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Arrests At Puerto Rico's Main Airport; Major Drug Bust At Airports; Sandusky Sent Letters To Accuser; U.S. Mission Attacked In Libya; Getting To The Source Of Iran Leaks; Congress Eyes Exec's Golden Parachute; Michelle Obama Does Letterman's Top 10; Wisconsin Keep Governor Walker; North Dakota Is Number One In Economic Growth; Celtics Defeat Heat And Lead Series; Gas Can, Not Baby, In Car Seat; Final Journey For Shuttle Enterprise

Aired June 06, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- tire comes whizzing by. That's what happened on this bridge in Bay Town, Texas, as the motorist changed a flat, a 200-pound wheel almost took out the officer.

It scuffed his gun, ripped his holster, but the sergeant was unharmed. It's as if tires are out to get us, the serial killer tire in the cult comedy "Rubber."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what your killer looks like.

MOOS: It kills people with its psychic powers. So tread carefully.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help!

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That Jeanne, she's one crazy lady, isn't she? The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.

Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM, love letters to his victims? What could be damning evidence read into testimony in the trial of Jerry Sandusky?

A warning this morning from Google, users may be the victims of hacking. And Google says it might be the work of foreign spies.

Sheryl Crow facing a new health concern. After forgetting the lyrics to some of her songs, she reveals she has a benign brain tumor. And forget the minivan.

Ted, it is your lucky day. Now there's a Ferrari for the whole family, but you might need to save up just a bit. This cost 300 grand.

We do begin this morning with a bit of breaking news. San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the site of a major drug trafficking crackdown with arrests being made here and in the United States. Rafael Romo joins me now. So tell us about this operation.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Carol, it is a major operation against an international drug trafficking organization focusing in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

As you know, Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, and DEA agents are involved there in Puerto Rico with the Puerto Rico police, as many as 200 agents. The governor telling us this morning that as many as 40 arrests have been conducted already.

And the operation is not only targeting Puerto Rico but WAPA, the local affiliate, CNN affiliate in Puerto Rico, they also say that airports in the United States including in Florida, New York, and New Jersey may also be involved.

And what we're talking about, Carol, is the possibility of people who work at the airports at least for a major airline facilitating this major drug trafficking organization access to their facilities so that they can transport drugs from South America through the Caribbean and eventually into the United States.

COSTELLO: So the drug traffickers, maybe, allegedly, were cooperating with airline employees to transport these drugs into the United States. What kind of drugs are we talking about?

ROMO: Mainly cocaine and heroin. That's what Governor Fortuno told us this morning, but the investigation is still ongoing. Arrests are being conducted as we speak so far 23 out of more than 40 arrest warrants. It's going to be a long day.

COSTELLO: And -- I mean, what's the scope of this? I mean, is it tons of cocaine they discovered coming into United States in this way?

ROMO: It is a result of two separate investigations targeting the international airport in San Juan that was focusing on how drugs were entering the United States.

And it seems that the drugs were coming to the airport in San Juan and then being distributed to the United States. Now, we don't know how big the shipments were yet.

There's an announcement at 11:00 a.m., like I said. But it seems like it was a wide-ranging investigation targeting people in different countries as well.

COSTELLO: Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

Let's turn to the Jerry Sandusky trial. This is his arrival a short time ago at the courthouse. A lawyer for one of his alleged victims says former Penn State football coach sent notes to the boy.

ABC News is describing them as love letters and says they will be read into testimony. Sara Ganin won a Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on the case for "The Patriot News." She now serves as a CNN contributor. Good morning, Sara.

SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So do you know any more about these supposed love letters?

GANIM: We do expect to hear about them in detail. When alleged victim number four takes the stand, when this trial begins. We do know that alleged victim number four is supposed to be the first one to testify. That's what we expect.

Second, after him, we expect the man known as victim one, who was the first to come forward in 2008 and kind of kick-started this investigation. A source close to him has also told me that he received birthday cards and notes.

Not sexually explicit at all, nothing overtly sexual, but they did include words like or phrases like "I love you," and he got those notes, as well.

