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RNC Faces Threats From Man, Nature; Feds Warn Of Anarchist Bombers; Florida, Caribbean Brace For Isaac; Defiant Akin Digs In, Won't Quit; "Rape" Flap Imperils Women's Vote; Fewer Middle Class Americans Today; Lennon's Killer Denied Parole; Former Penn State President Speaks Out; Forbes Reveals "Most Powerful Women"; Mars Rover Passes Driving Test; Romney's Black Support; Campaign Fact Check; Tampa Set to Rake in RNC Cash; New Phone App Checks the Facts; LL Cool J Takes Down Burglar; Taylor Swift Crashes Kennedy Wedding

Aired August 23, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM. Isaac isn't the only threat to the Republican National Convention in Tampa. Police now fear anarchists could crash the party.

Political ads on television and on radio, but how can you tell which ads are true? Well, there is an app for that. We'll put it to the test.

And nine months after being raped, she gave birth to a baby girl. Now Shauna Prewitt says she is fighting her attacker and ignorance.

She will join us live to respond to Congressman Todd Akin's controversial rape comments and tell us why eight years later, she is still battling her attacker.

NEWSROOM begins right now.

Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining us. Right now, we're going to take a look at the double trouble looming over the Republican National Convention.

One is an approaching storm and the other is a potential terror plot to bomb bridges and other infrastructure in Tampa. CNN has obtained a warning from the feds.

It says, anarchists extremists could be planning bomb attacks across the region. CNN's Martin Savidge has details on this rather unsettling development.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is based upon an intelligence bulletin that's been put out by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. It is aimed at local law enforcement. Essentially it gives them a head's up.

And it's not just for Tampa, it's also for Charlotte where the Democrats are going to be gathering in a couple of weeks as well. And this is the thing. There is information that the FBI says it obtained that in March.

It got wind that some anarchists were planning to head on down to Tampa Bay and try to shutdown the traffic on the bay area bridges. Of course, that would be a huge disruption not only for the traffic in general even emergency responders trying to get to and from parts of the city.

Then on top of that, a more troubling aspect, talk of the possible use of IEDs. Now we are all familiar with those from places like Iraq and Afghanistan. An IED is essentially a homemade bomb. Could they be used? Yes, they could be used. Will they be used?

The intel doesn't go that far. It just says that law enforcement needs to be aware. So we want to keep this in the right perspective here. We also know how these anarchist groups work with the International Monetary Fund meetings and things like that.

Also the Republican convention in Minnesota so lessons in the past and intel from the spring. Law enforcement says be aware down there and these local law enforcement are --

COSTELLO: They are talking about a huge security force in place for the Republican National Convention.

SAVIDGE: They will. This is basically -- what you should be aware of local law enforcement is to watch out for things like maybe groups you've heard of that are increasing weapons training in some way, shape or form.

Or somebody has been going out and buying large quantities of material that could be used for explosive devices. Local law enforcement would already be aware, but it never hurts to be told and reinforced again.

COSTELLO: Martin Savidge there. Weather permitting, CNN's live coverage of the Republican National Convention from Tampa begins Monday night at 7:00 Eastern.

Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett and Candy Crowley will join Wolf Blitzer to lead coverage along with our chief national correspondent, John King. He'll be at the magic wall, Monday night on CNN.

Let's turn to the threat of weather now hanging over the Republican's biggest event in four years. Just a few days before it is kicked off, will a storm named Isaac crash the grand ole party? This morning, Florida is scrambling and bracing for the unknown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: Isaac is a unique storm in this regard. It has the potential to threaten a major convention designated a national security event. That is why I have convened local, state, federal and convention officials for a twice daily briefing.

The goal is to make sure everyone has the best information available and a complete picture of the situation. Everything needed to make a good decision. These officials have been working together to plan the convention for the past 18 months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Meteorologist Rob Marciano is tracking the approaching storm. So what are the chances, Rob?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, still given how far out the storm is and its current state, Carol, the chances of a direct hit are still pretty low. That said, it is in the cone of uncertainty as far as the forecast is concerned.

