the relentless shelling in the city of Homs. The opposition says it can't hold up forever. It seems it needs money to support the rebel army.

GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney says he is confident heading into Tuesday's primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. But his challengers say they're not going away.

Rick Santorum is forging ahead despite the long odd he faces in the race for the Republican delegates. Today, Santorum disputed claims that his continued campaign might hurt the party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Four years ago, we had a nominee in March. How did that work out for us? We didn't have the right nominee.

he Democrats went into the middle of the summer, fighting it out, slogging it out. The Democratic establishment was saying the same thing, oh, we got to end this. It's going to hurt us, it's going to hurt. No, it doesn't. What hurts us is not getting the right candidate.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Newt Gingrich has done similar notes in his stops across Wisconsin, even though he has cut spending and staff and even cut back on his criticism of Mitt Romney. Gingrich is vowing to launch a come back that he compares to Kansas in the Final Four.

Meantime, Mitt Romney is crossing along. Today, he picked up an endorsement of a Wisconsin newspaper that usually backs Democrats. "The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" called Romney the clear choice in what it described as an uninspired and now dwindling field.

Vice President Joe Biden is standing by his boss for his hot microphone moment this week. President Obama was overheard telling Russia's president that he'll have more flexibility on missile defense, quote, "after my election." Well, the vice president defended that statement today, saying it should come as no surprise that nobody -- come as a surprise to nobody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And, by the way, I know a little bit about unguarded moments with microphones. But, look, the president just stated the obvious. The idea that in this election year we're going to be able to deal with an agreement with the Russians on further reducing our nuclear arsenals in the environment that we have in the United States Congress now is difficult. And what the president was doing is stating the obvious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: More politics, we'll discuss straight ahead.

Plus this, the president's health care reform plan may need some legal first aid after the beating it took at the Supreme Court. We're going to talk object that and revisit the Trayvon Martin case next with Will Cain and L.Z. Granderson.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: After hearing the questions posed by Supreme Court justices this week, a lot of court watchers think President Obama's health care reform law is in serious legal jeopardy.

So, let's talk about it now with CNN contributor Will Cain and CNN.com contributor L.Z. Granderson, also a senior writer for ESPN. We got get your shorter intro, L.Z.

OK. So, you two, CNN's Jeffrey Toobin came out of the hearing this week and said that he thinks the individual mandate is gone. It will be thrown out of court. He said -- what did he say to me? He said, this is in a train wreck, he said it was a plane crash that was going on in court.

OK. So, is he right? Does this mean that the entire reform law is toast, Will, you think?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I don't know if I can go as far as Jeff has there. Just because the judge has asked very some tough questions, some very tough questions, doesn't necessarily mean we know how they will vote. That being said, they continued to ask the government over and over and over, what is your limiting principle. Essentially, the answer to the question, if Congress can do this, what can't it do?

And the solicitor general in the Obama administration, the government in general has been unable to answer that question. If you cannot answer that question, the Supreme Court is going to have big problems extending, you know, Congress' constitutional powers over forcing people to buy insurance.

LEMON: Will, you can follow up on that, but I'm going to ask you this question and add more if you want. James Carville says if the health care law is tossed by the high court, that that will be good for Democrats. Is he just laying the groundwork in case of a legal defeat here?

CAIN: Is that me or L.Z.?

LEMON: L.Z.

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, is it me? Oh, OK. Well, I don't think that he's just blowing smoke there. I think, you know, the president is in a unique position which he can spin whatever verdict comes out of June for his positive if he gets ahead of the message.

Now, if the Supreme Court obviously upholds the law, then it looks like a plus for him. But if they strike it down, then he's able to go back to his voting base. He's able to go back to independents and say, I tried to make sure that I covered x number of millions who weren't insured and the Republicans stopped it and they threw it all the way of the Supreme Court and all the conservative on the Supreme Court, stopped people from having insurance.

