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GSA Video Spook Mocks Excess; Job Growth Less Than Expected; President Obama To Speak This Hour; USMC Panel Backs Marine's Ouster; UConn Faces Post Season Ban; NCAA's Academic Dilemma; Audiotape Reveals More About Saints Bounty Scandal; Passover Begins At Sundown; Boat Overturns Near Statue Of Liberty; Presidential Power Of Women Voters; Maryland's Lottery Mystery Deepens; Buford, Wyoming Sells For $900,000; Obama Talks Women & Economy; Going on Titanic Memorial Cruise

Aired April 06, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM.

It is quite possibly the most fun way to waste taxpayer dollars. A videotaped rap song by federal employees complete with shades and a ukulele bragging about how they'll never be caught wasting your tax dollars.

A surprising jobs report hiring slows, but unemployment falls as the economic recovery in danger of stalling.

And the jobs report is something the president will likely touch on in just about 15 minutes. When he does, we'll bring it to you live. But his big item on the agenda is about women and how they're faring in the economy these days.

Iraqi fashion police are more like death squads. Why spiky haircuts, skinny jeans or a t-shirt that's too tight can mean prison or worse for many Iraqi young people.

Two sisters, one luxury liner and an historic voyage. We set sail on the "Titanic" memorial cruise.

And on this Good Friday, a pilgrimage in Jerusalem as Christians honor Jesus for his sacrifice.

But we begin this morning with a new embarrassment that's been dogging the General Services Administration. Have you seen the tape?

It is a video made by employees of the General Services Administration. The agency that's supposed to safeguard the way tax money is spent. Just days after we found out the Gsa spent more than $800,000 in Vegas for team building, this tape goes public.

It was shown at that conference, and yes, it makes fun of wasting your tax dollars. The irony of the story just explodes when you realize President Obama signed an executive order just a few months ago ordering the government to cut waste. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: One of the commitments that I made to the American people was that we would do a better job here in Washington in rooting out wasteful spending. At a time when families have had to cut back, have had to make some tough decisions about getting rid of things that they don't need in order to make the investments that they do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Congressman Jeff Denham is a Republican from California. He is going to chair a hearing on the GSA later this month. Welcome, Congressman.

REPRESENTATIVE JEFF DENHAM (R), CALIFORNIA: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: I just want to get your initial reaction when you saw this videotape.

DUNHAM: I was outraged. You know, back in my district, we've got double the national unemployment level, and people are very, very frustrated.

And to see this kind of waste, not just the waste, but they're actually bragging about the waste and saying there's never going to be an investigation on this.

We've done an investigation and it goes much deeper than what we're already seeing.

COSTELLO: What do you mean by that? How much deeper?

DENHAM: Well, the director who was turned down for a bonus, we've just found out actually received a $9,000 bonus after this conference.

The way that they've spent money not only on this Vegas luxurious trip, but all of the gifts that they've given to employees after the fact and the real question is, this is one region out of 11 in GSA.

How many more regions have done this as well as how many other agencies have done this? I mean, we've certainly seen this type of spending elsewhere. You know, a big part of my frustration is, this is two years later. This happened in 2010.

These people should have been fired two years ago. The administration has known about this. It went all the way up to the top. And, you know, we're going to hold a hearing on this and find out not only every detail that was in the investigation.

But we actually want to subpoena those that have been involved in this lavish spending and see how far this culture goes within other agencies. COSTELLO: Well, you know, I know the GSA administrator, she has resigned. Some of her top deputies have been fired. What more can you do to recoup the money that was spent in Las Vegas? That's like more than $800,000 of taxpayer money.

DENHAM: Over $800,000 and as well, the gifts that they gave to employees, another $250,000. We want to see how much deeper this goes, how much more wasteful spending there was out there? And make sure that this doesn't happen again. Create the type of transparency that doesn't allow agencies to do this.

COSTELLO: You know, I was just thinking that is there anything more the government can do to those employees who misuse this taxpayer money? I guess I should say allegedly misused this taxpayer money other than simply being fired?

DENHAM: Well, first of all, it's frustrating that it took two years to fire them. I mean, this is something that -- it was known at many different levels that this happened. It should have -- the firing should have happened a while ago.

