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Tracking Hepatitis C Infector; Romney Roughed Up in London; Ready to Go in London; Sandusky "Love You" Msg. to Victim; Wall Street Reacts to GDP Report; The Mission to Get Bin Laden; Facebook Stock Tumbles; Federer Returns to Wimbledon
Aired July 27, 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, blunderful in Britain. Mitt Romney within 24 hours managed to make headlines with a -- comments that offend. The prime minister, the mayor of London, "The Daily Mail," saying he's devoid of charm, offensive, and logic. This morning team Romney in full damage control.
Pepsi scare. A multi-state outbreak. A hospital technician suspected of infecting at least 30 people. And this morning CNN talks to one of those people.
Super storm. Nearly 1,000 miles of America waking up torn and battered as they quickly turn into night. Torrential rain, dark skies. A derecho battering the northeast.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Just outside the CNN worldwide headquarters at Centennial Olympic Park. We are counting down to London 2012. I'm Rob Marciano. I'll have the weather on both sides of the pond.
The CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
COSTELLO: And good morning to you. Happy Friday. Thank you for joining us. I'm Carol Costello.
We begin with new details on a man who's accused of being a serial infector of hepatitis C. David Kwiatkowski is linked to 30 cases of the liver disease at a New Hampshire hospital. And as a medical worker he may endangered thousand more people in at least eight states.
(AUDIO GAP)
Technician after one hospital fired him for drug abuse two years ago.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is in Boston with more.
Good morning, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, let me tell you about what happened in Arizona. CNN has learned that David Kwiatkowski was working at a hospital in Arizona when his fellow employees found him passed out in the men's locker room. They found syringes on his person. He was in possession of syringes. They took him to the emergency room to treat him. And when they tested him, he tested positive for cocaine and marijuana, and that hospital did report him to Arizona authorities. Legal authorities, law enforcement I should say.
Now, of course, as you said, this begs the question, how did he keep working in hospitals? We asked one man who knows him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice-over): Ron Cross went in for a heart procedure in February and now he's here at a New Hampshire Department of Health meeting learning about hepatitis C. There's a possibility he might have caught it from this man, David Kwiatkowski, a technician at the hospital he went to.
RON CROSS, PATIENT: That guy was in the room, you know. He was there at my procedure.
COHEN: An FBI affidavit says Kwiatkowski, who has hepatitis C, stole narcotics meant for patients like Cross and then gave the patients infected syringes. It's called drug diversion. When Cross heard there was a drug diversion problem at Exeter Hospital, he immediately thought of Kwiatkowski.
CROSS: I suspected but I never thought I was -- I would be right. I guess that was the biggest --
COHEN (on camera): So when you heard about drug diversion, you thought of David?
CROSS: Almost immediately.
COHEN: Why?
CROSS: His oddness. I mean, I don't have anything else to say. It's just the -- I thought it was -- he was an odd guy.
COHEN (voice-over): Kwiatkowski was a frequent customer at the restaurant Cross owned. Cross says there was something odd about him, and he told strange stories.
CROSS: The story about his fiancee dying in a tragic car accident five days before his wedding. Of course my reaction was, oh, my god. But he'd told stories about his dog having diabetes.
COHEN: Cross is now part of a class action suit against the agency that placed Kwiatkowski at Exeter Hospital. The agency declined to comment.
Cross won't know for another month if he has hepatitis. For now, he can just worry and wonder why no one caught him sooner.
CROSS: This guy can fall through the cracks or seemed to have beat the system, or if there is a system. How did this happen?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: On Tuesday, Kwiatkowski declined his right to a federal detention hearing. He is now incarcerated in a county jail in New Hampshire -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Elizabeth Cohen reporting live for us this morning.
Also this morning, Mitt Romney may be longing for home sweet home. The Republican presidential candidate is having to backpedal from several gaffs in a botched goodwill mission to London.
