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Aurora Suspect Mailed Package to Campus; Gun Control and Presidential Politics; Drought to Push Up Prices; Romney Meets with British Leaders; Jackson Family Drama; "Hosting Olympics is a Loser's Game"; Romney Goes Abroad

Aired July 26, 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: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, notes on a massacre. Suspected shooter James Holmes apparently detailing his attack in writing and sending it to his university. Diagrams, drawings, illustrations. This morning, new details and new questions about what happened last Friday night.

Jackson family shocker. Family matriarch, Katherine, alive and well and back from Arizona this morning, now devastated by losing temporary custody of Michael's kids.

Does green really turn into gold? Cities around the world clamor to host the Olympics. Millions of dollars turn into promises of new buildings, millions of tourists, and a global audience. But is it true? Is hosting the games actually bad business?

And deep-fried controversy. Chicago the latest city to block Chick- Fil-A from coming to town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, CHICAGO: Chick-Fil-A's values are not Chicago values.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Boston, Jim Henson, and now Rahm Emanuel joining a growing list saying no to the chicken giant. On the flipside, Huckabee, and now Santorum standing by Chick-Fil-A.

NEWSROOM begins right now.

And good morning. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. I'm Carol Costello. We begin with new details from the Colorado shooting rampage. Some are chilling, some reassuring. For the first time, neighbors of accused shooter James Holmes are allowed to go back home.

Over the weekend, police diffused a catastrophic booby trap in his apartment. The killings are fuelling a new gun control debate in the presidential race. President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney are trading jabs. More on that in a few minutes.

But here's the sobering development. Just before the killings, Holmes apparently sent a package to the University of Colorado in Aurora where he had recently dropped out of classes, and the contents reportedly showed a fury was building.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MILLER, "CBS THIS MORNING" SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: We were told that there is verbiage, a kind of a pent-up was the phrase used, writings about shooting people, and that there were some very rudimentary images in there of a shooter and victims.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Cheryl Arutt is a former -- is a forensic psychologist, rather. She's an expert on the criminal mind. She joins us from Los Angeles.

Welcome.

CHERYL ARUTT, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: Thank you. Good to be here.

COSTELLO: When you first heard about this notebook showing up at the University of Colorado, what went through your mind?

ARUTT: It made me really wish that they had received this in time. It does seem like this was a cry for help. It seems like this was something that when Mr. Holmes was preparing this, it seems like he was really trying to communicate about what he'd been planning to do, and if someone had seen it, it might have triggered a Tarasoff duty to warn, which would have trumped his confidentiality and would have allowed them to warn and take action before this happened.

COSTELLO: It could be a cry for help, or it could be a manifesto. How can we tell the difference?

ARUTT: Well, my personal view of what may have been going on with this man is that he has had a psychotic break, and that he's been going in and out of a paranoid state. And very often when people do that, they have states of mind where they lose touch with reality and can get very grandiose and feel like things mean things and have connections that they don't necessarily have.

And my sense is that he was channeling that energy into this plan, and when something happened that may have sort of been the last straw where he wasn't able to hold it together, he acted this out. But it seems like there was ambivalence, because he did share this. He didn't just prepare a manifesto and not send it.

And he did tell the police that he booby-trapped his apartment. So there's ambivalence there about wanting to be very destructive and also wanting to do something to let people know in advance.

COSTELLO: That the drawings were stick figures, I mean, maybe he was just a bad artist, I don't know, but does that say anything about his state of mind?

ARUTT: It -- that's a very good insight. I think it says something about a primitive state of mind. I know he was there for neuroscience and not as an artist. But when people get into very primitive state of mind, they tend to see things in black and white. They see things as all or nothing. You're with me or against me. And drawings can get very primitive that way as well.

So you can see things like stick figures, childlike kinds of scrawls, things like that. Although the planning with the apartment was quite sophisticated. So I think he's been demonstrating both. There's a real puzzle here to take apart and understand.