So, I think he can spin this for a political positive. But I don't think if it fails, I don't think it's good for Americans, but it's good for Democrats politically.

LEMON: So, you think they can spin it even if they say no, you think that, L.Z., that they can spin this?

GRANDERSON: Absolutely. Absolutely.

CAIN: Yes, I don't think so.

GRANDERSON: I mean, you can go in front of a crowd. You can go in front of a crowd to say I tried to do this to help Americans without insurance. And everyone who has insurance stop you. The Supreme Court who have federal insurance, they all stop you. The Republicans in the Congress, they all have insurance, they stop you.

They are the reasons why you cannot get covered. They are the reason why if you had a pre-existing condition, your insurance company can still boot you off. They're the reason why. Yes, you can definitely spin that, if you get ahead of the message.

LEMON: Will, that's not a compelling argument? I mean, I think if you do have a preexisting condition and you are in need of health care, that may be a compelling argument to some people.

CAIN: Well, you can try. You can try to spin that. I think that's definitely James Carville is doing. He's spinning it so fast.

But I think that's not going to outweigh the message that the president's signature legislation, his legacy legislation, the one he has hung his hat on, has been deemed by the Supreme Court of the United States to be so far outside the purview of American governmental power that it is unconstitutional. I think that will weigh much more heavily.

LEMON: OK. Let's move on and talk some Republican politics now.

Romney predicting a win in Tuesday -- Tuesday in Wisconsin. He is lapping the field in the delegate count. He is picking up endorsement.

And if you watch any of the major news networks and you see the people from the Republicans conservatives, they are all saying it's time. Most of them are saying it's time to get behind Romney, it's time to get behind Romney.

The question is, Gingrich, Santorum, does it look like they are becoming a side show? Who wants to go first? Raise your head.

Go ahead, Will.

GRANDERSON: They have been a side show.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Go ahead, Will.

CAIN: There it is. L.Z. has got it. He's just nailed it. I mean, they have been a side show for quite a while now. This thing mathematically has been absolutely over, 10-count.

And if Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich can't do the math -- in Rick Santorum's case, he has his own math -- I mean, I can't help them out here. Yes, they turned into a side show.

LEMON: My gosh, that beer summit last weekend must have worked. You guys are so cordial. I have to -- I must have separate -- I had to separate you two at an event earlier this week. You started fighting in front of a crowd. How embarrassing for me.

CAIN: Don't lie to the --

(LAUGHTER)

CAIN: You're lying to the folks. We're all friends. LEMON: Yes. Anyway, listen, I want you to sit tight because this is a very serious subject that we're going to talk about, because we were in the news for -- we made news this last week about this conversation. I think a very important topic and one that a lot of Americans are having, including you two. You have very strong opinions about the Trayvon Martin case.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAIN: There is still a moment in this time line, in this case where George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin were face to face. What happened at that moment? Was George Zimmerman attacked? Does he have a legitimate claim to self defense? Obviously, that's what he contends.

GRANDERSON: Will, you cannot tell me you thought that skinny 17-year- old boy was going kill without a weapon that big grown man. That is an absolutely ridiculous stance to take. I hear what you're saying about all of the facts, but if you just look at the physicality of it all. That's a ridiculous argument --

LEMON: Let me jump in here.

(CROSSTALK)

CAIN: I don't understand why going slow sparks outrage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. Get ready. We're going revisit the Trayvon Martin case with Will and L.Z. You don't want to miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. You're looking at live pictures. Look at that rally in Miami, Florida. It's for Trayvon Martin. These are courtesy, these pictures courtesy of our affiliate WSVN.

Thousands of people expected to turn up at this rally. And Trayvon Martin's family -- his parents are there. As a matter of fact, they spoke just moments ago. His mother.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FULTON: We just wanted the public to know that he because regular teenager, that he was respectable and he was loved by his family and his friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The parents, according to our Martin Savidge, you heard Marty say they want to keep up the pressure and show a sign of solidarity among people in America and that's why they are holding this rally. This one is in Miami, Trayvon Martin's hometown. And they are taking their case tomorrow, preparing right now to take their case tomorrow to the Justice Department.

