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Mega Millions Winners Claim Prize; New Videos Add to Taxpayer Scandal; Wildfires Sweep Across New Jersey; Presidential Divide Over Taxes; Guillen Apologizes for Praising Castro; Instagram is Facebook's Biggest Buy; Obama Pushes "Buffett Rule" on Taxes; Guillen Apologizes for Praising Castro; Masters' Champ in Demand
Aired April 10, 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: Hi, Soledad. Good morning to all of you. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM.
We have a winner or three. The Maryland mega mystery is solved. Two teachers and a secretary, The Three Amigos, who spent just 60 bucks in tickets, they're the big winners this morning.
Fire threat from Miami to Maine. It's bone dry and burning. The brush fire situation now critical.
Mad in Miami. Oh, protests and outrage after the Marlins manager said he respects Fidel Castro. Ozzie Guillen apologizing but many there say it's too late. They want him out.
Making millionaires pay. It's called the Buffett rule. And the president hits the road today to sell it, but there's a catch. The numbers may nod add up.
A picture worth a billion dollars. You've seen the headline. Facebook buys Instagram. This morning we'll tell you three things you don't know about the photo sharing company.
And puffy face, pounds and plastic surgery, the rumors have sparked an Internet guessing game. Ashley Judd now coming out swinging.
Just within the last hour we've learned more about the winning Mega Millions lottery ticket that was sold in Maryland. Lottery officials there say the winners are, no, not that McDonald's lady, but three public school employees. Each will pocket about $35 million after taxes. As you can see they want to remain anonymous. But get this, they do not plan to retire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MARTINO, MARYLAND LOTTERY DIRECTOR: One of the win is an elementary school teacher. Another winner is a special education teacher. And the third winner provides administrative support, all in the public school system of Maryland. Again, one of them works two full-time jobs. Another has a part-time job. And a third has two other part-time jobs. All of them indicated that they would continue and the teachers said that they all plan at this point in time to remain public school teachers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: They can open their own school.
CNN's Athena Jones is in Baltimore. Tell us more.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you may have seen in the picture that you showed of them hiding behind that check, this trio calls themselves The Three Amigos. We know that one was a woman in her 20s, there's a man in his 40s, and another woman in her 50s.
As you mentioned they all work in the public school system here in Maryland. That's something that lottery officials here really wanted to highlight. They seemed to have all been touched by this idea that these people all work in the school system together, came in and they said that they didn't want to quit their jobs.
They remain too committed or they committed, they should say -- I should say to their -- to the kids in their classrooms. This is the first time the three of these people pulled their money together. And they each contributed $20 to buy 60 tickets. And one interesting note the lottery director told us that those other 59 tickets just won $1. But that's OK since they have this other $35 million each.
As you -- as you may have mentioned they plan to invest some of the money, buy homes. One person wants to take a backpacking trip to Europe with her brother. Another wants to pay for his children's college education. And one woman mentioned touring the wine country in Italy. So, at least some interesting times. Of course we still don't know their times but we knew some of these details and maybe some people are going to be trying to pair all those things together -- Carol.
COSTELLO: They sound like terrific people, though, don't they? I have to bring up Mirlandie Wilson. Yes, Mirlandie Wilson, you remember her, the McDonald's worker, the mother of seven, she had this winning ticket but she couldn't find it. I mean does that mean she's completely out of picture now, Athena?
JONES: Yes, it does. We did ask Stephen Martino, the lottery director, about any other supposed alleged winners and he said, you know, no one else -- these are the only three who won in Maryland. They are splitting this huge jackpot. We know how much they're taking home. So everything else was -- that story is over.
I should mention one thing that these three people who want to remain anonymous they're just not interested in taking part in the publicity. Surely some of that actually do with what we saw in the news all last week. And one said, though, that they're being very, very careful about making plans for their money. One who watched all the coverage and wanted to especially listen to what the financial advisors had to say. So they certainly had an interesting last week or so joking amongst themselves about the fact that they are the actual winners. And while we don't know their names we certainly know some things about them -- Carol. COSTELLO: Well, I'm glad they will continue teaching because they sound like smart ladies. Smart amigos.
Athena Jones, thanks so much.
