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Violent Protests Tarnish NATO Summit; Sentencing in Rutgers Webcam Death; Occupy Extremism; "Lockerbie Bomber" Buried Today; Obama to Visit Joplin; Facebook Trading Glitch; Strauss-Kahn Faces Gang Rape Accusations; 1st Tropical Storm of the Season
Aired May 21, 2012 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. And good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello.
Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. Clashes in Chicago. Police in riot gear trying to push back thousands of protesters racing to stop domestic terrorists. Three violent plots to use guns and explosives have been already uncovered and President Obama addresses NATO in one hour.
Time for damage control. Newark Mayor Cory Booker defends Bain Capital and calls the negative tone of President Obama's campaign nauseating. Then hours later, YouTube video pops up with Booker explaining.
He gave us the soundtrack to the '70s.
Remembering Bee Gees cofounder Robin Gibb who passed away after a long battle with cancer.
It's a blazing ring of fire and in case you couldn't see it where you live, we've got the amazing pictures of that solar eclipse.
But we begin in Chicago where riot police are bracing for more of this.
Demonstrators say the havoc they unleashed this weekend is only the beginning. They're vowing more chaos today outside the summit of the NATO military alliance. President Obama is there rallying support for the nation's planned exit from Afghanistan.
The president actually due to speak at the top of the next hour. The same time "Occupy" protesters plan to launch their next round of demonstrations. Chicago police say they are ready.
CNN's Ted Rowlands was in the middle of the weekend chaos and he is gearing up for today's chaos as well.
Hi, Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. They were at it until after midnight overnight. More than 40 arrests for protesters and several injuries as well. Some protesters were injured. Some police officers were injured according to the Chicago Police Department. Four officers were injured. One of them apparently stabbed in the leg.
The video from yesterday is jarring. You can see the officers in riot gear using their batons and using their fists at times but the police superintendent here, Garry McCarthy, defends his officers and he says if you're going to point fingers you should be pointing them at the protesters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUPT. GARRY MCCARTHY, CHICAGO POLICE: These officers were highly trained, highly skilled, and if you think it's easy to ask people to do what they did, it's not. Asking people to put themselves in harm's way, knowing that they are going to get assaulted and be able to stand there and take it, these guys were amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: The superintendent, obviously, very emotional there. That was last night after that melee took place about two blocks away from where the NATO leaders are gathering.
This morning, Carol, we're expecting another round of protests to start up at the Boeing Corporation, a few blocks from where we are now in downtown. That is started -- scheduled to start later this hour. Protesters say they want to, quote, "shut down Boeing."
As a side note, Boeing has told their employees, obviously, to stay home today.
COSTELLO: Well, Ted, a question for you. There are a lot of groups are protesting in Chicago. Is "Occupy Chicago" to blame for the violence? I mean what group specifically is responsible for this kind of stuff?
ROWLANDS: Well, it's difficult to say this group is responsible for it. I think it's individuals are responsible for it because people that are representing different groups are the ones that are staying behind after police are giving the order to vacate. So people, I think, are acting on their own.
Some are frustrated because they haven't been able to get close to the NATO leaders, others are here to simply to cause trouble.
COSTELLO: Ted Rowlands, we'll get back to you. Thank you.
Also happening right now emotions running high in a New Jersey courtroom where a former Rutgers University student faces sentencing of the death of his roommate. The case that stirred a national discussion on privacy, cyberspying and bullying. Tyler Clementi killed himself after his Dharun Ravi secretly used a Web cam to spy on his roommate's sexual encounter with another man. This morning, we could hear from the families of both men.
Our national correspondent Jason Carroll is following the case. He's live outside of the courtroom.
Good morning, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. The proceeding now is just now getting under way behind me. A little while earlier we saw Dharun Ravi arrive here at the courthouse with his parents at his side. He is inside now with supporters with him as well. We also saw Tyler Clementi's parents show up here at the courtroom.
Also Tyler Clementi's brothers. Both of his brothers are here. Before they entered the courtroom, Carol, I had a brief moment to speak with one of his brothers. I asked him how the family was doing. He said just fine. We are expecting to hear from both of Tyler Clementi's parents and at least one of his brothers during the sentencing. They will be reading what are called impact statements.
