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California College Rampage; New Image in Trayvon Martin Case; Rowdy Kentucky Fans Celebrate Title; Sarah Palin Appears on Morning Show; Best and Worst Grocery Stores; Under Influence of "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Aired April 03, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COSTELLO: Yes. Good morning, Soledad. Good morning to all of you. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM.
School shooting shocker. Dramatic new details this morning on exactly what happened at a small religious college in California. Police now think the alleged gunman was upset at the school for dismissing him.
Wild about the Wildcats. Kentucky pouncing on the Kansas Jayhawks and igniting celebrations in Lexington. Fires, cars tipped over, a police officer shot at. The shooter still at large this morning.
Where's the ticket? For the first time we're hearing from the Baltimore woman who says she is the Mega Millions winner. But there's a problem. The single mother of seven cannot produce the ticket.
Mama grizzly in the morning. Sarah Palin going rogue and hitting the "Today" show the same day Katie Couric anchors "Good Morning America." The question this morning, will Sarah Palin's appearance a game-changer?
And on the edge. A truck driver's tense moment as his rig bust through a divider and heater before plunging down a hill.
The biggest winner, First Lady Michelle Obama, opening up the Oval Office for a White House workout on "The Biggest Loser" show. We're asking, will the West Wing help fatten up the show's rating?
But we begin this morning at a small Christian college in Oakland, California. New cell phone video captures the chaos as a gunman systematically murders seven students.
The cell phone video captures the gunshots and the terror as the bloodshed unfolds. We'll talk to the man who videotaped this. But first, chilling new details are coming out this morning. Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan tells CNN the gunman killed his seven victims execution style. He says the shooter first took the receptionist hostage and then lined the students up against the wall. He then began firing randomly at his victims.
Chief Jordan says the gunman was upset with an administrator and was specifically hunting for her. The suspect is 43-year-old One Goh, a former student. He was arrested an hour later at a grocery store several miles away.
The killing spree appears to have been much more -- appears to have been much more calculated, I should say, and ruthless than previously believed. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has more on what Oakland's police chief told CNN earlier this morning and of course that alleged gunman.
Good morning, Thelma.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, when we first heard about this, the police chief said that this was a man who had a plan. When he came to the school, he was looking for specific administrator. They have not identified that administrator at this point but they say she was not present at the university at the time. So at that point he takes the receptionist hostage and then goes to look for her.
He goes into a classroom, lines up several people against the wall and, as you said, Carol, began shooting them one by one execution style. Then he leaves this area. Goes out and the police chief says at that time he had time to actually reload and come back into the school and then began shooting at students at random. Police say that they don't believe that he had any particular students in mind. He was shooting at any target that he could find.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF HOWARD JORDAN, OAKLAND POLICE: He just felt a certain urge to inflict pain on them. He gave us no exact reason why he did that. He just wanted to get back at the administration for dismissing him earlier in the year. He was looking for this one particular administrator that he wanted to seek revenge on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: Police say that that One Goh then just got in one of the victim's cars and then fled this area. He went to a Safeway store about five miles away where he was taken into custody without any kind of incident at all, Carol, and what was interesting is that we spoke earlier to a witness who saw him being arrested. She said she made eye to eye contact with him and he didn't seem to show any emotion. He was just sweaty and nothing to really tip her off that this terrible tragedy had taken place.
COSTELLO: Thelma Gutierrez reporting live from Oakland, California, this morning.
A half hour from now we'll talk to the man who shot this video on his cell phone. Art Richards witnessed the carnage unfold. He will join us live at 9:35 Eastern.
Also this morning, possible new clues in the killing of Trayvon Martin. We visually enhanced the surveillance video of the shooter, George Zimmerman, as he arrived at the police station after he shot Martin. And these new images could support his claims that he was indeed injured and fired only to save his own life. Here's CNN's Deb Feyerick.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So I'm here with Jason Basso, one of our great editors here at CNN. And we're going to show you a surveillance tape but in a very different way. And this is the night of the shooting. So let's take a look at this now. Let's play it down.
And you can see George Zimmerman, he's sort of talking to police. The police officer right there looks at the back of his head to see if he can see anything. So take a look at this because this is something you actually do see what appears to be some sort of a bump.
