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Explaining a $2,000,000 Loss; Obama's New Faith Vote Director; Unmarried First Lady of France; Fake Cop May Be Killing Drivers; Former Murdoch Executive Charged; Obama's Personality Versus Policies; Gay Man's Poignant Video Goes Viral; FaceBook Raises IPO Range

Aired May 15, 2012 - 12:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Nice to see you, Kyra.

Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I'm about to take through all of it. It is noon Eastern, 9:00 a.m. on the West Coast.

We begin with --

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MALVEAUX: Death toll rising in Syria. An opposition group says at least 22 people were killed today alone. The U.N.-backed cease- fire is being completely ignored. Now there is concern of third party militants getting involved. A jihadist group is denying it was involved in recent suicide bombings that killed 55 people in Damascus.

Compelling testimony up ahead in John Edwards' corruption trial. We are expecting his daughter to take the stand in his defense. The former presidential candidate is charged with lying, conspiracy and campaign finance violations. Prosecutors say he illegally used almost $1 million from donors to hide his pregnant mistress. We'll be outside the courthouse with updates.

But, first, he was considered the golden boy of banking. He was tied with the White House. But at this very moment, CEO and chairman Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase is in the hot seat. He has apologized for what he calls a terrible mistake.

But was he able to calm the anxiety of shareholders? We'll take a look inside the meeting.

We'll look and see what does it mean for Dimon, but also, what does it for your money, your investments, the economy, Wall Street reform, all of this after the 2008 financial meltdown.

JPMorgan shareholders have seen the company stock plunge by more than 14 percent just in the last five trading sessions. So, did they hear anything today in the meeting to reassure them?

Poppy Harlow, she was in that meeting. She's joining us live.

And, Poppy, give us a sense what if it was like, I know they were live streaming this. Were there fireworks?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right.

MALVEAUX: Was there a sense there was a lot of tough questions for Dimon today?

HARLOW: It was relatively calm, I mean, there weren't fireworks, it was a full room here in Tampa, I would expect about give or take 300 people, most of them shareholders, some analysts, some press.

Jamie Dimon kicked off the meeting as he always does, as chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase. But he said, generally, I would start by going through the business of the year, how the bank is doing.

He said , given all of the attention on the news, I'm going to start with that, that is the $2 billion trading loss and now late last week. He apologized again that this happened, said there is really no reason that this should have happened, that the bank made a mistake but it's focusing on going forward and changing that.

I wanted you to take a listen. This is audio, there was no video cameras in there, audio from Jamie Dimon as he opened up this meeting.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JAMIE DIMON, CEO AND CHAIRMAN, JPMORGAN: We all want better, smarter and stronger regulation based on fact analysis. Second, as I wrote my letter, and, I quote, "We agree with the intent of the Volcker Rule, if that intent is to eliminate fewer proprietary trading, and to assure markets is done away that doesn't jeopardize financial institution or its clients."

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARLOW: This is key. He talked about the Volcker Rule a number of times. This is a rule that is part of Wall Street reform, as you know, it is not fully written. We don't expect to see it written or implemented until at least this summer.

But it basically would say that banks cannot make directional trades or trades to benefit them that they would profit off, within the institution itself f. If they are banks that are commercial banks that you and I use, for example. He has been criticized because he has spoken out against parts of the Volcker Rule. He made it very clear in this meeting that he and the banks support about 70 percent of Wall Street reform as a whole, but he doesn't just want more regulation. He wants smarter, simpler regulation, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And, Poppy, did the shareholders take action when it comes to his compensation package or even a possible -- the possibility of stripping him of some of his power?

HARLOW: So, they did discuss that. There were shareholder votes. And when it comes to compensation by an overwhelming amount, 91 percent of those that voted by proxy or here voted in favor of that compensation package for Jamie Dimon and the top lieutenants.

The issue of stripping Dimon of his chairman role did come up among shareholder comments, they came up to the microphone. I want you to take a listen to one of the people that spoke. Her name is Lisa Linsley. She was here by proxy representing a pension fund. This is what she had to say.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

LISA LINSEY, DIRECTOR, CAPITAL STRATEGIES: Shareholders have lost over $50 billion on market caps in February of last year. The stakes are simply too high to continue business as usual, where an all powerful CEO is his own boss.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARLOW: However, that did not get enough votes to succeed. Jamie Dimon will remain as chairman and CEO of this company.

