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Schools Brace for More Rowdy Fans; Justice Department May Probe Prosecutor; New Problems for Visa Cardholders; Bin Laden Relatives Sentenced; Groups Starts Zimmerman Defense Fund; Palin to Co-Host "Today"; Students Find Treasure in Lake; North American Leaders Meet in Washington
Aired April 02, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Poor Will Cain. Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I know. But you know what, he gets plenty of time.
COSTELLO: He does. He's going to be actually on my show at 9:30 Eastern so --
O'BRIEN: I know he is. I know.
CAIN: I'll see you in a little bit, Carol.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Good morning, Soledad. Good morning, Will.
Good morning to all of you. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM.
This isn't the madness the NCAA or the University of Kentucky had in mind. If fans did this after the semifinal what will they do tonight? Cops in Lexington and in Lawrence are getting ready.
George Zimmerman, he could be the most controversial person in the country right now. Authorities have not charged him with a crime but if they do a gun rights group is ready to defend him.
The real housewives of Osama bin Laden. Of course all three women are widows now. They learned what the penalty is for being so close to the most wanted man on earth.
Sarah Palin doing the mainstream thing this week. She's co- hosting the "Today" show tomorrow. It's already getting interesting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What are you doing to prepare? Are you reading some newspapers?
SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Oh.
(LAUGHTER) UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And it begins.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can still turn that plate around, Governor.
PALIN: Great. OK, that's a fine how do you? That's a great start. Here we go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Debit card debacle. If you had problems with your Visa card this weekend, we'll tell you what was behind the holdup and if your card will actually work this morning.
Mega Mystery. As millions of us head back to work this morning there three very lucky people, possibly sleeping late and staying home from today. After hitting the multi-million dollar jackpot ahead, find out what we do know about the winners. .
And Taylor Swift. She does it again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIONEL RICHIE, PRESENTER: And the Academy Country Music Entertainment of the Year goes to Taylor Swift, everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: If you win the top honor at the CMA awards again. Can we go ahead and call you the new queen of country?
But we start this morning in Kentucky where police are bracing for more violence. Understandable after what happened this weekend after the University of Kentucky beat Louisville. Yes, it took the fun right out of March Madness.
Just a few hours from now, police in Lexington, Kentucky, will discuss how they will try to prevent a replay of this if Kentucky wins or loses tonight. Rowdy Kentucky fans poured into the streets of Lexington, they torched couches and trash and eve some cars. More than 50 fires and 20 some arrests. Somehow no one was seriously hurt.
Kentucky fans went berserk after their team advanced to the NCAA finals by beating instate rival Louisville. Tonight, as you know, Kentucky squares of against Kansas. And win or lose, police in both college towns are bracing for the threat of more violence.
Carlos Diaz is in New Orleans for the national titled game but he's also been keeping an eye on how police are place for the aftermath -- the aftermath there and also in Lexington.
So what are they doing, Carols?
CAROL DIAZ, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Carol, Lexington police are taking precautions so there won't be a repeat of Saturday night's violence. Now they're going to hold a press conference at 1:30 Eastern Time to outline what they are going to do. But we do know they plan to increase no parking zones and tow-away zones around campus. And of course there will be a bigger police presence on campus. Saturday's fan behavior did not impress Kentucky head coach John Calipari.
JOHN CALIPARI, KENTUCKY HEAD COACH: The state of Kentucky is so connected to this program. It's a commonwealth's team. They go overboard sometimes and I think we twittered some things. I had Duane twitter some things out, calm down and relax and, you know, come on, let's go use common sense. But I was disappointed to hear it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DIAZ: All right. Let's talk hoops. Tonight it's a matchup of basketball royalty when Kentucky takes on Kansas. These two teams are the two most winningest basketball programs in the history of college hoops. Now Kentucky is a huge favorite tonight and, Carol, tonight's basketball game in the Louisiana Superdome will be watched by 75,000 fans. That's a record for a national championship game.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Carlos.
Now on to new developments in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin. The Florida teenager whose case has ignited nationwide outrage. Later today, the family will formally ask the U.S. Justice Department to review the conduct of the state's attorney who initially reviewed the case. According to reports the prosecutor overruled the police department's effort to file charges against the gunman George Zimmerman.