JASON BASSO, CNN EDITOR: Yes. There's a few things that I can do to enhance it. I'm going to put a little contrast on it now to see if we can bring this out a little bit more. Throw in another color correction tool on it. I'm going to do some over saturate it, too, so you can see the reds.
FEYERICK: That's interesting.
BASSO: You know. And that will bring up --
(CROSSTALK)
FEYERICK: Because there, it definitely looks like something is popping out.
BASSO: Yes. We'll raise it. You see his jacket getting redder?
FEYERICK: Yes.
BASSO: And that area getting redder. And I'm going to lighten it up a little bit. Raise the whites. There you go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: An attorney for Trayvon Martin's family says even if the videotape does show an injury, doesn't matter. She says George Zimmerman was the aggressor and did not have the right to use deadly force against an unarmed teenager.
We're seeing for the first time the mug shot of JetBlue pilot Clayton Osbon who had a mid-air meltdown last week. Osbon appeared composed at his court hearing yesterday where a federal judge ordered him to remain in custody without bond. Osbon is charged with interfering with a flight crew. If convicted, he could face a maximum of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine.
A Mega Millions mystery woman in Baltimore is now talking, insisting she has one of the winning tickets for Mega Millions jackpot but Merlande Wilson hasn't coughed up the actual ticket yet. And lottery officials say no one has come forward. Wilson is a Haitian immigrant, a mother of seven children and works at McDonald's. She told our affiliate WMAR that a co-worker bought the ticket for her and called her while she was sleeping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERLANDE WILSON, CLAIMS SHE HAS WINNING JACKPOT TICKET: He says your number is on TV. I said what number? I'm not sure. Let me go back to sleep. And I haven't gone back since that day and all the news coming to me and all this so I said let me make sure before I do nothing else. I don't know what's going on. That's what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But the bottom line is you have the ticket and it's yours?
WILSON: It's my ticket. It's just my ticket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: If she actually does have the winning ticket, there's a controversy over whether it was bought for her or part of a pool with her co-workers.
Brian Todd will have much more on this story in the 10:00 hour of Newsroom.
A different kind of Ivy League. The so-called "Princeton of Pot" Oaksterdam University raided by the feds. It's the state's first training school for growing weed. Protesters in favor of legalizing the drug stood outside with signs demanding marijuana be reclassified as medicine. The DEA confirms an ongoing investigation of the school but did not give out any specific details.
Look at this chaotic scene in (INAUDIBLE), Florida, near Orlando Monday night. A small plane crashes into a supermarket injuring several people including the pilot and a passenger. Some seriously. The store employee said it felt like an explosion. Listen to one eyewitness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard the -- like artillery. You know if you've ever been on the (INAUDIBLE) you know what it is. You know what I mean? And then boom. Like, wow, man. I'm surprised everybody didn't hear it, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That meat manager told a local TV station the pilot and passenger were on fire when they climbed out of the plane and he helped douse the flames.
In Lexington, Kentucky, police were braced for violence regardless of whether the wildcats won college basketball's title game or not. Turns out the University of Kentucky dominated the game and local police, many of them in riot gear, struggled to control the rowdy fans. There were dozens of nuisance fires and even one report of someone firing a gun in the direction of police and fire crews.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's scary. It's scary. You're out to celebrate and enjoy and have a good time and so excited and something like that happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Celebrations did not seem quite as volatile as Saturday night when several cars were torched. More than 20 people were arrested in those street parties after Kentucky won its game to secure a chance in last night's championship matchup with Kansas.
Let's talk about brighter side of basketball. Let's head to New Orleans now. The site of that title game where we find Carlos Diaz this morning.
Carlos, it was a wild night.
CARLOS DIAZ, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was a very wild night here in New Orleans. We drove by Bourbon Street at around 3:45 a.m. on the way to our live shot location and the Kentucky fans were still chanting "We are the Champions" on Bourbon Street.
They've been waiting 14 years for their -- for this national championship. The school now has eight national championships making it the second most winning school in basketball history. Second to only UCLA.
Now you talk about those fires in Lexington, Kentucky. There were 30 fires in Lexington, Kentucky, last night, which is down from the 50 fires they had in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday night after Kentucky beat their in-state rival Louisville. So I guess that's an improvement.