We're hearing that those statements are expected to be very emotional. A lot of emotion on both sides of this particular issue. As you know Ravi faces at maximum 10 years in prison, but there is some leeway in terms of how the judge can issue sentencing here. He could be looking at a minimum of five years probation and a number of Dharun Ravi supporters say that he should not be sentenced to jail time. He is appealing the sentence -- he is appealing the jury's decision and a lot of folks on his side of the camp, Carol, hoping that he will not be facing jail time when the day ends today.
As for Clementi's parents, they say in the very beginning, Carol, here's what's interesting. They did not want a harsh sentence for Dharun Ravi but they really feel as though at the end, they had no choice. They say he turned down a potential plea bargain which would have avoided jail time for Dharun Ravi. They say throughout this whole process, he has showed no sign of any remorse. They say he has not even at any point apologized or accepted any responsibility for what has happened to their son.
Before the trial got under way, I had an opportunity to speak to Tyler Clementi's parents and I spoke to them about what they were hoping for in terms of justice for their son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE CLEMENT, TYLER CLEMENTI'S FATHER: What we want is justice. We want accountability. And I have faith in the court system and the state of New Jersey to get that justice.
JANE CLEMENT, TYLER CLEMENTI'S MOTHER: I think that we will see justice and if we don't see it here and now, we will ultimately see that justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: And Carol, once again, the proceeding now under way. Scheduled to get under way at just about 9:00. It's expected to take several hours -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jason Carroll reporting live from for us from New Jersey.
Jurors return to work in about half hour in the corruption trial of former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards. They had the weekend off after beginning deliberations on Friday. Edwards is accused of illegally funneling campaign money to his mistress, the mother of his child. He could face up to 30 years in prison.
The Obama campaign has kicked off the new workweek with a new ad. It rakes Mitt Romney's career at Bain Capital over the coals. The ad singles out the closing of an office supply plant in Indiana back in 1994. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Took our benefits. We didn't have any more retirement. In Bain, Mitt Romney, they did not care about us as workers. They were looking at the mighty dollar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Romney's campaign has defended his record at the private equity firm as an example of capitalism. They accused the Obama campaign of waging class warfare. In fact Newark's New Jersey mayor said ads like that turned his stomach and his comment turned a few heads.
Cory Booker, a Democrat, is now backing off or at least clarifying what he told NBC's "Meet the Press."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR CORY BOOKER (D), NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: I'm not about to sit here and indict private equity. Well, if you look at the totality of Bain Capital's record it ain't -- they've done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses and this to me, I'm very uncomfortable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And, of course, he issued that YouTube video later kind of clarifying his remarks saying that Bain Capital was fair game. Of course, Booker is a Democrat. He's a big Obama supporter and as I said, not long after that interview, he said it's OK to make Romney's business record an issue. Here is the YouTube clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOOKER: I believe that Mitt Romney, in many ways, is not being completely honest with his role and his record even while a businessperson and shaping it to serve his political interests and not necessarily all the -- I mean including -- not necessarily including all of the facts of his time there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Booker says his earlier remarks were meant to express his frustration at negative campaigning in general. We're going to talk more about Booker's big backtrack? What was it? We'll talk about that at 9:30 Eastern. And that comes your way in about 25 minutes.
Accused home-grown terrorists arrested at the "Occupy" protest in Chicago just weeks after "Occupy Cleveland" members were busted for an alleged bomb plot. Are extremists harm the occupy movement or are they part of it? We'll talk about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All is calm in Chicago right now but Chicago police are bracing for more protests. Protests that could become violent. In fact, protesters say they are planning a big march in about 45 minutes. Of course we'll keep you posted there.
There were arrests over the weekend. Actually there were arrests over the weekend. Three men were arrested for traveling to Chicago to commit domestic terrorism during the NATO summit. These are the three men who were arrested. They call themselves anarchists. They had an initial court appearance on Sunday.
Remember just two weeks ago, two, five members of the "Occupy Cleveland" movement were also arrested? They were charged in a plot to blow up a bridge so people are wondering this morning if these two groups are connected. And are they connected to the "Occupy" movement itself? Mark Bray, a political organizers and spokesperson for occupy movement. Mark joins us live now.
Welcome.