And, you know, I'm hopeful that the investigation doesn't turn out that over the last two years there's been several other of these types of trips in wasteful spending.

But ultimately, we've got to change the culture of Washington so that this doesn't happen again in the future. It's one thing to talk about it.

But we've got to make sure we've got the systems in place so that this never happens again. People are frustrated -- they're out of work right now, and there are hidden potholes on their roads.

And then to find out this type of spending irresponsibly is happening, it's got to stop.

COSTELLO: Congressman Denham, thank you so much for joining us.

DENHAM: Thank you.

COSTELLO: We have some new numbers on the economy to share and they're surprising even the experts. This morning, we've learned that 120,000 jobs were created in March. That is far below the 203,000 new jobs expected. The nation's jobless rate, however, dips to 8.2 percent.

Americans are also feeling the sting of higher gas prices. Here's a look at those prices this morning. According to AAA, the national average for regular unleaded is now $3.94, that's up a penny and a half from just a week ago, but it's 18 cents more than what we were paying a month ago.

The economy will be the president's focus just minutes from now. He'll speak at the White House where he's hosting a forum on women and the economy. His speech is supposed to begin at 10:15 Eastern. When it does, we'll bring it to you live. A Marine Corps board is coming down hard on a sergeant who posted online remarks critical of President Obama. Last night, the panel recommended that Gary Stein be booted from the military and given a less-than-honorable discharge.

Stein, an Iraq war veteran, had posted anti-Obama comments on four web sites including his Tea Party Facebook page. His attorneys say he was protected by freedom of speech, though. Marine lawyers say Stein's comments are prejudicial to good order and discipline.

What a difference a year makes for the University of Connecticut men's basketball team. Last year, the team celebrated its third national title.

On Thursday, the school learned it likely will be banned from the postseason next year. UConn can only blame itself for this punishment.

Drew Griffin is here to explain it all. This is surprising. I mean, UConn's a powerful program.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is surprising in how far the punishment has gone. I think a lot of people thought the NCAA would back off.

But listen, UConn did bring this on themselves specifically, the people that run the basketball program and the players themselves what they didn't do was graduate.

They have a graduation there on the men's basketball program of 25 percent, Carol, 14 percent if they are black student athletes. The NCAA finally said enough is enough. We're going to come down.

And the first punishment goes against UConn. No matter how good they play next year, they are out of the March Madness tournament.

COSTELLO: So are other universities looking at this and quaking?

GRIFFIN: I think so. You know, everybody wants to make sure they play in that tournament. That's where all the attention is. That's where your recruits are looking to come to the school. They want to be in that tournament, big money maker for the schools.

So I think it will get the attention of all the other schools. And it's got the attention of UConn. They have changed their program, they say and are trying to get those kids in class, passing grades and keeping in school until they graduate.

COSTELLO: So, obviously, the NCAA is really serious about this. What did it have to say about --

GRIFFIN: You know, there was a lot of pressure put on the Ncaa by the administration, the White House. Arne Duncan, the secretary of Education, was looking at basketball games and really got mad last year and started to put pressure on the NCAA to do something. I didn't think they were really serious about it until I met Mark Emmert. He's the head of the NCAA, the president and this is what he told me just a couple of weeks ago about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Did you need the White House to put pressure on everybody within college sports to get this going?

MARK EMMERT, NCAA PRESIDENT: Well, it certainly doesn't hurt, right, to have an advocate like Secretary Duncan is a good kind of push. We've got a society that teaches young men, in particular, that if you can play ball, you can dribble, focus on that, that will get you into college.

That will get you into the NBA. Now we need to say, that's important, but it doesn't work unless you have school work alongside it and you're prepared to be a college student.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: That's somewhat new talk from the NCAA. They are getting serious about it. You've got to graduate these kids and if you're not, you're not going to be in that tournament.

COSTELLO: We'll see what happens next year. Who knows? Drew Griffin, thank you.

The New Orleans Saints' cash for hits bounty scandal just got more controversial. Thanks to a newly released audiotape. The edited clip comes from a filmmaker who says he was doing a documentary with the team in January before a playoff game.