Just to give you a little color, Jamie Dimon was very cool, calm and collected at the podium. He addressed some of the question. He did not address some of the others, in total, about 10 questions. The meeting, Suzanne, lasted less than an hour.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you so much, Poppy. Appreciate it.

I want to talk about the huge loss at JPMorgan, what it means for your finances and what it says about the need to regulate Wall Street's risky business.

Alison Kosik, she's joining us from the New York Stock Exchange.

So, Alison, we talked about the shareholders. What do we think is the impact here for the rest of us? I mean, do we even know if our money is safe at JPMorgan Chase?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne, right now, it really should not have any effect on JPMorgan's retail operations -- meaning your bank account and Chase, for example. Look, this is a big loss for JPMorgan both financially and for its reputation. But it should be able to absorb at least the financial part.

But I think the bigger part of this is the bank really is not to build up customers' confidence and even bigger impact you may see if you are invested in the financial sector, if you let's say have a 401(k) that has some of these banks in your portfolio like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America. These banks -- these stocks have been hit hard.

Even if you look at JPMorgan shares in the past five trading days. You know, she shares have plunged 12 percent between Friday and yesterday. So, you know, this is an interesting turn of events for financials because they had been one of the best this year, but they may be under pressure, there are going to be stronger calls for tougher regulation -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Alison, what do we think the feeling is on Wall Street? I mean, you've got big headlines, $2 billion loss. Is there still a feeling they need to be more regulations?

KOSIK: You know what? Surprisingly traders say you know what, more market regulation is needed. And I find this a surprise because, broadly speaking, Wall Street tends to be against regulation. You know, you look at what banks do, they spend millions lobbying against regulation.

But, you know, traders say market regulations set the rules, there is this play book. It creates stability and order and gives confidence as well. But then there's a flip side, you know, about going overboard. There is a danger in too much regulation because that could limit their ability to function as they see fit to make money.

One thing I do want to mention to you, that we just learned from "the Wall Street Journal," the Department of Justice says it's opening an inquiry into this $2 billion trading loss. Not a big surprise. When something like this happens you get regulators, you get, you know, the government looking into what happened. In fact, President Obama mentioned this on "The View" this morning, saying that this will be investigated -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Let's listen in. Let's actually take a look at that.

KOSIK: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: JPMorgan is one of the best managed banks there is. Jamie Dimon, the head of it, is one of the smartest bankers we've got, and they still lost $2 billion and counting -- precisely because they were making bets in these derivative markets, we don't know all of the details yet. It's going to be investigated. But this is why we passed Wall Street reform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Alison, it's interesting when you look at that because Jamie Dimon, very much a friend of the White House --

KOSIK: Right, exactly.

MALVEAUX: -- from Wall Street. But he's saying that even Dimon got it wrong. I know there is a great debate taking place whether or not they really did enough on the president's watch.

KOSIK: Exactly. If you listen to what the president is saying there, he is very being cautious, I mean, because he said you know, they've got a history, Dimon and Obama here. But, you know what? Things could be changing because the president needs to look tough on Wall Street. It's an election year and that $2 billion trading loss is sparking a huge outrage with just about any one you walk up to these days.

But if you listen closely, the president is hedging a little in that statement. You know, he's critical of how JPMorgan lost that $2 billion, he's reiterating the need for regulation but he's also going out there and praising Dimon so appears to be keeping the door open to business relationship, because think about it -- Dimon is on the Business Council. That's the group that consults with politicians. You know, he visited with Obama 20 times so far this year. So, he's got to walk that fine line. Not completely slam Dimon but appear tough on regulation.

MALVEAUX: Yes, fine line to walk there. All right. Alison, thank you. Good to see you as always.

KOSIK: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Meet the new first girlfriend of France -- yes, girlfriend. France's new President Hollande hasn't put a ring on. So, who is this woman that will be the first lady and why do the French call her the Rottweiler?

Then a story of love, lost.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need to fight for what's right.

MALVEAUX: His partner died and he wasn't even allowed at the funeral.

One man turns his grief into a video that goes viral, as he fights for same-sex marriage.

And Facebook for sale. You heard the hype. We go in depth. Can you buy in?

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: President Obama says he supports same-sex marriage but he leaves it there. Barbara Walters on ABC's "The View" asked the president whether he would fight the current law that defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. It's called the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA.