We don't know if those will be entered into evidence. We only know about that other relationship, alleged victim four, whatever he received could become part of this trial. Like you said, ABC News is calling them love letters.

COSTELLO: So I'm just wondering, what is Jerry Sandusky's defense going to be?

GANIM: Well, those two men, victim number four and victim number two -- or one, I'm sorry, Jerry Sandusky's defense has always been these are at-risk kids. I was doing -- you know, I was doing what I thought was right by helping them out and in turn this is what happened.

They made false allegations against me. So he is categorically denying any kind of relationship or prolonged sexual behavior with these two men. What he says is that he was falsely accused by both of them.

COSTELLO: I know the court is busy seating alternate jurors, but testimony -- at least opening arguments will begin quite soon. Are you surprised at the speed with which this is occurring?

GANIM: I think that you're right. I think that testimony is going to start soon and start with these two because they're so similar. They both accuse Jerry Sandusky of prolonged abuse over several years that they were kind of in and out of this Sandusky home.

And initially when he was charged, those were the two that -- Jerry Sandusky's attorney really pointed to and said, look, these are completely false allegations, categorically denied. COSTELLO: Sara Ganim reporting live for us from Pennsylvania this morning.

Libya has stepped up security around all western embassies in Tripoli after an attack on a U.S. diplomatic office. It happened in the eastern city of Benghazi.

The United States says an IED blast damaged the office's front gates. No one was hurt. There's been no claim of responsibility. Our Nic Robertson reports that any number of Islamist groups around Benghazi could have been involved.

Cyber attacks on Iran secretly ordered by President Obama and supposedly top secret. That is until the story made the front page of "The New York Times." And that sparked this response from Senator John McCain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The leaks that these articles were based on, our enemies now know much more than they did the day before they came out about important aspects of our nation's unconventional offensive capabilities and how we use them. Such disclosures can only undermine similar ongoing or future operations, and in this sense, it compromises our national security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: White House correspondent Dan Lothian is in Washington. So this controversy started with that "New York Times" report last week. So walk us through what happened and the reaction yesterday on Capitol Hill.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And really this has been brewing now for some time because there have been articles and books out there written about the U.S. use of drones overseas.

In addition to that, the president's so-called kill list where he's intimately involved in deciding, which terrorists should be targeted and then this latest report, as you pointed out, which is also part of a book.

Where there are a lot of details about this operation where the U.S. is going after Iran's nuclear program, trying to slow it down by using cyber war, by inflicting a worm in the system. That worm eventually got out, outside of their nuclear program.

But nonetheless, there is this concern on Capitol Hill, as you heard from Senator McCain, that this information getting out there just undermines national security, could endanger the lives of Americans and could further jeopardize additional operations ongoing or could be planned in the future.

There's also accusation these leaks are being done to bolster the president's standing to make him look tough ahead of the upcoming election -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So how has the White House responded?

LOTHIAN: Well, you know, Jay Carney was asked about whether or not the White House authorized these leaks, and he said no, that the White House goes to extreme pains here to make sure that all of this information is kept classified.

This sensitive information does not get out of where it should be because they realize the consequences to national security. But nonetheless, this kind of response has not allayed some of the concerns up on Capitol Hill.

And lawmakers are trying to figure out how this information, rather, got out into the public.

COSTELLO: Dan Lothian live at the White House for us this morning.

The woman who signed off on JPMorgan's risky investments is back under the microscope today. You may remember Ina Drew, the former chief investment officer at the nation's largest bank. She made home run than $15 million in 2010.

But she lost her job last month. She officially retired after her department at JPMorgan chase lost $2 billion on risky investments. But she's in line to receive a settlement package worth nearly $15 million, and now lawmakers are demanding answers.

At this hour, a banking regulator testifies on whether her pay should be clawed back. Stunning news of the bank's losses has revived talk of financial reform on Capitol Hill.

The first lady was on television again last night. Of course, Michelle Obama is big on gardening and fresh vegetables so David Letterman had her read off the top ten fun facts about gardening. Here's the top three.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Number three --

MICHELLE OBAMA, U.S. FIRST LADY: Lettuce is 96 percent water and 4 percent lettuce.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. That's why it's so darn tasty. Number two.