The person you're about to hear is Gregg Williams reportedly. He was the Saints' defensive coordinator at the time. The league has suspended him indefinitely. What you're going to hear is he's telling his players how to handle different 49ers players.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREGG WILLIAMS, FORMER SAINTS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR: Every single one of you, before you get off the pile, affect the head. Early, affect the head. Continue, touch and hit the head. We need to decide whether Crabtree wants to be a (inaudible) prima donna or he wants to be a tough guy. We need to find that out. He becomes human when we (inaudible) take out that outside ACL.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The father of one of the targets is furious. Kenny Williams is Kyle Williams' father. He's also general manager of the Chicago White Sox. He had this to say.

Quote, "It's probably best I'm never in a room with Gregg Williams and wonder if such an order crosses the line of the aggressive, competitive spirit we all know and love about the sport and leans closer to a criminal act and therefore a litigious matter."

Christians and Jews are marking major holidays today. It is Good Friday when Christians honor the day Jesus was crucified. Pope Benedict XVI leads services at the Vatican later today.

Sunday is Easter, the end of the season of Lent. The Jewish celebration of passover begins at sundown tonight. Passover celebrates the exodus of the ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt. As part of the preparations, Jews empty their homes of bread and burn it in bonfires.

Any minute now, we're going to hear from President Obama. He's expected to speak at the White House about women and the economy.

But he is, of course, running for re-election, and that makes his message more important than ever. At least for those women voters he's hoping to get. We'll explain after a break.

It's not every day you see the coast guard open fire on a fishing vessel, but this time officials say they had no choice. We'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: This just into CNN. This is Liberty Island, of course, you can see near the Statue of Liberty. There's a rescue going on. Apparently, a tugboat capsized. They had to rescue three people who were in the water according to our affiliate there, WABC.

Those people seem to be OK, but they're trying to get that tugboat out of the water. Any new developments in this, of course, we'll take you back to Liberty Island.

Also at any moment, we'll hear from President Obama in his remarks on women and the economy. Of course, there's a reason for that. Women will play a critical role of the upcoming presidential election.

And at the moment, Democrats have them. In the past few months, women voters have ditched Republicans and the presumptive Republican nominee, Mitt Romney.

Brianna Keilar is at the White House. So I guess it's no accident that the president is talking about the economy and women.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, no accident. This has been a concentration of the president's, Carol, really talking to women. As polls show that he's doing very well with them.

And also as the White House and the Obama campaign is really dealing with a bit of a deficit when it comes to white males who don't have a college education. That's going to be a really tough voter bloc for them.

So there are a number of issues that you've seen, the campaign and President Obama concentrate on. Contraception is a big one. The White House took what was frankly a blunder in the beginning, a decision on contraception that put them at odds with liberal Catholics who are normally in their camp.

And then they made an adjustment, and you saw them frame -- Democrats really frame this argument to be about contraception instead of religious liberty, what it was ultimately about.

And this is an issue that while Republicans were playing to conservatives, you saw it really work against Republicans had it came to women. There's also the issue of Planned Parenthood.

You see Mitt Romney talk about pulling funding for Planned Parenthood, and this is something that while it plays to conservatives, doesn't really play to women. And also health care.

Health care, arguably, Carol, not -- you know, you can say it's not a popular law, but look at where the Obama campaign is really targeting its attention. It's women who are, as they see it, the health care decision makers in their families.

And so they're really playing to them. They tout the provisions that are popular among women that kids can stay on their parents' insurance plans until they're 26, that there's no pre- existing condition exclusion for children, et cetera.

And then you even kind of see it in what are, like, these days -- of topics, right? The Masters is going on right now. And we've seen the White House weigh into this debate about whether women should be able to be members at Augusta National.

Jay Carney, the White House spokesperson saying yes, they should be. You quickly saw Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum take a position on that -- Carol.

COSTELLO: We did. And also Republicans are seeming to, like, turn the corner and say that women don't care about social issues so much. They care about the economy. Why aren't we talking about that because a lot of women are suffering out there? They don't have jobs.

KEILAR: Yes, they are saying that. And for instance, as the president today is making remarks at this forum that is specifically targeting women and the economy, you see Republicans.

We've seen the RNC, for instance, saying look at the jobs numbers that came out today, which were not a positive sign for the White House and saying, yes, are you really doing something for women and the economy?

So they're kind of trying to turn what the president's trying to do on its head. Now you have them bickering about whether or not this is political. The White House, Jay Carney says no, it's not political.