Here's what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: 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, you know, 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)

MALVEAUX: Meanwhile, Obama's campaign has tapped a 23-year-old White House assistant to head up its outreach to religious communities.

Michael Wear, he's going to become the campaign's Faith Vote director. That's happening next week.

I want to bring in Dan Lothian, who joins us from the White House. So, Dan, tell us about what do we know about him, first of all?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know about him is that he has been working here in the office, the faith- based office here at the White House, focusing on issues such as adoption and foster care among other issues.

He is comes from a Catholic background but attend a non- denominational church here in Washington described as an evangelical type church. He was also an intern in the Obama campaign back in 2008, focusing on faith-related issues.

Now, what is so important about this position, as you know, there are policy issues that overlap with religious issues and there are concerns that have to be addressed by a campaign. And so, he would be the person to reach out to churches, to religious organizations. And I should point out that this is not the first time that the campaign has done this. The Obama campaign in 2008 did have someone who was overseeing religious outreach to churches, and to other religious organizations.

Now sources say that the recent controversy surrounding the president's decision to support same-sex marriages was not the driving factor behind this appointment. As you know, there have been a lot of ministers, religious organizations, African-American, otherwise, who have had their concerns and differences with the president. But again, sources say that the timing behind this was not related to that.

MALVEAUX: Yes, Dan, I can feel for you. I've been there where you are with the truck backing up behind you and all the noise.

LOTHIAN: That's right, the timing. The timing.

MALVEAUX: The timing is perfect. Always happens. Right, when you go live.

Real quick for you, Dan. Do we think that Michael Wear is going to be instrumental in trying to help some of the black clergy who have spoken out and feel uncomfortable with the president's position on same-sex marriage, is he going to be reaching out to them directly? Because we know there's already been some trying to mend the fences, if you will, between the president and some of these leaders.

LOTHIAN: Well, look, you know, his position as the main point person for religious organizations and churches no doubt that will be part of his portfolio. But in addition one of the things that was driving the timing of this announcement or this appointment is the concerns among some of the Catholic bishops and others over the issue of contraceptive and religious freedom.

And so, he has sort of been brought in to try to deal with some of those concerns. But again, the issue of same-sex marriage and African-American leaders is huge, and that will continue to be a major issue for the campaign and this White House reaching out to the African-American community.

MALVEAUX: OK. All right. Dan, thank you very much. Good to see you as always.

LOTHIAN: OK.

MALVEAUX: She is not the wife but the girlfriend of the new French president and she holding down her own high-powered job. We're going to meet the woman the French call the Rottweiler.

Don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to CNN.com/TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It's official.

France's new President Francois Hollande has been sworn into office. He is promising a new approach to tackle the problems plaguing Europe. First on his agenda, a trip to Germany today to meet with chancellor Angela Merkel. But now, we are being told that the plane was struck by lightning.

I want to bring in Hala Gorani.

This is just a new development that we have just heard. Obviously, it was a very important trip, his first day in office. What happened?

HALA GORANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not starting out smoothly, is it?

MALVEAUX: Yes.

GORANI: He takes off from Paris. It was a stormy day all day today in Paris. In fact, he was shaking hands and taking over from Nicolas Sarkozy under the rain, many times not using an umbrella so he got a little bit drenched. But his plane did take off from Paris as scheduled.

He was on the way to this very important working dinner with Angela Merkel. You know, the eurozone crisis, as Americans are well aware, has a global impact. It's a question of whether or not this union can save the common currency the euro, also whether countries such as Greece are going to stay in the eurozone.

So, we're hearing his plane was struck by lightning. This wasn't just the pilot deciding he was going to avoid a storm. The plane was struck according to "Reuters", turned back around, on its way to Berlin. We don't know if it's landed in Paris yet and we don't know if he's going to take another flight or wait until tomorrow.

MALVEAUX: Do we know how he is doing? Is everybody OK on this plane? Do we know?

GORANI: From what we're hearing -- everybody is fine. It's not an unusual -- I mean, it is unusual but not necessarily a very dangerous thing for a plane to be hit by lightning. I'm no, you know, aeronautics expert but everybody seems to be fine and the plane has either landed or about to land in Paris. The weather is dreadful today.

MALVEAUX: Well, let's hope this is not a sign of things to come, his first day.