So, let's talk about this now. We are back now with CNN contributor Will Cain and CNN.com contributor L.Z. Granderson, also a senior writer for ESPN.

And I want to revisit last week's discussion among the three of us, as we all know. It was passionate. It was honest. It and got a lot of people talking. We spent the entire segment talking about Trayvon Martin.

But, in all honesty, we actually got away from the original question because people start getting so passionate and take these things personally. The question was, honestly, should the president be commenting on the case? And it sort of evolved into should media people or what-have-you -- I think, Will, you said I am not going to come on. But the original question was should the president comment.

I think that speaks to how passionate people have gotten about this. Why do you think that it moved into that direction? First Will and then L.Z.?

CAIN: Why do I think that this conversation moved in such passionate direction for the audience at large?

LEMON: Well -- and for the audience and at large and for you and for L.Z. and for me as well, because the original question, the original thing -- if you go back and look at the tape, it was: should the president have commented? And then it became sort of -- should media people, should I be drawing conclusions, should George Zimmerman, about George Zimmerman's guilt or innocence.

CAIN: Right.

LEMON: And it's just interesting I think that it sort of evolved into that. That's all I'm saying.

CAIN: Well, let me speak for myself and I'm going to L.Z. speak for himself on that. So, I'm not going to try to characterize both sides.

But I guess where my passion came from and where I am on this that I continue to kind of feel passionately about this every time I speak is that conclusions are elusive in this entire story for me. I just simply need a sufficient amount of facts to arrive at a conclusion. And I feel like this process of asking for more facts and for asking for evidence, simply the process of asking questions has somehow branded commentators or media personalities or people in general as something more than just someone seeking the truth.

I actually think, Don, this is characterized on this network on Friday night, when Piers Morgan and this guy Toure had a big conversation. And Toure accused Piers Morgan of all kinds of, you know, inappropriate behavior and media journalistic ethics because he simply continues to ask questions about this case, instead of so willingly arrive at a conclusion. And I guess that's how I started getting passionate. I just feel like that's not the job of people who are seeking truth.

LEMON: It's interesting because I have reached out yesterday to both Piers, both Toure, invited both of them on. And they both declined. They are very nice.

Piers and I had a long email conversation yesterday. I did a segment on it yesterday. He wasn't really happy about the segment turned out. And I told him I wasn't taking sides, I just, you know, putting it out there. I will let the commentators who after the segment -- I'll let it stand for what they said.

But I think you're right. I think it's interesting how there has been a divide from many people in this country. And I'm wondering it it's exposing something that's already there and why is it turning people into so emotional, L.Z. Go on. And again, back to the original thing was, the original question was, should the president have commented and it sort of evolved into what happened last week -- L.Z.

GRANDERSON: You know, for me, I think the reason why I got so passionate about it was just because, you know, as commentators, we comment on a lot of things which we're getting bits and pieces of facts. And we are asked to kind of make some sort of deductive reasoning from that.

You know, I joke with Will, shortly there after, is that, you know, you claimed not to speak of anything without having all of the facts, but you talked about Afghanistan having not ever been over there. You go based upon the information that you gather that's far. And as bit by bit, it might be a measured opinion, but you still have an opinion.

And for me, having been in this country my entire life as a black man, I come with a lot of additional facts that Will may not be privy to. I come with a lot of experiences what it's like to be racially profiled.

And so, you know, when I started commenting on what Trayvon Martin may have experienced, I came with that information as well. Some people may characterize it as baggage. I characterize it as special insight, if you will, as to what it's like to be a black man in this country. And so, I got -- I got passionate about it because I think so many times, we are such in a rush to discount race that we ignore the obvious.