But let's go over the obstacles that Isaac has to go through. Right now, it is just a tropical storm of 40-mile-an-hour winds. Actually it decreased somewhat in intensity, but it's got a big circulation. It's got a lot of water to contend with here to tap into.

So we think it's going to intensify. The island of Hispaniola will be hit hard with potentially hurricane force winds and heavy rainfall. And you're talking about a country that has hundreds of thousands of people with question of shelter that's going to be an issue potentially with mudslides.

So here is the forecast track from the National Hurricane Center. It does intensifies it and bring it over Hispaniola and notably right over Port-Au-Prince, Haiti during the day on Friday and then again on Saturday.

And then likely knocking a little bit of its punch because these are very mountainous areas, it takes some of the steam out of it. So what shape will it be in when it re-emerges in the Florida straits and potentially in the Gulf of Mexico Sunday night until Monday?

That is really unknown as well and then when it gets into the eastern Gulf of Mexico, how much is it going to strengthen? But notice the forecast track does bring in very, very close to Tampa. If this makes a dive to the right, it is a direct hit with Category One status.

And what happens then? Well, if they get a direct hit with Category One status, this is the look at the evacuation map in Tampa. This is where the convention is, the red, which includes the convention on the border that is evacuation mandatory for a Category One storm or higher.

That is what they are planning for potentially, Carol. But again, for the stars to come in at the right angle at the right speed is still pretty far off for that to happen. So keep your fingers crossed. There is still a lot of hope to get this thing shoot away. Unfortunately, it looks like there will be a major impact somewhere in the U.S. -- Carol.

COSTELLO: We'll still keep our fingers crossed for everyone. Rob Marciano, thanks so much.

Republicans being lash by another kind of storm. This one whipped up by the ill chosen words of embattled Congressman Todd Akin. He will not budge from the Missouri Senate race even though top Republicans are begging him to quit.

The Republican's gaffe, well, is it the Democrats gain? They are certainly making hay of it. Last night, President Obama cashed in at a New York fundraiser saying.

Quote, "Recently, some of you have been paying attention to the commentary about the lawmaker from Missouri, Mr. Akin, who -- the interesting thing here is that this is an individual on the sits on House Committee on Science and Technology. But somehow missed science class and it's representative of the desire to go backwards instead of forward in fighting fights that we thought were settled 30 years ago," end quote.

For Republicans, the offensive words are no laughing matter when it comes to a key segment of voters. Our senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, has been talking to Republican women about this. What are they saying, Dana?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Republicans across the board, men and women, are worried, really worried. That this will simply repel female voters especially in the key swing states and especially suburban women in those states who may be fiscally conservative, but support abortion rights.

I talked to Anne Stone. She heads a group -- of GOP women for abortion rights and she told that one of the problems as they looked back over the years is that women tend to be late deciders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNE STONE, REPUBLICANS FOR CHOICE: The Republicans don't know even what women want. They are gender blind and I would say gender stupid when it comes to dealing with women and women's policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now it is not just socially liberal Republicans who are concerned about the impact of Todd Akin's legitimate rape comment (inaudible) anti-abortion GOP women are, too.

I talked to Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn. She was actually the co-chair of the GOP Platform Committee that approved the plank opposing abortion without exception for rape. But even she told me Republicans need to do better with women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: We have some very articulate accomplished women who are elected officials at the local, state and federal level. They have all shown the ability to lead and I think what people are wanting to do is to see women step forward and take a more prominent leadership role in our party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, Carol, Republican sources that I've been talking to over the past several days about this certainly are frustrated that they were not successful given all of the pressure they put on Akin to get him out of the race.

But they hope they were at least successful in separating Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and the rest of the Republicans from him to make him look like an out liar and to make clear to the women voters that they don't believe in what he said.

COSTELLO: Which is kind of hard to do -- didn't Republicans back him in his run for the U.S. Senate? They are not backing him now, but they gave him money to run.

