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New TV Apology for Rape Comment; Lavish Government Party and Taxpayer Money; Diana Nyad's Journey Cut Short; Augusta National Admits First Two Women; Hispanics Largest Minority on Campus; Packaging a Potential President

Aired August 21, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You've got that right. Hello, Soledad.

Happening right now in the NEWSROOM, asking for forgiveness. Todd Akin in a new ad just out overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TODD AKIN (R), MISSOURI: Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way, and for that I apologize. The fact is, rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is, rape has many victims.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: An olive branch as the clock ticks, a deadline just hours away for the Republican from Missouri to stay in the race or drop out.

Rough seas. Sixty-two-year-old powerhouse swimmer Diana Nyad battling storms, severe sun burn, and jelly fish. Her journey from Cuba to the Florida Keys cut short this morning.

"I knew we would outlast them." The woman who has led the charge for Augusta National to admit women speaking out. This morning Martha Burke live on the on the course correction and why she thinks Condoleezza Rice and a financier from South Carolina were chosen.

Plus, this.

That's awesome. What a night. A no-hitter in the Little League World Series. Fairfield Americans shutting out Newcastle, Indiana. Star pitcher Will Lucas making headlines this Tuesday morning.

NEWSROOM begins right now.

And good Tuesday morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for choosing us.

We begin with the congressman begging for forgiveness. Missouri Republican Todd Akin admits he blundered in this interview when he spouted off on abortion and what he called legitimate rape. Republican leaders just want him to go away. They're demanding he drop out of his race challenging Senator Claire McCaskill, an incumbent Democrat they consider vulnerable. Akin is refusing to do that and is taking his case straight to the voters in a new TV ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AKIN: I'm todd akin, and I approved this message.

Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way, and for that I apologize. As the father of two daughters, I want tough justice for predators. I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault. And I pray for them. The fact is, rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is, rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said. Not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Dana Bash is our senior congressional correspondent. She's in Washington.

Dana, this sounds like the man who's not going to quit.

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It sure does. And, boy, is that not making Republicans here in Washington, frankly all across the country, happy. They are still really hoping that by the end of business today, that Congressman Akin does withdraw.

I'm told that privately Republican leaders have all but begged him to step aside for the good of the party and they're saying to him for his own political future. Publicly, I think what's noteworthy is that it's not just the Republican establishment, the Republican chair and other top leaders. It's also a coalition of Republicans that don't necessarily agree. Tea Party leaders, conservative radio hosts, columnists. They all say that -- that they think he should leave.

And I'm told by Republican sources to expect more pressure like that today. And I've got to tell you one thing that some sources told me that I thought was interesting is that they're frustrated not just because this could cost them a Senate seat and also taking control of the Senate in November, it's also that they didn't want him in the first place, the Republicans. They wanted others.

But he is the one who won the Republican primary. They went to him privately and said, look, you're going to be under the microscope. You can't say things that are going to be lightning rods. And that's what he did.

COSTELLO: Well, there's a 6:00 Eastern deadline, so I guess he -- but he says he's not going to quit. So does it really matter?

BASH: Well, the deadline for him to quit without any penalty is 6:00 tonight. But he could still quit anytime between today and September 25th. That could come, though, with legal and procedural and really financial hurdles, Carol.

Missouri's secretary of state, who is a Democrat, could challenge the withdrawal, and he would have to pay for reprinting of the ballot without his name on it. So it would be a lot more difficult. Doable, a lot more difficult, though, if he doesn't do it on his own by 6:00 Eastern tonight.

COSTELLO: Well, I know you're going to stick with this story. Dana Bash reporting live from Capitol Hill this morning, or from Washington, I should say.

Right about now, Todd Akin needs a friend, and he is getting one, although one with questionable motives. Senator Claire McCaskill, the incumbent Democrat, Akin is trying to unseat, says her hobbled rival should be allowed to stay in the race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: Congressman Akin and I disagree on some things, but he is sincere, and while I disagreed with what he said, he has now just in the last few hours really apologized for what he said. And I think what's startling to me is that these party big wigs are coming down on him and saying that he needs to kick sand in the face of the Republican primary voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: McCaskill says she actually has sympathy for Akin and the way his party has turned against him. But one truth remains. Akin's admitted blunder is almost certain to give McCaskill a boost in the polls and possibly in fundraising.