And to me, it was pretty obvious that there was a certain degree of racial profiling happening just based upon the 911 tapes, based upon what George Zimmerman said himself. He did not describe anything suspicious about Trayvon. The only thing we know is that he recognized Trayvon as a young black mail and felt that he was up to no good. That's what I got from the 9/11 tapes. And based upon the information that I have, and what was on the tape, that's why I made the conclusion.

LEMON: I think, I'm glad both of you said that because tonight, what we're doing -- we have this very similar conversation among our team last night. And what we're going to do is we're taking the facts. What's in the police department, police reports, what's in the incident report, and we're going to put it all together for the viewers to see if what everyone says in that time frame, could it have played out?

But what is more important to me is, is that we move beyond talking at each other and over each other. And so, what did you -- because we were at an event this weekend you guys walked in and everyone was like, oh my gosh, they are here, Don. People were talking about you and about this conversation quite frankly.

And they were surprised to see, you know, you two together having, us together having a good time they thought we were arch-enemies or something, and that's certainly not the case.

So, what have you, first, L.Z., learned this week from this experience? And has it changed your mind about anything or has it changed you as a person about anything?

GRANDERSON: You know, the thing that really troubled me most over the course of this week, it is something that we touched on earlier about what happened with Piers Morgan and Toure. And, even, you know, so much with Will Cain and I, is that I think there's too much focus being directed at the people who are talking about Trayvon Martin and not enough focus is being redirected to Trayvon Martin and his family.

You know, I saw another commentator and a guest get into it and challenge each other to kind of, you know, had it out in Chicago, about who's more black, or who's for more black. I mean, it gotten kind of --

LEMON: It's not about them.

GRANDERSON: And it's not about them. Exactly.

CAIN: Right.

GRANDERSON: It's about this 17-year-old boy who was slain and it's not about Will and I and it's not about Toure and Piers.

CAIN: Right.

GRANDERSON: It's about Trayvon Martin.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Go ahead. Sorry. Go ahead.

GRANDERSON: It has been -- has been this, you know, this rush to comment on it and inject ourselves in this tragedy when we need to keep a focus on the individuals who are actually involved in this tragedy.

(CROSSTALK)

GRANDERSON: So, if I learned anything, is to keep the conversation on Trayvon.

LEMON: Yes.

And, Will, same thing. What did you learn and did anything, even your beer summit, and even in your experiences this week, did it change your mind about anything? Did it change as a person? Did it help you grow in any way?

CAIN: I'll tell you this. Yes, I think I have an answer to your question directly, and that is this -- that there is a very strong eagerness, a hunger in this country to have a conversation about race, our racial differences, our racial history, racial profiling, and all of those are very legitimate conversations that I want to have.

I will never be accused of running from that conversation. I hope both of you guys know this. These are conversations I want to have and I hope we have.

But regarding our current situation, regarding this case, it wasn't as obvious to me as it is to L.Z. that these were all the conversations that had to take up all the airspace in this case. I felt like we were giving the actual incident short trip.

And I really like what L.Z. said, this is not about me and L.Z. or Piers and Toure. We are side shows. We are not part of this. The investigation and Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman are the story. And I guess that's where my passion came in.

What I learned is, for many, many people these other conversations are very important and need to be had. And I say to you I will be there for you to have that conversation with you should you want me. But I want this case to get all the attention it deserves and all of the factual elements that go into this case.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you, guys. For me, you didn't ask. But for me, it was just a reinforcement of -- to be patient and to listen. That's it. It's just that simple.

So, thank you. I appreciate you guys coming on. You guys are awesome. Thanks.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

CAIN: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: When you attend funerals, you expect to mourn the dead. When we come back, we'll tell you how a Florida service turned into a tragedy.