BASH: You know, interestingly, he was the last choice for Republican leaders. They had hoped that other Republicans who were running against him in the primary -- they preferred those two over him.

That is actually one of the reasons, I'm told, why he has his heels dug in because they never backed him in the first place. So why should he listen to them now?

COSTELLO: Dana Bash reporting from Washington. Thanks so much.

The economy, yes, that is the top issue among voters. Today's middle class is fewer, poorer and gloomier than a decade ago. That's according to the Pew Research Center.

Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange to break down these new numbers for us. Hi, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. You know, this kind of feeds up that question of, are you better or worse off than you were 10 years ago? And chances are, if you are middle class, your answer is most likely because -- it's most likely that you're worse off because of the recession.

And now there is some new evidence of just how hard the middle class families in this country are getting hit. Pew Research found that median income fell by 5 percent between the years of 2000 and 2010 as household wealth or net worth fell by more than 45 percent.

Meantime, you look at median wealth for the upper income group that stayed about the same. Also 85 percent of middle class people who were surveyed said it is more difficult for them to maintain the standard of living compared to 10 years ago. Pew is going to so far to call this the lost decade of the middle class -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And who do people blame for this, Alison?

KOSIK: Yes, number one on the list, Congress. And you know what? It doesn't matter if you are a Democrat. It doesn't matter if you're a Republican. You blame Congress for screwing with your net worth, for your loss of net worth.

Coming in at a close second, financial institutions and large corporations, also interesting, 44 percent blame the Bush administration while 34 percent blame the Obama administration.

But before I depress you even more, there is a silver lining to this survey. It showed that respondents put the blame for their reduced wealth, they're putting in the past and they feel cautiously optimistic about their futures.

If you want more on this study, go ahead and watch "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" this weekend at 9:30 on Saturday morning. They are also going to be talking about what it means for the presidential election -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Alison Kosik reporting live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Are there really no African-Americans voters backing Mitt Romney? That is what a new NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll says zero support, but is that really accurate? Black conservatives are not so happy about this poll. We'll talk to one next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: This just in to CNN. Moments ago, we learned that the New York Parole Board has denied freedom to the man convicted of killing John Lennon that happened 32 years ago.

It was the seventh parole hearing for the now 57-year-old Mark David Chapman. His next scheduled parole appearance will be August of 2014. The attorneys for Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, once again asked the parole board to deny Chapman's release and that they did.

It's 15 minutes past the hour. Let's check our top stories now. Former Penn State President Graham Spanier is speaking out in the Jerry Sandusky scandal and he's not holding back. Spanier is blasting the internal report accusing him of covering up child sex abuse in order to protect Penn State's image.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM SPANIER: The Freeh Report is wrong, it's unfair, it's deeply flawed. It has as many errors and omissions. I know they had a lot of very good people on that team working on this. They interviewed they say over 430 people. Many of those folks have spoken to me about their interviews. Many of them described those interviews to me as a witch hunt.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: At midnight tonight, Casey Anthony will be a free woman as her one-year probation sentence for check fraud ends last summer. As you know, Anthony was acquitted of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

The editors of "Forbes" magazine are telling us who they think are the most powerful women in the world. And you're looking at number one, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton comes in second and Brazil's first female president, Dilma Rousseff rounds out the top three.

The Mars rover "Curiosity" is roving. That is good news for NASA. In its latest exercise, "Curiosity" was able to move forward, turn and back up and that is good news for NASA. That means NASA is confident about the rover's maneuver ability. It will have "Curiosity" move 1,300 feet to a potential drilling site.

It's got the first in political polling and probably not so accurate. According to an NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll, Mitt Romney has no support from black voters, zero percent.

Now keep in mind, NBC and the "Wall Street Journal" only polled 1,000 voters in this poll. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percent.

Our polling experts say African-Americans were probably underrepresented in this poll. Still, that zero percent thing has miffed black conservatives. After all, black conservatives exist, Herman Cain and Condoleezza Rice.