COSTELLO: I think you're right about that.

Cheryl Arutt, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

In the days after the killings, critics ripped President Obama and Republican Mitt Romney for not confronting the issue of gun control. Well, that silence has been broken. Mitt Romney says current gun laws are good enough. Not so, says the president.

Listen to what President Obama said last night before the National Urban League.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I, like most Americans, believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to bear arms. Then we recognize the traditions of gun ownership that passed on from generation to generation. That hunting and shooting are part of a cherished national heritage. But I also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Live now to Athena Jones at the White House.

So, Athena, the president made his remarks about AK-47s, but he didn't go on to say we should ban assault weapons. So what was this, a trial balloon?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, that's a really good question. And it's hard to say at this point. We know that the president's words last night were some of the strongest words yet as president on the issue of guns. He went on to emphasize the important of background checks as he did in the days after the Tucson shooting last year.

He also talked about the importance of being able to keep gunning out of the hands of the mentally unbalanced, and he said these should be common sense steps that people should agree on. That they shouldn't be controversial.

He blames opposition in Congress, though, for the lack of progress on this issue. But, you know, as you said, he didn't explicitly mention the need for new laws. We know that in the past he supported the reinstatement of the federal ban on assault weapons which expired back in 2004. But he had to push that as president and as aides have said as recently as this week, that he doesn't plan to push any new legislations.

So this is a delicate issue here. It's interesting that he spoke so strongly last night, but it's hard to say what's going to happen next and what we're going to really see them do here in the White House to push for that -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Athena Jones live at the White House for us this morning.

Another top Republican is stirring buzz over his presidential pursuits. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was on the "Jersey Shore," and he did not back away from questions that follow him everywhere. Will he seek the White House in 2016? Well, guess what? Christie said he will consider it, if Romney is not in the oval office.

But the man known for bluster and big talk quickly batted down another idea. One man in the crowd asked if he'd challenge Romney for the nomination this year, and Christie said -- well, he said a flat-out no.

The Sandusky trial child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University could turn into a nasty insurance fight. Penn State's primary general -- primary general liability insurer wants to deny coverage because it says the school did not disclose what it knew about Jerry Sandusky's behavior.

And we now know why Penn State will not fight the NCAA's punishment including a bowl ban and a $60 million fine. The school's president telling ESPN Penn State would have received a four-year total ban on football if it had not accepted the sanctions.

Across much of the country, farmers are suffering through the worst drought in decades and you're about to feel their pain at the checkout line. Grocery prices, they're going up. Here are some examples.

That ground chuck that now costs an average of $3.45 a pound will inch up to about $3.59. Dairy products will also cost more. A dozen eggs will climb about 2 percent to an average of $1.71. And milk, it will jump 3 percent from today's average of $3.40 a gallon to about $3.50.

And that's just this year. Prices will keep going up.

Alison Kosik is in New York with a bit of bad news this morning.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's interesting because you talk about these incremental sort of penny increases. So by the time you're finished with your grocery trip, that really adds up. And all of this is really catching our attention because this is coming from a forecast, a real forecast, that's now really taking into account how the drought in the Midwest is affecting crops.

And what the Agriculture Department is saying is that it expects food prices to go up anywhere from 3 to 4 percent next year. So that would wind up being slightly more than overall inflation. Translation here, you're going to feel these price increases. All right, so where are you going to feel it? You're going to feel it first with meat, because animals eat corn and corn prices are up. So meat prices will rise as well. Now the USDA says expect prices for poultry to go up first, and here's why. Because chickens are smaller, they grow faster, and they get to your supermarket faster. So you're going to feel that price hike more immediately.

Eggs and dairy prices as you said will also rise. And then of course don't forget those middle aisles. You know, in the middle of the store. Expect a 4.5 percent rise in prices for those products, including ketchup, ramen noodles, and barbecue sauce, because, Carol, corn is in those products as well.