Now there was something on Twitter, which is very interesting. It was a hash tag that said Lexington police scanner. That hash tag was very popular on Twitter because basically it allowed people to hear and basically quote some of the quotes that they heard on the police scanners last night in Lexington.
I want to read two of them for you right now which are quite funny, if you will, no, let me them light their fireworks. Just as long as they're not lighting them at each other. And then one other thing heard on the police scanner last night in Lexington, we have a partially nude male with a propane tank. So that's -- well, you can -- that's basically what happens these days when a team wins a national title -- Carol.
COSTELLO: It's unbelievable. Well, at least no one was seriously hurt. The game itself was exciting though, right? DIAZ: Well, basically, Kentucky came into the tournament as the number one seed and they did not disappoint. They basically beat every team by double-digits heading into the final four and then they beat Louisville by eight and then last night they beat Kansas by eight. So they were basically unchallenged. It wasn't a situation where you had the game getting any closer than six points until late in the game.
So it was Kentucky all the way and Anthony Davis and several other of the fab freshman that they have in Kentucky are now looking at a career in the NBA. John Calipari gets his first national championship ever. He's kind of an embattled coach. He brought UMass and Memphis to the final four in recent years but those wins have now been erased because of NCAA violations.
So he felt vindicated that he could actually have his first national championship and John Calipari, interestingly enough, did not want to cut down the Nets in Atlanta when his Wildcats won in the sweet 16 because he wanted to wait until they won a national championship so last night he was up on the ladder scissors in hand cutting down the nets here in New Orleans.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Carlos Diaz reporting live from New Orleans for us this morning.
Have you noticed mornings are extra starry this week? At least on the Victory Networks. Oprah set her alarm early to be on CBS. Katie Couric is filling in on ABC and today she went up against Sarah Palin again. Again, Palin is guest hosting on NBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT LAUER, HOST, MSNBC "TODAY" SHOW: Well, Governor, this is -- this is the start of the hour that you are now guest hosting. And there is some experience here. I mean you were a sportscaster back in Anchorage.
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Back in the Stone Age, yes. Yes.
LAUER: So is it like falling off a bike do you think? Anything make you nervous about this role?
PALIN: Not nervous, just very excited to get to be here with all you New Yorkers and all you tourists who are here enjoying this nice warm weather.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Rodney Ho, the TV and entertainment blogger for the "Atlantic Journal Constitution," welcome.
RODNEY HO, ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSOLIDATE TV/ENTERTAINMENT BLOGGER: Hey, how are you doing, Carol? COSTELLO: I don't know how much of the "Today" show you got to catch this morning.
HO: Caught some of it.
COSTELLO: Caught some of it. I caught some of it, too. And it was just strange because at the beginning Matt Lauer was talking to Sarah Palin like a guest.
HO: Yes.
COSTELLO: And she got in, you know, Obama was a socialist and all that, and Matt Lauer didn't really challenge her very much, because of course he had to co-host -- co-host with her later.
HO: Right.
COSTELLO: It just seemed kind of awkward.
HO: It was -- you know, look, you know, she's not professional when it comes to this. She's a FOX News correspondent. She's used to just talking about whatever they ask her. She's not meant to be a lead. But they gave her, I think, the 8:00 hour. I think they gave her a little more freedom. I think she talked with Tori Spelling. They gave her kind of a light topic to discuss.
COSTELLO: Yes, just watching her talk to Tori Spelling was interesting.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: Because they were making some sort of raspberry tart. So what do you make of this? I mean would the "Today" show actually give her a permanent place on the "Today" show?
HO: Well, I think she's paid with FOX News. This was just kind of -- I think FOX let her go on for a day because it's publicity. "Today" show obviously was just doing this to tweak ABC because ABC was tweaking them by putting their former employee Katie Couric on.
COSTELLO: Do we have another clip of Sarah Palin? No? Oh, man. Really wanted you to see the Tori Spelling/Sarah Palin exchange. Katie Couric is on "Good Morning America," filling in. And, of course, they set up this big competition between Katie Couric and Sarah Palin. So, who do you think came out the winner?