MARK BRAY, OCCUPY WALL STREET ORGANIZER: Thank you for having me.
COSTELLO: It's good you're here. So let's talk about these people who are arrested in Chicago. Police called them anarchist who wanted to firebomb Obama headquarters in Chicago. They had Molotov cocktails ready to go. So are these people part of the "Occupy Movement"?
BRAY: Well, you know, we've been very clear from the first day that "Occupy" is a nonviolent movement that our protest tactics have direct action and nonviolence (INAUDIBLE) are premised upon the values of nonviolence, right? So that needs to be made clear from the start and these people are not acting in the spirit of what "Occupy" is about.
Whether they've been a part of certain groups or not, I can't say. And also it's important to keep in mind that authorities have been known for using tactics of entrapment, that there have been times and they've sort of provided the materials for people and led them down this direction. So that's important to be kept in mind before we know all the details.
COSTELLO: Well, Mark, there is a group that play in these type of protests. They are called Black Bloc. They're a group of anarchists who taunt police into violence. You see them in the crowds. They have their faces covered with black bandanas so people can't identify them. Is Black Bloc part of the "Occupy" movement?
BRAY: Well, there's all sorts of people that are part of the "Occupy" movement from right-wing libertarians to socialists and liberals, to anarchists. You know, there's a wide variety. It's important to keep in mind we are living in a context here where our civil liberties are restricted farther and farther and we have measures line the NDAA, or HR347, that are reducing the latitude we have to protest.
And so, it's not a surprise then that when we see these protests that police are beating people over their heads and people feel like they have to mask their identity to avoid being covered by surveillance. Nevertheless, though, we are a nonviolent movement. And, yes, we have anarchists that are part of the movement. And, you know, anarchism has a long tradition of, you know, fighting for the oppressed people of the world. I think it's misleading to characterize it as simply being violent.
COSTELLO: But part of Black Bloc -- part of their strategy is to taunt police into violence. They were chanting at one point during the protests in Chicago, you know, "Kill the police."
BRAY: Well, you know, certainly the occupy movement is not about killing people. It's NATO the ones that are killing people. We are not the ones with unmanned predator drones dropping bombs in civilian populations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
So, I think it's important we realize there is a reason the media is focusing upon a few scuffles with the police instead of larger systems of economic violence and injustice, because this system is indeed organized crime and we are all the victims on a global level. And so, I think that needs to be kept in context in terms of concussion about, quote/unquote, "violence at police". If you look at the videos --
COSTELLO: There was police officer stabbed in the leg. Just to be fair, I mean, do people within the Occupy movement think that these Black Bloc, for example, should be part of the conversation? Doesn't that kind of muddy the waters where your message is concerned?
BRAY: Well, we are very clear about nonviolent tactics and if people violate those ideals and engage in something that might be considered violent, then they are acting outside the sphere of what Occupy is about.
But I think what I'm pointing out is that it's misleading to only focus on that, right? There is so much larger violence at a structural level we are ignoring by only focusing on a couple of issues. If all this protests boil down to is a couple of incidents with riot police, we are missing the larger questions, which is, you know, why hundreds of children are being displaced every day in Afghanistan, that we put billions of dollars into wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have only ended up, you know, making us more endangered that servicemen and women have lost their lives.
And those are the questions I think need to be put at the forefront. We are a nonviolent movement but, really, in context of what's going on around the world, to use violence to describe both of these actions I think is a gross injustice.
COSTELLO: Mark Bray, thanks for being here.
BRAY: Thank you.
COSTELLO: The only person convicted in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, will be buried took today in Libya. The terrorist responsible for that died over the weekend. He was 60.
The bombing back in 1988 killed 270 people. Megrahi was sent to a prison in Scotland but released three years ago on compassionate grounds, making terminal cancer would claim him soon. He managed to hang on until yesterday.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson managed to find Megrahi in Libya last year as the Gadhafi regime was collapsing.
Good morning, Nic.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, it seems that Megrahi may be dying with some of his secrets. He said he would always prove his innocence before his death and he hasn't done that.
There were many questions that remain did he pass over to his family, any of those details that he wanted to use in his defense, and some of the former regime members like Gadhafi sons Saif or his former head intelligence Abdullah Senussi, who had been captured and in detention right now, could they have further clues about the Lockerbie bombing?