GORANI: His first day on the job. You know, this eurozone crisis and how to deal with it, these leaders, Angela Merkel and the French president disagree and markets are very jittery about it.

MALVEAUX: Yes, that's a very important trip. Obviously he'll make that trip another time when the weather is better. Tell us originally we were going to talk about she's not the first lady, she is the first girlfriend. They're not married.

Tell us about her and what do they call her?

GORANI: The first -- well, she's not going to be called the premiere dame, which is first lady in French. She prefers the term companion. She likes to be called that.

You know, in France, things are different. In the United States, it's important for a politician to be married. It's important to abide by a certain set of rules. In France, people are more flexible -- let's be honest -- about things, you know?

And French voters are more forgiving as well, if a politician is married. If he or she has an affair -- well, perhaps they are willing to forgive that.

In the case of Valerie Trierweiler, having to this is the new first -- the new -- first companion, I guess.

MALVEAUX: First companion you call her?

GORANI: Yes.

And take a look. This is a profile of her I put together for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI (voice-over): She is France's first unmarried premier dame. Valerie Trierweiler, the girlfriend of President Francois Hollande. 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, FRENCE ELLE MAGAZINE (through translator): They have known each other for a very long time, Valerie Trierweiler, because of "Paris Match." 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, super model and outgoing first lady Carla Bruni Sarkozy has always fashion 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 regard 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 (on camera): But working as a political journalist. When you're in a relationship with the government official, no less the president, could be viewed as a conflict of interest. Even so, it wouldn't be the first time in France, the former foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, is married to a woman in the news business.

(voice-over): Work aside, relationships among Paris's power elite have been complicated. Bruni-Sarkozy married her husband after he divorced his second wife while in office.

Francois Mitterand, the last socialist president, had a wife and a mistress, fathered children with both. Even though Mitterand ordered a cabinet official and 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 a step family.

GORANI: France's first couple may never feel the need to marry. But then again, they haven't ruled it out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GORANI: Valerie Trierweiler says she wants the role of premiere dame to be redefined. And in France, you say, I'm not a potish (ph). That's something she told an interviewer, potish, just, I'm not a potted plant. I have my own opinion. But I'm going to live my life.

MALVEAUX: And it was the nickname Rottweiler, it was -- she is feisty and independent.

GORANI: A play on her name, Trierweiler. I have to train myself to say it.

MALVEAUX: She's not potted plant, that's for sure.

Good to see you, Hala, as always.

Terror on the highway. Police say a killer may be posing as a cop pulling people over, then shooting them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone attempts to pull them over using flashing lights and they feel unsafe or unsure who that person is, to call -- use cell phone, call 911.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Terror on the highway in Mississippi. Authorities are on the hunt for a killer who they say may be posing as a police officer, pulling cars over in the middle of the night and then shooting drivers. They are asking for the public's help after two deadly shootings of the past week, that took place about 50 miles apart.

Now, police are actually telling people to be careful about pulling over if they see flashing lights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF BILL RASCO, DESOTO COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI: The things that we want people to realize, if they or feel like they are going to be pulled over, the first thing to do is turn on your flashers and dial 911.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: In Britain, the phone hacking scandal has snagged a former top executive at Rupert Murdoch's media empire. British prosecutors have charged Rebekah Brooks with trying to obstruct a police investigation.

She was the boss at "News International." That is where police were investigating charges of hacking into the phones of politicians, celebrities and many others. Five others have also been charged.

A month ago, it seemed almost impossible, right? But suddenly Mitt Romney edging out President Obama with a key voting group, women. We're going to find out what is driving the switch with our political panel.

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MALVEAUX: Obama versus Romney, the polls and the pundits, they have no clue who is going to win yet? But an editorial today says President Obama's personality just as important as his policies.

I want to bring in our political panel to talk about it more, Democratic strategist and CNN contributor, Maria Cardona and Republican strategist, Alice Stewart, former spokeswoman for Rick Santorum.

Good to see you both here. Let's talk a little about this. David Brooks, "New York Times," had an op-ed today. It caught my attention. It describes the president as the ESPN man, and he says that he has this kind of personality, leadership style that appeals to folks across party lines and to younger voters.

He writes here, he says Obama has displayed a kind of ESPN masculinity, post feminist in his values, but also thoroughly traditional in style, hyper competitive, restrained, not given to self doubt, rarely self indulgent. He goes on to say that Obama has defined a version of manliness that is post boomer in policy but pre- boomer in manners. Wow. What do you think, Alice?

