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Massacre in Syria; Explosion Rocks Downtown Nairobi; Romney Blasts Obama over Syria; Tropical Storm Beryl on Southwest Coast; Pope's Butler Accused of Leaks; Courting and Counting the Latino Vote; Egypt's Election Runoff; Average Price of Gas is $3.63

Aired May 28, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Want to get right to it.

Overwhelming grief in Syria after a brutal massacre. And the violence goes on. Opposition activists say at least 26 people died today, but even those activists who are accustomed to the brutality say they can't even wrap their minds around Friday's massacre. More than 100 people died, almost half of them children.

An explosion in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, has left at least 28 people hurt. Now, hospital officials say four of them are in critical condition. The blast happened at a shopping center, and witnesses say the ground shook and pieces of metal, they were everywhere. The prime minister, he believes that the explosion was caused by terrorists but police at the scene, they suspect maybe it was an electrical fire.

Both president Obama and Mitt Romney are taking time to honor America's military men and women this Memorial Day. The president laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns and he speaks later this hour at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Romney taking part in a tribute at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in San Diego. Senator John McCain is also appearing with him. I want to bring in Dana Bash who has more on this live. We expect to hear from Mitt Romney at this event that's getting under way. What do we think the message is going to be today?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to Romney aides, Suzanne, he is going to focus as much as he can on the whole concept of the fallen soldiers and people who are still living but veterans of wars that have happened in recent years and long, long ago. And the message, according to a Romney aide, is to make sure that going forward we continue to protect the liberties and freedoms that they fought for.

So, it's not an overt political statement, but certainly there are tinges of politics in there making very clear that he believes that he would be best, better than the president, when it comes to foreign policy. You know, they were very strong, both he and John McCain, when it comes to Syria and the president's foreign policy with regards to Syria over the weekend, but we don't expect, according to aides, anything to be said about that at the speech.

MALVEAUX: And Dana, talk a little bit about that, because he did weigh in. I mean, we saw this awful massacre that occurred and a lot of people are pushing the president and thinking you've got to do something, you've got to do more. Where does Mitt Romney stand on this? What did he say?

BASH: He had a pretty aggressive statement, and I'll read you part of it, Suzanne. He said, quote, "Obama can no longer ignore calls from congressional leaders in both parties to take more assertive steps." And he went on to say, "The United States should work with partners to organize and arm Syrian opposition groups so they can defend themselves." Now, when you're talking about congressional calls for more action, of course, the leading member of Congress who has been saying that the president has not been doing a strong enough job on Syria is the person he'll be with today, and that is John McCain. Yesterday, he called the president's foreign policy, quote, "feckless," very, very strong words.

And also, just, you know, politically it is interesting that you're going to have these two men together, Mitt Romney never -- having no foreign policy experience. He is -- he is a governor -- former governor of the state, and he's going to be standing with somebody who obviously is well-known, a legendary for his experience on the foreign policy stage and that, of course, is John McCain. So, maybe he's going to try to get some foreign policy street catch (ph), street cred (ph), if you will, from John McCain today.

MALVEAUX: And both men who, obviously, want -- or at least wanted the president's job. Thank you, Dana.

And if you're enjoying the long weekend along the southwest coast, no need to tell you you're probably getting soak. Tropical storm, Beryl, made landfall overnight near Jacksonville, Florida, knocked out power to thousands, washed away most of the holiday weekend festivities. It was actually very close to being a hurricane when it hit land, but it is now weakened to a tropical depression. I want to bring in Jacqui Jeras to talk a little bit about where this storm is now.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, it's inland and it's over north Florida moving into Georgia, and the timing of this thing.

MALVEAUX: It ruined a lot of people's (INAUDIBLE.)

JERAS: It really did. What a bummer, you know? Not a deadly storm and hopefully it will continue to be that way, and it doesn't have to be if you play your cards right and just follow all those safety rules. We still have threats from this storm to deal with, even though it has weakened down to a tropical depression, because we may still have some flooding rains and some of these thunderstorms are going to be strong. So, 35 mile per hour are the maximum sustained winds with this, but you're really going to find the strongest thunderstorm gusts associated right down here. I-4 corridor is really where we're seeing the worst of the weather right now and you can see all these thunderstorms kind of straddling from Tampa up through Orlando and then on up towards Daytona Beach. So, 40-mile-per-hour wind, that can still knock down some tree limbs, maybe ones that are big enough to bring more power outages. So, that will continue to be a concern and many of these stronger thunderstorms, especially where you're seeing some of this red are putting down an inch of rain per hour so that really reduces visibility, makes things difficult for driving. We've got I-95 here, we've I-4, we've got I-75, major thoroughfares for people who are traveling this holiday weekend.