But perhaps significantly yesterday from the first minister of Scotland, he said that the investigation into Megrahi's role in the Lockerbie bombing was still a live investigation. The Scottish government believes that there are unanswered questions still there, Carol.
COSTELLO: Questions that probably will never be answered because, you know, this guy's release is still controversial but he is dead now. So, does that mean it's pretty much over?
ROBERTSON: It seems unlikely that there is going to be enough momentum to really bring about a full scale inquiry but there are people who have information. Saif Gadhafi, the second son of Gadhafi is in detention in Libya.
He's very angry at the way, the United States, European governments, he feels let him and his father down last year. They were just beginning to do business with them, and suddenly they feel the international community turned upon him, put this man in open court and there's no limit to what he may say, what allegations he may bring forth or his views of the truth of the Lockerbie bombing perhaps.
And these could be potentially embarrassing for some governments, some former politicians, perhaps. We don't know. But the information may yet come out.
COSTELLO: Nic Robertson reporting live for us this morning -- thanks.
The president will mark the first anniversary of the Joplin tornado by visiting a high school destroyed by the storm. What he'll be doing there, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: President Obama will mark the one-year anniversary of the devastating Joplin tornado by giving the commencement address at Joplin High School, a high school was one of 7,500 buildings destroyed by the tornado.
CNN's Jim Spellman paid some of the students a visit to find out what the last year has been like.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the tornado struck, Rachel Berryhill and her family took shelter in their bathroom.
RACHEL BERRYHILL, JOPLIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: We shut the door and then we were just holding on to each other and our eyes were closed and we were all praying.
SPELLMAN: They weren't hurt but emerged from their destroyed house to a scene like this.
(on camera): When did it hit you that your life wasn't going to be the same?
BERRYHILL: I think once I found out that the high school was destroyed.
SPELLMAN (voice-over): Joplin High School was reduced to rubble and classes in the district were canceled for the remainder of the year. Administrators needed to find a temporary facility fast. And they did, at a local shopping mall.
In just a few months, they took over a vacant end of North Park Mall and turned it into the temporary Joplin High School. The students needed to learn and they also need to be together.
BERRYHILL: It's really important. Like we get support from each other and from our teachers and it just helps us grow stronger and stronger.
SPELLMAN: Walking the halls of what most called the mall school, it's easy to forgot all that the students have been through.
(on camera): Do people talk about it much any more?
BERRYHILL: No, not like they used it to. I mean, things (INAUDIBLE) storms, oh, my gosh, I'm really scared.
SPELLMAN: To try to keep student safe, if another storm hits, the school has installed these tornado shelters.
Each student is assigned to a shelter. They come with few flashlights. And even a simple bathroom behind this tarp. There were regular drills to be sure that every student should be out of the school and into their shelter in a matter of minutes.
(voice-over): Yainer Ovideo spent the first few days after the storm helping search and rescue teams, seeing things teenagers shouldn't have to see.
YAINER OVIDEO, JOPLIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: It was hard. I went long time not being able to sleep and I got up to take medicine to force myself to sleep because like for the longest time, I had nightmares.
SPELLMAN: Counselors help students like Yainer cope, but he says just being together with his friends for their senior year has made the difference.
OVIDEO: Everyone going through the same thing so like you just talk about it and hear each other's stories. You know you're not alone.
SPELLMAN: The mall school will remain in place two more years as a permanent school is built on the site of the old Joplin High School.
(on camera): There must have been times where it was really difficult just to get through the next day.
BERRYHILL: Yes. It was definitely stressful and it's so much harder than like how my life was. Like it's changed a lot and it's still different, but I know it's going to be better.
SPELLMAN: Jim Spellman, CNN, Joplin, Missouri.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Facebook investors are not liking the social media Web site stock so far. It's down in premarket trading this morning. Plus, new details about what caused the technical issues on NASDAQ that caused Facebook's IPO to be delayed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Just about 30 minutes past the hour. Facebook fiasco. The NASDAQ has had some problems. It had problems on Friday, processing Facebook shares. Trading was delayed for about 30 minutes.
And some analysts say the NASDAQ botched the biggest tech IPO in history.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange.
