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Romney Delivers Graduation Speech; Syrians Mourn Bombing Victims; Two Turkish Journalists Released; Fitch Downgrades JPMorgan Chase; Spring Cleaning Financial Paperwork; Smart Watches; Movie Reviews; Paraplegic Teen Vows to Walk Again; Bird Die-Offs in South America
Aired May 12, 2012 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And here are some of the other stories that we're watching for you. More details on the chilling kidnappings and murders of the Tennessee family. Investigators say the two surviving sisters were found dirty, starving, and dehydrated with bug bites all over their bodies. The 13-day-ordeal ended Thursday when the suspect Adam Mayes shot himself to death.
In North Carolina someone has poisoned two dogs related to the mascot for the University of North Carolina. The dogs had to be euthanized after being poisoned with antifreeze.
And days after President Barack Obama declares his support for gay marriage, Mitt Romney is speaking out. He said at a commencement speech at a Christian university today he would defend marriage as being defined marriage as being only that between a man and a woman.
In a few minutes, we'll talk to our Athena Jones in Maryland, a state that has legalized same-sex marriage and now is facing a challenge to those laws.
A great deal going on in Syria today. Funerals following a bloody attack that killed more than 50 people. A shadowy group steps forward claiming responsibility.
And the surprise release of two journalists who went missing nearly two months ago. CNN's Ivan Watson reports from the border that separates Syria from Turkey.
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the Syrian government held state funerals for some of the more than 50 victims from a massive bombing that took place Thursday at the capital of Damascus outside the headquarters of one of Syria's many intelligence and security department.
Now, a shadowy group that identifies itself as (inaudible) has claimed responsibility for that blast in a web posting. They previously claimed responsibility for other large explosions in Syria. Meanwhile, the Syrian government has claimed to have foiled an attempted suicide truck bombing in the large city in the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the families of two Turkish journalists are celebrating right now. They went missing in Syria nearly two months ago. They weren't heard of at all until about a week ago and many feared they were dead.
Well, it turned out they had been held at a Syrian prison and a Turkish Islamic charity has helped negotiate their release. They were flown to the Iranian capital, Tehran earlier today. It appears that they're part of a kind of prisoner swap between Iran and Turkey and their proxies in Syria.
On Friday, Syrian rebels released to Turkey two captive Iranians and they're on their way home and now these two Turks have been released. One of these journalists, he said there were tough days and he is celebrating his freedom saying, quote, "Freedom is the most beautiful thing in the world," -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Ivan Watson.
Almost a week after Greek elections, there is still no government in place. The president will be asking all party leaders to form a national unity government. That's the only way to avoid new elections and continues financial assistance from other European nations. Three party leaders tried to put together a government this week but failed.
In Spain protesters promised to take to the states angered by the grim economy and the calls for more austerity measures. They call themselves indigents. Today's protests will kick off four days of rallies. Spain's unemployment rate is 24 percent, but among the young, more than half cannot find work.
More trouble for the nation's biggest bank a day after JPMorgan Chase announced it lost more than $2 billion in the past six weeks. It got hit with a credit downgrade. Its credit rating dropped from AA minus to a single A-plus. The bank's shares dropped 9 percent on the news.
In the San Francisco Bay area, a former police officer convicted of shooting an unarmed man was back in court this week. Johannes Mehserle is asking to have his conviction overturned. He served a year in prison for killing Oscar Grant at a transit station.
Cell phone video shows him shooting Grant in the back. His family says Mehserlee went to court because he wants to clear his name and get his job back with the transit police.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivered some advice to young voters today. He told graduates at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia the thing you believe in and value matter. And he defended his position on marriage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Culture, what you believe, what you value, how you live matters. Now, as fundamental as these principles are, they may become topics of democratic debate from time to time. So it is today with the enduring institution of marriage. Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The gay marriage debate is heating up across the country since President Obama changed his position on Wednesday. CNN's Athena Jones joins us from Silver Spring, Maryland with the latest public reaction to the president's decision. So, Athena, what are you hearing there?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we've been here all day talking to people about their reaction to the president's declared position on Wednesday. But I first want to touch on the Gallup poll.
The first ones to do a national poll in response to what the president said on Wednesday and from those numbers, we see that 51 percent of people approve of President Obama's position on same sex marriage, 45 percent disapprove.