MALVEAUX: Jacqui, is there --

JERAS: Go ahead.

MALVEAUX: -- any upside to this?

JERAS: Well, there -- the upside is that this is a drought- ridden part of the country right now. Northern Florida and southern Georgia really needs the rainfall, so it's great news to be able to see some of that rain. But we get too much at one period of time, you know, it's kind of that catch-22 that unfortunately you're looking at flooding and nobody likes that.

MALVEAUX: Jacqui, I understand we have an iReport video showing a wedding as this storm was approaching.

JERAS: Yes. They -- you know, they sealed it with a kiss just in time.

MALVEAUX: Oh, my god. Look at that.

JERAS: This is Ryan and Amanda Porter in Orange Park, Florida which is basically Jacksonville. And the wind was blowing, you can see it, and you can hear the waves in the background. And the rain literally held off until right when they said, i do and had the kiss and it started pouring they said. So, there it is.

MALVEAUX: That is awesome.

JERAS: (INAUDIBLE.)

MALVEAUX: That is so crazy. To see like the gowns blowing and all that stuff but they sealed it with a kiss. It's official, huh?

JERAS: It certainly is.

MALVEAUX: All right, thanks, Jacqui.

JERAS: Sure.

MALVEAUX: Here's what we're working on for this hour.

(voice-over): Scandal and turmoil at the Vatican. Allegations of leaked documents, a butler's arrest, and a missing girl investigation.

And the Latino vote is the most important it's ever been in a presidential election. We'll take a look at the growing voting districts in California and Texas.

And a camp that helps children of troops killed in combat deal with their grief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted them to know there is a place they can go to where they feel normal, and where they feel like they don't have to always talk about what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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MALVEAUX: Controversy at the Vatican seems to be growing by the day. Pope Benedict's butler has been locked up for allegedly stealing documents and giving secret information to a journalist. The reporter used the documents to write a tell-all book. It reveals an internal power struggle within the highest levels of the catholic church. Joining us now to dig deeper into all this, John Allen, he is senior correspondent for the "National Catholic Reporter" newspaper, also a senior Vatican analyst for CNN. So, thank you for joining us. Really amazing when you look at the story here. The butler said to have access to the pope in areas that even the cardinal were not able -- the cardinals were not able to go, one of the pope's closest aides. Why do we suspect that the butter turned on the pope in the first place?

JOHN ALLEN, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, "NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER" (via Skype): Hi, Suzanne. Well, the reason that people suspect the butler did it, which i suppose is the unavoidable thing to say in this story.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

ALLEN: Is that Vatican investigators report that when they searched his apartment earlier this week, they found rafters of supposedly confidential documents that he was not supposed to have along with equipment to reproduce those documents, all of which led them to believe that he was one of the conduits in this massive Vatican leak scandal.

MALVEAUX: John, do we have any idea of motive? I mean, why would he do that to the pope?

ALLEN: Well, first of all, i should say that there is real doubt among Vatican watchers, you know, the breed of Vaticanologists, A, that this guy -- that there might be some innocent explanation for why he had this material. That is, that someone higher up the food chain may have asked him to hold onto it for them. Or that, B, that even if he was involved, that he acted alone. I think it is sort of an article of faith among many people that this had to be a wider operation, that given the volume of the documents and how diverse they are among themselves, that more than one person had to be involved in these leaks. Now, you asked what the motive would be. The Italian journalist who published this tell-all book called "The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI" has said that his source, which he referred to under the code name Maria, had decided to release all this stuff, frankly in the interests of transparency. This person believed that there were simply too many secrets in the Vatican, that they needed to see the light of day. Others believe there may be some office politics going on here, that there are some elements that went to undercut the current sort of prime minister of the Vatican, the cardinal secretary of state named Tarcisio Bertone, to sort of compel the pope to execute a regime change.