COSTELLO: Understand. We'll be ready. We've been warned.

Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

Let's talk a little more politics now. Mitt Romney is overseas, you know. He's meeting with virtually every political leader in Great Britain. This morning he's already met with the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and right now he'll meet with the current office holder, Prime Minister David Cameron.

But overshadowing Romney's trip is a firestorm over a racially charged quote. The British newspaper "The Telegraph" quotes an unnamed campaign adviser as saying, quote, "We are part of an Anglo-Saxon heritage, and he," Romney, "feels that the special relation -- that the special -- that the relationship is special. The White House didn't fully appreciate the shared history we have," end quote.

Our national political correspondent Jim Acosta is in London. And I know that quote is getting some heated reaction from both the Obama and Romney campaigns. So tell us.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (via phone): That's right, Carol. It is getting some attention here in the British press. And also from the two campaigns. Vice President Joe Biden put out a statement yesterday criticizing the Romney campaign for those comments that appeared in "The London Daily Telegraph."

I will tell you that the Romney campaign has vehemently denied that that -- those comments came from one of their advisers. So that back and forth is going on.

But, Carol, I have to tell you, right now we're standing outside Number 10 Downing Street where Mitt Romney is inside meeting with the Prime Minister David Cameron. And just a few moments ago, some reporters were inside and were listening in as the former Massachusetts governor was talking about the Olympics with the prime minister. And it's interesting to note that all of this is going on just on the eve of the Olympic games.

And something else that is popping up in the British press today, Carol, some comments that Mitt Romney made to NBC about the preparations here in London for the Olympic Games. They've had a couple of problems in advance of the games, and he's referred to those comments as being disconcerting. And he was asked about that. The British press asked him about that at one of his appearances earlier this morning and here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My experience with the Olympics is that it's impossible for absolutely no mistakes to occur. Of course there will be errors from time to time. But those are all overshadowed by the extraordinary demonstrations of courage, character, and determination by the athletes. The games are, after all, about the athletes, the volunteers, and the people of the community that come together to celebrate those athletes.

They are not about the organizing committee. And as soon as the sporting events begin, we all forget the organizers and focus on the athletes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And, Carol, I'm back on camera now, we had to phone it in there just a few moments ago but now we're back on camera because of logistical issues that are happening out here in London. But I can tell you that the British press is seizing on some of these comments on the home page of "The London Daily Telegraph." Right at this moment the headline reads, Mitt Romney questions whether Britain is ready for the Olympic Games. The Romney campaign is pushing back on that, they're saying that's not what the GOP contender was saying when he made those remarks to NBC.

And they are directing all of our -- us in the press to the comments that he made earlier this morning when he was meeting with British officials. Those comments that we just played for you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Well --

ACOSTA: So it's sort of been one controversy after another in the 24 hours he's been on the ground here -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, it's certainly not a secret that London's been having security problems.

ACOSTA: It's not. And Mitt Romney does have some expertise in this area. Let's remember he had a hand in helping rescue the Salt Lake City Olympic Games back 10 years ago. So it's not unusual that he would be making some of these comments. And I will tell you that in some of the reports that have come out of these meetings he's had with British officials this morning, he's been getting some shout-outs from British officials for his handling of those games back in Salt Lake City.

So we'll see how all of this develops. But -- and, you know, we know how the London press can be, Carol. But they are certainly seizing on these comments so far this morning.

COSTELLO: I know. Jim Accost, thanks so much. A very public battle continues inside the Jackson family. This morning, Katherine Jackson returned to her California home, and the son of Michael Jackson's brother, Tito, he becomes the legal guardian of Michael's three children. Not Katherine Jackson.

T.J. Jackson went to court to be appointed temporary guardian of Prince, Paris, and Prince Michael II. After the pop singer's death, his three kids have been in the custody of their grandmother, Katherine. She spent several days at an Arizona resort and yesterday Katherine finally came out and said something. Actually, she read a prepared statement to ABC news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHERINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S MOTHER: One reason why I haven't called is because I just gave up my phone. I didn't want to have any phone calls. And while I was here, my assistant, Janice Smith, had been calling back home to see how things have been going and keeping in contact with my nephew -- I mean my grandson, and he says everything was going fine.

