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Highway Killer Sought, May Be Phony Cop; Five Family Members Killed In Florida; Poll: Obama Down Among Women; Senator Hutchinson Endorsing Romney; Bushes Celebrate Freedom Fighters; JPMorgan Boss Faces His Bosses; Yahoo's CEO Leaves Richer; Greece To Hold New Elections; Catholic Bishops Investigate Girl Scouts; Injury In "DWTS" Semifinal; Permit Denied For Lady Gaga Concert; Obama Appears on "The View" Today; Airport Breaches Go Underreported; Francois Hollande Inaugurated as French President; Facebook Raises IPO Range
Aired May 15, 2012 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: -- motorists and even more startling, police believe the shooter may be posing as a cop. It's a chilling theory to explain the killings both within the last week, both on desolate stretches of highway, about 55 miles apart.
Both cars were parked on the side of the road. One victim was still behind the wheel, the other beside her vehicle. Investigators think the drivers may have been pulled over and unaware of any danger.
Martin Savidge is following this story. So, I mean, do investigators know for sure that a phony cop is at work here?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, they don't. This is the theory that they're working on. You know, the story really plays into a lot of our fears. We've all been driving down a highway light at night in the dark by ourselves thinking we're pretty vulnerable out here.
And then it appears to have been the case of what happened in North Western Mississippi last week. It began on Tuesday. It was actually May 8th. The 74-year-old Thomas Schlender of Nebraska was on I-55 when around 1:30 in the morning he was found dead behind the wheel of his pickup truck.
Then three days later, May 11th, Lori Ann Carswell, 48 years of age, a local woman, found dead just outside of her car around 2:15 in the morning. And what authorities found in common in both of these cases, they were shot to death.
There were shell casings found in the ground and their automobiles were pulled over on the side. It does not appear their cars had anything mechanically wrong, so why would a person pull over?
This is the theory, that perhaps there's somebody out there masquerading as police officer and that's why they pulled over.
COSTELLO: So if that is, indeed, the case and you see, you know, flashing lights behind you on the highway in Mississippi, what should you do?
SAVIDGE: Yes, well, this is a real problem for law enforcement because you've got people who are going to be pulled over and, of course, you still have to obey any officer that pulls you over, but here is their advice to you.
Number one, if it's late at night, turn your flashers on, maintain a safe speed, drive carefully to a well-lit and very public place. At the same time, pick up your phone, dial 911 to make sure that the cop who is behind you is really a police officer. If not, you're alerting authorities that I've got somebody behind me and I don't know who he is.
COSTELLO: Wow, Martin Savidge, thanks.
We're also following breaking news out of Fort Saint John, Florida where five bodies have been found after a standoff. Investigators say the gunman or gunmen appear to be among the dead.
They found four bodies inside the home, and one other person, a woman, outside in the yard. Investigators aren't saying how the people knew each other, but they scheduled another news conference for the next hour. We'll keep you posted.
In just about an hour, President Obama will sit down with the ladies on "The View," and, yes, he's doing that for total domination. He needs women to vote for him in droves to win 2012 and that's why the president talked up women at Barnard College.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Indeed, we know we are better off when women are treated fairly and equally in every aspect of American life, whether it's the salary you earn or the health decisions you make.
Today women are not just half this country. You're half its workforce. And I believe that the women of this generation, that all of you will help lead the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The president's efforts so transparent. Dana Mill Bank from "The Washington Post" is calling him the first female president. Despite, that Mr. Obama's numbers are slipping among female voters.
The CBS News/"New York Times" poll shows the president is down five points over the last two months. Mitt Romney, he's up three points among women.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison is the senior Republican senator from Texas. She is throwing her support behind Mitt Romney. Senator, thanks for being here.
SENATOR KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON (R), TEXAS: Thank you, Carol. COSTELLO: So make it official for us. Are you endorsing Governor Romney?
HUTCHISON: I am and very enthusiastically at that.
COSTELLO: Why?
HUTCHISON: I think he is the right person to lead our country in the economic crisis that we're in. He's had business experience. He's had the experience of running a big operation like the Olympics and, frankly, getting it out of trouble.
I think his management and the way he's lived his life are exactly what we need in our country to get us out of these economic doldrums and into job creation.