And for millions of Brits, that famous stiff upper lip turned to a sneer after this photo op meeting with Britain's prime minister. When Romney questioned London's readiness for the summer games, it wasn't just David Cameron firing back. "The Daily Mail" screams this question. Who invited party popper Romney? "The Sun" was even more blunt. It calls him "Mitt the twit," and "The Telegraph" says, "Mitt Romney is perhaps the only politician who could start a trip that was supposed to be a charm offensive by being utterly devoid of charm and mildly offensive."
Jim Acosta is in London with the latest.
So, Jim, conservative media is actually downplaying Romney's missteps. They say he was merely being honest about the Olympic games in London, and Britain should understand that. Is that Romney's view?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, honestly, Carol, Mitt Romney has done a couple of interviews. One with CNN's Piers Morgan, another one on "The Today Show" on NBC and he's not really acknowledging publicly some of the criticism that he's gotten here in London since those comments that he made to NBC a couple of days ago about the city's readiness for the Olympic games.
You mentioned those headlines in the London newspapers. I've got one you just mentioned in "The Sun," "Mitt the Twit." I think this morning it's probably safe to say that the Romney campaign probably has a new use for the Olympic torch, and that is to burn some of these headlines, Carol. But let me play for you some of what Romney said on Piers Morgan last night, because Piers asked Romney about this criticism, and he didn't really seem to acknowledge it. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PIERS MORGAN, HOST, PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT: You've been slightly criticized on knocking the British enthusiasm. As if you hadn't picked up much enthusiasm. Are you feeling it now?
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I'm delighted to see the kind of support that has been around the torch, for instance. I watched last night on BBC an entire program about the torch being run across Great Britain. And the kind of crowds, I guess, millions of people had turned out to see the torch. That's what you hope to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: So that's what Mitt Romney had to say on Piers Morgan. He did another interview this morning on NBC, and he said in response to questions about the criticism here in London, after being here a couple of days, it looks like London is ready, but it sounds, Carol, that London is ready for Mitt Romney to leave this country and head off to his next leg of the trip, that would be Israel.
Consider Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, a Tory no less, in what he told a crowd of 60,000 people last night here in London. Here's a bit of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR BORIS JOHNSON, LONDON: There are some people who are coming from around the world who don't get know about all the preparations we've done to get London ready in the last seven years. I hear there's a guy -- there's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether or not we're ready. He wants to know whether you're ready. Are we ready? Are we ready? Yes, we are.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So that's not the kind of reaction Mitt Romney was expecting when he came overseas for this foreign trip. I will tell you, Carol, he is expected to attend the opening ceremonies tonight with his wife, Ann, and then head off to Israel tomorrow morning.
Michelle Obama, the first lady, is also here. She did not touch this controversy about Mitt Romney and what's happened here in London. She was mainly here for one of those pre-Olympic events, and then she, too, is heading back to the states. But safe to say, Carol, this is not the trip -- not the start to the trip that the Romney campaign expected -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jim Acosta reporting live for us in London.
The eyes of the world are looking towards London as we get set for the start of the 2012 games.
London's famous clock, Big Ben, chiming for three minutes to ring in the games. And the head of the Olympics says it's all systems go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACQUES ROGGE, PRESIDENT INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: We reviewed all the operational items, and I can say with pleasure that London is ready and that we are eagerly waiting for the opening ceremony.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He doesn't exactly sound that way, I know he's excited inside, even more so than his demeanor would suggest.
Zain Verjee is live in London. I know that you're going to spill some secrets about the opening ceremonies. So we're ready.
(LAUGHTER)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Carol. Let's just get this party started, OK? Just a few hours away. We want the suits to come off and the Lycra to come on.
Let me tell you a little bit about what I know with the Olympic ceremony. Just a few seconds ago I was hearing them practice "Chariots of Fire" by Vangelis, who by the way just wrote that, you know, in one day. So that's obviously going to be in the production. But there are some really cool things. Because what they are trying to do is to show Britain past, present, and future. So they're going to go through different eras, like the Victorian era, to the industrial era, to the present and then to the future.
We're going to see 30 Mary Poppins reportedly coming down and just floating into the stadium. We'll see a big -- Olympic rings come up on the ground and light on a dramatic fire. 007, James Bond, has a big role in this, too. Apparently according to reports, Daniel Craig is going to stop over at Buckingham Palace, meet the Queen, who's going to dispatch him on a special mission which will be to open the ceremony.