In Washington more embarrassment and another casualty in that wasteful spending scandal at the General Services Administration. David Foley, the deputy commissioner at the GSA, which is actually supposed to safeguard how you're tax dollars are spent, well, today he's on administrative leave and the watchdog agency keeps taking hits as more employee videos surface all seeming to mock the importance of protecting your money.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think meetings are good to have in-between breaks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, my gosh. It's the clown.
CNN senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash, she's in Washington.
So, Dana, all of these videos were they made during the work day?
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears that way. And certainly it was always assumed that that was the case. But, you know, what you just showed was part of about an hour that the administration sort of strategically released to some media outlets including ours over the holiday weekend with the hope that it sort of gets buried.
But they didn't release one specific clip of a video that we did get from the House Republican Oversight chairman, Darrell Issa. And he says that this particular clip which the White House conspicuously omitted does actually give evidence that some of these videos were actually made during the work day. Listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was amazing. Was there anybody in region seven that wasn't in that thing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they worked -- if they didn't work on Friday, chances are they weren't in the video.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: So, you know, on a Friday it's generally a work day, at least certainly in this town. But look, Carol, these videos are damaging to say the least. And it's not just the content of what we're hearing these people say, these government workers as you say appear to mock the idea of saving money, the idea of the president himself having a green jobs event. In fact one video says that he wants to have a press event so he can show a project.
I mean, it's really over the top. And what's really remarkable is how much money they spent to do this. $820,000 at this lavish resort and there are going to be a slew of hearings next week when Congress returns about all this.
COSTELLO: I know. You'll be busy. Dana Bash, thanks so much.
The 911 calls started coming in moments after a Navy jet crash crashed into a Virginia Beach apartment complex Friday. And we're just now hearing some of them. Seven people including the two pilots were hurt. No one was killed, though.
Listen to the caller talk about a pilot on her patio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: The pilot's on your patio?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And nobody's here. And I've been calling and calling and there's no ambulance.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Is the pilot conscious?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, she is. Last I saw him he was.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK. So he's no longer on your patio right now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's still on my patio but they told me to evacuate, and there's other guys there helping him. My neighbors are there helping him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He's OK today. The Navy has recovered the flight recorder from the jet. It might offer more clues about why it crashed. Right now the Navy blames mechanical failure.
Very critical time this morning. Bone dry conditions are fueling brush fires in at least six states up and down the East Coast.
Rob Marciano was here.
So I guess we're paying a price for a warm winter, huh?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And we are. And a dry early spring as well. March, one of the warmest or the warmest on record in the U.S. And two homes lost in a fire in Long Island. The fire are getting dangerously close to a nuclear facility in Brookhaven.
This fire in Milford, Connecticut, burning yesterday. At one point started at around 6:00. You see the train tracks there. Metro North had to suspend service for quite a time. Route 1, by the -- the busiest non-interstate in Connecticut, some of those businesses had to be evacuated briefly.
They did get this under control, though, later on in the evening. But certainly scary times in Milford.
In New Jersey, Tabernacle, and the Woodland areas, I'm seeing over 1,000 acres burned. Look at that. That looks like a fire from out west, flames whipping up to about 100 feet and some of those taller pines.
Fire fighters who don't normally have to do this kind of work had to light backfires to protect homes. This is the second brush fire in less than a week. And down across Florida we told you about this yesterday before the northeastern fires broke out, the county line fire near Jacksonville continues to burn as do some brush fires, you know, around Volusia County.
And Miami-Dade County also a brush fire flare-up near the turnpike yesterday afternoon. Dense, dense smoke coming out of that fire as winds continue to whip in that direction. As we mentioned go to the graphics and show you some highlighted tidbits here.
The warmest March on record and the first three months of this year, are the warmest start that we've seen in the year for the U.S. Over 15,000 warm temperature records during the month of March.
Look at these winds yesterday. Sixty-mile-an-hour winds in High Point, New Jersey. Sandy Hook, New Jersey, seeing 54 mile-per-hour winds. That with the bone dry conditions caused the problems.
We have conditions similar to yesterday, gusts 20 to 30 miles an hour from about New York City all the way down to the Carolinas. Red flag warnings posted so fire dangers is going to be high in these areas. And we have very, very low levels of humidity as well. So that's an issue. We also have severe threat today. We saw some tornadoes yesterday and softball size hail out of western parts of Oklahoma.