And Crystal Wright is another one. She writes the blog Conservative Black Chick and she joins me now. We knew you would be miffed by this poll, Crystal. Why?

CRYSTAL WRIGHT, BLOGGER, CONSERVATIVEBLACKCHICK.COM: Carol, Carol, I laughed when I read the poll because it is really offensive to black Americans like me who are conservative and who will vote for Mitt Romney.

You forgot to mention, Carol, of the 1,000 Americans polled only 100 were black. I don't know how that is statistically significant at all. I mean, I gasped when I saw it.

We all know that President Obama is losing support among black Americans. Last month, an AP poll came out and said only 80 percent of blacks are going to support him. That's a significant drop from 95 percent.

It's really offensive to black people, Carol, like you said. It is wildly inaccurate. Nobody is reporting only 100 black Americans were sampled for the poll.

COSTELLO: I do want to ask you this. There is a Gallup poll out, much larger poll, right. It says only 4 percent of African- Americans support Mitt Romney. That is still a concern, isn't it? WRIGHT: You know, I think polls what we have seen with polls is that depending on who is conducting the polls and sampling that they can be wildly off. I think what you are having with black Americans and I think the Gallup poll we should look at obviously.

But many black Americans I think are hesitant when they are on a telephone call and talking to somebody to reveal if they voted for Barack Obama in 2008, that they will not necessarily do it this go around.

So I think there is that going on as well. You have black conservatives like me. They are not talking to us, I don't think.

COSTELLO: There is a lot of tweets in the Twitterverse about this and some of them are quite funny frankly. I want to go back to the accuracy of polls because there seems to be a new poll out every single day. They all say different things. Why should we pay attention to them at all?

WRIGHT: Well, I do think we should pay attention to them. For example, the poll that you and I were just talking about, the "Wall Street Journal"/NBC poll actually found that Romney is narrowing the lead with the president.

So now his lead is really within a margin of error. That it's a dead heat. It's 48 percent to 44 percent for Romney. And we all know that Reagan when he went up against Carter, he was down 8 percent in October when he ran -- when the last debate occurred.

Then all of a sudden he won by 10 percentage points. So polls can be misleading, but we should definitely look at them. I don't know how anybody with two grains of sense can say zero percent of black Americans are going to support Mitt Romney. I mean, that's racial stereotyping, Carol. I think you kind of alluded to that.

COSTELLO: I just remember, you know, during the very hot race of 2008, some of the polling was just flat out wrong. The results would come in and you would say, why did I even pay attention to the poll? I do think that people should look at all polls with a grain of salt.

WRIGHT: I agree. You hit the nail on the head, Carol. Polls are sometimes designed to keep people at home and keep them not voting. Many black Americans have already said that because of the president's position on same-sex marriage and other things and his performance with unemployment that they might stay at home.

That is never an option. We always need to vote. I think you are right, Carol. People need to take these polls with a grain of salt and realize that every vote matters. If you don't do anything political, but vote in 2012, that's good.

COSTELLO: Crystal Wright, I think you are right about that one. Thank you so much for being on with us this morning.

WRIGHT: Thanks, Carol. COSTELLO: Our nation's classrooms could play a pivotal role in choosing the next president. We'll breakdown the latest Obama campaign ad attacking the Romney campaign on education, mostly fact or mostly fiction?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We still have 75 days to go before the presidential election and every day, Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama go back and forth. We are committed to fact checking their ads.

And this morning, Tom Foreman, checks out a new ad from the president that may not be entirely accurate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Class size and what it means to how kids learn has been a long and hotly contested issue. President Obama and many educators clearly believe smaller classes with fewer students per teacher are the way to go. So his latest ad tries to school Mitt Romney on that subject.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of our children's greatest experience have been in the smaller classrooms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Mitt Romney says class sizes don't matter. He supports Paul Ryan's budget, which could cut education by 20 percent.

FOREMAN: But let's dig into that lesson plan. Did Romney really say class sizes don't matter? No.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you had a class of five that would be terrific. If you had a class of 50, that's impossible.