As we've been seeing people practicing for the past couple of days, parachutes coming down into the Olympic stadium.
As they recreate the idyllic era with farmers plowing the fields, we're going to see live cattle, Carol. You're going to look forward to sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, geese. We're just missing a partridge in a pear tree. That's right.
(LAUGHTER)
VERJEE: But it's going to be amazing, fantastical. I don't know if you ever read William Shakespeare's "The Tempest"? It's really the isle of wonder where Prospero, an Italian official, ends up being shipwrecked on this island, and there's this character called Callaban and it's all very surreal. And all these amazing things happened. So that's the kind of theme they're creating, you know, with Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Lord Voldemort as well. So tune in to watch that.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: I just can't envision now. That all fits together, but I can't wait to see it. Thanks so much.
VERJEE: It does.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Zain.
Two of the biggest athletes on the American team, swimmers Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, they're friends in and out of the pool. They share a suite inside Olympic Village. But they are also fierce competitors. Phelps may have won eight gold medals in Beijing, but Lochte has been on a hot streak lately. The quest for gold begins tomorrow at the London Aquatic Center. Phelps and Lochte will try to qualify for the 400-meter individual medley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL PHELPS, AMERICAN SWIMMER: My goals are what keep me motivated. And I'm here to swim as fast as I can. And if I do that, then that's all that matters. Everything else will fall into place. And I know that. And I've said this before and I'll say it again. The only person I can control is myself. So I'm going to get in the water and race as hard as I can. If a record happens, it happens.
RYAN LOCHTE, AMERICAN SWIMMER: I'm not really going just to swim to beat Michael. There's not -- Michael is just one person. There's a bunch of other swimmers across the world that I've got to worry about. So, I mean, I'm just doing what I normally do, and I race. And I'm just going to go up on the blocks and race and have fun. And if Michael's right there with me, then he's right there with me. But I can't just rely on just one person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This will be Michael Phelps' fourth Olympics. It will be Ryan Lochte's third games.
Getting in on the excitement in London our Piers Morgan will be anchoring CNN NEWSROOM today live from the games at 12:00 Eastern. And you can follow the games on Twitter or tell us what you thought about the opening ceremonies. Just make sure to put CNN Olympics in your tweet.
Reports of tornadoes and at least two deaths after severe storms hit the northeast. The cleanup and where the storms are heading today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Fifteen minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now, questions over how a medical technician now accused of infecting people with hepatitis C kept working after an Arizona hospital fired him for drug abuse two years ago. People who may have come into contact with David Kwiatkowski in New Hampshire attended a big town hall last night. He's accused of infecting 30 people in that state and possibly thousands more in seven other states.
The Michelin Company is voluntarily recalling about 841,000 of its BF Goodrich and Uniroyal tires. They say the belts could separate and cause a blowout. No deaths or injuries are reported, but the condition could increase the risk of a crash.
In weather news, cleanup is underway in the Northeast following powerful storms blamed for at least two deaths. Elmira, New York, and Brookville, Pennsylvania, also had reported possible storms touching down. Storms snapped trees and power lines and left hundreds of thousands of customers from New York to Ohio without power.
And a spectacular lightning show for New York City. Flashes of lightning filled the night sky after it stopped raining. IReporters in New York have been sending us these amazing pictures like these that show a dramatic lightning strike over the skyline.
Meteorologist Rob Marciano joins us now from Centennial Park in Atlanta. More rough weather tonight?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, but not quite as bad or as widespread as what we saw last night, Carol.
To give you an idea of how expansive this system was, look at the radar coming in around between 5:00 and 7:00 last night. It stretched from Hartford, Connecticut, all the way back to New York City, back into really to Dallas, Texas, 1,700 miles of destructive weather for over 300 wind damage reports from this system. One report as you mention in Elmira of a tornado.