OBAMA: The White House tool shed contains shovels, trowels, and weed wacker one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Weed wacker one! Weed wacker one. And the number one fun fact about gardening.

OBAMA: With enough care and effort, you can grow your own Barack-oli. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at this. How about that? There you go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So they were short on facts, but long on fun. Mrs. Obama has been promoting her new gardening book over the last few weeks.

The final journey is under way, a live picture of the space shuttle "Enterprise" on its way to its new home.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Just about 15 minutes past the hour, checking our top stories. It is a big win for Republicans and a huge loss for unions and Democrats.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who stripped collective bargaining rights of public employees, survived Tuesday's recall. He defeated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett by seven percentage points. Many believe this contest is a preview of the presidential race.

In Pennsylvania, stunning new evidence in a sex abuse trial of Jerry Sandusky. A lawyer for one of the alleged victims says the former Penn State University assistant football coach sent notes to the boy. ABC News is describing them as love letters and says they'll be read into testimony.

In money news, we've got new numbers on how our state economies are doing based on gross domestic product. North Dakota fared the best last year benefitting from a boom in oil drilling.

It led with an economic expansion of nearly 8 percent. Rounding out the top five were Oregon, West Virginia, Texas, and Alaska.

In sports, the Boston Celtics are one win away from winning the Eastern Conference and reaching the NBA finals. Lebron James and Miami Heat are on the brink of elimination after losing at home last night 94-90. Game six tomorrow in Boston.

Unbelievable, that's the Facebook posting that went with this photo posted by an officer with a Colorado Department of Transportation. It was part of the plea to remind everyone about the proper use of child safety seats.

And you certainly don't strap the gas can in. The mother was pulled over as part of a routine traffic stop near Denver. The mom said the child didn't always want to stay strapped in the seat so she strapped in the gas can instead. The officer cited her for seat belt and car seat violations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. The question for you this morning, does political shock talk really work?

Slut, such an ugly word, unless you say it a lot, and I mean a lot, at least that's the theory. Thanks to Rush Limbaugh the word has been used a lot lately.

I'm sure you remember when the radio host used it to slam Sandra Fluke for wanting insurance plans to pay for contraception.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO HOST: What does it say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? Makes her a prostitute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, today there's a new way to combat limbaugh's comments, a web site war on women.com has come up with rock the slut vote.

Kimberly Johnson, a spokeswoman for the site, says it's all about getting people's attention and getting women to the voting booths. If people were offended, so be it. As Johnson says, quote, "You're not going to call us a slut. If Sandra Fluke is a slut, then we are too."

Rock the slut vote is using humor to prove a point. It's been done before. Others have used humor to increase breast cancer awareness. There's the booby ball charity drive. Some find the campaigns offensive for turning a life and death issue into a cosmetic one.

Still, does using an offensive term for a cause actually work? Rock the slut vote says it's getting up to thousands of new fans a day on Facebook and on its web site.

So the "talk back" question today, does political shock talk really work? Facebook.com/carolcnn. I'll read your comments later this hour.

We've been telling you all morning long, it is moving day for the space shuttle "Enterprise." It's floating on this big barge and is just about to pass the Statue of Liberty.

Alina Cho has a bird's-eye view from Jersey City. Has it passed the statue yet?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): You know what, I can't see it from here, Carol, unfortunately. I'm at the port in Atlantic City. But I can tell you that we do -- this I can confirm, we do have one shuttle on the move.

It left the port in Jersey City about a half hour ago and is now making its way to its final resting place at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York. It is taking the scenic route, as you said.

Along the way it will pass the Statue of Liberty pretty close to now if it hasn't already. It will continue north past the World Trade Center site, and it should arrive at the Intrepid now at about noon Eastern Time.

Once it reaches the Intrepid, it will be hoisted onto the flight deck via crane, a process, by the way, that will take three hours because you're talking about 57,000 pounds of shuttle. And this crane is a famous one.

It actually is the same one that hoisted US Air Flight 1549 out of the Hudson River. Remember that's the flight that was so expertly landed on the Hudson by Captain Sullenberger.