Also this morning there are new doubts cast on Zimmerman's description of the deadly struggle -- deadly struggle rather. Audio experts have analyzed the 911 tapes and say the calls for help were coming from the teenager, not George Zimmerman. The community watch volunteer says the teen was brutally beating him and he fired his gun only after neighbors ignored his desperate pleas for help.
Now on to Sanford, Florida, our George Howell is there.
And George, as I said the family has reached out to the Justice Department. What do they want?
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, good morning. They are reaching out to the Justice Department to seek an investigation into whether the state attorney, Norm Wolfinger, had an inappropriate, sort of interference with the investigator who handled this case, Chris Serino. They want to determine whether he somehow interfered with the case so they say that they will file that request today and the attorney says that he expects to hear back from the Department of Justice.
But keep in mind, Carol, this is on top of the investigation that's already happening. The Department of Justice looking into this case, even looking into the police department to determine if there are problems with the way this police department works with the communities specifically the African-American community here in Sanford.
COSTELLO: So, George, I just wanted to turn to the audiotapes for just a second. Experts are saying it was the teenager shouting out for help. Give us the latest on that.
HOWELL: That's a new report coming out from the -- the "Sentinel." And one thing, we also had those experts on "STARTING POINT" this morning. It's important to point out that that information cannot be determined with certainty. It's not 100 percent accurate. Keep in mind that George Zimmerman's family, his brother, his father, they believe that that's his voice on that tape.
But these two audio experts they listened to audio from that 911 tape, they believe that it's Trayvon Martin's voice on the tape. Take a listen what they had to say this morning on "STARTING POINT."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that this is not an exact science here but, in your opinion, what -- is there a chance here that this is not Zimmerman's voice?
EDWARD JOHN PRIMEAU, AUDIO ENGINEER AND FORENSICS EXPERT: There's a huge chance that this is not Zimmerman's voice. As a matter of fact after 28 years of doing this, I would put my reputation on the line and say this is not George Zimmerman screaming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And can you put a percentage on that?
PRIMEAU: Boy, that's a tough question. I'm going to say about 95.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: So, again, he can't determine with certainty, but audio experts, two at least that we had -- had on this morning and that were in the "Orlando Sentinel," they believe that that was Trayvon Martin's voice on the audio -- Carol.
COSTELLO: George Howell, reporting from Sanford, Florida, this morning.
Less than 10 minutes from now we'll hear from a gun right advocate who's forming a legal defense fund for George Zimmerman should he be charged. Chris Kossmann says he wants to protect gun owners' rights and defend Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law and he says he's getting overwhelming public support.
Also this morning, injured crewmembers are recovering after the Coast Guard rescued them from their damaged yacht off the Florida coast. Two seriously hurt sailors are being flown to San Francisco for treatment after being placed on a Coast Guard Cutter. They and the rest of the crew were competing in the Clipper around the World race. A nasty storm hit, high seas damaged the yacht hundreds of miles off the California coast. Two other crewmembers were hurt but they're staying on board as the yacht heads for Oakland. If you own a Visa card, you may be reeling from a double whammy. First news, trickled out that hackers may have tapped into people's account and then for a little while yesterday some Visa card holders found their plastic wasn't working so well.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. So, should they still be worried today?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: As far as being able to use your Visa card, no. You shouldn't be worried today. But what happened actually were two separate events that were not related. So let's take the first event where over the weekend, some Visa and credit cards -- Visa credit cards and debit cards, they didn't work for 45 minutes. Visa, though, put out a statement saying that they were updating their system during that 45 minutes so there were glitches and Visa said it's been fixed, the system is operating as normal, despite the fact that some of these transactions were not completed.
Now the hacking case. We first told you about this on Friday. We've got some new details here for you. We found out that 1.5 million account numbers were stolen from Global Payments. Now what these hackers did not get were people's names, addresses, and Social Security numbers. They just got those account numbers.
OK, so the question is, what Global Payments. So Global Payments is kind of this middle man that when you swipe your credit card, Global Payments processes it then it sends the information to credit card companies like Visa. Now so far it looks like just Visa and MasterCard were affected but other credit card companies like American Express and Discover say that they are investigating to see if they were affected as well -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Alison Kosik reporting from New York Stock Exchange.