FOREMAN: Addressing Philadelphia teachers in May, Romney cited an international study showing that sometimes schools with small classes fail. Sometimes schools with big classes succeed.

Therefore, he says class size should not be given excessive weight when we consider how to make our schools better.

(on camera): Now certainly the president's education advisers would not agree or would they? In a 2010 speech to the American Enterprise Institute, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, sure, class size may matter up to third grade.

ARNE DUNCAN, EDUCATION SECRETARY: But in secondary schools at the high school level, districts may be able to save money without hurting students while allowing modest, but smartly targeted increases in class size.

In fact, teachers in Asia sometimes request larger class sizes. They think a broad distribution of students and skill levels can actually help accelerate student learning across the board.

FOREMAN (voice-over): As for Paul Ryan's plan to cut education funding, the truth is while education may suffer under a Ryan budget, how much would be cut and where is not clear.

So the grade for this ad, I'm tempted to give it an "F" for false, but we will go with "M" for misleading. Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Tampa is getting ready to welcome the grand ole party for its national convention and the city expects to cash in on all of the attractions especially the night life. We will show you how.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Thirty minutes past the hour. Good morning to you. I'm Carol Costello. Time to check our "Top Stories".

It could be a one-two punch for the Republicans at their upcoming convention in Tampa. CNN has obtained an intelligence warning from the Feds saying anarchists could be planning bomb attack across the region.

As if they were not enough tropical storm Isaac is still moving towards and could become a hurricane within hours.

A Louisiana interstate reopen after this fiery crash is finally put out. A tanker truck was part of a multi-vehicle accident on I-10 in Baton Rouge. The tanker burned nearly 24 hours sending flames high into the air it forced people to flee nearby homes.

First Lady Michelle Obama will meet today with the families of the Sikh temple shooting earlier this month. Sikh temple members were killed, four of those injured in the shooting earlier this month in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

And take a look at the Washington Monument. It is the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that shook the nation's capital and caused a serious damage to the monument. FEMA is holding a press conference right now to update us on repairs to the Washington Monument.

No matter who wins the presidential election, the cities hosting the national party conventions will be the big winners. The reason, because those conventions bring in millions of dollars and tourism money. The Mayor of Tampa say he's expecting nothing less when the GOP comes to town next week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BOB BUCKHORN (R), TAMPA, FLORIDA: But there will be 90,000 room nights booked as a result of this. The magnitude of this given the dynamic of where the country is, where the economy is, where our politics are, it is significantly larger and more complicated and more complex and has way more moving parts than the Super Bowls.

COSTELLO: And the night life plays a huge part in that economic boom.

CNN's John Zarrella shows us what's waiting for the politicos in Tampa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three waitresses are in red, white and blue, so as the vodka bottle. Here at the Doll House in Tampa, they've spruced up, putting a 225 inch video wall. They are bringing in a Sarah Palin look alike, too. No kidding.

(on camera): What did you put into it?

WARREN COLAZZO, TAMPA NIGHTCLUB OWNER: You know, the bottom line will be close to $1.5 million, inside and outside.

ZARRELLA: Yes Tampa strip clubs are dressing up before undressing. There is an excitement in the air like going to the polls on Election Day but going to the "poles" has a different meaning here.

COLAZZO: You know I have been in this business 30 years and I'm telling you I've got goose bumps, I got them right now just thinking about this. To answer your question I've never been so excited on my life.

ZARRELLA (on camera): Warren Colazzo even had this T-shirts made up that read "The Dollhouse, RNC Headquarters." Certainly a must have for any conventioneer.

So why all the anticipation. Well, an adult industry trade association says the Republicans spend the money.

(voice-over): An informal survey by the Association of Club Executives found that during their conventions in Minnesota and New York, Republicans spent $150 per person at adult clubs, the Democrats only $50 per a person in Boston and Denver. The RNC told us it's focused on having a great convention and nominating Mitt Romney.