Republicans say yes, it is political. I mean, Carol, you and I, we didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday. Of course, this is politics. The White House, the Obama campaign is seeing a political advantage and they're really trying to widen this gap here.

COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar, thank you so much. We're still awaiting word from the president. You see the podium there. He's not quite there yet. When he gets there, we will bring his remarks to you live.

Republicans continually slam the president over the economy. They say he just can't fix it, even though the economy is showing some signs of improvement.

Is it time for the GOP to shift its message, or is it right on target especially with today's job numbers? The "Political Buzz" team will discuss coming up.

And how much would you pay for your own town? Buford, Wyoming is off the market, but you might be surprised by how much it went for.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: President Obama expected at the White House and get behind a podium and talk about women and the economy. When he does, we'll bring his remarks to you live.

In the meantime, the mystery deepens over that huge Mega Millions lottery jackpot. Maryland's lottery director faced the media, but could not answer that big question.

Is the winning ticket really in the hands of a single mother and seven children? The director says he hasn't seen the ticket, but he also says no one else has come forward saying they have it.

The winning ticket is worth more than $100 million after taxes. The women's co-workers at McDonald's are demanding a share because they say they pooled their money together for a bunch of tickets. We'll keep you posted.

Checking stories cross country now, a Japanese fishing ship is resting on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean after the Coast Guard opened fire and sank it. The boat was swept off the shore of Japan by last year's tsunami. Officials said the vessel posed a threat to shipping.

Family and loved ones in Oklahoma welcomed home soldiers from the 45th Infantry Brigade combat team Thursday. They are part of a deployment of 3,000 who left for Afghanistan and Kuwait last June. Another group arrives on Saturday.

Two Vietnamese businessmen are the proud owners of Buford, Wyoming. The mysterious pair bought the town at auction for $900,000. Buford is the second oldest town in the state. It's also the least populous in the United States with just one resident who is also the former owner.

President Obama's verbal attack on the U.S. Supreme Court's power, it just won't go away. And now the White House is in damage control mode after taking hits from all sides.

Could this cause the president more problems in the general election? Our "Political Buzz" team will discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. It's quite possibly the most fun way ever to waste your taxpayer dollars.

A videotaped rap song by federal employees complete with shades and ukulele bragging about how they'll never be caught wasting your tax dollars. They work at the GSA.

A surprising jobs report. Hiring slows, but unemployment falls. It's down to 8.2 percent.

And on this Good Friday, a pilgrimage in Jerusalem as Christians honor Jesus for his sacrifice.

"Political Buzz" is your rapid-fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing with us today on the left, Sirius XM political talk show host and comedian, Pete Dominic.

In the middle, Dino Bedala, co-founder of the Arab-American Comedy Festival and on the right, Boris Epshtayn, a Republican strategist and U.S. News opinion columnist and former McCain/Palin aide. Welcome to all of you.

Good morning. So the first question, the jobs report. It wasn't all that encouraging, but the economy is still showing signs of improvement overall.

Republicans keep saying no, it's not, it's tanking. Who's right? Is it time for Republicans or Democrats to shift their message, Boris?

BORIS EPSHTAYN, GOP STRATEGIST: The Republicans need a more positive message. We do need to point out the shortcomings of the Obama recovery, and there have been many.

The growth rate has been just over 2 percent. An historical growth rate since World War II has been under 5 percent. Under Ronald Reagan reached the 7 percent.

While pointing out the shortcomings of Obama, significant ones, we still need to be more positive and promote opportunities for the country to grow.

And that's what Mitt Romney is doing. He's got a 59-point plan that's going to grow the economy to where it should be if not for the Obama mishandling of the recovery that has been honestly way too slow.

COSTELLO: Dean.

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, CO-FOUNDER, ARAB-AMERICAN COMEDY FESTIVAL: I agree with Boris. I think the Republicans should be more positive, more aspirational. OK, unemployment's come down from 10.2 percent two years ago, now to 8.2 percent.

But Romney could run on this campaign. Remember, a chicken in every pot. He could be in a car elevator in every garage. That's something for al Americans that Romney can offer.