Where we expect to see action today, across the Ohio Valley, the Delmarva. Isolated tornadoes are possible, but likely some damaging wind and large hail. Hopefully it won't be as potent as what we saw last night. It is knocking down some of the heat. That's the good news. Mid-90s. Cooling down in Kansas City, and in Memphis. And not getting above 90 for a change of pace in New York City.
Let's go across the pond in celebration of the London Olympics. Opening ceremonies tonight, just a slight chance of a spritz or a shower. And we'll get in some more typical England weather here over the next several days. They've had heat the past week. No such thing, temps in the mid-60s with a chance of seeing some rain.
We are live in Centennial Olympic Park, site of the 1996 Olympics here in Atlanta. One of only five Olympics held in the United States. What better way to celebrate.
We'll talk more about that in the next hour here, Carol. Not too shabby weather in Atlanta. High of about 93 degrees. Back over to you.
COSTELLO: Ninety-three? I know you want to run through that fountain, Rob. I would.
MARCIANO: Oh, yes. Give it another hour. Looking good.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Rob.
Penn State and Jerry Sandusky could soon be slapped with a civil lawsuit from one of the boys Sandusky was convicted of abusing.
Listen to a voicemail recording that attorneys say Jerry Sandusky left for victim number two less than two months before his arrest. Victim number two was spotted being abused by Sandusky in a Penn State locker room, you know, in the shower, in 2001.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
PURPORTED JERRY SANDUSKY VOICEMAIL: Jere. I am probably not going to be able to get a hold of anybody. Probably ought to just go forward. I would be very firm and express my feelings and up front. But, you know, there is nothing really to hide.
So if you want, give me a call, and you can call me on my other cell phone or on this one, either one, so -- all right. Take care. Love you. Hope you get this message. Thanks.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Notice how he ends the call with love you.
The attorneys say the voicemail shows Sandusky trying to exert control over his victims. Remember this victim did not participate in the criminal trial, but here is a second recording.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLI)
PURPORTED JERRY SANDUSKY VOICEMAIL: Just calling to see, you know, whether you had any interest in going to the Penn State game this Saturday. If you could get back to me and let me know, I'd appreciate it. And when you get this message, give me a call. And I hope to talk to you later. Thanks. I love you.
(ENDAUDIO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN cannot independently confirm the recordings are Sandusky's voice.
His attorney, Karl Rominger, responded saying, "Victim two's identity was known to the defense and the prosecution prior to trial, and the statements that the individual gave to an FBI trained investigator who worked with the defense team contradicted what he is now claiming."
Penn State is not commenting on the pending lawsuits. But just yesterday, one of Pennsylvania's top officials slammed the school's administration and talked about new laws he's proposing to make the school more accountable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK WAGNER, PENNSYLVANIA AUDITOR GENERAL: We believe we'll make Penn State University a more publicly transparent and accountable university. At the top of that list is that there is too much power presently invested in the CEO and the president of the university.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: On the phone now from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is CNN contributor Sara Ganim.
Good morning, Sara.
SARA GANIM, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (via telephone): Good morning.
COSTELLO: Let's talk more about these phone calls. Victim number two did not testify in Jerry Sandusky's trial. Why was that
GANIM: We don't know the answer to that. But it appears from what Karl Rominger said yesterday that prosecutors did know the identity of this man. Whether or not they believe that he is victim two or whether he didn't want to testify at trial might have been a hostile witness, maybe he was telling a different story. All of that is speculation, but possible, because he didn't testify.
You're right. He didn't testify at trial. And that could have really brought that case -- it could have led to an acquittal in that case, just in the case of victim two, because the defense argument was that this is eight months after Jerry Sandusky had been arrested. Where is this person? If he exists, if he was really molested in that shower, why hasn't he come forward yet?
COSTELLO: Well, often victims of sexual abuse don't come forward, and don't want to share their stories. But it does make you wonder, why his attorneys -- like he's now got attorneys, right, victim number two, and those attorneys are now releasing these voicemail messages.