Club dancers are counting on the supposed big-dollar Republicans to make it rain dollars. Go-go, she's the one in the middle, thinks this will be bigger than the Super Bowls she's worked.

GO-GO, NIGHTCLUB PERFORMER: $1,000 an hour. That would be like, that's -- I'm really optimistic.

ZARRELLA: $1,000 an hour?

GO-GO: Yes that would be --

ZARRELLA: For like how many hours?

GO-GO: Well, I'll work as long as my body can take. ZARRELLA (voice-over): For the most part the city tolerates the clubs, but won't let them cross the line. Police have already raided a few and charged 16 women with prostitution. The mayor says the clubs are the least of his worries.

BUCKHORN: Are we going to be running around strip clubs you know checking IDs? And probably not.

DON KLEINHANS, TAMPA NIGHTCLUB OWNER: We added this VIP section up here.

ZARRELLA: Don Kleinhans owns the 2001 Odyssey Club, you can't miss it. The VIP room is shaped like a flying saucer. The way up is known as the "Stairway to Heaven". Klein says there is so many much to be made, dancers are calling from everywhere to work the convention.

KLEINHANS: Just this morning we had five different calls of girls from Las Vegas, New Orleans, Chicago and New York.

ZARRELLA: Word has spread when the elephant's in the room, the money is good.

John Zarrella, CNN, Tampa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: But not so much with the donkeys. Weather permitting, CNN's live coverage of the Republican National Convention from Tampa, Florida begins Monday night at 7:00 Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We've been hearing a lot about Congressman Todd Akin's controversial comments. But one side we haven't heard much from is the victims. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology five percent of women become pregnant after rape. One of those women have come from -- have come forward writing a powerful letter that's now gone viral. That woman is Shauna Prewitt and she joins me now live from Chicago.

Welcome Shauna.

SHAUNA PREWITT, RAPE SURVIVOR: Good morning Carol.

COSTELLO: This is something most women can't bear to talk about. Why did you think it was so important to make your feelings known?

PREWITT: When -- when I read Representative Akin's comments on Sunday, I was just deeply offended because I felt that, first of all, they were bred in ignorance, biological ignorance and -- and I wanted that part to be known. But then I also wanted to touch upon this idea of legitimate versus illegitimate rape and strike down this notion that we really need to get away from talking about rape in these terms. Because it's so harmful to us as a society and especially to the way that rape is prosecuted and dealt within our country. COSTELLO: When you were attacked, you came forward, you reported the attack to the police. And you expected people to believe your story but in some cases, that's not what happened. Tell us about that.

PREWITT: Well, you know, my experience was like, I think most women's experience, which is like, you know the second you say that you're raped, a raped woman is immediately the one that is put on a trial.

And it becomes about things that I think are a little bit ridiculous to focus on. You know what -- what you were wearing. Exactly what you said, where you were and I just think you know no means no. And if a woman has said no, then that -- that ought to be respected.

COSTELLO: So you were raped and you found out you were pregnant. I can't imagine how that must have felt.

PREWITT: Yes, you know, it was a mixture of emotions. There is not any one single defining emotion that I felt and -- and moreover what I felt, the day I found out changed a week later and even month later.

I think overwhelmingly I was shared, I was shocked, but then I was also feeling a lot of shame because I was really struggling with this emotion of feeling a bond toward this -- this life growing inside of me and thinking that I shouldn't be feeling that way, but yet -- but yet feeling that way.

And so it is important to me to write this letter so that women can understand. You know your feelings are legitimate because they're your feelings.

COSTELLO: Whether you want to continue with your pregnancy or not?

PREWITT: Yes.

COSTELLO: And you know I was just curious to know, do you think that women should have that choice?

PREWITT: You know, I think that -- I think that rape is such a multidimensional experience and that women respond to it differently. And that you know I can't pretend that the choice that I made for me would be right for the woman standing next to me. So you know, in that regard, I would -- I would hate to say something that -- that would harm her feelings or undermine her experience.

