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"Occupy" Launches May Day Protests; Christie Campaigns for Fellow Governor; The Cult of Osama bin Laden; Gas Prices Steadily Decline; Truckers to Help Find Missing Children

Aired May 01, 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: Good morning to all of you. I'm Carol Costello. Happening right now in the NEWSROOM. May Day, promises of mass protests from the "Occupy" sect. No work, no shopping, no banking. And we're asking this morning, though, is this "Occupy's" last stand?

Security alert. New warnings and new concerns. It's been a year since Osama bin Laden was killed in a covert overnight U.S. Navy SEAL operation. This morning word that terrorists could use bombs implanted in someone's body.

Finding the missing. We've got Amber alerts, Facebook, now a new possibility in connecting missing kids with their parents. Say hello to trucker TV.

Jet blew. A huge 727 going hundreds of miles an hour crash lands in the desert. And get this. It's on purpose.

And a new update on your Facebook page that could literally change your life. This morning organ donation on your Timeline.

NEWSROOM begins right now.

And we begin this morning with new reports suggesting al Qaeda could use so-called body bombs on planes in America. Our affiliates in California are saying their law enforcement received the alert from the FBI and Homeland Security. They say al Qaeda is looking into new ways of concealing explosives by surgically implanting those devices into their bodies. All of this on the one year anniversary of the killing of Osama bin Laden.

New York City's police commissioner, Ray Kelly, spoke to CNN earlier this morning about these so-called body bombs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAY KELLY, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: But the information about planting bombs inside of people we've been looking at that, or the intelligence community, I should say, has been looking at that for a while. There is a bomb maker --

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, ANCHOR, CNN'S "EARLY START": So it's new to us and not new to you. That's good. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Commissioner Kelly also said the highest concern of U.S. intelligence continues to be the threat of nuclear weapons.

In other news this morning, they are back. Remember the protest from the "Occupy Wall Street" movement? Well, today they're hoping to rage against the machine again but will they? This was their show of strength less than six months ago and this is their fizzled fury today. This is a live picture of a modest turnout in New York City. More on that in just a minute.

The group says it will hold demonstrations, though, in 135 cities. They've chosen today, May 1st, because it's known across the world as International Workers Day, and that of course underscores the group's theme. The rich get richer, the rest of us get poorer.

Organizers are asking everyone to take part in a boycott of sorts. A day without 99 percent means no school, no work, no shopping and no banking.

We've already seen some violence from the protests. Vandals in San Francisco smashed windows and threw paint at a police station in the Mission District. But let's head back east and CNN's Poppy Harlow. She is in New York's Bryant Park. The beginning of a planned march.

And not many people there, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not many people here. But it's early. They tell me it's going to get a lot busier around 2:00 especially 4:00 this afternoon when they're going to march from Union Square down to Wall Street. But a very small turnout. About 40 people representing the movement here in Bryant Park. You've got about half that many in terms of just police officers.

I spoke with Commissioner Ray Kelly of the NYPD this morning at CNN. He told me they're going to have significant police force on the ground. He wouldn't give me the exact number. But again, this is sort of a resurgence, at least the movement hopes it will be of the "Occupy" movement and of the message, Carol, as you said. They're saying no school, no work, don't bank, don't buy.

I talked to a number of "Occupy" members this morning already. What they say to me is we are demanding economic justice. I asked, has your message changed? They said, no, but it's not just about a park. It's about changing laws. It's about progressing this movement. Critics will say they can't do that. They believe they can.

I want you to take a quick listen to Mark Bray. He is the "Occupy" member who's in charge of really organizing today. We spoke with him just a few minutes ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARK BRAY, "OCCUPY WALL STREET": I think ultimately people would have been very dissatisfied if we just stuck to the park and did nothing else. Instead what we're trying to do is really get at a grassroots level to organize people around issues that are important to them and that's where, I think, the movement will succeed or fail, is those interpersonal connections because the world isn't going to be changed simply through what happens on TV.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: I'll also -- also tell you, Carol, something that I noticed that has changed in this conversation, is it seems to me like they're trying to make it a little more mass market, if you will. Bring the -- really bring the 99 percent sort of all these working people on the street into their message and their movement, and not alienate them by just being represented by what we saw in Ducati Park -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, Poppy, we'll cut them some slack because it's raining and it's cold in New York City, and maybe later on in the day more people will gather. But if there's not a huge turnout in these 135 cities across the United States, what will that say about the movement itself?