Or maybe two Cadillacs at every house or maybe Romney can shift the message and go with his great strength, which is his hair. He reminds me of Woody from "Toy Story." He should run on that.

COSTELLO: Geez, Pete.

OBEIDALLAH: I'm just trying to help him.

PETE DOMINICK, SIRIUS XM POLITICAL TALK SHOW HOST AND COMEDIAN: Dean, I think he's more Guy Smiley from "Sesame Street," more "Muppet" like. Guy Smiley had more of a personality. If Republicans shift their message to being positive on the economy, I'm not sure what they can be negative on.

Republicans seem to love the war and support this war in Afghanistan the same way that President Obama and a lot of Democrats do. So I'm not sure what they're going to shift to.

We saw good news last week, by the way, record number of people not filing for unemployment, best in four years. But Republicans that aren't living in Congress, at least, in reality right now, I don't know what's going to change.

COSTELLO: Boris, you are double-teamed today.

EPSHTAYN: And they're both comedians, and I'm only an aspiring comedian. It's real hard for me, OK? I'm just trying my best.

COSTELLO: We love you, Boris. We do. President Obama's verbal attack on the U.S. Supreme Court will not die. Listen to this nasty exchange at the White House press briefing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he said on Monday was an obvious misspoken moment, because he talked about the court not being in a position to overturn acts of Congress.

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president will --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're standing up there twisting yourself in knots because he made a mistake, and you can't admit it.

CARNEY: You're sharing the righteous indignation here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just noting you're twisting yourself into knots.

CARNEY: In answer to a question very relatively briefly, in the context of this case made the statement that there is longstanding judicial precedent, which would argue that the court should not overturn this law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So many Americans, after hearing that -- I hear President Obama is walking out. He's at the White House. He's going to talk women and the economy. Sorry, guys. We're going to have to tap in and see what the president has to say.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Everybody, please, please, have a seat. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Everybody sit down. Sit down.

I was going to head over here earlier. And they said no, no, this place is full of women and they're still settling down. So what do you mean, settling down? What are they doing over there? Just creating havoc.

Welcome to the White House, everybody. It is a pleasure to be surrounded by so many talented, accomplished women. It makes me feel right at home although usually I've got my wingman, Bo, with me.

I want to thank everybody who's made this forum on women and the economy possible. I thank Mika for helping moderate today and proving that on your show every morning that women really are the better half.

Joe is not denying it. He is not denying it.

I want to thank the members of my cabinet and administration who are participating today. And I want to thank all of you who have come today, lending your time and your energy to the critical cause of broadening opportunity for America's women.

Right now, no issue is more important than restoring economic security for all our families in the wake of the greatest economic crisis since the great depression. And that begins with making sure everyone who wants a job has one.

So we welcome today's news -- we welcome today's news that our businesses created another 121,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate ticked down. Our economy has now created more than four million private sector jobs over the past two years and more than 600,000 in the past three months alone.

But it's clear to every American that there will still be ups and downs along the way and that we've got a lot more work to do. And that includes addressing challenges that are unique to women's economic security. Challenges that have been around since long before the recession hit.

That's why one of the first things I did after taking office was to create a White House council on women and girls. I wanted to make sure that every agency across my administration considers the needs of women and girls in every decision we make. And today we're releasing a report on women and the economy that looks at women's economic security through all stages of life from young women furthering their education and beginning their careers to working women who create jobs and provide for their families, to seniors in retirement or getting ready for retirement.

Now there's been a lot of talk about women and women's issues lately, as there should be. But I do think that the conversation has been oversimplified. Women are not some monolithic bloc. Women are not an interest group. You shouldn't be treated that way. Women are over half this country and its work force. Not to mention 80 percent of my household, if you count my mother-in-law. And I always count my mother-in-law.

Every decision made by those of us in public life impacts women just as much as men. In this report you all have explains some of what we've done to try to lift up the lives of women and girls in this country. But I'd like to spend some time talking about why we've done what we've done.

For me, at least, it begins with the women who shape my life. I grew up the son of a single mom who struggled to put herself through school and make ends meet, had to rely on food stamps at one point to get us by. But she earned her education. She made it through with scholarships and hard work. And my sister and I earned our degrees because of her motivation and her support and her impact. I've told this story before. She used to wake me up before dawn when I was living overseas, making sure that I was keeping up with my American education. And when I'd complain, she'd let loose with, "This is no picnic for me either, buster." And that's part of the reason why my sister chose to become a teacher.