At least three lucky people hit the Mega Millions jackpot. Winning tickets were bought in three states, Kansas, Illinois and Maryland. That means more than 100 million losers. And it only took a buck for the winners to cash in and get their share of the record- breaking jackpot. But we may never know who won because in at least two of the states they don't require the winners to come forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DENNIS WILSON, DIRECTOR, KANSAS LOTTERY: Kansas is one of the few states that allows them to be anonymous and we leave that up to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I know many of you who played were hoping not to go to work today. Check out the reaction and frustration from people on Twitter. One user said, "Oh, Mega Millions, why do shun me?" Another said, "I hope everyone that did not hit the Mega Millions jackpot has a great week. Those of you who did, you really don't need my well wishes." And another tweet jokingly said, "Greece buys the Mega Millions ticket."
I know. Sad news for those who did not win. But Tuesday's jackpot stands at $12 million in case you want to try again.
Viva Las Vegas rolled out the red carpets for some of country music's biggest names this weekend. Stars hit the stage for the 47th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. Carrie Underwood kicked things off.
Wow. Veteran co-host Blake Shelton even made a little news of his own when he decided to, you know, poke a little. And take a little joking jab at the rumor Taylor Swift and Tim Tebow went out on a date.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLAKE SHELTON, CO-HOST: And I guess the Broncos were so anxious to win another Super Bowl, they were actually willing to sacrifice a virgin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Shelton went on to say, now we know what he's been praying for. Awkward. Taylor Swift didn't let that ruin her night, though. She won the night's biggest award for the second year in a row, Entertainer of the Year.
We're about to find out if Sarah Palin is a morning person. She's already a politician, a political commentator and an author. Tomorrow she becomes a morning show co-host. We'll have more on that coming up.
And while many people called for George Zimmerman to be arrested for shooting Trayvon Martin, one group is raising money to help defend him. We'll talk to the person behind that effort next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Oh, what a historic election. A woman who has a political prisoner for nearly 20 years has now been voted into Myanmar's parliament.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AUNG SAN SUU KYI, MYANMAR OPPOSITION LEADER: We hope that this will be the beginning of a new era where there will be more emphasis on the rule of the people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Officials predict Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her party won 43 of the 44 seats up for election. This weekend's vote is considered the first legitimate election here in decades. The country has been transitioning from a military regime to a democracy.
A Russian passenger plane crashed during take off, killing 31 people on board, including all four crewmembers. The plane was traveling from oil rich town in Siberia. It burst into flames and broke into pieces. Twelve survivors remain in intensive care. The plane's data recorders have been recovered. Experts from Britain, France and Canada will help Russian officials in a crash investigation. The plane was registered in Britain and built in France and uses engines made in Canada.
Talk about a slap on the wrist. Well, here's one. Five of Osama bin Laden's relatives were sentenced by a Pakistani judge for living illegally in Pakistan. Three of those people were Osama bin Laden's widows.
Zain Verjee is in London with more details. So, I mean, in face values, it sounds like not much of a punishment.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: No, it really is just kind of a little whack, a little slap on the wrist here. I mean, the maximum sentence, Carol, that these women were facing up were to 10 years in jail. And, instead, what they got was 45 days staying in the house that they have been staying in, in Islamabad, under house arrest.
And basically, they have to pay a fine. The fine is 10,000 rupees. So, guess what? That translates to like 110 bucks, that's it! And some of them have already paid that to the courts.
And then what's supposed to happen is they just go back home to their countries of origin. So, a lot of people are asking why -- why was this so light, and no sufficient explanation from the authorities saying why it was so light. But that's what's been decided.
COSTELLO: Well, they did give authorities a lot of interesting information, more details are pouring out from their interrogations. Do you have anything more from them?
VERJEE: Yes. The youngest of the three wives, her name is Amal. And she gave a bunch of colorful details in a deposition she had given and basically what she said was that she lived with Osama bin Laden, along with two other wives, up until 9/11 happened. And then after 9/11, everyone just kind of scattered. So, she wasn't with him for a long time like seven or eight years.
And then, finally, they hooked back up when Osama bin Laden was in that Abbottabad compound in Pakistan.
And then she also says that he had four other kids, two of which were born at a hospital in Pakistan. So, this is some of the kind of detail that's coming out right now which is more colorful and paints a picture that U.S. officials had thought for a very long time was happening anyway and they moved a lot she said between seven or eight safe houses after 9/11 just to stay under the radar.
COSTELLO: Fascinating. Zain Verjee, live in London for us.