Now we turn to your tax dollars. In a new outrage over how that money is spent. First a painful refresher course. Remember how the GSA got blasted for squandering money on a lavish conference and a goofy video that laughed in the face of taxpayers?

Who could forget the clown? Well, we're finding out this conference by the Department of Veterans Affairs may be worse by almost any measure. The GSA shindig in Vegas cost about $800,000 and outraged both parties. But CNN is learning these VA conferences may have cost more than six times that, $5 million in all.

Of that, $84,000 of your money was spent on swag, things like branded items like pens and highlighters and hand sanitizers. And then there's the 52,000 bucks doled out for an 18-minute video. Unlike the cheesy clown sketch we just saw, this parody video was shot by pros from the private sector.

Darrell Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has been demanding answers for months and has set a new deadline for next Monday.

Barbara Starr is working her sources at the Pentagon. So, oh, this is -- what more can you tell us, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is really all of course over the Department of Veterans Affairs, and we are told that the VA also is investigating this entire episode. It was actually two conferences in July and August in Orlando, about 1800 people apiece attended each of the conferences. It was what they call a human resources conference. These are the people that the VA has that engage in hiring of other people. Mental health professionals, people to help wounded veterans and veterans get jobs once they come out of the military.

By all accounts, the conference itself had a legitimate purpose. The question, though, is, was it worth $5 million? And as Congressman Issa just -- as you just pointed out, all the things that Congressman Issa said money was spent on.

This is part of what the VA is investigating. And the secretary of Veterans Affairs has issued a statement. I want to read it to you. This is Eric Shinseki. And it says, quote, "Secretary Shinseki has informed key members of Congress and will hold accountable any individuals who are found to have misused taxpayer dollars or violated our standards of conduct. While an IG," inspector general, "investigation is underway, VA has taken administrative action to remove contracting authority of any employees in the work unit under investigation."

So until the investigation is complete, no more contracting, no more spending by these guys. The investigation will have to determine whether this was legitimate expenditures. We'll see how it turns out -- Carol.

COSTELLO: You'd think they'd learn after GSA and all the bad publicity attached to that. And how angry taxpayers were.

STARR: Well, you know, President Obama long time ago issued some orders that the federal government needed to stop having some of these conferences with, you know, the giveaways and the freebies and that sort of thing. And to really clamp down on spending. And there is now a much more massive look across the federal government, what are all these conferences about that the federal government puts on for its work force, and are they really using taxpayer dollars appropriately and to the correct advantage.

Nobody is disputing that some of the conferences -- some of them -- may be necessary and may be beneficial for the work force. But what is the money really being spent on? And is every dollar being wisely used? That's the question on the table.

COSTELLO: Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon this morning.

A top U.S. military general got to see for himself the dangers facing American troops in Afghanistan. That's after a rocket hit joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey's plane at Bagram airfield outside of Kabul. The plane was empty at the time but shrapnel from the attack left two base workers slightly hurt.

Dempsey made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan yesterday to meet with top commanders amid a spike in so-called insider attacks. He has since left the country on another plane.

Closer to home, Diana Nyad has ended her fourth swimming attempt from Cuba to south Florida. The 62-year-old endurance swimmer has been pulled from the water halfway through her journey. You're looking at exclusive pictures showing the end of her quest to become the first person to swim 103 miles from Havana, Cuba -- to Key West. Those are painful to look at. She was trying to swim all that way without a shark cage. You can see she suffered severe sunburn and swollen lips from jellyfish stings.

And take a look at this map. It shows the last update from her blog on how far she made it before she had to call it quits.

Our medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta is with me now.

And oh, those pictures. They were painful to look at.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's -- and it's not just -- it's not just cosmetic, you know. When you're swimming like that, you can get those stings on your lips and actually in your tongue. And you're trying to -- you know, trying to breathe through your mouth. I mean you can imagine the physical endurance is takes just watching her swim. And it can be actually dangerous from that standpoint as well.

It's sort of what derailed her last time, Carol. You may remember as well, this is further than she's ever made it. Fourth time. First time she tried it she was still in her 20s. She stopped swimming for 30 years, Carol, and then came back in her 60s and said, I'm going to do this. I'm going to be this sort of iconic person for people who are, you know, in their 60s. And -- but 60 miles, 63 hours, just imagine that. 63 hours of swimming.