HARLOW: I think frankly my opinion, I think it hurts them. I think they need this to be a day when they really are visual all over the media. A day when they get their message out because, again, we haven't seen them group together since that November 17th eviction of the Ducati Park.

They are deeming this and billing this as a resurgence. Their goal is not only to spark a conversation, they've already done that, but to change laws. But to do that they have to be in the public eye and they have to amass more support.

And frankly, Carol, they have to amass more money and it's hard to do that if you don't have a big showing. That said, I don't think that this is representative of what we're going to see today from what I've been told throughout the week from organizers. I think it's really going to pick up this afternoon. It's supposed to stop raining about noon. We'll see. But they need money and they need support, and to do that they need the masses.

COSTELLO: Poppy Harlow live in New York City this morning.

Story looks much different around the world. In the Cuban capital of Havana the streets are teaming with thousands of people marking International Workers Day. That's always a big day in the communist country when the citizen is celebrated.

In Spain, anger is driving people into the streets. Union workers have shut down much of the country with a general strike. They are rallying against a failing economy and severe austerity measures.

And this is what it looks like in London. You see protesters there also embraced the "Occupy" movement. They're demanding more jobs, higher pay and better working conditions.

In Moscow, this is called the Day of Spring and Labor. And demonstrators were joined by leaders of the former communist nation. The Russian president and the Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also took part in the annual march.

In just over a month, Wisconsin voters decide if they want to keep or boot their governor. Scott Walker is in a recall battle now. His fight with labor unions kick-started efforts to recall him.

Walker has raised an astonishing amount of money. More than $13 million in just three months. Some of the ads his supporters are running make you think he's running against President Obama, not his in-state Democratic rivals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama could learn a few lessons in leadership from Wisconsin's governor Scott Walker. Under Obama America has lost more than 800,000 jobs. We owe billions to China. Gas prices are out of control. And home values have plunged.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have never seen a president trash a country so fast in my life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very concerned about what President Obama is doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But under Governor Scott Walker things in Wisconsin have begun to turn around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott Walker is trying to have --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You get the idea there. Walker is also getting some help you really can't put a price tag on. Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey will campaign with him today in Green Bay and Milwaukee. Christie is a busy guy with a growing national profile. Look how busy and how national. Besides Wisconsin, Christie is also a featured guest at events in Washington, Kentucky, and Chicago, all within a month, none of them in New Jersey.

Christie's name has been floating out there as a running mate for Mitt Romney. In the past he said no way. But he seems to be changing his tune.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: What I said before, I really have no interest in being vice president. But if Governor Romney called and asked me to sit down and talk to him about it, I would listen because I think you own the nominee of your party your respect. And who knows what he's going to say. And he might be able to convince me. He's a convincing guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Maybe. So let's talk to John Avlon from "The Daily Beast." He's also a CNN contributor.

So, John, sure looks like Christie wants that VP spot now.

JOHN AVLON, SR. POLITICAL COLUMNIST, NEWSWEEK, THE DAILY BEAST: Well, he's not being shy about it. I mean, you know, that's as close as you come to saying, I'm interested in the veepstakes. And it usually is a game where people say no, no, it's not going happen. And they try to downplay their interest.

But Christie is a big personality. And he's not a -- not a shy kind of guy. And I think there's actually some wisdom to the argument of him joining a ticket even though, I think, right now conventional wisdom in Washington centering around a more sober understated pick like Senator Rob Portman.

But this is a process that's going to go on for months. It's wide open and I'm sure Chris Christie will be on some final short list.

COSTELLO: So Chris Christie is going to Wisconsin to hold these rallies for the governor there who is facing a recall election in June. Why Chris Christie?

AVLON: Well, Chris Christie has actually developed a fascinating profile in a relatively short period of time. He's one of the few Republican figures right now, governors, who's able to unite the Tea Party Movement, the business establishment, with a strong record of executive leadership and government reform with an eye toward reducing the budget.