Well, many people call for George Zimmerman to be arrested for the shooting of Trayvon Martin. One group is raising money to help defend him. We'll talk to that person, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A group of gun rights advocates want you to help to pay for George Zimmerman's defense should he ever be charged in the death of Trayvon Martin. Legalboom.org is taking donations for Zimmerman's defense fund. The group says it wants to protect gun owners' right, defend Florida' "Stand Your Ground" law, and make sure Zimmerman has a fair chance and adds it's gotten overwhelming support.
Christopher Kossmann, one of the Web site's founder, is in the Tampa Bay area. He joins us via Skype.
Welcome, Christopher.
CHRISTOPHER KOSSMANN, LEGALBOOM.ORG: Hi.
COSTELLO: You've spoken with George Zimmerman's attorney Craig Sonner, about your fund-raising effort. How did he react?
KOSSMANN: I really can't comment too much about it. I have spoken to him on two occasions, and we are currently working together and consolidating our efforts. And that's about as much as I can comment on it.
COSTELLO: So, just to clarify, you're working with Zimmerman's attorney?
KOSSMANN: We are in the preliminary stages right now. And we are working together.
COSTELLO: Did he tell you anything about the need for funds for Zimmerman's defense?
KOSSMANN: No. He has not.
COSTELLO: How much money have you raised?
KOSSMANN: I can't really comment on that at the moment, but it has been overwhelming. It's a lot more than we had originally anticipated.
COSTELLO: When you say overwhelming, can you give us an idea of what that means?
KOSSMANN: Again, I can't really comment on specifics, but when we originally released this, we weren't expecting what has come in thus far.
COSTELLO: So, just tell me what you expected.
KOSSMANN: Not nearly as much as we have.
COSTELLO: OK. We will move on. You said your group has gotten death threats because of this. Tell us about that.
KOSSMANN: We expected it from the get-go. Unfortunately, I think that anybody that's associated with Zimmerman or Zimmerman's defense has now become a social pariah. And I think that's unfortunate because these people are crying for justice.
And I really don't think they understand what justice is. It's certainly not death threats. It's not bounties on people's heads. It's a fair trial and a fair shake and that's what we want for Zimmerman.
COSTELLO: Your group is focused on defending the so-called "Stand Your Ground" law. But people like Jeb Bush and even Sonner have said it doesn't really apply in this case.
Why do you think it does?
KOSSMANN: Well, I can't really speak to that. I don't know any more specifics than what the public already knows. But what I can say is that the "Stand Your Ground" law is there to defend people and their right to defend themselves.
And so, this law doesn't really need to be changed because of one isolated incident. It's a good law. And no matter where you are or who you are and what your racial ethnicity is, you have the right to defend yourself if you feel threatened.
COSTELLO: Well, of course, we don't know exactly what happened that night. We don't know if George Zimmerman was in the act of defending himself. Does that bother you?
KOSSMANN: It doesn't really bother me. The reason it doesn't is because we don't know. What bothers me is the public outcry, what's come out of it so far. We believe that Zimmerman hasn't gotten a fair shake. That's what brothers us.
If it needs to go to trial for justice to be served, so be it. But judging him guilty in the court of public opinion is not the way to go about this. And so far, nobody stepped up to the plate and said these things and been willing to defend Zimmerman and that's what we are here today.
COSTELLO: I'm curious. How do you feel about the other side, about Trayvon Martin? Because a lot of people who support Trayvon Martin side of the story would say some of the things that you're saying now.
KOSSMANN: Right. Well, I'd like to say, you know, this is a tragedy. You know, a teenager is dead. Parents have to bury their son and Zimmerman's life is irreversibly changed.
We are gaining notoriety for donating to Mr. Zimmerman but what we're really trying to do is raise awareness to the doubt in his guilt. It hasn't been asserted yet. And I feel when the facts come out to this case, it's going to change everybody's perception.
COSTELLO: Is it fair, though, that some are trying to portray Trayvon Martin in what some call a bad light?
KOSSMANN: Absolutely not. I don't agree with that or condone that at all, nor does our organization. I feel what happened prior to the shooting is irrelevant. Zimmerman's background and Trayvon's background shouldn't have a part to play in it, because really all it boils down is in those critical seconds what happened.
COSTELLO: Just a final question for you. I know you got to go and answer your phone.
But just a final question -- some people believe like to bring the issue of gun rights into this argument now, it just clouds the picture. It makes justice harder to find. I mean, why concentrate on gun rights when really investigators have to figure out what happened that night?