GANIM: Right. And if he's going to bring a civil suit, just like his attorneys say that they're going to do, I mean, that has a potential to go to trial where he would have to testify. What's interesting about this man is that he came forward shortly after Jerry Sandusky was arrested, walked not into the police station, didn't call the hot line. He went to Joe Amendola's law office. Joe Amendola is Jerry Sandusky's attorney.
He sat down in his office and he said, look, I think I'm that boy that they're talking about in the shower, but nothing sexual happened. Joe Amendola in turn told a lot of members of the media the story, and said that he expected this person to testify on Jerry's behalf. Shortly after that, just days later, he hired an attorney. The attorney sought a court order for Amendola to keep his identity private. And then Joe Amendola started backing away from the statement that he would testify on Sandusky's behalf.
We really didn't hear anything about this man again for the next eight months. He flew really under the radar until yesterday.
COSTELLO: Interesting. Sara Ganim live for us this morning. Thanks.
One week later, after prayers and sorrow, we're asking, where was God in Aurora? It's our talk back question today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Now is your chance to talk balk on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, where was God in Aurora? I know, it's not the kind of question you can solve in two minutes but a lot of you feel the need to talk about it, and so do I. We've heard a lot of things about God after the Colorado shooting -- people praying for God to save them, heroes acting godly as they sacrificed themselves to save others.
Survivor Pierce O'Farrill told us his belief in God and Jesus Christ as well as prayer saved him that day, and because of his faith he's forgiven the accused gunman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PIERCE O'FARRILL, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I feel sorrow for him because I can't imagine living that way. And I know there's a chance that people might be angry at me for saying that, you know, for not being angry at him, because I have already forgiven him in my heart. I can honestly say I could sit across the table from him and look him in the eye and just talk to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: This week, we heard many questions about God's role in Aurora, like why did he let this happen? Or did he? Our Belief Blog posted this question online and got thousands of startling different responses. On Twitter, this church leader in Baton, Colorado wrote, 'In short, God was in complete control, exercising his will." That riled the trivia jockey who tweeted, "If that was God's will, God is definitely not deserving of my worship."
I guess it depends on how you view the issue of God's sovereignty versus human free will. And the question: does God have a plan for everything, or does he just let things happen as they happen?
So the talk back question today, where was God in Aurora? Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Opening bell on Wall Street, fresh off one of its biggest gains this year, he Dow closed up 212 points. But today, investors have something new to consider -- one of the single most important measures of our nation's economy.
Our business guru Christine Romans joins us live in New York to tell us all about it.
Good morning, Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Well, Carol, what this number shows, GDP, it's the sum of all of the economic activity in the country. And it shows the economy grew at 1.5 percent in the second quarter. They'll look at this a couple of times and revise the number, but this is the first reading. And that means that the economy has slowed from the beginning of the year to now.
And, Carol, if you look at that chart there, you can see 4.1 percent was the growth in the economy at the end of last year. So really the economy has slowed down. It's growth has slowed down, been pretty much cut in half, economic growth has been, over the past couple of quarters.
Now this number, Carol, feeds right into both politician's storylines, I want to tell you, because it's a little bit better than some had feared but still isn't as much as it should be.
And what you'll hear the White House and Democrats say is that it shows that the president needs more help from Congress in getting his jobs package passed.
And what you'll hear from the RNC, we heard from them this morning saying this is devastating. An adviser to Mitt Romney saying this is disappointing and half of what it should be.
This number feeds into exactly what we've been hearing from both camps about what's happening in the economy right now, Carol.
COSTELLO: Christine Romans, thanks.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Also happening now, passions rise higher and divisions grow deeper over Chick-Fil-A's stance over same-sex marriage. A city councilman in Philadelphia now joining with the mayors of three cities and telling the fast food chain it is now longer welcome in their towns.
I will talk with the Philadelphia councilman at the top of the next hour, about 28 minutes.
The company has plenty of supporters, though. More than 250,000 people said they'll give their business to the company next Wednesday for a Chick-Fil-A appreciation day.
In weather news, cleanup underway in the Northeast following powerful storms blamed for at least two deaths, Elmira in New York and Brookville, Pennsylvania also reported possible tornadoes touching down. The storms snapped trees and power lines and left hundreds of thousands of customers from New York to Ohio without power.