When my mom needed help with us, my grandmother stepped up. My grandmother had a high school education. My grandfather got to go to college on the GI Bill. My grandmother wasn't afforded those same opportunities even though she had worked on an assembly line, a bomber assembly line in World War II.

Nevertheless, she got a job at a local bank. And she was smart and tough and disciplined. And she worked hard. And eventually, she rose from being a secretary to being vice president at this bank. And I'm convinced she would have been the best president that bank had ever seen if she had gotten the chance.

But at some point she hit the glass ceiling. And for a big chunk of her career, she watched other men that she had trained, younger men that she had trained, pass her up that ladder.

And then there is the woman who once advised me at the law firm in Chicago where we met. Once -- she gave me very good advice that's why I decided to marry her. And once Michelle and I had our girls, she gave it her all to balance raising a family, and pursuing a career and something that could be very difficult on her because I was gone a lot. And once I was in the state legislature, I was teaching, I was practicing law, I'd be traveling. And we didn't have the luxury for her not to work. And I know when she was with the girls, she'd feel guilty that she wasn't giving enough time to her work. And when she was at work, she was feeling guilty she wasn't giving enough time to the girls. And like many of you, we both wish that there were a machine that could let us be in two places at once. And so she had to constantly juggle and carried an extraordinary burden for a long period of time.

And then finally as a father, one of my highlights of every day is asking my daughters about their day, their hopes, and their futures. That's what drives me every day when I step into the oval office, thinking about them. Every decision I make is all about making sure they and all our daughters and all our sons grow up in a country that gives them the chance to be anything they set their minds to. A country where more doors are open to them than were open to us.

So when I think about these efforts, when we put together this council on women and girls, this is personal. That's what is at the heart of all our efforts. These are the experiences, the prism, through which I view these efforts.

And that's what we mean when we say that these issues are more than just a matter of policy. And when we talk about these issues that primarily impact women, we've got to realize that they are not just women's issues; they are family issues. They are economic issues. They are growth issues. They are issues about American competitiveness. They are issues that impact all of us.

Now, think about it. When women make less than men for the same work -- that hurts families who have to get by with less and businesses who have fewer customers with less to spend. When a job doesn't offer family leave to care for a new baby or sick leave to care for an ailing parent that burdens men as well. When an insurance plan denies women coverage because of pre-existing conditions, that puts a strain on emergency rooms, drives up costs of care for everybody.

When any of our citizens can't fulfill the potential that they have because of factors that have nothing to do with talent or character or work ethic, that diminishes us all. It holds all of us back. And -- and -- it -- it says something about who we are as Americans.

Right now women are a growing number of breadwinners in the household. But they're still earning just 77 cents for every dollar a man does. Even less if you're an African-American or Latino woman.

Overall, a woman with a college degree doing the same work as a man will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars less over the course of her career. So closing this pay gap, ending pay discrimination, is about far more than simple fairness.

When more women are bringing home the bacon but bringing home less of it than men who are doing the same work, that weakens families, it weakens communities, it's tough on our kids, it weakens our entire economy; which is why the first bill I signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter Act, the Fair Pay Act to make it easier for women to demand fairness. Equal pay for equal work.

We're pushing for legislation to give women more tools to pay -- to fight pay discrimination. And we've encouraged companies to make workplaces more flexible so women don't have to choose between being a good employee or a good mom.

More women are also choosing to strike out on their own. Today nearly 30 percent of small business owners are women. Their businesses generate $1.2 trillion last year.

(END LIVE FEED)

COSTELLO: We're going to step away from the President's speech on women and the economy. We think we've got the gist of that. And of course, we'll continue to monitor it if the President says anything else impactful.

Let's go back to our political buzz panel. I was interested to hear what you especially had to say, Boris, about the President talking about women in very personal terms. As you know, Republicans are having a woman problem right now. I think that Obama leads Romney by 20 points in women voters. So the Republicans listening to this, what's going through their mind?

BORIS EPSHTEYN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, first of all, what's going through my mind is I think Barack Obama is trying out for some comedian gig there in the beginning. I think he was pretty good, actually and Dean might have a problem with his job -- no, I'm just joking around.