ALICE STEWART, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think one of the key points he made in his column is that Obama himself is much more popular than his policies. His policies have failed to make things better for the American people.

He is the person that brought us bigger government, bigger spending and done nothing to make things better for the American people. When it gets down to it, he's the kind of guy if you want to equate it to your data guy, the ESPN guy.

He's cool. He's likable. He's fun, but when it gets down to November when you walk down the aisle and you want to marry the guy you want someone who is responsible, who can take care of your home and your family.

Someone like Governor Romney who will do what is foremost on people's mind, turn the economy around, create jobs and make this a better place for all Americans and they certainly trust Governor Romney to do that.

And they trust him to turn the economy around and create jobs. And that's what we'll see in November.

MALVEAUX: Maria, Alice is saying that Obama is not marriage material.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, I sort of picked up on that, too, Suzanne, interestingly enough. But you know, I would say that when voters are looking to marry somebody in terms of who they want to choose for their president, Suzanne.

What we keep seeing time and time again is that voters vote with their gut instincts. They vote for the person who they believe is on their side. They vote for the person they believe understands the problems that they are going through and get the issues that they are facing each and every day.

Middle class families, working class families are the ones hardest hit in this recession and President Obama's policies have put us on a path of greater job creation, greater economic growth, tax cuts for small businesses and middle class families.

At the end of the day, they are going to choose somebody who they like, who they see understand what is they are going through and that is Mitt Romney's biggest problem.

MALVEAUX: Let's look at this here because you've got a poll here, obviously they are both battling for the female vote. President Obama over the weekend delivering a commencement address at Barnard College that is at an all-women's liberal arts college.

Now this poll that shows that Romney is slightly ahead of President Obama when it comes to women voters, 46 percent to 44 percent here. So why do we think that it is so close and even perhaps turning in Romney's favor -- Alice?

STEWART: I think first and foremost, going back to the issue of jobs and the economy. Women are just as concerned about that critical, those critical issues as men are. Women are concerned about future generations, about putting food on the table, concerned when they graduate there are no jobs out there.

That's a problem. They see that President Obama is not the person who has made things better for themselves currently looking for a job or future generations. We're not only seeing that women are rallying behind Governor Romney, overall that poll shows Governor Romney ahead of President Obama across all of the electorate.

MALVEAUX: So, Maria, how does President Obama counter that argument?

CARDONA: Well, I think he counters it by continuing to do what he's doing which is, frankly, pointing out the stark differences in the visions between what he wants to continue to do with the country and what Governor Romney would do if he became president.

That is continue to look out for middle class families, working mothers, for working class families as well who again are the ones who have been the hardest hit in this recession.

And what we're also seeing is that people are slowly feeling better about this economy, but President Obama understands that more needs to be done. Governor Romney is completely out of touch.

MALVEAUX: I want to interrupt. I want a piece of sound here. This is former President Bill Clinton today. He was speaking at a fiscal summit in Washington and he talked about really what he thought the main problem is in terms of getting things done. I want you to listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Getting all the stake holders together with the goal of making an agreement doesn't ask anybody to change their mind, doesn't ask anybody to ignore their interests, it just says in the end a decision is better than an impasse. That may be more important than anything else in this whole thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: He's talking about the fact that nothing is getting done in Congress and that folks, they can't agree on anything. Alice, whether or not it's Romney or President Obama who ends up in the White House, come next year here. I mean, they have got to deal with Congress. They have to deal with the Congress that is not accomplishing anything. How do they do that?

STEWART: Well, certainly you need have compromise. You have to have reaching across the aisle. Seems the only time that non- bipartisanship is called out is when Republicans aren't reaching across the aisle enough.

And the fact of the matter is the president was speaking at a fiscal summit and fiscal matters are key in this election. What we're seeing is Republicans are recognizing the fact that Obama's big government, big spending, big government policies aren't working.

Stay firm and stand up for what they believe is the best way to turn the economy around, reducing the size of government, reducing spending. Those policies, they are currently not working right now.

MALVEAUX: Maria, real quick here. We're talking about Congress. How do either one of these leaders deal with a Congress that cannot get anything done?

CARDONA: Well, I think that they follow President Clinton's advice but I think we also have to hold Congress's feet to the fire. Let's remember that President Obama was the one that tried to bring Republicans in for the grand bargain.