Interesting fun facts about the shuttle "Enterprise" is that though it has now travelled by air and sea, it has never actually been to space. It has flown test flights. It was the original prototype for future shuttle missions, but it never made it into orbit.

Another fun fact, Carol, is that originally the "Enterprise" was supposed to be called the "Constitution" in honor of the newest constitution by centennial.

But you won't believe this, at the time, "Star Trek" and its star ship "Enterprise" was the most popular show on television and the viewers embarked upon a writing campaign.

They were successful, and so the shuttle is not the constitution, but will forever be known as the "Enterprise." And soon it will be on a museum at the Intrepid in New York -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I love all the boats around it. You know they're taking pictures of that thing. Alina Cho, thanks so much. We'll get back to you.

CHO: OK.

COSTELLO: She didn't exactly get the Democratic candidate a slap on the back. She gave him a slam across the face. That's from a supporter. Our "Political Buzz" panel delves deeper into that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 26 minute past the hour. Checking our top story, a federal raid targets Puerto Rico's main airport and arrests are spreading to the U.S. mainland.

Puerto Rico's governor says a total of 42 warrants have been issued. Indictments regarding the use of Puerto Rico's airport and others to traffic drugs as in cocaine are expected to be unsealed today.

In Pennsylvania, stunning developments in the Jerry Sandusky child rape trial. A lawyer for one of the alleged victims says the former Penn State assistant football coach sent notes to the boy. ABC News describes them as love letters and says they will be read into testimony.

California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage, could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. A federal appeals court has decided not to revisit a ruling that declared Prop 8 unconstitutional. Parties in the case have 90 days to appeal to the high court. For now, the stay on same-sex marriages in California will remain in effect.

On to Wisconsin now, the recall is over, Republican Scott Walker wins big. Now who knows? He may be in the running for a new job as Mitt Romney's running mate. But there is still work to be done.

Wisconsin is bitterly split, still. Case in point, keep your eye on Walker's Democratic challenger, Tom Barrett and how one supporter reacted to him conceding before the last votes were actually counted.

She slaps him across the face. A reporter with CNN affiliate WISN was up close. He says the Milwaukee mayor seemed stunned by the slap and simply walked away from the woman. She remained behind, though, scowling because it was Scott Walker's night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER (R), WISCONSIN: When there have been leaders of courage, what has sustained them is they were good and decent people who stood with them shoulder to shoulder and arm to arm. That's what you have done for Wisconsin and for America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ted Rowlands is in Madison, Wisconsin. So -- I'm still getting over the slap. That's just so bizarre.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes. He was shocked. You know what, we were in front of the capitol last night, Carol, and we felt a lot of the same emotion from people. They were mad at us because CNN called the election when it was the appropriate time to call it, but they were really settled in.

I think this woman, the photographers don't know what she was thinking, but she was probably feeling the same thing we were getting from people here. They really were shocked that it was over and they didn't want it to be over.

They heard reports that people were still trying to vote, and the idea that there was a concession and this had been called and it was all over and they lost by seven, it was too much far lot of people to handle.

They had people in tears outside the capitol because they had invested so much of their time and portions of their lives in this for the past 16 months.

So what you saw in that slap was sort of echoed in different ways all over the state on the loser side. The Walker folks are of course still riding the high.

COSTELLO: Of course, because they're saying this is a harbinger of what's to come in November.

ROWLANDS: Well, yes, and not only in November, I mean, there's two schools of thought here and two things the Republicans are looking at. They think this directly will affect the November election in terms of Romney's ability to carry Wisconsin.

Exit polling showed that voters still support Obama by 7 percent, which is very significant, but they say, look back to 2008, Romney -- or Obama won by 14.

So they feel like they've made in rows there and they think Wisconsin is in play. But the other significant thing here is trying to replicate what has happened in Wisconsin in other states. Had Walker lost his job here over that, that would have been tough to replicate because the union would have made a very clear point, do not what you did -- what we saw in Wisconsin or you will lose your job governor in some other state.