COSTELLO: Right. I just -- and I can't imagine a jellyfish stinging me on the lips either. That has to be unbelievably painful. We're all worried about sharks. But it's really the jelly fish that did her in a couple of times.

GUPTA: Well, and they took the precautions they could with sharks. Obviously it's -- you know, it's the open water. There's only so much you can do. But I want to show you something really quick with respect to that, they have a special thing called a shark shield. And essentially there's these kayaks that go alongside Diana. And they have these little poles which send out a signal.

And if the signal, you know, sort of detracts the sharks away. Some sharks are still going to swim close by, but that sort of the goal. But you're right. Those jellyfish, box jelly fish things, she wore the special suit this time. You can take a look at the shark video there and how this thing works.

That's it. Diana demonstrated this for us. But those two kayaks essentially sending out that signal, Carol, and that's how the sharks react. You just saw right there.

COSTELLO: So they -- so they need something like that for jellyfish.

(LAUGHTER) GUPTA: I know. You know she turns 63 tomorrow. So hopefully they'll come up with something. She wore the special suit to cover most of her body. The problem is you need your face and obviously your mouth exposed.

COSTELLO: To breathe, right?

GUPTA: Yes.

COSTELLO: Oh my gosh.

GUPTA: Yes.

COSTELLO: The beautiful sight, one of the -- the few beautiful sights of her swim, was the dolphins. They were swimming with her.

GUPTA: Right. Yes.

COSTELLO: That was pretty cool.

GUPTA: It was really neat. There you see some of those dolphins. And obviously much better than the sharks.

(LAUGHTER)

GUPTA: And it was a great, great moment I think for everybody. Obviously, somebody took this video. She burned 700 calories an hour. I did the math, Carol, that's 42,000 calories she burned since 4:00 on Saturday afternoon when she started her swim. She's losing about half a liter of water -- half a liter every half hour.

COSTELLO: Wow.

GUPTA: So you have to replace 120 liters.

You know, it's amazing. Just what she did. Obviously, I know Diana, I have been following her for a couple of years. She's going to be disappointed. She may even say she'll get right back in the water knowing Diana, who knows. But 63 hours in the water. It's incredible.

COSTELLO: Good for her.

GUPTA: Yes.

COSTELLO: I hope she tries again. But I'm starting to feel sorry for her now.

GUPTA: You know, people always say this. In part, it's physical. And this is obviously a really big physical challenge. But mental is such a big part of it. And the things that she would do to keep herself going in the water. She sing herself songs. So something through the night, you don't have any sense of night and day. Her mental fortitude is so strong. Who knows if she'll try it again. But I've never met anybody who's as mentally strong as she is.

COSTELLO: She's amazing.

GUPTA: Yes.

COSTELLO: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Two women are helping Augusta National make a dramatic change in course. They are its newest members. But is it a move that's decades overdue?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Talk about shattering the glass ceiling. Famed Augusta National Golf Club and its all-male membership is now admitting its first two women, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina banking and business executive Darla Moore.

Women across the spectrum were applauding this move. Even President Obama thinks it was too long in coming.

CNN's Mark McKay joins us from Augusta to talk about this history-making move.

So two questions. Why these two women and why now?

MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, we may never know the answer to those two questions. Why and these two women. You know, Augusta National really revolves in a cloak of secrecy. They are a private club. It is their prerogative.

Even the statement Billy Payne -- that Billy Payne, the club chairman, released on Monday didn't give us a whole lot of insight as to why these two women and why now. The statement said in part, that these women share our passion for the game of golf. Both are well known and are respected by our membership.

How large is the membership here at Augusta National? We think it's about 300. How much do the members pay? We think it's $10,000. So there's a lot we don't know.

And perhaps, though, much of the credit for this move, Carol, should go to Billy Payne himself. He became chairman in 2006. But, you remember, he brought and oversaw a very inclusive sporting event a decade earlier. He brought that to Atlanta in 1996, the Olympic Summer Games.

COSTELLO: Just going back to an original question, so was Condoleezza Rice and this other woman trying to get into Augusta? Or did Augusta approach them?