But, first, each week, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiles innovators from all walks of life and all fields of endeavor. The program is called "THE NEXT LIST." And next Sunday, he goes behind the scenes of HBO hit series of "Game of Thrones," excuse me. And talks with crew members about the show's unique characters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Dothraki are the kind of a wandering tribe in this kind of imaginary world that George R.R. Martin wrote in his book he's created. They're first and foremost warriors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We took the tribe from George Martin's bestselling series. And in George's books, the Dothrakis speak their own language and we thought we could create that fictional language for a few lines and we tried to do that and it sounded like (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's where I came in. I created the language for the Dothraki and worked as a translator on the show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The guys are a little bit skeptical. But once we actually got the Dothraki language that David Peterson created and we saw the actors performing the lines, there was no question, it made a huge difference in those scenes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's check your headlines right now.

Police in Miami still don't know who shot into a crowd of mourners Friday night. Two people died and dozens were wounded outside a funeral home. It happened at the wake for a young man who jumped to his death after being chased for trying to use a stolen credit card. According to the "Miami Herald," somebody touched his body in the casket at the funeral home. A police commander said gang members consider that a sign of disrespect, leading to the gunfire.

The Coast Guard has sent a ship 400 miles out to sea off the coast of California to rescue a racing crew. Three of its members are injured. A large wave hit the yacht, the Geraldton Western Australia, taking out its steering and communications equipment. The yacht was competing in the Clipper around the World race, which began in August. The Coast Guard cutter is carrying a helicopter. And the lastest -- last word is they are waiting for the weather to clear before they launch it. And I'm going to speak with the Coast Guard at the top of the hour and we're going to update you on that particular story.

The government is having to settle for a lot let than the terrorism case it planned to bring against a Michigan militia leader. A judge threw out charges for plotting war against the U.S. That left only weapons charges for him.

CNN's Susan Candiotti looks at what went wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jailed during his trial, Michigan militia leader David Stone faced 30 years in federal prison.

DAVID STONE, MILITIA LEADER: (INAUDIBLE) maximum security for two years for just casual speech. CANDIOTTI: Now Stone is free on bail after a federal judge threw out the government's case against the so-called Huteree Militia, seen here in one of their training videos. They were accused of plotting to overthrow the government, stockpiling weapons and targeting police.

STONE: We were having fun.

CANDIOTTI: The FBI tried to prove it was more than fun, but in a 28- page ruling, a federal judge said, quote, "The group never had a date, time, target or plan for any attack."

JOSHUA STONE, CO-DEFENDANT: I am not the black-hearted, evil person that I was portrayed to be.

CANDIOTTI: calling themselves Christian warriors, their web site predicted an antichrist and declared war against the law enforcement and its foot soldiers. Secretly recorded FBI audio tapes captured them talking about a New World Order.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STONE: As long as we let them terrorize any American through fear and intimidation, then they are winning this battle. And we should step up to the flight that they have started and finish it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Their attorney says it was all bluster.

WILLIAM SWOR, ATTORNEY FOR DAVID STONE: I mean, anybody can take bits and pieces of anything and make them scary. But the judge made it clear tht the evidence -- that is important thing -- the evidence showed no such plan. These people were not dangerous.

CANDIOTTI: Dismissed jurors agreed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard talk and talk and talk but no action.

CANDIOTTI: Prosecutors tried to defend their case, comparing it to stopping something like Timothy McVeigh.

BARBARA MCQUADE, U.S. ATTORNEY, EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN: Imagine on the day before he blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City you caught Tim McVeigh with a truckload of fuel and fertilizer and you had him on tape saying, I am going to blow up a federal building. Do you wait until he strikes the match? Do you wait until he actually blows up the building? I say no.

CANDIOTTI: Could this case make folks, worried about government interference, even more paranoid?