So those numbers are pretty evenly divided. When it comes to the political impact, which has been one of the big questions all week really in the wake of his response on Wednesday, only 13 percent say it made them more likely to vote for the president, 26 percent said less likely and 60 percent, which is, of course, the majority, it doesn't make any difference at all how they would vote.
But when it comes to talking to people around here, most of the people have been in support of the president comes out in favor of same-sex marriage. I have with Michelle and Jessica from here in Silver Spring, a couple from here in Silver Spring.
You guys support the president on this. Did it change the way you viewed him or make you more likely to vote for him this coming election?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In my case, no. I voted for Obama in the last election and I would vote for him again in this election. It does probably strengthen my resolve to campaign for Obama possibly because it would give me another reason to do that.
JONES: A lot of people said I don't know anyone. This affects you guys to want to be married to each other. Do you feel like the president took too long to come out in favor of gay marriage?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. I think general I'm not sure what the impact is. It's nice that he has stated that he's in support of it. I think it's more important that he actually put it into action and lobby for it consistently until those protections are passed.
JONES: When you say lobby for it. That leaves us with the whole idea of it still being a state by state issue. The president has said he supports same-sex marriage but it should be an issue left up to the states. You guys see this as one of your civil right. How do you feel it should be left up to the voters of each state?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So just like other civil rights issues, this is an issue of protection. It should not be left up to the states to deny what should be a basic civil right in that there are about 400 protections that come under getting married. It's really in the worst situations that same-sex comes end up in the worst situation.
JONES: Right. And they need these protections so these are some of the opinions we've been following. Of course, here in Maryland you have some new law that's cutting into pressure. But there are certainly people who are going to be fighting against it -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Athena Jones, thanks so much from Silver Spring, Maryland.
The Venezuelan president has finished his cancer treatments in Cuba. He's back home. We'll tell you why stepping off the plane eliminated one persistent rumor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: After 70 years, a World War II fighter bomber has been found in the Sahara Desert. Now investigators are beginning to piece together why it went down. Why it went unnoticed for so long and what happened to the pilot. Here's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It sat quietly for 70 years in the Egyptian desert, waiting for someone to find it. The wreckage of a British Royal Air Force P-40, one of hundreds of Kitty Hawk fighter bombers that took on the Nazis across North Africa.
A Polish oil worker exploring the Egyptian desert just came across the wreckage and took these extraordinary images, the plane, mostly intact, after decades in the desert. The cockpit controls, from an era gone by, enough to inspire even modern fighter pilots.
COMMODORE KEN MCCANN, U.K. AIR ATTACHE: I just thought what an amazing, amazing story for an aircraft 70 years ago to have gone down in the desert to be in such good condition and to be found intact after all these years.
STARR: Even some ammunition and guns remain. This archive film shows the plane in action in World War II. In North Africa, its job, to protect troops on the ground fighting the Nazis.
MCCANN: It was an absolute workhouse. It flew extensively throughout that campaign, and some may well say it was decisive in tipping the balance in favor of the allies in North Africa.
STARR: Records show the plane went down in the Sahara Desert on June 28, 1942. According to British newspapers, the pilot is thought to be flight Sergeant Dennis Coping.
ANDY SAUNDERS, MILITARY AVIATION HISTORIAN: I think the important part of the story is the story of the man that was flying it and what happened to him.
STARR: It's believed he was flying the already damaged plane to a repair site when he crashed. These bullet holes, a mystery. Was he shot down?
Parachute remnants suggest the young pilot survived and tried to make himself a shelter from the hot sun, but no remains have been found. He may have died in the burning desert looking for help.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: The British military will now visit the desert wreckage site in the coming days and try to make a determination about whether it's feasible to begin the search for the remains of a young World War II pilot who's been missing for so many years. Barbara Starr, CNN, Pentagon.
WHITFIELD: All right, checking the world headlines now.
Today, Syrians mourn dozens killed in twin bombings in Damascus Thursday. The government blames the violence on terrorists. Opposition leaders say several more were killed today by one sniper.
Pakistani police seized 275 pounds of heroin bound from Malaysia. They found it in a refrigerated container of onions, but inside some of those onions the smugglers stuffed 830 pouches of heroin. Police arrested two people.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has returned home after finishing his latest cancer treatments in Cuba. He won't say what kind of cancer treatments he has, but calls the treatments successful. Chavez stepped off the plane, putting to rest rumors that he cannot walk.