And Big Ben in London greets visitors from across the globe.
We are just hours away from the opening ceremony of the Olympics which will take place over the next 17 days.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has already hit some bumps on his overseas trip. He's rankled many Brits over his questioning of whether London was ready to host the Olympics. That's' drawing the ire of London newspapers which has blasted the Republican presidential hopeful. All of this follows the criticism he took from not only the British prime minister but also London's mayor.
Mr. Romney tried to walk back his criticism of the Olympics when he sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Piers Morgan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR BORIS JOHNSON, LONDON: I hear there's a guy -- there's a guy called Mitt Romney who wants to know whether we're ready. He wants to know whether we're ready. Are we ready? Are we ready? Yes, we are!
(CHEERS)
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: You've been slightly criticized for knocking the British enthusiasm. As if you haven't picked up much enthusiasm. You feeling it now?
(LAUGHTER)
ROMNEY: Well, I'm delighted to see the kind of support that has been around the torch for instance. I watched last night on BBC an entire program about the torch being run across Great Britain. And the kind of crowds -- I guess millions of people that turned out to see the torch. That's what you hope to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Romney has had a rocky start to say the least, but he is talking about more than just the Olympics. Mr. Romney also weighed in on foreign policy matters with Piers Morgan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: America's had the reputation as being the world's policeman for my lifetime. It's quite a responsibility. Is it one that America continues to need to have? Do you need to be the world's policeman? Or as you see super powers emerging, China, India, and others -- is it time for that responsibility to be spread around a little bit?
ROMNEY: I don't think anyone signs up for the term -- when, I say anyone, I don't think the leaders of our nation signed up for the idea of America being the policeman of the world. But nonetheless, America has been, and I believe must continue to be, the leader of the free world. And I think the free world needs to be the leader of the entire world. And being a leader of the free world means having clear and defined goals and values, sharing them with other nations.
I think our nation's leadership has been perhaps the greatest source of a national entity's good that you've seen on the world stage, freeing people from tyrants, spreading free enterprise and lifting people out of poverty even in places like China. A great portion of China's strength today is the free enterprise system, which has been borrowed in some respect from our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You can watch the entire exclusive interview with Piers Morgan tonight at 9:00 Eastern. Mitt Romney and his wife only on CNN's "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT."
Conrad Murray, remember him? Well, he sent an invitation from his prison cell to Katherine Jackson three years after her son died. So what's Dr. Murray hoping to accomplish?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Dr. Conrad Murray extends an invitation to Michael Jackson's mother to visit him in prison. Hmm. Say what?
"Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer is joining us from New York. Really?
A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Yes. And I get the feeling, Carol, this is the last thing that Katherine Jackson wants to deal with this month. But Conrad Murray is inviting Katherine to meet him in prison.
He released this statement to CNN through his lawyers. "I have been told she has a desire to speak with me before she departs this life. Seeing she is up in age and in questionable health, and the fact the she is a mother of a very dear departed friend, it would give me great pleasure to sit with her one-on-one and answer any questions she might have."
Now, he thinks a meeting between them would put her at peace, saying he is doing this out of altruistic love, and he doesn't want her to suffer.
Of course, after the week that Katherine has had to deal with, with her family's battles, I'm sure this is not at the top of her to- do list, I'm just guessing. It was those battles that apparently prompted Murray to make this offer earlier this week. He says even though he is not allowed to see the news in jail, he's still heard about what was going on with the Jackson family and he thinks that Katherine appears to be sad.
So, Murray, who's expected to serve at least two years in a Los Angeles County jail, said he would put Katherine Jackson's name on his visitor's list. A representative for Katherine tells CNN that he will present the offer to her, Carol, but doubts she would accept him -- one can certainly understand.
COSTELLO: Yes, definitely so. Just unbelievable.
Thanks, A.J.
HAMMER: You got it.
A.J. will be back with us next hour with more showbiz headlines, including a bad French twist for Madonna. The superstar gets booed in Paris.