COSTELLO: Senator, you wrote an op-ed in "The Houston Chronicle" this morning questioning what you call Mr. Obama's war on women. I want to read a bit of it for our viewers now.
You say, are women somehow less concerned about unemployment than men? Do our nation's exploding deficits worry some of us less than others merely because of our sex?
As a woman who has spent her life fighting to banish forever the ignorance that women are incapable of engaging the pressing issues of the day, I can tell you the answer to all those questions is no. Are you saying Democrats are treating women as less than thinking people?
HUTCHISON: I'm saying that the things the Democrats are pushing right now are really beyond what I think is reasonable. We're all against violence against women and we have supported that unanimously in the past.
But then they throw up a bill that they put other things in that are not central to that point, and then they say, it's a war against women if you don't support every part of it.
That's the kind of thing that we're tired of. We understand it. The American people are smarter than that, and women are smarter than that.
We can make the judgments on the issues that count, and it is the economy and the lack of job creation in the private sector that is our problem right now. And that's what we ought to be talking about.
COSTELLO: You know, during the heat of the primary the issue of contraception came up, and that became, I don't know, sort of a wedge issue between Democrats and Republicans. Is that over now? Do you think that women don't care about that specific issue?
HUTCHISON: I think women do, but I think they saw that everyone agrees that women should have the ability in their private lives to use contraception. Mitt Romney said that. What the problem was and what I think the Democrats tried to manipulate was they were trying to force a government mandate on Catholic hospitals that do teach in their religion that they don't want women to have contraception.
And so we were going to force that on their hospitals that they have created as a government mandate. That was the issue. It wasn't contraception, which everyone agrees should be a private issue.
COSTELLO: OK. So last question, why should women vote for Governor Romney? How can he help them specifically, how can he help them with their economic woes?
HUTCHISON: Well, I think they see what we have had with 3-1/2 years of President Obama, who has surrounded himself not with people who have had real world experience creating jobs, but people who are academics and people who don't seem to --
COSTELLO: But, Senator, I just want a specific -- something specific that Governor Romney can do to help women specifically.
HUTCHISON: He understands what it will take to get business going and creating jobs. He will lower regulations. He will stop the overspending in government and he will also have a plan to knock down the deficits so that our economy and our dollar is strong.
As we see what is happening in Europe right now where the euro is weakened because of overspending of the governments. He's got a plan to cut responsible spending. He will attack entitlements in a responsible way so that we get those deficits down and create a strong dollar.
And he will create jobs by making it important to do business in America again. We want to import the jobs back to America that we have lost to overseas because of competition and overregulation and over taxation of corporate profits where we, unfortunately, lead the world. That's what Mitt Romney will do.
COSTELLO: Senator Hutchison, thank you for being with us this morning.
HUTCHISON: Thank you.
COSTELLO: The president and Mrs. Bush are taking part in a celebration of human freedom. It's a forum in Washington. They're talking about the struggle for freedom around the world and recognizing the successes of dissidents and activists.
Among today's events, a teleconference with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi discussing her struggles and her recent election to parliament.
John Edwards' oldest daughter will take the stand in her father's corruption trial and it could happen as early as today. Yesterday, the judge limited most of the testimony from one of the defense's expert witnesses.
And the chief financial officer for Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign testified Edwards had nothing to do with reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.>
In just about 20 minutes, the man of charge of JPMorgan Chase faces his bosses, the shareholders who own his company stock. Jamie Dimon who makes $23 million a year will be greeted by a tough audience with tough questions.
How did this bank lose $2 billion in risky investments in just a matter of weeks? And is the worst over after the company's stock closed down 12 percent after the news broke?
CNN's Poppy Harlow is outside the shareholder meeting in Tampa. Has it started yet?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: It's about to start.
COSTELLO: I hear protests.
HARLOW: Yes. We'll get to that. I was just in there headed out for your show. We'll go back in. It will kick off at 10:30. Take a look at the protesters. They just arrived in the last 10 minutes.
Not many of them, 10 or 15 holding up signs like reinstate Glass Stiegal or how on earth did JPMorgan lose $2 billion in just one week? Stop corporate greed. So we expected this.
It's not a big turnout, but what we're really keen to know, Carol, is how Jamie Dimon is going to address some of these key questions in the meeting. OK, three big things we want to look at.