That really helps the Republican coalition. And he's become really a national Republican celebrity as a result. So when he goes up to campaign for Scott Walker, guess what? It makes national news. And this is a strong argument for Scott Walker to make. Scott Walker pushed through some budget reforms early on obviously. Very polarizing. Hasn't been the most popular guy in his state.

But raising $13 million is an amazing accomplishment, but 46 percent of Wisconsin, in a recent poll, said they were very disappointed in -- the result he's had. So Chris Christie comes bounding in, and it adds a dose of charisma that Scott Walker needs to make himself seem more appealing and to put his Wisconsin reforms in a more national light.

COSTELLO: Yes, and just an added tidbit. Wisconsin actually lost jobs and we all heard Governor Walker at the time promised to create 250,000 more jobs in Wisconsin if he fixed the union problem. But that really hasn't happen?

AVLON: Yes, you know, beware of politicians promising specific numbers. I mean, you know, they're not magician and they usually can't deliver on these things. It's like when a politician promises to lower the price of gas. You know, walk the other way very quickly. That said, Governor Walker pushed through some very controversial but he sees -- his allies see as very important efforts to make long- term changes in balancing the budget, arguing that Wisconsin would therefore be on a more stable long-term path. What's fascinating about this referendum, it's a complete reversal of that old Tip O'Neil wisdom that all politics is local.

All politics is national now particularly this Wisconsin recall which becomes a major test for the fall. It's big business versus big labor. And one of the arguments that you're going to see laid out is that -- that Scott Walker, in raising that $13 million war chest, hasn't been spending a lot of time minding the folks at home, i.e., he's been more interested in preserving his job than growing jobs for folks in Wisconsin.

Walker's folks will turn around and say, you know what? This is a major test. Not only of the fall strengths and what could be as major swing state but a big question about whether states can balance their budgets in the face of major public sector union obligations that they just can't afford.

So it's going to be a fascinating national debate played out in Wisconsin really over the next five weeks.

COSTELLO: John Avlon, thank you.

Other stories we're keeping an eye on this morning, the Department of Homeland Security launches a separate investigation into the Secret Service prostitution scandal. And effective immediately new U.S. standards of behavior apply to all Secret Service personnel no matter where they are in the world.

Twenty-four people have been linked to the scandal, 12 from the Secret Service and 12 from the U.S. military.

The owners of the Grand Ole Opry and a Wisconsin based water heater maker are seeking millions of dollars from the U.S. government. They filed a lawsuit accusing the Army Corps of Engineers and National Weather Service of turning the -- the 2010 Nashville flood into a man- made catastrophe that killed 11 people and cost $2 billion in losses.

And take a look at this. Baseball sized hail. It's not a myth. It really exists. It busted out windshields in Hedley, Texas, on Monday and of course that will keep the insurance adjusters really happy and busy today.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is here.

That's insane.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And there was over 120 reports of hail yesterday along with six reports of tornadoes. So a busy day. Severe weather wise. And we're going to have another busy day today, obviously. It is the season. May 1st. And you know one of the reasons that we get severe weather in the spring is because at least at the upper levels of the atmosphere we still have a fair amount of cold air. And that's where you get that uplift and the little ice pellets grow to be these big monsters when you get several rounds in the atmospheric elevator going top to bottom in the atmosphere where it is very, very cold.

Obviously cold enough to make those big giant hail balls and they fell with a vengeance down across parts of Oklahoma.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: We had an early spring. It looks like we may have an early summer as well.

COSTELLO: Figures, right?

We have to -- we have to show these pictures.

MARCIANO: That dog video?

COSTELLO: The dog video.

MARCIANO: Come on. It's good stuff.

COSTELLO: I know it's good stuff. Usually we don't like to put too many dog stories in the news because, you know, we are the news but this is incredible. This is in China. This dog guards the guy's bike while he's away.

MARCIANO: I love it. Better than kryptonite. You know? And then on top of that --

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: He rides the bike.

MARCIANO: He hops on the back. On the B seat. I love it. Perfect.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: That dog has to fall off eventually.

MARCIANO: But not in this video. That's perfect stuff.

COSTELLO: And let's -- yes. We're glad about that. Thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right. Good to see you.