And we're learning more details about the U.S. raid on Osama bin Laden's complex. Well, sort of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Was the mission to capture bin Laden or was the mission to kill bin Laden?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a great question. I'm not going to answer it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Our Wolf Blitzer goes one-on-one with the head of U.S. Special Operations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Forty-five minutes past the hour.
Checking our top stories:
New information about the former lab technician accused of infecting patients with hepatitis C. An Arizona hospital fired David Kwiatkowski two years ago after he tested positive for cocaine and marijuana. He is charged with infecting 30 patients at a hospital and possibly thousands more across eight states.
In Money news, Ford is recalling more than 400,000 Escape crossover SUVs because of a problem with the cruise control cable. The cable can get stuck when the gas pedal is pressed almost all the way down, causing unintended acceleration. The recall affects 2001 through 2004 model Escapes with V-6 engines and cruise control.
In weather news, clean up is underway in the Northeast following powerful storms blamed for at least two deaths. Elmira, New York and Brookville, Pennsylvania also reporting possible tornadoes touching down. The storm snapped trees and power lines leaving hundreds of thousands of customers from New York to Ohio without power.
The mission to get Osama bin Laden is said to have been one of the greatest intelligence feats in U.S. military history. And now we're hearing from one of the men in charge. Admiral William McRaven the commander of U.S. Special Operations talked with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in his first interview since that raid. He says the overall mission involved many different agencies, all of them playing key roles to get Osama bin Laden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. WILLIAM MCRAVEN, COMMANDER U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS: Well, first, I will tell you that it was a long process to get there. And -- and our piece of it, the military piece, of kind of what I look at as kind of three components, was probably the easiest aspect of the entire raid.
The two other pieces of this were the CIA's role. And I think when the history is finally written and -- and outlined and exposed on how the CIA determined that bin Laden was there, it will be one of the great intelligence operations in the history of intelligence organizations.
And a tremendous amount of that credit goes to Director Leon Panetta at the time because he built the right team. He had the right people. He made some very gutsy calls. And he was not concerned about who got the credit.
And so when you take a look at how he built that team, which was a military and intelligence team, tremendous amount of credit goes to the agency.
And the other piece of this really is the President and his national security team. I've made it very clear to people, again -- the military piece of this, we did I think 11 other raids that evening in Afghanistan.
Now, I don't want to diminish the nature of this raid. It was a little bit more sporting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: He was a charming guy. We also learned that sometimes difficult to get all the answers we want from people who are in the military, but Wolf Blitzer gave it the old college try on just what exactly the mission was. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE SITUATION ROOM": You didn't have 100 percent knowledge. The President didn't have 100 percent knowledge that bin Laden was holed up in that compound. Did you have 80 percent, 50 percent? Give me a ballpark. How -- how -- how confident were you that a tall guy was hiding out in that compound?
MCRAVEN: Well, again, I'm not going to address the tactical piece of that. Suffice to say we were not sure he was there. And again, that gets back to some tough decisions that were made.
My job was to get him if he was there. If he wasn't there, we would know that pretty quickly, and our intent was to get up and get out.
BLITZER: I suspect you're not going to want to answer this question, but I'll ask it anyhow. And as the Admiral and I know, we just spent some quality time together, this is the United States of America. We can ask the questions. He doesn't have to answer them. But we can ask the questions.
And I think it's an important question that, at least I have always been very, very curious about.
Was the mission to capture bin Laden, or was the mission to kill bin Laden?
MCRAVEN: You know, it's a great question. I'm not going to answer it.
BLITZER: All right. But there were contingencies this guy would be brought out in a helicopter and brought somewhere?
MCRAVEN: Do they teach you this, to do the end around (ph) when the first question doesn't work? BLITZER: Yes just trying to make sure, you know. You don't want to discuss that?
MCRAVEN: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I'm telling you I watched the whole interview. It was unbelievable.
If you want to see more, CNN.com is the place to go. And Wolf, you did a great job. And wow.
Could a Swiss tennis star have a home-court advantage in the Olympics? Quite possibly, if your name is Roger Federer and you're playing at Wimbledon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We asked you to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning it's a tough one. "Where was God in Aurora?"