First of all, who knew what when? Did Jamie Dimon truly have a hold of this company? Did he know what was going on within this $2 trillion company, now America's biggest bank?
The next question is going to be shareholder voting on executive compensation. Because of Wall Street reform, shareholders get a vote on how much Jamie Dimon and the top lieutenants of this bank make. We'll see if there's any backlash on that.
And then also whether or not Jamie Dimon should hold the CEO post and the chairman post, both of those key roles at this bank. That will be voted on within the next hour and a half, Carol.
You know, it's interesting, President Obama already making this political, citing this loss at JPMorgan saying this is why we need Wall Street reform.
And Jamie Dimon himself over the weekend coming out in an interview on "Meet the Press" and saying that bet, that risky trade was, quote, "barely vetted and barely monitored," and that's the concern.
COSTELLO: Poppy Harlow reporting live from Tampa. We'll let you get back into that meeting. I know you want to listen. We now know more about former Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson. He's leaving the company very, very rich. Thompson resigned after it was discovered he padded his resume with a college degree he did not really earn.
And that means he doesn't qualify for severance, but don't pass the hat for him. The company says it will not require him to give back the $7 million in cash and stock. He received those goodies after taking the job just five months ago.
When people think about girl scouts, somehow contraception and abortion don't come to mind as fast as selling cookies. But that's not some Catholic bishops are thinking. Why they are taking a closer look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just about 15 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories. Police in Mississippi believe two fatal highway shootings are linked and think the killer could be someone posing as a cop.
Both killings happened this past week on remote highway some 55 miles apart. Investigators think the drivers may have been pulled over and unaware that they were in danger.
A political stalemate in Greece means the debt wracked country will hold new elections. The president's office just made the announcement and it comes after meetings to form a coalition government failed over the past few days.
Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut are on their way to the International Space Station. The (inaudible) space craft blasted off today after more than a month of delay. Crews finally fixed a problem with the capsule's hull.
Roman Catholic bishops are investigating the girl scouts. This may sound odd, but bishops are concerned some of the organization's programs contradict the church's views on contraception and abortion.
Some in the Catholic Church think the girl scouts have ties to Planned Parenthood or endorse organizations that are in favor of family planning like Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders.
According to "The Washington Post," about 500,000 of the 2.3 million girl scouts in the United States are Catholic. So if the Catholic Church cuts ties with the organization, it would be significant.
Bill Donohue is president of the Catholic League and he's here to tell us more. Welcome.
WILLIAM DONOHUE, PRESIDENT, CATHOLIC LEAGUE: How are you doing, Carol?
COSTELLO: I'm good. So, Bill, what's the big concern by the bishops?
DONOHUE: Well, I think the bishops have a moral responsibility to be responsive to the mothers who have come forward over the years to parish priests and to the bishops and saying, listen, we're concerned about the politicisation of the girl scouts. Now what do they mean by that?
Well, the global group, the world group of the girl scouts is in favor of abortion inducing drugs, is in favor of condom use. Does that mean the girl scouts of the United States are? We don't know.
We do know one thing, in 2004, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of America went on broadcast television bragging about the close relationship between the girl scouts and Planned Parenthood.
So those are just some of the concerns, and all they're doing is looking into it and being responsive to the mothers who have come forward.
COSTELLO: Well, one of the concerns, as I understand it, is some object to these materials given to the girl scouts about organizations like Doctors Without Borders, which is a great organization, right, they provide medical care in combat zones, but they also push for family planning.
Some might say that's sort of a tenuous connection and sort of nitpicking. I mean, do these people who are complaining say these girl scouts shouldn't get any information about any organization who pushes for family planning and condom use?
DONOHUE: Well, I think that's exactly the question that's on the table, and I can understand what you're saying, and there's a point of view there that has to be respected. I think what they're looking at is the nexus.
How close is the tie? Is it distant? Then that's one thing. We're not going to worry about it. It's not just even there with the border physicians and like, they promoted anti-Catholic material such as "Simply Maria" a decidedly anti-Catholic play.
I know for a fact if Catholic schools adopted an anti-gay book, we'd hear all about it. So there are some problems there. I think for the most part the bishops are on board. The girl scouts do good work. They have done traditionally.