Woodward, this is a storm chaser tracking down this tornado, which did some small damage but luckily in a fairly rural area, high lighted areas today including again the same spots in western Oklahoma for severe weather and potentially northern parts of Louisiana and southern Arkansas. So severe weather and the fire threats continue in areas that really we don't typically talk about wildfires.
COSTELLO: So we'll pray for rain except not in Oklahoma.
MARCIANO: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: You bet.
COSTELLO: This morning Republican Rick Santorum is cancelling events but he says it has nothing to do with his faltering presidential campaign. Santorum says he wants to be at home to help his daughter settle in after her release from the hospital last night. Three-year-old Bella suffers from a rare genetic condition. Santorum says he'll stick to his afternoon campaign schedule in Pennsylvania which he says he must win to keep his candidacy alive.
Just a few minutes from now, President Obama leaves the White House to hit the campaign trail. In between fundraisers in Florida, he'll stump for the Buffett rule which will boost taxes on millionaires named after billionaire Warren Buffett who has long argued that he should not pay a lower tax rate than his secretary.
Here's a look at the proposal. The measure would require millionaires to pay at least 30 percent of their income and taxes. Right now one in four pay a tax rate of less than 10 percent. But here's the catch. The numbers, well, they may not add up. According to the Congressional Research Office most millionaires are already taxed at a higher rate than the vast majority of all Americans.
Also this morning a rare chance to see former President George W. Bush. He just wrapped up speaking at an economic conference. He talked about ways to achieve and sustain 4 percent economic growth for the country. The George W. Bush Presidential Center is hosting the conference, which will look at ways tax policies can help reach that goal.
So from presidents past and present to the candidates now vying for the office the economy is a driving force of the campaigns. And there's a mighty chasm separating the Democrats' vision from the Republicans'.
CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser is in Washington.
So Paul, let's talk about the Buffett rule first. Does this have any chance of passing and are most Americans for it?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: You know, when it comes to that divide in Congress it's probably a slim chance of passing. What do Americans think, Carol? Take a look. This is the most recent poll on the issue among Americans, and yes, (INAUDIBLE) from March and you can see almost two-thirds favor that 30 percent tax rate for those making a million dollars a year or more a year. And other polls over the last couple of months indicate the same thing, that Americans are OK with high income members, high income Americans paying their fair share. At least that's what the polls indicate -- Carol.
What about the Obama White House and the Obama re-election team? Well, the president's speech today is only, I guess, part of what's going on here. You're going to see Vice President Biden later this week in a campaign speech going to New Hampshire, another battleground state pushing for the Buffett rule. You know also, Carol, you're seeing the Obama reelection team really going after Mitt Romney because Republicans as well as Romney who's the likely GOP nominee, are opposed to this Buffett rule and they are trying to paint the Obama reelection team as trying to paint Romney as a wealthy American who wants to protect his own kind.
Republicans, as you can imagine, Carol, they say just the opposite. The president raising taxes on the wealthy not a good idea to raise taxes on anybody in these economic times.
COSTELLO: Paul Steinhauser live in Washington for us.
Still ahead, a Cuban-American group threatens to boycott the Miami Marlins unless they fire manager Ozzie Guillen. His "I love Fidel Castro" comments, they start a firestorm in south Florida. Also students spring into action after their bus driver slumps behind the wheel. Their amazing acts of bravery caught on video.
You're watching NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Donald Trump's organization is ending a rule banning transgender competitors from the Miss Universe contest. The policy change comes after a 23-year-old Canadian was banned from competing, organizers had learned she underwent sexual reassignment surgery four years ago. Lawyer Gloria Allred had threatened to sue Trump's group. That rule change is being made in spite of, not because of Gloria Allred's threat.
Lot of anger this morning in Miami after Marlins' manager Ozzie Guillen praises Fidel Castro. In south Florida, it's something you just don't do. A Cuban-American group says it's boycotting the Miami Marlins until they fire their new manager Ozzie Guillen. The Miami- Dade commission chairman is calling him to resign.
The Venezuelan-born skipper told "TIME" magazine, "I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years but that -- he's still there."
It's not the first time Guillen has made outrageous comments. Listen to his from his time -- from his time managing the White Sox.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OZZIE GUILLEN, MARLINS MANAGER: (INAUDIBLE) It's my time.
Only my wife knows (INAUDIBLE) because my wife said you lie. I love you and she'd go, I don't love him that much.