COSTELLO: Still to come, you heard about Isabel Celis. She's missing in Arizona. Now, an advocate for missing children says there's a huge resource out there that could help where AMBER alerts do not. We're talking about long haul truckers. Marc Klaas joins us later.

Osama bin Laden, Navy SEALs killed him. Radical Muslims keep his legacy alive. We'll look at the global cult that has elevated him to sainthood.

CNN NEWSROOM back in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Today, as you well know, marks one year since Osama bin Laden's death. And he spent his final days watching his terror network slowly crumbled. U.S. officials say the al Qaeda chief was reeling from drone strikes that have taken out many of his trusted commanders. They say Osama bin Laden was increasingly frustrated and gloomy, and knew al Qaeda had alienated many Muslims because of its killing of innocent civilians. In fact, bin Laden was even considering al Qaeda's name because he had polarized much of the Muslim world.

But the condemnation of Osama bin Laden and his ruthless tactics was not universal. In fact, one year later, his name remains a rallying cry for many Muslims who say he still inspires their cause.

A report from CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Among some British Muslims, Osama bin Laden was a hero. His killing by U.S. forces, a bitter blow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will continue to produce the likes of Osama, the likes of Khalid bin Walid, the likes of Salahuddin.

CHANCE: These were angry scenes outside of the U.S. embassy in London when President Obama came to visit shortly afterwards.

Most British Muslims don't share these views, but analysts say the global cult of bin Laden is still thriving after his death.

NOMAN BENOTMAN, SENIOR ANALYST, QUILLIAM FOUNDATION: I don't think bin Laden has been forgotten. He will never ever be forgotten. I think bin Laden stamps himself very well now within the Islamic context. He's more -- after his death, he's being treated in certain places as a saint, you know? It will remain for a long, long time.

CHANCE: The influence of bin Laden on radical Muslims in Britain and elsewhere has been profound. His video message is given prominence at meetings like this one. Some radicals viewed his 9/11 attacks as no different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which followed and his killing has done little to change their minds.

ANJUN CHOWDURY, MUSLIMS AGAINST CRUSADERS: Now, the Muslims have a point to prove that this jihad will not begin in anguish of Osama bin Laden. Every mother wants to give birth to a child of Osama bin Laden so he can be in the front line as well.

CHANCE (on camera): No doubt, the killing of bin Laden last year dealt a powerful blow to al Qaeda. The network lost its charismatic leader. Evaded capturing while masterminding attacks for years, but the truth is, the man is still revered in some quarter. Analysts say the organization he led remains a dangerous threat.

(voice-over): True, al Qaeda's influence may have declined in places like Iraq and Afghanistan but analysts say elsewhere, from Somalia, to Mali, to Yemen, al Qaeda appears to have expanded its reach by affiliating with local groups.

In Syria, it may not yet be a huge player nor does the network appear to have played much of a role in the Arab spring uprisings of last year, but analysts say it's constantly looking for opportunities to insert itself.

(on camera): You think it would be a mistake for the United States for instance to think that because Osama bin Laden has been killed, the war on terror has been won?

BENOTMAN: No way. No way. No way. It's wrong. It's still yet to say that and it's not war against terror. It's war against global revolutionary insurgency. They have many theaters around the world and they are very active. And from time to time, for certain reasons, military reasons, some theater just go kind of like a low profile.

MATTHEWS (voice-over): And a year after his killing, it seems the cult of Osama bin Laden lives on.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Osama bin Laden's death one year ago is turning into a political battle. The GOP says the president is politicizing this day, but is Mitt Romney about to eat his words? We'll explore that issue ahead.

And a passenger plane crashes on purpose. Why would anyone want to do that?

CNN NEWSROOM back in a couple minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's a full scale war, not over Osama bin Laden but the politicization of his death. Republicans say they are sadden President Obama would politicize such a unifying moment with a cheap political ad about Mr. Obama's lonely decision to kill Osama bin Laden.

Here's Governor Mitt Romney today on CBS this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's not make the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden a politically divisive event. There are plenty of differences between President Obama and myself, but let's not make up ones based on, well, he might not have done this. It's disappointing. It's unfortunate.