KOSSMANN: Right. I don't believe that we're necessarily concentrating on gun rights but what I do believe is that the "Stand Your Ground" law will come into question after whether it's proven that Zimmerman is innocent or not, and we really don't think that it should. What matters is what happened that night between Zimmerman and Martin. The law plays a part in it and it really shouldn't be challenged just because of one isolated incident.
The "Stand Your Ground" law has been used for hundreds of justifiable homicide in the state of Florida and it should be continued to be used, because people, again, no matter where you are, who you are and what your racial ethnicity is, you have a right to defend yourself if you feel threatened.
COSTELLO: Well, others might say and I'm just going to ask you this last question, I swear. Others might say that that's totally wrong. Like what better time to review the law because maybe that law gave George Zimmerman the courage to follow Trayvon Martin that night. I mean, what better time to examine the law than now? To find out if it really did play a part in Trayvon Martin's death?
KOSSMANN: Absolutely. And I think if there is a gaping hole in the legislator, that, you know, allowed him to do that, then it probably should be looked at. But what I challenge people to do is look up the law. There's a specific part under the justifiable use of force, under the use of force by an aggressor that would allow somebody, even if they provoked the fight, to use deadly force against somebody provided they used every reasonable means to escape the danger and were still were being assaulted and in fear of eminent death or great bodily harm.
COSTELLO: Christopher Kossmann, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.
Sarah Palin is setting her alarm clock for an early wake-up time. She'll be on the "Today" show tomorrow, not just as a guest but as a co-host. That story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Opening bell just about to ring on Wall Street. On Friday, the Dow and S&P ended their first quarter in over a decade. But for the first day of April, stocks are looking flat. There's the bell, the Dow is down just a few points this morning.
In just a few hours, police in Lexington, Kentucky, will outline their plans to prevent a replay of this, this weekend free for all. Rowdy basketball fans swarmed into the streets and fired on cars and couches after Kentucky's win over in-state rival Louisville.
As Kentucky gets ready to meet Kansas in the national title game, its coach is condemning the violent celebrations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN CALIPARI, KENTUCKY HEAD COACH: The state of Kentucky is so connected to this program. It's a commonwealth's team. They go overboard sometimes.
And I think we twittered some things. I had Duane twitter some things out, calm down and relax and, you know, come on. Let's go. Use common sense.
But I was disappointed to hear it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Visa blames a technical glitch for temporarily slowing its networks for about 45 minutes yesterday. The disruption was caused by a recent enhancement the company made to its system. Visa says the system is operating normally now and was not related to a recent data breach.
We're still waiting to find out who holds the three winning tickets in that $656 million Mega Millions jackpot. Each winner will get about $218 million apiece before taxes, under the annuity option. Two of the winning tickets were sold in Kansas and Maryland where winners are not required to come forward publicly. The third ticket was sold in Illinois.
And Sarah Palin will be on NBC's "Today" show tomorrow morning. She'll be a guest for one part of the show and a co-host for another. NBC says Palin will reveal a side of her that you have never seen before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
MATT LAUER, NBC NEWS: What are you doing to prepare? Are you reading some newspapers?
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: O!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it begins!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can still turn that plane around, governor!
PALIN: Great. OK. That's a fine how do you do? That's a great start. Here we go!
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
COSTELLO: And for at least an hour, Palin will compete with Katie Couric. She's hosting "Good Morning America" all week. Of course, Palin and Couric have a history dating back to 2008. Couric was with CBS News, Palin was the GOP candidate for vice president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE COURIC, TV ANCHOR: I'm just going to ask you one more time, not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.
PALIN: I'll try to find you some and I'll bring them to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It was an interview for the ages and countless comedy skits.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But, again, and not to belabor the point, one specific thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Katie, I'd like to use one of my life lines.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't have any life lines.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, in that case, I'm just going to have to get back to you!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Well, Ms. Fey, it looks like Sarah Palin is getting the last laugh.
CNN contributors Will Cain and L.Z. are here to discuss.
Welcome.
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi.
COSTELLO: Hi.
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
I've been trying to find a deeper meaning to this story but I have failed. So, how about you, L.Z.?
GRANDERSON: I don't think there is much of a deeper meaning besides this is what Sarah Palin should have been doing all along, instead of, you know, toying away in national politics. I mean, she's a charismatic. I read her book. I found her you know, portions of it, engaging and intriguing, and she's pretty and, you know, she's bubbly and has -- you know, she's smart enough in pop culture.