But I'm still -- I was still thinking about the children, and I still worry about them. But they're fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A.J. Hammer is with us now. So this continues to unfold. Why the change in guardians? Because Katherine Jackson looks like she always does to me, at least.

A.J. HAMMER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT HOST: Yes. No, she does. And the judge basically, Carol, suspended Katherine Jackson as custodian for Michael's children because in the judge's words she may be prevented from acting as a guardian because of the acts of third parties. And again, that was before we got to see Katherine Jackson, when she was still somewhere in Arizona as far as we knew.

The third parties that the judge refers to, of course, are Katherine's children, Janet, Rebbie, Jermaine, and Randy. The judge did leave open the possibility guardianship could be returned, if Katherine Jackson returns home, which of course now she has done. A close source to the Jackson family did tell CNN that shortly before 1:00 Pacific Time this morning, and after nine-hour car ride, Katherine Jackson did arrive home, under police escort to be reunited with the family.

The police didn't follow the family the entire way from Arizona. It was just the last part of the trip, Calabasas, California. Katherine was accompanied by her children in the car. I can only wonder what happened when they all arrived to the house.

And Paris Jackson, Michael's daughter, welcomed her grandmother back with a tweet reading, "Grandma's home, with a #thankyouGod." The story that got so much attention in part because of Paris' tweets, of course, and she had been complaining she hadn't been able to talk to her grandmother.

Katherine did try to reassure everyone in her prepared statement last night that everything was ok. Let's watch that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: There are rumors going around about me that I've been kidnapped and held against my will. I'm here today to let everybody know that I'm fine, and I'm here with my children, and my children would never do a thing like that, hold me against my will. It's very stupid.

(EDN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMMER: Still doesn't explain why Katherine apparently left in the first place without letting the kids know where she was going to be. So still a lot of questions, and this is far from over.

COSTELLO: A.J. Hammer, many thanks to you.

Hosting the Olympics is supposed to be good for a city, right? Well, take a look at Beijing. Some of the stadiums now look like they are falling apart.

And we'll talk to a man who says hosting the Olympic Games is nothing but trouble, for any city.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Today, the Olympic torch is zigzagging through London, past the city's biggest landmarks. Just like a tourist, it's visiting Shakespeare's Globe Theater, Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. For 68 days now, people have been running the torch through nearly every area of the U.K.

Today, the last full day of the torch relay tomorrow. Tomorrow, the torch will head to the stadium for the opening ceremonies.

An Olympic action is starting too. A big preliminary Olympic soccer match is about to get underway between Spain and Japan. Spain's men's team has a reputation for winning, but Japan's team lost all three of their matches in the Beijing Olympics. Teams go head-to- head this hour, 9:45 a.m. Eastern.

And you know how hosting the Olympics is supposed to be a huge economic boon for the host city? Some experts argue that the Olympics are actually bad for host cities saying they are too expensive, don't bring in nearly enough revenue, and all those stadiums are a huge waste.

Just look at Beijing, the 2008 summer Olympics host. That photo from the men's kayaking competition. And this from March, the same area all dried up and deserted.

And then, the venue for the volleyball competition. It was vibrant and full of people in 2008. And here it is in April, the mural is peeling off. It's completely empty. And it looks like it's falling apart.

And London is plagued with its own problems -- the lack of security and threats of strikes at the airport and on the tube. So maybe the Olympics can be more of a P.R. nightmare for a city than a P.R. dream.

Andrew Zimbalist joins me via Skype from Northampton, Massachusetts. He's an economics professor and sports consultant at Smith College.

Andrew, welcome.