I think that it's taking an event that really brought America together, that was the culmination of a lot of work by a lot of people, and enormous sacrifice, and some people who put their lives on the line. Let's not use this as a political football.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Romney will remain in New York, that's where that interview took place. And he's going to observe the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death -- by his side will be Rudy Giuliani. They will appear beside Engine 24/ Ladder 5 surrounded by New York City firefighters. Eleven of their brethren died on 9/11. So, you can se the symbolism there.

Paul Steinhauser is our political editor.

And I can hear Democrats saying, hey, isn't Mitt Romney politicizing the death of Osama bin Laden?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Carol, shocking that we have politics grandstanding during a political season. Isn't it shocking?

Listen, this whole thing kind of started last Thursday when Vice President Biden, also in New York City, gave a major speech on foreign policy. And, yes, he questioned whether Mitt Romney, if Mitt Romney were president a year ago, would have made the same call. Remember an Obama campaign web video the very next day made the same point. And we've been hearing this back and forth ever since.

Listen, we are in the middle right now of a heated general election campaign that just got under way a few weeks ago. So, of course, this is going to be a major topic of conversation.

Is it fair game for the president and his campaign to be doing what they are doing? Well, to a degree maybe yes because, remember, the Republicans -- Mitt Romney and all of the other Republican candidates -- during in the primaries have been slamming this president nonstop, calling him weak when it comes to foreign policy. So, yes, I think to a degree, it is fair game for the re-election team to use one of the president's finest foreign policy moments and taut that.

COSTELLO: Well, it is interesting the campaign has turned nasty and Mitt Romney doesn't have the nomination yet.

STEINHAUSER: Yes, he doesn't have it yet officially. Well, let's be honest, he's all but -- you know, all but certain the nominee, presumed nominee, call it what you want. But the primaries are over. We've moved to a general election.

It's going to be an election mostly about the economy. Sure, jobs and all that. But as you can see here, foreign policy is going to play a role and we're going to see more of this and we're going to see the campaigns use every tool they can on both sides. This argument over the last couple of days just a taste of things to come, Carol.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much.

STEINHAUSER: Yes.

COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you: Occupy Wall Street, is it right on or irrelevant?

Yes, they are back -- after months of mostly behind the scenes activism, Occupy Wall Street is taking to the streets this May Day. Organizers are calling for a nationwide general strike or a day without the 99 percent -- no work, no shopping, no banking.

In San Francisco, Occupy protesters vandalized parts of the mission district, including a police station. Yes, Occupy supporters still insist the movement is mostly peaceful and say it has bipartisan appeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Regardless of who is in office, regardless if it's a Democrat or Republican, we need to push the issues of economic injustice because you found over the years that if we just sit idly, it's the lobbyists who get the real say in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You could argue the 2012 election has been influenced by the Occupy message. President Obama's latest campaign ad paints Mitt Romney has a man who outsourced jobs, tried to hide a Swiss bank account, and cozies up to big oil.

Romney says free enterprise and less government is good for America but even he has borrowed from Occupy's vocabulary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: The 1 percent is doing fine. I want to help the 99 percent. I want to help Middle Americans get good jobs that pay good wages. I'm going to get to work to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So, the question for you this morning: Occupy Wall Street -- is it right on or irrelevant?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning for you. I'm Carol Costello.

Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM:

The FBI in Cleveland, Ohio, holds a news conference at the top of the hour to discuss arrests and charges relating to a national security case. Now, this announcement comes just hours after news reports suggesting al Qaeda might use so-called body bombs on planes in America.

Our affiliates in California say law enforcement received the alert from the FBI and homeland security. They say al Qaeda is looking into new ways of concealing explosives by surgically implanting devices into their bodies.

COSTELLO: May Day protesters are gearing up this morning from coast to coast. This Occupy Wall Street map, you're going to see in a second, it shows dozens of locations for protests today. They are calling for no work, banking or shopping.

The wife of John Edwards' former aide returns to the stand this morning in Edwards' trial. Cheri Young testified that this she wrote checks to pay the expenses of Edwards' mistress. Young says she asked Edwards about the legality of using campaign funds for that purpose and that Edwards got, quote, "very angry."