RODNEY HO, ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION TV/ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Think about it. This is more of a marathon than a sprint. But they are both trying to get a little publicity because "Good Morning America" is closing in on the "Today" show. "Today" show is the number one for 16 consecutive years, but "Good Morning America" is always nipping at its heels and they have gotten really close. They figured a little bit of publicity with Katie would sort of push them over and get them that week.
It's more of an ego thing. I mean, NBC is the number one for so long. They both make a lot of money for both networks. I mean, mornings -- as you know, mornings are really important for both networks especially NBC which has major problems in prime time.
COSTELLO: Yes.
HO: So, they're -- you know, "Today" show is their most valuable property. So, they are going to do anything they can.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens tomorrow when ratings come out.
Thank you, Rodney, for joining us this morning.
HO: Appreciate it.
COSTELLO: Still to come, clowns, coins and controversy. An Obama administration blunder and resignation after a posh trip to Vegas for 300 government workers turns into a P.R. nightmare. And yes, it does involve clowns.
Plus, a tiara for a transgender contestant in the Miss Universe contest. The beauty pageant saying she can compete.
And lotto and lightning. A Kansas man buys a Mega Million ticket and then, boom, he was suddenly knocked to the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL ISLES, HIT BY LIGHTNING BUT OK: But I wasn't burned. I had a little bit of an irregular heartbeat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It's amazing story of being struck by lightning -- as CNN NEWSROOM continues. We're back in two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Checking stories across the country.
Vandals in Crosby, Texas, flattened the tires on nearly an entire fleet of school buses. Twenty-five hundred kids have to scramble for other rides to school on Monday. Many waited for buses that never came. Working parents got automated calls, asking them to drive their children to class.
Don't tell Bill Isles of Wichita, Kansas, that he's more likely to be struck by lightning than to win the lottery because he already knows. Not long after buying tickets for the big Mega Millions drawing, he was hit by lightning while standing in his backyard talking on a two-way radio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISLES: It was like flash, boom instantly. I was thrown about four feet that way. And my radio was about another two feet ahead of me. And my whole body is jerking. It's the strangest thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He didn't win the lottery but still feels lucky.
And in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, an 80-year-old woman makes a rough landing after her 81-year-old husband slumps over the controls of the plane. She was not a pilot and was talked down just as the plane was running of pilot. Her husband sadly died. She suffered minor injuries.
Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big issues of the day. The General Services Administration, the GSA. I won't bother to make a Vegas joke because they are so overdone. And in this case, so inadequate to describe what's in a scathing report about the GSA, the government agency whose mission it is to save taxpayer dollars.
It's so bad the GSA administrator, Martha Johnson, has already resigned and the Founding Fathers might toss their wigs in disgust if they knew.
So, here's the scoop: Johnson and 300 GSA federal employees at a posh Vegas hotel in 2010 for a training conference that included team- building. The team-building involved a clown, a mind reader, and a comedian and more.
When all was said and done, the training conference added up to $835,000 taxpayer dollars. That's a little over 2,700 bucks per employee. So much for streamlining.
President Obama is outraged by the excessive spending and called for all those responsible to be held fully accountable.
So what exactly does that mean? Most of the GSA senior leadership either resigned or was fired. But what about that $835,000 in tax money? Is it just gone? The GSA will try to recover what it can while Johnson and company look for other jobs.
So, the talk-back question today: How should GSA employees be held fully accountable? Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.
A terrifying moment caught on camera. A big rig plunges down the side of a cliff. The driver still inside. More on this amazing story after a break.
Plus, this beauty queen might have been born a man was built to walk the runway. Her story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A man grabbed his cell phone to film what he thought was the scene of a car crash, but ended up being a tragic school shooting. Art Richards took this video on a cell phone. He saw people with bullet wounds running out of the Oikos University in Oakland, California. And he heard gunshots. The school caters to American Christians.
Police say a 43-year-old man killed seven people execution style. One Goh was allegedly upset with the university for dismissing him. He's now in police custody.
The witness, the person who shot this video, Art Richards, is with us now. He's in Oakland, California.
Good morning, Art.
ART RICHARDS, FILMED CHAOS WITH CELL PHONE: Good morning. How are you doing?
COSTELLO: I'm good. Thank you so much for joining us.
So you were driving by and you thought some kind of car crash had happened?