ANDREW ZIMBALIST, SMITH COLLEGE ECONOMICS PROFESSOR, SPORTS CONSULTANT: Thank you.

COSTELLO: I read your article. You wrote an article for "The Atlantic."

So London, it was already a major international vibrant city before the Olympics. Did it really need all the headaches that's been posed by organizing these games?

ZIMBALIST: Yes. You often hear that hosting the Olympics is going to put a city on the map. And that's kind of laughable for London, isn't it? They are trying to regenerate East London, a rundown, former industrial area. If they succeed in regenerating economic activity in East London, I think it can be determined that it was an economic success.

But it's far from clear that that's going to happen. A recent report came out and found out that over the last year, actually unemployment went up in the five districts where the facility construction for the Olympics is most heavily concentrated.

And the long run experience in other countries that have hosted the Olympics is not terribly encouraging along these lines.

COSTELLO: Tell us about -- tell us more about Beijing and what happened to the facilities there.

ZIMBALIST: Well, you mentioned some of them. I think probably the most famous facility is the Bird's Nest in Beijing. And that was used as the Olympic stadium.

It was architecturally extraordinarily inventive and interesting. It cost hundreds of millions of dollars to build and occupies maybe 15 or 20 acres of land. And it's not being used.

They have street vendors outside of the Bird's Nest, and tourists go by and buy trinkets from the street vendors. But the facility itself is not being used. Probably cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 million to $20 million a year to maintain and operate.

COSTELLO: Wow.

But there are success stories. For example, Atlanta had the 1996 Games, and it built what's now used as Turner Field, you know, for the Braves and the Georgia Dome. And people credit for the Olympics turning the city around. And, yes, I think the 1996 Olympics did put Atlanta on the map.

ZIMBALIST: OK. Well, there have been economic studies that would take issue with that claim.

For instance, there was one study that found that over the 17- day period of the games, in 1996, that airport traffic was equal to what it had been during previous 17 days and post 17-day periods. That hotel occupancy was equal to what it had been before and after. That retail sales were equal to what they had been before and after. Controlling for relevant variables.

The only thing that went up significantly during the 17 days of the 1996 Olympics was hotel rates. Hotel rates from hotel chains where the headquarters of the hotel resides elsewhere, not in Atlanta and not in Georgia, so that the profits that the hotels earned were repatriated back to the headquarter locations of the hotel chains.

In terms of impact on GDP or product output, as a result of the Olympics or on tourism again, there is no clear evidence that that happened.

Now, maybe there's a feel-good effect that residents in Atlanta experienced.

COSTELLO: Right.

ZIMBALIST: That's an intangible. It's not something I would dispute. If people want to say that the games turned around the city and they want to believe that, then maybe that in and of itself is valuable. Whether or not it is, could be a deception.

COSTELLO: I know the Chamber of Commerce thinks that. But, of course, it's got a --

ZIMBALIST: They're in business of promoting their investments, I think.

COSTELLO: Andrew Zimbalist, we've got to go. Thank you so much for checking in with us this morning.

ZIMBALIST: Thanks.

COSTELLO: The backlash over the Chick-Fil-A president's comments on same-sex marriage is getting hotter. And it's the focus of our talk back question today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, should businesses be banned because of political beliefs?

Eat more Chick-Fil-A. And oh, those delicious waffle fries. No. That would be like serving up deep-fried hate in Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL (D), CHICAGO: Chick-Fil-A's values are not Chicago values. They are not respectful of our residents, our neighbors, and our family members.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That's Chicago.

Boston is also on the list of cities where Chick-Fil-A is not welcome to build any new restaurants. Why? Because of Chick-Fil-A president's Dan Cathy's comments denouncing same sex marriage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN CATHY, CHICK-FIL-A CEO: I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at him and say, you know, we know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Gay rights groups immediately sprung to action and are planning a national same sex kiss-in day at Chick-Fil-A next week.