I personally would be surprised if there's a break, but to inquire about some things that could be disturbing, nothing wrong with that.
COSTELLO: so just to make it clear, personally you don't think the girl scouts are anti-Catholic, to you?
DONOHUE: No, I don't, but I do wonder why they would pick up an anti-Catholic play and distribute it and then have to pull it. Somebody there is not particularly Catholic friendly. I don't think the girl scouts as an organization is anti-Catholic. That would be absurd.
COSTELLO: Well, I would question that there are 2.3 million girl scouts in the country, 500,000 of them are Catholic, not all of those girl scouts are Catholic. So why impose Catholic beliefs on the Girl Scout and threaten to pull out of the organization?
DONOHUE: I think it's going backwards. If, in fact, everything that the critics of the girl scouts were saying were true, then it's the girl scouts imposing on Catholics. Catholics are free to join and not to join a voluntary organization.
So let's just say hypothetically that the girl scouts were to become hyperpoliticized and were introducing more anti-Catholic materials into the classroom and into the girl scouts meetings and the Catholic mothers would decide to pull. That's exercising pluralism. That's what's called diversity.
COSTELLO: But you're only talking about one play. You don't have any other evidence to cite, do you?
DONOHUE: Well, I'm just saying when the parents have come to this, I just gave you three examples. The world organization, abortion inducing drugs they kind of like. Past CEO of the Girl Scouts of America saying we have a nice relationship with Planned Parenthood, and anti-Catholic play that they had to pull as a book in the materials.
That to me along with other things that these mothers are talking about at least begs the question, what's going on here? I obviously think at the end of the day we're not going to have a problem because overall there's no question the girl scouts do wonderful work.
COSTELLO: OK. So when do you think this investigation will be over? Because the review has been going on for what, two years now?
DONOHUE: Well, let me tell you something, one thing about the Catholic Church, it goes very, very slowly so who knows. If this was something really pressing, I think it would have wrapped up by now. It's one committee of the bishops, by the way, one committee.
COSTELLO: Bill, thank you so much for joining us this morning.
DONOHUE: Thank you so much.
COSTELLO: You trust the TSA to keep you safe on flights, but a new report shows some TSA workers are reporting only about half of all security breaches. What that means for your safety.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Emotions run high as "Dancing with the Stars" reaches the semi-final round. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host A.J. Hammer, wow, it is an exciting finish this year, isn't it?
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, HLN'S "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Very exciting, very competitive this season, Carol, and one of the dancing favorites right now is going to have to beat a bad back if she wants to win the competition.
Katherine Jenkins apparently injured herself during her routine last night. After the show, she tweeted that a doctor told her she was suffering spasm in her lower back. So it looks like Jenkins was already having a bad day.
She also tweeted earlier in the day that ABC had passed on the show she was involved in. And she really was one of the better dancers on the show, but, Carol, when you consider her fan base is mostly overseas.
She may have trouble getting the vote she needs to survive if she can't perform up to her usual standard. Imagine getting that far in the competition and then getting hurt. Hopefully, she'll heal quickly.
COSTELLO: How really depressing? Let's talk about lady gaga. One of her concerts might be canceled?
HAMMER: She may have to disappoint some of her little monsters in Indonesia, Carol, after Jakarta police recommended that her sold out June 3rd show not be issued a permit because of security concerns.
Now there has been an outcry against Lady Gaga among Islamists and conservative Muslims who say her revealing costumes and sensual dance moves are forbidden by Islamic law. Local Muslim leaders are saying the concert is intended to destroy the nation's morality.
Of course, on the other side, she must have a lot of fans over there. Newspaper reports say more than 25,000 tickets were sold in two hours when the concert went on sale in March.
The police are saying the promoter shouldn't have sold the tickets before getting a permit. The promoter is saying hold on, everybody, wait for official word. The concert is not cancelled yet. There goes Lady Gaga again destroying the world -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know. A.J. Hammer, thank you. If you want information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, A.J. has it tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11:00 Eastern on HLN.
Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, who is to blame for the JPMorgan Chase banking fiasco?
If you think the $2 billion loss of JPMorgan Chase won't affect you, think again. Stocks tanked on the news as traders fret about how many other risky trades are out there. JPMorgan Chase's CEO Jamie Dimon is a credible voice in the banking industry.