RICHARDS: Yes. I was on my way to pick up my friend across the street and I assumed there was a car crash. I was getting out anyway to spectate. I thought it was a car crash and there was a young lady coming out from some bushes behind a tree, sort of.
She said, "I had been shot." I was kind of mind-boggled. What do you mean?
She said, "I've been shot." She showed me her arm, had a good chunk of arm missing. She said a man went in there and started shooting randomly pointblank range. She said one individual at the chest and head.
COSTELLO: So at this point, the shootings are continuing. Are you hearing gunfire as you are talking to that woman?
RICHARDS: Well, right at that second. I'd say about a couple minutes later, there was an Asian man on the other side of the grass pillars and police thought he might have been a suspect and they threw him to the ground, put cuffs on him, brought him to ID the man with the young lady that had been shot. She said it wasn't him.
About right after that, about close to I would say seven, eight nine shots rang out. Everybody got down, you know? Everybody got down. Police took cover. We took cover.
Another five, 10 minutes after that I just seen the first body come out. It was limp. They threw a blanket over him. From there on out, within that whole hour they were just pulling out bodies after bodies.
COSTELLO: Yet -- I mean, I guess you couldn't move at that point. There's gunfire around you. So, you had to take cover. You had to stay there. So, you must have been thinking to yourself, I might die.
RICHARDS: Well, yes. I mean I didn't know how serious it was, you know? Coming to think it was a car crash, you know, because there wasn't that many cops. There was no news reporters around or vans or trucks.
And the lady comes out with a piece of her arm missing. And then gun shots ring out shortly after that. So, I'm like whoa, something serious is happening at this moment.
COSTELLO: So you're pretty thankful this morning.
RICHARDS: Yes. Pretty thankful, you know? Everybody -- you know, there was one other individual standing with me, a man. His video phone died and mine was kept rolling. I captured all of the video and audio on my cell phone.
And, you know, as soon as we heard shots, like I said, we got down, went behind a tree, you know, bushes area. And I guess police took action. Fired back. I'm not sure. There was a few shots that rang out.
COSTELLO: But we're glad you're OK. And thank you for sharing your story with us this morning. Art Richards live in Oakland, California.
RICHARDS: Thank you.
Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM:
It was another wild night at the University of Kentucky after the Wildcats won college basketball's title. Lexington police struggled to control rowdy fans. There were dozens of nuisance fires and report of someone firing off a gun in the direction of emergency crews. But the celebrations did not seem as volatile as Saturday night when several cars were torched. More than 20 people were arrested when fans celebrated that big victory.
A Mega Millions mystery woman in Baltimore insists she has one of the winning tickets for the Mega Millions jackpot, but Mirlande Wilson hasn't produced the ticket yet. And lottery officials say no one has come forward. Wilson told our affiliate WMAR that a co-worker bought the ticket for her and then called her while she was sleeping.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIRLANDE WILSON, CLAIMS SHE WAS WINNING JACKPOT TICKET: He says, "Your number is on TV." I said, "What number?" He said, "I'm not sure, but let me go back to sleep." And I haven't gone back since that day and then all the news coming to me and all this -- so, I said, "Let me make sure before I do nothing else." I don't know what's going on. That's what happened.
REPORTER: But the bottom line is you have the ticket and it's yours?
WILSON: It's my ticket. It's just my ticket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: If she does have the winning ticket, there's a controversy over whether it was bought for her or part of an office pool with her McDonald's co-workers.
And look who was co-hosting the "Today" show. Sarah Palin, watch all that newspaper in all of her hands and helped Matt Lauer, Ann Curry and Al Rocker with their morning show duties.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Nicest lady in the world, she stopped me, asked where I was headed. I said 30 Rock. She said, honey, come here. I told you Tina Fey was here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Palin was competing directly with her old nemesis, Katie Couric. She was guest hosting, Katie Couric, I mean, she was guest-hosting "Good Morning America."
We've got some storms to tell you about. Alexandra Steele is here.
Bad ones?
ALEXANDRA STEELE, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, not bad, not bad. But a few things we're seeing around the country. One of the biggest stories, Denver -- 80 degrees over the weekend and now snow coming down.
COSTELLO: Jeez.
STEELE: Yes, three to five inches of snow.
So, let's talk about it and show you what's happening around the country. Again, there's Denver. You can see radar picture showing you the white snowy day today. Hot on the heels of record breaking.