MCKAY: No. Membership was extended to them, and accepted by both women, Carol. And as you said, the reaction was wide ranging not only here in the United States, but around the world as well, with President Obama weighing in, presidential candidate Mitt Romney weighing in. Even the four-time green jacket winner, Masters champion Tiger Woods, saying it is a decision that is important to golf.

And, of course, we did hear from both women as well. Condoleezza Rice saying, "I have visited Augusta National on several occasions. I look forward to playing golf, renewing friendships, and forming new ones through this special opportunity."

And Darla Clark said, "I'm fortunate to have many friends who are members at Augusta National. So to be asked to join them as a member represents a very happy and important occasion in my life."

There will be another happy and important occasion in both of their lives when they are presented with their green jackets here at Augusta National this fall, Carol.

COSTELLO: Mark McKay, reporting live from Augusta this morning. Thanks.

U.S. colleges are seeing a big jump in enrollment along a certain minority, and more of them are earning degrees.

(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: will Representative Todd Akin's legitimate rape comment hurt Mitt Romney? The Missouri congressman is not going away, at least not yet. Akin says he's no quitter, and he'll continue his run for the U.S. Senate.

Republicans are not happy. The Republican national chair on CNN's "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIRMAN: Listen, what he said, Erin, was biologically stupid. It's something that nobody on either side of the aisle agrees with. It's a bizarre statement. And it's something that I think he needs to seriously think about.

And like I said, if it was me, I would step aside and let someone else run for that office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But Democrats are eager to tie Mitt Romney's running mate to Akin's bizarre statement. They say Congressman Paul Ryan worked closely with Mr. Akin to pass laws that would ban abortions in all cases, and even narrow the definition of rape to forcible rape -- a term Mr. Akin told Mike Huckabee he actually meant to say.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE: What did you mean by "legitimate rape"? Were you attempting to say forcible rape, or was that just -- where did that come from?

REP. TODD AKIN (R), MISSOURI: Well, yes, I was talking about forcible rape. And it was absolutely the wrong word. Yes.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Paul Ryan believes abortion is wrong, even if a woman is raped. Mitt Romney believes rape and incest victims have a right to an abortion. And keep in mind it's Romney who would be president.

Talk back question today: will Akin's legitimate rape comment hurt Romney? Facebook.com/CarolCNN, Facebook.com/CarolCNN, your comments later this hour.

Now to a first on our nation's campuses. Hispanics are now the largest minority enrolled in colleges. And the rise has been impressive, from about 3 percent in 1972 to nearly 17 percent last year.

Joining me now is Rafael Romo, CNN's senior Latin American affairs editor.

That is incredible. That's an incredible jump.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: It is just an incredible number in the last 39 years. It went from 2.9 percent to 16.5 percent. That's more than a fivefold increase. But that reflects basically the growth of the Hispanic population. Most of these kids are not necessarily immigrants themselves. They were kids born in the United States, American citizens. And now, they are reflecting the growth of this population.

So no big surprise there, although it may surprise a lot of people listening to us this morning.

COSTELLO: I think so. So are colleges having to adjust, or are these just like American kids who happen to have Hispanic parents?

ROMO: Not necessarily. Some have done it. But the reality is that sooner or later they will have to, because not only are Hispanics 16.5 percent of all college students, but when you take a look at numbers from public grammar schools, the percentage is more like a quarter, 25 percent of all kids. So that means in the next few decades, you're going to have that percentage going to increase at least to that number, to 24 percent, to 25 percent, if not more.

COSTELLO: OK. So a lot of people are wondering what's the secret? Because this is great for the Hispanic population, that so many kids are choosing to go to college.

ROMO: Well, the reality is that it's only reflecting what's happening in terms of population. This is not like all of a sudden this group is going to explode. It's just a reflection of the more than 50 million Hispanics that live in this country, which are also 16.5 percent of the population.

So for many, many decades, it was a very difficult barrier for Hispanics to get to college. And now, for the first time ever, they are on pace with the numbers that they reflect in the general population. That's simply what's happening here.

COSTELLO: Rafael Romeo, thanks so much.

ROMO: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Letting off a little steam off a tough exam is a time-honored college tradition, especially at West Virginia University. According to a survey by the "Princeton Review," West Virginia is the biggest party school in the entire country. And the Mountaineers also came in first in the lots of beer category.