Well that's off the table now and Republicans are hoping that they will be able to basically erode union rights, public employee union rights in other states. And they argue that that helps states in local governments be more flexible. We'll have to wait and see.

COSTELLO: We will. Ted Rowlands reporting live from Madison, Wisconsin.

"Political Buzz" is your rapid fire look at the best political topics of the day three question, smart answers, 30 seconds on the clock. Playing with us today: CNN contributor and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and our CNN contributor Dana Loesch, she leans the opposite way to the right. Welcome to you both.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you Carol good morning.

DANA LOESCH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. First question the Obama administration flexes its muscles again. A drone takes on a powerful al Qaeda leader. Experts call the hit a cataclysmic blow. Great, say Republicans, but those leaks about the drone program.

Senator John McCain is pressing for a special counsel to investigate leaks to journalists that appear to be an effort to paint a portrait of President Obama as a strong leader on national security. Fellow Republican Saxby Chambliss explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SAXBY CHAMBLISS (R), GEORGIA: But each time classified information shows up in the media, the intelligence community's ability to do these dangerous assignments becomes that much more difficult. Not only do these leaks tell our enemies how we do our jobs and therefore how we can block or impede -- how they can block or impede our efforts, but with each leak, our friends and allies are left to wonder how much they can really trust us with their own secrets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So the question for you, is the Obama administration leaking sensitive information for votes or are Republicans playing politics -- Maria?

CARDONA: I think that that accusation by Republicans is absolutely ludicrous. I think they're fine to be concerned. Democrats are also concerned. The White House is also concerned. They have said very clearly that there is no concerted effort to leak this information. They understand better than anybody that that would be something that would be detrimental to national interest and to national security.

So I think that that's a ludicrous accusation. I think it's irresponsible. And I think they're the ones playing politics.

And besides, President Obama doesn't need any boost on the national security front. Most Americans believe that he is doing a very good job at keeping us safe.

COSTELLO: Dana?

LOESCH: It's kind of a concerted effort when you open up the CIA treasure trove and you allow Hollywood directors like Katherine Bigelow to come in and glean whatever they want from it in order to make a movie about SEAL Team Six and Osama bin Laden.

And of course, all of this ultimately results into actual SEAL members' names being released to Hollywood, who aren't really so great about keeping secrets.

So I would say that's a concerted effort, I would say it's a concerted effort when a British informant was outed, therefore completely risking or jeopardizing the entire operation going on in the Middle East in which British intelligence was involved in.

So there's a history of this. I think they are -- I think they are playing politics with it.

COSTELLO: Ok on to the second question. Politico's Roger Simon says Bill Clinton is out of control. In fact, he's not helping Mr. Obama's campaign. He's sabotaging it. Bill Clinton told NBC's Brian Williams that's not true.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, I've been aghast by all this flutter about it. I think that -- I don't think I should have to criticize Romney personally to disagree with his politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Oh, but the latest gaffe, Clinton said the Bush tax cuts should be extended. So the question, Bill Clinton, the President's buddy or Republican secret friend -- Dana?

LOESCH: I -- I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I'm actually -- it's refreshing to see Bill Clinton on the campaign trail right now. I -- I -- I have this inkling that this is all a dastardly plan that Bill and Hillary Clinton have launched to get back at Barack Obama for usurping her back in 2008. Or maybe she's considering running for 2016.

It's so subtle, but at the same time it's not. Either he's an evil genius or he's a bumbling hick. I don't know which one.

COSTELLO: Maria.

CARDONA: I love it. There's no question, Carol, that Bill Clinton is still a major asset for the Democrats and for President Obama. There's also no question that he is not somebody that you're going to be able to control and he's not somebody that the Obama campaign I think wants to control.

And so at the end of the day, who is it going to help more? Absolutely the President, he is somebody who is a distinguished American and Democrat and nobody rallies Democrats more than he does. And he will always get the last say in supporting President Obama. And that will always be helpful to this President.

COSTELLO: Ok. On to our "Buzzer-Beater".

LOESCH: He's rallying Republicans right now.