MALVEAUX: So, they -- the pope -- the butler might actually be the fall guy in this situation you're saying. Perhaps there were other church officials who might want to see the pope's downfall, correct?

ALLEN: Oh, I'm not sure -- so much sure they want to see the pope's downfall. I mean, the speculation is these are people who would see themselves as friends of the pope and who believe the pope is not being well-served by the administrative regime he's got around him right now, and, therefore, attempting to sort of induce him to get rid of those guys and replace them with someone else.

MALVEAUX: And what happens to the butler now? I understand he's being held in a special cell in the Vatican City facing Vatican justice and that's pretty different than if it was just facing Italian justice from the government itself.

ALLEN: Yes, exactly what happens, to be honest with you, is a little bit of a mystery at the moment. What the Vatican has said is that there is an investigation that is ongoing that is also potentially looking at other suspects. But in terms of this butler, 46-year-old layman named Paolo Gabrielle, there is a Vatican judge who is considering his case who will decide either to drop the charges or to bind him over for trial. If he is eventually convicted -- and the Vatican has indicated he's going to be charged with what they call aggravated theft.

If there's a prison sentence attached to it, then they would probably petition the government of Italy to actually enforce it, because, of course, the Vatican doesn't have facilities to imprison anyone on a long-term basis. And that would raise the diplomatic question of whether Italy would be willing to do that. So, in addition to the kind of byzantine Vatican intrigue, we might also have a diplomatic contretemps at the end of this.

MALVEAUX: Is there anything that we're learning about the pope from this investigation and from your own reporting here that perhaps is surprising or scandalous or something we just didn't realize before?

ALLEN: Well, i think insiders have known all along that this was a pope who sees himself as a teaching pope, that is his passion is in his documents, and his speeches, and his books, not so much a governor, not someone who is particularly interested in moving the levers of power on a daily basis. He's been content all along to allow others to do that for him. But certainly, this crisis has revealed some very serious questions about at least some of the people who he's entrusted to try to make the trains run on time.

MALVEAUX: And the pope himself, he's denying that one of his top cardinals is also under investigation. What do we know about that?

ALLEN: Well, I mean, the pope himself has not said anything about this affair, but a Vatican spokesperson today has indicated that there are not cardinals who are currently objects of investigation. That of course leaves the door open to the possibility that there may well be some others. And I think the Vatican spokesperson felt compelled to say that because of this atmosphere of speculation that a simple butler who, by all accounts, is a very devout guy, would ultimately be the architect of this effort. There, perhaps, are others involved, and so at least, for now, the Vatican is insisting that whoever these others may not be, there aren't any cardinals on the short list.

MALVEAUX: All right, John Allen. Lots of intrigue there. Really appreciate your reporting and your analysis there. And looks like this is a story that's only going to grow some lights there. Thank you, John, appreciate it.

ALLEN: You bet.

MALVEAUX: Sixty-seven percent of Latinos chose Barack Obama for president. That was four years ago. So why are they planning and who are they planning to vote for this election? We're going to take a look.

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MALVEAUX: Latinos are the fastest growing demographic in the country. Between now and election day, you're going to be hearing a lot about the Latino votes. Candidates are going to be courting it, pundits dissecting it. It could be an influence as well for the vice presidential pick. Our in depth report, Rafael Romo takes a look at the Latino voted by the numbers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Of the 200 million or so eligible voters in the United States, 21 million, about 10 percent, are Hispanic. But don't look to the states where Latinos are actually the majority, like Texas, which is solidly Republican, and California, which is decidedly Democrat. Look to the swing states where smaller numbers could make the difference.

Take, for example, Arizona. The Grand Canyon state has 766,000 eligible Hispanic voters. Close to 20 percent of all eligible voters. Latinos may also decide the election in at least four crucial swing states, Colorado, where Latino voters represent 13 percent of the electorate, Nevada with 14 percent, Florida with 15 percent and New Mexico at 38 percent. There are other states where the growth in Latino voters has been dramatic in the last decade. Charles Garcia, a political analyst, points to states like North Carolina, where the number of registered Latino voters has almost doubled to more than 130,000 since the last presidential election.