All right, it reads like an Alfred Hitchcock plot, an assassination scheme hidden in a crossword puzzle. Venezuelan police are now investigating. Jonathan Mann is here with his very intriguing story. What is it about?
JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could be a thriller or a comedy. It's kind of to take seriously. I don't know if you do crosswords. You know, I'm not that clever.
But this all emerged because the host of a state-owned television show, state-owned TV kind of controlled in Venezuela an angry pundit kind of host. We've seen them here in this country say I have in my hands a crossword puzzle that wants to get at the assassination of the president's brother.
We have the copy of the puzzle. Hugo's Chavez older brother is the governor of a state. He's also an important figure in his own right and if you look at it you can almost make it out. Eight down in this puzzle is -- you're looking at the name of the brother, president, Adan, but the word rafagas is also in that puzzle, so Adan rafagas, rafagas means a burst of machine gun fire.
WHITFIELD: Why would you take this chance and create such a crossword puzzle?
MANN: The truth is there's a lot of words in that puzzle. If you keep looking, you can see -- I think you can make it out. It's on the second line, Camino, which means we all took high school Spanish. Nothing particularly ominous.
The word valley appears in that puzzle. There's a lot of completely innocent language in that puzzle. It just so happens the president's older brother's name is in it and the word assassination.
Why would anybody do that? The guys responsible for this, well, he's a newspaper crossword puzzle maker. He's been doing this for 17 years apparently without much trouble.
Six different agents of the national intelligence service went to his office. That doesn't happen a whole lot. He desired, look, I'm going to go talk to them. He went to the intelligence service, he said, it's just a puzzle, guys. Get over it.
WHITFIELD: And he said it was kind of something that people should take lightly, it should be a joke.
MANN: Essentially.
WHITFIELD: It's not funny.
MANN: The only people laughing are opposition newspapers, which are now have their key words corruption, Fidel Castro so they're trying to embarrass the president a little bit more. They took it seriously enough for the intelligence agency to look into it.
WHITFIELD: Will there be any penalties?
MANN: Nothing. The whole thing's going to go away.
WHITFIELD: Maybe still watch his back.
MANN: Well, you know, I would. People do things. President Chavez is suffering from cancer says that he and several other South American leaders have gotten cancer lately. He blames Washington. He says the United States.
He believes that Washington is in some kind of secret weapon to give cancer to South American heads of state. So if you think that might be true. Who knows? Maybe they're voices talking in your ear.
WHITFIELD: Hugo Chavez is known to say some pretty fiery things or things to get people's attention. All right, Jonathan Mann, always good to see you. Thanks so much, very interesting story.
All right, it is Saturday. We're doing spring cleaning. Maybe you like this idea. Spring cleaning not just like your closets or your house, but maybe your finances. It's something that everybody could probably take part in.
All right, and the investment bank JPMorgan Chase stunned Wall Street this week. The company announced it had lost $2 billion over the last six weeks and it faces the potential loss of a billion more.
Is the U.S. financial system ready for another crisis? Ali Velshi investigates this week in this week's "Fortune Brainstorm." (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, HOST, CNN'S "YOUR MONEY": Sheila Bair is credited with saving the banks during the last crisis. She is the former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, is currently a senior adviser of the Pew Charitable Trust. Sheila, good to see you again.
SHEILA BAIR, FORMER CHAIRMAN, FDIC: Thank you.
VELSHI: There are a lot of things going through my head on this. But when I heard it, it took me back to September of 2008 when I had to struggle to understand this thing about credit default swaps and AIG and how they were engaging in this business of in insuring themselves against risk without regulation. And I thought, is this happening again?
BAIR: Well, no. I don't think it's happening on a broad scale. I would attribute Jamie Dimon for being very clear and owning up to the fact that his bank made mistakes. That was a nice contrast of some of things we saw in 2008 when you saw a lot of CEOs getting up there saying it wasn't my fault, it was the market, other banks were doing it, et cetera.
So he deserves at least credit for owning up to the fact that this is -- appears to be something particular to his institution. They made some serious mistakes. It does make you wonder though that this clearly is one of the best managed larger banks in the country.