You know why because when we play good, they send those guy to this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and talk to them like a hero. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) I'm the one who got to sit here and talk to you guys.
COSTELLO: Spicy guy. CNN's John Zarrella is covering the story in Miami.
So, Guillen apologized for his Fidel Castro comment but is it enough?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's the big question here this morning, Carol. You know, the marlins certainly knew from those clips that you just played what they were getting when they hired Ozzie Guillen.
But, you know, this is certainly unprecedented. The Marlins have an off day today in Philadelphia. He flew back last night. He's going to address the media and has asked that anybody in the community who wants to come to this news conference in about an hour from now can come in and ask him questions.
Here's a little bit of the background. The Marlins have a brand new stadium. They played one game in it. The stadium is built in the heart of Miami's little Havana, on the site of the old Orange Bowl. The taxpayers in the city of Miami and Miami-Dade County, predominantly Latin American footed the bill for this stadium and the team is trying to build a whole new fan base from that community.
And what does Ozzie Guillen do? The manager who was brought in to help build that fan base. He makes those remarks about, "I love Fidel Castro. I respect Fidel Castro" in the "TIME" magazine article.
And, of course, it set off a firestorm here. In the community, we've seen pictures of Cuban-Americans stomping on the pennant, the Marlins flag. We've seen video of protests on the street.
Now, granted these are very small protests and as you mentioned calls for his resignation and it's been the talk of sports talk radio. We spent some time yesterday at the Dan Le Batard show. He's a "Miami Herald" columnist and as sports radio -- has his own sports talk show, radio talk show and he's Cuban-American.
We talked to him about just how damaging this is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN LE BATARD, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST/MIAMI HERALD COLUMNIST: For this manager, they traded draft picks and paid him millions of dollars specifically because they wanted a famous Latin voice and face. And so to have a famous Latin voice and face give voice to this is especially disappointing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: You know, and Le Batard told me that one of the things that's really important to understand here is that for the Cuban-American community, Fidel Castro is their Adolf Hitler.
And, you know, for Ozzie Guillen not to have understood this -- he has a home here, he's lived here for a while, even when he played, even when he was managing the White Sox, is one of the things that is for most people down here, you know, just shaking their head. You can't explain it -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So, what can he say to make them feel better? I mean, obviously saying "I'm sorry" didn't work. He's going to fly in. What does he say? I agree to sit down and have a tutorial with someone about Fidel Castro?
ZARRELLA: Yes, that's just it. Nobody knows what he can possibly say to repair damage. And the question is, do the Marlins take any action against him in order to try and salvage whatever they can out of this situation? Does Major League Baseball take any action against him?
You know, this is a long way from being over, even though the Marlins would like to get it behind them for obvious reasons, as quickly as possible. I don't think that's happening.
COSTELLO: All right. I know you'll continue to follow this story. What, 10:30 Eastern Time he's supposed to hold that press conference.
ZARRELLA: Ten-thirty.
COSTELLO: Ten-thirty. We'll be back to you, John Zarrella. Thank you.
ZARRELLA: Sure.
COSTELLO: Still ahead in THE NEWSROOM: students race to save the bus driver and themselves after the driver slumps while behind the wheel. You can see their heroic actions all caught on camera. We've got more video you got to see.
And Ashley Judd's return to television in a new role with a new fuller looking face. Critics are not holding back their comments about the change and neither is Ashley.
We're back in two.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A frightening scene in Washington state is caught on camera. A school bus driver passes out while driving a bus full of children and two students jump into action, stopping the bus, and providing medical aid to the driver.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEREMY WUITSCHICK, STUDENT: I was acting on instinct. It was all happening really quickly.
JOHNNY WOOD, STUDENT: I was doing chest compressions on his chest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That's terrific.
Doctors say the bus driver suffered a heart attack. His current condition not known at this time. But he's hanging in there.
Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day, the question for you this morning: is a tax on millionaires a gimmick or necessary?
The Buffett Rule -- by now you know what it is. If not, here it is in a nutshell. The Buffett Rule would double the taxes millionaires pay on income from the stock market. Right now, they pay about 15 percent, a lot less than the tax from a regular paycheck.
The Senate is expected to vote on the Buffett Rule on Monday.