Conservatives are rallying too -- thanks to former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), FORMER ARKANSAS GOVERNOR: I think it would be great in the light of the fact they've been under attack these past few days, if everybody who appreciates a business who stands up for good things, maybe Wednesday, August 1st, could be let's go to Chick- Fil-A day in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Chick-Fil-A insists they treat everyone with honor, dignity, and respect, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender. What both sides of the fight are suggesting is what you'd expect: demonstrations and boycotts. But the Chicago and Boston mayors are going a step further by trying to ban the company from building new restaurants.

So the talk back question today, should businesses be banned because of political or religious beliefs?

Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later on this hour.

At 30 minutes past the hour, stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM, opening bell on Wall Street, stocks expected to move higher today after news the European Central Bank will do whatever it takes to preserve the Euro.

North Korea, we're learning the woman we've been seeing with leader Kim Jong-Un in recent weeks is indeed his wife. State media says the couple married in 2009. Few other details are known about the woman who first appeared last year with Kim at his father's funeral.

Syria's largest cities are being rocked by a new wave of violence as rebels and the Assad regime battle for control of Damascus and Aleppo, two key cities in Syria. Activists say more than 100 people were killed across the country yesterday.

A high profile trip abroad that could have very high stakes for Mitt Romney as he tries to smooth concerns about his stance on foreign policy from his own party. Our political panel is next to break it down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now to the 2012 campaign -- and Mitt Romney's hopes to win here at home by going abroad. The Republican presidential candidate arriving at number 10 Downing Street today to meet with Prime Minister David Cameron.

That's just one of a series of high profile meetings during a six-day, three-nation tour, a trip that one top House Republican, Representative Mike Rogers, told CNN is key for Romney's image among voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), ILLINOIS: Great Britain, there's really no better partner that we have, and the Australians and Canadians certainly rank right up there. But you talk about Israel, and you talk about Poland -- all very, very strategic, important partnerships for the United States. And by the way, all of those relationships have been strained by some I think missteps by this administration.

And I think having him there, having him have that dialogue with senior leaders of all of those countries at a time where there are challenges in all three countries is very important for the American public to see Mitt Romney can handle the job as president when it comes to foreign policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But while Rogers sounded upbeat about Romney's trip, there are some Republicans who hope their soon-to-be nominee returns from Europe heavy on the policy and light on the photo ops.

Joining me now, CNN contributor Will Cain. He leans right. And Maria Cardona, he's a Democratic strategist and also CNN contributor.

Welcome to you both.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks, Carol. Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning.

So, Will, let's start with you. Romney has been criticized for not giving more details on his foreign policy plans. When he comes become to the United States, do you think he'll have a detailed plan to present to voters?

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, no, I don't. By the way, I don't know why we limit that to foreign policy. Romney has done a pretty good job of remaining somewhat ill-defined, undefined and vague not just on foreign policy views but also I think on his domestic policy views.

I think we attempt to peer into Romney and hope there's a certain philosophy present, and he has put forward some ideas on taxes and so forth. You know, he has largely remained a mystery.

And Maria is a political strategist that has worked on political campaigns. And I don't know the answer to this. But does that work? Remaining undefined, vague, letting voters decide who you are, can that work? Do you run the risk of your opponent getting to define you?

Up to this point, it's worked pretty well for Romney. But I don't know that it lasts.

COSTELLO: Maria, does it work?

CARDONA: So, first of all, you know, will underscores I think the angst among many Republicans in terms of Mitt Romney not just on foreign policy but also on all of his policies. And on foreign policy in particular, it really does ring hollow his criticisms of Obama when there was a poll just yesterday that came out that said that Americans trust Obama more than Romney by 15 points on foreign policy.

And even a Pew Foundation poll done overseas says that Britain, the majority of people trust Obama 80 percent, and in Poland as well. So, in terms Will's question it could work if he was going up against an opponent, obviously President Obama, that the American people didn't trust. And that's not the case.