So any plans in place to fix it?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They are. They are sort of going back and try to find out what went wrong and trying to make sure it doesn't happen again.
But as they look back, NASDAQ CEO had a conference call yesterday and summed it up pretty well. He said, you know what, it was not our finest hour. In fact, several reports saying that he said he was embarrassed about how things went down on Friday when Facebook made its public debut.
Now what happened was Facebook was supposed to start trading at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. It didn't start until 11:30. And part of the reason it was delayed some investors didn't know if their orders went through. What that did it created this domino effect and spooked investors and caused cancellations.
NASDAQ is blaming technical problems. You know, you look at some investors when tried to cancel their orders before the open and what it did was screw up the system. Remember, the NASDAQ is all electronics. All of this clogged the system.
But either way you look at it doesn't make the NASDAQ look good at this point.
COSTELLO: No. No, it doesn't. Actually, some say as a result of that, Facebook's IPO was a disappointment. But what are you expecting today?
KOSIK: OK. So here is the thing. You look at Facebook shares right now. They are tumbling like a rock. They are down 7 percent as the bell just rang.
You have to remember its offering price was $38. Facebook shares are falling below that offering price.
Now, Friday, clearly, it didn't live up to the hype. You know, Facebook rose just 23 cents. What Morgan Stanley had to do was go in there and profit up and keep on buying up shares.
So if you were an investor looking to flip and make a profit, it was a big disappointment. But the IPO was a success for Facebook, Carol, because it raised $16 billion on Friday. And for Facebook, it was a success.
COSTELLO: Alison Kosik live at the New York Stock Exchange.
Stories we are watching right now in the NEWSROOM.
Occupy protesters plan to take to the streets again today in Chicago. Mostly peaceful demonstration against the NATO summit turned violent yesterday when protesters fought with police. Dozens were injured. Dozens more detained. President Obama is expected to address NATO in just about 30 minutes.
A sentencing hearing under way in the death of Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers student who committed suicide. These are live pictures from inside the courtroom. Dharun Ravi could face 10 years in prison and be deported to his native India for spying on his roommate's sexual encounter with another man.
And more shaking in northern Italy. A strong after-shock followed yesterday's 6.0 earthquake that killed at least seven people. Workers now digging through the rubble and searching for survivors. Some 11,000 people are out of their homes. Many sleeping in cars or tents.
It started out so refreshing, simply because you don't often here a politician to non-partisanly critical. It didn't last long.
On NBC's "Meet the Press," the Democratic mayor of Newark New Jersey, Cory Booker, who's a big supporter of President Obama, urged both sides to cut out the sniping. He even equated Obama's recent ad criticizing Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital to bashing the president over Reverend Jeremy Wright.
Hours later, booker released a YouTube video clarifying his remarks. But there was another part of his mea culpa that intrigued us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR CORY BOOKER (D), NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Ultimately, my hope is this election will not therefore be about the small things, will not be about the divisiveness, will not be about denigrating, will not be about painting with a broad brush. But ultimately can be about unifying our country around ideas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: See? It's a call to action. Let's discuss this.
CNN contributor Maria Cardona leans left, and CNN contributor Will Cain leans right.
Welcome to both of you.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks. Good morning.
CAIN: Good morning, ladies.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
So, Mayor Booker asked voters to denounce negative campaigning but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it. Why didn't he just stand up for what he said originally? Maria?
CARDONA: I actually think he did do that. He was very clear in his clarification about how the negative campaigning he thinks is going to hurt not just this campaign, but our American political system. He was very clear about that. I think what he also said in his clarification is that he can't really equate or he realized you can't really equate a smear campaign using Jeremiah Wright with a campaign where you are actually putting on trial what Romney himself uses as the reason why he believes he would be a better steward of the economy and that is his record at Bain Capital.
So, you know, Cory Booker, I think, has earned from all of us to be able to take him at his word and that so I'm going to take him at his word in terms of his clarification and in terms of his denigrating the negative campaign.
COSTELLO: So, Will, are you with Maria? Booker didn't backtrack?
CAIN: O, no. He did backtrack, 100 percent he backtracked. See, here is what is so commendable about what Booker did on Sunday on "Meet the Press." I think he was saying something substantively very important that was impressive to me that he was saying, attacking private equity is wrong on the merits. You shouldn't be doing that and that is what is impressed about Cory Booker. He understands both capitalism and the players within capitalism.