Take a look at this. In March in Denver, second warmest March on record and the least snowiest March on record. Second warmest month. New York City, Philadelphia, so many places. Chicago, Indianapolis, all having the warmest March on record.
So, today, the heat is the big story again. You can see 80s here in the Southeast. Temperatures well above average. It should be in the 60s. And temperature departures are big, too.
So, Carol, really, the next couple days, heat continues to be the biggest story just like March was. April hot on the heels of it. No pun intended. Going to be a steamy one.
COSTELLO: I'm afraid what summer will bring.
STEELE: That's right.
COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh.
Thanks, Alexandra.
STEELE: Sure.
COSTELLO: A terrifying moment caught on camera. A big rig plunges down the side of a cliff. The driver still inside. More on this amazing story after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This just into CNN: A source telling us that James Murdoch is stepping down as chairman of Britain's BSkyB, which owns Sky News. As you may know, he's the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
His resignation comes amid accusations his British Sunday tabloid "News of the World" hacked the phones of crime victims, politicians and noted celebrities in search of stories.
A newspaper funded by his father shutdown last summer. Murdoch has consistently denied the allegations.
This story will have you sit on the edge of your seat. Check out these pictures. They capture a big rig being towed on a snowy mountain road in Norway.
When the truck slides to the edge, oh, you can see the guard rail gives out. The rig tumbles over the cliff and takes the tow truck driver with it. The tow truck driver managed to bail out in the nick of time but the other driver went down with the truck. He did survive but he has several broken bones.
And for the first time in the Miss Universe pageant may say its first transgender beauty queen walking the runway.
Zain Verjee is in London with more on this story.
Good morning, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning, Carol.
Jenna Talackova could really make history here. She was disqualified for being a transgender but then the Miss Universe competition in Canada basically said, well, we're going to reverse our decision and, OK, you can participate in the contest if -- here's how they put it -- if she meets the legal gender recognition requirements of Canada and international competitions.
Now, they didn't really elaborate on the details there. But the fact of the matter is that rules really vary province by province in Canada. She would need a medical certificate. She would need legal affidavits as well.
Jenna herself has said that she knew she was a girl from when she was 4 years old. She had hormone therapy when she was 14. She had a sex change at 19 years old.
The main reason for the reversal of this decision here, Carol, was the enormous amount of pressure from everyone in Canada and around the world. They basically went online and criticized the organizers of the contest in Canada and said, you've got to reverse it.
And then they went on change.org and there was something like 41,000 signatures on a petition. So, that's basically what happened.
Jenna has said this. There was supposed to be a press conference by her lawyer today. But that didn't happen. But she said this, "These words of inspiration have touched my heart. All of you are the Miss Universe beauty queens and kings in my eyes."
That was on Twitter. Let's see what happens.
COSTELLO: We will keep an eye on it. Zain Verjee live in London this morning.
Still ahead, James Bond and the 2012 Olympics. Not even 007 can turn down a personal invitation from the queen.
Plus, Tagg Romney responds after the hit show "Mad Men" took a not so subtle swipe at his late grandfather. Showbiz headlines, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: James Bond is taking his talents to the Olympics. Actor Daniel Craig has been handpicked by the queen to open for the 2012 Games in London.
A.J. Hammer is in New York. Good morning, A.J.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Good morning, Carol.
You know, I'm thinking you got to be a pretty good athlete to be an action hero and I guess the queen thinks the same thing. She personally decided that Bond is the iconic British character that deserves to be opening the games this summer.
So, according to "The Sun" newspaper in Britain, they've shot a short film in the queen's private apartments at Buckingham Palace where Craig or Bond is given the mission to launch the Olympic Games. Now, nobody seems to know if the queen actually had a cameo in the film. I think it's a good possibility that she did.
The report says they will play the video during the opening ceremonies and then it's going to end with Craig parachuting into the stadium to open the games. Carol, I'm thinking you don't want to miss that mark parachuting into a stadium like that. The audience for the Olympic opening ceremony could be around a billion people. And Daniel Craig will not get a second take if he indeed is parachuting in. It will be fascinating to see that.
COSTELLO: He's going to have to give a gold medal performance. Ha, ha, ha.