SWOR: They now have evidence and they now have facts to point to that will confirm, for them, that their paranoia is justified. CANDIOTTI (on camera): Stone and his son, Joshua, have pleaded guilty to gun charges and will never be allowed to own a weapon again. At least one victory for the government in a case that otherwise collapsed.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: 100 years ago, the most luxurious ocean liner in history was ready to set sail. And two weeks later it was at the bottom of the Atlantic. We get a peek at a new museum celebrating one of the world's greatest triumphs and tragedies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Overseas today, in West Africa, the military officers who took over the government of Mali are promising to re-instate the constitution and hold elections. An army captain led a coup that toppled the election of -- the elected president of Mali last month, claiming that he was not properly handling a violent rebel insurgency. Today, that captain said he would end the coup and start transitioning to a new government. Leaders from Africa and the United States have been pressuring the coup leaders to return power to Mali's elected officials.

Thai investigators say they have figured out who was behind a series of deadly bombings in two southern provinces but they are not revealing that information yet. The blast killed 13 people and wounded more than 500. This is not the first time that southern Thailand has been hit by violence. Insurgents in the Muslim-dominated region are waging a campaign against the government.

In coastal Kenya, no one has claimed responsibility for two grenade attacks last night. One person was killed and 33 others were wounded. The militant group, Al Shabab, released a statement hinting at their involvement. It accused Kenya of putting Western interests ahead of its citizens.

100 years ago, construction was completed on the biggest, most luxurious ocean liner in history. Only two weeks later, the "RMS Titanic" smashed into an iceberg, sank into the Atlantic and disappeared. A new museum in Belfast, where the "Titanic" was built, gives us a peek at the ship.

CNN's Nic Robertson shows us what it has to offer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Titanic Belfast, an exhibition center linking past and present. Built in the very place that the ill-fated freight began its short life.

(on camera): Even today, the scale of the "Titanic" still seems staggering. This is the back of the boat, the stern. And this blue line traces the outline of the "Titanic" where it was built in a slipway here. The front of the ship right there, almost touching the exhibition center.

(voice-over): Inside it is like stepping through time.

(on camera): I think we are going to another floor.

CLARE BRADSHAW, HEAD OF SALES AND MARKETING, TITANIC BELFAST: We are. Yes. As you go through the ship, you move to the corridors where you would have had the cabins. It is all about using modern technology to tell a 100-year-old story.

ROBERTSON: You feel like you're going up.

BRADSHAW: You do. You do. The movement --

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTSON: It is an odd feeling.

BRADSHAW: Now you are at the first class level.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Clair Bradshaw's job is to market the new property and that includes a replica staircase made famous by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DeCaprio.

Away from the grandeur of the exhibits, there are other mixed feelings. The Hollander (ph) Shipyard that built the world's largest ocean-going liner was once synonymous with bigotry.

Archive film footage inside the exhibit captures Belfast in those bygone days.

Protestants had the plum jobs, like shipbuilding and Catholics often went hungry.

The "Titanic" exhibit is trying to build on today's piece and sink, once and for all, some of the city's sorted history.

BRADSHAW: "Titanic" corner has become a new area of our city where people have come and studied. It's where people now live, work and it's all about our city as a whole and a whole new beginning, and none of the divide from before.

ROBERTSON: How many visitors come to this modern incarnation of Belfast innovation will help make or break that future.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Belfast, Northern Ireland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Coming up, it has been a decades-long fight for democracy in Myanmar. But will an historic election help bring change to the country? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: An historic election in Myanmar where opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, says she has won a seat in the country's parliament. Party leaders are calling her win a momentous victory even though the balance of power in their parliament won't change.

CNN international desk editor, Azadeh Ansari, is here.

Azadeh, why is this election so important?

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: This country is on the brink of a new chapter in their history after being ruled by a military state for 50 years, Don. So as you can see, this is a momentous time in this country's history.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, and the leader of this democratic movement is Aung San Suu Kyi, 66 year old opposition leader, Nobel Peace Prize Lauriat. And she was placed under house arrest for 15 years, and for her to come back, and come back this strong, sends a symbolic message, irregardless of how many seats they win in these elections.