Thought he had a deal, then Speaker Boehner basically went back and his base said no way, you can't make this deal with President Obama.

Let's also remember Mitch McConnell's first priority, not to find solution, not to make an agreement, to make this president a one- term president. We need to hold Congress' feet to the fire.

MALVEAUX: We've got to leave it there. Maria, Alice, good to see you as always. We'll continue this debate.

STEWART: Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Young man's fight for same-sex marriage goes viral. Shane Bitney Croan made an amazing video to a memorial to his partner. It's gotten more than a million views. We're going to talk to him about it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A very personal and poignant video of one gay man's fight for same-sex marriage is going viral. More than 2 million people have watched this video on YouTube alone. Shane posted it just a few days ago on the first anniversary of his partner's death. We'd like to play a little bit for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ON SCREEN TEXT: We started a business, bought a home, and traveled the world together.

This is JB. We adopted him together.

Five years ago, we decided to come out to our families.

My family was happy I'd found the love of my life.

My nieces love Uncle Tom.

Unfortunately though, Tom's family wasn't as supportive.

His parents were outraged.

When Tom returned to Indiana to visit his parents for Christmas, his father threatened him with a gun and physically attacked him. His mother told him homosexuality is a sin, and blamed me for making him gay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Shane Bitney Crone joins us from Los Angeles. And Shane made this video as sort of a remembrance to his partner, Tom Bridegroom. It goes on for another eight minutes or so.

And, Shane, I'm sorry we didn't really have time to show everybody the whole thing. Can you tell us what happened next in your story when Tom came out to his parents.

SHANE BITNEY CRONE, MADE VIDEO ABOUT HIS GAY PARTNER: Yes. Well, first of all, thank you for having me. And, so after Tom came out to his family, you know, they were outraged and they blamed me for making him gay. And if you fast forward to May 7, 2011, Tom was photographing one of our best friends and he got too close to the edge of her roof and he fell off and he passed away, unfortunately.

And after he passed away, his mother flew from Indiana, she came to California to take him back home, even though he no longer considered Indiana to be his home. And Tom and I, we didn't have wills. I wasn't a power of attorney. So really there was nothing that I could say or do to stop her from taking him back to Indiana.

MALVEAUX: Shane, how were you treated by Tom's family, by his parents, after he died?

CRONE: You know, his mother actually came out to visit us quite a few times, and she never apologized for what had happened when he did come out, but I actually assumed that by her coming to see us, she did accept us. And then after he passed away and after she came to California to take him back home, and then, you know, I was not a part of planning the funeral services at all and I really had no idea what was happening. So at the point where we were waiting for the coroner to release his body, and when they finally did, she promised me that she would let me know what was happening. And I never heard from her again. And, you know, so what happened is my mother and my best friend and I, we flew, you know, to Indiana, assuming that we could attend the funeral. But then I received a phone call from one of his relatives letting me know that I wasn't welcome and that if I did show up, then I would be harmed. So, you know, I was scared.

MALVEAUX: And so they have basically -- they have shunned you from the family. You have never been able to see him again, is that right? You were not at the funeral? You were not at the burial? You were not welcomed?

CRONE: Right. No. Yes. So I -- you know, it's unimaginable, but I wasn't able to be there. And, you know, fortunately I was able to have my own memorial service for him in Los Angeles where all of his friends and family here could celebrate his life.

MALVEAUX: Shane, what -- why did you make this video? What did you want people to understand?

CRONE: Well, originally putting the video together was therapeutic for me. And I was dreading the anniversary of his passing. And I just really had to ask myself, you know, well, Shane, you can dwell on this, you can feel sorry for yourself, or maybe you can make the most of this tragic situation and you can do your part to maybe inspire people to protect themselves so this won't happen to them, or maybe inspire people to view gay people differently, view gay marriage differently. And almost like humanize the issue.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

CRONE: And that was my goal. MALVEAUX: Would it have been different, do you think, if you had been married to your partner, to Tom? You would have had those kind of rights that you were denied, is that right?

CRONE: Right. Exactly. Had we been able to marry, I would have been able to plan his funeral. I would be able to go to the hospital and get the medical records to find out, you know, what happened exactly. You know, so there's so many things that I could have done or would be able to do had we been able to marry.