In 2008, Dimon didn't want to take TARP money and his bank weathered the crash better than most. Still, the Dimon and the banking industry spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying Congress in part against the Dodd/Frank financial reform bill.
Now Dimon says he didn't even know about the $2 billion losing trade. That's a huge red flag according to former regulator, Sheila Bair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHEILA BAIR, SENIOR ADVISER, PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS: This is still a very serious issue. I think it does underscore that even with very good management these institutions are just too big to manage and especially when they were dealing with complex derivative instruments trying to hedge risks. Even the best of managers can stumble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So what should or can we do if banks are too big to fail? On "The View," President Obama mentioned JPMorgan Chase as a cautionary tale.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: This is why we passed Wall Street reform. This is the best or one of the best managed banks. You could have a bank that isn't as strong, isn't as profitable making those same bets and we might have had to step in, and that's exactly why Wall Street reform is so important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So does that mean if nothing changes the possibility of another bailout? As for Dodd/Frank, good luck with that. It's been on the books for two years and still only parts of it have been enacted.
So the talk back question today, who is to blame for the JPMorgan Chase banking fiasco? Facebook.com/carolcnn. Facebook.com/carolcnn. I'll read your responses later this hour.
Ron Paul is giving up on actively campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination, but that does not mean he's dropping out of the race. So what should we make of this? I'll ask my "Political Buzz" panel next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just about 30 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now. In Mississippi, there's a killer preying on motorists, and police believed the shooter maybe posing as a cop. Investigators think the drivers made and pulled over and unaware they were in danger. Both shootings by the way took place within the last week on remote stretches of highway about 55 miles apart.
Right now the man in charge of JPMorgan Chase faces his bosses, the shareholders who owns his company's stocks. Jamie Dimon who makes $23 million a year is at a shareholders meeting that's now just getting under way. They're sure ask him about how his bank lost $2 billion in risky investment in just a matter of weeks.
And John Edwards' oldest daughter may take the stand as early as today in her father's corruption trial. Yesterday the judge limited most of the testimony from one of the defense experts -- from one of the defense's expert witnesses. And the chief financial officer for Edwards' 2008 presidential campaign testified Edwards had nothing to do with reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
"Political Buzz", is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day. Three questions, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing with us today, Democratic strategist Robert Zimmerman and Crystal Wright, she's an editor and blogger with Conservative BlackChick.com. Welcome to both of you.
ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning.
CRYSTAL WRIGHT, EDITOR AND BLOGGER, CONSERVATIVEBLACKCHICK.COM: Thanks Carol.
COSTELLO: Ok first question, President Obama is on "The View" today. Of course the topic of same-sex marriage came up, and here is what he told Barbara Walters when he was asked about the Defense of Marriage Act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My Justice Department has said to the courts, we don't think the Defense of Marriage Act is constitutional. This is something that historically had been determined at the state level, and you know part of my -- believing ultimately that civil unions weren't sufficient.
BARBARA WALTERS, THE VIEW: Will you personally fight to repeal that act?
OBAMA: Well, look, Congress is clearly on notice that I think it's a bad idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Ok. So the question, should the President go a step further and fight to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act? And Crystal, I got know what you're going to say so we'll start with Robert. Robert?
ZIMMERMAN: Ok. Well first of all, in defense of the Obama administration, they've already stepped up and endorsed The Respect for Marriage Act that's been authored by Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and Congressman Jerry Nadler of New York and he's shown real leadership and real courage at political risk to himself by supporting marriage equality.
I would hope of us who are concerned with Civil Rights and social justice will also focus on the administration and calling upon them to issue an executive order to overturn discrimination against gay employees through federal contractors. COSTELLO: Crystal.
WRIGHT: Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So two weeks President Obama has talked about same-sex marriage, which the American people don't care about. A new Gallup poll came out and guess what the American people care about? 72 percent care about the economy; one percent care about gay marriage.
So once again the President has created now a war on traditional marriage because he has no record to run on the economy. This is more avoiding talking about the number one pressing issue in the United States of America, which is when are we going to get jobs, President Obama? When are we going to see an improved economy?
COSTELLO: Ok on to the second question. Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul says he will no longer actively campaign for the GOP nomination. He actually released this statement, and it says, "Moving forward we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have".