One tax analyst says it has zero chance of passing. So, why even go there?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Every senator who votes on it will have to examine for himself or herself whether or not they want to vote for a bill that says millionaires and billionaires should not pay taxes on their income at a lower rate than middle class Americans, or vote against it. And they will have to explain to their constituents why they don't agree with that principle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The Buffett Rule is a key talking point in President Obama's re-election campaign, you know the one against Mitt Romney who just happens to pay that lower tax rate.
But what Mr. Obama calls shared sacrifice, House Speaker John Boehner calls a gimmick. Congress estimates if the buffet rule becomes law, it would raise $47 billion over the next decade -- a drop in the bucket with federal deficits of up to $1 trillion a year.
Still for some, $47 billion ain't chicken feed and the White House says it's an important first step to rear forming the tax code.
So the talk back question for you: is a tax on millionaires a gimmick or necessary? Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.
Instagram has become instant gold for its founder. Facebook snapped it up for $1 billion. It's not bad for a company barely two years old and with a staff you can fit into a couple of SUVs.
Coming up three things you might not know about Instagram and how Facebook might change it up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello.
Stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM:
Opening bell ringing on Wall Street right now. U.S. stocks set to open slightly higher today as investors prepare to shift their focus to the latest round of corporate results.
Three public school employees in Maryland have cashed in a winning ticket from that record Mega Millions drawing. As you can see, they want to remain anonymous. Each will pocket about $35 million after taxes but say they will not retire from the school system.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MARTINO, MARYLAND LOTTERY DIRECTOR: One of the winners is an elementary school teacher. Another winner is a special education teacher. And the third winner provides administrative support, all in the public school system of Maryland.
Again, one of them works two full time jobs. Another has a part time job. And a third has two other part time jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The winners say they each kicked in 20 bucks to buy the tickets. It was the first time they ever pulled their money together.
In Washington, more embarrassment and another casualty in that wasteful spending scandal at the General Services Administration. David Foley is a deputy commissioner at the GSA which is supposed to safeguard how are you tax dollars are spent. Well, today, he's on administrative leave. And the watchdog agency keeps taking hits as we see more employee videos mocking the agency's efficiency.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think meetings are good to have in between breaks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Congressional investigators still examining the lavish conference that the GSA hosted in Las Vegas in 2010. In the meantime, Senate and House committees plan to hold hearings. They'll start next week.
And we're now hearing some of the 911 calls that came in moments after a Navy jet crashed into a Virginia Beach apartment complex. Seven people, including the two pilots were hurt but no one was killed. Listen to the caller talk about a pilot on her patio.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DISPATCHER: The pilot's on your patio?
CALLER: Yes. And nobody's here. I've been calling and calling and there's no ambulance.
DISPATCHER: Is the pilot conscious?
CALLER: Yes, he is. Last I saw him he was.
DISPATCHER: OK. So, he's no longer on your patio?
CALLER: He's still on my patio. But they told me to evacuate and there's other nice there helping him. My neighbors are there helping him.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The Navy has recovered the flight recorder from the Jet. It might offer more clues about why it crashed. Right now, the Navy blames mechanical failure.
Instagram, the tiny photo-sharing company basically won the lottery when Facebook bought it. If you use Instagram to post your pics, you know the score.
Here's a regular picture -- picture, rather. This is a picture of me getting ready for today's newscast. And here's an Instagram picture. It takes you back to the dark days of news gathering. It's impressive enough for Facebook to shell out a billion dollars.
Now that Instagram is part of the Facebook family, expect some changes.
Laurie Segall is a tech reporter with CNNMoney.com.
So, Laurie, first off -- tell me three things I do not know about Instagram.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNNMONEY.COM TECH REPORTER: Three things you don't know. Well, Carol, first of all, this was Facebook's biggest acquisition to date. They shelled out a billion dollars in a combination of cash and stock options. That's a lot of money to spend on a relatively small company.
Now, another fact that's kind of interesting is this company is very small. They have 13 employees at the time that they were bought for $1 billion. We spoke to the founder about a year ago and there were four employees and 4 million users. Now, they have 30 million users and about 13 employees. So, you can obviously see that Facebook thought that was interesting and they definitely kind of wanted to jump on that.
Another interesting fun fact about Instagram is it almost never was. Before Instagram was a photo-sharing service, it was actually a company called Burbn and it was a check in location service.
And I spoke to the founder. And what he said was he kept noticing people posting photos and posting and sharing photos on the service. So he decided to completely change the service from Burbn, called Instagram, and make at it photo-sharing service and that essentially as you can imagine that was $1 billion decision that served him pretty well.