So, I think this is great and probably something she should have been doing instead of running for vice president.
COSTELLO: Will Cain, you said she is smart enough? That's cold!
CAIN: It is cold. I got a deeper meaning for you, Carol, and a little bit deeper meaning. You know, as this presidential election drags on, we see guys like Herman Cain come in and we're like, what is Herman Cain really a proponent of, beyond 911? What does he really stand for?
And as we see, candidates like Newt Gingrich stick around long past what's logically available for them to win, we wonder, what are they sticking around for? I think Sarah Palin, in a lot of ways, starts to answers that question. When she comes on and gets the co- host of "Today" or gets her own reality show, we begin to see the answer to these things. There are other benefits from running to president than perhaps winning the presidency.
COSTELLO: Oh, you're saying that in the future, we'll see a whole lot more people using our election process to get themselves a show?
CAIN: It's a shocker, isn't it?
COSTELLO: It's just sad to me! Isn't it sad, L.Z.? If it's true, it's sad.
GRANDERSON: It's sad. But -- I mean, it's sad. But I mean, we treat the election process like a reality game show any way. So, I mean, why not let the contestants be contestants instead of actually candidates.
I agree with Will. I mean, Herman -- I mean, the thing that was hilarious to me about Herman Cain is that, you know, he runs, he says all of these horrible things, divisive things, and then he drops out and then he goes and he starts singing on the stage with Stephen Colbert. Like, hey, no harm, no foul. You know, I'm just like, dude! Like did you take any of this seriously at all?
COSTELLO: I just remember back when Barack Obama was running and there was actually a campaign ad that came out accusing him of being a rock star and that was a bad thing during 2008. And, somehow, it's an OK thing now, Will.
CAIN: Well, look. I mean, I don't begrudge Sarah Palin this opportunity at stardom, this chance to co-host "Today". I think it's great. I mean, I will probably -- well, I will be on TV hopefully, until the morning, but were I not, I probably would watch this and I will predict Sarah Palin will get the last laugh on Katie Couric and she will out-rate her tomorrow morning.
But what it means is, if we are trying to stick with this deeper meaning, when they are running for president or vice president, when they are on the ticket, we need to pay a little closer attention, you know, analyze them a little more specifically to see if they have what it takes and if they actually won, what the outcome would suggest they would be, holding office.
COSTELLO: Just made me a lot more cynical and I thought I was already at my cynical level, like the highest level, but no! Interestingly, L.Z. and this is the last thing I'll say about this, like I've been reading a lot of blogs about this and they are sort of setting up this contest between Katie Couric and Sarah Palin as this battle between women. Almost like -- I hate to say it -- a cat fight! It's kind of gross.
GRANDERSON: You know, I don't think there is going to be much of a fight at all. I just think, you know, people who follow Sarah Palin are a lot more passionate about Sarah Palin than people who follow Katie Couric. That's no knock on Katie's career. In fact, it should be considered a compliment because she's such a well- established journalist, that, you know, the type of people that gravitate toward her are those who are looking for something a bit more media.
Whereas, Sarah Palin, you know, she's sort of a one-liner, so people are going to be tuning in to see if she gets her digs in and see if she's going to awaken, kind of see, you know, she's going to do something kind of quirky and stupid, really. And I think that's kind of funny.
Like I said, I just think what Sarah Palin should have been doing all along.
CAIN: Carol, don't set your meter so high to offend it. I don't think it's a cat fight thing. We have rivalries that span men versus men and women versus women and men versus women. It's not. It's not a cat fight.
COSTELLO: We are bigger than that!
L.Z. Granderson and Will Cain -- thanks for the discussion this morning.
CAIN: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Taylor Swift was flying solo for country music's biggest night but did not take her from taking home the night's biggest award. Showbiz headlines coming your way, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: So cute. One of the big hits that propelled Taylor Swift to the top of the charts. Today, she is sitting on top again as country music's entertainer of the year.
The 22-year-old is the only second woman to win that award and it's also the second time she's won.
Showbiz correspondent Nischelle Turner is in Los Angeles.
Wow. She's amazing.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN SHOWBIZ CORRESPONDENT: Yes, she is.