COSTELLO: On to our "Buzzer Beater" now 20 seconds each. Ok. You just saw the slap a couple of minutes ago. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett getting that smack by a voter because she thought he conceded the recall election too early.

So question, was Scott Walker's victory a slap in the face to President Obama -- Maria?

CARDONA: No, it wasn't, Carol. This had absolutely nothing to do with President Obama or with Mitt Romney for that matter. It was not a national election. It was a -- an election about what was going on in Wisconsin.

And frankly, what you saw in the -- in the polls last night is that President Obama's actually beating Romney by seven points in the November election.

So that to me tells me it had absolutely nothing to do with national politics. It was all a Wisconsin issue.

COSTELLO: Dana. LOESCH: Oh, no, it absolutely did. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said that this was going to be the dry run, the test run for November, 36 percent of union households sent a referendum to Washington, D.C., that they're rejecting the Democrat's idea of government construct. This is what democracy looks like. That's what they said, for three elections in a row now. It was an unequivocal, absolute win and maybe we can see this repeated in November.

COSTELLO: Dana Loesch, Maria Cardona --

(CROSSTALK)

CARDONA: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for playing today.

LOESCH: Thank you.

COSTELLO: The HBO series "Game of Thrones" has a legion of loyal fans. Now, one of those fans will have a chance to own the throne. That story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The latest look at the richest Americans show their incomes are taking a big hit. But as you might expect, it's not that simple. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange to explain.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol. So let me ask you this, how does $202 million sound to you, hmm?

COSTELLO: It's so fabulous.

KOSIK: I know, doesn't it? But you know what if you're one of the richest Americans, guess what? It sounds like a pay cut because the latest -- I know -- the latest IRS data shows that's actually what the -- the 400 richest tax filers made in 2009.

But in reality, it's a 25 percent hit to their income from 2008 and an even bigger drop from 2007. And this is partially because most of them paid more in taxes in 2009.

But yes, then there are those who didn't pay more in taxes. About a third paid just as low a tax rate as the majority of regular Americans. And here's the reason. The rich make a lot of money from investments, which aren't taxed as much as ordinary income, plus they get to take a lot more itemized deductions like giving to charity.

The tax rate, of course, you know this. It's a hot topic in the presidential election. And this will continue to fuel that fire -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I think you're right about that.

Let's talk about the Dow, because it finally broke its four-day losing streak yesterday. How are things looking today? KOSIK: Yes, looks like the bulls are back. Very nice bounce on Wall Street. Right now, the Dow up 153 points. Almost every stock listed on the Dow is trading higher.

But the focus is still overseas. The European Central Bank, that's the equivalent of our Federal Reserve, what it did was extend some of its current stimulus measures and the readings on Euro Zone growth showed no further weakness. The way Wall Street sees it, Carol, a lack of negative news is actually really good news and it's the reason to buy in -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.

Father's Day is coming up. If you're wondering what to get dad, take a look at that beautiful machine. It's a family car. It's a Ferrari and it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. A closer look at this beautiful machine next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Ok. It's 43 minutes past the hour, and I had to show you this picture. Of course, as you know, the shuttle "Enterprise" is on its way to a museum in New York City. That happens to be located right on the water. Well, the shuttle just passed the Statue of Liberty, and we want to show you a tape (inaudible), this is what we call it in the business, because I'm a sucker for patriotic shots.

This was so -- can you take that banner out, Scotty? Yes. Isn't that pretty? It just brings tears to your eyes for some reason. I always cry during the National Anthem, too, but what a beautiful shot. Almost at the museum.

Alina Cho is in -- she's near Atlantic City monitoring all of this. When the Intrepid (SIC) gets a little closer to the museum, Alina will join us live once again but -- see all the boats around the shuttle? Some are taking pictures. Some are police boats. Of course this barge is being pulled by tugboats.

Just a beautiful shot that I wanted to share with you this morning.

Let's talk about Miss USA now. A Miss USA contestant says the pageant was fixed and now Donald Trump is going to sue her. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" host A.J. Hammer is here with the drama.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes. this brings a tear to my eye. This pageant certainly seems to attract a lot of drama. A contestant is alleging the whole thing is fixed, while the organization's calling this a case of sour grapes.