Oh so the question, "If Ron Paul is not going to continue campaigning, what's the point of him even sticking around? Why doesn't he bow out? Crystal?
WRIGHT: He should bow out. He's a cranky old man. This is what this looks like. He has won zero, I repeat Ron Paul has won zero of the almost 40 primary contests we have had. He needs to do the right thing and step aside. But what we know about Ron Paul is he runs every presidential cycle. He never wins, and he needs to do what's in the best interests of the party and bow out.
But the reason he's not, he's trying to force his way into the party platform in Tampa, but do you know what I have to say, Ron Paul, time for to you leave the GOP island. Your number is up.
COSTELLO: Robert?
ZIMMERMAN: First of all, Ron Paul is staying in this race because he loves the action. He was the last one to drop out four years ago and he's going it stay in for the long time. But Ron Paul is not the issue. The issue is the extreme right-wing agenda that is driving the Republican Party from the mainstream. And as long as they're going to pursue the Romney strategy to deport undocumented workers, to declare war on reproductive rights for women, to engage in discrimination against employees in the workplace, advocate programs that, in fact, disenfranchise working class Americans, they're going to lose credibility and ultimately the election.
COSTELLO: Ok on to the "Buzzer Beater" 20 seconds each. A New York assembly woman could be facing a very unlikely candidate in her re-election bid. That would be her estranged husband.
Michelle Schimmel is a Democrat. Her husband Mark just won the Republican nomination in the race. Apparently he says he's not running against her to hurt her, but even his own mother is shocked.
So the question, if this story happened to be a bad romantic comedy, who would you cast to play the role of husband and wife? Crystal?
WRIGHT: I would cast Bill Maher in drag to play the role of the Democrat wife and then I would cast the dashing Kevin Costner because Kevin is a Republican to play the Republican husband. I think it would make for great comedy and we all know Bill Maher just you know he can't get enough laughs. So --
COSTELLO: You just put that ugly picture in my mind and I can't get it out.
WRIGHT: I know, I know but it's a good one.
COSTELLO: Ok Robert, I know you have a personal interest in the story. So I don't want you to joke about it because you know the players involved. So just tell us what's up with this.
ZIMMERMAN: Ok. Let me just be clear, Assembly Woman Michelle Schimmel is not just a good friend, and my assembly woman, she's a role model as a public official. And it appears according to most reports that, in fact, Mark Schimmel is going to withdraw from the race primarily because so many Republicans are outraged by his conduct and so offended by it, and she continues to stand above the partisanship and that's why she keeps winning. And quite frankly Carol --
COSTELLO: Ok I don't want the buzzer. I want to listen to the rest of this. Go ahead did he really run against her just out of spite?
ZIMMERMAN: I have no idea what his thinking is, but just very frankly in fairness to the buzz standards, I would cast Meryl Streep to play Michelle Schimmel and maybe I'd put Mel Gibson or Charlie Sheen to play her former husband.
Spoken like a true friend. Robert and Crystal Wright, thanks for playing with us today.
WRIGHT: Thanks.
ZIMMERMAN: Thanks.
COSTELLO: From the Secretary of State to security threat. Reports that 88-year-old Henry Kissinger was patted down by TSA workers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, is the latest in the series of high profile figures to get patted down. "The Washington Post" says a freelance reporter who witnessed the incident says screeners gave the 88-year-old Kissinger a full pat down last Friday at New York's LaGuardia airport. While invasive pat downs have come under fire, Senator Dianne Feinstein, who has had her own hands- on experience with screeners fold Fox News pat downs might be the best way to detect a non-metallic bomb like in the case of the al Qaeda plot foiled last month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: I think the pat-down probably is better than the magnetometer. I think Americans have to understand that this particular kind of explosive non-metallic is not easily detectable. That's one of the reasons why Abdulmutallab wore it in his underwear. So that he couldn't be patted down sufficiently to detect.
And that's a problem. And that's something that TSA has to grapple with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Senator Feinstein was referring to the man dubbed the "Underwear Bomber". He's currently serving a life sentence for trying to bring down a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day 2009.
There's a new federal report shedding light though on security breaches at some of our nation' major airports. It shows almost half of the breaches go unreported. So today the House Homeland Security Committee is holding a hearing to find out why.