COSTELLO: You're not kidding.
OK. So, it's a billion dollar company now or more. A lot of people worry that Facebook will suck the life out it. So can we expect that?
SEGALL: You know, any time Facebook -- it's important to say any time Facebook purchases a start up of some sort they have a track record of shutting it down. They have a track record of buying talent, buying great engineers and completely shutting down the service.
But Facebook made it very clear that they are not going to do that to Instagram because Instagram has a big following. That being said, it's important to note that Instagram although it was very popular and it makes your pictures look great, they weren't make being any money. And so, they essentially sold without making any money.
And I spoke to an investor yesterday who said Facebook is going to have to find a way to help monetize it, to help them make money. And so, he said one day and maybe in the future, you might begin to see some ads in your Instagram feed. So, I have a feeling that won't happen for a long time, but I can only imagine people won't be happy about that to go along with a nice little filter.
COSTELLO: I expect to it happen next week. So, will Facebook own your Instagram pictures?
SEGALL: Yes. It's a company that's with Facebook right now. So you look at how much data Facebook is collecting on us. They've always collected so much information. This is only adding to the gold mine of data they're going to have about us.
So, obviously a lot of users aren't happy about it. But on the upside, Facebook has some great engineering. They've got a ton of resources and Instagram only had 13 employees.
So it could mean some cool futures. It could also mean annoying ads. So, I guess only time will tell.
COSTELLO: As they say, unfortunately.
SEGALL: Right.
COSTELLO: Laurie Segall -- thank you so much, Laurie Segall. Live in New York for us.
SEGALL: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Laurie.
The White House is making its case for the Buffett Rule tax reform. The Obama administration is working hard to ensure the wealthiest Americans do not pay a lower income tax than the middle class.
Here's how it works. Those making a seven-figure salary or more would pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes. Less than 10 percent pay that now.
So, here's the problem. It doesn't add up to a whole lot of money. A congressional research report shows the wealthiest Americans already pay more taxes at a higher rate that the majority of Americans.
Dan Lothian live at the White House.
So, Dan, Mr. Obama is heading to Florida to pitch this legislation. Why so going to Florida to do it?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Why Florida is a big question. Well, a couple of reasons. First of all, the president is there also to attend three fundraisers for his re-election campaign, expected to pull in about $2 million.
But also if you notice, the president's travel schedule. Recently, he's been heading to states that are battleground states, this one Florida being a very important one.
But the message from the president as you pointed out will to be put pressure on Congress, Senate Democrats will be taking up a similar measure next week although it's not expected to go very far but the president's message continues to be one that we've heard now for several months and that is that wealthy Americans need to pay more than average Americans when it comes to taxes -- and not as in the case of Warren Buffett's secretary paying more in taxes than he a billionaire has been paying.
But the problem from critics they say is that the kind of revenue that you will get from something like a Buffett Rule will not be that significant, will not eat into the deficit. And in general will only complicate the already complicated tax code, Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, I think the figure is what, it'd raise about $47 billion?
LOTHIAN: Right, $47 billion, $47 billion.
COSTELLO: Yes, which doesn't seem like a lot. On the other hand, the Obama administration sort of painting this as well but it's a first step to tax reform, something that pretty much Republicans and Democrats agree needs to happen.
LOTHIAN: That's right. And, you know, in an election year, something like this can be very popular. You look at the most recent polling, six in 10 Americans like this idea of wealthy Americans, those making more than $1 million paying this 30 percent in taxes.
So, you know, on that -- from that standpoint Americans seem to like it. But I think what will be important to watch is what did the independents in general think about this?
Many people care more about what's in their pockets. Are they able to get a job? Are they able to pay for their mortgages? And that may be more important than being concerned about what the wealthy are paying.
COSTELLO: Dan Lothian, live in Washington.
CNN Money's Jeanne Sahadi will break down the Buffett Rule at 10:15 Eastern. We'll also ask her how much billionaires pay in taxes now.
Still ahead, actress Ashley Judd has more than a few words for the media and fans criticizing her face. Find out what's got people talking and why she is fighting back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: When Ashley Judd returned to television this year, fans couldn't help but notice a change in the way she looks. Her face they say looks fuller. And fans are speculating about why.
"Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer is here with details.