Butt at the same time, you know, I have this beautiful child who's amazing and wonderful. And you know I would hate to think that -- that her life could have been extinguished. So you know it's a -- it's a delicate issue. It's one that -- that I really shy away from. I'm not an advocate for abortion rights or the pro-life movement either. You know my focus is really on the rape experience and then parental rights issue. COSTELLO: Before we get into the parental rights, because I know that's a big issue with you as it -- as it should be because it's more the same part of your story. Your daughter, what do you tell her?

PREWITT: Well, my -- my daughter is almost eight. So she is of course, at this age where notions of sex and rape. She -- she doesn't understand those notions whatsoever. So what we focused on is this idea that you know families come in all different shapes and sizes. Some families have a mom. Some have a dad. Some have grandparents involve. Some have siblings.

In our family, it's her and me. And that's -- and that's fantastic. She's loved. She's beloved. And I just want her to know that you know she's great.

COSTELLO: And I do want to get into the cause that you're fighting for because your rapist actually fought for custody of the child.

PREWITT: That's right. And I had no idea when this happened that -- that there would be a court on planet earth that would kind of entertain his ability to have access to my daughter. I was very lucky. I was able to get his parental rights terminated. So he -- he was never a part of her life and never will be a part of her life.

But I know that there are a lot of women that aren't so lucky. So I've spent the past two years advocating for those women and trying to approach legislators on a state-by-state basis to get them to adopt laws that will protect these women.

COSTELLO: Well, Shauna Prewitt, thank you so much for sharing your story. You are one courageous woman, that's all I have to say. Thank you so much.

PREWITT: I appreciate it. Thank you.

COSTELLO: You can read more of Shauna's story "Raped, Pregnant and Ordeal not Over" on our CNN.com opinion page. All you got to do is log on to CNN.com/opinion.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Ever watched a political ad and asked is that really true? I bet you have. Well, it's going to be easier to find out now because there's a free iPhone app released today that can fact check ads, who paid for the ad, how much they're spending on the candidate's campaign and so forth. It's called Super PAC Ad.

Joining me now is HLN Digital Lifestyle Expert, Mario Armstrong.

MARIO ARMSTRONG, HLN DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: Hey.

COSTELLO: We wondered, does this thing really work?

ARMSTRONG: Yes, it does actually work. I was impressed. Last night I downloaded the app. And it is a free installation on your Apple devices -- so iPhone or iPod Touch or iPad -- and essentially what it does is once you download this free app, you then basically just tap the button on here that says "I want to listen to the TV" or "I want to listen to a YouTube ad" and point it at the computer.

It then uses audio fingerprinting to listen to the ad and then will give you information like you see here on your phone. You'll see who's responsible for the ad, what the claims are being made in that ad and the money that was spent. So you get a lot of transparency from the ad itself right inside of the app.

COSTELLO: So, who's behind this?

ARMSTRONG: Students. Go figures. Students at MIT's media lab were doing this as a class project. This isn't foreign. We have had other apps that can sense audio like Shazam. It's a music app where you can point it at your radio or anywhere you are and you're listening to songs and you don't know the name and artist and the title of that song, you can get the same thing.

Well, this is doing the same type of technology. It's just more getting the information about politics and whether or not these claims are factual or not right in the palm of your hand.

COSTELLO: Ok. So do you think that this will make politicians more accountable?

ARMSTRONG: You know, that's a really good question. I think politicians are still not with it on the text spectrum to some degree. I think they may misunderstand or maybe just assume that this is not as big as it is going to be.

I do believe that this will have a level of transparency that we have not had before and technology is making that possible. So, I think right away, no. They aren't paying attention to it. They're going to pay attention to their ads. Most of these things from the Super PACs are unlimited dollar amounts that can be spent.

They are spending a lot of money on negative and attack ads and I think they're going to continue to do that and not worry about the technology of it.

COSTELLO: But maybe in the future, who knows. Good for those MIT students.

ARMSTRONG: Yes.

COSTELLO: Mario Armstrong, thank you so much for joining us.

ARMSTRONG: You're so welcome.