If you are wondering if your school made this list of top five, the Mountaineers were followed by the University of Iowa, Ohio University, the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Georgia.

West Virginia University says the list has absolutely no merit.

In less than a week, Mitt Romney will step on this million dollar stage. It's actually a multimillion dollar stage, to accept the Republican Party's nomination for president. But it's not just the stage that Republicans want voters to see. It's a whole different Mitt Romney. We'll tell you how the design of the stage enters into Romney's image.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: U.S. stocks poised to open higher today on hopes of some progress on the European financial crisis. Just moments ago, Joseph Barrato rang the opening bell. He is the CEO and founder of Arrow Investment Advisers.

You know who Alison Kosik is. She's live at the New York Stock Exchange, with an early look at the market.

Hi, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. It looks like stocks are modestly higher in the first few seconds of the trading day. Look, it's going to be another quiet summer session.

But there is one stock on the move. But it's moving the wrong way. I'm talking about Best Buy. Best Buy is tanking, about 10 percent right now. Because Best Buy reported quarterly profits that fell short of forecasts and even stopped giving guidance about the future because it's not sure what's going to happen in the second half of the year.

This is a company in a whole lot of trouble right now. Sales fell in eight of the last nine quarters.

What seems to be happening here, Carol, is that customers are using Best Buy as a showroom. You know, people are going in there and trying out the products but ultimately they're walking out, not buying anything there, but they're buying those products online for a better price. That certainly doesn't bring in the money -- Carol.

COSTELLO: No. That's what I do, though.

KOSIK: I know.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about your 401(k), because the government is going to require all those hidden fees that people probably didn't even know about to be listed. Tell us about that.

KOSIK: Exactly. And that's the thing. It's like a big surprise. Surprise that you know that you do pay fees when you have a 401(k). So what's going to happen is you're going to get this new information about these fees in two phases. So if you're in a 401(k), you're going to get an annual. And you'll get a quarterly statement about your investments.

Now, the first statement should show up in your mailbox at the end of this month. And what's going to be on it will include details about how your plan is structured. Plus, a current list of investment options. Also, you'll get some performance data with comparisons to how the broader market performed.

Now, phase two is going to come in October. That's when the quarterly statements come. And what these are going to have is actually going to lay out all the administrative and investment fees that you pay to whoever is servicing your 401(k). But, Carol, one thing this won't do, you're not going to be able to compare these fees that you're paying to other employers' 401(k) fees.

But on the plus side of this, you know, you're going to be able to get more information about the fees you're paying, something we didn't get before -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That is a plus. Alison Kosik, thanks so much.

Other stories we're watching right now in THE NEWSROOM:

President Barack Obama sends a stern warning to Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change my calculus. That would change my equation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And the president says that could provoke a military response. In the meantime, opposition activists say that 30 people have been killed across Syria today, 150 killed yesterday.

In Afghanistan, shrapnel from two rockets damaged the plane America's top military officer, General Martin Dempsey, was about to fly in. Martin Dempsey is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was in his room at the time. He was unharmed.

Two base maintenance workers were slightly hurt. Dempsey left on a different plane.

Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, has lost his latest court battle. A federal judge dismissed his lawsuit aimed at stopping the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's case against them. Armstrong is accused of using, possessing, and giving others performance-enhancing drugs.

In Florida right now, the RNC platform committee chairmen are meeting on what it means to be a Republican. The group is working to define the party's platform on key issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, and national security before the Republican National Convention begins next week.

CNN obtained exclusive platform draft language on their position on abortion at least. This is what it says, "We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment protections apply to unborn children."

Republicans are also planning a grand old show for their national convention. The RNC has now revealed its grand stage for 2012. It's a doozy.

The reportedly $2.5 million setup includes 13 -- count them -- 13 wood framed video screens. I mean, giant video screens, surrounding an intimate stage for Mitt Romney's primetime acceptance speech. His image team members hope it will showcase an open, more approachable potential president.

And "Adweek" magazine staff writer Charlie Warzel is here.

Charlie, welcome.

CHARLIE WARZEL, ADWEEK MAGAZINE, WRITER: Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: OK. So, you know how important staging is.