This has turned into quite a drama.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: Yes, Carol.
The real drama here is that Ashley Judd is taking a stand against how women who are in the public eye are talked about.
Now, normally, Ashley Judd doesn't pay any attention to what people say about her, but she became upset recently after she was made aware of some photos of her face with this puffy face commentary going on. They were posted online. Media outlets speculated she had undergone plastic surgery.
Judd said these pictures were taken when she was ill and she'd been taking medications, including steroids, which caused her features to swell as a side effect. So she's responded with an essay on "The Daily Beast". It's titled Ashley Judd slaps media in the face for speculation over her puffy appearance.
And in this essay, she talks about some of the commentary her pictures generated, which includes speculation about what kind of procedures she's had, how she's losing weight, losing her looks, and how she better watch out because her husband could start looking for a second, some really nasty stuff.
COSTELLO: Ooh!
HAMMER: I want to read you a bit of what she writes in this essay. The fact that she even responded is a big deal. But here's what she wrote: "The conversation was pointedly nasty, gendered and misogynistic and embodies what all girls and women in our culture to a greater or lesser degree endure every day, in ways both outrageous and subtle. The assault on our body image, the hypersexualization of girls and women and subsequent degradation of our sexuality as we walk through the decades."
Carol, a conversation that's been going on for a long time, and I think Ashley's essays just points out -- unfortunately, things aren't getting better in this area.
COSTELLO: Well, I read her essay and I found it really interesting. And she says in there, you can't compare me to what I was 20 years ago. I'm not going to look like that. I don't care what I've done with face --
HAMMER: Exactly.
COSTELLO: -- I'm not going to look like that, nor do I really want to because, you know, you should change. You should age gracefully. You should become who you are.
And I don't know. It's a tough thing, though, A.J.
HAMMER: And the comments that people make send a terrible message. And hopefully people will pay attention this time. I don't know if they will.
COSTELLO: We'll see. A.J. Hammer, thank you.
A.J. will be back with us in the next hour with more showbiz headlines. Coming up: A "Dancing with the Stars" emergency. One celebrity had to be rushed to the hospital after her performance.
Also coming up, the real housewives of Osama bin Laden. We're getting a rare look into their lives as they serve time under house arrest.
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COSTELLO: Here's some pictures few people have seen. You see the ladies in the black burkas. Those are Osama bin Laden's wives, made widows by the U.S. raid in Pakistan last year. You can see some kids running around too as their mothers pray.
This video was shot within the last month or two. The widows are under house arrest in Islamabad for immigration violations. They'll take their families back to Yemen and to Saudi Arabia next week.
North Korea says its new rocket should be finished today and launched by Monday. The North says the operation is for peaceful purpose. U.S. officials are not buying it though. They believe the launch is a cover for a long range ballistic missile test. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta spoke with South Korean officials. Both countries call the launch, quote, "great provocation".
Stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
At 10:30 Eastern Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen holds a news conference about exactly why he told "Time" magazine he loves Fidel Castro.
At 2:55 Eastern President Obama pushes for the so-called Buffet Rule. It would make the wealthy pay at least 30 percent of their income in taxes.
At 5:00 p.m. Eastern the other "Titanic" memorial cruise sets sail from New York City.
Still to come this morning -- he drives, he putts, he tweets. Bubba Watson has not let the Masters championship go to his head. He's still answering every single one of his tweets. More on that story ahead in sports.
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COSTELLO: We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The "Talk Back" question is, "Is the tax on millionaires a gimmick or necessary?
This from Logan, "I would just call it U.S. politics. How about making a rule that with any new tax hikes that pass, all that revenue goes into paying off the debt?"
This from Dennis, "Obviously, letting them have all the tax breaks hasn't worked so far. So let's try taxing them more and give it a shot."
This from Steven, "The government wastes $47 billion in a blink of an eye. I can agree to loophole closures but more important is to save money, cut wasteful spending and then look to see what the true gap is."
This from Howard, "It was Bush's tax breaks that got us started in this downward spiral of negative figures that we call a deficit. I say, tax them until they bleed."
Please continue the conversation, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. Facebook.com/CarolCNN and thanks as always for your comments.