Now, where he goes wrong he says it's a small thing. We shouldn't be bickering over the small things.
That's a huge thing. That's integral to this campaign. That is a battle to be fought. And I'm disappointed now the day after, actually later that day, he puts out a video where he suggests he might not be on the side of the issue that he originally suggested.
So, yes, that's a big backtrack.
COSTELLO: Maria, you're a former Democratic strategist. Did someone like call Cory Booker and said, listen --
CAIN: What happened, Maria?
COSTELLO: -- listen! What happened?
CARDONA: Well, I don't know. I don't have access to Cory Booker's personal phone calls. But I can tell you this, people actually do think about what they say on the air. I'm sure it's happened to Will and it happens to me all the time. Oh, my God, what did I say and how can that be looked at? When I really meant was.
And I seriously think that is what happened to Cory Booker. In his clarification, he talks about what he was looking at when he talked about Bain.
The fact of the matter is that -- and Will I know will disagree with me here -- the Obama campaign is not basically denigrating private equity. What they are doing, though, is that they are taking to trial and taking to task what Mitt Romney says is his number one reason for being the best steward of the economy, his record at Bain and basically saying, look, you can't say that your number one priority at Bain was taking care of the American worker which is what your job is as president. Because his record at Bain included closing factories and companies and shipping jobs overseas, and making sure that American workers were actually out of a job, out of health care and out of their pensions.
COSTELLO: OK, there is a new --
CARDONA: So that is the record.
COSTELLO: There is a new ad that came out from the Obama campaign saying exactly that this morning. But I wanted to get back to this sentiment that Cory Booker expressed where he said, you know, the American voter should denounce negative campaigning.
So I was wondering how exactly would the American voter denounce negative campaigning -- isn't that up to the politicians? I mean, we have to listen to it, don't we?
CAIN: Like most things in a merit based society you don't reward it. If you don't like negative campaigning you don't reward it with your vote.
COSTELLO: But they are both doing it.
CAIN: So, there you go. That leads to the question do we care about negative campaigning?
COSTELLO: Not this again.
CARDONA: Yes. I sort of agree with Will on this. And to your point, Carol, what we have seen is actually a lack of voter participation. The last 20 years it has hovered between 50 and 55 percent of voter participation and I think part of that is this disgust with both sides in terms of negative campaigning as well as a lot of other issues.
CAIN: I got to rebut one thing. It won't take long.
COSTELLO: OK.
CAIN: Maria, let me tell you this. They mate not be denigrating private but what they're showing a fundamental lack of understanding of private equity. Productivity increases, job losses is part of what is a machine that produces net job growth over time.
CARDONA: That's fine, but don't make that, you know, the reason why you would be the best American president because that wasn't your job is to look out for the American worker.
CAIN: Right, right.
COSTELLO: We have to leave it there. Maria Cardona, Will Cain, thanks so much.
CARDONA: Thank you.
COSTELLO: She was a big winner at the Billboard awards but British singer Adele wasn't there to accept any of her trophies. We'll find out where she was. A.J. Hammer has the scoop.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: I'm sure you've heard we have lost another '70s disco icon. Robin Gibb passed away after a long fight with liver and colon cancer.
Let's head to New York and "Showbiz Tonight' host A.J. Hammer for more.
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Hey. Good morning, Carol.
Yes, Robin Gibb was, of course, one of the three who made up the legendary group the Bee Gees. He died on Sunday, according to a statement on this Web site.
The Gibbs were born in England. They grew up in Australia They became worldwide sensations in the 1970s. Their career singing started in the '60s, but it was really the soundtrack, of course, for the movie "Saturday Night Fever" back in 1977 that made them worldwide superstars. That "Fever" sound track and the group's 1979 album "Spirits Having Flown" sent six songs in a row to number one. That made the Bee Gees the only group in pop history to ever write, produce, and record that many top charting singles. That's according to the rock and roll Hall of Fame.
The Bee Gees were inducted into the rock hall back in 1997. They sold more than 200 million albums. And their soundtrack album "Saturday Night Fever" was the top selling album of all time until a little album by Michael Jackson's "Thriller" claimed that in the 1980s.