CHARLES GARCIA, POLITICAL ANALYST: North Carolina, Obama wins by 14,000 votes in 2008. And in 2008, there was 68,000 registered Latino voters. And a whopping 84 percent of the registered voters vote. Now, how many are there today? It's almost doubled.

ROMO (on camera): According to research done by the CNN Political Team, based on U.S. census figures, there will be 15 swing states in the 2012 presidential elections. In a tight race, Garcia says, Hispanic voters could be the margin of victory in 12 of the 15 swing states. The reason, the number of eligible Latino voters in those states has grown by more than 700,000 in the last four years.

GARCIA: So the important message for the Latino community that's living in one of these 15 swing states is, get of your couch and go register to vote because you're going to determine the next election. And that's powerful.

ROMO: Another important factor to consider, young Latino voters. Almost a third of all Hispanic voters are under the age of 30.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Rafael joins us live. And you and I were noting in your piece, North Carolina, that is unbelievable when you think about the number has doubled in the last three years, really?

ROMO: Who would have known right. Typically when you think about Latino electoral power, you look at Texas and California. But because of the way those states are shaped up politically, the vote there is not as relevant as it may be in North Carolina, where they can actually have an influence and be the decisive factor in a very close, very tight election in a swing state like that.

MALVEAUX: So how unified is the Latino community, the Latino vote this time around?

ROMO: Well, what we always say is that it's not monolithic. You have Cuban Americans in Florida, you have Mexican Americans in Texas, in California. And different faction go the different parties. But what I can tell you is that back in 2008, 67 percent of all Hispanics in the country when for Barack Obama. In 2004, they -- you could say that partly President Bush won again because of the 44 percent of the Latino vote that he was able to get in Florida. Places like Florida and Texas he was very popular. So those two last elections give you a glimpse about what can happen in 2012.

MALVEAUX: Now President Bush actually worked very, very hard to win over the Latino vote. And he -- it was a very concerted effort. Does Mitt Romney, does he need to do the same here? Do we see the Latino vote going towards one particular candidate or another or is it still up for grabs?

ROMO: He's not only planning on doing it, he's doing it already. He's unveiled a number of political ads in Spanish in which he has one of his sons speaking Spanish, very fluently, very good. It's a positive message talking about American values that may resonate with a lot of the voters in places like Florida, for example. President Obama did it in 2008. He's doing it again. He went to Puerto Rico and greeted the audience in Spanish.

And this is something that we've seen all the way back to the 1960 presidential campaign, if you can believe it. I'm working on a story where you see Jackie Kennedy addressing voters in Spanish. So it's just part of a trend of addressing Latino voters in their own language and also trying to court, as you were saying in the intro, already (INAUDIBLE).

MALVEAUX: Looking forward, is it too early to tell whether or not Latino voters are going to be split or are they going to go towards President Obama?

ROMO: Well, one interesting aspect to note is that both President Obama and Mitt Romney have managed to alienate a lot of Latinos based on what they've done in terms of immigration. President Obama, a couple of promises that he made to the Latino electorate was that he was going to work on comprehensive immigration reform, which they didn't happen or hasn't happened, and the Dream Act, to help young kids of immigrant parents. That didn't happen either. And then we have seen how Mitt Romney has gone to the far right when it comes to immigration and also alienated a lot of voters in places like Arizona and others.

MALVEAUX: So they both have their work cut out for them.

ROMO: Exactly.

MALVEAUX: All right, thank you, Rafael. Good to see you.

ROMO: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Egyptians made their voices heard in the first free presidential election ever. Well, now they've got two candidates heading off for a runoff. We're going to tell you about them and why Jimmy Carter says the election matters to Americans.

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MALVEAUX: A relative of the man now suspected of killing Etan Patz more than 30 years ago says police were told that he killed a boy back in the 1980s, but that nothing came of it. Pedro Hernandez is accused of choking Patz to death after luring him to the basement of the corner grocery store in New York. Hernandez's relative says he felt a little bit mad, in his words, that police did not listen to the claim back then.

A very soggy Memorial Day along the southeast coast. That is because Tropical Storm Beryl made landfall overnight near Jacksonville, Florida. Knocked out some power to thousands, created dangerous rip currents for the swimmers. Georgia alone reported 48 beach rescues over the weekend. The storm is losing steam as it moves inland and is now a tropical depression.