LEMON: She predicted that the election would be filled with intimidation and illegal activities.

ANSARI: Correct. And there is a history to that. Back in 1990, when they had the elections, the military committee spearheading all of this, even though she won by a landslide, they came back and ignored those results and then placed her in house arrest. As you can see, there is a history there. There is reason to be concerned.

LEMON: Let's move to Russia for our next story as we go "Globe Trekking." There are a group of Russian fishermen who had to be rescued. What happened?

ANSARI: This story has a happy ending. I'm giving it away --

(LAUGHTER)

-- without telling what the story is yet. But there's 675 stranded Russian fishermen off of Russia's east coast here. They wanted to take advantage of the last day to go ice fishing. So take a look at this.

LEMON: That looks really cold.

ANSARI: It is freezing. They are like, this is our last opportunity to catch fish and take advantage of what we can here with the ice fishing. And it was a massive rescue operation. All of them were saved. We're talking about 40 people, 10 float boats as you can see here.

LEMON: Goodness.

ANSARI: And we had two helicopters. But all of them were saved, so.

LEMON: Very cold. Ice fishing.

ANSARI: Makes for good fish, so I've heard.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Cold fish.

Thank you very much, Azadeh

LEMON: We will talk hoops, the Masters and Tiger Woods next. Tiger won just in time for this week's big event. Plus, Augusta under fire again over its membership rules. Jon Wertheim is here. He will talk about it. There he is.

Right after the break, Jon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I thought this thing was called final four. Then there were two. Kentucky and Kansas will tip off tomorrow night in college basketball's championship game.

Let's talk about it now with Jon Wertheim, senior investigative reporter for "Sports Illustrated."

There's the cover right now. Ohio State on the front cover.

Kansas knocked out the Buckeyes last night after Kentucky defeated Louisville.

So, Jon, you know I had a secret bracket that was on CNN and I actually won. Did you know? I put it together myself.

JON WERTHEIM, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: All the final four teams and those 15 two games. I heard about that. Good job. Power ball, too, right?

LEMON: That was an April Fool's. You already got it. You knew it, didn't you?

Kentucky and Kansas play tomorrow night. What can we expect?

WERTHEIM: Two good teams. We said months ago it was Kentucky's tournament to lose and now they're one game away from winning it. You had two great front court players. Kansas, bill self, beat Memphis. A terrific game. That was somewhat of an upset in Kansas. Again, Kentucky is a superior team. They're going to be the favorites, and these players on Kentucky, they're going to the NBA. This is their one chance. Can Kentucky seal the deal? They ought too. It will be an upset, I think, a sizeable upset if they don't.

LEMON: The Masters start Wednesday. Man, that's fast. Is that right? It starts Wednesday?

WERTHEIM: That's down the road from you. LEMON: I know. I used go to the practice rounds. It hasn't been on my radar. I've been working too much. I have to get some tickets. Can you help me out there, Jon Wertheim?

(LAUGHTER)

Listen, Masters on Wednesday. Tiger just won his first tournament since the scandal. Is he the favorite here?

WERTHEIM: I think he just might be. These plots change quickly, you know. Two months ago everyone was saying Tiger is done and now he wins one. This is the Masters. He broke through 14 years ago. he's done well ever since there. Tiger has his aura back. He's one won event in the last 30 months, so it's not a ton of momentum, but he's Tiger, he's looking pretty good and suddenly he's becoming the player to beat.

LEMON: This next story is very interesting. I've been covering it for a long time, and I guess one day it's going to happen, but there's been lots of talk again about a woman joining Augusta National. IBM's CEO is a woman, and that title usually brings a membership at Augusta. Is it possible she's already a member, or do you think she'll become one?