Our aviation and regulation correspondent Lizzie O'Leary joins me from Washington. So what are we talking about when we say a security breach?
LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN AVIATION AND REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the more dramatic ones happened at Newark Airport and it was Newark that kind of sparked this investigation where a dead dog got through screening and onto a flight. The airline in question that put the dog on the plane is getting penalized to the tune of about $55,000.
But then you're also talking about more mundane stuff like, say, somebody getting into the so-called sterile area or passengers going through when the full body machines aren't working. The inspector general started looking into this because a New Jersey senator wanted some answers about what exactly was happening at Newark.
So they looked there and they looked at broader, sort of airports overall. And here is what they found, that 42 percent of these breaches weren't reported. And then airports fixed only about half of the causes here so about 53 percent of them. And this is the most important one, Carol, TSA doesn't comprehensively track these breaches. So, you know, it's not just a question of whether five or six different things went wrong but whether the agency can step back and take that 30,000 foot view and get a sense of how the whole system is working together.
COSTELLO: Ok. So what does the TSA say about all this? O'LEARY: Well, they say that they are instituting a lot of the changes that were brought up in this report and that they are starting to do just that. Look at this in a more comprehensive fashion and kind of have their national reporting system look at patterns because that's how you start to really get the whole picture is understanding the bigger picture question, not just whether one screener at one checkpoint didn't catch something.
COSTELLO: Lizzie, I can't let you go without mentioning your appearance on "Jeopardy" because I was watching last night and frankly I was impressed. You were fantastic. I just want our viewers to look at you in action before we go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A guiding principle in yoga is ahimsa. This pacifistic practice advanced by Mahatma Gandhi.
O'LEARY: What is nonviolence?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Ok. So you made it all the way to final jeopardy and I guess you bet too much. But tell me what that's like. Weren't you nervous?
O'LEARY: I was nervous, but, ok, the thing viewers need to know is that it's all about the buzzer. Anderson, who had done this before, gave me a little tip. It's all about the buzzer. If you buzz in too soon, you're locked out. If you ever see a "Jeopardy player" making this angry face looking at their hand, that is why.
It was a little nerve-racking but honestly, I like competition. It was fun to be able to go up against those guys. I'm just bummed that I bet wrong at the end. My charity still got money though so that makes me happy.
COSTELLO: Ok. Tell us your competitors were what -- Chris Matthews and Robert Gibbs.
O'LEARY: Chris Matthews and Robert Gibbs, the former White House press secretary.
COSTELLO: Were they mean to you?
O'LEARY: I think I was meaner to them. I was telling Robert this is revenge for spinning me over the course of several years.
COSTELLO: I love that. Well, I'm impressed and thanks for sharing.
O'LEARY: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Today France -- let's talk about France. France marks the inauguration of a new president, but more interesting, the country's new first lady is calling herself his companion. We'll tell you why.
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COSTELLO: Francois Hollande is the official new president of France and he's promising a new approach to tackling Europe's debt problems.
Yes, he was sworn in today as the country's first socialist president in 17 years. He's wasting no time in getting to work. He's heading to Berlin to discuss the Euro Zone debt crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
And while technically it is the president's day there is a lot of curiosity about his girlfriend. And Hala Gorani is here to explain why everybody is so curious about his girlfriend. Because she's -- they're not married and they're living together and people don't care.
HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Francois Hollande is the father of four children and he never married the mother of his four children who is also a prominent socialist politician in France. In fact, she ran for president five years ago against Nicolas Sarkozy and lost.
This is an open -- I shouldn't say open, it's an informal, non-official union, but it's one that as you can see from the images there, they're very much together. They're very much a couple. Valerie Trierweiler -- a lot of people have had to learn how to pronounce her last name, by the way. She says look, you have to redefine the notion of first lady in France. Here is a look at who she is and really where she comes from.
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GORANA: She is France's first unmarried premiere dame. Valerie Trierweiler is the girlfriend of President Francois Hollande but she prefers the term "companion". Their affection for one another was evident election eve. A relationship that began in 2005 while they were both with their former partners.
CAROLINE LAURENT-SIMON, REPORTER FRENCH ELLE MAGAZINE (through translator): They have known each other for a very long time. Valerie Trierweiler because of Paris Match (ph). And before that she was with another paper.