Both President Obama, Mitt Romney taking time to honor America's military men and women this Memorial Day. The president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and he speaks later this hour at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Romney is taking part in a tribute at the Veterans Museum and Memorial Center in San Diego. Senator John McCain will be appearing with him.

And it's official, Egypt's historic presidential election now comes down to a runoff. Voters are going to choose between a man who served as prime minister under Hosni Mubarak and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Details now from our Ben Wedeman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's official, the results have been announced for first round of Egypt's presidential elections. According to those results, Mohammed Morsi, the candidate of the Muslim Brotherhood, won 24 percent of the vote. Ahmed Shafik, the former civil aviation minister and Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister, won 23 percent of the vote. Therefore, they will be facing off for this second and last round of the vote, the presidential vote, on the 16th and the 17th of June.

Now, what's interesting is that for Egypt's parliamentary elections, which concluded earlier this year, turnout was a very respectable 62 percent. But for the presidential election for the first round, turnout was a somewhat mediocre 46 percent. Perhaps reflecting a lack of enthusiasm among the electorate for any of the 13 candidates on offer. Also perhaps suggesting that Egyptians are beginning to weary of the very frenetic politics of this country.

For those unhappy with either of these two choices as presidential candidates, there's always the street. Some supporters of Hamdeem Sabahi, the number three, the one who came in third with 20 percent of the vote, are already going into Tahrir Square. Some people are already chanting, "down with the next president."

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Cairo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Former President Jimmy Carter was a witness to Egypt's historic vote. He led a group of election monitors from the Carter Center here in Atlanta. Now, Carter talked to our own Fredricka Whitfield about the election, the runoff, and the two men who are now vying for the presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT (voice-over): Well, I think that both of these candidates are well-known and they have gotten votes supporting them. But, of course, with 13 candidates in the race, obviously a lot of disappointed people here. But now both sides are beginning to call in the others, the young people, the Christians, and other groups to try to induce them for their support in the future. I think both potential candidates will move to the center and try to consolidate support by picking up some people that didn't support then in the past.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Is there a feeling that this runoff can be as peaceful as we've seen this election to be thus far?

CARTER: I don't think there's any doubt about that. I don't see any indication here of potential violence breaking out in protest because there's really not anything to protest against. The people have had a right to go to the polls. They've cast their ballot the way they want to. And although many people are disappointed with the outcome, I don't think there's any threat of violence.

WHITFIELD: When it's mentioned one of the candidates in this runoff, Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, is in this runoff. And the Muslim Brotherhood has some history, including former member al Qaeda leader, Ahmed al Zawahiri. Is there any real reluctance or fear or reticence, whether it be from some Egyptians or even some Americans, as to, you know, how this person was able to be a viable candidate to end up being in this runoff?

CARTER: Well, Mr. Morsi, Dr. Morsi, was educated in California. He's got a PhD in engineering from southern California Tech. And he also is a dean of an engineering school here. He's very respected. He knows our country. And in my conversations with him, he's been quite moderate and progressive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: We pause today to honor Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their lives in war. But what about the children they leave behind? We're going to take you to Good Grief Camp where kids can have fun and play while remembering mom or dad.

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MALVEAUX: Today is the day set aside to honor the sacrifices of America's men and women in uniform. And for children of the fallen servicemembers, it's a chance for them to realize they're not alone.

Athena Jones reports on a camp that helps them heal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the Good Grief Camp.

(MUSIC)

JONES: 11-year-old Caleb lost his father, Air Force Captain Cartez Durham (ph), in a helicopter accident in Italy four and a half years ago. Caleb and his brother, Christian, are joining 1200 children, parents and other families of fallen servicemembers as part of an event sponsored by the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, or TAPS.

The Durham family looks forward to it each year.

MEKA DURHAM, LOST HUSBAND IN 2007: I brought my kids five months after my husband died because I wanted them to know they were not the only kids who had lost a parent, either mother or father, in the military. And I wanted them to know there is a place they can go to where they feel normal and where they feel they don't always have to talk about what happened. We're all here for the same reason.

JONES: TAPS has been bringing survivors together on Memorial Day weekend since 1994, with grief seminars for the adults and the daycare for the kids.