HAMMER: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about this member of the Romney family, because he's hitting back after a jab from AMC's hit show "Mad Men." They jabbed at the former Governor George Romney.
HAMMER: That's right. Tagg Romney is ticked off at what he's calling the liberal media after the recent episode of the hit show "Mad Men." If you didn't see the episode or aren't familiar with the show, one of the characters who plays a Democratic political operative is on the phone saying he won't have his boss pose with Mitt's dad, Michigan Governor George Romney. Watch how this played out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Francis, well, tell Jim he's not going to Michigan, because Romney is a clown. I don't want him standing next to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMMER: And he's referring to George Romney, of course. Not Mitt Romney.
But Tagg Romney responded on Twitter saying, "Seriously, lib media mocking my dead grandpa?" And he later twitted that his dad is fair game but his grandfather shouldn't be, adding that grandpa Romney was an inspirational leader who fought for civil rights.
I'm just fascinated, Carol, by the fact that they were able to work somebody or a name at least that is so in the news, obviously, into a story line that took place some 50 years ago.
COSTELLO: 1966. It was interesting.
A.J., thank you.
A.J. will be back with us in the next hour with more showbiz headlines. Coming up, just weeks after her sudden death, we get the first peek at Whitney Houston's final film.
The good news, Jeremy Lin's surgery appears to be a success. The bad news, his recovery time could take about six weeks. We'll have more in sports.
And the best and worst supermarkets. Oh, the list is out. When it comes to prices, check out lanes and cleanliness. Who lands at number one? Alison Kosik will tell us.
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COSTELLO: Don't you just love to go grocery shopping? Ok, maybe you don't love it. Maybe it's because of the long lines and the inept bagging and scanner problems at the checkouts. So where can you go to avoid the madness?
Alison Kosik has an idea. Good morning Alison.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I have some ideas. But we're going to keep them for off air. Because they are pretty strong ideas but let's go with what Consumer Reports says, shall we? So Consumer Reports did a study ranking the best and the worst grocery stores. So take a look at the top five. The top five did well on good service, places were clean. Those were all good things. CostCo taking the fifth spot there. FareWay -- FareWay in the Midwest took fourth, by the ways FareWay and CostCo did pretty darn well on price. Publix is taking the third spot. Everybody said there was good service -- that Publix mostly located in southern states. Trader Joe's took second place, doing well on price. You know Trader Joe's has that like cult-like following has some great choices for interesting foods. Wegman's taking number one for the third straight year getting high marks for its selections on meat, fruits and veggies.
Oh yes but we complain even about those top stores. Guess what's the biggest gripe is, Carol? Not enough open checkouts. Don't you just love waiting in line and seeing all of the employees just sitting around staring at you waiting in line and they don't open up a checkout. I don't get it.
COSTELLO: I don't either but that is quite annoying. Or you just can't find let's say where the peanut butter is even though it should be in a spot you kind of think was like logical but it's not.
KOSIK: Or you see a roach run across the floor. And there you go. I'm scared into coming back.
COSTELLO: That would be bad and you're right I wouldn't go back either. Alison Kosik, thank you.
KOSIK: Sure.
COSTELLO: The Linsanity stops while the knee heels. Jeremy Lin swaps out Madison Square Garden for a hospital bed. He tweeted a picture of the action. That's just ahead in sports.
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COSTELLO: Stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
At 12:30 Eastern President Obama speaks at a luncheon and is expected to explain why Representative Paul Ryan's GOP budget would be bad for the country.
At 3:45 Eastern, Vice President Joe Biden answers questions in a Twitter event on college affordability.
And at 8:00 Eastern First Lady Michelle Obama takes her exercise push to the weight loss TV show "The Biggest Loser".
We're back in a moment.
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COSTELLO: We're following a lot of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Thelma Gutierrez. THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm in Oakland, California, where I'll have the latest on a shooting spree that left seven dead at a small Christian university at the top of the hour.
CARLOS DIAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Carlos Diaz live in New Orleans. The Kentucky Wildcats are now your national champions. But you're not going to believe what was overheard in the police scanner in Lexington as the celebrations ensued.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: And I'm Mark Preston in the Election Center. Voters head to the polls in Wisconsin, Delaware and Maryland today; nearly 100 delegates are at stake. However, some Republicans and some Democrats are already focusing on the general election. I'll have more in the next hour.
COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you.
Let's start with the biggest sports story of the day. The official end of "March Madness". The University of Kentucky beating Kansas for the national title; a victory rally is planned this afternoon at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
Now the question is how many of UK star players will be back next season?
And you had to look closely to catch the spelling foul last night. But look at the top of the screen where it says "2013 Men's Final Four" what city will it be in? Alanta? Where is that? Someone forgot to dot their I's and cross their t's or in this case they left out the "t" entirely.
Now onto someone who did get something right, 18-year-old Kwame Awere-Gyekye, from Tacoma, Washington, is the winner of the CNN bracket challenge. He went by "Young Kwame" and he's number one out of over 13,000 entries. Kwame had a total 174 points. He had all the right picks; an exciting win for such a huge basketball lover. He certainly beat me.
Lin-sanity stops while the healing begins. New York Knicks Jeremy Lin tweeted this picture of himself in his hospital bed. He says the surgery on his knee is a success and thanks fans for their support. Lin will be out for at least six weeks which likely means he will miss the rest of the season.
And while the basketball season is winding down, at least there's this to look forward to. Baseball's L.A. Angels will sell some new food at the old ballgame this season. The ones that stand out the most, a deep-fried hot dog, a hotdog wrapped in bacon and a hotdog swimming in barbecue. And for dessert, cinnamon sugar nachos with ice cream and caramel. You'll be too full to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" after that.
Police dash cams have caught some pretty memorable moments over the years. The one you're about to see might be one of the more amusing ones. Here is CNN's Jeanne Moos.
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MOOS: What would we do without police dash cams showing us half- naked speeders? And even a bank robber eating the evidence, the "give me the money" note.
But this Royal Canadian Mounted Police dash cam recorded something special. A guy in Edson, Alberta was pulled over in a pick- up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't see that I was intoxicated. He grabbed me and I haven't an ear, eye, it doesn't matter.
MOOS: Maybe he couldn't speak so well but he sure managed to sing all of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama just killed a man put a gun against his head; pulled my trigger now he's dead
MOOS: He sang the lyrics almost flawlessly for nearly six minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easy come, easy go.
MOOS: Even after they arrived at the station house, the mountie let him finish the song. The mountie only admonished him once.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Robert, calm down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't.
MOOS: A lot of people can't stop singing the Bohemian Rhapsody.
MOOS: Parts of the dash cam solo were frightening.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mama, oooh.
MOOS: You've got to give the guy credit. Even Beyonce messed up the words to the song and she was stone cold sober at a concert. Actually, it's "put a gun to his head", not a bullet.
Authorities have charged Robert Wilkinson with drunk driving. He's an unemployed home brewer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me go we will not let you go
MOOS: Wilkinson told "The Smoking Gun" that he's the one who let the dash cam video go on to YouTube.
Our police cruiser crooner did improvise just once at the very end of the song and he did it in a witty way.
Instead of seeing nothing really matters he sang --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing really matters even the RCMP.
MOOS: with that, he put on his glasses and awaited his removal. Do you have to cuff me? Physical violence is the least of my priorities.
MOOS: His priority is rhapsodizing like a Bohemian.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello.
Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. School shooting shocker -- dramatic new details this morning on exactly what happened at a small religious college in California. Police now saying the alleged gunman was upset at the school for dismissing him.
Wild about the Wildcats, Kentucky pouncing on the Kansas Jayhawks and igniting celebrations in Lexington -- fires, car tipped over, police officer shot at. The shooter's still at large.
Where is the ticket? For the first time we are hearing from the Baltimore woman who says she is the Mega Millions winner. But there's a problem. The single mother of seven cannot produce the ticket.
Mama grizzly in the morning. Sarah Palin going rogue and hitting the "Today" show the same day Katie Couric anchors good morning America. The question this morning, was Sarah Palin's appearance a game changer?
On the edge, a truck driver's tense moments as his rig busts through a divider and teeters before plunging down a hill.
And the biggest winner, first lady, Michelle Obama opening up the Oval Office for a White House workout on "The Biggest Loser" TV show. So we're asking, will the West Wing help fatten up the show's rating?