She has always been a political journalist. She followed the Socialist Party for Paris Match, so they have known each other for at least 20 years.
GORANI: A feisty political journalist. The twice divorced mother of three gave up her career so she could actively campaign for Hollande.
And now she has some big shoes to fill. Size 38 Louboutin peep toe pumps, to be precise. Singer, supermodel and outgoing first lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy has always fashioned to the spotlight. But that could be out of character for France's new first lady who says she will keep her day job.
LAURENT-SIMON: She wants to stay a normal woman. She says herself that she has no family wealth, she has three children, three adolescents who she still looks after. And for her it's crucial she remains independent, especially financially independent with regards to her husband. She does not want to sponge off the state. So for the first time in France we could have a first lady who is a working woman.
GORANI: But working as a political journalist, when you're in a relationship with a government official, no less the president, could be viewed as a conflict of interest.
Even still, it wouldn't be the first time in France. The former foreign minister Bernard Kouchner is married to a woman in the news business.
Work aside, relationships among Paris' power elite have been a bit complicated. Bruni-Sarkozy married her husband after he divorced his second wife in office. Francois Mitterrand, the last Socialist president had a wife and mistress, fathered children with both. Even though Mitterrand ordered a cabinet official and a top aide to marry their girlfriends for protocol. But it seems times may have changed.
LAURENT-SIMON: I think the French public wants a revolution in opinion. A lot of couples in France live together, so does Hollande and Trierweiler, though it does not shock anyone. A lot of French families are step families. The couple are at the head of the step family.
GORANI: France's first couple may never feel the need to marry, but then again, they haven't ruled it out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I can't imagine that happening in the United States. The man would have to convert to something like Catholicism and then go on an apology tour and say how sorry he was.
GORANI: Culturally things are very different in France, you know. You do more or less what suits you. Either you're in a relationship that isn't formalized by marriage or you can have a civil union or you can get married. I mean essentially there's a lot more flexibility.
And voters don't expect necessarily their elected officials to abide by a certain very set in stone set of rules, as you can see there. So we'll see if they end up getting married.
COSTELLO: And if she stays a journalist because I don't see how that's going to work.
GORANI: That might be tough?
COSTELLO: Yes.
GORANI: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thank you Hala.
GORANI: Thanks.
COSTELLO: Potential investors are positively drooling over Facebook's upcoming stock sale. The interest is so hot in fact, the company is raising the IPO range. We'll go to Wall Street after a break.
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COSTELLO: We're going in depth this week on the hottest initial public offering of the year -- that would be Facebook. Now the company is raising its price target on the IPO. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us more.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's getting more expensive to own a piece of Facebook. That previous target of $28 to $35 for a share now is up to $34 to $38. Keep in mind the final pricing expected to come out Thursday night. If it does get anywhere in that higher range it could push Facebook valuation, meaning what the company could potentially be worth to about $106 billion. I know what you want to know. Why is the price moving higher? Stronger demand. Facebook execs they've been going around the country on this road show pitching the IPO to potential investors. Do you know what they found? More people want it, and you know what; the more people want it, the more you can sell it for. Facebook is seizing the moment -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Alison Kosik, thank you.
In today's "Daily Dose", maybe you have done it and not even realized it. Sleep walk, walk in your sleep. A new study in the "Journal of Neurology" shows nearly 1 in 3 people sleep walk.
As you probably can imagine the lead researcher says walking in your sleep can be risky business. You can harm yourself or someone else. No reason why people do this, but family history, genetics, and a certain type of anti-depressant may play a role.
We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. Today's question: who is to blame for the JPMorgan chase banking fiasco? Your answers coming up next.
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COSTELLO: We asked to you "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning: who is to blame for the JPMorgan Chase banking fiasco?
This from Sofia, "The banking industry and its prideful greedy CEOs. The banks got too big and lost their focus and mission, and their ultimate responsibility to the shareholder. The bigger the bank, the bigger the fall. This from Kachina, "Everyone is at fault. Wall Street players and politicians. This from Liza, no more regulation. It's JPMorgan chase who is to blame. We cannot keep looking to the government to prevent every bad thing that could happen. There are no guarantees in life."
Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/carolcnn and thanks as always for your comments.
I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining me today.
"CNN NEWSROOM" continues right now.