That this kind of thing can happen. What's going on with some other institutions? It really does raises broader questions about whether they are just too big to manage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Sheila Bair, thank you. I'm Ali Velshi with this week's fortune brainstorm.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A mystery at North Carolina State University.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: That is Toughy, a official mascot. A year ago someone poisoned his parents and two of his siblings. The dogs got sick, but all survived. But now it is happening again, only this time two dogs are dead.
Joining me on the phone, Sheriff Randy Cartright. Sheriff, first off, this is pretty serious because we're talking about the mascot of a university and a great lineage of dogs that have been mascot of this university. What's behind what is believed to be a poisoning of the dogs?
RANDY CARTWRIGHT, SHERIFF PASQUOTANK COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA (via telephone): We're still got an ongoing investigation looking into the motives. You know, it's more than just because of being a mascot of the university. It's a heinous crime that anybody would poison an animal.
WHITFIELD: It is a heinous crime, but are you finding other dogs are being targeted like these mascot dogs?
CARTWRIGHT: Well, we haven't had dogs targeted like this family has in our county.
WHITFIELD: So what are the circumstances? What is your understanding of what that family is experiencing?
CARTWRIGHT: What they've had happen is that someone actually in the dark of the night has gone into their backyard, dug a hole and buried a bowl of fish and antifreeze to poison the dog.
WHITFIELD: And then the family when they discovered their pets were sick, they called for help or explain what happened from there?
CARTWRIGHT: They, of course took them to the emergency vet in Virginia. They also called us to report the crime.
WHITFIELD: And you do believe there's foul play, that this fish food and antifreeze would be buried? I mean, it certainly looks intentional.
CARTWRIGHT: Yes. It's definitely intentional. They're burying it and actually covering it up with grass clings, and it's been the same motive each time that they've had this happen.
WHITFIELD: So how do you go about investigating? What do you do to try to find out who's responsible for this?
CARTWRIGHT: Well, we follow it up, you know, doing interviews of people who would have anything against the people or the dogs. Follow it up like the other investigation with neighborhood canvasses, what the neighbors seen and follow up all the leads that we develop as we do the investigation.
WHITFIELD: And if located, what are the potential suspects facing?
CARTWRIGHT: In North Carolina, it's a felony, animal abuse.
WHITFIELD: And we do have a statement coming from North Carolina State University from the athletics department reading in part, quote, "We hope the people responsible for this cruelty are caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." How long has this been going on? What's the time span?
CARTWRIGHT: This incident happened on May 3rd and we put a lot of resources on it and investigation and we have several leads we're following up. WHITFIELD: All right, Sheriff Randy Cartwright. Thanks so much for your time. All the best in your investigations and keep us posted.
CARTWRIGHT: All right, thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, it is Saturday. We're doing some spring cleaning. We're not talking closets and basements. We're talking boxes of receipts in the drawer.
If you're leaving the house right now, just a reminder, you can continue to watch CNN from your mobile phone. You can also watch CNN live from your desktop. Just go to cnn.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, the Facebook IPO is expected to happen later on this week and one of the company's founders is getting ready for the windfall.
He's renouncing his U.S. citizenship. Savron owns less than 5 percent of Facebook, but this move could help him avoid paying taxes on the expected millions that he'll earn from the IPO.
Savron became a U.S. citizen from 1998. He's originally from Brazil, but lives in Singapore right now.
All right, spring is here and you may be cleaning up your house, you may also need to clean up your finances including financial documents and receipts.
Karen Lee is the author of "It's Just Money So Why Does It Got So Money Problems."
Karen is with us right now. Almost everything is available these days, you know, kind of online. A lot of us feel comfort in having a paper product. When do you let it go?\
KAREN LEE, FINANCIAL CONSULTANT: I think a lot of the segment is geared toward the older generation.
WHITFIELD: Guilty.
LEE: We're pre-internet.
WHITFIELD: Remove the word "older."
LEE: We had to keep everything. We didn't have everything online. That's what we want to talk about today. What do we save, what do we get rid of, and how to eliminate the paper going forward.
WHITFIELD: All right, how do you calculate?
LEE: First let's talk about the things that we must save, any document that pertains to an asset that you bought so the title, house, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, any asset because you have to be able to prove what you paid for later when you go might go to sell it. Retirement accounts, just the few forms. You don't have to have to keep the actual statement, form 8606, 5488 and 1099rs. This allows you to show what's gone in. Legal documents, marriage, birth certificates, anything like that.