We're following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with John Zarrella.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miami Marlins manager, Ozzie Guillen, it's an unprecedented, he flies back to Miami to apologize to the community for his "I love Fidel Castro" remark. I'll have that story at the top of the hour.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash in Washington where embarrassing government videos appearing to mock excess spending and even the President himself are getting worse and worse. You're going to have to see these videos to believe it. Check it out and tune in at the top of the hour.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. We had just that yesterday across Oklahoma, tornadoes and huge hail but of greater consequence were the winds that spawned and flame -- fanned the flames of wildfires across Jersey, Connecticut and all the way to Florida. We'll talk about the threat today at the top of the hour -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you.
Better times in Detroit. The city is already seeing more business start ups and expansions in the next hour. We're going to talk with the CEO of a high-tech company who's message for those 2,000 laid of Yahoo! employees is, come on to Detroit. We are hiring. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Ozzie Guillen -- Jeff Fischel is there -- Ozzie Guillen says a lot of whacky things but this time --
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: He does.
Yes, you know. I mean it's really in his DNA to say some ridiculous things that make you say, "What?" This time, fans are not shrugging it off. This morning, he is holding a news conference to apologize publicly for telling "Time" magazine he loves Fidel Castro. He also said he respects Castro for surviving 60 years as Cuban dictator.
Those comments hit South Florida like a bombshell. A Cuban- American group says it is boycotting the Marlins until they fire Guillen. Local politicians are also calling on Guillen to resign. Guillen is contrite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OZZIE GUILLEN, MANAGER, MIAMI MARLINS: I feel sad and in a couple days, I have trouble in my stomach, not because of what I did. It is because I know I hurt a lot of people. And I want to make it clear, especially for me. I want to get that thing over with. I told the Marlins, I want to fly, as soon as I can, to Miami and clear everything up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He's got to cry, Jeff. He just has to cry. He has to cry at the news conference.
FISCHEL: There are people on the side a little bit. Well, it is coming up in a half hour, right? We will have it right here on CNN.
Rangers last night, a big debut. The rangers laid out $107 million to bring out Japanese all-star pitcher Yu Darvish to the U.S. Darvish, a rough first inning in his first start for the Rangers, giving up four runs. The Rangers bailed him out. Nelson Cruz had a three-run home run to tie the game. Darvish and Texas get the win over the Mariners, 11-5.
Giants' starter, Barry Zito finishes off the Colorado Rockies with a four-hit shutout. That ends the longest streak between shutouts in baseball history. 274 starts, going back nearly nine years.
He hasn't been very good during much of the time, it's part of the problem. Back in 2007, Zito signed a seven-year, $126 million contract. The Giants thought they would just keep sending him out on the mound hoping he will finally earn his money.
COSTELLO: It finally paid off.
FISCHEL: Yesterday, he earned it. Bubba Watson is a busy guy since donning the Masters green jacket. Fans love him. He will be on David Letterman later this week. Also, in demand he is at home. Of course, now he is a new father. He and his wife just adopted a baby boy.
Bubba tweeted, changed my first 2 diapers today, hashtag MastersChamp.
According to the Web site, Bubba now has 460,000 followers on Twitter. That's up more than 100,000 since winning in Augusta. And you know what he's been doing? He's been answering every tweet. Someone says, hey, great job, congratulations, he responds to every one of them. I mean this is why fans were cheering for him.
COSTELLO: He picked up 100,000 followers and he still answers every tweet.
FISCHEL: He is trying to respond to every one saying hey, thanks to everyone who keeps saying, "Great job."
COSTELLO: His thumb is going to fall off. He has that baby now.
FISCHEL: I think more time will be devoted to diapers coming up in the next few days.
COSTELLO: I think you're probably right. Jeff Fischel --
FISCHEL: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
FISCHEL: Ok.
COSTELLO: Good morning to you. I am Carol Costello.
Just ahead in the newsroom, shy, quiet, indifferent? You would not say Miami Marlins manager, Ozzie Guillen is any of those things. His latest comments about Fidel Castro have people reacting like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know the Marlins. You know they said that (inaudible) --
COSTELLO: In half an hour shall the Marlins Manager explains his "I respect Fidel Castro" comment at a news conference. We will bring that to you live.
Whipping winds are fanning flames up and down the East Coast leading to dangerous conditions like this. Wild fire are raging and the weather is not expected to help firefighters get things under control today.
Tempting fate, high winds delayed the start of a "Titanic" memorial cruise. It is full steam ahead now but what will the rest of the trip look like?