I know you've noticed -- gas prices are on the way down. They peaked around April 2nd at $3.94 a gallon. The nation freaked out. So did the men running for president.

Mitt Romney blamed President Obama. This is what he said back in March.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: When he ran for office, he said he wanted to see gasoline prices go up. He said that energy prices would skyrocket under his views. And he's selected three people to help him implement that program: the secretary of energy, the secretary of interior, and the EPA administrator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Romney then said the secretaries of energy, interior and EPA should be fired. At first, President Obama pooh-poohed such criticism, telling voters there is no magic wand to control gas prices. Then his approval ratings tanked with only 49 percent approval rating around the time gas prices hit their high.

Cue a Rose Garden presser where President Obama urged Congress to put the hammer down on oil speculators. Today, all of that was just talk, nothing much has happened.

And guess what? Gas prices have steadily decline since April 5th -- no thanks to the men running for president.

So why?

Gregg Laskoski is with GasBuddy.com. Greg is a senior petroleum analyst. He knows all about gas and hot air.

Welcome.

GREGG LASKOSKI, SENIOR PETROLEUM ANALYST, GASBUDDY.COM: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. So in a nutshell, why have gas prices declined?

LASKOSKI: Well, we've seen some good numbers from the Department of Energy. We've got good numbers on crude oil inventory, gasoline inventory, even refinery output has increased somewhat. So, all of those things are favorable.

At the same time, crude oil is trading in a pretty narrow range between $102 and $105 a barrel. These things are helping to bring gasoline prices lower.

That's why the national average today is at $3.80, which is about 10 cents a gallon less than where we were a month ago.

COSTELLO: So, did anything the government did or any suggestion any politician make have to do with these drop in gas prices?

LASKOSKI: I can't say that it did. I can only say that the current trends are favorable for continuing decline, an incremental decline in gasoline prices. Of course, the one thing that's still a wild card is the situation in the Middle East.

We have to watch what happens in the negotiations Iran is engaged in with the U.N. Security Council. They started the first round of negotiations a couple weeks ago. They've got another round coming up in Baghdad this month. We want to make sure that those go well because crude oil prices are going to follow exactly what happens there.

COSTELLO: OK. So that is something our government can do.

So, let's assume negotiations will go well, because I'm an optimist this morning. Usually gas prices peak around Memorial Day. It seems they have peaked in April, did they?

LASKOSKI: We believe that they did peak, but I want to also say that we can't say that they usually peak in Memorial Day. We've seen years when gasoline prices peaked in October and even in December. So, it's reasonable to expect prices to peak, you know, at this time of year but it is up in the air sometimes.

COSTELLO: Yes, I know. So, we'll keep our fingers and toes crossed.

Gregg Laskoski with GasBuddy.com -- thank you for joining us this morning.

LASKOSKI: Thank you.

COSTELLO: A plane crash caught on camera. A TV network gets a passenger plane to go down on purpose. Isn't that amazing? Scary, too. We'll tell you why they did this.

Also John Mayer is known to date some of Hollywood's most beautiful women, but apparently there's one -- and I'm talking about Jennifer Aniston. Yes, he wrote a song about her. Get out. That's coming your way in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: That's John Mayer. He's written this new song about Jennifer Aniston and their breakup, which I'm sure Jennifer Aniston about this.

A.J. Hammer is in New York.

A.J., there's more than one woman who hardly dislikes John Mayer for singing songs exactly like this.

A.J. HAMMER, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" HOST: Yes. Well, he is opening up about his relationship with Jen Aniston.

Now, fortunately, I think if Jen was bracing herself, it doesn't say anything bad about her in any way. It's more what he went through. They've been broken up for almost three years now. And Aniston, of course, has moved on. She seems very happy with her current beau, Justin Theroux.

But according to "Us" magazine, Mayer's new song "Shadow Days" is a farewell letter to Jen. And if that's true, it does sound like he had a tough time dealing with the breakup.

Let me read some of the lyrics. "I found myself in pieces on my hotel floor. Hard times help me see. I'm a good man with a good heart, at a tough time, got a rough start. And I finally learned to let it go."

Can't we all relate to those lyrics? Listen, you know, he's been keeping a pretty low profile for a couple years, Carol, ever since he was a little too revealing in some interviews about his relationships with not just Aniston but Jessica Simpson as well.