Tell everyone else how important staging is, even for Republicans at a convention.

WARZEL: Well, it's an incredibly important moment for Mitt Romney, for Republicans, and really what I think they are trying to do is be able to control the message as best they can in the micro- managed way that, you know, the campaigns have been about this entire cycle.

And so, this is an opportunity where Mitt Romney is going to be standing in front of, you know, supporters and delegates. He's not going to have to be debating anyone like he will in October with Barack Obama. This is a very accepting stage for him to lay out the platform and present that to a group of people who are seeing this maybe for the first time. There's a lot of people around the country who aren't following this race as obsessively as, say, you or me or, you know, politicos around the country.

So this is an opportunity for him to come into those homes. And they need to make sure they have this message down to a T and they project the exact image they want of the candidate.

COSTELLO: OK. So "The New York Times" is reporting Republicans brought in producers from Broadway, the control rooms of NBC, and the design studios that created the sleek sets for Oprah Winfrey and Jon Stewart. I mean, this sounds more like the Oscars than a convention.

Is that a good idea?

WARZEL: Well, you know, it's kind of just indicative of the way that, you know, politics has been playing out. You know, if you look at just the way that debate sets have been in all the primary debates. The ante is upped every year. People are trying to find new and different ways to make this fun and engaging.

You know, politics is something like I said earlier that a lot of people in the country only pay a small amount of attention to.

So if you can try to find a way to integrate social media, to, you know, have 13 screens, one that is, you know, nearly 30 feet, you know --

COSTELLO: Tall?

WARZEL: It really brings people into the experience in a way. And they have to make sure that people aren't going to change the channel. Networks are covering this far less than they have in the past.

COSTELLO: Let me ask you this question. It's going to be in a big room. You'll have these giant screens. But they'll be framed in wood.

The goal here is to make Mitt Romney appear warmer. So if you create a warm space, does that necessarily translate into a warmer seeming candidate?

WARZEL: You know, I think it's an effort to just control absolutely every facet of this entire process. I don't know necessarily that having a staircase that looks like a staircase you might have in your house that slopes down to the audience will actually make people say, hey, Mitt Romney is, you know, my kind of guy, and he is a normal kind of person.

I think, though, that it's an attempt to make sure that every still image that was taken from these conventions, you know, every single frame of video, fits exactly how they want Mitt Romney to be projected.

I know that they're going to bring in some scenes for the first time talking about his religion. And being a Mormon for the first time. And, you know, it's an ability to in a very controlled environment tailor and craft this message exactly the way they want to do it.

I don't know necessarily that, you know, people are going to say, hey, that looks like my house, and, you know, this is a -- you know, this is really -- this is a down-to-earth candidate. But at the same time, it really helps people -- it really helps the Republicans make sure that nothing is going to slip out there, you know, and every moment in still frame won't be taken out of context. This is an important moment for him.

COSTELLO: Sure is. Charlie Warzel, thank you for being with us this morning.

WARZEL: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: It's been all-male for 80 years. But for the first time, women are going to get some green jackets at the home of the Masters. We'll talk to the woman who helped bring about this big change at Augusta.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Forty-two minutes past the hour. Checking our top stories now, the Transportation Department slaps Orbitz with a fine of 50,000 bucks for not properly displaying baggage fees. Previously, customers booking flights had to scroll to the bottom of the page to see the charges, and that is a violation of the DOT's mandate for clear and prominent fee information.

The federal appeals court blocks parts of Alabama and Georgia's immigration laws. Alabama tried to make it illegal for an undocumented worker to hold a job. Georgia wanted to make hiding an illegal immigrant a crime.

The court denied the provisions but said police can check the citizenship of criminal suspects.

You can see the effects of the drought on the Mississippi river. It is so low in places that an 11-mile stretch of the river near Greenville, Mississippi, is now closed. That is stranding barges and large boats. The Army Corps of Engineers says the low water is too dangerous, even as it continues dredging the river's shipping channel.

Try and try again. But the result is sadly the same for endurance swimmer Diana Nyad. This morning she had to end her fourth attempt to swim from Cuba to the Florida keys. These are new pictures of Diana ending her journey. Nyad's effort was cut short by severe jelly fish stings to her lips and a lightning storm.