Not only do you want to keep those, you want to scan those and make backup copies online and then loans. If you originate a loan, it's very important that you keep the initial document. All the payments you make and then when you pay it off, now you want to keep that final notice that you've paid it off. Then you can get rid of all the other stuff.
WHITFIELD: Go ahead. There's more.
LEE: No, there's not more did but did you have a question on that.
WHITFIELD: No, I was ready to go on to what stuff do you let go?
LEE: Virtually everything else. I know. It's going to be hard. You want to keep every little thing.
WHITFIELD: Hard to let go.
LEE: It is hard to let go. So you may let go of all those ATM receipts. Every time you swipe your credit card and you keep those, keep them for the one month until you reconcile it with your bank statement...
WHITFIELD: OK.
LEE: ... or with your credit card. Then you can let those go.
WHITFIELD: OK.
LEE: All right? We can get rid of our pay stubs. We can get rid of receipts for minor purchases after a couple of months. I mean, let's face it, if you've had something three months, what's the likelihood of you returning it?
WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) OK.
LEE: What we want to make sure...
WHITFIELD: You do want to hold onto certain receipts, even for your tax purposes. You may want to hold onto these things because you may to calculate them later for tax your purposes.
LEE: Well, as we -- I think almost everyone knows that we have to keep our tax returns for at least seven years. I keep all of mine. I'm not going to get rid of mine. So of course, receipts that pertain to taxes, you want to keep those with your tax file, absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Right.
LEE: But how about utility bills? Do you still keep those and file those? Utility bills, insurance claims... WHITFIELD: I do. I don't know why I do, but -- OK. I should let that go.
(CROSSTALK)
LEE: That's right. But if you don't do it, your kids will do it after you die. So yes. The other thing is bank statements, investment statements. Many of us keep them month after month. They're all archived on the Internet!
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness!
LEE: You actually don't have to keep them.
WHITFIELD: And then at what point do you make a decision, OK, I can go paperless? Now, you mention utility bills.
LEE: Right.
WHITFIELD: And in certain cases, you don't have to have a bill at all anymore.
LEE: That's right. That's right. So this is kind of tough, and I've got to admit, I've got some room to move here. Now, I...
WHITFIELD: We have some issues here, don't we!
(LAUGHTER)
LEE: I do pay all my bills on line now, but I haven't taken that leap to getting an actual...
WHITFIELD: I'm the same way.
LEE: ... e-mail bill. But I'm going to commit to doing it this year, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Are you?
LEE: I am. Same thing with investment statements and bank statements.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEE: Why aren't we getting those on line.
WHITFIELD: I know.
LEE: Why do we...
WHITFIELD: My bank asks me every time I log -- you know, Are you ready to go paperless? And I'm still, like, No, I'm not!
LEE: I do the same thing! We've got to make a pact. This is going to be our year! So what you want to do is automate as many of those payments, get as many things as you can on line. It's greener. It's better for the environment, too.
WHITFIELD: Of course.
LEE: And remember, the -- month to month, you might want to hold onto those receipts until you can reconcile them. But then out with them!
WHITFIELD: Oh! I've got some major spring cleaning to do!
LEE: I do, too.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, this will be interesting. All right, maybe we'll -- we'll think about that pact.
LEE: Well, true confessions. I went to my basement and I found stuff from the '90s...
WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh!
LEE: ... accounts that aren't even open anymore.
WHITFIELD: Oh, I'm sure I can best that.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: So don't feel bad. All right, Karen Lee, thanks so much.
LEE: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: But me, I need to reform. That's all I'm saying. All right.
So for more financial advice, read Karen's book, "It's Just Money, So Why Does it Cause so Many Problems?" Sounds like I need probably financial therapy.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: All right, so here are some of the stories that we're watching. More details on the chilling kidnappings and murders of a Tennessee family. Investigators say the two surviving sisters were found dirty, dehydrated and starving, with bug bites all over their bodies. Their 13-day ordeal ended Thursday when the suspect, Adam Mayes, shot himself to death. The girls have been reunited with their father.