And you know what? The two was the theme last night, Carol, because her solo status came up twice during the Academy of Country Music Awards in Vegas. Now, she was supposed to go to the show, remember, with high school student and cancer patient Kevin McGuire. You probably do remember this story. His sister started a Facebook campaign to have Taylor Swift be his prom date and she couldn't go to the prom but she invited him to go to the awards instead.
Well, he had to be hospitalized at the last minute on Friday and he couldn't make it. So, Taylor Swift said hello to him from the stage after she won entertainer of the year. I hope that made him feel good.
You know, her dating status, though, was also brought up when host Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire it was joked on stage about Tim Tebow and the rumors that he and Swift could be a couple. When she cut away to Swift during the joke, she gave a priceless confusion- looking reaction. And the consensus seems to be that Tailor Swift and Tim Tebow are not dating and just had dinner together, Carol. So, calm down.
COSTELLO: Oh, I know. The look on her -- it was just such an awkward moment. I think that joke fell flat, Nischelle.
TURNER: Yes, I think so, too. The look was like.
COSTELLO: I know.
OK. So Vegas was rocking and Los Angeles was rolling because Los Angeles had the Razzie awards. So, who was the big winner there?
TURNER: Well, you know, I don't know if you would call him a winner but I do think we can now crown Adam Sandler the king of the Razzies. His film "Jack and Jill" swept the awards during the April Fools Day ceremony. Sandler won for worst actor and worse actress for his dual roles in "Jack and Jill" in which he plays a family man and he also plays his own twin sister.
And the film managed as Razzie first on Sunday. It won 10 awards. It swept every single category.
So, I think we can clearly say this may have been the worst movie of the year last year, Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, will there ever come a time a man dressing up as a woman is not funny? I just don't find it funny.
TURNER: Oh, we are going to fight about this. I'm just the goofball. Every time I see a man in a wig, it cracks me up!
COSTELLO: You're so easy!
TURNER: It is! It is. I'm an easy laugh, Carol. I'm an easy laugh.
COSTELLO: That's why we love you. Thank you!
TURNER: All right.
COSTELLO: Is Ashton Lutcher trying to punk everyone? Reports say he has been cast as Steve Jobs. Nichelle has got the scoop. She's back next hour with more showbiz headlines.
We are used to airport delays but not like this. Something caused a scare and part of Love Field Airport in Dallas to evacuate. We'll tell you what happened. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Checking stories across the country.
The TSA shut down Dallas Love Field for a short time after a suspicious device was found near the cockpit of a Southwest Airlines plane. Security evacuated the dozen gates for the precaution. The device turned out to be a student's science project and it included a small robot.
A man who said he had a gun in his pocket picked the wrong store in Grand Rapids, Michigan to try to rob. This is surveillance video of what happened late last month. A customer who happens to be an Iraq veteran and knows martial arts wrestled him to the ground using a choke hold. The man passed out and woke up in police handcuffs.
In Oakland, some middle school students cleaning a local lake found more than just trash. They found two canvass bags full of watches, silver antique jewelry and candle sticks. On "EARLY START" today, the kids talked about what's next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it will be great if the owners were found because it's -- I know what it's like to like lose something. It's probably not that valuable.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it's great when it's returned to you. So it would be really nice if the owners were found, but if they weren't found, then if it would -- if it went to the school, that would be also cool.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Or library books.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: If no one claims the stuff in 90 days the kids and their school as you heard might be able to keep it.
The so-called Three Amigos will meet later this morning in Washington for the North America leader summit. The what, you ask? Well President Obama will be joined at the White House by the Canadian Prime Minister and the Mexican President.
CNN's Athena Jones is in Washington and she has more details. Athena, tell us more about it.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning Carol.
This is the first time these three leaders are holding a summit like this since back in 2009 when the President traveled down to Guadalajara, Mexico. And we can certainly expect that economy, trade, security, energy those are the issues that are going to top the agenda. Canada and Mexico are two of the U.S.'s biggest trading partners getting nearly a third of our exports, our products last year according to the census.
And so our economies are inextricably linked and certainly on the issue of trade we know that the President of Mexico plans to bring up this issue of this Trans Pacific Partnership, that's a trade deal that the Obama administration is trying to negotiate with countries on both sides of the Pacific from Chile and Peru to Vietnam and Australia.
But right now Canada and Mexico are not party to those discussions. But in a statement the Mexican government released yesterday as the President Calderon was headed here they said that he quote, "Planned to take advantage of this opportunity to talk about this trade deal which certainly Mexico feels they could benefit from" as well -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ok let's talk about Canada's part. Because you know the Keystone Pipeline, I bet it comes up.