It's Miss Pennsylvania who is making these allegations. She's 27-year-old Sheena Monnin. She didn't make it to the finals, so she's giving up her title and she posted a statement on her Facebook page announcing her decision. Here's what she's saying. "I can no longer be affiliated in any way with an organization I consider to be fraudulent, lacking in morals, inconsistent and in many ways, trashy." She claims another contestant actually saw a list of the top five finishers before the final competition even happened.

Donald Trump's Miss USA organization is naturally firing back saying she told them that she resigned because she did not want to participate in a contest with transgender individuals. And you'll remember, this year there was a transgender Canadian contestant who was allowed to compete for Miss Canada.

Trump is threatening to sue Monnin. He says auditors are there in place to ensure that the contest is not fixed. And in his usual style, Carol, he said she wasn't surprised that she didn't finish in the top 15.

COSTELLO: I'm surprised he didn't add a few things after that, as well.

HAMMER: He may have off camera.

COSTELLO: I'm sure he did. Let's talk about the HBO series "Game of Thrones" because it has a really incredible offer for fans but I guess it comes with a steep price.

HAMMER: It certainly does. Well, considering that on the show trying to control the iron throne has cost a whole lot of lives, I'm actually thinking fans might think that $30,000 to buy a throne is a relative bargain.

The fictional throne is made from 1,000 swords taken from defeated enemies, but each of these thrones that you can buy custom made of fiberglass and resin. It's more than seven feet tall. The chair weighs 350 pounds. Carol, it will be delivered to your home in six to eight weeks with white-glove service. However, at that price, no mention of a cushion. Actually, I think it would look great right there at your anchor desk.

COSTELLO: You know, it would add a lot. I don't know what it would add, but -- do you think someone's actually going to pay $30,000 for that?

HAMMER: Yes. Fans of this show are so hooked in, are so passionate about it, it wouldn't be -- I don't think they'll be selling them by the dozen but I bet a few will definitely acquire --

COSTELLO: It's not even filled with, like, real swords.

HAMMER: It still looks good.

COSTELLO: It does. Thank you, A.J.

Daytime Emmys are coming to HLN. You can watch the daytime Emmy Awards live Saturday June 23, 8:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN. You could be there in person too by entering our sweepstakes and winning a trip for two to Los Angeles and get a red carpet makeover. It easy to enter. Just got to HLNTV.com/daytimeemmy.

47 minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now.

Republicans are celebrating Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's win in a recall. Labor unions and Democrats mounted a massive effort to kick him out of office for limiting bargaining rights of public employees. He defeated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett by seven percentage points.

Google wants you to know when Big Brother is watching you. The Internet giant has started warning users when it thinks they may be targets of government-sponsored hackers. Users whose accounts are compromised will see a message pop up at the top of their browser.

In money news, Father's Day is right around the corner, so why not get him one of these babies? May sound crazy, but Ferrari's new FF is said to be a very nice family vehicle. It's all-wheel drive, a joy to drive, something dad and the whole family can enjoy. Loaded, it will run you just above $375,000. But if you want the economy model, you can get that for just under $300,000.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Just 26 years old and he's already the king of Vegas. King of gourmet food, that is. Now some of the top chefs on the strip are lining up for his expertise. Poppy Harlow explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRETT OTTOLENGHI, OWNER, ARTISANAL FOODS: This is my favorite domestic caviar and it's produced in Sarasota, Florida.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 26 years old, Brett Ottolenghi has all but cornered the market on rare food in Sin City.

OTTOLENGHI: Several air cargo shipments come in each day from around the world, and we pick them up and deliver right to The Strip.

HARLOW: From truffles to caviar and saffron, Ottolenghi scours the planet for the rarest of ingredients to entice (inaudible) star chefs in Vegas' top restaurants.

OTTOLENGHI: Daruma (ph) is a type of wasabi. This is coming from Oregon, of course.

HARLOW (on camera): That is delicious.

OTTOLENGHI: This is Birocco de Baiota (ph), Hamona Birocco de Baiota. So this Spanish pig that's been raised partly in the wild eating acorns.