In Connecticut, police are searching the home of alleged mobster Robert Gentile (ph). What they're looking for is a stash of stolen art worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The art was stolen from a Boston museum more than 20 years ago. It is the second time they have checked his home.
And in a White House Rose Garden ceremony today, the president and vice president honored America's top cops. The awards were given and they are given every year to recognize federal, state and local officers for their exemplary work solving crimes and protecting the public. All right, if you thought smartphones were a great way to stay connected, wait until you see what smart watches can do.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: OK, we've seen smartphones, smart televisions, even smart cars, but have you seen smart watches? They do way more than just tell time.
Joining us now live from Toronto via Skype is our gaming and gadgets expert, Marc Saltzman, with a look at what's available and what's to come with smart watches. It's making me think a little "Get Smart," you know? Maybe not the shoe but the watch?
(LAUGHTER)
MARC SALTZMAN, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Or Dick Tracy even, right?
WHITFIELD: Or Dick Tracy. There you go! So tell us about what Sony has done with the SmartWatch.
SALTZMAN: Yes. So this is available now. It's from Sony, called the SmartWatch. It's about $150. And consider it an extension of your Android smartphone. So instead of pulling out your phone to read a tweet or a text message or to change music, look at the weather, you can keep your smartphone like this Sony device here in your backpack, in your purse, in your pocket. And you just glance down at the watch.
So here, you can select what apps you want. Many of them are free from the Google Play (ph) formerly Android Market store. So you can choose what apps you want. So I've got on here weather. I don't know if you can see it very clearly. I can see FaceBook updates and photos. You can see GPS information, you name it.
And so it's, again, an extension. You do need a Bluetooth connection between the SmartWatch and a smartphone in order for it to work. But they work well. It's only about a 1.3-inch touchscreen display. You can choose from different straps.
WHITFIELD: Tiny.
SALTZMAN: So I like the product, and I think that there's a future for them.
WHITFIELD: Wow. And you're using your finger the whole time, or do you have to use, like, a little special wand or something? Because that's awfully tiny.
WHITFIELD: Yes, no stylus pen. It's your fingertip. This is a touchscreen. I'm going to show you one in a moment that is not. But this is a 1.3-inch touchscreen display. So if you're comfortable using a smartphone with swipe (ph)...
WHITFIELD: Oh, right.
SALTZMAN: ... and tap and pinch (ph)...
WHITFIELD: OK.
SALTZMAN: ... you do the same sort of thing on the watch.
WHITFIELD: All right, so let's talk about something else from Alerta (ph), is that right, the makers of the Impulse smart watch for Android and BlackBerry, this thing called Pebble.
Saltzman: That's right. There's a lot of buzz on line about Pebble. It's another upcoming smart watch that will work with both Android, as well as IOS or Apple products, like the iPhone. Similar to the Sony SmartWatch, it will have different apps so you can do things like put on whatever you need. So just like a smartphone that you can customize what it does, same with the Pebble.
So you can have a golf app that will tell you now to get around different courses when you're playing golf using GPS. It will tell you -- of course, there's different faces, different watch faces that you can customize. So there's different apps for different needs. There's a runner's app. So that's coming soon.
Interestingly, they raised more than $10 million on Kickstarter, which is, like, a group funding very popular, trendy way to raise money for a video game or for a product. So they have raised more than $10 million, which is the number one amount of money raised on Kickstarter. So you can bet that these watches are coming out and there's a lot of buzz about them.
WHITFIELD: Gosh, it's just never ending. That's amazing stuff. Marc Saltzman, thanks so much for always bringing us such cool stuff.
LEE: Thank you, Fred. Cheers.
WHITFIELD: All right. Cheers. And for more high-tech ideas and reviews, just go to CNN.com/tech or follow Marc Saltzman on FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
All right, Johnny Depp is back on the big screen, this time in the movie version of a classic '60s soap opera. It's "Dark Shadows." Is it worth your money this weekend? Our movie critic is here with his grades.
But first on this Mother's Day weekend, I want to introduce you to a woman who has made a big difference in the lives of lots of children after losing her own son in a drowning accident. Meet CNN hero Wanda Butts, who started a nonprofit that teaches minority kids how to swim.