WERTHEIM: There's your April Fool's joke. I can't imagine Augusta has a woman's member right now, and that hasn't been leaked. I would say she's not a member. That would be my supposition. We'll go to the Jack Nicholson movie "Something's Gotta Give." They either have to break tradition and not let the IBM CEO in. We've got Tiger coming back. And this gender controversy, looks like it's going to flare up. We have a lot of drama at the Masters right now.

LEMON: That becomes very legal that comes with that. I remember doing the story and trying to figure out if there were any women members because they don't open up their books to anyone. There could be a woman who is a member and we just don't know.

WERTHEIM: Private clubs can do what they want in a lot of cases. But given the context, if there was a woman, you would think that would be something they would publicize. But again, a private club.

LEMON: L.A. Dodgers sold in bankruptcy this week for $2 billion. That's an incredible amount of money. "Magic" Johnson one of the investors here. Do you think they overpaid?

WERTHEIM: I think everyone is scratching their head trying to figure out this valuation. The Cubs were sold two years ago for less than half that price. This is about double that price at the Miami Dolphins. It's a story franchise and real estate is not easy to come by in Los Angeles, it's in a major market. I guess you could make the case, but I think a lot of economists are trying to figure out how this sports franchise is worth $2 billion. If the Dodgers are worth $2 billion, imagine what the Yankees are worth. This will really change the look of sports if this is what they're really worth.

LEMON: We were talking Linsanity and now he's out. WERTHEIM: Media creations come and go and it looks like he could be back if the Knicks make the playoffs. But no, it looks like no more Linsanity this season.

LEMON: We shall see.

Jon Wertheim --

WERTHEIM: Take care.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

LEMON: You set me up very nicely for our next story. A knee injury has sidelined Jeremy Lin for six weeks, for six weeks.

A young soldier on duty makes the ultimate sacrifice to save a young child's life. Now he's being hailed as a hero. That story is after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: This story is one we hear all too often, and it never gets any easier, but it's a sad reality of war. Family and friends stood in the cold rain to meet the body of Army Sergeant Dennis Weitchel. The brave young soldier was killed in Afghanistan. But he wasn't killed saving the enemy, he was killed saving a child.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, has the heroic soldier's story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Daddy.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Daddy.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three months ago, Specialist Dennis Weitchel made a surprise trip home from his tour in Afghanistan. Now the flag flies at half staff in the Rhode Island state capitol until the 23-year-old father of three is laid to rest.

Weitchel was killed in east Afghanistan saving the life of an Afghanistan child.

According to the Army, when Michael's armored convoy came across Afghan children in the road, he and others got out to move the children out of the way. But at the last minute, a little girl ran back to pick up some shell casings. Weitchel saw her in front of the trucks and pulled her to safety at the last minute. But he was hit accidentally by the truck and died a short time later.

Captain Christopher John Ahlemeyer, Michael's platoon leader during a previous tour of duty in Iraq, has been hit hard by his death.

CAPT. CHRISTOPHER JOHN AHLEMEYER, MICHAEL'S FORMER PLATOON LEADER: At first, I was just overcome with emotion. I was deployed with him. He was one of my guys. Then I took a step back and I realized he would have really done that for anyone. That's the type of guy he was.

STARR: Dennis, he says, always responded to children.

AHLEMEYER: Now we would roll into local communities and villages and -- and set up security and you would see children peeking out the windows. And it was -- it was Sergeant Weichel's calm demeanor and the way he handled children that you know these kids he welcomed them and these kids would come out and he would ensure the every single child received something, whether it be the smallest thing as a -- as a pencil or a -- or a booklet to write in.

STARR (voice-over): During those days back home everyone could see Dennis's Weichel's own children meant everything for him.

DENNIS WEITCHEL: I was excited because these are the most important things to me, my kids. So I was glad to see them on the holidays.

STARR (on camera): Dennis Weitchel was promoted posthumously to Sergeant. He is survived by his fiance and his three children who were so thrilled to see him just a few short months ago.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)