In all seriousness from the Republican perspective, we do need to be better communicating to women. But if you look at the numbers, the narrative of oh, we're losing so many women voters is untrue because Mitt Romney's pool of women right now is actually about two points higher than it was before the contraception debate started.

Barack Obama is good on the stump, there's no question about it. But when you look at what's actually been achieved, men, women, all citizens, the bottom line is the economy. And if the Republicans would give the right message on the economy, as we spoke earlier, the message of pointing out the shortcomings but also saying here's what we're going to do different, that will be the winner in the November general elections.

COSTELLO: Well, Pete, he's right, I mean traditionally Democrats usually win the majority of women. I mean, Mitt Romney will win the presidency without a majority female vote, but he has to get some. He has to get a certain number to put him over the top. So, I mean, President Obama hopes his message is resonating. How can Mitt Romney change his message to resonate more with women?

EPSHTEYN: That was for me or Pete?

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Pete. That was for Pete. EPSHTEYN: Ok.

PETE DOMINICK, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I don't -- it's going to be very difficult for him. He's got to come up with a better answer than, I've sent my wife out, and what she reports back to me on what women care about.

This is -- President Obama and the Obama administration are taking a big advantage of the Gallup poll/USA Today poll that came out on Monday that said there's an 18-point percentage gender gap in swing states in the top ten swing states. President Obama jumping all over that. Look at the optics with all those women standing behind him pointing out obviously the women that he lives with.

I relate to this as the father of two daughters and the husband of an awesome independent confident wife. These things matter and Boris makes the point about all people care most about the economy. That's true.

But see, Republicans and certain Republican commentators obviously don't seem to understand what it's like to be a woman. Not only in America, anywhere. How a woman's reproductive system works. And they are scared. Women all over are scared that they're going to institute these laws. 1,100 at the state level. That are going to infringe upon their rights, their reproductive rights. And this is real. And Republicans and Republican men especially need to start understanding this.

COSTELLO: Ok. So Dean --

EPSHTEYN: Real quick, Carol. So one point. Women are also, on average, more religious than men. And if you look at the contraception debate from the religious -- freedom of religion perspective, Republicans actually win out with women on those issues.

One way or another, right now, it's way too early to tell how women are going to come up with President Obama. And also him, giving the optics and following so closely those polls also almost looks like he's pandering to that group to get more votes.

COSTELLO: Ok. Well --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: You're right -- it's a long time until November. Pete, Dean and Boris, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

EPSHTEYN: Thanks so much.

COSTELLO: Two sisters have waited two years to go on a cruise. Their grandmother barely missed a century ago. Why they want to go on this particular journey -- that's coming up.

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COSTELLO: April 15th will mark one century since the infamous luxury liner, the Titanic, sank to the bottom of the ocean. The disastrous maiden voyage is now a global obsession inspiring authors and divers and filmmakers. Artifacts, missing legends still shape the events of that chaotic evening and cold morning.

The ship that was described as unsinkable is just another story to some people, but for others, it's part of their family history. Joining us from London are Titanic enthusiasts Kristi Athey and her sister, Nancy Pritchard. Welcome to both of you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: We can't help but notice your outfits. So tell us why you're dressed up like that, Nancy.

NANCY PRITCHARD, TITANIC MEMORIAL CRUISE PASSENGER: Well, we don't dress like this every day, just so you know. A couple of evenings on the cruise, we are allowed to wear a period costume for dinner, and that's what -- this is what we're wearing. So this is why we are dressed this way today. We're in costume.

COSTELLO: You look fabulous. You look absolutely fabulous. Ok. So this cruise ship that you will be taking to mark the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, Kristi, does it look just like the Titanic did?

KRISTI ATHEY, TITANIC MEMORIAL CRUISE PASSENGER: A lot of people mistakenly think that it does when actually it looks nothing at all like the Titanic. Actually, we found out that our ship does not even travel as quickly as the Titanic did 100 years ago. They left on April 10th. We are leaving South Hampton on April 8th just so we can be at the exact wreck site at the time of the actual tragedy.

COSTELLO: Interesting. So what about the inside of the ship, Nancy?