(CNN HEROES)
WHITFIELD: Isn't that amazing! Well, remember, "CNN Heroes" are all chosen from people that you tell us about. If you know someone like Wanda who is making a difference, go to CNNHeroes.com. Your nomination could help them help others.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right, last weekend, "Avengers," next weekend, "Battleship," a week later, "Men in Black 3." This summer is all about the big blockbusters. "Avengers" has already broken nearly every box office record. It made $200 million, the most money ever in an opening weekend. But our movie critic thinks one of these upcoming releases could end "The Avengers'" reign.
Alonso Duralde from TheWrap.com is here with me from Los Angeles to talk about these new movies. Good to see you.
ALONSO DURALDE, FILM CRITIC, THEWRAP.COM: How're you doing?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing good. So we're talking about "The Battleship" and "Men in Black 3" that are on the horizon, and you think between the two of them, one is going to take out "The Avengers." Which one?
DURALDE: I think arguably both of them, really.
WHITFIELD: Yes?
DURALDE: I mean, "Avengers" -- "Avengers" is doing great guns right now, obviously, and I think it's -- it's, you know, going to -- it's going to turn out making tons and tons of money for Disney. But yes, I think both "Battleship" and "Men in Black 3" are probably going to win their respective weekends.
You know, "Battleship" has already made, like, 9 figures overseas. And you know, they're advertising the heck out of it.
WHITFIELD: Wow.
DURALDE: And I think we're going to be seeing a lot of traction from "Men in Black 3" because it's a sequel to a popular franchise that we haven't heard from in a while...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
DURALDE: ... and you know, Will Smith is still a thing (ph).
WHITFIELD: Good. OK, well, it looks like the summer will not disappoint, with some good movies. So let's talk about what's available this weekend, new releases "Dark Shadows" and "Bernie." Let's begin with the movie "Bernie." This is starring Shirley MacLaine, among others. This is a murder mystery, isn't it. And let's take a quick look at a clip, actually.
DURALDE: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flowers he supposedly planted. They're supposed to bloom two weeks ago. He's a lazy, good-for-nothing -- the man's never done anything!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think that he would ever do anything...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you sticking up for his kind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marjorie, you're making it very hard to be your friend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, wow, and Jack Black (ph). Are we going to see Jack Black as a serious Jack Black, or is this -- you know, got a little comedy in it, too?
DURALDE: Well, it's definitely -- it's a -- it's a funny role, but it's -- it's one of those great performances where when you see a comedian kind of coming into his own as a well-rounded actor because, you know, he really hits a lot of notes here.
He plays this very kind of -- if you are from a small town in Texas or elsewhere, you will kind of recognize this guy, the slightly effeminate guy who sings in the church choir and loves the little old ladies, and you know, is doing a lot of volunteer work for the community, but at the same time hiding a secret or two of his own.
You know, he creates a new walk for this movie. It's a very engaging performance. It's very funny, but it also, I think...
WHITFIELD: Oh, wow.
DURALDE: You know, it's dramatic. It touches a lot of notes.
WHITFIELD: OK, and this is based on a true story. So you're great on this one.
DURALDE: Oh, I give this an A-minus.
WHITFIELD: Oh! Nice!
DURALDE: It's hilarious, and a very true, true story. Like, people from the town of Carthage, Texas, are in this movie playing themselves and commenting on what really happened. So you got to believe it.
WHITFIELD: OK. And "Dark Shadows," highly anticipated. Johnny Depp is really an incredible, you know, character. And then Michelle Pfeiffer in it, as well. Do we have time for a little clip? All right, here we go. Let's look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My father had quite a flair for secret passages and rodents (ph). As a boy, I took it upon myself to discover each one. Family is the only real wealth (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK, we know it's an adaptation of a TV soap opera from way back when. Give me your grade on this one. Did you like it much?
DURALDE: Not much. WHITFIELD: What!
DURALDE: I've got to go C-minus on this one. Yes, you know, it's not very funny. It's not very scary. Fans of the original are not going to like it because it is totally not taking it seriously whatsoever. And that would be fine if the movie were funny. But instead, it sort of relies on a lot of, Oh, the '70s were wacky, humor. So you know, macrame and the Carpenters. And it's very -- it looks great...
WHITFIELD: It sure does.
DURALDE: ... as Tim Burton movies tend to do, but it's just not much fun.
WHITFIELD: Oh, gosh! If anything, the makeup looks extraordinary, too. All right, well, I'm going to have to see both just in case. All right, Alonso...