Carol, Robin Gibb was 62, another really sad lost.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Well, let's talk about something happier now. Adele won a whole lot of awards at the Billboard show but was he she wasn't there but a good reason for that.
HAMMER: Yes. Well, she scored 12 awards in absentia, including some of the biggest -- the top artist, top female artist and top album. LMFAO was there however. They not only kicked off the show with a huge performance, those guys took home six awards, including song of the year from party anthem, and the top duo group.
But while current winners were being celebrated at the Billboard awards, the show was also taking time as you would have expected to honor Robin Gibb and, of course, Donna Summer who just passed away last week, Adam Yauch from the Beastie Boys who we recently lost, and, of course, Whitney Houston.
Carol, when you look at what we have lost in the music world just in the last several months I don't recall a tougher time of so many huge losses.
COSTELLO: A.J. Hammer, thanks.
A.J. is back next hour with Kristen Wiig's good-bye to "Saturday Night Live."
Did you see it, or tweet about it? This rare ring of fire captivated stargazers here and abroad. We've got the pictures, in case you missed it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Forty-six minutes past the hour.
French prosecutors say they're opening a preliminary inquiry into gang rape allegations against former International Monetary Fund chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The French newspaper "Liberation" reports the allegations stem from statements made by two women it called escort girls after an incident in Washington, D.C. two years ago.
Now this is the latest in a string of sexual allegations against Strauss-Kahn. Atika Shubert is following the latest inquiry from London. Atika tell us more about this incident.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is that part of the ongoing investigation that's known in France as the Carlton Affair and basically it involves these allegations that there was a prostitution ring being operated and that some of the -- and that -- at least two of these women were brought to Washington, D.C. And this is where this -- this allegation of gang rape comes from.
It's supposed to have taken place in D.C. Two women are allegedly involved. Now, we don't have any information at this point for the prosecutor other than the fact that an investigation has been opened and the women themselves have made no public statements except for that brief -- that brief news you saw from "Liberation" newspaper.
What we do have is a statement from Dominique Strauss-Kahn's lawyers. They just put out a statement saying quote, "The investigation will establish that Dominique Strauss-Kahn has never committed acts of violence or had any relationship whatsoever without the consent of his partners. We'll have see where the investigation goes from here.
COSTELLO: I know we don't have many details but the two women were taken from where and taken to D.C.?
SHUBERT: Well, what we know from -- again, that media report from "Liberation" is that they appeared to be women from Belgium which is just a short distance away from Leal which is where this prostitution ring is alleged to have been operating. They then were flown to Washington, D.C. where Dominique Strauss-Kahn was the head of the IMF.
Now we don't know those -- many of those details yet because the prosecution is still investigating this case but this appears to be what the leads that they are following.
COSTELLO: So -- so these two women are flown from Belgium specifically for allegedly Dominique Strauss-Kahn?
SHUBERT: Well, this is the part that's unclear. Remember, when these allegations first came about a few months ago, his lawyer specifically said -- they had a very interesting response. They said they didn't deny that he engaged in sex parties at specific hotels but they said that he did not know that the women there were prostitutes. And that has been their line of defense so far.
Now, we'll have to see whether or not that changes as these new developments keep coming forward. It's an ongoing investigation so I suspect that more and more of these details will keep coming out in the months to come.
COSTELLO: Atika Shubert, reporting live from London for us.
It's not even hurricane season and we already have a storm churning in the Atlantic. We'll introduce you to Alberto.
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COSTELLO: Captivating, dazzling, amazing. I'm talking about the so-called ring of fire, the solar eclipse that wowed crowds from China to Texas. Many held viewing parties to watch as the sun appeared as a thin ring around the moon. That is so awesome.
This is the first eclipse of this type since 1994 and if you didn't catch it last night because you weren't in the right geographic area you'll have another chance but it won't be until 2023. Just saying, mark your calendar now.
Speaking of rare events it's not even hurricane season yet and we already have our first named Atlantic storm the year. Tropical storm Alberto is hovering off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina. For meteorologist, Rob Marciano, it sounds very exciting but it's certainly not.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Though I -- but it's rare to have one this early in the season. Actually it's not the season yet as you mentioned. And this is the second one. The eastern Pacific season which starts on May 15th we've already had a storm for that one two days earlier. And that's the first time in our history that we've seen both the eastern Pacific basin and the Atlantic basin have storms before the season starts.