PRITCHARD: As far as I know, and actually, my sister is the Titanic enthusiast, so she may be able to extrapolate a little further. But I think there is going to be some period decor. I know for dinners, probably everything is going to be set as it was in 1912 for the first class, I'm assuming. And the food we will be eating is period-appropriate food. So we're looking forward to that.

COSTELLO: So is it the exact menu, Kristi?

ATHEY: I don't believe all nights they will be serving the exact menu, but probably the nights when we are dressed, as we are now, will be the nights when they serve the foods that were very popular 100 years ago including, I believe I did see somewhere pigeon.

COSTELLO: Oh, yum.

ATHEY: Some type of pigeon.

PRITCHARD: Yes. We're not too sure about that.

COSTELLO: I know, especially when we now call them flying rats, right?

ATHEY: Yes, exactly.

COSTELLO: Exactly. Kristi, you must be the family historian. So I want to ask you about your grandmother. She had a ticket for the Titanic and then what happened?

ATHEY: We have always heard through family legends that she -- her name was Annie Johnston at the time -- immigrated from Scotland. We had heard she did book passage in the Titanic, but for reasons that we're still not quite sure of, she did not get on that ship.

And, of course, we are quite thankful for that, because she probably more than likely would have been a third-class passenger. And even though women did fare better during the Titanic incident, you almost had to be at the right place at the right time to find your way into a lifeboat. And we just don't know if that would have happened with her or not.

COSTELLO: So you still don't have the ticket, because that would be really cool.

ATHEY: Oh, wouldn't that be wonderful?

COSTELLO: It would be very cool, yes.

PRITCHARD: We wish, but we do not.

COSTELLO: Darn. You know, we could see you on antiques road show finding out how much it's worth.

ATHEY: Oh, my gosh.

PRITCHARD: Oh, I can't even imagine.

COSTELLO: I know. Ok. When your cruise ship, not the Titanic, but when it gets to that point --

ATHEY: Yes, people make that mistake all the time. That makes us a little nervous.

COSTELLO: Yes, definitely. But when it gets to that point where the Titanic actually went down, Nancy, I think that would be a little creepy.

PRITCHARD: It may be a little creepy, but to be honest, we're not looking at it that way. For us, it's just a wonderful opportunity to memorialize the people that died that night. Also, to honor those who survived, but what a horrible tragedy they had to endure.

And can you imagine the post-traumatic stress of watching your husband aboard the ship and then, you know, the ship's sinking. So I don't think it will be creepy. I think for us, it will be very touching, actually. I think we'll be in tears.

COSTELLO: So what do you hope to take away from it, Kristi? ATHEY: Well, personally, I am a third grade teacher of a small school in western Maryland in the USA. And I teach a social studies unit every year on Titanic. And it has always been the favorite unit of all of the children, even those that really aren't big into learning.

But some of them have said that they now want to be captains of ships. Some of them have brought in magazines and articles about things. And they really never got this interested in any other topics, you know, relating to any era in history.

So that's one thing I definitely want to bring back is more information that I can teach the children because even though I think I know a lot about Titanic, I'm finding out that I don't know nearly as much as I ultimately hope to learn.

COSTELLO: Well, Kristi and Nancy, it sounds like a fascinating trip and a lot of fun too. And thank you so much for sharing us this morning.

PRITCHARD: Thank you for having us.

ATHEY: Happy to be here. Thank you.

COSTELLO: Bon voyage. I might go see "Titanic 3 D" now. We're back after a quick break.

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COSTELLO: Checking stories cross country now. The head of Indiana's Department of Revenue is quitting after a second multimillion-dollar mistake. His department mistakenly withheld $205 million from county governments. Last December, Indiana learned that it had $320 million it did not know about.

A Colorado college student is frustrated he couldn't pay a $160 speeding ticket all in coins. Fort Collins refused to accept a bucket of change in payment saying it would just take too long to count it all. The 25-year-old later learned, though, the city actually has a coin-counting machine that would have added up all those coins, but officials forgot to tell him about that.

And a Michigan lottery winner says they never even meant to buy the ticket. The anonymous winner says they accidentally bought two $10 Cash for Life tickets instead of one. The minimum prize is $4 million.

CNN NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips starts after a quick break.

Thanks for joining us.

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