But he's also been on the receiving end of post-relationship lyrics. You remember Taylor Swift famously wrote a scathing song where she basically rips Mayer for their apparently brief and unhappy encounter. Although she's never publicly copped to it being about him, Carol, I do think it's pretty obvious. John Mayer, maybe --

COSTELLO: I love that song, too. That's a great song.

OK. We'll see if it's a hit and if many women buy his album. Who knows? I mean, because he spilled some intimate details about poor Jessica Simpson and also about Jennifer Aniston.

HAMMER: Yes, I think that's haunted him. I really think it changed a lot of the way people look at him, not everybody. I don't know that he necessarily cares but I think he's certainly changed his approach to the kind of publicity he does, with the kind of stuff he puts out there. And it's a good thing I think, because he wants people to focus on the music.

COSTELLO: Yes, OK. A.J. Hammer, thank you so much.

HAMMER: You got it.

COSTELLO: We've seen plane crashes in movies or the aftermath of plane crashes on the news. But would you want to see a plane crash from inside the cabin as it happens? A TV crew did just that by crashing a passenger jet. These are amazing and scary pictures actually.

It's all part of a Discovery Channel documentary series called "Curiosity." Show produces let a Boeing 727 passenger jet go down in a Mexican desert, crash dummies were belted in as passengers and the pilot ejected minutes before impact. Cameras were rolling to show the full impact. Producers say the series will explore questions about how to make plane crashes more survivable.

Oh, you can just see the fuselage in the front there. It just cracks. The episode is set to air later this year.

A child missing for nearly a week didn't trigger a nationwide AMBER Alert. There was no vehicle. No car tag for police to put out there. Coming up next: a new idea that might help where AMBER Alerts don't.

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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Just about 47 minutes past the hour. Checking top stories now. This morning protesters from coast to coast gearing up for a big protest on this May Day. Organizers are asking people not to work, not to bank, not even to do housework.

The FBI in Cleveland, Ohio holds a news conference at the top of the hour to discuss arrests and charges relating to a national security case. The announcement comes just hours after news reports suggesting al Qaeda might use so-called body bombs on planes heading into the United States.

Also this morning, the Department of Homeland Security launches a separate investigation into the Secret Service prostitution scandal and effective immediately new U.S. Standards of Behavior apply to all Secret Service personnel no matter where they are stationed in the world. 24 people have been linked to the scandal; 12 from the Secret Service; 12 from the U.S. military.

An 8-year-old Arizona girl has been missing now for more than a week. Isabel Celis's father went into her room the morning of April 21st to wake her up but she wasn't there. Police in Tucson say her bedroom window was open with a screen taken out. The search has expanded across the border into Mexico.

Many times when a child disappears, you'll see a nationwide amber alert go out but in this case there was no amber alert because there was no vehicle description. At least one advocate for missing children thinks there's another untapped resource out there that could help find Isabel -- long haul truckers. Marc Klaas joins us now. Welcome, Marc.

MARC KLAAS, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Welcome, thank you.

COSTELLO: Thank you for being here. So you're talking about Trucker TV. What is Trucker TV?

KLASS: Well, sure. Trucker TV is -- is providing America's two million long haul truckers for the first time with the ability to access a broadcast quality suite of television programming such as you and I do from our homes during their mandated rest stops at various truck stops throughout the United States.

COSTELLO: So the TV's are in these truck stops and truckers will able to look at pictures of missing children to see if they spotted them in their travels. You need FCC approval for this, why?

KLAAS: Well in fact, we do. And it's a little more complicated than that. We're talking about giving the truckers the ability to set up the TV's inside their trucks and download the suite in there. We need the FCC approval because it is a --it is a broadcast issue and quite frankly this is the longest running issue within the FCC. It's the longest running issue on the docket of the FCC at this time.

COSTELLO: So what's the sticking point?

KLAAS: I really don't know what the sticking point is. And I think that that's a very, very good question. When Kevin Martin was the chairman of the FCC, he was writing -- he was writing an order when -- when he termed out. The same thing we had a lot of support from Michael Copps (ph), the interim chair but Mr. Genachowski (ph) has ignored this issue from the moment he became -- the moment he got into office.