BONNIE CARROLL, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, TAPS: Grief is not a mental illness. It's in not a physical injury. Grief is a wound of the heart. And the absolute most therapeutic comfort for someone who is grieving the loss of a loved one is to talk with another young widow who was pregnant at the time of the loss, a mom who is grieving the loss of her only child.

JONES (on camera): What does this weekend mean to you?

What does it mean to you?

CALEB DURHAM, LOST FATHER IN 2007: That even though you lost a parent or your husband or wife died, you can still have fun, and that's what this camp is for.

JONES: Caleb is paired with mentor, Louis Iverson, for a second year. Louis serves in the Air Force.

LOUIS IVERSON, SR. AIRMAN, U.S. AIR FORCE & TAPS MENTOR: Just because they lost a loved one, it does not mean that we as a military group have just forgot about them.

JONES: They also spend time with other children who know what it's like to lose a parent or sibling.

Caleb first met his friend, Hunter Youngblood, here, four years ago.

(SHOUTING)

JONES: For families like the Durham's, this weekend is an important reminder they're not alone.

MEKA DURHAM: Just having the sense of belonging when we're here, knowing we don't always have to talk about our situation. It's understood here. But we can talk about it and we can laugh and we can smile but, at the same time, you talk about them in the past tense and that's what makes it more painful. JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: President Obama is going to be speaking shortly from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. His speech is scheduled to begin in about 10 minutes. We'll take you there live. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the deploying of an American presence in Vietnam. Mitt Romney is taking part in a tribute at the Veteran's Museum and Memorial Center in San Diego. Senator John McCain is also appearing with him.

Enjoying the long holiday weekend, did you notice the gas prices? It is the third-highest Memorial Day at the pumps, but gas still 29 cents cheaper than it was in April. We're going to tell you what's going on and whether or not the price is going to continue to go down.

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MALVEAUX: A Silicon Valley man, who is trying to get his tech company off the ground, was given workspace at AOL. Nothing usual about it. But after his money ran out and he could no longer afford the space, he stayed anyway. For two months, he was a squatter, working and living on the AOL campus. Eric Simon said the idea just popped into his head.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC SIMON, SQUATTER AT AOL HEADQUARTERS: I'm 20. Like I don't really have -- I had nothing to lose. I've got no money, no place to stay. It's like, OK.

And in the morning, I would come there -- before I would work and during the day, I would work out and take a shower. So I was already like almost -- the only thing I wasn't doing was sleeping there.

I couldn't imagine going home and basically closing up shop and saying, OK, I'm done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Simon has now received another $50,000 and is working out of a nearby rented house. Good for him.

So if you're one of the thousands of people who sat Memorial Day traffic at some point this weekend, well, it's small consolation, it actually costs a little less to do that. The average price of gas in the country $3.63 a gallon. It might be the third-highest Memorial Day price ever, but still 29 cents lower than the peak price we saw back in April.

Alison Kosik in New York to put this all into perspective here.

Alison?

(LAUGHTER) Cheap gas all relative, right?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is all relative. I mean, you think about it, the national average for a gallon of gas, as you said, about $3.64 a gallon. Oh, well guess what, here in New York, we're paying $4.13, way above that national average. And we're not the only ones. If you're in California, in Chicago, Hawaii, you're paying over that average as well. But same goes for below average. If you live in Mississippi, Arkansas, or Tennessee, you're paying below that $3.64 a gallon. So, yes, it's all relative. It depends where you live -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: You're checking it out there at the gas station. What's the trend for the prices?

KOSIK: You know what, the trend analysts say you will be seeing are these prices to kind of stay where they are. Maybe they will dip a little lower but not that much, because what's going to keep them elevated is the fact that refineries are switching over to summer- blend gasoline. It's cleaner but more expensive to refine. That's going to kind of keep prices right around where they are -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: And why do we find the gas prices falling in the first place? Do we know?

KOSIK: Remember when we were beating the drum of $4 gas by the time Memorial Day came around, same with $5 gas? That obviously not coming to fruition. A lot of things have changed. The supply of gas and oil is at its highest level since 1990. Also those tensions with Iran. You remember last year, Iran was threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz. That's a main shipping -- basically, a main shipping area for 20 percent of the world's oil. So with that fear- premium built in, we saw oil prices rise. Those tensions have now eased, so you're seeing gas prices come down as well, especially since oil makes up 66 percent of gasoline. And, finally, how the economy is doing. The momentum that we've seen, the recovery, has kind of slowed down. You can see that in our jobs numbers, in our GDP numbers. They're kind of slowing down. Now the expectation is that demand for gasoline and the demand for oil is going to slow down as well.