Good. How are you? Good to see you.

MATHIEU CHARTRON, EXECUTIVE CHEF, RESTAURANT GUY SAVOY: That's what I love with bread because all the time he get something new, he's bringing it at the restaurant and show me, explain to me where is it from and we have the same passion. OTTOLENGHI: This is the best Wagoo beef that's produced outside of Japan currently. We currently sell this at $72 a pound. About 95 percent of our business is with approximately 170 restaurants across the Las Vegas strip.

HARLOW (voice-over): high rollers and star chefs mean demand around the clock, even for the strangest of ingredients.

OTTOLENGHI: This is freeze-dried phyto-plant (ph).

HARLOW: But getting these delicacies across the border can be tricky.

OTTOLENGHI: There's not a lot of precedence, so we have to figure it out with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, USDA, FDA.

HARLOW (on camera): When you came here to Vegas at 19 years old, there's a lot of competition doing what you do. How did you get your foot in the door? How did you get meetings even with these chefs?

OTTOLENGHI: I started off by getting in one shipment of fresh white truffles from Italy, and they were beautiful. They're the size of sweet potatoes. They were huge.

I would load up a small box, jump on a bus, take it into The Strip, and I got very quick at walking the whole Strip. The chefs would say I'm really excited to see what you have. I don't actually use truffles but maybe next time you come around can you bring this ingredient with you or can you look into this ingredient for me?

HARLOW (voice-over): Ottolenghi has been doing this half his life, literally.

OTTOLENGHI: For me it started in truffles. I started my company when I was 13 and it was called The Truffle Market. It was a small Web site.

HARLOW: From his Pennsylvania childhood home to the midst of desert, he's never taken a loan, slowly growing his business from its own profit.

(on camera): Why Vegas?

OTTOLENGHI: I could see that there was a market emerging here in Vegas with high-end restaurants, and I really wanted to be a part of that and help the chefs. I can see that this was a desert and there was probably going to be a lack of more exotic ingredients.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Poppy Harlow joins me from New York. I'm still getting over the plankton thing. People actually eat plankton?

HARLOW: It smelled so gross, I didn't even try it.

COSTELLO: Smart woman. I was wondering, though, how lucrative is his business?

HARLOW: It's a good question, because I thought he was making a ton of money selling this stuff. He told me it's actually not very lucrative at all. When items are so expensive, Carol, it's hard to mark them up much more, even in Las Vegas. So the margins are very thin.

But it's interesting. The day we visited him, he had a head butler from one of the big casinos on the strip come in and look for this specific type of caviar because a high roller was arriving that night and they wanted it for that high roller. Really only in Vegas do things like this happen.

But you know, it's interesting. This is a guy, 26 years old, made it through the recession, never took a loan, told me his business was profitable since day one, but because he started it at 13 years old he put his dad on the front cover of his brochure so people would take him more seriously.

COSTELLO: I'm sure his business will improve. He has many more years to go.

Poppy Harlow reporting live in New York for us.

For today's "Daily Dose", the news about the morning-after pill. It's taken to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. The "New York Times" is reporting the pill doesn't work the way many people think it does.

Science experts say it delays ovulation but labels on the box says it blocks fertilized eggs from implanting in a woman's uterus. Those descriptions have led to some religious and conservative groups to claim the pills actually cause abortion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the stories of the day. The "Talk Back" question this morning, "Does political 'shock talk' work?"

This from Eric, "It works. People love being titillated. It's worked well enough for Limbaugh that his opponents have chosen to play by his rules and try to adapt 'shock talk' for their own ends.

This from Joy, "Who? I think there's so much shock in the media today -- reality shows, cable shows, et cetera -- that we are immune to anything shocking. Decency would actually be more shocking." I have to agree with you there.

This from Sonja. It only works for the extreme left or right and those looking to jump on the bandwagon. For me it's just ridiculous. It's time to act like adults, people."

Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/carolcnn. Thanks as always for your comments.

I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me this morning. "CNN NEWSROOM" continues right now with Kyra Phillips.