Are there disappointments in President Obama's policies? Sure there are, and there's not the kind of enthusiasm amongst all voters that there was in 2008. But overall, President Obama has huge favorability ratings. And the American people like him. And when that's the case, it's difficult.

COSTELLO: Wait a minute, Maria. You could make the same case against President Obama. He is not exactly presenting a new detailed plan about how to get us out of this economic mess. He is sort of playing like, not to lose either. So you have two candidates kind of doing the same thing.

CARDONA: Well, but actually what President Obama has done, and he has talked about this time and again, he has presented detailed plans. There is not only a plan, but there is a package sitting in Congress today, Carol, called the American Jobs Act, where independent economists have said if that plan is -- if that legislation package is passed, there could be the creation of more than 1 billion jobs -- or 1 million jobs.

So, you know, whether or not Americans think that's true or not, that's one thing. But he has presented detailed plans. He has put forward the path to getting us out of this economic hole.

COSTELLO: Well, Mitt Romney could say the same thing. I have this 59-page plan. Go to my Web site and read all about it.

CAIN: Right. That's right.

You know, President Obama, though, is the known quantity in this equation. And I think that's exactly as Mitt Romney wants it to be. So he wants this election to be about President Obama. He wants it to be a referendum on whether or not you liked the four years of the United States under President Obama or not. He wants it less about himself.

And now the question that I don't know the answer to, though, does that work? The risk is that President Obama gets to define Mitt Romney at some point. If you don't define yourself, your opponent does it for you.

CARDONA: That's true. But here is also the danger. And I have been in some of these focus groups with independent voters. While they're not sure that President Obama's policies are going to continue to help, they do believe that he has not had enough time to prove that they will continue getting us out of the economic hole.

And, again, his likability among Americans right now and the fact -- and Will said this -- that he is the known quantity are basically playing in his favor. If you're Romney, and you need to say more than I'm not Obama, especially when you're not the known quantity, and when the Obama campaign has done a very good job of defining you in a negative way, you need to be very specific -- a lot more specific than Romney has been.

CAIN: I don't know that that's clear yet.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: We'll have to leave it there. Thanks for a fascinating discussion, though, as always -- Will Cain and Maria Cardona.

CARDONA: Thank you so much.

COSTELLO: Could the massacre in that movie theater in Colorado have been prevented? New details that some suggest the suspect sent an early warning sign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're learning new information this morning about James Holmes and his actions before Friday's deadly massacre in Colorado. Hours before the killings, Holmes apparently sent a package to the University of Colorado where he had recently dropped out of classes.

The package, according to CBS, contained a notebook with sketches and notes hinting of violence.

Ed Lavandera is in Aurora. He joins us live now.

Ed, you're learning more about this and his failed oral exam. What did you find out?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, clearly, a lot of attention being placed in the atmosphere, and the surroundings, the environment that James Holmes was in there at the University of Colorado.

We learned from a source told us that toward the end of the spring -- past spring semester, James Holmes did very poorly on a final exam. This at the same time that law enforcement sources were telling us he was amassing the weapons and explosive materials used in this attack. So they are trying to find the connections there and what might have happened.

And, of course, as you mentioned, this package that was mailed apparently just days before the attack here in Aurora, and that package found in a mail room on the University of Colorado campus on Monday.

And according to the CBS News reports, that inside that package there was a notebook that had writings from James Holmes talking about wanting to kill people and also drawings showing a gunman killing his victims.

So, obviously, investigators paying a great deal of attention to the psychology of all of that, to see if they can garner any clues as to what might have been the motive here.

COSTELLO: Just going back to the oral exam and I know you just have a few details about this, but we've always heard what a great student this person was.

So the oral exam, was that a first failure for him? Do we know?

LAVANDERA: Well, it's interesting. There have been some reports where students have come out and said that there haven't been -- that he was not a stellar student.

But you know what we've had to go on is that he came to this university because he was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to study neuroscience, one of only six students to receive that.