And it's not just here. You look at what's happening in Europe, at least a dozen countries are falling into a recession. China is even showing signs of slowing down. Then you have that demand again, that expectation for demand slowing down, and you see that price of oil coming down as well, which directly affects that little price for gasoline -- Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Alison, what is it like where you are? Has it been pretty busy?

KOSIK: Is it busy?

MALVEAUX: Yes.

KOSIK: Right now, not too busy, but I'm seeing a lot of cars come and go. And a lot of people telling me, the few pennies they're saving, not making a big difference on their bill. They say, I want to see gas prices come down 50 cents to a $1, and then they will see a difference when they sign their name on the dotted line on their credit card there.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Alison, thanks. Have a good holiday.

For the first time since being infected with a flesh-eating bacteria, Aimee Copeland is now talking. And doctors -- well, it's tragic. They had to cut off the young woman's hands and feet, but she is now showing signs of improvement. Copeland's father posted her first words to his blog.

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MALVEAUX: Good news. Losing as little as 5 percent of your body weight could reduce your risk of breast cancer by 22 percent. That's according to a new study by cancer researchers in Seattle. Another finding, women who dieted and exercised to lose weight also saw a drop in the levels of estrogen and other hormones associated with increased risk of breast cancer. Researchers say the bottom line is it's never too late to start exercising.

Here in Georgia, a lot of folks are celebrating what's called Aimee Day. Yesterday was the first day in weeks Aimee Copeland spoke and breathed on her own. She's been battling a potentially deadly flesh-eating bacteria since early this month. Surgeons have amputated her hands, part of her abdomen, one of her legs, and her remaining foot. They're trying to stay ahead of this disease. Aimee's dad, Andy Copeland, has been using Facebook to tell her story and he posted her first words to his blog.

A new study says if you have a long daily commute you have a greater risk of cardiovascular problems. Researchers at Washington University are saying, those who drive by car 10 miles or more each away, more likely to have high blood pressure. Those who traveled 50 miles or more were more likely to be overweight due to lack of exercising. New York's metro area has the longest commute time at almost 35 minutes.

All right. It's not a trick question, but do you remember your commencement address speaker? Did they inspire you to change the world or did they bore you to death? We'll take a look at some of the best speeches this graduation season. What did they say, where did they fall flat?

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MALVEAUX: This Memorial Day, awaiting President Obama's as well as Mitt Romney to both speak at live events. President Obama there before the Veteran's Memorial and Mitt Romney at San Diego at a Veteran's Day celebration in commemoration. We'll bring you those events live as soon as the happen.

Graduation season, time for new challenges, opportunities for the class of 2012. Like, most graduates, it's on to college, many of those finishing college, graduating. Actually, looking at a struggling and a tough job market, so they can really use some good advice, perhaps, even some encouragement. What are the commencement speakers telling them? We take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Words of wisdom --

MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: We can only define you if you let them. In the end, it's up to each of us to define ourselves. It's up to each of us to invent our own futures with the choices we make and the actions we take.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- of encouragement --

MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I hope for each one of you that your path will be long and life will be kind.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- and of advice --

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Remember, making your mark on the world is hard. It takes patience. It takes commitment. It comes with plenty of set backs and it comes with plenty of failures.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- for live after the dorm room.

(SHOUTING)

(MUSIC)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Spring is the season of graduation and of commencement addresses. And for the politicians, it's an opportunity to inspire --

OBAMA: It's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize that your potential to discovery the role that you'll play in writing the next great chapter in the American story.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- and stake out a claim on young voters.

ROMNEY: Marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Many of them casting a ballot for the very first time.

But politics aside, what are the right words to send off America's future leaders, and how do you top some of the best?

STEVE JOBS, CO-FOUNDER, APPLE: Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other peoples' thinking. Don't let the noise of others opinions drowned out your own inner voice.

OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA ENTREPRENEUR: That is the greatest lesson of life. To be happy, you have to give something back.

(APPLAUSE)

CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, CONAN O'BRIEN: I'm sorry. What the hell is this thing?