MALVEAUX: What kind of --

CRONE: And, you know --

MALVEAUX: Sure.

CRONE: I'm sorry.

MALVEAUX: No, no, I'm sorry. What kind of response have you gotten from people? Have they been mostly supportive? Have people learned from your story? Have you gotten criticism?

CRONE: The response has been unimaginable. I never anticipated that this video would resonate with people from literally all over the world. And I've received hundreds and hundreds of e-mails and tweets from people thanking me for sharing this story. And it's actually shocking how many people out there have gone through very similar experiences. And it's -- you know, it's still shocking to read some of these e-mails. And it's also comforting at the same time that I have the support and the love from people all over. And it's -- you know, not just support and love for me, but support and love for Tom, because really this is our story. And Tom's touching lives even though he's no longer here. And that's a pretty incredible thing.

MALVEAUX: That's a very, very powerful message. And have you given up on Tom's parents? Have you reached out to the family? Has there been any reconciliation? Do you believe there is still hope?

CRONE: You know, I don't think that I will talk to his parents. And I hope at some point that I'll still be able to maybe communicate with his niece and nephew. You know, I only hope. But, you know, you never know what's going to happen. I've forgiven them for everything that's happened and I had to really just tell myself that I need to just kind of move on with my life. And, you know, so there's really, at this point, no need to talk to his parents.

MALVEAUX: All right. Well, Shane, we really appreciate your story. I know a lot of people have been paying attention. Two million people who have watched so far and a lot of people have learned from your relationship, you and Tom. Thank you once again, Shane. I really appreciate it. Should mention as well that CNN did reach out to Tom Bridegroom's parents to try to see if they would like to talk about it, their side of the story, and we have not yet heard back from them.

Moving on. Can't remember the last time that stocks got this much attention in the media, but all of the buzz, it's around FaceBook. Is at smart buy? What does it mean? Of course, putting the biggest social media network up worldwide for sale. What does it mean for the economy? We're going "In Depth."

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MALVEAUX: We're going "In Depth" this week on FaceBook. The company getting ready to sell its stock to the public starting on Friday. Now, demand has been so high, FaceBook is now raising the price target. Alison Kosik, she's at the New York Stock Exchange.

Wow. How much more expensive are we talking about here?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's getting a little more expensive. So before the target price range for a share of FaceBook was between $28 and $35. Well, now, FaceBook expects its price to be anywhere from $34 to $38 each. That's when, of course, FaceBook opens up its shares to the public on Friday. That's the expected date. Now, the final pricing is expected to happen on Thursday. I keep on saying expected because things can change with this public offering for FaceBook shares.

Now, the price is going higher, Suzanne, because there's a strong demand for these shares. FaceBook executives have been in the middle of this road show. They've been going around the country pitching the IPO, the public offering, to potential investors. And what they found out was, you know, more people want it. And the more people who want this stock, the more you can sell it for. You know what, a source told CNN Money that the investor response for these shares has been, quote, "nothing short of pandemonium." So obviously a lot of hype in this.

MALVEAUX: What about the value of FaceBook here. Previously we heard it was about worth, what, $100 billion?

KOSIK: Yes, well now it's a little more. So the more expensive the shares go, the more FaceBook as a company is going to be worth. So with this new price range, if they get that higher range, close to $38, FaceBook could potentially be worth, as a company, about $106 billion. Now this includes shares that Mark Zuckerberg and FaceBook employees own. So if they would sell their shares as well. Keep in mind, Zuckerberg's stock in FaceBook could be worth a lot more too, up to $19 billion.

But, you know what, before you plunk down your money, everybody, you know, at least stop and ask this question. You know, will demand hold up? There's a lot of hype with this, just like there had been with other public offerings of stock -- of these IPOs. They were strong, you know, but then they kind of fizzled out. You know, Pandora was one company that went public. Their stock has dropped 50 percent. Groupon down 60 percent. So, yes, there are questions about FaceBook, about its growth. But at this point, Suzanne, the hype seems to be winning out.

MALVEAUX: Still a lot of hype and it's not even Friday yet. Thank you, Alison.

KOSIK: I know. MALVEAUX: The question, of course, to buy or not to buy. That is what a lot of folks are wondering when it comes to FaceBook stock. We've got ten reasons why you should not.

And, later, he grew up in the projects. Now he runs an empire. We're talking about Jay-Z. What he has to change to get the American economy moving again.

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