COSTELLO: Talk about picking the wrong house to break into. LL Cool J, oh, what he did to a burglar.

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COSTELLO: Momma says knock you out and LL Cool J did. Here's A.J. Hammer. Hi, A.J.

A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST: Yes, hi, Carol. You know, if I was a burglar, I would not want to break into this guy's house. And I don't think the burglar may have know who owned the house he breaking into or at least didn't remember LL Cool J's hit song "Mama Said Knock You Out". Maybe he would have thought better trying to get into LL's Los Angeles home. The L.A. Police Department says that the man tripped LL's burglar alarm about 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning and that sent LL into action.

LL caught the man and according to police, he physically detained him until officers arrived. Now, according to reports, this guy needed some medical attention after LL was through with him, but yesterday the authorities would only tell us that he was being held in jail.

As for LL, here's what his rep is telling "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT". "As a father, husband and citizen he is committed to keeping his family safe and is cooperating with authorities on this private matter.

Now Carol, I remember first meeting LL Cool J some 22 years ago probably. Nicest guy on the planet, but an imposing, daunting figure with a handshake that tells you, "You really don't want to mess with me."

COSTELLO: Oh, yes. I interviewed him when he wrote that children's book and he gave me a hug. I was very lucky and -- yes, that man is all muscle.

HAMMER: You feel the strength.

COSTELLO: Yes, you do. He used it well, I might add, since that guy broke into his house. A.J. Hammer -- oh, you're going to talk -- talk about Taylor Swift, too, crashing the wedding?

HAMMER: If you'd like me to.

COSTELLO: I would.

HAMMER: Well, it pains me to call Taylor Swift a wedding crasher -- that's what people are accusing her of being. We just heard more about the story from Kathie Lee Gifford.

Now, Taylor is dating Conor Kennedy. The wedding was on Saturday for his cousin Kyle Kennedy, who's the daughter of Victoria Gifford Kennedy and the late Michael Kennedy. Are you following along her.

The bride was Frank Gifford's granddaughter. So he and Kathie Lee were at that wedding and according to Kathie Lee, Conor Kennedy never RSVP'd to the wedding and only asked to come by sending out a text message on the day of the ceremony. So Conor and Taylor showed up and that was much to the dismay of the mother of the bride.

According to Kathie Lee, the reception did include a sit-down dinner so naturally, there was no place for them. And she says that the bride's mother had to ask Taylor and Conor to leave twice. Now, we can all agree Miss Manners probably would not approve of Conor and Taylor showing up if they hadn't RSVP'd.

I should point out, CNN has reached out to Taylor's reps about this story and they haven't gotten back to us yet. But it's hard for me to imagine that she would be in on it if she knew she wasn't supposed to be there.

COSTELLO: I know. She is such a sweetie. All right. A.J. Hammer, many thanks.

HAMMER: You got it.

COSTELLO: Join A.J. later tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" at 11:00 Eastern on HLN.

CNN Hurricane Center keeping a close eye on tropical storm Isaac as it strengthens and heads for Florida. We have the latest coming up in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

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COSTELLO: Still working on getting that perfect summer shape? I know I am. Not to worry it can still happen. Fitness expert Dolvett Quince from TV's "The Biggest Loser" explains how to get lean and stay healthy in this "Daily Dose".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLVETT QUINCE, FITNESS EXPERT: You are going for that lean look, guess what? There are some simple things you can do. Love swimming? Get those laps in. You are working muscles, you're strengthening core, you are taking care of your ligaments and your joints and your cardio is up there.

But also weight training with lightweights and a lot of high reps. If you are yanking that weight, guess what; you are putting yourself at risk of injury. Hurt those ligaments, hurt those joints.

The key to a great physique is proper form. 95 percent of what you do, if you want good results, is proper form. Not bulky. Not huge. Instead, you are using lightweight and plenty of reps and you get those results.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You can look just like Dolvett -- not. That man is a specimen.

I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me today.

CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ashleigh Banfield.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Carol Costello, thank you so much.