By the way, that means nothing for the rest of the hurricane season. It doesn't mean it's going to be that much worst.
All right, let's -- here's the center of this thing. Doesn't this look mean? Isn't that impressive? Yes it doesn't have a lot work with here. The gulfstream goes in this direction and water temperatures here are about 79 degrees. That's not really enough to do any sort of interesting things as far as hurricanes go. So it's having a real hard time getting itself together. Right now winds of 40 miles an hour. It's drifting to the southeast at about five miles an hour. The forecast is for to it continue to, well, meander around this area. Full disclosure here, our system is kind of running some hiccups. So this is actually plucked from the National Hurricane Service Web site. Your tax dollars hard at work.
Here's the forecast track. Keeps it offshore at tropical storm strength if not dissipating over the next couple of days.
So there you go tropical storm Alberto, it got an early start back in 2006. You know we rotate the storms every six years. In '06 I think it -- it formed in like the first week of hurricane season. So it's got a reputation for it -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rob thanks.
We're following a lot of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.
Still ahead we'll take you to Chicago where riot police are bracing for the start of new protests just minutes now. CNN's Ted Rowlands has been in the middle of the clashes.
Also this morning a case that raises questions about privacy and cyber bullying. A former college student faces sentencing in his roommate's suicide.
Plus you probably know one of them -- the rambler, the multi- tasker or perhaps the dominator. If you've ever felt trapped or wanted to scream about people who like to hijack meetings, some professional advice on how to rein them in.
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COSTELLO: Time for sports. My favorite part of the broadcast.
JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Unfortunately we have to talk about Lebron James, not my favorite basketball player, but I hear he did well.
FISCHEL: Arguably the best.
COSTELLO: All right. I guess.
F1: Yes. The big question really with Lebron is can he ever win a title -- right? Of course. He's in trouble again in this post- season. Downed the Indiana Pacers two games to one in the best of their seven series. Time for the Heat to come back. And boy did Lebron ignite it. Look at Lebron and Dwyane Wade going in the second half.
That's Wade, feeding Lebron for the dunk and then return the favor. There's Wade for the three. The Heat huge second half. In fact, Lebron and Wade outscored the Pacers by themselves in the second half. They went 101-93. The series now tied two games apiece heading back to South Beach. Can the Heat finally win a title? Can Lebron finally win a title.
San Antonio spurs looking unbeatable. Danny Green hits this three from the corner. That ties the game with the clippers at 92. Tony Parker puts the Spurs on top for good. They beat the Clippers 102-99, sweep the series, advance to the western finals. The Spurs have won 18 straight going back to the regular season. Can anyone stop them?
Let's do some baseball. The Dodgers called up Scott Van Slyke, Andy Van Slyke's son from the Minors earlier this month. And last night the younger Van Slyke goes deep, his first major league home run. It was a pinch hit shot. Helps the Dodgers beat the Cards. Andy's son -- of course, Andy played 13 seasons in the majors. He was at Dodger Stadium last night and got to see Scott hit his first Major League homer. Look at the team going nuts for him.
COSTELLO: So nice.
FISCHEL: We're celebrating.
President Obama and some other world leaders got together this weekend, first Obama showing off his form throwing the football. That's at Soldiers Field last night.
COSTELLO: He looks like he's in agony.
FISCHEL: Ok. The technique is not great. But Tebow doesn't have great technique, either.
COSTELLO: No.
FISCHEL: And then on Saturday, he joined other world leaders in the G-8 Summit in Camp David to watch the Champions League soccer finals. There you see British Prime Minister David Cameron; he's excited because Chelsea, from the English premier league, beat Munich. German chancellor Angela Merkel, to the President's left, not so excited. Look at the friendly hug afterwards.
COSTELLO: That's so nice. They are real people aren't they.
FISCHEL: Once in a while.
COSTELLO: Who was President Obama throwing that ball to?
FISCHEL: You know it's a great question. He's clearly got to work on the form, I think just a little bit but, again, I know he has other priorities.
COSTELLO: He does. He is a good basketball player.
FISCHEL: That's right.