Gusts of wind forces an ultra light plane into some trees as the pilot was trying to land at a local airport in Lago Vista, Texas. John Rudd's only injury: a cut on his thumb. This is the second time he has crashed into some trees.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The home of the Masters tournament will now have something it has never, ever, ever had -- female members. The club admitted former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina's millionaire businesswoman Darla Moore. Activists protested a decade ago, bringing international attention to the club's all-male policy before the Masters 2003 tournament.

Martha Burk led that movement and she joins us now. Good morning.

MARTHA BURK, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So I just went online and I just wondered what people were saying about you, let's say back in 2006. This is from a blog called "Travel Golf". It says, "How low can Martha Burk go? She's already become the least effective activist of all time. It's so bad for Burk that Hootie Johnson's replacement, Billy Payne, is effectively outright mocking her. When Payne received a letter from Burk requesting a meeting to discuss Augusta National's men-only membership stand he did everything but laugh at her publicly."

So -- so that's 2006 and today, two women members at Augusta. So how are you feeling today?

BURK: Well, I feel vindicated, obviously. If we hadn't raised it almost 10 years ago, it wouldn't be happening now. And we know that. I think it's a great victory for the U.S. Women's movement, all the women that stood behind and with me, including some members of Congress and people from around the world.

The sports journalists were very much a part of this as well, because they helped make it an issue. And it paid off. It paid off for women.

And as far as Billy Payne is concerned, well, you know, too bad, Billy, you had to change your mind, didn't you?

COSTELLO: Why do you think he changed his mind? Because he didn't have to.

BURK: Well, I think he did. I think history overtook him basically. We were successful. And by that I mean the women who raised this and kept it alive and we did do that in the courts. It hasn't been reported very widely, but we did.

Anyway, you know, 10 years ago, it was about, well, isn't this a private club, can't they do what they want to and so forth.

Now it's about sex discrimination. And it's a lot harder for them to defend outright sex discrimination which is how the public now views it so times have changed. We know we were a part of that and he had to change along with it. I think the companies involved, could no longer stone wall either. You know with the new CEO of IBM being female and that was a great embarrassment both to the club and to IBM itself the way she was treated this past April and they couldn't do a repeat performance of that. COSTELLO: Oh yes because normally they would make the sponsor a member but they couldn't because they didn't admit women. So let's talk about though, the two women that Augusta did admit. They don't live in Georgia. They live in other states. Does that mean anything?

BURK: No. It's the same with the men. The men live all over the country, mostly in Fortune 500 corporations. So these women are of equal stature with the men who are already members. I am delighted with the women that were chosen. Because I think one from public policy, one from business was a good choice. They are both groundbreakers in their own right quite apart from golf. And they know when they are making historic change. They've already done it. And I think they are just excellent choices.

COSTELLO: So when do you think that more women will be admitted? Not for a while?

BURK: This is a big question and the club needs to answer it and answer it pretty quickly because what they have done with the African- American men that were admitted some 12, 15 years ago when the controversy was raised, is they've marginalized those men. They still have only two or three members that are African-American. I hope that does not happen with the women. I don't want to see these women tokenized. They certainly deserve much better than that.

And that's going to be up to the club and the members that are already there, the men, need to see that that does not happen because I think it would be a very sad statement and it would -- it would be greatly disrespectful of these two very prominent women.

COSTELLO: Martha Burk, thanks for sharing your thoughts this morning.

BURK: Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: We have been asking you to respond on one of the big stories of the day. Will Congressman Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" comment hurt Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney? Your responses after a break.

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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: Will Congressman Todd Akin's "legitimate rape" comment hurt Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney?

This from Steve, "If Biden's mega gaffes aren't enough to derail the Obama train then this, too, shall pass."

This from Bill, "Already has in my estimate. His words have set the Republican Party back to the 50's, the 1850s."

This from Tim, "No, who else are values voters going to vote for? Obama? Gary Johnson and the libertarians? The green party?"

This from Ivan, "Akin's comment just sank the Republican Party. Akin's not sorry. He's sorry he got called out."

And this from Kyle, "Simply put, no."

Facebook.com/CarolCNN if you want to continue the conversation. More of your responses in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

You can fight city hall and you better not enter the ring with Nevada secretary of state -- he's the guy in the white trunk. He joins us in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

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