And I think that the American people deserve to know where Chairman Genachowski and the Obama administration stand on the issue of a large population of blue collar workers and giving them the ability to access broadcast TV and to help find missing children and to do this at no cost at all to taxpayers.

COSTELLO: Yes and this will be low powered, it's not like you know the TV would be broadcasting other content other than pictures of these missing children.

In the case of Isabel Celis, there was no amber alert because there was no vehicle. So how do you suppose something like Trucker TV would help find her?

KLAAS: Well, without getting into it too heavily, the amber alert doesn't work for the kids that need it the most. Kidnappers don't advertise their vehicle information. What Trucker TV can do, is it can bring her case and the case of other missing children into the trucks themselves at the truck stops.

And remember, Carol, there are two million of these folks on America's highways, in the places where everybody has to drive. And they're in constant communication with each other through their CB radios. So by bringing Isabel's case, by bringing other high-profile, low-profile cases and even missing adult cases into the cabs of these trucks, it's going to raise an awful lot of awareness and it's going to employ a -- a vast army of first responders that otherwise has been completely untapped.

COSTELLO: We'll keep following your efforts, Marc Klaas, thanks so much for joining us this morning.

KLAAS: Thank you.

COSTELLO: The New York Knicks big man leaves Miami with a big bandage. Amare Stoudemire punches a glass case after the Knick lose. And now the Knicks will probably lose him. That story and more coming your way in sports.

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COSTELLO: We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning: "Occupy Wall Street is it right on or has it become irrelevant?"

This from Steve, "It's silly. There is no point to it other than to create chaos. If the 99 percent all called in sick today there would be no doctors, paramedics, police, firefighters, nurses, no TV shows on, nowhere to grab a bite to eat, nothing."

This from Todd, "Mostly right on. I don't agree with the vandalizing of property. If the 99 percent actually did not go to work or go to buy things at stores this country would actually get the picture. But it won't happen."

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This from Jason, "The Occupy Movement has re-energized at a time that more and more Americans are looking for answers on what to do next. I think they're right on target and will be a major force this year."

This from Timmy Tim, Tim -- I love that name. "It's funny to see the Occupy people with the new iPhones and iPads. Good that they can afford to upgrade.

Keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn; and thanks as always for your comments.

We are following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with Dan Simon.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. I'm Dan Simon here in San Francisco at the entrance of the Golden Gate Bridge. There is a heavy police presence out here, just in case there are any problems with Occupy protesters. We'll explain at the top of the hour.

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Dan Rivers in London where this damning report by British MPs is piling the pressure on media mogul Rupert Murdoch. It branded him as not fit to run an international company. More in the next hour.

COSTELLO: Thanks to both of you.

Also in the next hour, just about five minutes from now, the FDA is considering something radical. It might allow you to buy prescription drugs for things like, you know, diabetes medication and high blood pressure medication without a doctor's prescription. A doctor and former president of the American College of Physicians will give us her insight.

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COSTELLO: Time for sports.

An NBA playoff battle overshadowed by what happened off the court after the game. Miami taking on New York in their first round series. The Heat's big three, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined to score 65 points. And the Heat go on to win, taking a 2-0 lead in the series.

Frustrating game, though, for the Knicks center Amare Stoudemire. He only got of nine shots and then walking to the dressing room, he punched the glass surrounding a fire extinguisher. The impact left shattered glass and drops of blood on the floor. Stoudemire left the arena with his hand heavily damaged -- you can see him back there.

There's little chance he'll be back for game three of the series. Stoudemire sent out this tweet, quote, "I am so mad at myself right now. I want to apologize to my fans and my team, not proud of my actions. Headed home for a new start," end quote.

It was a roller coaster off season for Ryan Braun; you know the MVP award, the drug test suspension, the successful appeal. Well, last night Braun was back on top. Boom -- he hit three home runs against the Padres in San Diego. He also had a triple, first time for that combo with the Big Leagues since 1975.

This was also the first time a player has hit three home runs in a game in Petco Park, which is ironic because just the other day the Padres said they're thinking of bringing in the fences to help the hitters out. Well, Braun needed no help.