JONES: Absolutely. Certainly energy and climate change are on the agenda, and that is the big outstanding issue right now between Canada and the U.S. We know that the Obama administration denied a permit to TransCanada, the company constructing this pipeline, because of some environmental concerns in Nebraska and so that company is now looking at an alternative route.
But this is one of those topics that the Obama administration has really been under fire from, from Republicans so -- certainly it could come up in these meetings starting about in an hour and a half.
They're going to have a working launch and then a press conference and I bet you the leaders get asked about Keystone if -- if journalists get opportunities here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I bet you. Athena Jones. Thanks. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
At 11:00 Eastern immigration officials will talk about an operation targeting at-large criminal illegal immigrants.
At 1:15 Eastern, President Obama, Canada's prime minister and Mexico's president will hold a joint news conference. The three are attending the North American Leaders Summit at the White House.
Excuse me.
And a little later at 9:20 tonight the Kentucky Wildcats go up against the Kansas Jayhawks in the NCAA championship. The showdown takes place in New Orleans tonight.
We're following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Mark Preston.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey Carol yes, you know the Republican establishment is rallying behind Mitt Romney's candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination. But Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich say they're not getting out of the race. Voters in D.C., Maryland and Wisconsin will weigh in tomorrow. I'll have more on this divisive (ph) race for the Republican presidential nomination at the top of the hour.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The family of Trayvon Martin is seeking a new investigation from the Department of Justice to see if the State Attorney somehow interfered with investigators. I'm George Howell in Sanford, Florida. That story and details coming up at the top of the hour.
LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Lizzie O'Leary in Washington. Believe it or not, airlines are actually getting better year-over-year, so we know now that airlines are improving a little bit and we'll tell you who is actually the best of the best. We got our airline quality ratings summit in the next hour.
COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you. Got a kid about to graduate from college this year. Well they stand a better chance of landing a job and not living in your basement. We'll tell you why in our next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Final four, no more; we are down to two. It will be Kentucky and Kansas, UK versus KU in the NCAA national title game tonight in New Orleans. Kansas pulled up a stunning comeback over Ohio State Saturday to reach the finals. Absolutely destroying my pool. And top seed Kentucky held off in-state rival Louisville. The Wildcats are 6.5 point favorites.
CNN learned that the Arkansas head football coach Bobby Petrino was in a motorcycle wreck over the weekend. He's now in the hospital. It is not clear how bad his injuries are. Arkansas State Police say it was a single vehicle accident near Fayetteville. Petrino is the former coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
Jeremy Lin, Mr. Linsanity and the guy who probably inspired more puns than any other NBA player could be out for the rest of the season. Lin hurt his knee and will need surgery. Recovery could take six weeks. He is also a free agent after this season so his career as a New York Knicks might just be over.
And a 12-year-old kid pulled off a trick even skateboarding Tony Hawk never did. 12-year-old Kamshar (ph) landed the first ever 1080 -- that's insane -- while skating the Mega Ramp, which is the world's largest skating ramp in California. He pulled it off on his fifth try of the day and then he did it again, a 1080 is three complete spins on the skateboard. He said it was easier than I thought. He is in the sixth grade, he's under five feet tall and weighs just 80 pounds, and he is fearless.
Good morning to you. I am Carol Costello. Stories we're watching right now in the newsroom. This isn't the madness the NCAA or the University of Kentucky had in mind. If fans did this after the semi-final, what could they do tonight. Cops in Lexington and Lawrence are getting ready.
Mega mystery: as millions of us head back to work this morning there are three very lucky people, possibly sleeping in late and staying home from work today after hitting the multi-million dollar jackpot. Ahead, find out what we do know about the winners.
The real housewives of Osama bin Laden -- of course, all three women are widows now and they've learned what the penalty is for being so close to the most wanted man on earth.
Sarah Palin doing the mainstream media thing this week. She co- hosting the "Today" show tomorrow and it is already getting interesting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, CO-HOST, "TODAY": What are you doing to prepare? Are you reading newspapers?
(CROSSTALK)
TODD PALIN, HUSBAND OF SARAH PALIN: And it begins.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can still turn that plate around, Governor.
SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: Great. Ok. That's a fine how do you do. That's a great start. Here we go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