This from Todd. "Same place he was in the Holocaust. In the hearts of every human being waiting to be listened to."
This from Alfie, "God is pure love. Sometimes his children require tough love to teach lessons, to open our eyes to our wrongs and how we've strayed from his teachings. I think Aurora was an example of God's tough love."
This from Amanda. "God was not there because God doesn't exist. It's a man-made creation to comfort people about things they don't understand or frighten them."
This from Pam, "If the survivor O'Farrill believes he survived because he prayed then is he concluding the dead victims failed to pray? Perhaps they were not believers so that's the reason they died?"
This from Tashana, "God did not cause this to happen. God is good. Anything that's bad is not God. Why would God do this? Read the Bible. God loves us."
This from Rick. "I'll tell you where he wasn't -- in the heart of the gunman. God's only act is to love and in doing so to show forth his glory. God was and is crying about that horrible act of human free will along with the rest of us."
Please keep the conversation going. Facebook.com/CarolCNN. More of your responses in the next hour of NEWSROOM.
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COSTELLO: This just in to CNN. Facebook stock tanking on the NASDAQ following good news about their earnings. Maribel Aber is at the New York Stock Exchange. Why is the stock taking such a hit today?
MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Carol.
You know what; the general sentiment really seems to be good but not good enough. It's really they did beat a bit but investors and Wall Street were not satisfied. Everyone has really been waiting to see how shares would open and the stock right now is down about 14 percent.
You know, revenues rose 32 percent beating expectations but Facebook's first profit report since going public shows that growth is slowing. Now, spending is rising here. Facebook says its attempt to make money from mobile phone advertising is starting to pay off, but analysts wanted more details of how it will actually boost revenue.
Even though the earnings were in line with estimates there are lots of concerns including whether Facebook is spending too much money. Facebook's expenses nearly quadrupled from a year ago because of some major acquisitions.
And then Carol, on top of that we often talk about how forward guidance is almost just as importance as earnings themselves. The fact that Facebook didn't give any, well Carol, that's the huge disappointment there.
COSTELLO: Maribel Aber reporting live from the New York Stock Exchange. Thanks.
For the fourth time in his illustrious career Roger Federer will play in the Olympics. It's only fitting that Federer returns to London, the venue Wimbledon. It's a special place for him.
Just a few weeks ago Federer won his seventh title at the all- England club, but he says that is not an advantage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER FEDERER, SWISS TENNIS PLAYER: It's not easier. It probably makes it a tiny bit tougher because for those who don't know in Wimbledon we play seven matches specific sets. Here we play five matches best of three and then the only finalists best of five. So that puts the margins more closer to each other I believe.
And if it would have been best of three in Wimbledon I would have third round against (inaudible) because I was down two sets, two love. So it just goes to show that here now obviously a bad five minutes or a bad couple of points can cost you the tournament. I'm aware of that but I do believe winning Wimbledon three weeks ago is going to help me with my confidence and my game to really do well here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Federer is considered the favorite to win the gold. Last year he lost in the quarterfinals or the last Olympics I should say. The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.
Happening now in the NEWSROOM, fast food firestorm, the targeted anger and supposing support for Chick-Fil-A intensifying this morning. Several major cities now telling the chain to stay out of town.
Straight ahead, hear from the Philadelphia councilman who wrote a letter to the company saying take a hike and your intolerance with you.
Blunderful in Britain. Mitt Romney within 24 hours manages to make headlines with foot-in-mouth comments that offended the prime minister, the London mayor. "The Daily Mail" saying he is devoid of charm and a wazzock. This morning Team Romney in full damage control.
Heat wave or global warming? A massive ice melt in Greenland not cooling the climate talk this morning. Ahead Bill Nye the Science Guy on what NASA is calling an unprecedented event.
Swimming showdown. Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, the duel in the pool on fire as America watches and waits. We are just hours away from the opening ceremonies. London making last-minute checks as the athletes get ready. Team America in red, white, and blue. Let's get (inaudible).
NEWSROOM begins right now.