You know, the description in that award was saying people who went -- it went to people who could make a significant contribution in this field. So based on that, you know, obviously, it doesn't seem like some grant that is awarded to poor students. So he must have shown some signs of being a promising student. But clearly things changed after he got here in some way. And that's what we're trying to piece together.

COSTELLO: Also Holmes' public defenders they got a first look inside his apartment. What were they looking for?

LAVANDERA: Well, this was a chance for the defense attorneys who -- let's be honest and up front here, they have not spoken and haven't said a word about defending James Holmes. They haven't said anything about him since they were brought onto this case.

But we are -- that they were seen inside the apartment. This was a chance for them to be able to check out the scene. They will be given the same opportunity to do -- at the -- at the crime scene of the movie theater as well, which is still cordoned off and closed off.

So this is, you know, a chance to give them a chance to -- to look for whatever evidence or, you know, to be able to kind of take -- take in the scene and -- and take away from that what -- what they want to as they prepare their defense of James Holmes.

COSTELLO: Now I guess it would give them a snapshot of who this guy is, or who he used to be, or something like that so they can present a defense.

Ed Lavandera, thanks so much.

LAVANDERA: Yes. A chance to see his living environment, and that sort of thing, right.

COSTELLO: Thanks Ed.

A possible new lead in the search for two missing Iowa girls. The Sheriff says he believes this grainy video shows Elizabeth Collins and her cousin Lyric Cook before they went missing.

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COSTELLO: Fifty minutes past the hour. Checking our "Top Stories" now.

A new development this morning in the search for those two missing Iowa girls, Elizabeth Collins and her cousin Lyric Cook. Take a look at this, this is grainy surveillance video. It shows the girls on their bicycles on July 13th -- that's the day they went missing. Investigators believe the girls were indeed abducted and they believe the girls are still alive.

In money news we'll see later today if investors hit the "like" button on Facebook's earnings. The social networking giant will issue its first earnings report as a publicly-traded company after the closing bell. Shares have been hovering around $29 well below its $38 IPO price.

And remember this incredible video of a motorcyclist doing at least 186 miles per hour? Oh, yes. It looked cool. This wild ride happened in Canada in April. No one was hurt but it's illegal to drive that fast so police received tips identifying the man doing the driving as 25-year-old Brandon Scott. There he is, Scott surrendered and now faces up to five years in prison if he is convicted of dangerous driving.

In weather news, the Ohio Valley and the northeast could see some nasty storms today. The biggest concern is damaging winds and hail. Cities that could be hit hardest -- New York, Pittsburgh, Columbus and Cincinnati.

And Olympic action is starting. A big preliminary Olympic soccer match is under way between Spain and Japan. The Spain's men's team has a reputation for winning but Japan's team lost all three of their matches in the Beijing Olympics.

And in "Health for Her" this morning, consider this the next time you fly. Maybe the airport not the airplane making you sick. M.I.T. researchers looked at the 40 largest airports and came up with a list of the most disease-prone airports. Their top three -- take a look. No surprise. New York's JFK International Airport; the Los Angeles International Airport and Honolulu's International Airport.

Don't forget to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning "Should businesses be banned because of political beliefs?"

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COSTELLO: We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, should businesses be banned because of political beliefs?

This from Shooter McGavin, "Governments should not interfere with free enterprise when the business is operating legitimately. They should focus on allowing these people to create jobs."

This from Gary. "No business should be banned because of a political speech of a company's president. If people are offended by him just take your business elsewhere."

This from Robert. "It's time to take a stand and say you cannot contribute to organizations that seek to discriminate against any group of Americans, period. You can say what you want, when you want, where you want but we don't have to let you set up shop in our backyard to do it."

This from Sherry. "Big hurrah for Chicago and Boston. Gays are sick and tired of being second class citizens. But Chick-Fil-A doesn't mind taking gay or married gay money though."

Keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/carol cnn. Always glad for your comments.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts after a quick break.

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