DURALDE: Oh, I can't top (ph) you.
WHITFIELD: I trust your grades on that, it's just I like the characters in both those movies. Alonso, thanks so much. Good to see you. Appreciate it.
DURALDE: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right, remember, you can check out all of Alonso's grades and reviews by going to TheWrap.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: In today's "Human Factor," chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduces us to Krystal Greco, a Maryland teenager who woke up one morning with a life-changing injury but was determined not to let it change her life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At X, circle left 20 meters.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Riding horses has been her passion since she was 4 years old. First came lessons, then shows. She even worked at a barn. But two years ago, all that came to a screeching halt for 16-year-old Krystal Greco.
KRYSTAL GRECO, 16-YEAR-OLD PARAPLEGIC: I was getting a shower. I felt some muscle cramps in my mid-back.
GUPTA: She got out, got dressed.
GRECO: I felt a sharp explosion of pain.
GUPTA: By the time she arrived at the hospital, she couldn't walk, the cause a ruptured disc in her spine.
GRECO: They told me that I had a bruised spinal cord and that I was a paraplegic from the waist down.
GUPTA: Krystal had congenital stenosis. It's a narrowing of the spinal canal that encases the spinal cord. After surgery, she was transferred to the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.
GRECO: It is very, very, very intensive therapy for at least two hours twice a day, every day.
GUPTA: She pushed herself hard, determined to walk again and get back on a horse.
GRECO: I wanted to get back to my normal life. I didn't want to sit and mope.
GUPTA: Seven months after leaving Kennedy Krieger, she was competing in horse shows again.
Horseback riding mimics the natural movement of the limbs and helps with flexibility, balance, muscle strength. It enhances the exercises she was already doing at the hospital and at home.
Doctors call her recovery remarkable. She's regained movement in her hips and her knees, and sensation has returned to her legs. For now, Krystal can walk up to 300 feet with the help of leg braces and a walker.
GRECO: Eventually, I do want to walk again, and I can see that mentally as a realistic goal.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Extraordinary.
And thousands of birds are dying in Peru and Chile, and experts say the two situations have an ironic link. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A strange twist of fate is killing thousands of birds in South America. In Peru, dead pelicans are washing up on shore. They starve because the fish they feed on move to cooler water off Chile. But in Chile, birds feeding off those migrating fish got caught in fishermen's nets, killing them, a strange but deadly irony.
Jacqui Jeras is here to explain how El Nino might be playing a role in all of this?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're not technically in El Nino yet, but it has to do with the water temperature. And it is kind of a Catch-22, is that too many birds move into the cooler waters, and then they got caught in the fishermen's nets.
So we talk about the cyclical pattern between El Nino and La Nina, right? And it has to do with the waters in the equatorial Pacific. Here's Peru. And we go through these cycles. And we've been in what's called a La Nina cycle. And that just ended in April. And La Nina means these water temperatures are cool.
Now, this is an area that's rich in nutrients, lots of fish, including anchovies, which is the primary food source for a lot of these pelicans. But in the last couple of months, those temperatures have warmed up.
So what happens is that the fish then move further to the south, and they move into deeper waters, and so the birds that are too young or maybe even too old or too weak to be able to make the flight to follow that fish end up dying off. So that's what they're saying is that they're starving to death.
This graphic kind of shows you what's been happening with our temperatures. And here's the average or the normal, so to speak. We've been in that big blue area here over the months, and then you see the big dip up right here into that orange area. And that's where the temperatures have been above average about two to five degrees Celsius. So it's amazing that these kind of small fluctuations can have such a huge impact on the overall lifecycle.
Now, this happens, Fredricka -- by the way, we usually alternate back and forth, and see these cycles somewhere on average between two and seven years. So it's a little bit surprising, I guess, as a scientist, to take a look at this and say, Well, if we're seeing such a huge die-off like this, why haven't we seen this so much in years past when we've had El Nino.
WHITFIELD: OK, well, what about the dolphins? There have been, you know, so many dolphins that have washed up in those same areas.
JERAS: Right. Well, the Peruvian scientists are still doing research into all of this, but at this time, they're saying they're likely not related, and it could be a virus that's killing off the dolphins.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Very perplexing. All right, thanks so much, Jacqui Jeras. Appreciate that.