(LAUGHTER)

It looks like you stole it from the set of "Survivor, Novia Scotia."

(LAUGHTER)

Seriously, it looks like something a bear would use at an A.A. meeting.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Most graduates forget about the commencement message not long after the speech is delivered. That's what the author of "Confessions of a Public Speaker" told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCOTT BERKUN, AUTHOR: People have been sitting around for a long, long day before the commencement speaker ever gets up there. So it's an audience that's really not looking to hear very much. And people just -- most people who get up there to do a commencement speech are focused too much on their piece of it when they're really at the end of a long day. Most commencement speeches go on for much too long and they say very predictable, very safe things to everyone.

MALVEAUX: All right. So how do you make a speech memorable? What would be some of your tips?

BERKUN: Well, the first thing would be to keep it short. Whenever we were told we have to listen to a lecture, we know it's going to be boring and we prepare ourselves. We brace ourselves for a long, boring speech. But as soon as we're asked to talk, we think about what we should say. So my first recommendation to people, whatever amount of time you're given, you're not obligated to use all that time. I always recommend trying to use half of that time and, whatever time you have, divide it into three or four pieces that you can focus on making each individual one a story unto itself. (CROSSTALK)

BERKUN: So less time and divide and conquer.

MALVEAUX: And what makes a speech memorable, even beyond the commencement speech? Because you have a lot of folks who, essentially, they're going to be facing a pretty tough economic situation when they get out of college. What can you tell them?

BERKUN: Well, the mistake a lot of speakers make, commencement speakers and speakers in general, is they feel obligated to bring in famous quotes from famous people. And they try to buffer themselves by telling other peoples' stories. But if you're someone speaking at a commencement address, a day filled with lots of pomp and circumstance and generalities, what people want is a specific personal story. The speeches we remember, we saw someone speak, and they told something true about their past, and that allowed us to connect with the story and the message. So if you want to have a memorable speech, think about how your own personal story can be a value to the people there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Good advice.

You have hit it, shaken it, now it still takes forever for the ketchup to come out of the bottle, but as Jeanne Moos shows up, the wait might be over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who among us hasn't been guilty of assault on a ketchup bottle? Has technology finally caught up with ketchup?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that thing slide. Oh, my god.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing.

MOOS (on camera): Our long national nightmare is over.

(voice-over): Mechanical engineering students at MIT have come up with a super slippery coating that makes anything from ketchup to mayonnaise practically leap out of a bottle coated with the stuff. They call it LiquiGlide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It works on everything we've tried so far.

DAVE SMITH, STUDENT: So glass, plastic, different types of plastic, metal.

MOOS: Even Tony Soprano would be beholden to these students. Look how annoyed Tony gets at the dreaded ketchup clog.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Sure, there are techniques, ranging from the good fellows bottle roll to the Heinz 57 trick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Tilt the bottle at a 45-degree angle --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Gently slap it on the sweet spot where the 57 is imprinted near the neck.

But LiquiGlide could make those tactics obsolete. The idea is to apply the coating during bottle manufacturer.

Student, Dave Smith, says it's totally non-toxic.

SMITH: This is stuff that people already in some foods. It's perfectly safe.

MOOS: They've already applied for a bunch of patents.

(on camera): What are the secret ingredients?

SMITH: Well --

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: Well, they wouldn't be secret if they LiquiGlided out of their mouths.

Dr. Kripof Varanasi (ph) and his students are already talking to bottling and food companies. We asked the folks at Heinz if they were in contact with the LiquiGlide inventors. All they would say is, "We love the idea of making it easier to pour out Heinz ketchup."

Despite rave reviews --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's amazing.

MOOS: -- there are traditionalists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel there would be the same satisfaction if it just poured out that quickly.

(SINGING)

MOOS: Guess what the young inventors at MIT are anticipating?

(on camera): Do you think this is going to turn you guys into like millionaires?

SMITH: I think so. (LAUGHTER)

MOOS (voice-over): They already have a slogan -- "LiquiGlide, let it slide."

No more banging with shoes or mallets or sucking up ketchup.

For traditional bottles, LiquiGlide could mean their last gasp.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: All right.

(LAUGHTER)

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

Hey, Brooke.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: What will they think of next, Suzanne Malveaux?